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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
(13)
Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation, Claims and Assessments
Former Officers Matter
Following the May 18, 2020 resignation (effective June 1, 2020) of Jennifer Simpson, the Company’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, and Barbra Keck, the Company’s former Chief Financial Officer (the “Claimants”), it became evident that there was a dispute regarding the Company’s compensation obligations to the Claimants. In a letter dated, June 29, 2020, an attorney representing the Claimants made certain claims and threatened litigation against the Company. On or about July 27, 2020, the Claimants filed a statement of claim with the American Arbitration Association against the Company. The Claimants sought payment of certain purported unpaid compensation amounts claimed to be due to them, in an approximate amount of $1,140 in the aggregate, as well as unspecified statutory damages under New York Labor Law, attorneys’ fees and costs, and statutory interest. The Claimants and the Company agreed to participate in
non-binding
mediation of their dispute before a neutral mediator, which resulted in the arbitration proceedings being placed in abeyance pending the outcome of the mediation process. With the assistance of the neutral mediator and after careful consideration by the Company’s board of directors following several weeks of negotiations, the Claimants and the Company agreed in
mid-May
of 2021 to a confidential settlement of their dispute to avoid the expenses and distractions of further arbitration proceedings, with no admission of liability or wrongdoing on the part of the Company. While the Company had accrued for the full purported unpaid compensation amount of $1,140 as of December 31, 2020, the Company ultimately paid less in full and final settlement of its dispute with both of the Claimants. As a result of the confidential settlement, the AAA Arbitration was dismissed with prejudice on June 1, 2021.
medac Matter
In April 2021, the Company issued an invoice for €1,000 (which currently converts to approximately $1,160) to medac GmbH, a privately held, multi-national pharmaceutical company based in Germany (“medac”), the Company’s EU product distribution partner, for a milestone payment due under the License, Supply and Marketing Agreement (the “License Agreement”) dated December 10, 2018, between the Company and medac. Pursuant to the License Agreement, a milestone is due upon achieving positive efficacy in the FOCUS trial as defined by the FOCUS trial protocol. Per the trial protocol and associated Statistical Analysis Plan, positive efficacy is based on whether the Objective Response Rate (ORR) exceeds a prespecified threshold. A preliminary analysis of the FOCUS trial data based on 87% of enrolled patients was released on March 31, 2021, and subsequently presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting held virtually from the 4th through the 8th of June 2021. Per that analysis, the ORR exceeded the prespecified threshold. While the final ORR is not yet known, given the magnitude by which the ORR exceeded the prespecified endpoint and the small number of patients yet to be assessed, the final ORR will be greater than the prespecified endpoint regardless of the responder status of the remaining patients. medac disagrees that the milestone is due and claims that a full clinical study report is required in addition to the existing ORR analysis. medac has not disputed the accuracy of the ORR analysis or underlying data, but simply asserts that a full clinical study report is required prior to payment.
While the Company disagrees with this interpretation, since medac has stated they do not intend to pay the invoice at this time, under revenue recognition criteria set out in ASC 606, the Company cannot recognize the revenue in the year ending December 31, 2021.
On October 12, 2021, the Company notified medac in writing that it was terminating the License Agreement
due to medac’s nonpayment of the milestone payment due under the License Agreement, with the effective date of termination of the License Agreement being April 12, 2022. medac disputed having an obligation to make a milestone payment under the Agreement and demanded withdrawal of the termination notice. The Company declined to withdraw the termination notice and, on December 16, 2021, the Company initiated an arbitration proceeding pursuant to the dispute resolution provisions of the Agreement. The arbitration proceeding is moving forward with the parties agreeing to stay the arbitration for a finite period to pursue settlement discussions.
On December 30, 2021, the Company received a letter from medac stating that, due to its failure to withdraw the termination notice, medac was terminating the License Agreement with immediate effect. In the letter, medac reserved its rights in full, including a purported claim for damages for wrongful termination. In a separate letter, medac agreed to orderly transition through February 28, 2022 in order to minimize the impact of any termination on patients and physicians. As a result of the early termination of the License Agreement, the Company revised its estimate of the contract life which resulted in an acceleration of 
$1,742 of revenue recognition associated with deferred revenue. 
Officer Appointment – Chief Executive Officer
On October 1, 2020, Gerard Michel was appointed as the Company’s new Chief Executive Officer and a Class I Director. Pursuant to an employment agreement dated as of August 31, 2020 between the Company and Mr. Michel (the “Employment Agreement”), the term of Mr. Michel’s employment began on October 1, 2020. If Mr. Michel resigns his
at-will
employment for Good Reason, (as defined in the Employment Agreement), or the Company terminates Mr. Michel’s employment other than for Cause, (as defined in the Employment Agreement) , then Mr. Michel shall be entitled to his accrued and unpaid compensation and, subject to him entering into and not revoking a general release of claims in favor of the Company and fully complying with the terms of an Employee Confidentiality, Invention Assignment and Restrictive Covenants Agreement (the “Restrictive Covenants Agreement”), Mr. Michel shall also be entitled to: (a) a severance payment equal in the aggregate to twelve (12) months of his annual base salary at the time of termination, payable in twelve (12) equal monthly installments; and (b) specified continuing health plan benefits until the earlier of (i) the twelve (12) month anniversary of his termination date, (ii) the last day he’s eligible for coverage pursuant to COBRA or (iii) the date on which he becomes eligible for similar coverage from another employer.