MERRIMACK PHARMACEUTICALS INC - Quarter Report: 2023 September (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2023

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission file number: 001-35409

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(617) 720-8606

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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 every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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 October 31, 2023, there were 14,320,953 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

PART II

OTHER INFORMATION

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.

The forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q include, among other things, statements about:

We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, collaborations or investments that we may make.

You should read this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the documents that we have filed as exhibits to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NOTE REGARDING TRADEMARKS

ONIVYDE® is a trademark of Ipsen S.A. Any other trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are the property of their respective owners.

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PART I

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements.

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(unaudited)

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

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth in Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated herein by reference, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is entitled to receive up to $450.0 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of ONIVYDE® to Ipsen S.A., or Ipsen, in April 2017 and up to $54.5 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of MM-121 and MM-111 to Elevation Oncology, Inc. (formerly known as 14ner Oncology, Inc.), or Elevation, in July 2019. We do not have any ongoing research or development activities and are seeking potential acquirers for our remaining preclinical and clinical assets. We do not have any employees and instead use external consultants for the operation of our company.

On April 3, 2017, we completed the sale of ONIVYDE and MM-436 (the “commercial business”) to Ipsen (the “Ipsen sale”). In connection with the Ipsen sale, we are eligible to receive up to $450.0 million in additional regulatory approval-based milestone payments.

The remaining up to $450.0 million in potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale consist of:

Our non-commercial assets, including our clinical and preclinical development programs, were not included in the Ipsen sale and remain assets of ours.

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On May 30, 2019, we announced the completion of our review of strategic alternatives, following which our board of directors implemented a series of measures designed to extend our cash runway into 2027 and preserve our ability to capture the potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our financial resources sooner than we currently expect. In connection with that announcement, we discontinued the discovery efforts on our remaining preclinical programs: MM-401, an agonistic antibody targeting a novel immuno-oncology target, TNFR2; and MM-201, a highly stabilized agonist-Fc fusion protein targeting death receptors 4 and 5. We are seeking potential acquirers for our remaining preclinical and clinical assets.

The termination of our executive management team and all other employees was substantially completed by June 28, 2019 and fully completed by July 12, 2019. As of July 12, 2019, we did not have any employees. We have engaged external consultants to run our day-to-day operations. We have also entered into consulting agreements with certain former members of our executive management team who are supporting our relationship with current partners, assisting with the potential sale of remaining preclinical and clinical assets, and assisting with certain legal and regulatory matters and the continued wind-down of operations.

On July 12, 2019, we completed the sale to Elevation, or the Elevation sale, of our anti-HER3 antibody programs, MM-121 (seribantumab) and MM-111. In connection with the Elevation sale, we received an upfront cash payment of $3.5 million and are eligible to receive up to $54.5 million in additional potential development, regulatory approval and commercial-based milestone payments, consisting of:

In January 2023, Elevation announced it is pausing further investment in the clinical development of seribantumab and intends to pursue further development only in collaboration with a partner.

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On September 15, 2021, we entered into an Asset Purchase Option Agreement (the “Asset Purchase Option Agreement”) with a third party, pursuant to which the third party obtained an exclusive option, to purchase one of our preclinical programs with a consideration of $0.5 million. Under the terms of the Asset Purchase Option Agreement, the third party paid to us the option fee of $0.1 million.. On March 1, 2022, the third party exercised the option and we received consideration of $0.5 million and a gain of $0.5 million was recognized in March 2022.

On January 23, 2023, we entered into an Asset Purchase Option Agreement (the “Option Agreement”) with a third party (the “Purchaser”), pursuant to which the Purchaser agreed to obtain an exclusive option (the “Option”) to purchase one of the Company’s preclinical programs with a consideration of $700 thousand. Under the terms of the Option Agreement, the Purchaser paid to us the Option fee of $150 thousand and we incurred transaction cost of $11 thousand. A net gain of $139 thousand was recognized in January 2023. In July 2023, the Purchaser decided not to exercise the Option.

We previously devoted substantially all of our resources to our drug discovery and development efforts, including conducting clinical trials for our product candidates, protecting our intellectual property and providing general and administrative support for these operations. We have financed our operations primarily through private placements of convertible preferred stock, collaborations, public offerings of our securities, secured debt financings, sales of ONIVYDE and the Ipsen sale.

As of September 30, 2023, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and short-term investment of $18.9 million. We expect that our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investment as of September 30, 2023 will be sufficient to continue our operations into 2027, when we estimate the longest-term potential Ipsen milestone may be achieved.

As of September 30, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $548.6 million. Our net loss from our continuing operations was $0.9 million and $1.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We do not expect to have any research and development expenses going forward. We do not expect to be profitable from our continuing operations in the future.

Financial Operations Overview

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of stock-based compensation expenses, legal, intellectual property, business development, finance, information technology, corporate communications and investor relations. Other general and administrative expenses include costs for board of director’s costs, insurance expenses, legal and professional fees, and accounting and information technology services fees.

Interest income

Interest income consists primarily of interest income associated with our money market fund and short-term investment.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our condensed consolidated financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported expenses during the reporting periods. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our critical accounting policies and the methodologies and assumptions we apply under them have not materially changed since March 9, 2023, the date we filed our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. For more information on our critical accounting policies, refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

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Results of Operations

Comparison of the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses were $0.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023 compared to $0.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $27 thousand, or 5%. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase in the share-based compensation expense.

Interest income

Interest income was $0.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and $0.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily attributable to the increased interest rate earned on our money market funds and interest income earned from U.S. Treasury Bills and U.S. Treasury Notes.

Comparison of the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses were $1.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 compared to $1.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $0.1 million, or 8%. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase in the share-based compensation expense of apporximately $0.1 million.

Gain on sale of assets

Gain on sale of assets was $0.1 million and $0.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, attributable to the sale of certain of our preclinical programs to third parties.

Interest income

Interest income was $0.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and $0.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily attributable to the increase of interest rate associated with our money market fund and interest income earned from U.S. Treasury Bills and U.S. Treasury Notes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of liquidity

We have financed our operations through September 30, 2023 primarily through private placements of convertible preferred stock, collaborations, public offerings of our securities, secured debt financings, sales of our common stock, sales of our commercial and in-process research and development assets and exercise of stock options. As of September 30, 2023, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $18.9 million.

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Cash flows

The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022:

Operating activities

Cash used in operating activities of $1.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was primarily a result of our $0.9 million net loss from operations. The net loss was offset by stock-based compensation expense of $0.1 million, and also adjusted by $0.1 million gain on the sale of in-process research and development, $0.2 million of accretion on short-term investment and a decrease in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other of $0.1 million.

Cash used in operating activities of $1.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 was primarily a result of our $1.1 million net loss from operations. The net loss was offset by stock-based compensation expense of $0.1 million, and also adjusted by $0.4 million gain on the sale of in-process research and development and a net decrease in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other of $0.1 million.

Investing activities

Cash used in investing activities of $12.5 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2023, was due to purchases of short-term investments of $15.6 million, offset by proceeds from maturity of short-term investment of $3.0 million and $0.1 million net proceeds from the sale of in-process research and development.

Cash provided by investing activities of $0.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, was due to net proceeds from the sale of in-process research and development.

Financing activities

Cash provided by financing activities of $0.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was due to proceeds from the exercise of stock options. There was no cash provided by or used in financing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Funding requirements

We have incurred significant expenses and operating losses to date. On May 30, 2019, we announced the completion of our review of strategic alternatives, following which our board of directors implemented a series of measures designed to extend our cash runway into 2027 and preserve our ability to capture the potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale. In connection with that announcement, we discontinued the discovery efforts on our remaining preclinical programs and implemented a reduction in headcount resulting in the termination of all remaining employees as of July 12, 2019. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

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We do not believe that we will be able to raise a material amount of capital through the sale of our equity securities or debt financing. Rather, our goal is to judiciously expend our remaining cash until such time, if ever, as we receive additional milestone payments from Ipsen and Elevation. There can be no assurance as to the timing, terms or consummation of any financing. We do not have any committed external sources of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our stockholders. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams or product candidates.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

There were no material changes to our contractual obligations and commitments described under Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the SEC on March 9, 2023.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined under SEC rules.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 7, “Recent Accounting Pronouncements,” in the accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements for a full description of recent accounting pronouncements.

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

We invest in money market funds and U.S. Treasury Bills and U.S. Treasury Notes. The goals of our investment policy are preservation of capital, fulfillment of liquidity needs and fiduciary control of cash and investments. We also seek to maximize income from our investments without assuming significant risk.

Our primary exposure to market risk is interest income sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of interest rates, particularly because our investments are money market funds. Due to the short-term duration of our investment portfolio and the low risk profile of our investments, an immediate 10% change in interest rates would not have a material effect on the fair market value of our portfolio. We have the ability and intention to hold our investments until maturity, and therefore, we would not expect our operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by the effect of a sudden change in market interest rates on our investment portfolio.

We do not currently have any auction rate or mortgage-backed securities. We do not believe our cash and cash equivalents have significant risk of default or liquidity, however we cannot provide absolute assurance that in the future our investments will not be subject to adverse changes in market value.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our principal executive and financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2023. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2023, our principal executive and financial officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

No change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II

OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

None.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

In addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” that appear in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on March 9, 2023 (the “2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K”) and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, which was filed with the SEC on August 3, 2023 (the “2023 Second Quarter 10-Q”). There have been no material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in the 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the 2023 Second Quarter 10-Q.

Item 2. Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None.

Item 3. Default Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

Dividends

We do not currently intend to pay any regular cash dividends in the foreseeable future unless and until we receive any milestone payments from Ipsen or Elevation.

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Item 6. Exhibits.

* Filed herewith.

+ Furnished herewith.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

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