Filed by Bowne Pure Compliance
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2007
Commission File Number 000-23186
BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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DELAWARE
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62-1413174 |
(State of other jurisdiction of
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(I.R.S. employer identification no.) |
incorporation or organization) |
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2190 Parkway Lake Drive; Birmingham, Alabama 35244
(Address of principal executive offices)
(205) 444-4600
(Registrants telephone number, including area code)
Indicate by a 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
þ No o.
Indicate by a check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer,
or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of accelerated filer and large accelerated filer in
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). (Check One):
Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer þ Non-accelerated filer o
Indicate by a check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Exchange Act Rule
12b-2).
Yes
o No þ.
The number of shares of Common Stock, par value $.01, of the Registrant outstanding as of October
31, 2007 was 37,948,675.
BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
INDEX
1
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
BALANCE SHEETS
September 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006
(In thousands, except per share data)
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2007 |
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2006 |
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(Unaudited) |
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(Note 1) |
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Assets |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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$ |
44,092 |
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$ |
4,418 |
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Marketable securities |
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24,620 |
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33,040 |
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Receivables from collaborations billed |
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5,005 |
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249 |
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Receivables from collaborations unbilled |
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15,743 |
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4,307 |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
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2,101 |
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3,776 |
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Total current assets |
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91,561 |
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45,790 |
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Marketable securities |
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33,536 |
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8,778 |
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Furniture and equipment, net |
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4,120 |
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3,029 |
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Patents and licenses, net |
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297 |
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290 |
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Deferred collaboration expense |
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11,640 |
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10,598 |
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Total assets |
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$ |
141,154 |
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$ |
68,485 |
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Liabilities and Stockholders Equity |
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Accounts payable |
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$ |
16,383 |
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$ |
5,887 |
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Accrued expenses |
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2,902 |
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1,507 |
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Accrued vacation |
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770 |
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641 |
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Deferred revenue |
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4,680 |
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2,699 |
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Total current liabilities |
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24,735 |
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10,734 |
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Deferred revenue |
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50,810 |
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36,596 |
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Stockholders equity: |
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Preferred stock: shares authorized 5,000 |
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Series B Junior Participating Preferred Stock, $.001 par
value; shares
authorized 45; shares issued and outstanding none |
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Common stock, $.01 par value: shares authorized
95,000; shares issued and outstanding
37,949 in 2007 and 29,249 in 2006 |
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380 |
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292 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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287,330 |
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216,311 |
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Accumulated other comprehensive income |
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152 |
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33 |
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Accumulated deficit |
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(222,253 |
) |
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(195,481 |
) |
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Total stockholders equity |
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65,609 |
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21,155 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders equity |
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$ |
141,154 |
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$ |
68,485 |
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See accompanying notes to financial statements.
2
BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Periods Ended September 30, 2007 and 2006
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
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Three Months |
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Nine Months |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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Revenues: |
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Collaborative and other research and development |
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$ |
20,463 |
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$ |
1,790 |
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$ |
43,066 |
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$ |
4,120 |
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Expenses: |
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Research and development |
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29,730 |
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16,650 |
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64,938 |
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35,884 |
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General and administrative |
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2,595 |
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1,599 |
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6,980 |
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4,478 |
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Total expenses |
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32,325 |
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18,249 |
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71,918 |
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40,362 |
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Loss from operations |
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(11,862 |
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(16,459 |
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(28,852 |
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(36,242 |
) |
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Interest and other income |
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878 |
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856 |
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2,080 |
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2,674 |
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Net loss |
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$ |
(10,984 |
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$ |
(15,603 |
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$ |
(26,772 |
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$ |
(33,568 |
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Basic and diluted net loss per common share |
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$ |
(.32 |
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$ |
(.53 |
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$ |
(.86 |
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$ |
(1.15 |
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Weighted average shares outstanding |
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34,277 |
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29,222 |
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31,024 |
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29,116 |
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See accompanying notes to financial statements.
3
BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007 and 2006
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
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2007 |
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2006 |
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Operating activities: |
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Net loss |
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$ |
(26,772 |
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$ |
(33,568 |
) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in
operating activities: |
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Depreciation and amortization |
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752 |
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593 |
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Stock-based compensation expense |
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4,371 |
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2,238 |
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Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
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Receivables from collaborations |
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(16,192 |
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26,861 |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
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1,675 |
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(865 |
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Deferred collaboration expense |
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(1,042 |
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(4,962 |
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Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
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12,020 |
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(302 |
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Deferred revenue |
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16,195 |
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9,670 |
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Net cash used in operating activities |
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(8,993 |
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(335 |
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Investing activities: |
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Acquisitions of furniture and equipment |
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(1,834 |
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(859 |
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Purchases of patents and licenses |
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(16 |
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(78 |
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Purchases of marketable securities |
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(49,236 |
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(42,101 |
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Maturities of marketable securities |
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33,017 |
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19,091 |
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Net cash used in investing activities |
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(18,069 |
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(23,947 |
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Financing activities: |
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Employee stock purchase plan sales |
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270 |
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191 |
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Exercise of stock options |
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1,348 |
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2,667 |
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Sale of common stock, net of issuance costs |
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65,118 |
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Net cash provided by financing activities |
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66,736 |
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2,858 |
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Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
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39,674 |
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(21,424 |
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Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
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4,418 |
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29,157 |
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
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$ |
44,092 |
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$ |
7,733 |
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See accompanying notes to financial statements.
4
BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)
Note 1 Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The balance sheet as of September 30, 2007, the statements of operations for the three and
nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, and the statements of cash flows for the nine months
ended September 30, 2007 and 2006 have been prepared by the Company in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States and have not been audited. Such financial
statements reflect all adjustments that are, in managements opinion, necessary to present fairly,
in all material respects, the financial position at September 30, 2007, the results of operations
for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, and cash flows for the nine months
ended September 30, 2007 and 2006. There were no adjustments other than normal recurring
adjustments.
These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the
year ended December 31, 2006 and the notes thereto included in the Companys 2006 Annual Report on
Form 10-K. Interim operating results are not necessarily indicative of operating results for the
full year. The balance sheet as of December 31, 2006 has been derived from the audited financial
statements included in the Companys most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company generally considers cash equivalents to be all cash held in money market accounts
or investments in debt instruments with maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase
in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 95, Statement of Cash Flows.
Marketable Securities
In accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, Accounting for Certain
Investments in Debt and Equity Securities, the Company is required to classify securities as
trading, available-for-sale, or held-to-maturity. The appropriateness of each classification is
assessed at the time of purchase and at each reporting date. At September 30, 2007, the Company had
approximately $58.2 million of marketable securities of which $44.0 million is classified as
available-for-sale and $14.2 million is classified as held-to-maturity.
Securities available-for-sale consisted of U.S. Agency securities carried at fair value based
on independent quoted market prices. At September 30, 2007, the amortized cost of securities
available-for-sale approximated fair value. Unrealized gains and losses on securities
available-for-sale are recognized in other comprehensive income.
Securities held-to-maturity consisted of U.S. Treasury and Agency securities carried at
amortized cost. The estimated fair value of these securities, both individually and in the
aggregate, approximated amortized cost at September 30, 2007. Fair value was based on independent
quoted market prices.
Receivables from Collaborations
Receivables are recorded for amounts due to the Company related to reimbursable research and
development costs and event payments. These receivables are evaluated to determine if any reserve
or allowance should be established at each reporting date. At September 30, 2007, the Company had
the following receivables from collaborations. Note that amounts are in thousands.
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Billed |
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Unbilled |
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
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$ |
4,656 |
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$ |
15,378 |
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Mundipharma, Shionogi & Roche |
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349 |
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365 |
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Total |
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$ |
5,005 |
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$ |
15,743 |
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5
Furniture and Equipment
Furniture and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line
method with estimated useful lives of five and seven years. Laboratory equipment, office
equipment, leased equipment, and software are depreciated over a life of five years. Furniture and
fixtures are depreciated over a life of seven years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over
their estimated useful lives or the remaining lease term, whichever is less. In accordance with
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of
Long-Lived Assets (Statement No. 144), the Company periodically reviews its furniture and
equipment for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount
of such assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on an estimate of
undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. In
the event that such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the carrying amount of
the assets, the assets are written down to their estimated fair values. Furniture and equipment to
be disposed of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell.
Patents and Licenses
Patents and licenses are recorded at cost and amortized on a straight-line basis over their
estimated useful lives or 20 years, whichever is less. The Company periodically reviews its patents
and licenses for impairment in accordance with Statement No. 144 to determine any impairment that
needs to be recognized.
Accrued Expenses
The Company records all expenses in the period incurred. In addition to recording expenses for
invoices received, the Company estimates the cost of services provided by third parties or
materials purchased for which no invoices have been received as of each balance sheet date. Accrued
expenses as of September 30, 2007 and 2006 consisted primarily of development and clinical trial
expenses payable to contract research organizations in connection with the Companys research and
development programs.
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Accumulated other comprehensive income is comprised of unrealized gains and losses on
securities available-for-sale and is disclosed as a separate component of stockholders equity.
The Company had $152,248 of unrealized gains on its securities that are included in accumulated
other comprehensive income at September 30, 2007. Other comprehensive loss for the periods ended
September 30, 2007 and 2006 appear in the following table. Note that amounts are in thousands.
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Three Months |
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Nine Months |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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Net loss |
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$ |
(10,984 |
) |
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$ |
(15,603 |
) |
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$ |
(26,772 |
) |
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$ |
(33,568 |
) |
Unrealized gain on securities available-for-sale |
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156 |
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45 |
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119 |
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54 |
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Other comprehensive loss |
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$ |
(10,828 |
) |
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$ |
(15,558 |
) |
|
$ |
(26,653 |
) |
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$ |
(33,514 |
) |
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Revenue Recognition
The Companys revenues have generally been limited to license fees, event payments, research
and development fees, government contracts, and interest income. Revenue is recognized in
accordance with Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, Revenue Recognition (SAB No. 104), and
Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 00-21, Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables (EITF
Issue 00-21). License fees, event payments, and research and development fees are recognized as
revenue when the earnings process is complete and the Company has no further continuing performance
obligations or the Company has completed the performance obligations under the terms of the
agreement. Fees received under licensing agreements that are related to future performance are
deferred and recognized over an estimated period determined by management based on the terms of the
agreement and the products licensed. In the event a license agreement contains multiple
deliverables, the Company evaluates whether the deliverables are separate or combined units of
accounting in accordance with EITF Issue 00-21. Revisions to revenue or profit estimates as a
result of changes in the estimated revenue period are recognized prospectively.
Under the guidance of Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 99-19, Reporting Revenue Gross as a
Principal Versus Net as an Agent (EITF Issue 99-19), and Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 01-14,
Income Statement Characterization of Reimbursements Received for Out-of-Pocket Expenses (EITF
Issue 01-14), reimbursements
received for direct out-of-pocket expenses related to research and development costs are
recorded as revenue in the income statement rather than as a reduction in expenses.
6
Event payments are recognized as revenue upon the achievement of specified events if (1) the
event is substantive in nature and the achievement of the event was not reasonably assured at the
inception of the agreement and (2) the fees are non-refundable and non-creditable. Any event
payments received prior to satisfying these criteria are recorded as deferred revenue.
Royalty revenue is recognized based on estimates of royalties earned during the applicable
period and adjusted for differences between the estimated and actual royalties in the following
period. If royalties can not be reasonably estimated, revenue is recognized upon receipt of
royalty statements from the licensee. The Company has not received any royalties from the sale of
licensed pharmaceutical products.
Research and Development Expenses
In accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 2, Accounting for Research
and Development Costs (Statement No. 2), the Company expenses research and development costs as
incurred. Research and development expenses include, among other items, personnel costs, including
salaries and benefits, manufacturing costs, clinical, regulatory, and toxicology services performed
by contract research organizations (CROs), materials and supplies, and overhead allocations
consisting of various administrative and facilities related costs. Most of the Companys
manufacturing and clinical and preclinical studies are performed by third-party CROs. Costs for
studies performed by CROs are accrued by the Company over the service periods specified in the
contracts and estimates are adjusted, if required, based upon the Companys on-going review of the
level of services actually performed.
Additionally, the Company has license agreements with third parties, such as Albert Einstein
College of Medicine of Yeshiva University (AECOM), Industrial Research, Ltd. (IRL), and the
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), which require maintenance fees or fees related to
sublicense agreements. These fees are generally expensed as incurred unless they are related to
revenues that have been deferred, in which case the expenses are deferred and recognized over the
related revenue recognition period.
Stock-Based Compensation
In accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004),
Share-Based Payment (Statement No. 123R), all share-based payments, including grants of stock
option awards and restricted stock awards, are recognized in the Companys income statement based
on their fair values. Statement No. 123R was adopted by the Company on January 1, 2006 using the
modified prospective transition method. Under the fair value recognition provisions of Statement
No. 123R, stock-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the fair value of
the award and is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period
of the award.
As of September 30, 2007, the Company had two stock-based employee compensation plans, the
Stock Incentive Plan (Incentive Plan) and the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). In
addition, the Company made an inducement grant outside of the Incentive Plan and ESPP to recruit a
new employee to a key position within the Company. Prior to January 1, 2006, the Company accounted
for all share-based payments under the recognition and measurement provisions of Accounting
Principles Board Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees (APB Opinion No. 25),
and other related interpretations, as permitted by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.
123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation (Statement No. 123). No stock-based compensation
cost related to the Companys employees was recognized in the Statements of Operations for any
period ending prior to January 1, 2006. Stock-based compensation expense of $4,370,552 ($4,187,367
of expense related to the Incentive Plan, $108,333 of expense related to the ESPP, and $74,852 of
expense related to the inducement grant) was recognized during the first nine months of 2007, while
$2,237,538 ($2,167,629 of expense related to the Plan and $69,909 of expense related to the ESPP)
was recognized during the first nine months of 2006.
As of September 30, 2007, there was approximately $15,734,431 of total unrecognized
compensation cost related to non-vested employee stock option awards and stock awards granted by
the Company. That cost is expected to be recognized as follows: $1,605,151 in the remainder of
2007, $5,424,054 in 2008, $4,686,753 in 2009, $3,419,496 in 2010, and $598,977 in 2011.
7
Net Loss Per Share
The Company computes net loss per share in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 128, Earnings Per Share. Net loss per share is based upon the weighted average number
of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is equivalent to basic net
loss per share for all periods presented herein because common equivalent shares from unexercised
stock options, outstanding warrants, and common shares expected to be issued under the Companys
employee stock purchase plan were anti-dilutive.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the
amounts reported in the financial statements. Examples include accrued clinical and preclinical
expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Note 2 Stock-Based Compensation
Stock Incentive Plan
The Company grants stock option awards and restricted stock awards to employees, directors,
and consultants of the Company under the Stock Incentive Plan (Incentive Plan), as amended and
restated in March 2007. The Incentive Plan was approved by the Companys stockholders on May 16,
2007 and permits the Company to issue awards for approximately 5.9 million shares of common stock
over the term of the Incentive Plan as amended and restated. Under the Incentive Plan, stock
option awards are granted with an exercise price equal to the market price of the Companys stock
at the date of grant. Stock option awards granted to employees and consultants generally vest 25%
after one year and monthly thereafter on a pro rata basis over the next three years until fully
vested after four years. Stock option awards granted to non-employee directors of the Company
generally vest over one year. All stock option awards have contractual terms of 10 years. The
vesting exercise provisions of all awards granted under the Incentive Plan are subject to
acceleration in the event of certain stockholder-approved transactions, or upon the occurrence of a
change in control as defined in the Incentive Plan.
For each stock option award granted under the Incentive Plan during the first nine months of
2007 and 2006, the fair value was estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option
pricing model and the assumptions noted in the table below. The weighted average grant date fair
value of the stock option awards granted under the Incentive Plan during the first nine months of
2007 and 2006 was $6.17 and $8.70, respectively. The fair value of the stock option awards is
amortized to expense over the vesting periods using a straight-line expense attribution method.
The expected life is based on the average of the assumption that all outstanding stock option
awards will be exercised at full vesting and the assumption that all outstanding stock option
awards will be exercised at the midpoint of the valuation date and the full contractual term. The
expected volatility represents an average of the implied volatility on the Companys publicly
traded stock options, the volatility over the most recent period corresponding with the expected
life, and the Companys long-term reversion volatility. The Company has assumed no expected
dividend yield, as dividends have never been paid to stock or option holders and will not be for
the foreseeable future. The weighted average risk-free interest rate is the implied yield
currently available on zero-coupon government issues with a remaining term equal to the expected
term.
Weighted Average Assumptions for Stock Option Awards Granted
under the Incentive Plan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007 |
|
|
2006 |
|
Expected Life in Years |
|
|
5.7 |
|
|
|
5.9 |
|
Expected Volatility |
|
|
74.4 |
% |
|
|
82.5 |
% |
Expected Dividend Yield |
|
|
0.0 |
% |
|
|
0.0 |
% |
Risk-Free Interest Rate |
|
|
4.6 |
% |
|
|
5.0 |
% |
8
Related activity under the Incentive Plan is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted |
|
|
|
Awards |
|
|
Options |
|
|
Average |
|
|
|
Available |
|
|
Outstanding |
|
|
Exercise Price |
|
Balance December 31, 2006 |
|
|
820,754 |
|
|
|
3,952,568 |
|
|
$ |
8.94 |
|
Incentive Plan amended |
|
|
1,200,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stock option awards granted |
|
|
(1,707,706 |
) |
|
|
1,707,706 |
|
|
|
9.53 |
|
Restricted stock awards granted |
|
|
(50,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stock option awards exercised |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(289,458 |
) |
|
|
4.66 |
|
Stock option awards canceled |
|
|
205,851 |
|
|
|
(205,851 |
) |
|
|
13.65 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance September 30, 2007 |
|
|
468,899 |
|
|
|
5,164,965 |
|
|
|
9.19 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The grant date fair value of the 50,000 restricted stock awards granted under the Incentive
Plan during the first nine months of 2007 was $11.81.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The ESPP was originally approved by the Companys stockholders on May 29, 1995 and most
recently amended on May 12, 2002. The Company has reserved a total of 400,000 shares of common
stock to be purchased under the ESPP, of which 64,748 shares remain available for purchase at
September 30, 2007. Eligible employees may authorize up to 15% of their salary to purchase common
stock at the lower of 85% of the beginning or 85% of the ending price during six-month purchase
intervals. No more than 3,000 shares may be purchased by any one employee at the six-month
purchase dates and no employee may purchase stock having a fair market value at the commencement
date of $25,000 or more in any one calendar year. The Company issued 34,855 shares during the
first nine months of 2007 under the ESPP. The fair value expense of options granted under the ESPP
was determined using a Black-Scholes option pricing model.
Stock Inducement Grant
In March 2007, the Companys Board of Directors approved a stock inducement grant of 110,000
stock option awards and 10,000 restricted stock awards to recruit a new employee to a key position
within the Company. The stock option awards were granted in April 2007 with an exercise price
equal to the market price of the Companys stock at the date of grant. The awards vest 25% after
one year and monthly thereafter on a pro rata basis over the next three years until fully vested
after four years. The stock option awards have contractual terms of 10 years. The vesting
exercise provisions of both the stock option awards and the restricted stock awards granted under
the inducement grant are subject to acceleration in the event of certain stockholder-approved
transactions, or upon the occurrence of a change in control as defined in the respective
agreements.
For the stock option awards granted under the inducement grant, the fair value was estimated
on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions:
expected life of 5.7 years, expected volatility of 72.9%, expected dividend yield of 0.0%, and
risk-free interest rate of 4.6%. The weighted average grant date fair value of these stock option
awards was $5.25. The fair value of the stock option awards is amortized to expense over the
vesting periods using a straight-line expense attribution method. The expected life is based on
the average of the assumption that all outstanding stock option awards will be exercised at full
vesting and the assumption that all outstanding stock option awards will be exercised at the
midpoint of the valuation date and the full contractual term. The expected volatility represents
an average of the implied volatility on the Companys publicly traded stock options, the volatility
over the most recent period corresponding with the expected life, and the Companys long-term
reversion volatility. The Company has assumed no expected dividend yield, as dividends have never
been paid to stock or option holders and will not be for the foreseeable future. The weighted
average risk-free interest rate is the implied yield currently available on zero-coupon government
issues with a remaining term equal to the expected term.
The exercise price of the stock option awards and the grant date fair value of the restricted
stock awards granted under the inducement grant was $8.20.
9
Note 3 Collaborative Agreements
In November 2005, the Company announced a collaborative relationship with F.Hoffmann-La Roche
Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche) for the development and commercialization of BCX-4208. In
February 2006, the Company announced a collaborative relationship with Mundipharma International
Holdings Limited (Mundipharma) for the development and commercialization of forodesine HCl. For
these license agreements, the Company deferred the upfront payments received in these
collaborations over the remaining life of the patents of the compounds licensed, which is through
August 2023 for the Roche agreement and through October 2017 for the Mundipharma agreement. These
upfront payments have been classified as deferred revenue on the balance sheet and the significant
direct costs incurred upon entering into these licensing agreements related to sublicense fees paid
to AECOM and IRL have been recorded as deferred assets on the balance sheet. As the Company
recognizes the revenue related to these agreements, which began in February 2006 for the
Mundipharma agreement and October 2006 for the Roche agreement, the Company will also recognize the
proportionate amount of expense related to the deferred assets.
In June 2006 and in February 2007, the Company entered into collaborative relationships with
Green Cross Corporation (Green Cross) and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Shionogi), respectively, for
the development and commercialization of peramivir. Consistent with the accounting treatment in
the Roche and Mundipharma license arrangements, the Company has deferred the upfront payments made
by Green Cross and Shionogi and the sublicense fees payable by the Company to UAB. The recognition
of the revenue and the expense from the Green Cross agreement began in August 2006 and will
continue through November 2009. The recognition of the revenue and the expense from the Shionogi
agreement began in April 2007 and will continue through December 2017.
In January 2007, the Company announced that it had been awarded a $102.6 million, four-year
contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the advanced development
of peramivir. Funding from the contract will support manufacturing, process validation, clinical
studies and other product approval requirements for peramivir. The contract with HHS is defined as
a standard cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. That is, the Company is entitled to receive reimbursement
for all costs incurred in accordance with the contract provisions that are related to the
development of peramivir plus a fixed fee, or profit.
Note 4 Income Taxes
Effective January 1, 2007, the Company adopted the provisions of Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, an
interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 (FIN No. 48). FIN No. 48 clarifies the accounting for
uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprises financial statements in accordance with
FASB Statement 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, and prescribes a recognition threshold and
measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or
expected to be taken in a tax return.
Upon adoption, the Company has concluded that there were no significant uncertain tax
positions requiring recognition in its financial statements. As of September 30, 2007, all of the
Companys deferred tax assets were fully reserved by a valuation allowance equal to 100% of the net
deferred tax assets. The Company has never been profitable and has not paid any income taxes. Tax
years 2003-2006 remain open to examination by the major taxing jurisdictions to which the Company
is subject. Additionally, years prior to 2003 are also open to examination to the extent of loss
and credit carryforwards from those years.
The Company has significant net operating loss and business credit carryovers which are
subject to a valuation allowance due to the uncertain nature of the realization of the losses. The
Internal Revenue Code imposes certain limitations on the utilization of net operating loss
carryovers and other tax attributes after a change in control. The Company has encountered
ownership changes which could significantly limit the possible utilization of such carryovers. The
Company has not performed a detailed analysis to determine the effect of such ownership changes on
its ability to use these net operating loss and credit carryforwards. However, it is not
anticipated that limitations, if any, would have a material impact on the balance sheet as a result
of offsetting changes in the deferred tax valuation allowance.
The Company will recognize interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits
as components of its income tax provision. The Company did not have any interest and penalties
accrued upon the adoption of FIN No.
48 and as of September 30, 2007, the Company does not have any interest and penalties accrued
related to unrecognized tax benefits.
10
Note 5 Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In September 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (Statement No. 157). The standard provides
enhanced guidance for using fair value to measure assets and liabilities and also responds to
investors requests for expanded information about the extent to which companies measure assets and
liabilities at fair value, the information used to measure fair value, and the effect of fair value
measurements on earnings. While the standard applies whenever other standards require (or permit)
assets or liabilities to be measured at fair value, it does not expand the use of fair value in any
new circumstances. Statement No. 157 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years
beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Management of the
Company is evaluating the impact of this standard, but does not anticipate that it will have a
significant impact on its financial statements.
In June 2007, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) reached a final consensus on Emerging
Issues Task Force Issue 07-3, Accounting for Nonrefundable Advance Payments for Goods or Services
Received for Use in Future Research and Development Activities (EITF Issue 07-3). The EITF
concluded that nonrefundable advance payments for goods or services to be received in the future
for use in research and development activities should be deferred and capitalized. The capitalized
amounts should be expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed. If a
companys expectations change, such that it does not expect the goods will be delivered or the
services rendered, the capitalized nonrefundable advance payments should be charged to expense.
EITF Issue 07-3 is effective for new contracts entered into during the fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2007, including interim periods within those fiscal years. This consensus may not be
applied to earlier periods and early adoption is not permitted. Currently, the Company charges
nonrefundable advance payments for future research and development activities to expense as
payments are made. Therefore, the adoption of this standard will have an impact on the Companys
financial statements when adopted.
Note 6 Stockholders Equity
On August 6, 2007, the Company entered into a Stock and Warrant Purchase Agreement with a
group of existing stockholders for the private placement of 8,315,513 shares of the Companys
common stock at a purchase price of $7.80 per share and warrants to purchase 3,159,895 shares of
the Companys common stock at a purchase price of $0.125 per warrant. The aggregate proceeds from
the sale were approximately $65.3 million. The exercise price of the warrants is $10.25 per share.
The participants in the transaction include funds managed by Baker Brothers Investments, Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers, EHS Holdings, OrbiMed Advisors, Texas Pacific Group Ventures, and
Stephens Investment Management, all of whom are current shareholders in the Company.
The Company has registered 8,140,000 of the shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, but the remaining 175,513 and the warrants included in the private placement have not been
registered and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable
exemption from registration requirements. The Company has agreed to register the remaining shares,
the warrants, and the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants for resale. If
registration is not completed within the period specified in the Stock and Warrant Purchase
Agreement, the Company will be subject to pay maximum liquidated damages of $164,000 to the group
of institutional investors, which represents 12% of the transaction value related to the remaining
unregistered common stock only.
Item 2. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements, including statements
regarding future results, performance, or achievements of the Company. Such statements are only
predictions and the actual events or results may differ materially from the results discussed in
the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include
those discussed below as well as those discussed in other filings made by the Company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
11
Overview
Recent Corporate Highlights
|
|
Continued development of intramuscular (i.m.) peramivir clinical trial |
In September, BioCryst reported preliminary results from a phase II study of the intramuscular
formulation of peramivir. The study was designed to determine if this formulation of peramivir
could reduce the duration of symptoms in subjects with acute influenza. While the results of the
trial indicate that a single dose of peramivir demonstrated a treatment effect over placebo, the
improvement was not statistically significant.
The Company continues to receive and analyze data from this recently completed trial. In
addition, the Company is carrying out additional PK studies to
support our analysis of the phase II study. The results of these
additional studies will be analyzed prior to any final decision on
the pivotal program. Armed with
the further analysis and following discussion with the FDA, the Company is planning to initiate the
pivotal program in time to take advantage of the upcoming influenza season.
|
|
Continued development of intravenous (i.v.) peramivir Phase II clinical trial |
In July, BioCryst initiated a Phase II clinical trial of i.v. peramivir for the treatment of
hospitalized subjects with severe influenza. The trial is designed to compare the efficacy and
safety of i.v. peramivir to orally administered oseltamivir in subjects who require hospitalization
due to acute influenza. BioCryst plans to continue the trial in the northern hemisphere during the
2007/2008 influenza season.
|
|
Initiation of oral forodesine HCl pivotal clinical trial |
In October, BioCryst enrolled the first patient in a pivotal Phase II clinical trial of oral
forodesine HCl in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). The multinational trial is being
conducted in accordance with a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreement between the FDA and
BioCryst granted earlier this year.
|
|
Initiation of oral BCX-4208 Phase IIa clinical trial |
In July, BioCryst and Roche initiated the first Phase II clinical trial to evaluate BCX-4208.
The study, led by Roche is designed to evaluate the compound in patients with moderate to severe
plaque psoriasis.
|
|
Completion of $65.3 million financing |
In August, BioCryst completed a $65.3 million private placement financing with a group of
existing BioCryst stock holders. The offering was composed of approximately 8.3 million shares of
BCRX common stock, as well as warrants to purchase an additional approximately 3.2 million shares.
Results of Operations (three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the three months ended
September 30, 2006)
Collaborative and other research and development revenues increased to $20.5 million for the
three months ended September 30, 2007 as compared to $1.8 million for the three months ended
September 30, 2006, primarily due to revenue from HHS related to our contract for the development
of peramivir and the amortization of deferred revenue from our collaborations.
Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 77.8% to $29.7 million for the third
quarter of 2007 from $16.7 million for the third quarter of 2006, while general and administrative
(G&A) expenses increased 62.5% to $2.6 million for the third quarter of 2007 from $1.6 million
for the third quarter of 2006. The variance in R&D expenses is mainly attributable to an increase
in clinical trial related expenses, manufacturing costs for our lead drug candidates, and costs
related to an increase in the personnel supporting the advanced development of our drug candidates.
The increase in G&A expenses is primarily due to an increase in personnel related costs as a result
of increased headcount and an increase in professional fees.
Interest income for the three months ended September 30, 2007 was $878,000 as compared to
$856,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2006.
12
Results of Operations (nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the nine months ended
September 30, 2006)
Collaborative and other research and development revenues increased to $43.1 million for the
nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $4.1 million for the nine months ended September
30, 2006, primarily due to revenue from HHS related to our contract for the development of
peramivir, which included approximately $2 million of pre-contract costs from 2006 that had been
deferred on the Companys balance sheet as of December 31, 2006. In addition, the amortization of
deferred revenue from our collaborations was $2.5 million greater for the nine months in 2007
primarily due to the amortization of the deferred revenue from the Roche and Shionogi
collaborations.
R&D expenses increased 80.8% to $64.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007
from $35.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. The increase is primarily
attributable to an increase in expenses related to manufacturing costs, clinical trials, personnel
costs and other professional costs in support of our lead drug candidates. Also recognized in R&D
expenses during 2007 was approximately $2 million of pre-contract costs that were actually incurred
during 2006. These costs were directly related to the Phase 2 trials for peramivir and were
deferred at December 31, 2006 in anticipation of reimbursement under a contract award from HHS.
General and administrative expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 increased
55.6% to $7.0 million as compared to $4.5 million for the same period in 2006, primarily due to
personnel related costs, including an additional $1.2 million of additional share-based
compensation expense compared to 2006. In addition, there has been an increase in professional
fees.
Interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was $2.1 million, a 22.2%
decrease as compared to the same period in 2006. This decrease was due to a lower average cash
balance during the third quarter of 2007.
Changes in Financial Condition since December 31, 2006
Since our most recent fiscal year end, there have been several factors that have had an impact
on our financial condition. Effective in January 2007, we received the contract from HHS for the
development of peramivir which has had a significant impact on our financial condition. Our
combined billed and unbilled receivables related to this contract as of September 30, 2007, were
approximately $21 million. As our costs for the development of peramivir and our other programs
have increased, we have also had a corresponding increase in our payables and accrued expenses.
With the payments received from our collaborative agreements existing at December 31, 2006 and
the addition of the Shionogi collaboration announced in March 2007, we have received approximately
$43.1 million during 2007. The $14.0 million upfront payment from Shionogi has been deferred, which
has been the major cause of the increase in deferred revenue on our balance sheet.
Lastly, with the private placement announced in August 2007, our cash and stockholders equity
have increased by $65.3 million related to this transaction.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash expenditures have exceeded revenues since our inception. Our operations have principally
been funded through public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities and cash
from collaborative and other research and development agreements, including government contracts,
and to a lesser extent interest. For example, during the first nine months of 2007, we received
cash from collaborative and other research and development agreements and government contracts
(primarily Shionogi, Mundipharma and HHS) of approximately $43.1 million and
on August 9, 2007 we announced the closing of a $65.3 million private placement of common stock to
certain existing stockholders, which increased our outstanding common stock by approximately 8.3
million shares and our fully-diluted outstanding shares by an additional approximately 3.2 million
shares pursuant to warrants exercisable at $10.25 per share. Other sources of funding have
included the following:
|
|
|
other collaborative and other research and development agreements; |
|
|
|
|
government grants and contracts; |
|
|
|
|
equipment lease financing; |
|
|
|
|
facility leases; |
|
|
|
|
research grants; and |
|
|
|
|
interest income. |
13
In addition, we have attempted to contain costs and reduce cash flow requirements by renting
scientific equipment and facilities, contracting with other parties to conduct certain research and
development and using consultants. We expect to incur additional expenses, potentially resulting in
significant losses, as we continue to pursue our research and development activities, undertake
additional preclinical studies and clinical trials of compounds which have been or may be
discovered and as we increase the manufacturing of our compounds for clinical trials and for the
continuation of the validation process. We also expect to incur substantial expenses related to the
filing, prosecution, maintenance, defense and enforcement of patent and other intellectual property
claims and additional regulatory costs as our clinical products advance through later stages of
development.
We invest our excess cash principally in U.S. marketable securities from a diversified
portfolio of institutions with strong credit ratings and in U.S. government and agency bills and
notes, and by policy, limit the amount of credit exposure at any one institution. These investments
are generally not collateralized and mature within two years. We have not realized any losses from
such investments.
On August 7, 2007, we amended our lease for our current Birmingham facilities, consisting of
approximately 50,000 square feet, through June 30, 2015. We have an option to renew the lease for
an additional five years at the current market rate in effect on June 30, 2015. The lease requires
us to pay monthly rent currently at $39,100 per month in July 2007 and escalating annually to a
minimum of $48,072 per month in the final year, plus our pro rata share of operating expenses and
real estate taxes in excess of base year amounts. In addition, the lease amendment provides an
allowance of $300,000 for our use in making certain improvements to the premises.
In August 2006, we opened an office in Cary, North Carolina for the establishment of our
clinical and regulatory operation. We currently have 5,375 square feet under lease through February
2010. This lease requires us to pay $7,391 per month and escalates annually to $7,841 per month in
the final year.
We have not incurred any significant charges related to building renovations since 2001. Our
capital costs during 2006 were approximately $1.4 million and we anticipate capital costs of
approximately $2.0 million in 2007, which will be partially funded by the $300,000 tenant allowance
in our lease amendment.
At December 31, 2006, we had long-term operating lease obligations, which provide for
aggregate minimum payments of $549,758 in 2007, $565,257 in 2008 and $538,351 in 2009. These
obligations include the future rental of our operating facilities.
We plan to finance our needs principally from the following:
|
|
|
payments under our contract with HHS; |
|
|
|
|
our existing capital resources and interest earned on that capital; |
|
|
|
|
payments under collaborative and licensing agreements with corporate partners; and |
|
|
|
|
lease or loan financing and future public or private financing. |
In March 2007, we announced a collaborative agreement with Shionogi for rights to peramivir in
Japan. This agreement required an upfront payment of $14 million that was received in April 2007.
14
In January 2007, we announced that HHS had awarded the Company a $102.6 million, four-year
contract for the advanced development of peramivir. Funding from the contract will support
manufacturing, process validation, clinical studies and other product approval requirements for
peramivir. The contract is a standard cost plus fixed fee contract, which we expect will continue
to have a significant positive impact on our financial position and cash flow. We bill our incurred
costs to HHS on a monthly basis. Any significant delays in payment, rejection of significant costs
by HHS or cancellation of this contract by HHS would have a significant negative effect on our
financial position.
In February 2006, we licensed forodesine HCl to Mundipharma for the development and
commercialization of this drug in Europe, Asia and Australasia. In addition to the upfront payment
of $10 million, which was received in February 2006, Mundipharma is paying 50% of the clinical
development costs we are incurring for forodesine HCl on existing and planned clinical trials, but
their portion shall not exceed $10 million. In addition, Mundipharma will conduct additional
clinical trials at their own cost up to a maximum of $15 million. The agreement also provides for
future event payments and royalties to be made by Mundipharma upon the achievement of certain
clinical, regulatory and sales events. In January 2007, we initiated our pivotal study with
forodesine HCl in T-cell leukemia patients under an SPA negotiated with the FDA, which triggered a
$5 million event payment from Mundipharma. Subsequently, in March 2007, the Company made a decision
to put this trial on voluntary hold to investigate particulates that were found in some batches of
i.v. formulation. We are working closely with Mundipharma to determine a mutually agreeable course
of future action with regard to the clinical evaluation of forodesine HCl in T-ALL. In July 2007,
we announced the Company had received an SPA for a pivotal trial of forodesine HCl in CTCL
patients. The trial is a multicenter, multinational, open-label, single-arm, repeat dose pivotal
trial which began enrollment during October 2007.
The collaboration with Roche for the worldwide development and commercialization of BCX-4208
in November 2005 provided an upfront payment of $30 million, which was received in 2006. Roche has
taken over the development and is paying all costs associated with this program. The agreement also
provides for future event payments and royalties to be made by Roche upon the achievement of
certain clinical, regulatory and sales events.
For the year, our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance has increased from
$46.2 million as of December 31, 2006 to $102.2 million as of September 30, 2007, primarily due to
cash received from collaborations and the $65.3 million received from the private placement of
common stock and warrants in August 2007, which were offset by the monthly cash burn from
operations. As a result of these items and the reimbursement from our contract with HHS, our net
cash burn rate has been approximately $1.0 million per month in 2007. We caution that our revenues,
our expenses and our cash flows will vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to the nature
of the trials in influenza and the reimbursement from HHS. We are projecting our 2007 net cash
burn to be approximately $24.0 million.
As our clinical programs continue to progress and patient enrollment increases, our costs will
increase. Our current and planned clinical trials plus the related development, manufacturing,
regulatory approval process requirements and additional personnel resources and testing required
for the continuing development of our drug candidates will consume significant capital resources
and will increase our expenses. Our expenses, revenues and burn rate could vary significantly
depending on many factors, including our ability to raise additional capital, the development
progress of our collaborative agreements for our drug candidates, the amount and timing of funding
we receive from HHS for peramivir, the amount of funding or assistance, if any, we receive from
other governmental agencies or other new partnerships with third parties for the development of our
drug candidates, the progress and results of our current and proposed clinical trials for our most
advanced drug products, the progress made in the manufacturing of our lead products and the
progression of our other programs.
15
As of September 30, 2007, we had $102.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable
securities, which included the $65.3 million from the private placement of unregistered common
stock and warrants to certain existing stockholders, which closed on August 9, 2007. With our
currently available funds and the amounts to be received from HHS, Shionogi and our other
collaborators, we believe these resources will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least
the next twelve months. However, this is a forward looking statement, and there may be changes that
would consume available resources significantly before such time.
Our long-term capital requirements and the adequacy of our available funds will depend upon
many factors, including:
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our ability to perform under the contract with HHS and receive reimbursement; |
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the progress and magnitude of our research, drug discovery and development programs; |
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changes in existing collaborative relationships or government contracts; |
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our ability to establish additional collaborative relationships with academic
institutions, biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies and governmental agencies or other
third parties; |
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the extent to which our partners, including governmental agencies will share in the
costs associated with the development of our programs or run the development programs
themselves; |
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our ability to negotiate favorable development and marketing strategic alliances for
certain drug candidates; or a decision to build or expand internal development and
commercial capabilities; |
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successful commercialization of marketed products by either us or a partner; |
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the scope and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials to identify and
evaluate drug candidates; |
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our ability to engage sites and enroll subjects in our clinical trials; |
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the scope of manufacturing of our drug candidates to support our preclinical research
and clinical trials; |
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increases in personnel and related costs to support the development of our drug candidates; |
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the scope of manufacturing of our drug substance and drug products required for future
NDA filings; |
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competitive and technological advances; |
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the time and costs involved in obtaining regulatory approvals; and |
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the costs involved in all aspects of intellectual property strategy and protection
including the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and
enforcing patent claims. |
We expect that we will be required to raise additional capital to complete the development and
commercialization of our current product candidates. Additional funding, whether through additional
sales of securities or collaborative or other arrangements with corporate partners or from other
sources, including governmental agencies in general and from the HHS contract specifically, may not
be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us. The issuance of preferred or common stock or
convertible securities, with terms and prices significantly more favorable than those of the
currently outstanding common stock, could have the effect of diluting or adversely affecting the
holdings or rights of our existing stockholders. In addition, collaborative arrangements may
require us to transfer certain material rights to such corporate partners. Insufficient funds may
require us to delay, scale-back or eliminate certain of our research and development programs.
16
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As part of our ongoing business, we do not participate in transactions that generate
relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often
referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, which would have been established
for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or
limited purposes. As of September 30, 2007, we are not involved in any material unconsolidated
entities or off-balance sheet arrangements.
Contractual Obligations
Our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2006 are described in our Annual Report on Form
10-K. There have been no material changes in contractual obligations outside the ordinary course
of business since December 31, 2006.
Critical Accounting Policies
We have established various accounting policies that govern the application of accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States, which were utilized in the preparation of our
financial statements. Certain accounting policies involve significant judgments and assumptions by
management that have a material impact on the carrying value of certain assets and liabilities.
Management considers such accounting policies to be critical accounting policies. The judgments and
assumptions used by management are based on historical experience and other factors, which are
believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Because of the nature of the judgments and
assumptions made by management, actual results could differ from these judgments and estimates,
which could have a material impact on the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the results
of operations.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1 to our financial
statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and
Note 1 to our financial statements included in Part I, Item I of this report, we believe that the
following accounting policies are the most critical to aid you in fully understanding and
evaluating our reported financial results and affect the more significant judgments and estimates
that we use in the preparation of our financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
Our revenues have generally been limited to license fees, event payments, research and
development fees, government contracts, and interest income. Revenue is recognized in accordance
with SAB No. 104 and EITF Issue 00-21. License fees, event payments, and research and development
fees are recognized as revenue when the earnings process is complete and we have no further
continuing performance obligations or we have completed the performance obligations under the terms
of the agreement. Fees received under licensing agreements that are related to future performance
are deferred and recognized as earned over an estimated period determined by management based on
the terms of the agreement and the products licensed. For example, in the Roche and Mundipharma
license agreements, we deferred the upfront payments over the remaining life of the patents which
are through 2023 and 2017, respectively. In the event a license agreement contains multiple
deliverables, we evaluate whether the deliverables are separate or combined units of accounting in
accordance with EITF Issue 00-21. Revisions to revenue or profit estimates as a result of changes
in the estimated revenue period are recognized prospectively.
Under the guidance of EITF Issue 99-19 and EITF Issue 01-14, reimbursements received for
direct out-of-pocket expenses related to research and development costs are recorded as revenue in
the income statement rather than as a reduction in expenses. For example, the amounts received from
Mundipharma and HHS for the reimbursement of development costs will be recorded as revenue in the
period the related costs are incurred.
Event payments are recognized as revenue upon the achievement of specified events if (1) the
event is substantive in nature and the achievement of the event was not reasonably assured at the
inception of the agreement and (2) the fees are non-refundable and non-creditable. Any event
payments received prior to satisfying these criteria are recorded as deferred revenue.
Royalty revenue is recognized based on estimates of royalties earned during the applicable
period and adjusted for differences between the estimated and actual royalties in the following
period. If royalties can not be reasonably
estimated, revenue is recognized upon receipt of royalty statements from the licensee. We
have not received any royalties from the sale of licensed pharmaceutical products.
17
Research and Development Expenses
Major components of R&D expenses consist of personnel costs, including salaries and benefits,
manufacturing costs, clinical, regulatory, and toxicology services performed by CROs, materials
and supplies, and overhead allocations consisting of various administrative and facilities related
costs. We charge these costs to expense when incurred, consistent with Statement No. 2. These costs
are a significant component of R&D expenses. Most of our manufacturing and our clinical and
preclinical studies are performed by third-party CROs. We accrue costs for studies performed by
CROs over the service periods specified in the contracts and adjust our estimates, if required,
based upon our on-going review of the level of services actually performed. We expense both our
internal and external research and development costs as incurred.
Additionally, we have license agreements with third parties, such as AECOM, IRL, and UAB that
require maintenance fees or fees related to sublicense agreements. These fees are generally
expensed as incurred unless they are related to revenues that have been deferred in which case the
expenses will be deferred and recognized over the related revenue recognition period.
We group our R&D expenses into two major categories: direct external expenses and all other
R&D expenses. Direct external expenses consist of costs of outside parties to conduct laboratory
studies, to develop manufacturing processes and manufacture the product candidate, to conduct and
manage clinical trials and similar costs related to our clinical and preclinical studies. These
costs are accumulated and tracked by program. All other R&D expenses consist of costs to compensate
personnel, to purchase lab supplies and services, to maintain our facility, equipment and overhead
and similar costs of our research and development efforts. These costs apply to work on our
clinical and preclinical candidates as well as our discovery research efforts. These costs have not
been charged directly to each program historically because the number of product candidates and
projects in research and development may vary from period to period and because we utilize internal
resources across multiple projects at the same time.
The following table summarizes our R&D expenses for the periods indicated. Note that amounts
are in thousands.
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Three Months Ended |
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Nine Months Ended |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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Direct external R&D expenses by program: |
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PNP Inhibitor (forodesine HCl) |
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$ |
6,767 |
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$ |
6,285 |
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$ |
13,289 |
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$ |
13,935 |
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Neuraminidase Inhibitor (peramivir) |
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16,470 |
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5,220 |
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33,542 |
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9,661 |
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Other |
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1,138 |
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1,173 |
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3,034 |
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2,142 |
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Indirect
R&D expenses: |
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Compensation and fringe benefits |
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3,113 |
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1,859 |
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8,230 |
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4,575 |
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Supplies and services |
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193 |
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691 |
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1,089 |
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1,398 |
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Maintenance, depreciation, and amortization |
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355 |
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211 |
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979 |
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732 |
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Overhead allocation and other |
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1,694 |
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1,211 |
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4,775 |
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3,441 |
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Total R&D expenses |
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$ |
29,730 |
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$ |
16,650 |
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$ |
64,938 |
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$ |
35,884 |
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At this time, due to the risks inherent in the clinical trial process and given the stages of
our various product development programs, we are unable to estimate with any certainty the costs we
will incur in the continued development of our drug candidates for potential commercialization.
While we are currently focused on advancing each of our development programs, our future R&D
expenses will depend on the determinations we make as to the scientific and clinical success of
each drug candidate, as well as ongoing assessments as to each drug candidates commercial
potential. As such, we are unable to predict how we will allocate available resources among our
product development programs in the future. In addition, we cannot forecast with any degree of
certainty the development progress of our existing partnerships for our drug candidates, which drug
candidates will be subject to future collaborations, when such arrangements will be secured, if at
all, and to what degree such arrangements would affect our development plans and capital
requirements.
18
The successful development of our drug candidates is uncertain and subject to a number of
risks. We cannot be certain that any of our drug candidates will prove to be safe and effective or
will meet all of the applicable regulatory requirements needed to receive and maintain marketing
approval. Data from preclinical studies and clinical trials are susceptible to varying
interpretations that could delay, limit or prevent regulatory clearance. We, the FDA or other
regulatory authorities may suspend clinical trials at any time if we or they believe that the
subjects participating in such trials are being exposed to unacceptable risks or if such regulatory
agencies find deficiencies in the conduct of the trials or other problems with our products under
development. Delays or rejections may be encountered based on additional governmental regulation,
legislation, administrative action or changes in FDA or other regulatory policy during development
or the review process. Other risks associated with our product development programs are described
in Risk Factors in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated by Part II, Item
IA of this report and as updated from time to time in our subsequent periodic reports and current
reports filed with the SEC. Due to these uncertainties, accurate and meaningful estimates of the
ultimate cost to bring a product to market, the timing of completion of any of our product
development programs and the period in which material net cash inflows from any of our product
development programs will commence are unavailable.
Accrued Expenses
As part of the process of preparing financial statements, we are required to estimate accrued
expenses. This process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with
our applicable personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating
the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not
yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. The majority of our service providers
invoice us monthly in arrears for services performed. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as
of each balance sheet date in our financial statements based on facts and circumstances known to
us. We periodically confirm the accuracy of our estimates with the service providers and make
adjustments if necessary. Examples of estimated accrued expenses include:
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fees paid to CROs in connection with preclinical and toxicology studies and clinical
trials; |
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fees paid to investigative sites in connection with clinical trials; |
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fees paid to contract manufacturers in connection with the production of our raw
materials, drug substance and drug products; and |
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professional service fees. |
We base our expenses related to clinical trials on our estimates of the services received and
efforts expended pursuant to contracts with multiple research institutions and clinical research
organizations that conduct and manage clinical trials on our behalf. The financial terms of these
agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven
payment flows. Payments under some of these contracts depend on factors such as the successful
enrollment of patients and the completion of clinical trial milestones. In accruing service fees,
we estimate the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort to be
expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort
varies from our estimate, we will adjust the accrual accordingly. If we incur costs that we
previously failed to identify, or if we underestimate or overestimate the level of services
performed or the costs of these services, our actual expenses could differ from our estimates.
Stock-Based Compensation
In accordance with Statement No. 123R, all share-based payments, including grants of stock
option awards and restricted stock awards, are recognized in our income statement based on their
fair values. We adopted Statement No. 123R on January 1, 2006 using the modified prospective
transition method. Under the fair value recognition provisions of Statement No. 123R, stock-based
compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is
recognized as expense over the requisite service period of the award. Determining the appropriate
fair value model and the related assumptions for the model requires judgment, including estimating
the life of an award, the stock price volatility, and the expected term.
As of September 30, 2007, we had two stock-based employee compensation plans, the Incentive
Plan and the ESPP. In addition, we made an inducement grant outside of the Incentive Plan and ESPP
to recruit a new employee to a key position within the Company. Prior to January 1, 2006, we
accounted for all share-based payments under the
recognition and measurement provisions of APB Opinion No. 25 and other related
interpretations, as permitted by Statement No. 123. No stock-based compensation cost related to
our employees was recognized in the Statements of Operations for any period ending prior to January
1, 2006.
19
Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This filing contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future
results, performance or achievements. These statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to
be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as may, will,
intends, plans, believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, predicts, potential, the
negative of these words or similar expressions. Statements that describe our future plans,
strategies, intentions, expectations, objectives, goals or prospects are also forward-looking
statements. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements are principally contained in
Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations, as well as any amendments we make to those sections in filings with the SEC. These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
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the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical testing, clinical
trials, and other research and development efforts; |
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the potential funding from our contract with HHS for the development of peramivir; |
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the further preclinical or clinical development and commercialization of our product
candidates, including peramivir, forodesine HCl and other PNP inhibitor and hepatitis C
development programs; |
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the implementation of our business model, strategic plans for our business, product
candidates and technology; |
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our ability to establish and maintain collaborations; |
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plans, programs, progress and potential success of our collaborations, including Roche
for BCX-4208, Mundipharma for forodesine HCl and Shionogi and Green Cross for peramivir; |
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the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property
rights covering our product candidates and technology; |
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our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights
of others; |
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estimates of our expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and our needs for
additional financing; |
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the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals; |
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our financial performance; and |
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competitive companies, technologies and our industry. |
These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and BioCryst has no
obligation to update or revise the statements. BioCryst cautions that you should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail in
Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated by Part II, Item 1A of this report.
You should read this discussion completely and with the understanding that our actual future
results may be materially different from what we expect. We may not update these forward-looking
statements, even though our situation may change in the future. We qualify all of our
forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
20
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The primary objective of our investment activities is to preserve principal while maximizing
the income we receive from our investments without significantly increasing our risk. We invest
excess cash principally in U.S. marketable securities from a diversified portfolio of institutions
with strong credit ratings and in U.S. government and agency bills and notes, and by policy, limit
the amount of credit exposure at any one institution. Some of the securities we invest in may have
market risk. This means that a change in prevailing interest rates may cause the principal amount
of the investment to fluctuate. To minimize this risk, we schedule our investments to have
maturities that coincide with our expected cash flow needs, thus avoiding the need to redeem an
investment prior to its maturity date. Accordingly, we believe we have no material exposure to
interest rate risk arising from our investments. Therefore, no quantitative tabular disclosure is
provided.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
We maintain a set of disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that
information relating to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. required to be disclosed in our periodic
filings under the Securities Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a
timely manner under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We carried out an evaluation, under the
supervision and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure
controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer concluded that, as of September 30, 2007, the Companys disclosure controls and
procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by BioCryst in the
reports filed or submitted by it under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SECs rules
and forms, and include controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be
disclosed by BioCryst in such reports is accumulated and communicated to the Companys management,
including the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of BioCryst, as
appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during the quarter ended September 30, 2007 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely
to materially affect, BioCrysts internal control over financial reporting.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings:
None
Item 1A. Risk Factors:
Our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K includes a detailed discussion of our risk factors. The
information below updates our risk factors as of September 30, 2007. These risk factors should be
read in conjunction with all risk factors and information disclosed in that Form 10-K.
Risks Relating to Our Business
We have incurred substantial losses since our inception in 1986, expect to continue to incur such
losses, and may never be profitable.
Since our inception in 1986, we have not been profitable. We expect to incur additional losses
for the foreseeable future, and our losses could increase as our research and development efforts
progress. As of September 30, 2007, our accumulated deficit was approximately $222.3 million. To
become profitable, we must successfully manufacture and develop drug product candidates, receive
regulatory approval, and successfully commercialize or enter into profitable agreements with other
parties. It could be several years, if ever, before we receive royalties from any current or
future license agreements or revenues directly from product sales.
Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing our product
candidates and their potential for commercialization, we are unable to predict the extent of any
future losses or when we will become profitable, if at all. Even if we do achieve profitability, we
may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a
quarterly or annual basis. If we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the market
value of our common stock will likely decline.
21
Our success depends upon our ability to advance our products through the various stages of
development, especially through the clinical trial process.
To receive the regulatory approvals necessary for the sale of our product candidates, we or
our partners must demonstrate through preclinical studies and clinical trials that each product
candidate is safe and effective. The clinical trial process is complex and uncertain. Because of
the cost and duration of clinical trials, we may decide to discontinue development of product
candidates that are unlikely to show good results in the trials, unlikely to help advance a product
to the point of a meaningful collaboration, or unlikely to have a reasonable commercial potential.
We may suffer significant setbacks in pivotal clinical trials, even after earlier clinical trials
show promising results. Clinical trials may not be adequately designed or executed, which could
affect the potential outcome and analysis of study results. Any of our product candidates may
produce undesirable side effects in humans. These side effects could cause us or regulatory
authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials of a product candidate. These side effects
could also result in the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities refusing to approve the product
candidate for any targeted indications. We, our partners, the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities
may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time if we or they believe the trial participants
face unacceptable health risks. Clinical trials may fail to demonstrate that our product candidates
are safe or effective and have acceptable commercial viability.
Our ability to successfully complete clinical trials is dependent upon many factors beyond our
control, including but not limited to:
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our ability to find suitable clinical sites and investigators to enroll patients; |
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the availability of and willingness of patients to participate in our clinical trials; |
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difficulty in maintaining contact with patients to provide complete data after
treatment; |
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our product candidates may not prove to be either safe or effective; |
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clinical protocols or study procedures may not be adequately designed or followed by
the investigators; |
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manufacturing of quality problems could affect the supply of drug product for our
trials; and |
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delays or changes in requirements by governmental agencies. |
Clinical trials are lengthy and expensive. We or our partners incur substantial expense for,
and devote significant time to, preclinical testing and clinical trials, yet cannot be certain that
the tests and trials will ever result in the commercial sale of a product. For example, clinical
trials require adequate supplies of drug and sufficient patient enrollment. Delays in patient
enrollment can result in increased costs and longer development times. Even if we or our partners
successfully complete clinical trials for our product candidates, we or our partners might not file
the required regulatory submissions in a timely manner and may not receive regulatory approval for
the product candidate.
Our
later stage clinical trials may not adequately show our drugs are safe or effective.
Progression of our drug products through the clinical development process is dependent upon
our trials indicating our drugs have adequate safety profiles and show positive therapeutic effects
in the patients being treated by achieving pre-determined endpoints according to the trial
protocols. Failure to achieve either of these could result in delays in our trials or even require
the performance of additional unplanned trials. This could result in delays in the development of
our drug candidates and could result in significant unexpected costs.
22
If we fail to obtain additional financing, we may be unable to complete the development and
commercialization of our product candidates or continue our research and development programs.
To date, we have financed our operations primarily from sale of our equity securities and cash
from collaborative and other research and development agreements including government contracts,
and, to a lesser extent, interest. For
the year, our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance has increased from
$46.2 million as of December 31, 2006 to $102.2 million as of September 30, 2007, primarily due to
cash received from collaborations and the $65.3 million received from the private placement of
common stock and warrants in August 2007, which were offset by the monthly cash burn from
operations. As a result of these items and the reimbursement from our contract with HHS, our net
cash burn rate has been approximately $1.0 million per month in 2007. We caution that our revenues,
our expenses and our cash flows will vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to the nature
of the trials in influenza and the reimbursement from HHS. We are projecting our 2007 net cash
burn to be approximately $24.0 million
As our clinical programs continue to grow and patient enrollment increases, our costs will
increase. Our current and planned clinical trials plus the related development, manufacturing,
regulatory approval process requirements, and additional personnel resources and testing required
for supporting the development of our drug candidates will consume significant capital resources
and will increase our expenses. Our expenses, revenues and burn rate could vary significantly
depending on many factors, including our ability to raise additional capital, the development
progress of our collaborative agreements for our drug candidates, the amount of funding we receive
from HHS for peramivir, the amount of funding or assistance, if any, we receive from other
governmental agencies or other new partnerships with third parties for the development of our drug
candidates, the progress and results of our current and proposed clinical trials for our most
advanced drug products, the progress made in the manufacturing of our lead products and the
progression of our other programs.
As of September 30, 2007, we had $102.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable
securities. In August 2007, we completed a $65.3 million private placement of unregistered common
stock and warrants to certain existing stockholders. Our outstanding common stock increased by
approximately 8.3 million shares. Our fully-diluted outstanding shares increased by an additional
approximately 3.2 million shares pursuant to warrants exercisable at $10.25 per share. We have
registered 8.1 million shares and plan to register the remaining shares and warrants in 2008. If
registration is not completed within the period specified in the Stock and Warrant Purchase
Agreement, the Company will be subject to pay maximum liquidated damages of $164,000 to the group
of institutional investors, which represents 12% of the transaction value related to the remaining
unregistered common stock only. Since the SEC has declared the registration effective on the 8.1
million shares, failure to register the remaining shares would not have a significant impact on our
cash. With our currently available funds and the amounts to be received from HHS, Shionogi and our
other collaborators, we believe these resources will be sufficient to fund our operations for at
least the next twelve months. However, this is a forward looking statement, and there may be
changes that would consume available resources significantly before such time.
We expect that we will be required to raise additional capital to complete the development and
commercialization of our current product candidates. Additional funding, whether through additional
sales of securities or collaborative or other arrangements with corporate partners or from other
sources, including governmental agencies, in general and from the HHS contract specifically, may
not be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us. The issuance of preferred or common
stock or convertible securities, with terms and prices significantly more favorable than those of
the currently outstanding common stock, could have the effect of diluting or adversely affecting
the holdings or rights of our existing stockholders. In addition, collaborative arrangements may
require us to transfer certain material rights to such corporate partners. Insufficient funds may
require us to delay, scale-back or eliminate certain of our research and development programs.
If HHS were to eliminate, reduce or delay funding from our contract or dispute some of our incurred
costs, this would have a significant negative impact on our anticipated revenues and cash flows and
the development of peramivir.
Our projections of revenues and incoming cash flows for 2007 and 2008 are substantially
dependent upon HHS reimbursement for the costs related to our peramivir program. If HHS were to
eliminate, reduce or delay the funding for this program or disallow some of our incurred costs, we
would have to obtain additional funding for development of this drug candidate or significantly
reduce or stop the development effort.
In contracting with HHS, we are subject to various U.S. government contract requirements,
including general clauses for a cost-reimbursement research and development contract, which may
limit our reimbursement or if we are found to be in violation could result in contract termination.
U.S. government contracts typically contain unfavorable termination provisions and are subject to
audit and modification by the government at its sole discretion. The U.S. government may terminate
its contract with us either for its convenience or if we default by failing to perform in
accordance with the contract schedule and terms, which would have a significant negative
impact on our cash flows and operations.
23
Our contract with HHS has special contracting requirements, which create additional risks of
reduction or loss of funding.
We have entered into a contract with HHS for the advanced development of our neuraminidase
inhibitor, peramivir. In contracting with HHS, we are subject to various U.S. government contract
requirements, including general clauses for a cost-reimbursement research and development contract.
U.S. government contracts typically contain unfavorable termination provisions and are subject to
audit and modification by the government at its sole discretion, which subjects us to additional
risks. These risks include the ability of the U.S. government to unilaterally:
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terminate or reduce the scope of our contract; and |
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audit and object to our contract-related costs and fees, including allocated indirect costs. |
The U.S. government may terminate its contract with us either for its convenience or if we
default by failing to perform in accordance with the contract schedule and terms. Termination for
convenience provisions generally enable us to recover only our costs incurred or committed, and
settlement expenses and profit on the work completed prior to termination. Termination for default
provisions do not permit these recoveries.
As a U.S. government contractor, we are required to comply with applicable laws, regulations
and standards relating to our accounting practices and are subject to periodic audits and reviews.
As part of any such audit or review, the U.S. government may review the adequacy of, and our
compliance with, our internal control systems and policies, including those relating to our
purchasing, property, estimating, compensation and management information systems. Based on the
results of its audits, the U.S. government may adjust our contract-related costs and fees,
including allocated indirect costs. In addition, if an audit or review uncovers any improper or
illegal activity, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions,
including termination of our contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and
suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. government. We could also suffer
serious harm to our reputation if allegations of impropriety were made against us. In addition,
under U.S. government purchasing regulations, some of our costs may not be reimbursable or allowed
under our contracts. Further, as a U.S. government contractor, we are subject to an increased risk
of investigations, criminal prosecution, civil fraud, whistleblower lawsuits and other legal
actions and liabilities as compared to private sector commercial companies.
If we fail to successfully commercialize or establish collaborative relationships to commercialize
certain of our drug product candidates or if any partner terminates or fails to perform its
obligations under agreements with us, potential revenues from commercialization of our product
candidates could be reduced, delayed or eliminated.
Our business strategy is to increase the asset value of our drug candidate portfolio. We
believe this is best achieved by retaining full product rights or through collaborative
arrangements with third parties as appropriate. As needed, potential third party alliances could
include preclinical development, clinical development, regulatory approval, marketing, sales and
distribution of our drug product candidates.
Currently, we have established collaborative relationships with four pharmaceutical companies,
Roche, Mundipharma, and Shionogi and Green Cross for development and commercialization of BCX-4208,
forodesine HCl and peramivir, respectively. The process of establishing and implementing
collaborative relationships is difficult, time-consuming and involves significant uncertainty,
including:
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our partners may seek to renegotiate or terminate their relationships with us due to
unsatisfactory clinical results, a change in business strategy, a change of control or
other reasons; |
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our contracts for collaborative arrangements may expire; |
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our partners may choose to pursue alternative technologies, including those of our
competitors; |
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we may have disputes with a partner that could lead to litigation or arbitration; |
24
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we do not have day to day control over the activities of our partners and have limited
control over their decisions; |
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our ability to generate future event payments and royalties from our partners depends
upon their abilities to establish the safety and efficacy of our drug candidates, obtain
regulatory approvals and achieve market acceptance of products developed from our drug
candidates; |
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we or our partners may fail to properly initiate, maintain or defend our intellectual
property rights, where applicable, or a party may utilize our proprietary information in
such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or potentially invalidate our
proprietary information or expose us to potential liability; |
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our partners may not devote sufficient capital or resources towards our product candidates;
and |
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our partners may not comply with applicable government regulatory requirements. |
If any partner fails to fulfill its responsibilities in a timely manner, or at all, our
commercialization efforts related to that collaboration could be reduced, delayed or terminated, or
it may be necessary for us to assume responsibility for activities that would otherwise have been
the responsibility of our partner. If we are unable to establish and maintain collaborative
relationships on acceptable terms, we may have to delay or discontinue further development of one
or more of our product candidates, undertake commercialization activities at our own expense or
find alternative sources of funding. Any delay in the development or commercialization of our
compounds would severely affect our business, because if our compounds do not progress through the
development process or reach the market in a timely manner, or at all, we may not receive
additional future event payments and may never receive product or royalty payments.
We have not commercialized any products or technologies and our future revenue generation is
uncertain.
We have not commercialized any products or technologies, and we may never be able to do so.
Our revenue from collaborative agreements is dependent upon the status of our preclinical and
clinical programs. If we fail to advance these programs to the point of being able to enter into
successful collaborations, we will not receive any future event or other collaborative payments.
Our ability to receive revenue from products we commercialize presents several risks,
including:
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we or our collaborators may fail to successfully complete clinical trials sufficient to
obtain FDA marketing approval; |
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many competitors are more experienced and have significantly more resources; |
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we may fail to employ a comprehensive and effective intellectual property strategy
which could result in decreased commercial value of our company and our products; |
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we may fail to employ a comprehensive and effective regulatory strategy which could
result in a delay or failure in commercialization of our products; |
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our ability to successfully commercialize our products are affected by the competitive
landscape, which cannot be fully known at this time; |
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reimbursement is constantly changing which could greatly affect usage of our products; and |
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any future revenue directly from product sales would depend on our ability to
successfully complete clinical studies, obtain regulatory approvals, manufacture, market
and commercialize any approved drugs. |
25
If our contract research organizations do not successfully carry out their duties or if we lose our
relationships with contract research organizations, our drug development efforts could be delayed.
We depend on contract research organizations, third-party vendors and investigators for
preclinical testing and clinical trials related to our drug discovery and development efforts,
including the HHS contract. We intend to depend
on them to assist in our future discovery and development efforts. These parties are not our
employees and we cannot control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our programs.
If they fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our drug development programs or if their
performance is substandard, it will delay the approval of our products. The parties with which we
contract for execution of our clinical trials play a significant role in the conduct of the trials
and the subsequent collection and analysis of data. Their failure to meet their obligations could
adversely affect clinical development of our products. Moreover, these parties may also have
relationships with other commercial entities, some of which may compete with us. If they assist
our competitors it could harm our competitive position.
If we lose our relationship with any one or more of these parties, we could experience a
significant delay in both identifying another comparable provider and then contracting for its
services. We may be unable to retain an alternative provider on reasonable terms, if at all. Even
if we locate an alternative provider, it is likely that this provider may need additional time to
respond to our needs and may not provide the same type or level of service as the original
provider. In addition, any provider that we retain will be subject to current Good Laboratory
Practices (cGLP), current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), or current Good Clinical
Practices (cGCP), and similar foreign standards and we do not have control over compliance with
these regulations by these providers. Consequently, if these practices and standards are not
adhered to by these providers, the development and commercialization of our product candidates
could be delayed.
If our development collaborations with third parties, such as our development partners and contract
research organizations, fail, the development of our drug product candidates will be delayed or
stopped.
We rely heavily upon other parties for many important stages of our drug development programs,
including but not limited to:
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discovery of compounds that cause or enable biological reactions necessary for the
progression of the disease or disorder, called enzyme targets; |
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licensing or design of enzyme inhibitors for development as drug product candidates; |
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execution of some preclinical studies and late-stage development for our compounds and
product candidates; |
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management of our clinical trials, including medical monitoring and data management; |
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execution of additional toxicology studies that may be required to obtain approval for
our product candidates; |
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manufacturing the starting materials and drug substance required to formulate our drug
products and the drug products to be used in both our clinical trials and toxicology
studies; and |
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management of our regulatory function. |
Our failure to engage in successful collaborations at any one of these stages would greatly
impact our business. If we do not license enzyme targets or inhibitors from academic institutions
or from other biotechnology companies on acceptable terms, our product development efforts would
suffer. Similarly, if the contract research organizations that conduct our initial or late-stage
clinical trials, conduct our toxicology studies, manufacture our starting materials, drug substance
and drug products or manage our regulatory function breached their obligations to us, this would
delay or prevent the development of our product candidates.
26
Our development of both intravenous and intramuscular dosing of peramivir for avian and seasonal
influenza is subject to all disclosed drug development and potential commercialization risks and
numerous additional risks. Any potential revenue benefits to us are highly speculative.
Further development and potential commercialization of peramivir is subject to all the risks
and uncertainties disclosed in our other risk factors relating to drug development and
commercialization. In addition, potential commercialization of peramivir is subject to further
risks, including but not limited to the following:
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the injectable versions of peramivir are currently in Phase II clinical development and
have been tested in a limited number of humans and may not be safe or effective; |
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necessary government or other third party funding and clinical testing for further
development of peramivir may not be available timely, at all, or in sufficient amounts; |
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the avian flu prevention or treatment concerns may not materialize at all, or in the near
future; |
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advances in flu vaccines could substantially replace potential demand for an antiviral such
as peramivir; |
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any substantial demand for avian flu treatments may occur before peramivir can be
adequately developed and tested in clinical trials; |
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injectable forms of peramivir may not prove to be accepted by patients and physicians
as a treatment for seasonal influenza compared to the other currently marketed antiviral
drugs, which would limit revenue from non-governmental entities; |
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numerous large and well-established pharmaceutical and biotech companies will be
competing to meet the market demand for avian flu drugs and vaccines; |
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regulatory authorities may not make needed accommodations to accelerate the drug
testing and approval process for peramivir; and |
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in the next few years, it is expected that a limited number of governmental entities
will be the primary potential customers for peramivir and if we are not successful at
marketing peramivir to these entities for any reason, we will not receive substantial
revenues. |
If any or all of these and other risk factors occur, we will not attain significant revenues
or gross margins from peramivir and our stock price will be adversely affected.
Because we have limited manufacturing experience, we depend on third-party manufacturers to
manufacture our drug product candidates and the materials for our product candidates. If we cannot
rely on third-party manufacturers, we will be required to incur significant costs and potential
delays in finding new third-party manufacturers.
We have limited manufacturing experience and only a small scale manufacturing facility. We
currently rely upon third-party manufacturers to manufacture the materials required for our drug
product candidates and most of the preclinical and clinical quantities of our product candidates.
We depend on these third-party manufacturers to perform their obligations in a timely manner and in
accordance with applicable governmental regulations. Our third-party manufacturers may encounter
difficulties with meeting our requirements, including but not limited to problems involving:
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inconsistent production yields; |
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difficulties in scaling production to commercial and validation sizes; |
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interruption of the delivery of materials required for the manufacturing process; |
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scheduling of plant time with other vendors or unexpected equipment failure; |
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potential catastrophes that could strike their facilities; |
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potential impurities in our drug substance or drug products that could affect
availability of product for our clinical trials or future commercialization; |
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poor quality control and assurance or inadequate process controls; and |
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lack of compliance with regulations and specifications set forth by the FDA or other
foreign regulatory agencies. |
27
These contract manufacturers may not be able to manufacture the materials required or our drug
product candidates at a cost or in quantities necessary to make them commercially viable. We also
have no control over whether third-party manufacturers breach their agreements with us or whether
they may terminate or decline to renew agreements with us. To date, our third party manufacturers
have met our manufacturing requirements, but they may not continue to do so. Furthermore, changes
in the manufacturing process or procedure, including a change in the location where the drug is
manufactured or a change of a third-party manufacturer, may require prior review and approval in
accordance with the FDAs cGMPs, and comparable foreign requirements. This review may be costly and
time-consuming and could delay or prevent the launch of a product. The FDA or similar foreign
regulatory agencies at any time may also implement new standards, or change their interpretation
and enforcement of existing standards for manufacture, packaging or testing of products. If we or
our contract manufacturers are unable to comply, we or they may be subject to regulatory action,
civil actions or penalties.
If we are unable to enter into agreements with additional manufacturers on commercially
reasonable terms, or if there is poor manufacturing performance on the part of our third party
manufacturers, we may not be able to complete development of, or market, our product candidates.
Our raw materials, drug substances, and drug products are manufactured by a limited group of
suppliers and some at a single facility. If any of these suppliers were unable to produce these
items, this could significantly impact our supply of drugs for further preclinical testing and
clinical trials.
If the clinical trials of our drug product candidates fail, our product candidates will not be
marketed, and we will not realize product related revenue.
To receive the regulatory approvals necessary for the sale of our product candidates, we or
our partners must demonstrate through preclinical studies and clinical trials that each product
candidate is safe and effective. If we or other third party partners are unable to demonstrate that
our product candidates are safe and effective, our product candidates will not receive regulatory
approval and will not be marketed, and we will not realize product related revenue. The clinical
trial process is complex and uncertain. Because of the cost and duration of clinical trials, we may
decide to discontinue development of product candidates that are unlikely to show good results in
the trials, unlikely to help advance a product to the point of a meaningful collaboration, or
unlikely to have a reasonable commercial potential. Positive results from preclinical studies and
early clinical trials do not ensure positive results in clinical trials designed to permit
application for regulatory approval, called pivotal clinical trials. We may suffer significant
setbacks in pivotal clinical trials, even after earlier clinical trials show promising results. Any
of our product candidates may produce undesirable side effects in humans. These side effects could
cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials of a product
candidate. These side effects could also result in the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities
refusing to approve the product candidate for any targeted indications. We, our partners, the FDA
or foreign regulatory authorities may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time if we or
they believe the trial participants face unacceptable health risks. Clinical trials may fail to
demonstrate that our product candidates are safe or effective.
We negotiated a special protocol assessment, or SPA, with the FDA for the planned pivotal
clinical trial of our lead anti-cancer compound, forodesine HCl, for treatment of CTCL. A previous
pivotal clinical trial under an SPA of forodesine HCl for treatment of T-cell acute lymphoblastic
leukemia was voluntarily put on hold by us. An SPA is an agreement between an applicant and the
FDA on the design and the size of clinical trials that is intended to form the basis of a New Drug
Application (NDA). Once the FDA and an applicant reach an agreement on an SPA, the SPA cannot be
changed after the clinical trial begins, except in limited circumstances such as a change in the
science or clinical knowledge about the conditions being studied. Any significant change to the
protocols for a clinical trial subject to an SPA would require prior FDA approval, which could
delay implementation of such a change and continuation and completion of the related clinical
trial. Receipt of the SPA does not ensure that forodesine HCl will receive FDA approval or that
the process will be accelerated.
Clinical trials are lengthy and expensive. We or our partners incur substantial expense for,
and devote significant time to, preclinical testing and clinical trials, yet cannot be certain that
the tests and trials will ever result in the commercial sale of a product. For example, clinical
trials require adequate supplies of drug and sufficient patient enrollment. Delays in patient
enrollment can result in increased costs and longer development times. Even if we or our partners
successfully complete clinical trials for our product candidates, we or our partners might not file
the required regulatory submissions in a timely manner and may not receive regulatory approval for
the product candidate.
28
If we or our partners do not obtain and maintain governmental approvals for our products under
development, we or our partners will not be able to sell these potential products, which would
significantly harm our business because we will receive no revenue.
We or our partners must obtain regulatory approval before marketing or selling our future drug
products. If we or our partners are unable to receive regulatory approval and do not market or sell
our future drug products, we will never receive any revenue from such product sales. In the United
States, we or our partners must obtain FDA approval for each drug that we intend to commercialize.
The process of preparing for and obtaining FDA approval may be lengthy and expensive, and approval
is never certain. Products distributed abroad are also subject to foreign government regulation.
Neither the FDA nor foreign regulatory agencies have approved any of our drug product candidates.
We have several drug products in various stages of preclinical and clinical development; however,
we are unable to determine when, if ever, any of these products will be commercially available.
Because of the risks and uncertainties in biopharmaceutical development, our product candidates
could take a significantly longer time to gain regulatory approval than we expect or may never gain
approval. If the FDA delays regulatory approval of our product candidates, our managements
credibility, our companys value and our operating results may suffer. Even if the FDA or foreign
regulatory agencies approve a product candidate, the approval may limit the indicated uses for a
product candidate and/or may require post-marketing studies.
The FDA regulates, among other things, the record keeping and storage of data pertaining to
potential pharmaceutical products. We currently store most of our preclinical research data, our
clinical data and our manufacturing data at our facility. While we do store duplicate copies of
most of our clinical data offsite and a significant portion of our data is included in regular
backups of our systems, we could lose important data if our facility incurs damage. If we get
approval to market our potential products, whether in the United States or internationally, we will
continue to be subject to extensive regulatory requirements. These requirements are wide ranging
and govern, among other things:
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adverse drug experience reporting regulations; |
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product promotion; |
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product manufacturing, including good manufacturing practice requirements; and |
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product changes or modifications. |
Our failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements, or our loss of, or
changes to, previously obtained approvals, could have a material adverse effect on our business
because we will not receive product or royalty revenues if we or our partners do not receive
approval of our products for marketing.
In June 1995, we notified the FDA that we submitted incorrect data for our Phase II studies of
BCX-34 applied to the skin for CTCL and psoriasis. In November 1995, the FDA issued a List of
Inspectional Observations, Form FDA 483, which cited our failure to follow good clinical practices.
The FDA also inspected us in June 1996. The focus was on the two 1995 Phase II dose-ranging studies
of topical BCX-34 for the treatment of CTCL and psoriasis. As a result of the investigation, the
FDA issued us a Form FDA 483, which cited our failure to follow good clinical practices. We are no
longer developing BCX-34; however, as a consequence of these two investigations, our ongoing and
future clinical studies may receive increased scrutiny, which may delay the regulatory review
process.
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If our drug product candidates do not achieve broad market acceptance, our business may never
become profitable.
Our drug product candidates may not gain the market acceptance required for us to be
profitable even if they successfully complete initial and final clinical trials and receive
approval for sale by the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies. The degree of market acceptance of any
product candidates that we or our partners develop will depend on a number of factors, including
but not limited to:
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our clinical evidence of safety and efficacy; |
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cost-effectiveness, convenience and ease of use of our product candidates; |
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their safety, availability and effectiveness relative to alternative treatments; |
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the actual and potential side effects or other reactions; |
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reimbursement policies of government and third-party payers; and |
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the effectiveness of marketing and distribution support for our product candidates. |
Physicians, patients, payers or the medical community in general may not accept or use our
product candidates even after the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies approve the drug candidates.
If our product candidates do not achieve significant market acceptance, we will not have enough
revenues to become profitable.
We face intense competition, and if we are unable to compete effectively, the demand for our
products, if any, may be reduced.
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are highly competitive and subject to rapid
and substantial technological change. We face, and will continue to face, competition in the
licensing of desirable disease targets, licensing of desirable drug product candidates, and
development and marketing of our product candidates from academic institutions, government
agencies, research institutions and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Competition may
also arise from, among other things:
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other drug development technologies; |
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methods of preventing or reducing the incidence of disease, including vaccines; and |
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new small molecule or other classes of therapeutic agents. |
Developments by others may render our product candidates or technologies obsolete or
noncompetitive.
We and our partners are performing research on or developing products for the treatment of
several disorders including T-cell mediated disorders (T-cell cancers, psoriasis, transplant
rejection, and rheumatoid arthritis), oncology, influenza, hepatitis C and cardiovascular
disorders. We expect to encounter significant competition for any of the pharmaceutical products we
plan to develop. Companies that complete clinical trials, obtain required regulatory approvals and
commence commercial sales of their products before their competitors may achieve a significant
competitive advantage. Such is the case with Eisais Targretin for CTCL and the current
neuraminidase inhibitors marketed by Glaxo Smith Kline and Roche for influenza. In addition,
several pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, including major pharmaceutical companies and
specialized structure-based drug design companies, have announced efforts in the field of
structure-based drug design and in the fields of PNP, influenza, hepatitis C, and in other
therapeutic areas where we have discovery efforts ongoing. If one or more of our competitors
products or programs are successful, the market for our products may be reduced or eliminated.
Compared to us, many of our competitors and potential competitors have substantially greater:
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capital resources; |
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research and development resources, including personnel and technology; |
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regulatory experience; |
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preclinical study and clinical testing experience; |
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manufacturing and marketing experience; and |
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production facilities. |
Any of these competitive factors could reduce demand for our products.
30
If we fail to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or secure rights to
patents of others, the value of those rights would diminish.
Our success will depend in part on our ability and the abilities of our partners to obtain,
protect and enforce viable intellectual property rights including but not limited to trade name,
trade mark and patent protection for our company and its products, methods, processes and other
technologies we may license or develop, to preserve our trade secrets, and to operate without
infringing the proprietary rights of third parties both domestically and abroad. The patent
position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies is generally highly uncertain, involves
complex legal and factual questions and has recently been the subject of much litigation. Neither
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Patent Cooperation Treaty offices, nor
the courts of the United States and other jurisdictions have consistent policies nor predictable
rulings regarding the breadth of claims allowed or the degree of protection afforded under many
biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents. The validity, scope, enforceability and commercial value
of these rights, therefore, is highly uncertain.
Our success depends in part on avoiding the infringement of other parties patents and other
intellectual property rights as well as avoiding the breach of any licenses relating to our
technologies and products. In the U.S., patent applications filed in recent years are confidential
for 18 months, while older applications are not published until the patent issues. As a result,
avoiding patent infringement may be difficult and we may inadvertently infringe third-party patents
or proprietary rights. These third parties could bring claims against us, our partners or our
licensors that even if resolved in our favor, could cause us to incur substantial expenses and, if
resolved against us, could additionally cause us to pay substantial damages. Further, if a patent
infringement suit were brought against us, our partners or our licensors, we or they could be
forced to stop or delay research, development, manufacturing or sales of any infringing product in
the country or countries covered by the patent we infringe, unless we can obtain a license from the
patent holder. Such a license may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, particularly if
the third party is developing or marketing a product competitive with the infringing product. Even
if we, our partners or our licensors were able to obtain a license, the rights may be nonexclusive,
which would give our competitors access to the same intellectual property.
If we or our partners are unable or fail to adequately, initiate, protect, defend or enforce
our intellectual property rights in any area of commercial interest or in any part of the world
where we wish to seek regulatory approval for our products, methods, processes and other
technologies, the value of the drug product candidates to produce revenue would diminish.
Additionally, if our products, methods, processes, and other technologies or our commercial use of
such products, processes, and other technologies, including but not limited to any tradename,
trademark or commercial strategy infringe the proprietary rights of other parties, we could incur
substantial costs. The USPTO and the patent offices of other jurisdictions have issued to us a
number of patents for our various inventions and we have in-licensed several patents from various
institutions. We have filed additional patent applications and provisional patent applications with
the USPTO. We have filed a number of corresponding foreign patent applications and intend to file
additional foreign and U.S. patent applications, as appropriate. We have also filed certain
trademark and tradename applications worldwide. We cannot assure you as to:
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the degree and range of protection any patents will afford against competitors with similar
products; |
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if and when patents will issue; |
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if patents do issue we can not be sure that we will be able to adequately defend such
patents and whether or not we will be able to adequately enforce such patents; or |
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whether or not others will obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our
patent applications. |
If the USPTO or other foreign patent office upholds patents issued to others or if the USPTO
grants patent applications filed by others, we may have to:
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obtain licenses or redesign our products or processes to avoid infringement; |
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stop using the subject matter claimed in those patents; or |
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pay damages. |
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We may initiate, or others may bring against us, litigation or administrative proceedings
related to intellectual property rights, including proceedings before the USPTO or other foreign
patent office. Any judgment adverse to us in any litigation or other proceeding arising in
connection with a patent or patent application could materially and adversely affect our business,
financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the costs of any such proceeding may be
substantial whether or not we are successful.
Our success is also dependent upon the skills, knowledge and experience, none of which is
patentable, of our scientific and technical personnel. To help protect our rights, we require all
employees, consultants, advisors and partners to enter into confidentiality agreements that
prohibit the disclosure of confidential information to anyone outside of our company and require
disclosure and assignment to us of their ideas, developments, discoveries and inventions. These
agreements may not provide adequate protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary
information in the event of any unauthorized use or disclosure or the lawful development by others
of such information, and if any of our proprietary information is disclosed, our business will
suffer because our revenues depend upon our ability to license or commercialize our product
candidates and any such events would significantly impair the value of such product candidates.
If we fail to retain our existing key personnel or fail to attract and retain additional key
personnel, the development of our drug product candidates and the expansion of our business will be
delayed or stopped.
We are highly dependent upon our senior management and scientific team, the loss of whose
services might impede the achievement of our development and commercial objectives. Competition for
key personnel with the experience that we require is intense and is expected to continue to
increase. Our inability to attract and retain the required number of skilled and experienced
management, operational and scientific personnel, will harm our business because we rely upon these
personnel for many critical functions of our business. In addition, we rely on members of our
scientific advisory board and consultants to assist us in formulating our research and development
strategy. All of the members of the scientific advisory board and all of our consultants are
otherwise employed and each such member or consultant may have commitments to other entities that
may limit their availability to us.
We may be unable to establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities necessary to
successfully commercialize products we may develop.
We currently have no marketing capability and no direct or third-party sales or distribution
capabilities. If we successfully develop a drug product candidate and decide to commercialize it
ourselves rather than relying on third parties, as we are considering doing in the United States
for forodesine HCl we may be unable to establish marketing, sales and distribution capabilities
necessary to commercialize and gain market acceptance for that product.
If users of our drug products are not reimbursed for use, future sales of our drug products will
decline.
The lack of reimbursement for the use of our product candidates by hospitals, clinics,
patients or doctors will harm our business. Medicare, Medicaid, health maintenance organizations
and other third-party payers may not authorize or otherwise budget for the reimbursement of our
products. Governmental and third-party payers are increasingly challenging the prices charged for
medical products and services. We cannot be sure that third-party payers would view our product
candidates as cost-effective, that reimbursement will be available to consumers or that
reimbursement will be sufficient to allow our product candidates to be marketed on a competitive
basis. Changes in reimbursement policies, or attempts to contain costs in the health care industry
could limit or restrict reimbursement for our product candidates and would materially and adversely
affect our business, because future product sales would decline and we would receive less product
or royalty revenue.
The Medicare prescription drug coverage legislation and future legislative or regulatory reform of
the healthcare system may affect our ability to sell our products profitably.
In the United States, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals, at
both the federal and state government levels, to change the healthcare system in ways that could
affect our ability to sell our products profitably, if approved. For example, the Medicare
Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), went into effect in 2006 and has changed
the types of drugs covered by Medicare, and the methodology used to determine the price for
such drugs. Further federal and state proposals and healthcare reforms are likely. Our
business could be harmed by the MMA, by the possible effect of this legislation on amounts that
private payors will pay and by other healthcare reforms that may be enacted or adopted in the
future.
32
There is a substantial risk of product liability claims in our business. If we are unable to obtain
sufficient insurance, a product liability claim against us could adversely affect our business.
We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our product
candidates in human clinical trials and will face even greater risks upon any commercialization by
us of our product candidates. We have product liability insurance covering our clinical trials in
the amount of $11 million. Clinical trial and product liability insurance is becoming increasingly
expensive. As a result, we may be unable to obtain sufficient insurance or increase our existing
coverage at a reasonable cost to protect us against losses that could have a material adverse
effect on our business. An individual may bring a product liability claim against us if one of our
products or product candidates causes, or is claimed to have caused, an injury or is found to be
unsuitable for consumer use. Any product liability claim brought against us, with or without merit,
could result in:
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liabilities that substantially exceed our product liability insurance, which we would
then be required to pay from other sources, if available; |
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an increase of our product liability insurance rates or the inability to maintain
insurance coverage in the future on acceptable terms, or at all; |
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withdrawal of clinical trial volunteers or patients; |
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damage to our reputation and the reputation of our products, resulting in lower sales; |
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regulatory investigations that could require costly recalls or product modifications; |
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litigation costs; and |
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the diversion of managements attention from managing our business. |
If our computer systems fail or our facility incurs damage, our business will suffer.
Our drug development activities depend on the security, integrity and performance of the
computer systems supporting them, and the failure of our computer systems could delay our drug
development efforts. We currently store most of our preclinical and clinical data at our facility.
Duplicate copies of most critical data are stored off-site in a bank vault. Any significant
degradation or failure of our computer systems could cause us to inaccurately calculate or lose our
data. Loss of data could result in significant delays in our drug development process and any
system failure could harm our business and operations.
In addition, we store numerous clinical and stability samples at our facility that could be
damaged if our facility incurred physical damage or in the event of an extended power failure. We
have backup power systems in addition to backup generators to maintain power to all critical
functions, but any loss of these samples could result in significant delays in our drug development
process.
If, because of our use of hazardous materials, we violate any environmental controls or regulations
that apply to such materials, we may incur substantial costs and expenses in our remediation
efforts.
Our research and development involves the controlled use of hazardous materials, chemicals and
various radioactive compounds. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations
governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and some waste products.
Accidental contamination or injury from these materials could occur. In the event of an accident,
we could be liable for any damages that result and any liabilities could exceed our resources.
Compliance with environmental laws and regulations could require us to incur substantial unexpected
costs, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
33
Risks Relating to Our Common Stock
Our stock price is likely to be highly volatile and the value of your investment could decline
significantly.
The market prices for securities of biotechnology companies in general have been highly
volatile and may continue to be highly volatile in the future. Moreover, our stock price has
fluctuated frequently, and these fluctuations are often not related to our financial results. For
the twelve months ended September 30, 2007, the 52-week range of the market price of our stock was
from $6.57 to $13.18 per share. The following factors, in addition to other risk factors described
in this section, may have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock:
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announcements of technological innovations or new products by us or our competitors; |
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developments or disputes concerning patents or proprietary rights; |
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additional dilution through sales of our common stock or other derivative securities; |
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status of new or existing licensing or collaborative agreements and government contracts; |
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announcements relating to the status of our programs; |
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we or our partners achieving or failing to achieve development milestones; |
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publicity regarding actual or potential medical results relating to products under
development by us or our competitors; |
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publicity regarding certain public health concerns for which we are or may be developing
treatments; |
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regulatory developments in both the United States and foreign countries; |
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public concern as to the safety of pharmaceutical products; |
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actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results; |
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changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts; |
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changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems, including developments in price
control legislation; |
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announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic
partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments; |
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additions or departures of key personnel or members of our board of directors; |
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purchases or sales of substantial amounts of our stock by existing stockholders, including
officers or directors; |
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economic and other external factors or other disasters or crises; and |
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period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results. |
Because stock ownership is concentrated, you and other investors will have limited influence on
stockholder decisions.
As of October 31, 2007, our directors, executive officers and our stockholders who hold 5% or
greater of our outstanding common stock, beneficially owned approximately 54.2% of our outstanding
common stock and common stock equivalents. As a result, these holders will likely be able to
significantly influence our operations and matters requiring stockholder approval, including the
election of directors. The interests of these stockholders may be different from the interests of
other stockholders and they could take actions that might not be considered by other stockholders
to be in their best interests. This concentration of ownership may delay, defer or prevent a
change in our control.
34
We have anti-takeover provisions in our corporate charter documents that may result in outcomes
with which you do not agree.
Our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 4,955,000 shares of undesignated
preferred stock and to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of those
shares without further vote or action by our stockholders. The rights of the holders of any
preferred stock that may be issued in the future may adversely affect the rights of the holders of
common stock. The issuance of preferred stock could make it more difficult for third parties to
acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock.
In addition, our certificate of incorporation provides for staggered terms for the members of
the board of directors and supermajority approval of the removal of any member of the board of
directors and prevents our stockholders from acting by written consent. Our certificate also
requires supermajority approval of any amendment of these provisions. These provisions and other
provisions of our by-laws and of Delaware law applicable to us could delay or make more difficult a
merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving us.
In June 2002, our board of directors adopted a stockholder rights plan and, pursuant thereto,
issued preferred stock purchase rights (Rights) to the holders of our common stock. The Rights
have certain anti-takeover effects. If triggered, the Rights would cause substantial dilution to a
person or group of persons who acquires more than 15% (19.9% for William W. Featheringill, a
Director who owned approximately 10.1% as of August 15, 2007, but owned more than 15% at the time
the Rights were put in place) of our common stock on terms not approved by the board of directors.
In August 2007, this plan was amended for a transaction involving funds managed by or affiliated
with Baker Brother Investments such that they could purchase up to 25% without triggering the
Rights. After closing of our August 2007 private placement, such group owns approximately 19.0% of
our stock.
We have never paid dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate doing so in the foreseeable
future.
We have never paid cash dividends on our stock. We currently intend to retain all future
earnings, if any, for use in the operation of our business. Accordingly, we do not anticipate
paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
With the effectiveness of our recent registration statement, there are a significant number of
additional shares of our common stock eligible for sale, which could depress the market price of
our stock and adversely affect the liquidity of the trading market for our stock.
As of October 31, 2007, we had approximately 37.9 million shares of common stock outstanding.
The approximately 8.1 million shares of common stock that may be sold by the selling stockholders
under our most recent registration statement on Form S-3 are freely tradable without restriction or
further registration under the federal securities laws unless purchased by our affiliates. When we
register the remaining 175,513 shares and the warrants from the August 2007 private placement as expected in the
first half of 2008, an additional approximately 3.3 million shares of additional common stock and
common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants will be freely tradable without
restriction or further registration under the federal securities laws unless purchased by our
affiliates. In August 2007, we registered on Form S-8, 1.2 million shares of our common stock
issuable under our Stock Incentive Plan. At September 30, 2007, there were approximately 5.2
million stock options outstanding under this plan. If these or other stockholders sell substantial
amounts of our common stock in the public market, or if the market perceives that these sales may
occur, the market price of our common stock might decline. We are unable to estimate the amount,
timing or nature of future sales of outstanding common stock.
The additional volume of shares available for trading could increase selling demand on our
stock on the Nasdaq Global Market, and outstrip buying demand. This may make it difficult to sell
substantial amounts of our stock without adversely impacting the stock price, and could depress the
market price for our stock.
Exercise of outstanding options and warrants will dilute stockholders and could decrease the market
price of our common stock.
As of September 30, 2007, we had issued and outstanding 37,948,675 shares of common stock,
outstanding options to purchase approximately 5.2 million additional shares of common stock and
warrants (exercisable at $10.25 per share)
to purchase an additional 3,159,895 shares of our common stock. The existence of the
outstanding options and warrants may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the
terms under which we could obtain additional equity capital.
35
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds:
On August 6, 2007, the Company entered into a Stock and Warrant Purchase Agreement with a
group of existing stockholders for the private placement of 8,315,513 shares of the Companys
common stock at a purchase price of $7.80 per share and warrants to purchase 3,159,895 shares of
the Companys common stock at a purchase price of $0.125 per warrant. The aggregate proceeds from
the sale were approximately $65.3 million. The exercise price of the warrants is $10.25 per share
with a life of 5 years from the date of the transaction. The participants in the transaction
include funds managed by Baker Brothers Investments, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, EHS
Holdings, OrbiMed Advisors, Texas Pacific Group Ventures, and Stephens Investment Management, all
of whom are current shareholders in the Company.
The Company has registered 8,140,000 of the shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, but the remaining 175,513 and the warrants included in the private placement have not been
registered and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable
exemption from registration requirements. The Company has agreed to register the remaining shares,
the warrants, and the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants for resale. If
registration is not completed within the period specified in the Stock and Warrant Purchase
Agreement, the Company will be subject to pay maximum liquidated damages of $164,000 to the group
of institutional investors up to a maximum of 12% of the transaction value related to the remaining
unregistered common stock only.
We relied upon the exemptions from registration provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act
and Regulation D promulgated under that section. Each investor represented that it was an
accredited investor, as such term is defined in Regulation D under the Securities Act, and that it
was acquiring the common stock and warrants for its own account and not with a view to or for sale
in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends are affixed to the common
stock and warrants.
We have filed with the SEC all of our agreements regarding the private placement with the
selling stockholders, with our Current Report on Form 8-K filed August 7, 2007 and our Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q filed August 9, 2007. We made no other agreements, plans or arrangements with
the selling stockholders in connection with the private placement.
We paid no investment banking fees or commissions in connection with the private
placement.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities:
None
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders:
None
Item 5. Other Information:
None
36
Item 6. Exhibits:
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Number |
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Description |
3.1
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Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant.
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Companys Form 8-K
filed December 22, 2006. |
3.2
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Certificate of Amendment to the Third Restated Certificate of
Incorporation of Registrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit
3.1 to the Companys Form 8-K filed July 24, 2007. |
3.3
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Bylaws of Registrant as amended December 15, 2005. Incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Companys Form 8-K filed December
16, 2005. |
4.1
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Rights Agreement, dated as of June 17, 2002, by and between the
Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Rights
Agent, which includes the Certificate of Designation for the Series
B Junior Participating Preferred Stock as Exhibit A and the form of
Rights Certificate as Exhibit B. Incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4.1 to the Companys Form 8-A dated June 17, 2002. |
4.2
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Amendment to Rights Agreement, dated as of August 5, 2007.
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Companys Form 10-Q
dated August 9, 2007. |
10.1
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Stock Incentive Plan, as amended and restated effective March 2007.
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Companys Form
10-Q dated August 9, 2007. |
10.2
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Employment Letter Agreement dated April 2, 2007, by and between the
Company and David McCullough. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.5 to the Companys Form 10-Q dated May 10, 2007. |
10.3
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Agreement dated January 3, 2007, between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. and the Dept. of Health and Human Services, as amended by
Amendment number 1 dated January 3, 2007 and Amendment number 2
dated May 11, 2007. (Portions omitted pursuant to request for
confidential treatment and filed separately with the Commission.).
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Companys Form
10-Q dated August 9, 2007. |
10.4
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Third Amendment to Lease Agreement dated August 7, 2007, by and
between Riverchase Capital LLC, a Florida limited liability
company, Stow Riverchase, LLC, a Florida limited liability company,
as successor landlord to RBP, LLC and the Company. Incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.4 of the Companys Form 10-Q dated August
9, 2007. |
31.1
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Certification of the Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section
302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
31.2
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Certification of the Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section
302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
32.1
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Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
32.2
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Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
37
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 on this
9th day of November 2007.
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BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
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/s/Jon P. Stonehouse
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Jon P. Stonehouse |
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President and Chief Executive Officer |
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/s/Stuart Grant
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Stuart Grant |
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Chief Financial Officer |
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/s/Michael A. Darwin
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Michael A. Darwin |
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VP Finance (Principal Financial
and Accounting Officer), Secretary and Treasurer |
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38
Exhibit Index
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Number |
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Description |
3.1
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Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant.
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Companys Form 8-K
filed December 22, 2006. |
3.2
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Certificate of Amendment to the Third Restated Certificate of
Incorporation of Registrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit
3.1 to the Companys Form 8-K filed July 24, 2007. |
3.3
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Bylaws of Registrant as amended December 15, 2005. Incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Companys Form 8-K filed December
16, 2005. |
4.1
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Rights Agreement, dated as of June 17, 2002, by and between the
Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Rights
Agent, which includes the Certificate of Designation for the Series
B Junior Participating Preferred Stock as Exhibit A and the form of
Rights Certificate as Exhibit B. Incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4.1 to the Companys Form 8-A dated June 17, 2002. |
4.2
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Amendment to Rights Agreement, dated as of August 5, 2007.
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Companys Form 10-Q
dated August 9, 2007. |
10.1
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Stock Incentive Plan, as amended and restated effective March 2007.
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Companys Form
10-Q dated August 9, 2007. |
10.2
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Employment Letter Agreement dated April 2, 2007, by and between the
Company and David McCullough. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.5 to the Companys Form 10-Q dated May 10, 2007. |
10.3
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Agreement dated January 3, 2007, between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. and the Dept. of Health and Human Services, as amended by
Amendment number 1 dated January 3, 2007 and Amendment number 2
dated May 11, 2007. (Portions omitted pursuant to request for
confidential treatment and filed separately with the Commission.).
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Companys Form
10-Q dated August 9, 2007. |
10.4
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Third Amendment to Lease Agreement dated August 7, 2007, by and
between Riverchase Capital LLC, a Florida limited liability
company, Stow Riverchase, LLC, a Florida limited liability company,
as successor landlord to RBP, LLC and the Company. Incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.4 of the Companys Form 10-Q dated August
9, 2007. |
31.1
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Certification of the Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section
302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
31.2
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Certification of the Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section
302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
32.1
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Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
32.2
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Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
39