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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies.  
Commitments and Contingencies

10. Commitments and Contingencies

Amended and Restated Research, Collaboration and License Arrangement with Penn

The Company has a research, collaboration and licensing agreement with Penn, as amended, or the Penn Agreement, for research and development collaborations and exclusive license rights to patents for certain products and technologies. Under the Penn Agreement, the Company has obligations to fund certain research relating to the preclinical development of selected products in research programs as well as exploratory research programs in non-rare and/or non-monogenic, or large CNS indications. In addition, the Company will fund discovery research conducted by Penn through August 3, 2026 and will receive exclusive rights, subject to certain limitations, to technologies resulting from the discovery research for the Company’s products developed with GTP, such as novel capsids, toxicity reduction technologies and delivery and formulation improvements. This funding commitment for the discovery research is $5.0 million annually, paid in quarterly increments of $1.3 million through June, 2026.

The Penn Agreement includes an exploratory research program focused on discovering targets and novel gene therapy candidates for certain large CNS indications and can be expanded to other large CNS diseases upon mutual agreement. The initial term of the exploratory research program is until August 2024, which term can be extended by mutual agreement. Under the exploratory research program, the Company will have the right to further develop and commercialize any gene therapy product candidates specific for those selected targets (and any future large CNS diseases that are mutually agreed upon) that may arise from the exploratory research programs on substantially the same terms of the current Penn Agreement.

Under the Penn Agreement, the Company has eight remaining options available to commence additional licensed programs for CNS indications and has until August 3, 2026, to exercise these options. If the Company were to exercise any of these options, it would owe Penn a non-refundable upfront fee of $1.0 million per product indication, with $0.5 million due upfront and another $0.5 million fee owed upon a further developmental milestone. The Company has the obligation to fund certain research relating to the preclinical development of each licensed program.

The Penn Agreement requires that the Company make payments of up to (i) $16.5 million per product candidate for rare, monogenic disorders in the aggregate and (ii) $39.0 million per product candidate in the aggregate arising from the

exploratory program for large CNS indications. Each payment will be due upon the achievement of specific development milestone events by such licensed product for a first indication, reduced development milestone payments for the second and third indications and no development milestone payments for subsequent indications. In addition, on a product-by-product basis, the Company is obligated to make up to $55.0 million in sales milestone payments on each licensed product based on annual sales of the licensed product in excess of defined thresholds.

Upon successful commercialization of a product using the licensed technology, the Company is obligated to pay to Penn, on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis, tiered royalties (subject to customary reductions) in the mid-single digits on annual worldwide net sales of such licensed product. In addition, the Company is obligated to pay to Penn a percentage of sublicensing income, ranging from the mid-single digits to low double digits, for sublicenses under the Penn Agreement. The agreement will expire on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis upon the later of (i) the expiration of the last valid claim of the licensed patent rights that covers the exploitation of such licensed product in such country, and (ii) the expiration of the royalty period. In addition, the Company will pay a tiered transaction fee of 1-2% of the net proceeds upon certain change of control events.

During the three months ended September 30, 2023, the Company did not make any payments for acquired in-process research and development. During the three months ended September 30, 2022, the Company made payments under the Penn Agreement for acquired in-process research and development of $1.5 million related to the achievement of a development milestone.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company did not make any payments for acquired in-process research and development. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company made payments under the Penn Agreement for acquired in-process research and development of $3.0 million related to the achievement of a development milestone.

Catalent Agreements

In June 2019, the Company entered into a collaboration agreement, or the Collaboration Agreement, with Catalent. As part of the Collaboration Agreement, the Company was required to pay an annual fee for five years ending in 2025 for the exclusive use of a dedicated clean room suite, or the Clean Room Suite.

In April 2020, the Company entered into a development services and clinical supply agreement, or the Manufacturing and Supply Agreement, with Catalent to secure clinical scale manufacturing capacity for batches of active pharmaceutical ingredients for the Company’s gene therapy product candidates. The Manufacturing and Supply Agreement confirms the terms contemplated by the Collaboration Agreement and the Collaboration Agreement continues to be in effect pursuant to its terms. Under the terms of the Manufacturing and Supply Agreement, Catalent agreed to manufacture batches of drug product for the Company’s gene therapy product candidates at the Clean Room Suite at a Catalent facility provided for in the Collaboration Agreement. The Manufacturing and Supply Agreement provided for a term of five years. The Manufacturing and Supply Agreement also included minimum annual purchase commitments. The Company has the right to terminate the Manufacturing and Supply Agreement for convenience or other reasons specified in the Manufacturing and Supply Agreement upon prior written notice. If the Company terminates the Manufacturing and Supply Agreement, it will be obligated to pay an early termination fee to Catalent.

Under both the Collaboration Agreement and the Manufacturing and Supply Agreement, the Company had an annual minimum commitment of $10.6 million per year owed to Catalent for five years from the validation of the Clean Room Suite, subject to certain inflationary adjustments.

On March 31, 2023, the Company entered into certain letter agreements amending each of (i) the Collaboration Agreement and (ii) the Manufacturing and Supply Agreement, together with the Collaboration Agreement, the Existing Agreements.

Letter agreement I, or Agreement I, eliminated the minimum annual purchase obligation and the obligation to pay an annual fee for use of the Clean Room Suite, thereby eliminating the annual minimum commitment of $10.6 million per year owed to Catalent through November 2025 under the Existing Agreements. In consideration of Agreement I, the Company will make aggregate payments to Catalent of $6.0 million between June 30, 2023 and May 1, 2024.

Letter agreement II, or Agreement II, and together with Agreement I, the Letter Agreements, extended the term of the Existing Agreements until November 6, 2030, and established a limited exclusive relationship between the Company and Catalent for the manufacture of bulk drug substance and drug product for the Company’s adeno-associated virus delivery therapeutic product candidates for the treatment of FTD and GM1. The limited exclusive relationship under Agreement II converts to a non-exclusive relationship (i) in the event Catalent fails to meet certain performance standards and (ii) following certain conditional events related to the divestiture by the Company of either FTD or GM1, in which case, if such events occur, the Company would pay Catalent certain fees. In addition, in the event of certain transactions, the Company may terminate the Existing Agreements for convenience with respect to such products, in which case, the Company would pay to Catalent a certain termination fee.

Immediately prior to the execution of the Letter Agreements, the Company had a $5.3 million prepaid asset related to upfront payments made to secure the Clean Room Suite. In connection with the Letter Agreements, the Company no longer has exclusive access to the Clean Room Suite at Catalent and, as a result, the Company recognized an expense of $5.3 million related to the elimination of the prepaid asset during the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

The Company classified the $11.3 million of expenses, which comprises of $6.0 million in aggregate payments due to Catalent and the $5.3 million elimination of the prepaid asset, as general and administrative expense within the statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, as both amounts do not directly relate to the future advancement of the Company’s research and development programs.

As of September 30, 2023, the Company made payments of $2.0 million under the Letter Agreements. The remaining $4.0 million of aggregate payments due to Catalent under the Letter Agreements are included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities.

Employment Agreements

The Company has entered into employment agreements with key personnel providing for compensation and, in certain circumstances, severance and acceleration of vesting in stock-based compensation awards, as described in the respective employment agreements.