In August 2015, the Company entered into a lease agreement with FSMC to occupy a portion of the Conventus Center for Collaborative Medicine in Buffalo, NY. Total rent expense related to this location, recognized on a straight-line basis, was $1.0 million for the each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. Under the Alliance Agreement with FSMC, the Company obligated to spend $100.0 million in the Buffalo area over the initial 10-year term of the lease and an additional $100.0 million during the second 10-year term if it elects to extend the lease. The Company also committed to hiring 250 permanent employees in the Buffalo area within the first 5 years of completion of the project. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had hired 36 permanent employees in the Buffalo area.

In October 2016, the Company’s Commercial Platform entered into an agreement to lease office space in Chicago, IL. Under the lease agreement, the Company will make monthly payments based on an escalating scale over ten years. Total rent expense related to this location, recognized on a straight-line basis, amounted to $0.3 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. In lieu of a security deposit, an irrevocable letter of credit was issued to the landlord in the amount of $0.2 million.

In 2021, the Company extended its lease agreement to lease manufacturing and office space outside of Buffalo, NY. Under the lease agreement, the Company will make monthly payments into 2026. Total rent expense related to this location, recognized on a straight-line basis, amounted to $0.4 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

The Company entered into additional leases for lab and office space, and various equipment in, Houston, TX; Cranford, NJ; Latin America; and Buffalo, NY, during previous years which expire at various times through 2025. Rent expense recognized for these operating leases was not material to the financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Future minimum payments under the non-cancelable operating leases consists of the following as of December 31, 2022 (in thousands):


Year ending December 31:	Minimum payments
2023	$	2,238
2024		2,034
2025		1,472
2026		347
2027 and thereafter		131
	$	6,222

The Company is subject to litigation arising from time to time in the ordinary course of its business. The Company does not expect that the ultimate resolution of any pending legal actions will have a material effect on its consolidated operating results, cash

flows or financial condition. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties. As such, there can be no assurance that any pending legal action, which the Company currently believes to be immaterial, will not become material in the future.

Following our receipt of the CRL in February 2021 and the subsequent decline of the market price of the Company’s common stock, two purported securities class action lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York on March 3, 2021 and March 22, 2021, respectively, against the Company and certain members of its management team seeking to recover damages for alleged violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The complaints generally allege that between August 7, 2019 and February 26, 2021 (the purported class period), the Company and the individual defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business in connection with the Company’s development of Oral Paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and the likelihood of FDA approval, and that the plaintiffs suffered losses when the Company’s stock price dropped after its announcement on February 26, 2021 regarding receipt of the CRL. The complaints seek class certification, damages, fees, costs, and expenses. On August 5, 2021, the Court consolidated the two actions and appointed a lead plaintiff and lead counsel. Pursuant to a stipulated scheduling order, the lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint on November 19, 2021. Defendants filed their motion to dismiss on January 25, 2022. Plaintiffs filed their opposition to that motion on March 28, 2022 and the defendants filed their reply brief on May 20, 2022. The motion to dismiss is now fully briefed and awaits the Court’s decision. The Company and the individual defendants believe that the claims in the consolidated lawsuits are without merit, and the Company has not recorded a liability related to these shareholder class actions as the risk of loss is remote. The Company and the individual defendants intend to vigorously defend against these claims but there can be no assurances as to the outcome.

On June 3, 2021, a shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware by Timothy J. Wonnell, allegedly on behalf of the Company, that piggy-backs on the securities class actions referenced above. The complaint names Johnson Lau, Rudolf Kwan, Timothy Cook, and members of the Board as defendants, and generally alleges that they caused or failed to prevent the securities law violations asserted in the securities class actions. On September 13, 2021, the Court (i) granted the defendants’ motion to stay the derivative action until after resolution of the motion to dismiss the consolidated securities class actions, and (ii) administratively closed the derivative litigation, directing the parties to promptly notify the Court when the related securities class action has been resolved so the derivative action can be reopened. The Company and the individual defendants believe the claims in the shareholder derivative action are without merit, and the Company has not recorded a liability related to this lawsuit as the risk of loss is remote. The Company and the individual defendants intend to vigorously defend against these claims should the case be reopened, but there can be no assurances as to the outcome.

On October 5, 2022, Exyte U.S., Inc. filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Erie County against the Company and ImmunityBio, Inc., alleging breach of contract and related claims in connection with the design and build of a manufacturing facility in Dunkirk, New York, by Exyte for the Company. On February 14, 2022, ImmunityBio closed on the purchase of the Company’s interest in the Dunkirk facility. The complaint alleges that the Company and/or ImmunityBio breached the agreement between the Company and Exyte by not paying amounts allegedly owed to Exyte under the agreement. The complaint seeks damages in excess of approximately $8.5 million. The Company has and will continue to vigorously defend itself against Exyte’s claims in the complaint and has asserted counterclaims against Exyte in the action seeking damages in excess of $10 million based on Exyte's failure to meet its contractual obligations. This case is in its very early stages. The Company has not recorded a liability related to these claims as the risk of loss is remote, but there can be no assurance as to the outcome.