Note 7 - Loan Payable

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Long-Term Debt [Text Block]

NOTE 7– LOAN PAYABLE

On February 28, 2019 (the Closing Date), we entered into a term loan facility with Hercules Capital, Inc. (Hercules or Lender), which provided us with the capacity to borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $60.0 million (Term Loan). The Term Loan is governed by a loan and security agreement, dated February 28, 2019 (the Loan Agreement), which provides for up to four separate advances. The first advance of $30.0 million was drawn on the Closing Date. An additional $30.0 million under the Term Loan was previously available upon the completion of different milestones and time points that have now lapsed.

On December 30, 2021 (the Amended Loan Agreement Closing Date), the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement (the Amended Loan Agreement) with Hercules Capital, Inc. The Amended Loan Agreement amended the terms of the Loan Agreement to, among other things, (i) increase the aggregate principal amount of the loan, available at the Company’s option, from $60.0 million to $200.0 million (the Amended Term Loan), (ii) issue a first advance of $70.0 million drawn at the Amended Loan Agreement Closing Date, a portion of which was used to refinance the current outstanding loan balance of approximately $7.8 million and pay for expenses incurred by the Lender in executing the agreements, (iii) change the draw amounts and dates available in subsequent tranches, (iv) extend the maturity date of the facility from the original March 1, 2022 to January 1, 2026, (v) reset and extend the interest only period from April 1, 2021 to February 1, 2025 and extendable to August 1, 2025 subject to the achievement of certain performance milestones, and (vi) modify the cash interest rate to be the greater of either (a) the “prime rate” as reported in The Wall Street Journal plus 2.15%, and (b) 5.40%. In addition to the cash interest rate, the principal balance accrues paid-in-kind interest at a rate of 3.45%, which amount will be capitalized and added to the outstanding principal balance of the Amended Term Loan and payable at the maturity date of the Amended Loan Agreement.

On March 31, 2023 (the First Amendment Effective Date), the Company entered into a First Amendment to the Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement (the First Amendment) with Hercules. The First Amendment amended the terms of the Amended Loan Agreement to, among other things: (i) issue an advance of $25.0 million drawn at the First Amendment Effective Date (the Tranche 3A Advance), (ii) provide for the formal expiration of Tranche 2, (iii) change the draw amounts and dates available under subsequent tranches, including splitting the remaining balance of Tranche 3 into two additional advances in an aggregate principal amount of up to $20.0 million, in increments of $10.0 million (a Tranche 3B Advance and a Tranche 3C Advance), decreasing the amount available under Tranche 4 from $65.0 million to $60.0 million, and adding a Tranche 5 of $25.0 million, subject to the achievement of revenue related performance milestones, (iv) extend the interest only period from February 1, 2025 to August 1, 2025 and (v) modify the cash interest rate to be the greater of either (a) the “prime rate” as reported in The Wall Street Journal plus 1.20%, and (b) 8.95%. In addition to the cash interest rate, the principal balance will accrue paid-in-kind interest at a rate of 2.25%, which amount will be capitalized and added to the outstanding principal balance of the Amended Term Loan and payable at the maturity date of the Amended Loan Agreement, as amended. The Amended Loan agreement, as amended, contains financial covenants that require the Company to maintain certain levels of unrestricted cash and additional financial covenants related to market capitalization. As of December 31, 2023, we are in compliance with all financial covenants.

The First Amendment also contains warrant coverage of 2.95% of each advance amount funded. A warrant (the Warrant) was issued by the Company to Hercules to purchase 115,042 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $17.95 for the initial amount funded at the Closing Date. The Warrant shall be exercisable for seven years from the date of issuance. Hercules may exercise the Warrant either by (a) cash or check or (b) through a net issuance conversion. Additionally, a warrant was issued by the Company to Hercules to purchase 50,172 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $14.70 for the amount funded pertaining to the Tranche 3A Advance (the First Amendment Warrant). The First Amendment Warrant shall be exercisable for seven years from the date of issuance. Hercules may exercise the First Amendment Warrant either by (a) cash or check or (b) through a net issuance conversion

In addition, the Company is required to pay a final payment fee equal to 5.95% of the aggregate principal amount of the Term Loan Advances (as defined in the Amended Loan Agreement, as amended) plus 4.95% of the aggregate principal amount of all other advances.

The Company may, at its option, prepay the Amended Term Loan in full or in part, subject to a prepayment penalty equal to (i) 1.5% of the principal amount prepaid if the prepayment occurs prior to the first anniversary of the First Amendment Effective Date, and (ii) 1.0% of the principal amount prepaid if the prepayment occurs on or after the first anniversary of the First Amendment Effective Date.

The Company evaluated whether the First Amendment represented a debt modification or extinguishment of the Amended Term Loan in accordance with ASC 470-50, Debt – Modifications and Extinguishments. As a result of the modification of terms and no repayment or retirement of the Amended Term Loan, the Amended Term Loan was accounted for by the Company under the modification accounting model. The Company capitalized the facility charge from the First Amendment advance to debt issuance costs and expensed third party fees in the Company’s statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023.

The Company estimated the fair value of the Warrant using the Black-Scholes model based on the following key assumptions:

	The First Amendment			The Amended Loan Agreement			The Loan Agreement
Exercise price	$	14.70		$	17.95		$	4.08
Common share price on date of issuance	$	15.04		$	19.35		$	6.80
Volatility		0.88	%		184.40	%		195.90	%
Risk-free interest rate		3.6	%		1.4	%		2.6	%
Expected dividend yield		—	%		—	%		—	%
Contractual term (in years)		7.00			7.00			7.00

The Company incurred financing expenses of $2.0 million (including the fair value of the First Amendment Warrant) related to the First Amendment which are recorded as debt issuance costs and as an offset to loan payable on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet The debt issuance costs are being amortized over the term of the debt using the straight-line method, which approximates the effective interest method, and will be included in interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Amortization of debt issuance costs was $2.4 million, $1.8 million and $1.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. At December 31, 2023, the remaining unamortized balance of debt issuance costs was $5.1 million.

The loan payable as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, is as follows:

	December 31,			December 31,
(in thousands)	2023			2022
Loan payable	$	95,000		$	70,000
Add: Accreted Liability of final payment fee		10,230			6,667
		105,230			76,667
Less: unamortized debt issuance costs		(5,112	)		(5,532	)
		100,118			71,135
Less: principal payments		—			—
Total loan payable		100,118			71,135
Less: current portion		—			—
Loan payable non-current	$	100,118		$	71,135