GeoVax Labs, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2015 June (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

OR

Commission file number 000-52091

GEOVAX LABS, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

(678) 384-7220

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.      Yes ☒    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).      Yes ☒    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See the definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act):

Yes ☐    No ☒

As of August 3, 2015, 31,950,813 shares of the Registrant’s common stock, $.001 par value, were issued and outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Part I -- FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1     Financial Statements

GEOVAX LABS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

GEOVAX LABS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

GEOVAX LABS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities:

During the six months ended June 30, 2014, an aggregate of 71 shares of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock were converted into 202,857 shares of common stock, and an aggregate of 420 shares of our Series B Convertible Preferred Stock were converted into 1,200,000 shares of common stock.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

GEOVAX LABS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

June 30, 2015

(unaudited)

Item 2     Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition And Results of Operations

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

In addition to historical information, the information included in this Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risk factors set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and should not be relied upon as predictions of future events. Certain such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ‘‘believes,’’ ‘‘expects,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘seeks,’’ ‘‘approximately,” ‘‘intends,’’ ‘‘plans,’’ ‘‘pro forma,’’ ‘‘estimates,’’ or ‘‘anticipates’’ or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily dependent on assumptions, data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and may be incapable of being realized. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements:

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect our management’s analysis only. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Overview

GeoVax is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines using our novel platform technology. Our current development programs are focused on Ebola and Marburg viruses, and HIV. Our HIV vaccine technology was developed in collaboration with researchers at Emory University, the NIH, and the CDC, and is exclusively licensed to us from Emory University. We also have nonexclusive licenses to certain patents owned by the NIH. Our Ebola and Marburg vaccines are being developed with technology licensed to us from the NIH.

Our HIV vaccine development efforts are focused on a preventive vaccine to address the clade B subtype of the HIV virus that is most prevalent in the developed world (primarily North America and Western Europe). All of the clinical trials for our preventive HIV vaccine (through Phase 2a) have been conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) with funding from the NIH. Through a continued collaboration with the NIH and HVTN, in late 2015 we expect to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial investigating the effect of a “protein boost” to increase the antibody responses elicited by our vaccine. While this effort continues, we are also exploring our options to secure funding to advance our vaccine (without the additional protein boost) directly into pivotal Phase 2b efficacy trials. We have also begun preclinical studies to develop an HIV vaccine candidate for the clade C subtype of HIV prevalent in the developing world (primarily sub-Saharan Africa and India); these studies are being supported by NIH grants. Our Ebola vaccine development efforts were initiated in 2014 and we are currently conducting preclinical animal studies through a collaboration with the NIH.

We have neither received regulatory approval for any of our vaccine candidates, nor do we have any commercialization capabilities; therefore, it is possible that we may never successfully derive significant product revenues from any of our existing or future development programs or product candidates.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

This discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and adjusts the estimates as necessary. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our significant accounting policies are summarized in Note 2 to our financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements:

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue in accordance with the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101, Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements, as amended by Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, Revenue Recognition, (“SAB 104”). SAB 104 provides guidance in applying U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) to revenue recognition issues, and specifically addresses revenue recognition for upfront, nonrefundable fees received in connection with research collaboration agreements. During 2015 and 2014, our revenue consisted of grant funding received from the NIH. Revenue from these arrangements is approximately equal to the costs incurred and is recorded as income as the related costs are incurred.

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”), which creates a new Topic, Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606. The standard is principle-based and provides a five-step model to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle is that an entity should recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 is effective for the Company beginning in 2017 and allows for either full retrospective adoption or modified retrospective adoption. We are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2014-09 on our financial statements.

Stock-Based Compensation

We account for stock-based transactions in which the Company receives services from employees, directors or others in exchange for equity instruments based on the fair value of the award at the grant date. Compensation cost for awards of common stock is estimated based on the price of the underlying common stock on the date of issuance. Compensation cost for stock options or warrants is estimated at the grant date based on each instrument’s fair value as calculated by the Black-Scholes option pricing model. We recognize stock-based compensation cost as expense ratably on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for the award.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Historically, our primary uses of cash have been to finance our research and development activities. We have funded our activities to date primarily from government grants and clinical trial assistance, and from sales of our equity securities. Due to our significant research and development expenditures, we have not been profitable and have generated operating losses since our inception in 2001.

We believe that our existing cash resources will be sufficient to fund our planned operations through the first quarter of 2016. We will require additional funds to continue our planned operations beyond that date. We are currently seeking sources of non-dilutive capital through government grant programs and clinical trial support, and we may also conduct additional offerings of our equity securities. However, additional funding may not be available on favorable terms or at all and if we fail to obtain additional capital when needed, we may be required to delay, scale back, or eliminate some or all of our research and development programs as well as reduce our general and administrative expenses.

At June 30, 2015, we had cash and cash equivalents of $2,475,726 and working capital of $2,373,831, as compared to $1,101,651 and $1,038,472, respectively, at December 31, 2014. As of June 30, 2015, we had an accumulated deficit of $31.2 million and we expect for the foreseeable future our operations will result in a net loss on a quarterly and annual basis.

Net cash used in operating activities was $1,289,884 and $1,130,895 for the six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Net cash used in investing activities was $15,850 and $11,164 for the six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $2,679,809 and $-0- for the six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The increase is related to our February 2015 financing discussed below.

The NIH has funded the costs of conducting all of our human clinical trials (Phase 1 and Phase 2a) to date for our preventive HIV vaccines, with GeoVax incurring certain costs associated with manufacturing the clinical vaccine supplies and other study support. We also expect the NIH to fully fund the cost of another Phase 1 trial (HVTN 114) of our preventive HIV vaccine to begin in late 2015, which will investigate the effect of adding a “protein boost” component to our vaccine. While efforts are underway to evaluate the protein boost concept, we also intend to seek funding to expedite our vaccine (without the additional protein boost) directly into pivotal Phase 2b efficacy trials.

During 2014, we completed a Phase 1 clinical trial (GV-TH-01) investigating the therapeutic use of our GOVX-B11 vaccine in HIV-infected patients. Future therapeutic studies of our vaccine may investigate the vaccine’s ability to act as a “shock agent” in a shock and kill therapy in combination with standard of care antiretroviral drug therapy to seek a cure for HIV infection. We are currently not contemplating the use of any of our existing cash resources for this program. The timetable and specific plans for additional clinical studies will be dependent upon our ability to secure external funding for the program, and on the nature of any potential collaborations we may establish.

Our Ebola/Marburg vaccine program began in late 2014, and our primary activities during 2015 are focused on constructing the vaccines and conducting preclinical animal studies. During April 2015, we entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of NIH, pursuant to which NIAID will contribute certain materials and will carry out animal protection studies in small animals and, potentially, in non-human primates. The initial animal studies are ongoing, and we expect to be ready for human clinical trials to begin in late 2016 or early 2017.

In addition to clinical trial support from the NIH for our preventive HIV vaccines and collaborative research support from NIAID for our Ebola vaccine program, our operations have been partially funded by NIH research grants for our HIV program. As of June 30, 2015, there was an aggregate of $353,652 of unused grant funds available for use during the remainder of 2015 and the first half of 2016. We intend to pursue additional grants from the federal government for our HIV and Ebola programs but cannot be assured of success.

In February 2015, we sold shares of Series C convertible preferred stock for an aggregate purchase price of $3.0 million. Net proceeds to the Company were approximately $2.7 million. As part of this transaction, we also issued several series of five-year and one-year stock purchase warrants. The one-year warrants have a current exercise price of $0.142 and an expiration date of February 27, 2016. If exercised in full, these warrants would result in net cash proceeds to us of approximately $2.4 million.

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements that are likely or reasonably likely to have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Contractual Obligations

As of June 30, 2015, we had noncancellable lease obligations and other firm purchase obligations totaling approximately $188,000, as compared to approximately $297,000 at December 31, 2014. We have no committed lines of credit and no other committed funding or long-term debt. We have employment agreements with our senior management team, each of which may be terminated with 30 days advance notice. There have been no other material changes to the table presented in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Results of Operations

Net Loss

We recorded a net loss of $676,203 for the three months ended June 30, 2015, as compared to $679,537 for the three months ended June 30, 2014. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, we recorded a net loss of $1,376,657, as compared to a net loss of $1,295,455 for the six months ended June 30, 2014. Our net losses will typically fluctuate due to the timing of activities and related costs associated with our vaccine research and development activities and our general and administrative costs, as described in more detail below.

Grant Revenue

During the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015, we recorded grant revenue of $71,474 and $174,898, respectively, as compared to $180,441 and $337,781, respectively, during the comparable periods of 2014. Grant revenues for these periods relate to grants from the NIH in support of our HIV vaccine development activities. We record revenue associated with these grants as the related costs and expenses are incurred. The difference in our grant revenues from period to period is directly related to our expenditures for activities supported by the grants, and can fluctuate significantly based on the timing of the related expenditures.

In September 2007, the NIH awarded us a grant entitled “GM-CSF-Adjuvanted Clade C DNA/MVA and MVA/MVA Vaccines”. The aggregate award (including subsequent amendments) totaled approximately $20.4 million. For this grant, we recorded revenues of $14,836 and $75,464 for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015, respectively, as compared to $112,302 and $215,654, respectively during the comparable periods of 2014. There are no unrecognized grant funds remaining and available for use pursuant to this grant as of June 30, 2015.

In July 2013, the NIH awarded us a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant entitled “Enhancing Protective Antibody Responses for a GM-CSF Adjuvanted HIV Vaccine.” The initial grant award was $276,690 for the first year of a two year project period beginning August 1, 2013. In July 2014, the NIH awarded us $289,641 for the second year of the project period. For this grant, we recorded revenues of $56,638 and $99,434 for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015, respectively, as compared to $68,139 and $122,127, respectively during the comparable periods of 2014. There is $54,067 of unrecognized grant funds remaining and available for use pursuant to this grant as of June 30, 2015, which we anticipate recognizing as revenue during the third quarter of 2015.

In June 2015, the NIH awarded us a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant entitled “Directed Lineage Immunizations for Eliciting Broadly Neutralizing Antibody.” The initial grant award of $299,585 is for the first year of a two year project period beginning July 1, 2015. No revenues related to this grant have been recorded during the three or six month periods ended June 30, 2015. We anticipate recognizing the full amount of this grant as revenue over the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.

Research and Development

During the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2015, we recorded $384,653 and $788,282, respectively, of research and development expense as compared to $516,202 and $919,062, respectively, during the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2014. Research and development expense for the three month and six month periods of 2015 includes stock-based compensation expense of $5,316 and $10,632, respectively, while the comparable periods of 2014 include stock-based compensation expense of $7,878 and $17,016, respectively (see discussion under “Stock-Based Compensation Expense” below). Our research and development expenses can fluctuate considerably on a period-to-period basis, depending on our need for vaccine manufacturing by third parties, the timing of expenditures related to our grants from the NIH, the timing of costs associated with clinical trials being funding directly by us, and other factors.

We cannot predict the level of support we may receive from the HVTN, NIH, or other federal agencies (or divisions thereof) for our future research and development efforts. We expect that our research and development costs will increase in the future as we progress into the later stage human clinical trials for our HIV vaccines and as we expand our Ebola and Marburg vaccine development program.

Our vaccine candidates still require significant, time-consuming and costly research and development, testing and regulatory clearances. Completion of clinical development will take several years or more, but the length of time generally varies substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of a product candidate. The NIH has funded the costs of conducting all of our human clinical trials to date for our preventive HIV vaccine, with GeoVax incurring costs associated with manufacturing the clinical vaccine supplies and other study support. We are having discussions with the HVTN and NIH with regard to the conduct of an additional trial of our preventive vaccine, and we expect the NIH will provide support for this trial as well. We intend to seek government and/or third party support for future clinical human trials and for production of our vaccine product for use in clinical trials, but there can be no assurance that we will be successful.

The duration and the cost of future clinical trials may vary significantly over the life of the project as a result of differences arising during development of the human clinical trial protocols, including, among others:

Due to the uncertainty regarding the timing and regulatory approval of clinical trials and pre-clinical studies, our future expenditures are likely to be highly volatile in future periods depending on the outcomes of the trials and studies. From time to time, we will make determinations as to how much funding to direct to these programs in response to their scientific, clinical and regulatory success, anticipated market opportunity and the availability of capital to fund our programs.

In developing our product candidates, we are subject to a number of risks that are inherent in the development of products based on innovative technologies. For example, it is possible that our vaccines may be ineffective or toxic, or will otherwise fail to receive the necessary regulatory clearances, causing us to delay, extend or terminate our product development efforts. Any failure by us to obtain, or any delay in obtaining, regulatory approvals could cause our research and development expenditures to increase which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. Because of the uncertainties of clinical trials, estimating the completion dates or cost to complete our research and development programs is highly speculative and subjective. As a result of these factors, we are unable to accurately estimate the nature, timing and future costs necessary to complete the development of our product candidates. In addition, we are unable to reasonably estimate the period when material net cash inflows could commence from the sale, licensing or commercialization of such product candidates, if ever.

General and Administrative Expense

During the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2015, we incurred general and administrative costs of $364,889 and $766,330, respectively, as compared to $344,862 and $716,664, respectively, during the comparable periods in 2014. General and administrative costs include officers’ salaries, legal and accounting costs, patent costs, amortization expense associated with intangible assets, and other general corporate expenses. General and administrative expense for the three month and six month periods of 2015 include stock-based compensation expense of $11,587 and $22,958 , respectively; while the comparable periods of 2014 include stock-based compensation expense of $17,169 and $34,338, respectively (see discussion under “Stock-Based Compensation Expense” below). We expect that our general and administrative costs may increase in the future in support of expanded research and development activities and other general corporate activities.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

We recorded stock-based compensation expense of $16,903 and $33,590 during the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2015, respectively, as compared to $25,047 and $51,354, respectively, during the comparable periods of 2014. We allocate stock-based compensation expense to research and development expense or general and administrative expense according to the classification of cash compensation paid to the employee, consultant or director to whom the stock compensation was granted. For the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, stock-based compensation expense was allocated as follows:

Other Income

Interest income for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 was $1,865 and $3,057, respectively, as compared to $1,086 and $2,490, respectively, for comparable periods of 2014. The variances between periods are primarily attributable to cash available for investment and interest rate fluctuations.

Item 3     Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Our exposure to market risk is limited primarily to interest income sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of United States interest rates, particularly because a significant portion of our investments are in institutional money market funds. The primary objective of our investment activities is to preserve principal while at the same time maximizing the income received without significantly increasing risk. Due to the nature of our short-term investments, we believe that we are not subject to any material market risk exposure.

Item 4     Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that the information required to be disclosed in reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), is (1) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (2) accumulated and communicated to management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Our management has carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our Principal Executive Officer and our Principal Financial and Accounting Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms.

Changes in internal control over financial reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the three months ended June 30, 2015 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II -- OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1     Legal Proceedings

None.

Item 1A     Risk Factors

For information regarding factors that could affect the our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity, see the risk factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. See also “Forward-Looking Statements,” included in Item 2 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. There have been no material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 2     Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None not previously disclosed on Form 8-K.

Item 3     Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4     Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable

Item 5     Other Information

During the period covered by this report, there was no information required to be disclosed by us in a Current Report on Form 8-K that was not so reported, nor were there any material changes to the procedures by which our security holders may recommend nominees to our board of directors.

Item 6     Exhibits

The exhibits filed with this report are set forth on the exhibit index following the signature page and are incorporated by reference in their entirety into this item.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this quarterly report on Form 10-Q to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit

Number       Description

_____________________