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NATURE OF OPERATIONS
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
NATURE OF OPERATIONS NATURE OF OPERATIONS
The Company

VYNE Therapeutics Inc., ("VYNE" or the "Company") is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing proprietary, innovative and differentiated therapies for the treatment of immuno-inflammatory conditions. The Company's most advanced product candidate, FMX114, which is in Phase 2a, is being evaluated for the potential treatment of mild-to-moderate AD. The Company is also in the pre-clinical stages of developing products containing BET inhibitor compounds. Its initial BET inhibitor candidate in development is VYN201, a locally administered pan-BET inhibitor, which the Company is exploring in various immuno-inflammatory diseases, including skin diseases. In addition, the Company continues to explore opportunistic transactions that may enhance its pipeline portfolio, as well as support its current operations and fund its future growth. The Company is a Delaware corporation, has its principal executive offices in Bridgewater, New Jersey and operates as one business segment.
Strategic Business Review and Sale of the MST Franchise

Beginning in the second quarter of 2021, the Company conducted a review of its commercial and research and development portfolio to determine how to optimally deploy capital and drive shareholder value. During the course of this review, the Company carefully considered the revenues received from the commercialization of AMZEEQ and ZILXI and the associated costs to drive those revenues, the protracted negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the commercial launches of both AMZEEQ and ZILXI, the payor landscape, as well as the costs to develop each of its pipeline products. During this process, the Company evaluated several strategic options including the acquisition of marketed assets, out-licensing its approved products outside of the United States, and possible partnering or co-development relationships with interested parties. Following its review, the Company determined to initiate a process to explore a possible sale or license of its topical minocycline franchise, including AMZEEQ, ZILXI, FCD105 (the Company’s former Phase 3 proprietary novel topical combination foam formulation of minocycline and adapalene for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris) and the underlying Molecule Stabilizing Technology platform.

On January 12, 2022, VYNE entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Journey Medical Corporation (”Journey”) pursuant to which the Company sold its Molecule Stabilizing Technology franchise, including AMZEEQ, ZILXI, and FCD105 (the “MST Franchise”), to Journey. The assets include certain contracts, including the license agreement with Cutia Therapeutics (HK) Limited (“Cutia”), inventory and intellectual property related to the MST Franchise (together, the “Assets”). Pursuant to the Agreement, the Buyer assumed certain liabilities of the MST Franchise including, among others, those arising from VYNE’s patent infringement suit initiated against Padagis Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. There were no current or long-term liabilities recorded by the Company which were transferred to the Buyer.

Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, VYNE received an upfront payment of $20.0 million and will receive an additional $5.0 million on the one-year anniversary of the closing of the transaction. VYNE is also eligible to receive sales milestone payments of up to $450.0 million in the aggregate upon the achievement of specified levels of net sales on a product-by-product basis, beginning with annual net sales exceeding $100.0 million (with products covered in three categories (1) AMZEEQ (and certain modifications), (2) ZILXI (and certain modifications), and (3) FCD105 and other products covered by the patents being transferred, including certain modifications). In addition, VYNE is entitled to receive certain payments from any licensing or sublicensing of the assets by Journey outside of the United States. See Note 17 - Subsequent Events for additional discussion of the disposition.

By leveraging its drug development and clinical development capabilities and strong network of discovery and preclinical science partners, the Company has transitioned its strategic focus to develop therapies for the treatment of immuno-inflammatory conditions. The Company expects to continue to invest in FMX114 for the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis and enrolled the first patient in its Phase 1b/2a proof-of-concept study in October 2021. On January 19, 2022, the Company announced findings from the Phase 1b safety portion of the Phase 1b/2a trial evaluating FMX 114. The findings support trial continuation.

In addition, on August 12, 2021, the Company announced a transaction with In4Derm Limited, a company incorporated and registered in Scotland (“In4Derm”). In4Derm is a spin-out of the University of Dundee’s School of Life Sciences which has discovered and is developing proprietary Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal Domain ("BET") inhibitors for the treatment of immunology and oncology conditions. On April 30, 2021, the parties entered into an Evaluation and Option Agreement (the “Option Agreement”) pursuant to which In4Derm granted the Company an exclusive option to obtain exclusive worldwide
rights to research, develop and commercialize products containing In4Derm’s BET inhibitor compounds, which are new chemical entities for treatments in all fields for any disease, disorder or condition in humans. On August 6, 2021, the parties entered into a License Agreement granting the Company a worldwide, exclusive license that is sublicensable through multiple tiers to exploit certain of In4Derm’s pan-BD BET inhibitor compounds in all fields. The Company paid a $1.0 million cash payment to In4Derm upon the execution of the Option Agreement and $0.5 million in connection with entering into the License Agreement. Pursuant to the License Agreement, the Company has agreed to make cash payments to In4Derm upon the achievement of specified clinical development and regulatory approval milestones with respect to each licensed topical product in the U.S. of up to $15.75 million for all indications. In addition, the Company currently expects to exercise the Oral BETi Option following the selection of a lead candidate for the program. Upon exercise of the exclusive Oral BETi Option, the parties will sign a license agreement (the “Oral License Agreement”), and the Company will be required to pay In4Derm a $4.0 million cash payment. The Oral License Agreement will include cash payments of up to $43.75 million payable to In4Derm upon the achievement of specified clinical development and regulatory approval milestones with respect to each licensed oral product in the U.S. for all indications. The license agreements also provide for tiered royalty payments of up to 10% of net annual sales across licensed BET inhibitor products by the Company. In4Derm is entitled to additional milestones upon the achievement of regulatory approvals in certain jurisdictions outside the U.S.

The initial BET inhibitor candidates in development are VYN201 and VYN202. VYN201 is a pan-bromodomain or pan-BD BET inhibitor. It is a first-in-class “soft” pan-BD BET inhibitor that is being developed to address diseases involving multiple, diverse inflammatory cell signaling pathways. With the VYN201 program, the Company is attempting to develop a therapy that is locally acting and is rapidly cleared through the body's metabolic process so as to avoid systemic absorption. The Company is continuing to evaluate VYN201 in a variety of preclinical models and will announce an initial indication for VYN201 following such evaluation. With respect to the VYN202 program, the Company is exploring multiple BET inhibitor compounds that are highly selective for bromodomain 2 ("BD2"). By selectively inhibiting BD2, the Company believes VYN202 could have a more targeted anti-inflammatory effect with an improved benefit/risk profile. The Company is diligently working with In4Derm to develop a lead molecule for the VYN202 program. Once a lead candidate has been selected, the Company intends to exercise its option with respect to these BET inhibitor compounds and commence an IND-enabling preclinical safety program.

As the Company transitioned from a commercial organization to one focused on research and development, the Company streamlined operations by eliminating the vast majority of planned expenditures supporting its commercial operations. Furthermore, following its decision to divest the MST franchise, the Company reduced its workforce by terminating approximately 70 employees. The Company incurred a one-time charge of $1.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2021 in connection with this restructuring plan, consisting of $1.4 million of employee termination costs, including severance and other benefits, and retention payments of $0.2 million. Additional charges of $0.2 million related to retention payments are anticipated through June 30, 2022.
Reverse stock split and recasting of per-share amounts
On February 10, 2021, our Board of Directors approved a one-for-four reverse stock split of our outstanding shares of common stock. The reverse stock split was effected on February 12, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. At the effective time, every four issued and outstanding shares of our common stock were converted into one share of common stock. No fractional shares were issued in connection with the reverse stock split, and in lieu thereof, each stockholder holding fractional shares was entitled to receive a cash payment (without interest or deduction) from the Company’s transfer agent in an amount equal to such stockholder’s respective pro rata shares of the total net proceeds from the Company’s transfer agent sale of all fractional shares at the then-prevailing prices on the open market. In connection with the reverse stock split, the number of authorized shares of our common stock was also reduced on a one-for-four basis, from 300 million shares to 75 million shares. The par value of each share of common stock remained unchanged. A proportionate adjustment was also made to the maximum number of shares issuable under the Company’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan, 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan and 2019 Employee Share Purchase Plan.
Unless noted, all common shares and per share amounts contained in the consolidated financial statements have been retroactively adjusted to reflect a 1-for-4 reverse stock split.
Reverse Merger
On November 10, 2019, Menlo Therapeutics Inc. ("Menlo"), Foamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (“Foamix”) and Giants Merger Subsidiary Ltd. (“Merger Sub”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Menlo, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of December 4, 2019, the “Merger Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub merged with and into Foamix, with Foamix surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Menlo (the “Merger”) on March 9, 2020 (the “Effective Date”). The combined Company changed its name to VYNE in September 2020.
For accounting purposes, the Merger is treated as a “reverse acquisition” under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and Foamix is considered the accounting acquirer. Accordingly, upon consummation of the Merger, the historical financial statements of Foamix became the Company’s historical financial statements, and the historical financial statements of Foamix are included in the comparative prior periods. See “Note 3 – Business Combination” for more information on the Merger.
Serlopitant
The Company was developing serlopitant, a small molecule inhibitor of the neurokinin 1 receptor, or NK1-R, given as a once-daily, oral tablet, for the treatment of pruritus, or itch, associated with various conditions including prurigo nodularis, or PN. On April 6, 2020, the Company announced top line results from two Phase III clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of once-daily oral serlopitant for the treatment of pruritus (itch) associated with PN, studies MTI-105 and MTI-106. Neither study met their respective primary endpoint of demonstrating statistically significant reduction in pruritus in patients treated with serlopitant compared to placebo based on a 4-point improvement responder analysis. The Company does not currently intend to further pursue the development of serlopitant. As a result, in the second quarter of 2020, the Company recorded a full impairment charge related to the IPR&D and Goodwill assets in its unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. See "Note 3 - Business Combination" for more information.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception, the Company has funded operations primarily through private and public placements of its equity, debt and warrants and through fees, cost reimbursements and payments received from its licensees. The Company commenced generating product revenues related to sales of AMZEEQ and ZILXI in January 2020 and October 2020, respectively. AMZEEQ and ZILXI were sold as part of the sale of the MST Franchise on January 12, 2022 and, as such, the Company will no longer be generating revenue from the sale of these products. The Company has incurred losses and experienced negative operating cash flows since its inception and anticipates that it will continue to incur losses until such a time when its product candidates, if approved, are commercially successful, if at all. The Company will not generate any revenue from any current or future product candidates unless and until it obtains regulatory approval and commercializes such products. For the year ended December 31, 2021 the Company incurred a net loss of $73.3 million and used $56.4 million of cash in operations.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $42.9 million. The Company's cash and cash equivalents are held in money market accounts. The Company also received proceeds of $20.0 million from the sale of the MST Franchise in January 2022 and will receive an additional payment of $5.0 million on the one-year anniversary of the sale.
Following the sale of the MST Franchise, the Company is refocusing its limited resources on its immuno-inflammatory pipeline and intends to support the FMX114 and the BET inhibitor development programs. Research and development activities for these programs, including preclinical and clinical testing of the Company's drug candidates, will require significant additional financing. The future viability of the Company and its ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on its ability to raise sufficient working capital through either debt or equity financings to fund our operations and successfully develop commercially viable drug candidates. There is no assurance the Company will be able to achieve these objectives under acceptable terms or at all.
In accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40), the Company has evaluated whether there are conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that its audited consolidated financial statements are issued. The accompanying audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern and contemplate the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company's ability to continue as a going concern is expected
to be impacted by the outcome of the plans outlined above, including the Company's ability to raise additional capital to fund its operations, positive results from clinical trials for FMX114, and the successful development and positive results from clinical trials for the BET inhibitor programs. Based on its current plans and assumptions, the Company believes that absent sufficient proceeds received from equity transactions, financing transactions or business development transactions, the Company will not have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to fund its operations beyond one year from the issuance of these financial statements. Accordingly, the Company will, over the course of the next twelve months, require significant additional financing to continue its operations. In addition, the amount of proceeds the Company may be able to raise pursuant to its existing shelf registration statement on Form S-3 may be limited. As of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company will be subject to the general instructions of Form S-3 known as the "baby shelf rules." Under these instructions, the amount of funds the Company can raise through primary public offerings of securities in any 12-month period using its registration statement on Form S-3 is limited to one-third of the aggregate market value of the shares of its common stock held by non-affiliates of the Company. Therefore, the Company will be limited in the amount of proceeds it is able to raise by selling shares of its common stock using its Form S-3 until such time as its public float exceeds $75 million. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Failure to successfully receive additional financing will require the Company to delay, scale back or otherwise modify its business and its research and development activities and other operations. The accompanying financial statements do not include any adjustments related to the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities or any other adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.