Patent and Technology License Agreements |
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| Patent and Technology License Agreements [Abstract] | |||||||
| PATENT AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENTS | 7. PATENT AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENTS
License Agreement with Eisai
In September 2021, Citius Pharma entered into an asset purchase agreement with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories SA, a subsidiary of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ltd. (collectively, “Dr. Reddy’s”) and a license agreement with Eisai Co., Ltd. (“Eisai”) to acquire an exclusive license of E7777 (denileukin diftitox), an oncology immunotherapy for the treatment of CTCL, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Citius Pharma renamed E7777 as I/ONTAK and also obtained the trade name LYMPHIRTM for the product. Citius Pharma assigned these agreements to us effective April 1, 2022. The Company received a Biologics License Application (“BLA”) approval from the FDA for LYMPHIR in August 2024.
Under the terms of these agreements, Citius Pharma acquired Dr. Reddy’s exclusive license of E7777 from Eisai and other related assets owned by Dr. Reddy’s (which are now owned by Citius Oncology). The exclusive license includes rights to develop and commercialize E7777 in all markets except for Japan and certain parts of Asia. Eisai retains exclusive development and marketing rights for the agent in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, and Papua New Guinea. Citius Pharma paid Dr. Reddy’s a $40 million upfront payment, which represents the acquisition date fair value of the in-process research and development acquired from Dr. Reddy’s. Dr. Reddy’s is entitled to up to $40 million in development milestone payments related to CTCL approvals in the U.S. and other markets, up to $70 million in development milestones for additional indications, as well as commercial milestone payments and low double-digit tiered royalties on net product sales (within a range of 10% to 15%), and up to $300 million for commercial sales milestones. Citius Oncology also must pay on a fiscal quarter basis tiered royalties equal to low double-digit percentages of net product sales (within a range of 10% to 15%). The royalties will end on the earlier of (i) the 15-year anniversary of the first commercial sale of the latest indication that received regulatory approval in the applicable country and (ii) the date on which a biosimilar product results in the reduction of net sales in the applicable product by 50% in two consecutive quarters, as compared to the four quarters prior to the first commercial sale of the biosimilar product. Citius Oncology will also pay to Dr. Reddy’s an amount equal to a low-thirties percentage of any sublicense upfront consideration or milestone payments (or the like) received by us and the greater of (i) a low-thirties percentage of any sublicensee sales-based royalties or (ii) a mid-single digit percentage of such licensee’s net sales. Citius Pharma is a guarantor of Citius Oncology’s payment obligations under these agreements. At the time of the FDA approval for LYMPHIR, a $27.5 million milestone payment became payable to Dr. Reddy’s under the terms of the asset purchase agreement for which a balance of $18,250,000 remains due as of December 31, 2025. Dr. Reddy’s agreed to a partial deferral without penalty of this milestone payment.
Under the license agreement, Eisai was due a $5.9 million milestone payment upon FDA approval, and additional commercial milestone payments related to the achievement of net product sales thresholds and an aggregate of up to $22 million related to the achievement of net product sales thresholds. Citius Oncology was also required to reimburse Eisai for up to $2.65 million of its costs to complete the Phase 3 pivotal clinical trial for LYMPHIR for the CTCL indication and reimburse Eisai for all reasonable costs associated with the preparation of a BLA for LYMPHIR. Eisai was responsible for completing the CTCL clinical trial, and chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (“CMC”) activities through the filing of the BLA for LYMPHIR with the FDA. We are responsible for development costs associated with potential additional indications.
On March 28, 2025, Citius Oncology and Eisai entered into a letter agreement that amended the license agreement to provide for a payment schedule to Eisai for the milestone payment and certain unpaid invoices. We agreed to pay Eisai $2,535,318 on July 15, 2025, $2,350,000 on the 15th of each of the subsequent four months, and make a final payment of $2,197,892 on or before December 15, 2025, in each case with interest on each obligation from its original due date through the date of payment at the rate of 2% per annum. During the three months ended December 31, 2025, we recorded $45,841 in interest expense under the agreement. The parties released each other from any and all claims, losses, damages, costs and expenses that arise from or related to our failure to pay the milestone payment or the other incurred costs under the license agreement except for any claims arising out of a breach of the letter agreement. All other terms of the license agreement remain in full force and effect. On December 15, 2025, we paid Eisai the balance of the outstanding milestone approval fee and accumulated interest on the license fee. At December 31, 2025, we owe Eisai for other unpaid invoices, consisting of $2,700,000 of accounts payable and $4,062,481 of accrued expenses.
The term of the license agreement will continue until (i) March 30, 2026, if there has not been a commercial sale of a licensed product in the territory, or (ii) if there has been a first commercial sale of a licensed product in the territory by March 30, 2026, the 10-year anniversary of the first commercial sale on a country-by-country basis. The first commercial sale occurred in December 2025. The term of the license may be extended for additional 10-year periods for all countries in the territory by notifying Eisai and paying an extension fee equal to $10 million. Either party may terminate the license agreement upon written notice if the other party is in material breach of the agreement, subject to cure within the designated time periods. Either party also may terminate the license agreement immediately upon written notice if the other party files for bankruptcy or takes related actions or is unable to pay its debts as they become due. Additionally, either party will have the right to terminate the agreement if the other party directly or indirectly challenges the patentability, enforceability or validity of any licensed patent.
Under the purchase agreement with Dr. Reddy’s, we are required to (i) use commercially reasonable efforts to make commercially available products in the CTCL indication, peripheral T-cell lymphoma indication and immuno-oncology indication, (ii) initiate two investigator initiated immuno-oncology trials (both of which have been initiated), (iii) use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve each of the approval milestones, and (iv) complete each specified immuno-oncology investigator trial on or before the four-year anniversary of the effective date of the definitive agreement. Additionally, we are required to commercially launch a product in a territory within six months of receiving regulatory approval for such product in each such jurisdiction; though approved in August 2024, Dr. Reddy’s waived the six-month requirement and the launch of LYMPHIR in December 2025 satisfied this requirement in the U.S.
As part of the definitive agreement with Dr. Reddy’s, Citius Pharma acquired method of use patents in which LYMPHIR is administered in combination with the programmed cell death protein 1 (“PD-1”) pathway inhibitor drug class. PD-1 plays a vital role in inhibiting immune responses and promoting self-tolerance through modulating the activity of T-cells, activating apoptosis of antigen-specific T cells and inhibiting apoptosis of regulatory T cells. The following patents were acquired and subsequently transferred to us:
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