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Patent and Technology License Agreements

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Patent and Technology License Agreements [Abstract]

PATENT AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENTS

3. PATENT AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENTS

Patent and Technology License Agreement – Mino-Lok

LMB has a patent and technology license agreement with Novel Anti-Infective Therapeutics, Inc. (“NAT”) to develop and commercialize Mino-Lok® on an exclusive, worldwide sub-licensable basis, as amended. LMB pays an annual maintenance fee each June until commercial sales of a product subject to the license commence. The Company recorded an annual maintenance fee expense of $90,000 in both 2024 and 2023.

LMB will also pay annual royalties on net sales of licensed products, with a low double digit royalty rate (within a range of 10% to 15%). In limited circumstances in which the licensed product is not subject to a valid patent claim and a competitor is selling a competing product, the royalty rate is in the low- to mid-single digits (within a range of 2% to 7%). After a commercial sale is obtained, LMB must pay minimum aggregate annual royalties of $100,000 in the first commercial year which is prorated for a less than 12-month period, increasing $25,000 per year to a maximum of $150,000 annually. LMB must also pay NAT up to $1,100,000 upon achieving specified regulatory and sales milestones. Finally, LMB must pay NAT a specified percentage of payments received from any sub-licensees.

Unless earlier terminated by NAT, based on the failure to achieve certain development and commercial milestones, the license agreement remains in effect until the date that all patents licensed under the agreement have expired and all patent applications within the licensed patent rights have been cancelled, withdrawn, or expressly abandoned.

License Agreement with Eterna

On October 6, 2020, our subsidiary, NoveCite, entered into a license agreement with Novellus Therapeutics Limited (“Novellus”), whereby NoveCite acquired an exclusive, worldwide license, with the right to sublicense, develop and commercialize a stem cell therapy based on the Novellus’s patented technology for the treatment of acute pneumonitis of any etiology in which inflammation is a major agent in humans. Upon execution of the license agreement, we, through NoveCite, paid an upfront payment of $5,000,000 to Novellus, which was charged to research and development expense during the year ended September 30, 2021, and issued to Novellus shares of NoveCite’s common stock representing 25% of the outstanding equity. We own the other 75% of NoveCite’s outstanding equity. Pursuant to the terms of the original stock subscription agreement, if NoveCite issued additional equity, subject to certain exceptions, NoveCite had to maintain Novellus’s ownership at 25% by issuing additional shares to Novellus.

In July 2021, Novellus was acquired by Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc. (“Brooklyn”). Pursuant to this transaction, the NoveCite license was assumed by Brooklyn with all original terms and conditions. In connection with that transaction, the stock subscription agreement was amended to assign to Brooklyn all of Novellus’s right, title, and interest in the stock subscription agreement and delete the anti-dilution protection and replace it with a right of first refusal whereby Brooklyn will have the right to purchase all or a portion of the securities that NoveCite intends to sell or in the alternative, at the option of NoveCite, Brooklyn may purchase that amount of the securities proposed to be sold by NoveCite to allow Brooklyn to maintain its then percentage ownership. In October 2022, Brooklyn changed its name to Eterna Therapeutics Inc. (“Eterna”).

Citius Pharma is responsible for the operational activities of NoveCite and bears all costs necessary to operate NoveCite. Citius Pharma’s officers are also the officers of NoveCite and oversee the business strategy and operations of NoveCite. As such, NoveCite is accounted for as a consolidated subsidiary with a noncontrolling interest.

Eterna has no contractual rights in the profits or obligations to share in the losses of NoveCite, and the Company has not allocated any losses to the noncontrolling interest.

Under the license agreement, NoveCite is obligated to pay Eterna up to an aggregate of $51,000,000 in regulatory and developmental milestone payments. NoveCite also must pay a royalty equal to a mid-teens percentage of net sales, commencing upon the first commercial sale of a licensed product. This royalty is subject to downward adjustment on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis to a mid-single digit percentage (within a range of 4% to 8%) of net sales in any country in the event of the expiration of the last valid patent claim or if no valid patent claim exists in that country. The royalty will end on the earlier of (i) date on which a biosimilar product is first marketed, sold, or distributed by Eterna or any third party in the applicable country or (ii) the 10-year anniversary of the date of expiration of the last-to-expire valid patent claim in that country. In the case of a country where no licensed patent ever exists, the royalty will end on the later of (i) the date of expiry of such licensed product’s regulatory exclusivity and (ii) the 10-year anniversary of the date of the first commercial sale of the licensed product in the applicable country. In addition, NoveCite will pay to Eterna an amount equal to a mid-twenties percentage of any sublicensee fees it receives.

Under the terms of the license agreement, in the event that Eterna receives any revenue involving the original cell line included in the licensed technology, then Eterna shall remit to NoveCite 50% of such revenue.

The term of the license agreement continues on a country-by-country and licensed product-by-licensed product basis until the expiration of the last-to-expire royalty term. Either party may terminate the license agreement upon written notice if the other party is in material default. NoveCite may terminate the license agreement at any time without cause upon 90 days prior written notice.

Eterna will be responsible for preparing, filing, prosecuting, and maintaining all patent applications and patents included in the licensed patents in the territory, provided however, that if Eterna decides that it is not interested in maintaining a particular licensed patent or in preparing, filing, or prosecuting a licensed patent, NoveCite will have the right, but not the obligation, to assume such responsibilities in the territory at NoveCite’s sole cost and expense.

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. We renamed E7777 as I/ONTAK and also obtained the trade name of LYMPHIR for the product. Citius Pharma assigned these agreements to Citius Oncology effective April 1, 2022. The Company received a BLA approval from the FDA for LYMPHIR in August 2024.

Under the terms of these agreements, Citius Pharma acquired Dr. Reddy’s exclusive license for E7777 from Eisai and other related assets owned by Dr. Reddy’s (which are now owned by Citius Oncology). The exclusive license rights, through Citius Oncology, include rights to develop and commercialize E7777 in all markets except for Japan and certain parts of Asia. Additionally, we, through Citius Oncology, retained an option on the right to develop and market the product in India. Eisai retains exclusive development and marketing rights for the agent in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, India (subject to the India option prior to FDA approval), 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 under the terms of the asset purchase agreement for which a balance of $22.5 million remains due as of December 31, 2024. Pending further discussions with Dr. Reddy’s, Dr. Reddy’s agreed to a partial deferral without penalty of this milestone payment.

Under the license agreement, Eisai was to receive a $5.9 million milestone payment upon FDA approval, which is included in license payable at December 31, 2024, 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 Biologics License Application (“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. The BLA was approved by the FDA on August 8, 2024. We, through Citius Oncology, will be responsible for development costs associated with potential additional indications.

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 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 asset 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.

As part of the definitive agreement with Dr. Reddy’s, Citius Pharmaceuticals 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 Citius Oncology, Inc.:

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US Provisional Application No. 63/070,645, which was filed on August 26, 2020, and subsequently published as US 2022/0062390 A1 on March 3, 2022, entitled Methods of Treating Cancer.

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International Patent Application Number: PCT/IB2021/0576733, which was filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization on August 23, 2021, and subsequently published as WO 2022/043863 A1 on March 3, 2022, entitled, Combination for Use in Methods of Treating Cancer.

Upon FDA approval of LYMPHIR in August 2024, Citius Oncology was subject to approval milestone fees totaling $33.7 million. Citius Oncology paid $5.0 million prior to year end and the remaining balance is reflected as a License Payable on the balance sheet. The $33.7 million was recorded as in-process research and development asset and will be subject to amortization over the regulatory exclusivity period commencing upon revenue generation.