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Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

6. Commitments and Contingencies

Oregon Health & Science University Agreement

On February 20, 2013, Fennec entered into a new exclusive license agreement with OHSU for exclusive worldwide license rights to intellectual property directed to thiol-based compounds, including PEDMARK^® and their use in oncology (the "OHSU Agreement"). OHSU will receive certain milestone payments, royalty on net sales for licensed products and a royalty on any consideration received from sublicensing of the licensed technology.

On May 18, 2015, Fennec negotiated an amendment ("Amendment 1") to the OHSU Agreement, which expands Fennec's exclusive license to include the use of N-acetylcysteine as a standalone therapy and/or in combination with PEDMARK^® for the prevention of ototoxicity induced by chemotherapeutic agents to treat cancers. Further, Amendment 1 adjusts select milestone payments entered in the OHSU Agreement including but not limited to the royalty rate on net sales for licensed products, royalty rate from sublicensing of the licensed technology and the fee payable upon the regulatory approval of a

licensed product. Certain milestone payments are due upon FDA approval and achievement of sufficient positive EBITDA over a specified period. PEDMARK^® received FDA approval in September 2022, however at this time, due to significant uncertainty surrounding timing and magnitude of certain milestones, the Company has only recorded a royalty liability associated with net revenue.

The term of the OHSU Agreement as amended by Amendment 1 expires on the date of the last to expire claim(s) covered in the patents licensed to Fennec or 8 years, whichever is later. The Company now has a licensed product with regulatory approval that is covered by the Orphan Drug Designation, the parties amended the term of the agreement. Sodium thiosulfate is currently protected by methods of use patents that the Company exclusively licensed from OHSU that expired in Europe in 2021 and that expire in the United States in 2038. The OHSU Agreement is terminable by either Fennec or OHSU in the event of a material breach of the agreement by either party after 45 days prior written notice. Fennec also has the right to terminate the OHSU Agreement at any time upon 60 days prior written notice and payment of all fees due to OHSU under the OHSU Agreement. The Company had accrued approximately $77 (1% net sales) in royalty expense to OHSU for the period ended March 31, 2024. Total amount accrued in royalty expense to OHSU as of March 31, 2024 was $314.

Litigation

Hope Medical Enterprises, Inc. Inter Partes Review (IPR) Challenges

On October 29, 2021, Hope Medical Enterprises, Inc. (“Hope”) filed a Petition for inter partes review (IPR2022-00123) with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) of the USPTO to invalidate U.S. Patent No. 10,596,190 (the “‘190 Patent”), which is exclusively in-licensed from Oregon Health & Science University (“OHSU”) and relates to a method of using PEDMARK^®. The ‘190 Patent was issued on March 24, 2020. On April 18, 2023, the PTAB invalidated the only claim of the‘190 Patent. The final written decision became effective June 20, 2023. The ‘190 Patent was previously listed in the United States Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (also known as the “Orange Book”). In light of PTAB’s final written decision on the invalidity of the ‘190 Patent, we requested that the FDA remove the ’190 Patent from the Orange Book. Two United States patent applications claiming priority through the ‘190 Patent remain pending at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”).

On October 29, 2021, Hope Medical Enterprises, Inc. (“Hope”) filed a Petition for inter partes review (IPR2022-00125) to invalidate our wholly owned U.S. Patent No. 10,792,363 (the “’363 Patent”), which relates to an anhydrous form of STS and its method of manufacture, which is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in the PEDMARK^® product. The ‘363 Patent was issued October 6, 2020. During the ‘363 IPR, we disclaimed the patent claims directed to the anhydrous morphic form of STS and continued with claims directed to its method of manufacture. Because the remaining claims in the ‘363 patent are directed to a method of manufacture, the ‘363 patent is not eligible for listing in the Orange Book. In September 2023, the PTAB issued a Final Written Decision in favor of Fennec and upholding the amended claim.

The USPTO has now granted four additional U.S. patents that cover the PEDMARK^® formulation and its use, each of which have been, or are in the process of being, listed in the U.S. FDA’s “Orange Book” (U.S. Patent No. 11,291,728 (issued April 5, 2022), U.S. Patent No. 11,510,984 (issued November 29, 2022), U.S. Patent No. 11,617,793 (issued April 4, 2023), and U.S. Patent No. 11,964,018 (issued April 23, 2024)). The USPO has also recently allowed two additional patent applications (U.S. Patent Application Nos. 17/992,703 and 17/992,707) that cover the use of the PEDMARK® formulation. Five additional United States patent applications from this family are pending at the USPTO covering various sodium thiosulfate formulations and uses. We plan to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights to PEDMARK^®if challenged. An invalidation of our patents covering PEDMARK^® could have a material adverse effect on our ability to protect our rights in PEDMARK^® beyond periods of marketing exclusivity for PEDMARK^® in the United States under Orphan Drug Designation.

CIPLA Litigation

On December 1, 2022, we received a letter dated November 30, 2022, notifying us that CIPLA Ltd. and CIPLA USA (“CIPLA”) submitted to the FDA an ANDA (ANDA No. 218028) for a generic version of PEDMARK^® (sodium thiosulfate solution) that contains Paragraph IV Certifications on two of our patents covering PEDMARK^®: the OHSU

licensed ‘190 Patent, expiration date January 2038; and our US 11,291,728 Patent (the “’728 Patent”), expiration date July 2039. On January 6, 2023, we received a letter dated January 5, 2023, notifying us that CIPLA submitted to the FDA a Paragraph IV Certification on our newly issued US 11,510,984 Patent (the “’984 Patent”). These patents are listed in FDA’s list of Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly referred to as the Orange Book, for PEDMARK^®. The certifications allege these patents are invalid or will not be infringed by the manufacture, use, or sale of CIPLA’s sodium thiosulfate solution.

Under the Food and Drug Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, as amended, after receipt of a valid Paragraph IV notice, the Company may bring a patent infringement suit in a federal district court against CIPLA within 45 days from the receipt of the Notice Letter and if such a suit is commenced within the 45-day period, the Company is entitled to a 30 month stay on the FDA’s ability to give final approval to any proposed products that reference PEDMARK^®. In addition to the 30-month stay, because we have received Orphan Drug Exclusivity, the FDA may not approve CIPLA’s ANDA for at least 7 years from PEDMARK^®’s FDA approval date of September 20, 2022.

On January 10, 2023, we filed suit against the CIPLA entities in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Case No. 2:23-cv-00123), for infringement of the ‘190 Patent, the ‘728 Patent, and the ‘984 Patent. On April 20, 2023, we filed an Amended Complaint to assert infringement of the ‘728 patent and the ‘984 Patent. On April 4, 2023, we were granted US 11,617,793 Patent (the “’793 Patent”) covering the formulation of the PEDMARK^® product, which was listed in the Orange Book on or around April 17, 2023, and has an expiration date of July 2039. On May 11, 2023, we received written notice of CIPLA’s Paragraph IV Certification as to the ’793 Patent, which was dated May 10, 2023, along with an enclosed statement of alleged factual and legal bases for stating that the ’793 Patent is invalid, unenforceable, and/or will not be infringed by CIPLA’s ANDA Product. On July 27, 2023, we filed a Second Amended Complaint to assert the ‘793 Patent. CIPLA filed an Answer to the Second Amended Complaint on August 31, 2023. The suit is ongoing.

PEDMARQSI^® (EU Brand name for PEDMARK^®) received European Commission approval in June 2023 and was granted 10 years of market exclusivity in Europe under Pediatric Use (“PUMA”).

Executive Severance

In the event of termination of Mr. Raykov's (Chief Executive Officer) employment with the Company other than for cause, the Company will be obligated to pay him a one-time severance payment equal to twelve months of salary (currently $608). In the event of termination of Mr. Andrade’s (Chief Financial Officer) employment with the Company other than for cause, the Company will be obligated to pay him a one-time severance payment equal to six months of salary (currently $220). In the event of termination of Mr. Haigh’s (Chief Operating Officer) employment with the Company other than for cause, the Company will be obligated to pay him a one-time severance payment equal to three months of salary (currently $112 as translated to US dollars at March 31, 2024).

Leases

The Company has an operating lease in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina utilizing a small space within a commercial building. The operating lease has payments of $0.4 per month with no scheduled increases. This operating lease is terminable with 30 days’ notice and has no penalties or contingent payments due.

On January 23, 2020, the Company entered into an Office Service Agreement (the “Office Service Agreement”) with Regus to lease office space in Hoboken, New Jersey. Per the terms of the Office Service Agreement, the monthly rent payments are $1. The Company was required to pay a security deposit of $2, which is the equivalent to two months of rent. The Office Service Agreement commenced on January 27, 2020, and terminated on July 31, 2020, thereafter the lease has been continuing on a month-to-month basis with either party being able to terminate the agreement by providing one months’ advance written notice of termination.

On August 1, 2023, the Company entered into a second Office Service Agreement (the “Second Office Service Agreement”) with Regus to lease office space in Dublin, Ireland. Per the terms of the Second Office Service Agreement, the monthly rent payments are $2. The Company was required to pay a security deposit of $5, which is the equivalent of two months’ rent. The Second Office Service Agreement commenced on August 1, 2023 and terminates on January 31,

2025, thereafter the lease may continue on a month-to-month basis with either party being able to terminate the agreement by providing one months’ advance written notice of termination.

The Second Office Service Agreement does not provide an implicit rate, and therefore the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rate when measuring the operating lease liability. The incremental borrowing rate represents an estimate of the interest rate the Company would incur at lease commencement to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments on a collateralized basis over the term of the lease within a particular currency environment. The Company uses an incremental borrowing rate consisting of the current prime rate plus 150 basis points for operating leases that commenced after August 2023. The depreciable lives of operating leases and leasehold improvements are limited by the expected lease term.


			March 31, 2024

Remaining lease terms (in months)			10
Discount rate			10	%

Maturities of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2023 were as follows (in thousands):
Year Ending December 31,
2024		$	15
2025			2
			17
Less imputed interest			2
Total lease liabilities		$	15

Current operating lease liabilities		$	17
Non-current operating lease liabilities			-
Total lease liabilities		$	17

Employee Benefit Plan

In May 2021, the Company established the Fennec Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 401(k) Plan (the “401(k) Plan”) for its employees, which is designed to be qualified under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Eligible employees are permitted to contribute to the 401(k) Plan within statutory and 401(k) Plan limits. As of March 31, 2024, the Company does not offer matching contributions.