REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS INC - Quarter Report: 2009 September (Form 10-Q)
Table of Contents
Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 10-Q
þ | Quarterly Report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2009
o | 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 001-15070
RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Delaware | 52-1253406 | |
(State of Incorporation) | (IRS Employer I.D. Number) |
3 Bethesda Metro Center
Suite 630
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Suite 630
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(301) 280-1992
(Registrants 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 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 þ No o
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 o No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a
non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of accelerated filer,
large accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer o | Accelerated filer o | Non-accelerated filer o | Smaller reporting company þ | |||
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ
60,406,828
shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, were outstanding as of November 13,
2009.
RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Form 10-Q
Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2009
Form 10-Q
Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2009
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Exhibit 31.1 | ||||||||
Exhibit 31.2 | ||||||||
Exhibit 32.1 | ||||||||
Exhibit 32.2 |
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Part I Financial Information
Item 1. | Financial Statements |
RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Balance Sheets
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
(Unaudited) | ||||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Current assets |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 1,108,870 | $ | 5,655,367 | ||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
266,069 | 236,477 | ||||||
Total current assets |
1,374,939 | 5,891,844 | ||||||
Fixed assets, net of accumulated
depreciation of $94,201 and $81,623 |
12,461 | 25,039 | ||||||
Other non-current assets |
5,693 | 5,693 | ||||||
Total assets |
$ | 1,393,093 | $ | 5,922,576 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY |
||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
$ | 56,750 | $ | 70,554 | ||||
Accrued expenses |
774,039 | 1,255,358 | ||||||
Total current liabilities |
830,789 | 1,325,912 | ||||||
Commitments |
| | ||||||
Stockholders equity |
||||||||
Preferred stock, $.001 par value per
share, 1,000,000 authorized; none issued
and outstanding |
| | ||||||
Common stock, par value $.001 per share,
100,000,000 shares authorized; 54,675,122
and 53,622,491 issued and outstanding at
September 30, 2009 and December 31, 2008,
respectively |
54,675 | 53,623 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
83,730,656 | 82,550,585 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit |
(83,223,027 | ) | (78,007,544 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders equity |
562,304 | 4,596,664 | ||||||
Total liabilities and stockholders equity |
$ | 1,393,093 | $ | 5,922,576 | ||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
Three Months ended September 30, | Nine Months ended September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2009 | 2008 | 2009 | 2008 | |||||||||||||
Sponsored research revenue |
$ | | $ | 136,245 | $ | | $ | 168,412 | ||||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Research and development |
648,418 | 1,766,350 | 3,064,248 | 5,198,515 | ||||||||||||
General and administrative |
593,965 | 773,892 | 2,161,539 | 2,954,177 | ||||||||||||
Total operating expenses |
1,242,383 | 2,540,242 | 5,225,787 | 8,152,692 | ||||||||||||
Loss from operations |
(1,242,383 | ) | (2,403,997 | ) | (5,225,787 | ) | (7,984,280 | ) | ||||||||
Interest income |
1,254 | 30,606 | 10,304 | 138,340 | ||||||||||||
Net loss |
$ | (1,241,129 | ) | $ | (2,373,391 | ) | $ | (5,215,483 | ) | $ | (7,845,940 | ) | ||||
Basic and diluted net loss per common share |
$ | (0.02 | ) | $ | (0.05 | ) | $ | (0.10 | ) | $ | (0.16 | ) | ||||
Weighted average number of common shares
outstanding |
54,675,122 | 51,553,527 | 54,216,430 | 50,604,767 | ||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
For the Nine Months ended | ||||||||
September 30, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Operating activities: |
||||||||
Net loss |
$ | (5,215,483 | ) | $ | (7,845,940 | ) | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
12,578 | 14,802 | ||||||
Non-cash share-based compensation |
607,440 | 820,959 | ||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||||||
Accounts receivable |
| 26,951 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
(29,592 | ) | (6,506 | ) | ||||
Accounts payable |
(13,804 | ) | 128,508 | |||||
Accrued expenses |
(481,319 | ) | (977,648 | ) | ||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(5,120,180 | ) | (7,838,874 | ) | ||||
Investing activities: |
||||||||
Proceeds from sales/maturities of short-term investments |
| 4,581,135 | ||||||
Net cash provided by investing activities |
| 4,581,135 | ||||||
Financing activities: |
||||||||
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock |
573,683 | 4,947,760 | ||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
573,683 | 4,947,760 | ||||||
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents |
(4,546,497 | ) | 1,690,021 | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents: |
||||||||
Beginning of period |
5,655,367 | 3,696,878 | ||||||
End of period |
$ | 1,108,870 | $ | 5,386,899 | ||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
5
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RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Notes to Financial Statements
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 (Unaudited)
A. Organization, Business Overview and Basis of Presentation
Organization and Nature of Operations. RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (the Company, We,
Us, Our), a Delaware corporation, was incorporated in 1982. We are focused on the discovery
and development of novel molecules to accelerate tissue and organ repair. Our operations are
confined to one business segment: the development and marketing of product candidates based on
Thymosin Beta 4 (Tb4), an amino acid peptide.
Management Plans to Address Operating Conditions. We incurred a net loss of $5.2 million for the
nine months ended September 30, 2009 and had an accumulated deficit of $83.2 million as of that
date. On April 30, 2009, we issued 1,052,631 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase
263,158 shares of our common stock to an affiliate of Sigma-Tau Group, our largest stockholder
group, for gross proceeds of $600,000. On October 5, 2009, we issued 4,512,194 shares of common
stock and warrants to purchase 2,256,097 shares of our common stock in a registered direct offering
to new institutional investors, for gross proceeds of approximately $3.7 million. On October 15,
2009, we issued 1,219,512 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 609,756 shares of our
common stock to an affiliate of Sigma-Tau Group for gross proceeds of $1.0 million. Between April
1, 2009 and September 30, 2009 we also reduced our ongoing monthly cash outflows through salary
reductions and reductions in director fees in exchange for the issuance of stock options to our
non-employee directors and certain of our executives and employees. Those actions reduced our cash
expenses by approximately $0.3 million through September 30, 2009. We intend to maintain tight
cost controls and continue to operate under a closely monitored budget approved by the Board of
Directors. Accordingly, we believe that our cash resources will fund our operations through the
second quarter of 2010.
We anticipate incurring additional losses in the future as we continue to explore the potential
clinical benefits of Tb4-based product candidates over multiple medical indications. We will need
substantial additional funds in order to initiate any further preclinical studies or clinical
trials, and to fund our operations beyond the second quarter of 2010. Accordingly, we are in the
process of exploring various alternatives, including, without limitation, additional public
offerings or private placements of our securities, debt financing, corporate collaborations,
licensing arrangements or the sale of our company or certain of our intellectual property rights.
Although we intend to continue to seek additional financing and/or strategic partners, we may not
be able to complete a financing or strategic transaction, either on favorable terms or at all. If
we are unable to complete a financing or strategic transaction, we may not be able to continue as a
going concern after our funds have been exhausted, and we could be required to significantly
curtail or cease operations, file for bankruptcy or liquidate and dissolve. There can be no
assurance that we will be able to obtain any sources of funding. Even if we are able to obtain
sufficient funding, other factors including competition, dependence on third parties, uncertainty
regarding patents, protection of proprietary rights, manufacturing of peptides and technology
obsolescence could have a significant impact on us and our operations.
To achieve profitability we, or a strategic partner, must successfully conduct pre-clinical studies
and clinical trials, obtain required regulatory approvals and successfully manufacture and market
those pharmaceutical products we wish to commercialize. The time required to reach profitability is
highly uncertain and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve sustained
profitability, if at all.
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The accompanying unaudited interim financial statements reflect, in the opinion of management, all
adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation of
our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for each period presented. These
statements have been prepared in accordance with U. S. generally accepted accounting principles
(GAAP) and with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for
interim financial statements. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and
footnotes required by GAAP. The accounting policies underlying our unaudited interim financial
statements are consistent with those underlying our audited annual financial statements. These
unaudited interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited annual
financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2008, and related notes thereto,
included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (the Annual
Report).
The accompanying December 31, 2008 financial information was derived from our audited financial
statements. Operating results for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009 are
not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2009 or
any other future period.
B. New Accounting Standards
In June 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 168, The FASB Accounting Standards Codification and the
Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles a replacement of FASB Statement No. 162
(SFAS No. 168). SFAS No. 168 reduces the U.S. GAAP hierarchy to two levels, one that is
authoritative and one that is not. We began to use the new guidance and reflect the new accounting
guidance references when referring to GAAP in this Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended
September 30, 2009, and all subsequent public filings will use the new accounting guidance
references as the sole source of authoritative literature. As the guidance was not intended to
change or alter existing GAAP, adoption of this pronouncement did not have an effect on our
financial statements.
We adopted the provisions of FASB Accounting Standards Updated (ASU) No. 2009-05, Measuring
Liabilities at Fair Value (ASU No. 2009-05) for interim periods ending after August 28, 2009.
ASU No. 2009-05 provides guidance on measuring liabilities at fair value when a quoted price in an
active market for the identical liability is not available. The adoption of this pronouncement did
not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.
We adopted the provisions of FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 855 (formerly
SFAS No. 165, Subsequent Events) for the interim periods ending after June 15, 2009. ASC
855-10-50-1 establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosures of events that occur
after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or available to be issued.
The adoption of this pronouncement did not have a material impact on our financial position or
results of operations.
We adopted the provisions of ASC 825-10-65-1 (formerly FASB Staff Position No. FAS 107-1, Interim
Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments) for the interim periods ending after
March 15, 2009. ASC 825-10-65-1 expands the fair value disclosures required for all financial
instruments within the scope of ASC 825-10-65-1 to include interim periods. The adoption of this
pronouncement did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.
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C. Sponsored Research Revenues
We account for non-refundable grants as Sponsored Research Revenue. Associated revenues are
recognized when the associated research has been performed and the related underlying costs are
incurred.
D. Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per common share for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009 and 2008,
respectively, is based on the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during
the periods. Basic and diluted loss per share are identical for all periods presented as
potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the calculation of the diluted net loss per
common share because the inclusion of such securities would be antidilutive. The potentially
dilutive securities include 9,998,860 shares and 8,596,486 shares in 2009 and 2008, respectively,
reserved for the exercise of outstanding options and warrants.
E. Stock-Based Compensation
We recognized $203,577 and $280,609 in stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended
September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively, and $607,440 and $820,959 in stock-based compensation
expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Given our current
estimates of future forfeitures, we expect to recognize the compensation cost related to non-vested
options as of September 30, 2009 of $684,000 over the weighted average remaining recognition period
of 0.95 years.
In the second quarter of 2009, we implemented a 35% reduction in salaries of substantially all
executives and staff, along with our directors. In return, our directors and those employees
participating in the salary reduction received, in the aggregate, options to purchase 765,439
shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.57 per share. Effective October 1, 2009, the
salaries and fees paid to our employees and directors were restored to the levels in effect at
December 31, 2008 and, therefore, the options ceased vesting as of September 30, 2009 but remain
exercisable in accordance with the terms of our stock option plan. During the nine months ended
September 30, 2008, 487,500 options were granted to our employees at a weighted average exercise
price per share of $1.25.
We use the Black-Scholes valuation model to estimate the fair value of options granted.
Black-Scholes considers a number of factors, including the market price and volatility of our
common stock. We used the following forward-looking range of assumptions to value each stock option
granted to employees, directors and consultants during the nine months ended September 30, 2009 and
2008:
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Dividend yield |
0.0 | % | 0.0 | % | ||||
Risk free rate of return |
1.9 | % | 2.7 3.7 | % | ||||
Expected life in years |
5.38 | 4.75 | ||||||
Volatility |
72 | % | 68 73 | % | ||||
Forfietures |
2.6 | % | 0.0 | % |
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F. Income Taxes
As of September 30, 2009, there have been no material changes to our uncertain tax positions
disclosures as provided in Note 8 of the Annual Report. We do not anticipate unrecognized tax
benefits will significantly change prior to September 30, 2010.
G. Fair Value Measurements
We adopted the provisions of ASC 820-10, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (formerly SFAS
No. 157, Fair Value Measurements), with respect to non-financial assets and liabilities effective
January 1, 2009. This pronouncement defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair
value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The adoption of ASC 820-10 did not
have an impact on the Companys financial statements. ASC 820-10 does not require assets and
liabilities that were previously recorded at cost to be recorded at fair value. For assets and
liabilities that are already required to be disclosed at fair value, ASC 820-10 introduced, or
reiterated, a number of key concepts which form the foundation of the fair value measurement
approach to be used for financial reporting purposes. Namely, fair values should reflect the
amounts that we estimate to receive in connection with the sale of an asset or paid in connection
with the transfer of a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the
measurement date (the exit price). To facilitate the determination of these estimates, ASC 820-10
established a hierarchy that prioritizes the use of inputs used in valuation techniques into the
following three levels:
| Level 1 Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities. |
| Level 2 Observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets
for identical assets and liabilities. |
| Level 3 Unobservable inputs. |
At September 30, 2009, we held no qualifying liabilities, and our only qualifying assets that
required measurement under the foregoing fair value hierarchy were money market funds included in
Cash and Cash Equivalents valued at $0.5 million using Level 1 inputs.
H. Equity
On April 30, 2009 we issued 1,052,631 shares of common stock at a price of $0.57 per share, and
warrants to purchase 263,158 shares of our common stock at $0.91 per share, to an affiliate of
Sigma-Tau Group, our largest stockholder group, for gross proceeds of $600,000.
I. Subsequent Event
We evaluated all events and transactions through November 15, 2009, the date we issued these
financial statements. During this period we did not have any material recognizable subsequent
events. However, we did have the following non-recognizable subsequent events:
| On October 5, 2009, we issued 4,512,194 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase
2,256,097 shares of our common stock in a registered direct offering to new institutional
investors, for proceeds of approximately $3.3 million, net of approximately $400,000 of
offering costs. |
| On October 15, 2009, we issued 1,219,512 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase
609,756 shares of our common stock to an affiliate of Sigma-Tau Group for gross proceeds of
$1.0 million. |
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ITEM 2. | Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations |
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including this Part I., Item 2., Managements Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, contains forward-looking statements
regarding us and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be
identified by the words project, believe, anticipate, plan, expect, estimate, intend,
should, would, could, will, may or other similar expressions. In addition, any
statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our clinical development
programs and schedules, our future capital resources and funding requirements, our anticipated
growth and trends in our business and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are
forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee that we will achieve the plans, intentions or
expectations expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. There are a number of
important factors that could cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or events to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements we make,
including those described under Risk Factors set forth below in Part II., Item 1A. In addition,
any forward-looking statements we make in this document speak only as of the date of this document,
and we do not intend to update any such forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances that occur after that date.
Overview
Our operations consist primarily of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials related to the
development of product candidates based on Thymosin beta 4
(Tb4), a 43 amino acid
peptide. Currently, we have three Tb4-based drug formulations in clinical development: RGN-137, a
topically applied gel product candidate for chronic dermal wounds; RGN-259, a sterile eye drop for
ophthalmic injuries; and RGN-352, a parenteral (injectable) formulation for internal indications,
such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or heart attack, stroke and multiple sclerosis.
We are also seeking a partner for development of an inhaled formulation of Tb4 known as RGN-457,
which is in preclinical development targeting cystic fibrosis.
In the first quarter of 2009, we completed and reported results from two Phase II dermal wound
healing clinical trials using RGN-137 and terminated a proof-of-concept Phase II ophthalmic wound
healing trial using RGN-259, due to slow patient enrollment in the trial and encouraging
compassionate use data in another study. Under a compassionate use Investigational New Drug
Application (IND), corneal wound healing was observed following treatment of four patients with
RGN-259. Subject to our ability to obtain additional financing, we intend to initiate in 2010 a
new Phase II/III trial to evaluate RGN-259 in an ophthalmic indication more similar to that
observed under the compassionate use IND. We have also finished treating 80 healthy subjects in a
Phase I clinical trial utilizing RGN-352, consisting of 40 subjects in each of two phases, to
support our cardiovascular clinical program. To date there have been no reported drug-related
adverse events. These healthy subjects will be followed for six months after treatment, at which
time we will report final results from this trial.
We are currently enrolling patients in one ongoing Phase II dermal wound healing clinical trial
evaluating RGN-137 in the treatment of Epidermolysis Bullosa, or EB, which we expect to complete in
2010.
An affiliate of Sigma-Tau Group, who together with its affiliates are our largest stockholder
group, funded all costs associated with one of the Phase II dermal wound healing clinical trials
for RGN-137 in the European Union. We have been primarily responsible for the costs associated
with the other completed trials as well as the ongoing Phase II trial for EB.
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We incurred a net loss of $5.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 and had an
accumulated deficit of $83.2 million as of that date. On April 30, 2009, we issued 1,052,631
shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 263,158 shares of our common stock to an affiliate
of Sigma-Tau Group, our largest stockholder group, for gross proceeds of $600,000. On October 5,
2009, we issued 4,512,194 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 2,256,097 shares of our
common stock in a registered direct offering to new institutional investors, for gross proceeds of
approximately $3.7 million. On October 15, 2009, we issued 1,219,512 shares of common stock and
warrants to purchase 609,756 shares of our common stock to an affiliate of Sigma-Tau Group for
gross proceeds of $1.0 million. Between April 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009 we also reduced our
ongoing monthly cash outflows through salary reductions and reductions in director fees in exchange
for the issuance of stock options to our non-employee directors and certain of our executives and
employees. Those actions reduced our cash expenses by approximately $0.3 million through September
30, 2009. We have reinstated salaries and directors fees effective October 1, 2009. We intend to maintain tight cost controls and continue to operate under a closely
monitored budget approved by the Board of Directors. Accordingly, we believe that our cash
resources will fund our operations through the second quarter of 2010.
We anticipate incurring additional losses in the future as we continue to explore the potential
clinical benefits of Tb4-based product candidates over multiple medical indications. We will need
substantial additional funds in order to initiate any further preclinical studies or clinical
trials, and to fund our operations beyond the second quarter of 2010. Accordingly, we are in the
process of exploring various alternatives, including, without limitation, additional public
offerings or private placements of our securities, debt financing, corporate collaborations,
licensing arrangements or the sale of our company or certain of our intellectual property rights.
Although we intend to continue to seek additional financing and/or strategic partners, we may not
be able to complete a financing or strategic transaction, either on favorable terms or at all. If
we are unable to complete a financing or strategic transaction, we may not be able to continue as a
going concern after our funds have been exhausted, and we could be required to significantly
curtail or cease operations, file for bankruptcy or liquidate and dissolve. There can be no
assurance that we will be able to obtain any sources of funding. Even if we are able to obtain
sufficient funding, other factors including competition, dependence on third parties, uncertainty
regarding patents, protection of proprietary rights, manufacturing of peptides and technology
obsolescence could have a significant impact on us and our operations.
To achieve profitability we, or a strategic partner, must successfully conduct pre-clinical studies
and clinical trials, obtain required regulatory approvals and successfully manufacture and market
those pharmaceutical products we wish to commercialize. The time required to reach profitability is
highly uncertain and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve sustained
profitability, if at all.
Most of our expenditures to date have been for Research and Development activities (R&D) and
General and Administrative (G&A) activities. R&D costs include all of the wholly-allocable costs
associated with our various clinical programs passed through to us by our outsourced vendors.
Those costs include: manufacturing Tb4 and peptide fragments; formulation of Tb4 into
our various product candidates; stability studies for both Tb4 and the various formulations;
pre-clinical toxicology; safety and pharmacokinetic studies; clinical trial management; medical
oversight; laboratory evaluations; statistical data analysis; regulatory compliance; quality
assurance; and other related activities. R&D includes cash and non-cash compensation, employee
benefits, travel and other miscellaneous costs of our internal R&D personnel, seven persons in
total, who are wholly dedicated to R&D efforts. R&D also includes a proration of our common
infrastructure costs for office space and communications. We expense our R&D costs as they are
incurred.
R&D expenditures are subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with clinical trials
and the FDA review and approval process. As a result, these expenses could exceed our expectations,
possibly materially. We are uncertain as to what we will incur in future research and development
costs for our clinical studies, as these amounts are subject to the outcome of current studies,
managements continuing assessment of the economics of each individual research and development
project and the internal competition for project funding.
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G&A costs include outside professional fees for legal, audit and accounting services, including the
costs to maintain our intellectual property portfolio. G&A also includes cash and non-cash
compensation, employee benefits, travel and other miscellaneous costs of our internal G&A
personnel, three in total, who are wholly dedicated to G&A efforts. G&A also includes a proration
of our common infrastructure costs for office space, and communications.
Critical Accounting Policies
In Item 7 (Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations)
of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, which was filed with the
SEC on April 15, 2009 (the Annual Report), we included a discussion of the most significant
accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements. There has
been no material change in the policies and estimates used in the preparation of our financial
statements since the filing of our Annual Report.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the three months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008
R&D Expenses. For the three months ended September 30, 2009 as compared to the same period in
2008, our R&D expenses decreased by approximately $1.12 million, or 63%, from $1.77 million to
$0.65 million. During the three months ended September 30, 2008 we were actively enrolling
patients in our Phase II trial of RGN-137 for pressure ulcers and in our Phase II trial of RGN-259
for corneal debridement during vitrectomy. Also, our Phase I safety trial of RGN-352 (our
parenteral formulation) was actively enrolling healthy subjects. During the three months ended
September 30, 2009 most of these trials had either been completed or relatively less costly study
close-out activities were in process. Consequently, our clinically-related direct costs decreased
by $0.94 million, or 77%, as compared to 2008. As we have separately reported in April 2009 we
instituted a cost reduction program which included a 35% cash salary reduction for most of our
executive officers, and employees in exchange for stock options. These actions led to a reduction
of $0.14 million, or 30%, in R&D personnel costs between periods. Miscellaneous other R&D costs,
primarily travel, also declined by $0.03 million, or 48%, due to the reduced clinical activity in
the period.
G&A Expenses. For the three months ended September 30, 2009 as compared to the same period in
2008, our G&A expenses decreased $0.18 million, or 23%, from $0.77 million to $0.59 million. This
decrease was attributable to our overall cost reduction activities.
Comparison of the nine months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008
Revenues. For the nine months ended September 30, 2008 we recognized revenue of $168,412 under a
grant from the National Institutes of Health. As of September 30, 2008 we exhausted all funds
available under this grant, and we do not expect to receive any additional funds.
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R&D Expenses. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009 as compared to the same period in 2008,
our R&D expenses decreased by approximately $2.13 million, or 41%, from $5.20 million to $3.06
million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2008 we were actively enrolling patients in
our Phase II trial of RGN-137 for pressure ulcers and in our Phase II trial of RGN-259 for corneal
debridement during vitrectomy. Also, our Phase I safety trial of RGN-352 (our parenteral
formulation) was actively enrolling healthy subjects. During the nine months ended September 30,
2009 these trials were completed and relatively less costly study close-out activities were in
process. Consequently, our clinically-related direct costs decreased by $1.75 million, or 49%, as
compared to 2008. Our cost reduction program described above also led to a reduction of $0.30
million, or 22%, in R&D personnel costs between periods. Miscellaneous other R&D costs, primarily
travel, also declined by $0.08 million, or 34%, due to the reduced clinical activity in the period.
G&A Expenses. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009 as compared to the same period in 2008,
our G&A expenses decreased $0.79 million, or 27%, from $2.95 million to $2.16 million. This
decrease was attributable to our overall cost reduction activities in 2009.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have not commercialized any of our product candidates to date and have incurred significant
losses since inception. We have primarily financed our operations through the issuance of common
stock and common stock warrants in private placements and public offerings. During 2008 and much
of 2009, we have been dependent on our largest stockholder group, Sigma-Tau Group and its
affiliates, to provide the necessary funding in order to continue our operations. In 2008, we
raised approximately $8.0 million from Sigma-Tau and its affiliates through the sale of common
stock and warrants. In April and October 2009, we raised an aggregate of $1.6 million from an
affiliate of Sigma-Tau through the sale of common stock and warrants. In October 2009, we also
raised $3.7 million in a registered direct offering of our common stock and warrants to purchase
common stock to new institutional investors.
As of September 30, 2009, our cash and cash equivalents balance was approximately $1.11 million.
Following the October 2009 equity transactions described above, our cash and cash equivalents
balance as of October 31, 2009 increased to approximately $5.1 million. This compares to cash and
cash equivalents of approximately $5.66 million at December 31, 2008. Our cash position decreased
during the first nine months of 2009 by a net $4.55 million, primarily as a result of our net loss
of $5.21 million during this period. We used $5.12 million in our operations, which was partially
offset by $0.57 million in net proceeds from the April 2009 sale of common stock and warrants to an
affiliate of Sigma-Tau Group.
We are party to a license agreement with an affiliate of Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals that provides
the opportunity for us to receive milestone payments upon specified events and royalty payments
upon commercial sales of Tb4 in Europe. However, there can be no assurance that we will be
able to attain such milestones and generate any such payments under the agreement.
Potential sources of outside capital include entering into strategic business relationships, public
or private sales of shares of our capital stock, or debt, or other similar financial instruments.
While we closed a registered direct offering of our common stock and warrants to purchase common
stock in October 2009 and private placements of our common stock and warrants to purchase common
stock involving Sigma-Tau and its affiliates in December 2008 and April and October 2009, we do
not have any other committed sources of outside capital at this time. Consequently, there can be no
assurance that we will be able to obtain additional capital in sufficient amounts, on acceptable
terms, or at all.
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If we raise additional capital through a strategic business relationship, we may have to give
up valuable short- and/or long-term rights to intellectual property. If we raise funds by selling
additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into our common stock, the
ownership interest of our existing stockholders may be significantly diluted. In addition, if
additional funds are raised through the issuance of preferred stock or debt securities, these
securities are likely to have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our common stock and may
involve significant fees, interest expense, restrictive covenants and the granting of security
interests in our assets.
Cash Flows
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities. Net cash used in operating activities for the nine months
ended September 30, 2009 was approximately $5.12 million, approximately $2.72 million less than net
cash used in operating activities during the same period in 2008. This reduction of cash used in
operations was primarily due to the reduced clinical development activity during this period, along
with our cost reductions previously described.
Net Cash Provided By Investing Activities. Net cash provided by investing activities was $0 for
the nine months ended September 30, 2009 and was approximately $4.6 million for the nine months
ended September 30, 2008. Our investing activities provided cash in the first nine months of 2008
from the maturity of various short-term investments. These proceeds were re-invested in U.S.
Treasury Bills, which were accounted for as a cash equivalent.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities. Net cash provided by financing activities was $0.57
million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 and was approximately $4.95 million for the
nine months ended September 30, 2008. During both periods, financing was provided from private
placements of securities to affiliates of Sigma-Tau Group.
Future Funding Requirements
The expenditures that will be necessary to execute our business plan are subject to numerous
uncertainties that may adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources. During the first
quarter of 2009, we completed two Phase II clinical trials, closed one additional Phase II clinical
trial and completed the treatment phase of another Phase I clinical trial. As a result, as of the
date of this report, we are actively enrolling patients in only one trial. In order to continue the
development of our product candidates, we intend to conduct additional clinical trials, the timing
of which is uncertain.
As of the date of this report, we believe we will have sufficient liquidity and capital resources
to fund our operations through the second quarter of 2010, without considering the benefits of any
potential future milestone payments that we may receive under the license agreement described
above. Accordingly, we need financing and are in the process of exploring various alternatives,
including, without limitation, additional public offerings or private placements of our securities,
debt financing or corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements, or the sale of certain of our
intellectual property rights. However, we do not currently have any commitments for future external
funding and additional equity or debt financing may not be available on a timely basis, on
acceptable terms, or at all.
We cannot assure you that our current liquidity and capital resources will be sufficient to fund
our operations as set forth above. The expenditures that will be necessary to execute our business
plan, and upon which our current liquidity and capital resources estimate is based, are subject to
numerous uncertainties, which may adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources. These
uncertainties primarily
concern our development efforts.
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The length of time required for clinical trials varies substantially according to the type,
complexity, novelty and intended use of a product candidate. Some of the factors that could
decrease our liquidity and increase our capital needs beyond our current expectations include, but
are not limited to:
| the progress of our clinical trials, |
| the progress of our research activities, |
| the number and scope of our research programs, |
| the progress of our pre-clinical development activities, |
| the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining,
enforcing and defending patent and other intellectual property claims, |
| the costs related to development and manufacture of pre-clinical, clinical
and validation lots for regulatory purposes and commercialization of drug supply
associated with our product candidates, |
| our ability to enter into corporate collaborations and the terms and
success of these collaborations, |
| the costs and timing of regulatory approvals. and |
| the costs of establishing manufacturing, sales and distribution
capabilities. |
In addition to our obligations under clinical trials, we are committed under an office space lease
that expires on January 31, 2010 that requires monthly rental payments of approximately $7,300.
If adequate funds are not available in the near future, we may be required to delay, reduce the
scope of or eliminate our research and development programs or obtain funds through arrangements
with collaborators or others that may require us to relinquish rights to certain product candidates
that we might otherwise seek to develop or commercialize independently.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements, as such term is defined in Item 303(a)(4) of
Regulation S-K.
Item 3. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. |
At September 30, 2009, our cash and cash equivalents, which totaled approximately $1.1 million,
were split between FDIC-insured bank deposits and money-market investments backed by U.S.
government obligations, as set forth in Note G to the unaudited financial statements included
elsewhere in this report. Money market investments are subject to default, changes in credit
ratings and changes in market value. We limit our default risk by investing in high-quality,
investment grade instruments. Our exposure to market risks associated with changes in interest
rates relates primarily to the increase or decrease in the amount of interest income earned on our
investment portfolio. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, if market interest rates
were to increase by 10% from levels as of September 30, 2009, the decline in fair value would not
be material.
Item 4. | Controls and Procedures |
a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Financial Officer, performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation
of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of September 30, 2009. Based upon this evaluation,
management has concluded that, as of September 30, 2009, our disclosure controls and procedures
were effective to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified under applicable
rules of the SEC, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management,
including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely
decisions regarding required disclosures.
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b) Changes in Internal Controls
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended
September 30, 2009 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,
our internal control over financial reporting.
Part II Other Information
Item 1. | Legal Proceedings |
None.
Item 1A. | Risk Factors |
Set forth below and elsewhere in this report and in other documents we file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this
report. The descriptions below include any material changes to and supersede the description of the
risk factors affecting our business previously disclosed in Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors of our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Risks Related to Our Liquidity and Need for Financing
We estimate that our current liquidity and capital resources are sufficient to fund our operations
through the second quarter of 2010. However, we will need substantial additional funds to expand
operations, which we may not be able to raise on favorable terms, or at all.
In the first quarter of 2009, we reported on several trials in our clinical program: the results of
a Phase II clinical trial evaluating our topical gel product candidate RGN-137 in patients with
pressure ulcers; the results of a Phase II clinical trial evaluating our topical gel product
candidate RGN-137 in patients with venous stasis ulcers; the results of a Phase I clinical trial
evaluating our injectable product candidate RGN-352 in healthy volunteers; and the early
termination of a Phase I clinical trial evaluating our ophthalmic product candidate RGN-259 due to
data obtained under a compassionate IND indicating RGN-259s positive effects on corneal wound
healing. As of the date of this report, we are continuing to enroll patients in our Phase II
clinical trial evaluating our topical gel product candidate RGN-137 in patients with EB, furthering
our research with our peptide fragments targeting the cosmeceutical market and actively pursuing
potential licensing partnerships for our other product candidates. As of the date of this report,
we believe we have sufficient liquidity and capital resources to fund our operations through the
second quarter of 2010. However, we will need substantial additional funds in order to initiate any
further preclinical studies or clinical trials, and to fund our operations beyond that date.
Accordingly, we need financing and are in the process of exploring various alternatives, including,
without limitation, additional public offerings or private placements of our securities, debt
financing or corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements or the sale of certain of our
intellectual property rights.
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A significant portion of our operating expenses are variable, as opposed to fixed costs.
Accordingly, we believe that we have the ability to reduce costs to offset the results of a
prolonged or severe economic downturn. Management has been closely monitoring expenditures and
intends to restrict such expenditures to those expenses that are necessary to complete activities
related to existing clinical trials, identifying additional sources of working capital and general
administrative costs in support of these activities. We continue to actively seek new sources of
working capital.
Although we intend to continue to seek additional financing or a strategic partner, we may not be
able to complete a financing or corporate transaction, either on favorable terms or at all. If we
are unable to complete a financing or strategic transaction, we may not be able to continue as a
going concern after our funds have been exhausted, and we could be required to take actions that
may result in stockholders having little or no continuing interest in our assets, such as ceasing
operations, seeking protection under the provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or liquidating and
dissolving our company.
Our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to
support our operations is a forward-looking statement and involves risks and uncertainties, and
actual results could vary as a result of a number of factors, including the factors discussed
elsewhere in these risk factors. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be
wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.
We are seeking to maximize the value of our assets and to address our liabilities and raise
additional capital for our existing business. We are attempting to pursue asset out-licenses, asset
sales, mergers or similar strategic transactions. There can be no assurance that we will be
successful in executing a strategic transaction.
We are actively considering strategic alternatives with the goal of maximizing the value of our
assets. In addition, we are considering restructuring alternatives, including business arrangements
such as the out-licensing or sale of product candidates or our company as a whole. There are
substantial challenges and risks which will make it difficult to successfully implement any of
these opportunities before the third quarter of 2010, after which we may not be able to fund our
current operations without additional financing. Even if we determine to pursue one or more of
these alternatives, we may be unable to do so on acceptable terms, if at all.
We have incurred losses since inception and expect to incur significant losses in the foreseeable
future and may never become profitable.
We have incurred net operating losses every year since our inception in 1982. We believe these
losses will continue for the foreseeable future, and may increase, as we pursue our product
development efforts related to Tb4. As of September 30, 2009, our accumulated deficit totaled $83.2
million.
We anticipate substantial and increasing operating losses over the next several years as we
continue our research and development efforts and seek to obtain regulatory approval of our product
candidates to make them commercially viable. Our ability to generate additional revenues and to
become profitable will depend largely on our ability, alone or through the efforts of third-party
licensees and collaborators, to efficiently and successfully complete the development of our
product candidates, obtain necessary regulatory approvals for commercialization, scale-up
commercial quantity manufacturing capabilities either internally or through third-party suppliers,
and market our product candidates. There can be no assurance that we will achieve any of these
objectives or that we will ever become profitable or be able to maintain profitability. Even if we
do achieve profitability, we cannot predict the level of such profitability. If we sustain losses
over an extended period of time and are not otherwise able to raise necessary funds to continue our
development efforts and maintain our operations, we may be forced to cease operations.
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The recent downturn in the U.S. economy and the recent pressure on capital markets increase
the possibility of and may exacerbate the impact of any adverse effects on our financial position
and business prospects. Continued economic adversity may lead to or accelerate a decrease in the
trading price of our common stock and make it more difficult for us to raise capital, enter into
collaborations or maintain our compliance with the minimum listing standards of the NYSE Amex stock
exchange.
The recent downturn in the U.S. economy and the extraordinary pressure being placed on both debt
and equity markets have led to significant retraction in U.S. businesses, sudden and severe
decreases in the prices of U.S. equities generally and a severe shortage in available credit. These
factors have made it more difficult, in general, for companies to expand or maintain their current
operations and have increased the likelihood that certain companies will fail. Although we cannot
say with certainty the impact the current economic crises has had on us to date or may have on us
in the future, continued pressure on the U.S. economy and its capital markets may make it more
difficult for us to raise capital or enter into collaborations or licensing relationships for
purposes of developing our technology and/or increasing our liquidity. Any inability for us to
raise capital or enter into strategic relationships, as a result of the economic downturn or
otherwise, would make it more difficult or impossible for us to continue operations after early
2010. The economic downturn may also lead to or accelerate a decrease in the trading price of our
common stock, which could make it more difficult for us to maintain compliance with certain
continued listing requirements of the NYSE Amex exchange, including a market capitalization of at
least $50 million, as described below.
We are currently not in compliance with NYSE Amex rules regarding the minimum shareholders equity
requirement and are at risk of being delisted from the NYSE Amex stock exchange, which may subject
us to the SECs penny stock rules and decrease the liquidity of our common stock. If our common
stock is delisted, this would likely make capital raising efforts more difficult.
Because of our historical losses from operations, NYSE Amex rules require that we maintain a
minimum stockholders equity of $6 million, unless our market capitalization exceeds $50 million.
As of September 30, 2009, our total stockholders equity was $0.6 million, and our market
capitalization was below $50 million. In April 2009, we received a notice from NYSE Amex indicating
that we were below certain of the exchanges continued listing standards.
In the second quarter of 2009, we submitted a plan of compliance to NYSE Amex that forecasted our
ability to regain compliance with the listing standards by October 2010. NYSE Amex has accepted our
compliance plan, which is subject to periodic review by NYSE Amex to determine whether we are
making progress consistent with the plan. Our compliance plan contemplated the raise of additional
equity capital, which we achieved in October 2009 through the issuance of common stock and warrants
for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $4.7 million. Following these transactions our
stockholders equity remains below $6 million. Consequently we will need to raise additional funds
to regain compliance with that requirement, and the NYSE Amex may
determine at any time before October 2010 that we are not making
sufficient progress on our plan. There can be no assurance that
our compliance plan will ultimately be successful.
If during the remediation period we fail to make substantial progress towards compliance, or at the
conclusion of the remediation period we have not achieved compliance, we expect that our common
stock would be delisted from the NYSE Amex exchange. Following any such delisting, our common stock
may be traded over-the-counter on the OTC Bulletin Board or in the pink sheets. These alternative
markets, however, are generally considered to be less efficient than, and not as broad as, the NYSE
Amex exchange. If our common stock is delisted from NYSE Amex, there may be a limited market for
our stock, trading in
our stock may become more difficult and our share price could decrease even further. Specifically,
you may not be able to resell your shares of common stock at or above the price you paid for such
shares or at all.
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In addition, if our common stock is delisted, our ability to raise additional capital may be
impaired because of the less liquid nature of the OTC Bulletin Board and the pink sheets. While we
cannot guarantee that we would be able to complete an equity financing on acceptable terms, or at
all, we believe that dilution from any equity financing while our shares are quoted on the OTC
Bulletin Board or the pink sheets would likely be substantially greater than if we were to complete
the financing while our common stock is traded on the NYSE Amex exchange.
In the event our common stock is delisted, it may also become subject to penny stock rules. The SEC
generally defines penny stock as an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00
per share, subject to certain exceptions. We are not currently subject to the penny stock rules
because our common stock qualifies for an exception to the SECs penny stock rules for companies
that have an equity security that is quoted on an exchange. However, if we were delisted, our
common stock would become subject to the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice
requirements on broker-dealers who sell our common stock. If our common stock were considered penny
stock, the ability of broker-dealers to sell our common stock and the ability of our stockholders
to sell their shares in the secondary market would be limited and, as a result, the market
liquidity for our common stock may be adversely affected. We cannot assure you that trading in our
securities will not be subject to these or other regulations in the future.
In addition to our current operational requirements, we will need substantial additional capital to
develop our product candidates and for our future operations. If we are unable to obtain such funds
when needed, we may have to delay, scale back or terminate our product development efforts or our
business.
Beyond our current liquidity needs, we anticipate that substantial new capital resources will be
required to continue our independent product development efforts, including any and all follow-on
trials that will result from our current clinical programs, and to scale up manufacturing processes
for our product candidates. The actual amount of funds that we will need will be determined by many
factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include, without limitation:
| the scope of our clinical trials, which is significantly influenced by
the quality of clinical data achieved as trials are completed and the
requirements established by regulatory authorities; |
||
| the speed with which we complete our clinical trials, which depends on
our ability to attract and enroll qualifying patients and the quality
of the work performed by our clinical investigators; |
||
| the time required to prosecute, enforce and defend our intellectual
property rights, which depends on evolving legal regimes and
infringement claims that may arise between us and third parties; |
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| the ability to manufacture at scales sufficient to supply commercial quantities of any of our
product candidates that receive regulatory approval, which may require levels of effort not
currently anticipated; and |
| the successful commercialization of our product candidates, which will depend on our ability
to either create or partner with an effective commercialization organization and which could
be delayed or prevented by the emergence of equal or more effective therapies. |
Potential sources of outside capital include entering into strategic business relationships, public
or private sales of shares of our capital stock, or the issuance of debt, or other similar
financial instruments. We do not have any committed sources of outside capital at this time, and
there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain further capital in sufficient amounts, or
on acceptable terms, or in the timeframe needed to ensure the uninterrupted execution of our
business strategy.
Emerging biotechnology companies like us may raise capital by licensing intellectual property
rights to other biotechnology or pharmaceutical enterprises. We intend to pursue this strategy, but
there can be no assurance that we will be able to license our intellectual property or product
development programs on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we are successful in raising
additional capital through such a license, we may have to give up valuable short- and/or long-term
rights to our intellectual property. In addition, the business priorities of the strategic partner
may change over time, which creates the possibility that the interests of the strategic partner in
developing our technology may diminish, which could have a potentially material negative impact on
the value of our interest in the licensed intellectual property or product candidates.
In addition, if we raise funds by selling shares of our common stock or securities convertible into
our common stock, the ownership interest of our existing stockholders may be significantly diluted. If
additional funds are raised through the issuance of preferred stock or debt securities, these
securities are likely to have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our common stock and may
involve significant fees, interest expense, restrictive covenants or the granting of security
interests in our assets.
Our failure to successfully address ongoing liquidity requirements would have a material negative
impact on our business, including the possibility of surrendering our rights to some technologies
or product opportunities, delaying our clinical trials, or ceasing our operations.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
Our business prospects are difficult to evaluate because we are developing complex and novel
medical product candidates.
Since our product candidates rely on complex technologies, it may be difficult for you to assess
our growth, licensing and earnings potential. It is likely we will face many of the difficulties
that companies developing new biological or pharmaceutical technologies often face. These include,
among others:
| limited financial resources; |
| developing novel, commercial-grade drug substances; |
| testing and evaluating a new chemical entity and its effects in highly-complex biological
systems; |
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| marketing new products for which a market is not yet established and may never become
established; |
| challenges related to the approval and acceptance of drug candidates by United States federal
and international regulatory authorities; |
| delays inherent in the execution of clinical trials; |
| high product development costs that result from all of these factors; |
| competition from other therapies and drug candidates promoted by entities with significantly
more capital resources and marketing expertise than us; and |
| difficulty recruiting qualified employees for management and other positions. |
We will likely face these and other difficulties in the future, some of which may be beyond our
control. If we are unable to successfully address these difficulties as they arise, our future
results of operations and business prospects will be negatively affected. We cannot be certain that
our product candidates will prove safe and efficacious, that our business strategies will be
successful or that we will successfully address any and all problems that may arise.
We may not successfully establish and maintain development and testing relationships with third
party service providers and collaborators, which could adversely affect our ability to develop our
product candidates.
We have only limited resources, experience with and capacity to conduct requisite testing and
clinical trials of our drug candidates. As a result, we rely and expect to continue to rely on
third-party service providers and collaborators, including corporate partners, licensors and contract research organizations, or
CROs, to perform a number of activities relating to the development of our drug candidates,
including the design and conduct of clinical trials, and potentially the obtaining of regulatory
approvals. For example, we currently rely on several third-party contractors to manufacture and
formulate Tb4 into the product candidates used in our clinical trials, develop assays to assess
Tb4s effectiveness in complex biological systems, recruit clinical investigators and sites to
participate in our trials, manage the clinical trial process and collect, evaluate and report
clinical results.
We may not be able to maintain or expand our current arrangements with these third parties or
maintain such relationships on favorable terms. Our agreements with these third parties may also
contain provisions that restrict our ability to develop and test our product candidates or that
give third parties rights to control aspects of our product development and clinical programs. In
addition, conflicts may arise with our collaborators, such as conflicts concerning the
interpretation of clinical data, the achievement of milestones, the interpretation of financial
provisions or the ownership of intellectual property developed during the collaboration. If any
conflicts arise with our existing or future collaborators, they may act in their self-interest,
which may be adverse to our best interests. Any failure to maintain our collaborative agreements
and any conflicts with our collaborators could delay or prevent us from developing our product
candidates. We and our collaborators may fail to develop products covered by our present and future
collaborations if, among other things:
| we do not achieve our objectives under our collaboration agreements; |
| we or our collaborators are unable to obtain patent protection for the
products or proprietary technologies we develop in our collaborations; |
| we are unable to manage multiple simultaneous product development
collaborations; |
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| our collaborators become competitors of ours or enter into agreements
with our competitors; |
| we or our collaborators encounter regulatory hurdles that prevent
commercialization of our product candidates; or |
| we develop products and processes or enter into additional
collaborations that conflict with the business objectives of our other
collaborators. |
We also have less control over the timing and other aspects of our clinical trials than if we
conducted the monitoring and supervision entirely on our own. Third parties may not perform their
responsibilities for our clinical trials on our anticipated schedule or consistent with a clinical
trial protocol or applicable regulations. We also rely on clinical research organizations to
perform much of our data management and analysis. They may not provide these services as required
or in a timely manner. If any of these parties do not meet deadlines or follow proper procedures,
including procedures required by law, the pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may take longer
than expected, may be delayed or may be terminated, which would have a materially negative impact
on our product development efforts. If we were forced to find a replacement entity to perform any
of our pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, we may not be able to find a suitable entity on
favorable terms or at all. Even if we were able to find a replacement, resulting delays in the
tests or trials may result in significant additional expenditures and delays in obtaining
regulatory approval for drug candidates, which could have a material adverse impact on our results of
operations and business prospects.
We are subject to intense government regulation and we may not receive regulatory approvals for our
new drug candidates.
Our product candidates will require regulatory approvals prior to sale. In particular, therapeutic
agents are subject to stringent approval processes, prior to commercial marketing, by the FDA and
by comparable agencies in most foreign countries. The process of obtaining FDA and corresponding
foreign approvals is costly and time-consuming, and we cannot assure you that such approvals will
be granted. Also, the regulations we are subject to change frequently and such changes could cause
delays in the development of our product candidates. In addition, the timing of clinical trials
necessary for FDA approval is dependent on, among other things, FDA and investigational review
board, or IRB reviews, clinical site approvals, successful manufacturing of clinical materials,
sufficient funding, eligible patient enrollment and other factors outside of our control. There can
be no assurance that our clinical trials will in fact demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the FDA
and others, that our product candidates are sufficiently safe or effective. The FDA or we may also
restrict or suspend our clinical trials at any time if either believes that we are exposing the
subjects participating in the trials to unacceptable health risks.
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As a consequence, we may need to perform more or larger clinical trials than planned, for reasons
such as:
| the FDA or other health regulatory authorities, or IRBs, do not
approve a clinical trial protocol or place a clinical trial on hold; |
| suitable patients do not enroll in a clinical trial in sufficient
numbers or at the expected rate, or data is adversely affected by
trial conduct or patient drop out; |
| patients experience serious adverse events, including adverse side
effects of our drug candidates, for a variety of reasons that may or
may not be related to our product candidates, including the advanced
stage of their disease and other medical problems; |
| patients in the placebo or untreated control group exhibit greater
than expected improvements or fewer than expected adverse events; |
| third-party clinical investigators do not perform the clinical trials
on the anticipated schedule or consistent with the clinical trial
protocol and good clinical practices, or other third-party
organizations do not perform data collection and analysis in a timely
or accurate manner; |
| service providers, collaborators or co-sponsors do not adequately
perform their obligations in relation to the clinical trial or cause
the trial to be delayed or terminated; |
| regulatory inspections of manufacturing facilities, which may, among
other things, require us or a co-sponsor to undertake corrective
action or suspend the clinical trials; |
| the interim results of the clinical trial are inconclusive or negative; |
| the clinical trial, although approved and completed, generates data
that is not considered by the FDA or others to be sufficient to
demonstrate safety and efficacy; and |
| changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions affect
the conduct of the clinical trial or the interpretation of its
results. |
Any failure to obtain or any delay in obtaining regulatory approvals would have a material adverse
impact on our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates.
Mauro Bove, a member of our Board, is also a director and officer of Sigma-Tau Finanziaria S.p.A,
which together with its affiliates comprise our largest stockholder group, a relationship which
could give rise to a conflict of interest involving Mr. Bove.
Mauro Bove, a member of our Board of Directors, is also a director and officer of Sigma-Tau
Finanziaria S.p.A, who with its affiliated entities are collectively our largest stockholder group.
Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals is also our strategic partner in Europe with respect to the development
of certain of our drug candidates. During 2008, we issued shares of common stock and common stock
warrants to affiliates of Sigma-Tau in two private placement financing transactions, but we
retained the right to repurchase some of these shares under certain circumstances. In 2009, we sold
additional common stock and warrants to an affiliate of Sigma-Tau in two private placements for
aggregate gross proceeds of $1.6 million.
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We have licensed certain rights to our product candidates generally for the treatment of dermal and
internal wounds, to Defiante Farmaceutica S.p.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sigma-Tau, in
Europe. Under the license agreement, upon the completion of a Phase II clinical trial of either of
these product candidates that yields positive results in terms of clinical efficacy and safety,
Defiante is obligated to either make a $5 million milestone payment to us or to initiate and fund a
pivotal Phase III clinical trial of the product candidate. As described elsewhere in this report,
we have recently completed two Phase II clinical trials of RGN-137 in the treatment of pressure
ulcers and venous stasis ulcers. However, due to the lack of statistical significance of the
reported efficacy results, we cannot assure you that the results of these trials will be sufficient
to trigger the milestone obligation described above, and there can be no assurance that we will
ever receive this payment or be able to initiate a pivotal Phase III clinical trial of RGN-137
under this provision. As a result of Mr. Boves relationship with Sigma-Tau, there could be a
conflict of interest between Mr. Bove and our stockholders other than Sigma-Tau with respect to
these and other agreements and circumstances that may require the exercise of the Boards
discretion with respect to Sigma-Tau. Any decision in the best interests of Sigma-Tau may not be in
the best interest of our other stockholders.
We are heavily reliant on our license from the National Institutes of Health for the rights to Tß4,
and any loss of these rights would adversely affect our business.
We have received an exclusive worldwide license to intellectual property discovered at the National
Institutes of Health, or NIH, pertaining to the use of Tß4 in wound healing and tissue repair. The
intellectual property rights from this license form the basis for our current commercial
development focus with Tß4. This license terminates upon the last to expire of the patent
applications that are filed in connection with the license. This license requires us to pay a
minimum annual royalty to the NIH, regardless of the success of our product development efforts,
plus certain other royalties upon the sale of products created by the intellectual property granted
under the license. We rely on this license for a significant portion of our business. This license
may be terminated for a number of reasons, including non-payment of the royalty or lack of
continued product development, among others. While to date we believe that we have complied with all requirements to maintain the license, the loss of this license would
have a material adverse effect on our business and business prospects and may require us to cease
development of our current line of Tß4-based product candidates.
All of our drug candidates are based on a single compound that has yet to be proven effective in
human subjects.
Our current primary business focus is the development of Tb4, and its analogues, derivatives and
fragments, for the treatment of non-healing wounds and other conditions. While we have in the past
explored and may in the future explore the use of other compounds for the treatment of other
medical conditions, we presently have no immediate plans to develop products for such purposes.
Unlike many pharmaceutical companies that have a number of unique chemical entities in development,
we are dependent on a single molecule, formulated for different administrations, for our potential
commercial success. As a result, any common safety or efficacy concerns for Tb4-based products that
cross formulations would have a much greater impact on our business prospects than if our product
pipeline were more diversified.
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Our drug candidates are still in research and development, and we do not expect them to be
commercially available for the foreseeable future, if at all. Only a small number of research and
development programs ultimately result in commercially successful drugs. Potential products that
appear to be promising at early stages of development may not reach the market for a number of
reasons. These include the possibility that the potential products may:
| be found ineffective or cause harmful side effects during pre-clinical
studies or clinical trials; |
| fail to receive necessary regulatory approvals; |
| be precluded from commercialization by proprietary rights of third parties; |
| be difficult to manufacture on a large scale; or |
| be uneconomical or otherwise fail to achieve market acceptance. |
If any of these potential problems occurs, we may never successfully market Tb4-based products.
We have no manufacturing or formulation capabilities and are dependent upon third-party suppliers
to provide us with our product candidates. If these suppliers do not manufacture our product
candidates in sufficient quantities, at acceptable quality levels and at acceptable cost, or if we
are unable to identify suitable replacement suppliers if needed, our clinical development efforts
could be delayed, prevented or impaired.
We do not own or operate manufacturing facilities and have little experience in manufacturing
pharmaceutical products. We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, primarily on one of the
leading peptide manufacturers to supply us with Tb4 for further formulation into our product
candidates. We have engaged three separate smaller drug formulation contractors for the formulation
of clinical grade product candidates, one each for RGN-137, RGN-259 and RGN-352. We currently do
not have an alternative source of supply for either Tb4 or the individual drug candidates. If these
suppliers, together or individually, are not able to supply us with either Tb4 or individual
product candidates on a timely basis, in sufficient quantities, at acceptable levels of quality and
at a competitive price, or if we are unable to identify a replacement manufacturer to perform these
functions on acceptable terms as needed, our development programs could be seriously jeopardized.
The risks of relying solely on single suppliers for our product candidates include:
| Their respective abilities to ensure quality and compliance with
regulations relating to the manufacture of pharmaceuticals; |
| Their manufacturing capacity may not be sufficient or available to
produce the required quantities of our product candidates based on our
planned clinical development schedule, if at all; |
| They may not have access to the capital necessary to expand their
manufacturing facilities in response to our needs; |
| Commissioning replacement suppliers would be difficult and time-consuming; |
| Individual suppliers may have used substantial proprietary know-how
relating to the manufacture of our product candidates and, in the
event we must find a replacement or supplemental supplier, our ability
to transfer this know-how to the new supplier could be an expensive
and/or time-consuming process; |
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| An individual supplier may experience events, such as a fire or
natural disaster, that force it to stop or curtail production for an
extended period; |
| An individual supplier could encounter significant increases in labor,
capital or other costs that would make it difficult for them to
produce our products cost-effectively; or |
| An individual supplier may not be able to obtain the raw materials or
validated drug containers in sufficient quantities, at acceptable
costs or in sufficient time to complete the manufacture, formulation
and delivery of our product candidates. |
If any of our key employees discontinue their services with us, our efforts to develop our business
may be delayed.
We are highly dependent on the principal members of our management team. The loss of our chairman
and chief scientific advisor, Allan Goldstein, or our chief executive officer, J.J. Finkelstein,
could prevent or significantly delay the achievement of our goals. We have employment agreements
with Dr. Goldstein and Mr. Finkelstein. For part of 2009, we effected salary reductions for certain
of our employees, including Dr. Goldstein and Mr. Finkelstein. Although their salaries were
restored effective as of October 1, 2009, we cannot assure you that their employment agreements
would prevent Dr. Goldstein or Mr. Finkelstein from terminating their employment with or without
good reason, and they, or other key employees, may elect to terminate their employment as a result
of the salary reductions or for other reasons. In addition, we do not maintain a key man life
insurance policy with respect to Dr. Goldstein or Mr. Finkelstein. In the future, we anticipate
that we may need to add additional management and other personnel. Competition for qualified
personnel in our industry is intense, and our success will depend in part on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled personnel. We cannot assure you that our efforts to attract or retain
such personnel will be successful.
We are subject to intense competition from companies with greater resources and more mature
products, which may result in our competitors developing or commercializing products before or more
successfully than we do.
We are engaged in a business that is highly competitive. Research and development activities for
the development of drugs to treat indications within our focus are being sponsored or conducted by
private and public research institutions and by major pharmaceutical companies located in the
United States and a number of foreign countries. Most of these companies and institutions have
financial and human resources that are substantially greater than our own, and they have extensive
experience in conducting research and development activities and clinical trials and in obtaining
the regulatory approvals necessary to market pharmaceutical products that we do not have. As a
result, they may develop competing products more rapidly that are safer, more effective, or have
fewer side effects, or are less expensive, or they may develop and commercialize products that
render our product candidates non-competitive or obsolete.
With respect to wound healing, Johnson & Johnson is marketing Regranex for this purpose in
patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Other companies, such as Novartis, are developing and marketing
artificial skins, which could compete with our product candidates in certain wound healing areas.
Moreover, wound healing is a large and highly fragmented marketplace attracting many companies,
large and small, to develop products for treating acute and chronic wounds, including, for example,
honey-based ointments, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and low frequency cavitational ultrasound.
Additionally, most large pharmaceutical companies and many smaller biomedical companies are
vigorously pursuing therapeutics to treat patients after heart attacks and other cardiovascular
indications.
There are also numerous ophthalmic companies developing drugs for corneal wound healing and other
outside-of-the-eye diseases and injuries. Amniotic membranes have been successfully used to treat
corneal wounds in certain cases, as have topical steroids and antibacterial agents.
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We are
also developing potential cosmeceutical products, which are
loosely defined as products that bridge the
gap between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, for example, by improving
skin texture and reducing the appearance of aging. This industry is
intensely competitive, with potential competitors from
large multinational companies to very small specialty companies. New
cosmeceutical products often have a short shelf life and are
frequently replaced with newer products developed to address the latest trends in appearance and
fashion. We may not be able to adapt to changes in the industry as
quickly as larger and more experienced cosmeceutical companies. Further, larger cosmetics companies have the financial and marketing resources to
effectively compete with smaller companies like us in order to sell
products aimed at larger markets.
We face the risk of product liability claims, which could adversely affect our business and
financial condition.
We may be subject to product liability claims as a result of our testing, manufacturing, and
marketing of drugs. In addition, the use of our product candidates, when and if developed and sold,
will expose us to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability may result from harm to patients using our
product candidates, such as a complication that was either not communicated as a potential side
effect or was more extreme than anticipated. We require all patients enrolled in our clinical
trials to sign consents, which explain various risks involved with participating in the trial.
However, patient consents provide only a limited level of protection, and it may be alleged that
the consent did not address or did not adequately address a risk that the patient suffered.
Additionally, we will generally be required to indemnify our clinical product manufacturers,
clinical trial centers, medical professionals and other parties conducting related activities in
connection with losses they may incur through their involvement in the clinical trials.
Our ability to reduce our liability exposure for human clinical trials and commercial sales, if
any, of Tb4 is dependent in part on our ability to obtain sufficient product liability insurance or
to collaborate with third parties that have adequate insurance. Although we intend to obtain and
maintain product liability insurance coverage, we cannot guarantee that product liability insurance
will continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all, or that its coverage will be
sufficient to cover all claims against us. A product liability claim, even one without merit or for
which we have substantial coverage, could result in significant legal defense costs, thereby
potentially exposing us to expenses significantly in excess of our revenues.
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Governmental and third-party payers may subject any product candidates we develop to sales and
pharmaceutical pricing controls that could limit our product revenues and delay profitability.
The successful commercialization of our product candidates will likely depend on our ability to
obtain reimbursement for the cost of the product and treatment. Government authorities, private
health insurers and other organizations, such as health maintenance organizations, are increasingly
seeking to lower the prices charged for medical products and services. Also, the trend toward
managed health care in the United States, the growth of healthcare maintenance organizations, and
legislative proposals to reform healthcare and government insurance programs could have a
significant influence on the purchase of healthcare services and products, resulting in lower
prices and reducing demand for our product candidates. The cost containment measures that
healthcare providers are instituting and any healthcare reform could reduce our ability to sell our
product candidates and may have a material adverse effect on our operations. We cannot assure you
that reimbursement in the United States or foreign countries will be available for any of our
product candidates, that any reimbursement granted will be maintained, or that limits on
reimbursement available from third-party payors will not reduce the demand for, or the price of,
our product candidates. The lack or inadequacy of third-party reimbursements for our product
candidates would decrease the potential profitability of our operations. We cannot forecast what
additional legislation or regulation relating to the healthcare industry or third-party coverage
and reimbursement may be enacted in the future, or what effect the legislation or regulation would
have on our business.
Clinical trials could be delayed or fail to show efficacy, resulting in additional cost or failure
to commercialize our technology platform.
All of our drug candidates are currently in the clinical stage and we cannot be certain that a
collaborator or we will successfully complete the clinical trials necessary to receive regulatory
product approvals. This process is lengthy, unpredictable and expensive. To obtain regulatory
approvals, a collaborator or we must ultimately demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA and
others that our product candidates are sufficiently safe and effective for their proposed use. Many
factors, known and unknown, can adversely impact clinical trials and the ability to evaluate a
product candidates safety and efficacy, including unexpected delays in the initiation of clinical
sites, slower than projected enrollment, competition with ongoing clinical trials and scheduling
conflicts with participating clinicians, regulatory requirements, limits on manufacturing capacity
and failure of a product candidate to meet required standards for administration to humans. Such factors may have a negative impact on our business by making it difficult to advance product
candidates or by reducing or eliminating their potential or perceived value. Further, if we are
forced to contribute greater financial and clinical resources to a study, valuable resources will
be diverted from other areas of our business.
Clinical trials for product candidates such as ours are often conducted with patients who have more
advanced forms of a particular condition and/or other unrelated conditions. For example, in
clinical trials for our lead product candidate RGN-137, we have studied patients who are not only
suffering from chronic epidermal wounds but are also older and much more likely to have other
serious adverse conditions. During the course of treatment with our product candidates, patients
could die or suffer other adverse events for reasons that may or may not be related to the drug
candidate being tested. Furthermore, and as a consequence of all of our drug candidates being based
on Tb4, cross-over risk exists such that a patient in one trial may be adversely impacted by one
drug candidate, and that adverse event may have implications for our other trials and other drug
candidates. However, even if unrelated to our product candidates, such adverse events can
nevertheless negatively impact our clinical trials, and our business prospects would suffer.
Our ability to complete clinical trials depends on many factors, including obtaining adequate
clinical supplies and having a sufficient rate of patient recruitment. For example, patient
recruitment is a function of many factors, including the size of the patient population, the
proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the trial, the perceptions of
investigators and patients regarding safety, and the availability of other treatment options. Even
if patients are successfully recruited, we cannot be sure they will complete the treatment process.
Delays in patient enrollment or treatment in clinical trials may result in increased costs, program
delays, or failure, any of which can substantially affect our business or perceived value.
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If we fail to complete or if we experience material delays in completing our clinical trials as
currently planned, or we otherwise fail to commence or complete, or experience delays in, any of
our other present or planned clinical trials, including as a result of the actions of third parties
upon which we rely for these functions, our ability to conduct our business as currently planned
could materially suffer. Development costs will increase if we experience any future delays in our
clinical trials or if we need to perform more or larger clinical trials than we currently plan. If
the delays or costs are significant, our financial results and our ability to commercialize our
product candidates will be adversely affected.
We have no marketing experience, sales force or distribution capabilities. If our product
candidates are approved, and we are unable to recruit key personnel to perform these functions, we
may not be able to commercialize them successfully.
Although we do not currently have any marketable products, our ability to produce revenues
ultimately depends on our ability to sell our product candidates if and when they are approved by
the FDA and other regulatory authorities. We currently have no experience in marketing or selling
pharmaceutical products and we do not have a marketing and sales staff or distribution
capabilities. Developing a marketing and sales force is also time-consuming and could delay the
launch of new products or expansion of existing product sales. In addition, we will compete with
many companies that currently have extensive and well-funded marketing and sales operations. If we
fail to establish successful marketing and sales capabilities or fail to enter into successful
marketing arrangements with third parties, our ability to generate revenues will suffer.
Even if approved for marketing, our technologies and product candidates are unproven and they may
fail to gain market acceptance.
Our drug candidates, which are all based on the molecule Tb4, are new and rapidly evolving and have
not been shown to be effective on a widespread basis. Our product candidates, and the technology
underlying them, are new and unproven and there is no guarantee that health care providers or
patients will be interested in our product candidates even if they are approved for use. Our
success will depend in part on our ability to demonstrate sufficient clinical benefits,
reliability, safety, and cost effectiveness of our product candidates and technology relative to
other approaches, as well as on our ability to continue to develop our product candidates to
respond to competitive and technological changes. If the market does not accept our product
candidates, when and if we are able to commercialize them, then we may never become profitable.
Factors that could delay, inhibit or prevent market acceptance of our product candidates may
include:
| the timing and receipt of marketing approvals; |
| the safety and efficacy of the products; |
| the emergence of equivalent or superior products; |
| the cost-effectiveness of the products; and |
| ineffective marketing. |
It is difficult to predict the future growth of our business, if any, and the size of the market
for our product candidates because the markets and technologies are continually evolving. There can
be no assurance that our technologies and product candidates will prove superior to technologies
and products that may currently be available or may become available in the future or that our
technologies or research and development activities will result in any commercially profitable
products.
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Our technologies and product candidates may have unacceptable side effects that could delay or
prevent product approval.
Possible side effects of therapeutic technologies may be serious and life threatening. The
occurrence of any unacceptable side effects with our product candidates, during or after
pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, or the perception or possibility that our product
candidates cause or could cause such side effects, could delay or prevent approval of our product
candidates and negatively impact our business.
Our suppliers may use hazardous and biological materials in their businesses. Any claims relating
to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time-consuming and costly to
us, and we are not insured against such claims.
Our product candidates and processes involve the controlled storage, use and disposal by our
suppliers of certain hazardous and biological materials and waste products. We and our suppliers
and other collaborators are subject to federal, state and local regulations governing the use,
manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of materials and waste products. Even if we and these
suppliers and collaborators comply with the standards prescribed by law and regulation, the risk of
accidental contamination or injury from hazardous materials cannot be completely eliminated. In the
event of an accident, we could be held liable for any damages that result, and we do not carry
insurance for this type of claim. We may also incur significant costs to comply with current or
future environmental laws and regulations.
If we enter markets outside the United States our business will be subject to political, economic,
legal and social risks in those markets, which could adversely affect our business.
There are significant regulatory and legal barriers to entering markets outside the United States
that we must overcome if we seek regulatory approval to market our product candidates in countries
other than the United States. We would be subject to the burden of complying with a wide variety of
national and local laws, including multiple and possibly overlapping and conflicting laws. We also
may experience difficulties adapting to new cultures, business customs and legal systems. Any sales
and operations outside the United States would be subject to political, economic and social
uncertainties including, among others:
| changes and limits in import and export controls; |
| increases in custom duties and tariffs; |
| changes in currency exchange rates; |
| economic and political instability; |
| changes in government regulations and laws; |
| absence in some jurisdictions of effective laws to protect our
intellectual property rights; and |
| currency transfer and other restrictions and regulations that may
limit our ability to sell certain product candidates or repatriate
profits to the United States. |
Any changes related to these and other factors could adversely affect our business if and to the
extent we enter markets outside the United States.
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Risks Related To Our Intellectual Property
If we are not able to maintain adequate patent protection for our product candidates, we may be
unable to prevent our competitors from using our technology or technology that we license.
Our success will depend in substantial part on our ability to obtain, defend and enforce patents,
maintain trade secrets and operate without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others, both
in the United States and abroad. Pursuant to an exclusive worldwide license from the NIH, we have
exclusive rights under a patent application filed by the NIH for the use of Tb4 in the treatment of
non-healing wounds. While this patent has issued in certain countries, we cannot guarantee whether
or when the patent will be issued or the scope of the patent issued in other countries. We have
attempted to create a substantial intellectual property portfolio, submitting patent applications
for various compositions of matter, methods of use and fragments and derivatives of Tb4. We have
also in-licensed other intellectual property rights from third parties that could be subject to the
same risks as our own patents. If any of these patent applications do not issue, or do not issue in
certain countries, or are not enforceable, the ability to commercialize Tb4 in various medical
indications could be substantially limited or eliminated.
In addition, the patent positions of the technologies being developed by us and our collaborators
involve complex legal and factual uncertainties. As a result, we cannot assure you that any patent
applications filed by us, or by others under which we have rights, will result in patents being
issued in the United States or foreign countries. In addition, there can be no assurance that
(i) any patents will be issued from any pending or future patent applications of ours or our
collaborators; (ii) the scope of any patent protection will be sufficient to provide us with
competitive advantages; (iii) any patents obtained by us or our collaborators will be held valid if
subsequently challenged; or (iv) others will not claim rights in or ownership of the patents and
other proprietary rights we or our collaborators may hold. Unauthorized parties may try to copy aspects of our product candidates and technologies or obtain and use
information we consider proprietary. Policing the unauthorized use of our proprietary rights is
difficult. We cannot guarantee that no harm or threat will be made to our or our collaborators
intellectual property. In addition, changes in, or different interpretations of, patent laws in the
United States and other countries may also adversely affect the scope of our patent protection and
our competitive situation.
Due to the significant time lag between the filing of patent applications and the publication of
such patents, we cannot be certain that our licensors were the first to file the patent
applications we license or, even if they were the first to file, also were the first to invent,
particularly with regards to patent rights in the United States. In addition, a number of
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research and academic institutions have developed
technologies, filed patent applications or received patents on various technologies that may be
related to our operations. Some of these technologies, applications or patents may conflict with
our or our licensors technologies or patent applications. A conflict could limit the scope of the
patents, if any, that we or our licensors may be able to obtain or result in denial of our or our
licensors patent applications. If patents that cover our activities are issued to other companies,
we may not be able to develop or obtain alternative technology.
Additionally, there is certain subject matter that is patentable in the United States but not
generally patentable outside of the United States. Differences in what constitutes patentable
subject matter in various countries may limit the protection we can obtain outside of the United
States. For example, methods of treating humans are not patentable in many countries outside of the
United States. These and other issues may prevent us from obtaining patent protection outside of
the United States, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition
and results of operations.
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Changes to U.S. patent laws could materially reduce any value our patent portfolio may have.
The value of our patents depends in part on their duration. A shorter period of patent protection
could lessen the value of our rights under any patents that may be obtained and may decrease
revenues derived from its patents. For example, the United States patent laws were previously
amended to change the term of patent protection from 17 years following patent issuance to 20 years
from the earliest effective filing date of the application. Because the time from filing to
issuance of biotechnology applications may be more than three years depending on the subject
matter, a 20-year patent term from the filing date may result in substantially shorter patent
protection. Future changes to patent laws could shorten our period of patent exclusivity and may
decrease the revenues that we might derive from the patents and the value of our patent portfolio.
We may not have adequate protection for our unpatented proprietary information, which could
adversely affect our competitive position.
In addition to our patents, we also rely on trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological
innovations and licensing opportunities to develop and maintain our competitive position. However,
others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or
otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or disclose our technology. To protect our trade
secrets, we may enter into confidentiality agreements with employees, consultants and potential
collaborators. However, we may not have such agreements in place with all such parties and, where
we do, these agreements may not provide meaningful protection of our trade secrets or adequate
remedies in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of such information. Also, our trade
secrets or know-how may become known through other means or be independently discovered by our
competitors. Any of these events could prevent us from developing or commercializing our product
candidates.
We may be subject to claims that we or our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged
trade secrets of former employers.
As is commonplace in the biotechnology industry, we employ now, and may hire in the future,
individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies,
including competitors or potential competitors. Although there are no claims currently pending
against us, we may be subject to claims that we or certain employees have inadvertently or
otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of former employers.
Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending
against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and would be a significant
distraction to management.
Risks Related To Our Common Stock
Our common stock price is volatile, our stock is highly illiquid, and any investment in our stock
could decline substantially in value.
For the period from January 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009, our closing stock price has ranged
from $0.42 to $1.92 with an average daily trading volume of approximately 36,000 shares. In light
of our small size and limited resources, as well as the uncertainties and risks that can affect our
business and industry, our stock price is expected to continue to be highly volatile and can be
subject to substantial drops, with or even in the absence of news affecting our business. The
following factors, in addition to the other risk factors described in this report, and the
potentially low volume of trades in our common stock, may have a significant impact on the market
price of our common stock, some of which are beyond our control:
| results of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials; |
| commercial success of approved products; |
| corporate partnerships; |
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| technological innovations by us or competitors; |
| changes in laws and government regulations both in the U.S. and overseas; |
| changes in key personnel at our company; |
| developments concerning proprietary rights, including patents and
litigation matters; |
| public perception relating to the commercial value or safety of any of
our product candidates; |
| future sales of our common stock; |
| future issuance of our common stock causing dilution; |
| anticipated or unanticipated changes in our financial performance; |
| general trends related to the biopharmaceutical and biotechnological
industries; and |
| general conditions in the stock market. |
The stock market in general has recently experienced relatively large price and volume
fluctuations. In particular, the market prices of securities of smaller biotechnology companies
have experienced dramatic fluctuations that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating results of these
companies. Continued market fluctuations could result in extreme volatility in the price of our
common stock, which could cause a decline in its value. You should also be aware that price
volatility may be worse if the trading volume of the common stock remains limited or declines.
We have never paid dividends on our common stock.
We have paid no cash dividends on any of our classes of capital stock to date, and we currently
intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business.
In addition, the terms of any future debt or credit facility may preclude or limit our ability to
pay any dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole
source of potential gain for the foreseeable future.
Our principal stockholders have significant voting power and may take actions that may not be in
the best interests of our other stockholders.
As of October 15, 2009, our officers, directors and principal stockholders together control
approximately 52% of our outstanding common stock. Included in this group is Sigma-Tau and its
affiliates, which together hold outstanding shares representing approximately 43% of our
outstanding common stock. A portion of the shares of common stock currently held by Sigma-Tau and
its affiliates, representing 14% of our outstanding common stock, are subject to voting agreements
under which our Board controls the voting power of such stock. We cannot assure you that such
voting agreements would prevent Sigma-Tau and its affiliates from taking actions not in your best
interests and effectively exercising control over us. These voting agreements expire between
June 2010 and April 2012. After such time, we will have no control over the voting of these shares
controlled by Sigma-Tau, including with respect to the election of directors and approval of
significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying
or preventing a change in control and might adversely affect the market price of our common stock,
and therefore may not be in the best interest of our other stockholders.
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Our rights to repurchase certain shares of stock held by Sigma-Tau expire over time, and we may
never be able or elect to exercise these rights.
Until June 2010, we have the right to repurchase at a price of $5.00 per share a number of shares
of common stock issued to Sigma-Tau and its affiliates equal to the lesser of the shares sold to
Sigma-Tau and its affiliates in connection with our private placement of securities in June 2005,
or the number of shares necessary to reduce Sigma-Taus ownership of our outstanding capital stock
to an aggregate of approximately 30% at the time of such repurchase. In addition, we have the right
to repurchase at any time until December 31, 2009, for $2.00 per share or, at any time between
January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010, for $2.50 per share, up to 5,000,000 shares of common stock
issued to Sigma-Tau and its affiliates in connection with a private placement of securities in
February 2008. After December 31, 2010, our rights to repurchase common stock held by Sigma-Tau and
its affiliates will expire. These provisions could, under certain circumstances, allow us to reduce
dilution by repurchasing these shares at prices lower than the then-prevailing market price of our
common stock. However, we cannot assure you that our share price will increase sufficiently to make
such repurchases economically feasible or that we would avail ourselves of the opportunity to make
such repurchases even if our share price had risen to such a level.
A sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or the perception that such sales
will occur, may cause the price of our common stock to decline.
Currently, we are authorized to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of our common stock, and as of
October 15, 2009, there were issued and outstanding 60,406,828 shares of our common stock. The
authorized but unissued shares may be issued by us in such transactions and at such times as our Board considers
appropriate, whether in public or private offerings, as stock splits or dividends or in connection
with mergers and acquisitions or otherwise. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common
stock in the public market could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
The exercise of options and warrants and other issuances of shares of common stock or securities
convertible into common stock will dilute your interest.
As of October 15, 2009, there were outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of 4,914,112 shares
of our common stock at exercise prices ranging from $0.28 per share to $3.82 per share, of which
options to purchase 3,251,694 shares were exercisable as of such date. As of October 15, 2009,
there were warrants outstanding to purchase 8,378,101 shares of our common stock, at a weighted
average exercise price of $1.07. The exercise of options and warrants at prices below the market
price of our common stock could adversely affect the price of shares of our common stock.
Additional dilution may result from the issuance of shares of our capital stock in connection with
collaborations or manufacturing arrangements or in connection with other financing efforts.
Any issuance of our common stock that is not made solely to then-existing stockholders
proportionate to their interests, such as in the case of a stock dividend or stock split, will
result in dilution to each stockholder by reducing his, her or its percentage ownership of the
total outstanding shares. Moreover, if we issue options or warrants to purchase our common stock in
the future and those options or warrants are exercised or we issue restricted stock, stockholders
may experience further dilution. Holders of shares of our common stock have no preemptive rights
that entitle them to purchase their pro rata share of any offering of shares of any class or
series.
In addition, certain warrants to purchase shares of our common stock currently contain an exercise
price above the current market price for the common stock, or above-market warrants. As a result,
these warrants may not be exercised prior to their expiration and we may not realize any proceeds
from their exercise.
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Our certificate of incorporation, our stockholder rights plan and Delaware law contain provisions
that could discourage or prevent a takeover or other change in control, even if such a transaction
would be beneficial to our stockholders, which could affect our stock price adversely and prevent
attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Our certificate of incorporation provides our Board with the power to issue shares of preferred
stock without stockholder approval. In addition, under our stockholder rights plan, our Board has
the discretion to issue certain rights to purchase our capital stock when a person acquires in
excess of 25% of our outstanding common shares. These provisions may make it more difficult for
stockholders to take corporate actions and may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change
in control, even if such actions or change in control would be in your best interests. In addition,
we are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation
Law. Subject to specified exceptions, this section provides that a corporation may not engage in
any business combination with any interested stockholder, as defined in that statute, during the
three-year period following the time that such stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. This
provision could also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company.
The foregoing factors could reduce the price that investors or an acquirer might be willing to pay
in the future for shares of our common stock.
We may become involved in securities class action litigation that could divert managements
attention and harm our business and our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all costs
and damages.
The stock market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that
have affected the market prices for the common stock of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
These broad market fluctuations may cause the market price of our common stock to decline. In the
past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular companys securities,
securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. We may become
involved in this type of litigation in the future. Litigation often is expensive and diverts
managements attention and resources, which could hurt our business, operating results and
financial condition.
Item 2. | Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds |
None.
Item 3. | Defaults Upon Senior Securities |
None.
Item 4. | Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders |
(a) The Companys annual meeting of stockholders (the Annual Meeting) was held on
July 29, 2009.
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(b) Each director of the Company was elected at the Annual Meeting as follows:
Votes For | Votes Withheld | |||||||
J.J. Finkelstein |
46,360,041 | 2,497,510 | ||||||
Allan L. Goldstein |
47,098,259 | 1,759,292 | ||||||
Richard J. Hindin |
47,070,075 | 1,787,476 | ||||||
Joseph C. McNay |
48,491,324 | 366,227 | ||||||
Mauro Bove |
48,485,624 | 371,927 | ||||||
L. Thompson Bowles |
47,133,225 | 1,724,326 |
(c) Results of votes with respect to other proposals submitted at the Annual Meeting
are set forth below:
To consider and vote upon a proposal to ratify the selection of Reznick Group, P.C.
as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2009. Votes recorded were as follows:
Votes For | Votes Against | Abstain | Broker Non-Votes | |||||||||
48,597,580 |
141,275 | 118,695 | |
Item 5. | Other Information |
None.
Item 6. | Exhibits |
Exhibit No. | Description of Exhibit | Reference* | ||||
3.1 | Restated Certificate of Incorporation
|
Exhibit 3.1 to Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement (File No. 33-9370) (filed November 26, 1986) | ||||
3.2 | Certificate of Amendment
|
Exhibit 3.2 to the Companys Transitional Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-15070) (filed March 18, 1991) | ||||
3.3 | Certificate of Amendment
|
Exhibit 3.3 to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-KSB (File No. 1-15070) (filed April 2, 2001) | ||||
3.4 | Certificate of Designation of Series A
Participating Cumulative Preferred Stock
|
Exhibit 2 to the Companys Current Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-15070) (filed May 2, 1994) | ||||
3.5 | Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company
|
Exhibit 3.4 to the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (filed August 14, 2006) |
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Exhibit No. | Description of Exhibit | Reference* | ||||
3.6 | Amendment to Amended and Restated Bylaws of
the Company
|
Exhibit 3.6 to the Companys Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-152250) (filed July 10, 2008) | ||||
4.1 | Form of Stock Certificate
|
Exhibit 4.1 to Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement (File No. 33-9370) (filed November 26, 1986) | ||||
4.2 | Form of Rights Certificate
|
Exhibit 3 to the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-15070) (filed May 2, 1994) | ||||
4.3 | Rights Agreement, dated April 29, 1994,
between the Company and American Stock
Transfer & Trust Company, as Rights Agent
|
Exhibit 1 to the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-15070) (filed May 2, 1994) | ||||
4.4 | Amendment No. 1 to Rights Agreement, dated
March 4, 2004, between the Company and
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as
Rights Agent
|
Exhibit 4.3 to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-KSB (filed March 31, 2006) | ||||
10.1 | Placement Agency
Agreement, dated as
of September 30,
2009, by and among
the Company, Roth
Capital Partners,
LLC and Boenning &
Scattergood, Inc.
|
Exhibit 1.1 to the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K (filed September 30, 2009) | ||||
10.2 | Securities Purchase
Agreement, dated as
of September 30,
2009, by and
between the Company
and each of the
purchasers
identified on the
signature pages
thereto
|
Exhibit 10.1 to the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K (filed September 30, 2009) |
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Exhibit No. | Description of Exhibit | Reference* | ||||
31.1 | Certification of Principal Executive Officer
pursuant to Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14
promulgated under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934
|
Filed herewith | ||||
31.2 | Certification of Principal Financial Officer
pursuant to Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14
promulgated under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934
|
Filed herewith | ||||
32.1 | Certification of Principal Executive Officer
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as
adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
Filed herewith | ||||
32.2 | Certification of Principal Financial Officer
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as
adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
Filed herewith |
* | Except where noted, the exhibits referred to in this column have
heretofore been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as
exhibits to the documents indicated and are hereby incorporated by
reference thereto. The Registration Statements referred to are
Registration Statements of the Company. |
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Signatures
In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Registrant) |
||||
Date: November 16, 2009 | /s/ J.J. Finkelstein | |||
J.J. Finkelstein | ||||
President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
/s/ C. Neil Lyons | ||||
C. Neil Lyons | ||||
Chief Financial Officer |
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