XML 28 R21.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.24.1.u1
Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 13 – Commitments and Contingencies

Co-Development Agreement

In April 2014 and amended in October 2016, the Company entered into a worldwide agreement with AVEO to develop and commercialize AVEO's hepatocyte growth factor inhibitory antibody ficlatuzumab with the Company's proprietary companion diagnostic test, BDX004, a version of the Company’s serum protein test that is commercially available to help physicians guide treatment decisions for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Under the terms of the agreement, AVEO will conduct a proof of concept (POC) clinical study of ficlatuzumab for NSCLC in which BDX004 will be used to select clinical trial subjects (the NSCLC POC Trial). Under the agreement, the Company and AVEO would share equally in the costs of the NSCLC POC Trial, and each would be responsible for 50% of development and regulatory costs associated with all future clinical trials agreed upon by the Company and AVEO. The Company and AVEO continue to conduct POC clinical trials of ficlatuzumab in combination with BDX004.

In September 2020, the Company exercised its opt-out right with AVEO for the payment of 50% of development and regulatory costs for ficlatuzumab effective December 2, 2020 (the AVEO Effective Date). In September 2021, AVEO announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) to ficlatuzumab for the treatment of patients with relapsed or recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. In November 2021 AVEO also announced plans to initiate a potential registrational Phase 3 clinical trial for ficlatuzumab in the first half of 2023. The Company had $0.1 million in remaining obligations related to the AVEO agreement as of March 31, 2024. Following the AVEO Effective Date, the Company is entitled to a 10% royalty of net sales of ficlatuzumab and 25% of license income generated from the licensing of ficlatuzumab from AVEO. There were no royalties received or expenses related to this agreement for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.

License Agreements

In August 2019, we entered into a non-exclusive license agreement with Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (Bio-Rad) (the Bio-Rad License). Under the terms of the Bio-Rad License, the Company received a non-exclusive license, without the right to grant sublicenses, to utilize certain of Bio-Rad’s intellectual property, machinery, materials, reagents, supplies and know-how necessary for the performance of Droplet Digital PCR™ (ddPCR) in cancer detection testing for third parties in the United States. The Company also agreed to purchase all of the necessary supplies and reagents for such testing exclusively from Bio-Rad, pursuant to a separately executed supply agreement (the Supply Agreement) with Bio-Rad. The Bio-Rad License expires in August 2024, however, we are currently in discussions to extend this agreement. Either party may terminate for the other’s uncured material breach or bankruptcy events. Bio-Rad may terminate the Bio-Rad License if the Company does not purchase licensed products under the Supply Agreement for a consecutive twelve-month period or for any material breach by us of the Supply Agreement.

On May 13, 2021 (the CellCarta Effective Date), we reached agreement with CellCarta Biosciences Inc. (formerly “Caprion Biosciences, Inc.”) (the CellCarta License) on a new royalty bearing license agreement for the Nodify XL2 test. The parties agreed to terminate all prior agreements and replace with this new arrangement, which has a 1% fee on net sales made from the first commercial sale of the Nodify XL2 test to the CellCarta Effective Date as an upfront make-good payment covering past royalties due and a royalty rate of 0.675% on future Nodify XL2 test net sales worldwide for 15 years from the first commercial sale, ending in 2034. Royalty expense under the CellCarta License was $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to an insignificant amount for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

On October 31, 2019, we completed an acquisition of Freenome's United States operations (formerly "Oncimmune USA" or "Oncimmune") including its CLIA lab in De Soto, Kansas and its pulmonary nodule malignancy test, then marketed in the United States as the EarlyCDT Lung® test. We renamed and relaunched the test on February 28, 2020 as the Nodify CDT test. As part of the acquisition of the assets of Oncimmune, the Company entered into several agreements to govern the relationship between the parties. The Company agreed to a license agreement and royalty payment related to the Nodify CDT test of 8% of recognized revenue for non-screening tests up to an annual minimum volume and 5% thereafter, with an escalating minimum through the first four years of sales. Royalty expenses were $0.2 million for both the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Litigation, Claims and Assessments

From time to time, we may become involved in legal proceedings or investigations which could have an adverse impact on our reputation, business and financial condition and divert the attention of our management from the operation of our business. We are not presently a party to any legal proceedings that, if determined adversely to us, would individually or taken together have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows.