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License Agreements
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2021
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
License Agreements

9. License agreements

Harvard license agreement

Under the terms of the Harvard License Agreement, Harvard is entitled to receive success payments determined based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the initial weighted average value of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock at specified valuation dates. The success payments range from $5.0 million to a maximum of $105.0 million and have valuation multiples that range from 5 times to 40 times the initial weighted average value of the Series A Preferred Stock. Subsequent to the Company’s February 2020 IPO, the amount of success payments is based on market value of Beam’s common stock.

 

The Company is required to make success payments to Harvard during a period of time, or the Harvard Success Payment Period, which has been determined to be the later of (1) the ninth anniversary of the Harvard License Agreement or (2) the earlier of (a) the twelfth anniversary of the Harvard License Agreement and (b) the third anniversary of the first date on which a licensed product receives regulatory approval in the United States. During the Harvard Success Payment Period, the Company will perform a calculation of any amounts owed to Harvard on each rolling 90-day period, commencing one year after the Company’s IPO, with the first success payment becoming due in May 2021.

The following table summarizes the Company’s success payment liability for Harvard (in thousands):

 

 

 

June 30,
2021

 

 

December 31,
2020

 

Harvard success payment liability

 

$

42,600

 

 

$

35,500

 

 

The following table summarizes the expense resulting from the change in the fair value of the success payment liability for Harvard (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2021

 

 

2020

 

 

2021

 

 

2020

 

Change in fair value of Harvard success payment liability

 

$

21,100

 

 

$

4,400

 

 

$

22,100

 

 

$

5,700

 

 

 

In May 2021, the first success payment measurement occurred and amounts due to Harvard were calculated to be $15.0 million. The Company elected to make the payment in shares of the Company’s common stock and issued 174,825 shares of the Company’s common stock to settle this liability on June 10, 2021.

The annual maintenance fee under the Harvard License Agreement is recorded as research and development expense. Patent prosecution costs are recognized as expense in the period incurred. As of June 30, 2021, the Company determined that product development and regulatory approval milestones and royalties under the Harvard License Agreement were not probable and, as such, no amounts were recognized for the six months ended June 30, 2021. As of June 30, 2021, no success payments were due to Harvard.

Broad license agreement

Under the terms of the Broad License Agreement, Broad Institute is entitled to receive success payments, determined based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the initial weighted average value of Series A Preferred Stock at specified valuation dates. The success payments range from $5.0 million to a maximum of $105.0 million and have valuation multiples that range from 5 times to 40 times the initial weighted average value of the Series A Preferred Stock. Subsequent to the Company’s February 2020 IPO, the amount of success payments is based on market value of Beam’s common stock. 

 

The Company is required to make success payments to Broad Institute during a period of time, or the Broad Success Payment Period, which has been determined to be the earliest of (1) the twelfth anniversary of the Broad License Agreement, or (2) the third anniversary of the first date on which a licensed product receives regulatory approval in the United States. During the Broad Success Payment Period, the Company will perform a calculation of any amounts owed to Broad Institute on each rolling 90-day period, commencing one year after the Company’s IPO, with the first success payment becoming due in May 2021.

The following table summarizes the Company’s success payment liability for Broad Institute (in thousands):

 

 

 

June 30,
2021

 

 

December 31,
2020

 

Broad Institute success payment liability

 

$

42,800

 

 

$

35,700

 

 

The following table summarizes the expense resulting from the change in the fair value of the success payment liability for Broad Institute (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2021

 

 

2020

 

 

2021

 

 

2020

 

Change in fair value of Broad Institute success payment liability

 

$

21,200

 

 

$

4,300

 

 

$

22,100

 

 

$

5,700

 

 

In May 2021, the first success payment measurement occurred and amounts due to Broad Institute were calculated to be $15.0 million. The Company elected to make the payment in shares of the Company’s common stock and issued 174,825 shares of the Company’s common stock to settle this liability on June 10, 2021.

The annual maintenance fee under the Broad License Agreement is recorded as research and development expense. Patent prosecution costs are recognized as expense in the period incurred. As of June 30, 2021, the Company determined that product development and regulatory approval milestones and royalties under the Broad License Agreement were not probable and, as such, no amounts were recognized for the six months ended June 30, 2021. As of June 30, 2021, no success payments were due to Broad Institute.

Editas license agreement

In May 2018, the Company entered into a license agreement, or the Editas License Agreement, with Editas Medicine, Inc., or Editas. Pursuant to the Editas License Agreement, Editas granted to the Company licenses and options to acquire licenses to certain intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Editas, for specified uses.

The annual maintenance fees under the Editas License Agreement are recorded as research and development expense. Annual patent costs are expensed as incurred. In addition, the Company is required to make certain development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments to Editas upon the achievement of specified milestones. As of June 30, 2021, the triggering of these milestone payments was not probable and, as such, no amounts were recognized for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Bio Palette license agreement

In March 2019, the Company entered into a license agreement, or the Bio Palette License Agreement, with Bio Palette Co., Ltd., or Bio Palette, pursuant to which the Company received an exclusive (even as to Bio Palette), sublicensable license under certain patent rights related to base editing owned or controlled by Bio Palette to exploit products for the treatment of human disease throughout the world, but excluding products in the microbiome field in Asia. In addition, the Company granted Bio Palette an exclusive (even as to the Company) license under certain patent rights related to base editing and gene editing owned or controlled by the Company to exploit products in the microbiome field in Asia. Each party to the agreement retains non-exclusive rights to develop and manufacture products in the microbiome field worldwide for the sole purpose of exploiting those products in its own territory. Each party agrees to certain coordination obligations in the microbiome field if either party determines not to exploit their rights in such field.

Unless earlier terminated, the Bio Palette License Agreement will expire on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis upon the expiration of the applicable royalty term for each such licensed product and country.

Upon the issuance of a certain Bio Palette patent in the United States in June 2020, the Company made a milestone payment of $2.0 million and, in July 2020, issued to Bio Palette 175,000 shares of its common stock valued at $0.3 million. The fair value of the common stock issued to Bio Palette under the Bio Palette License Agreement was measured at the inception of arrangement and expensed when the issuance of shares became probable.

Management concluded that the licenses acquired from each transaction above did not meet the accounting definition of a business as inputs, but no processes or outputs were acquired with the licenses, and the licensed technology had not achieved technological feasibility. As the inputs that were acquired along with the licenses do not constitute a “business,” the transactions have been accounted as asset acquisitions. As of the date of each license agreement, the assets acquired had no alternative future use and the assets had not reached a stage of technological feasibility. As a result, all share-based and cash payment obligations have been recorded as research and development expense in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive loss.