License Agreements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

License Agreements

License Agreements

AstraZeneca License Agreement

In July 2018, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement, or the AstraZeneca License Agreement, with AstraZeneca AB (AstraZeneca), granting the Company a worldwide exclusive license, with the right to sublicense through multiple tiers, under certain AstraZeneca-controlled patent rights, know-how and regulatory documentation, to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize and otherwise exploit products containing roflumilast in topical forms, as well as delivery systems sold with or for the administration of roflumilast, or collectively, the AZ-Licensed Products, for all diagnostic, prophylactic and therapeutic uses for human dermatological indications, or the Dermatology Field. Under this agreement, the Company has sole responsibility for development, regulatory, and commercialization activities for the AZ-Licensed Products in the Dermatology Field, at its expense, and it shall use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for, and commercialize the AZ-Licensed Products in the Dermatology Field in each of the United States, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Japan.

The Company paid AstraZeneca an upfront non-refundable cash payment of $1.0 million and issued 484,388 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock, valued at $3.0 million on the date of the AstraZeneca License Agreement, which were both recorded in research and development expense. The Company subsequently paid AstraZeneca the first milestone cash payment of $2.0 million upon the completion of a Phase 2b study of topical roflumilast cream in plaque psoriasis in August 2019 for the achievement of positive Phase 2 data for an AZ-Licensed Product, which was recorded in research and development expense. The Company has agreed to make additional cash payments to AstraZeneca of up to an aggregate of $12.5 million upon the achievement of specified regulatory approval milestones with respect to the AZ-Licensed Products, which includes $7.5 million upon FDA approval of the Company's first product, and payments up to an additional aggregate amount of $15.0 million upon the achievement of certain aggregate worldwide net sales milestones. With respect to any AZ-Licensed Products the Company commercializes under the AstraZeneca License Agreement, it will pay AstraZeneca a low to high single-digit percentage royalty rate on the Company’s, its affiliates’ and its sublicensees’ net sales of such AZ-Licensed Products, subject to specified reductions, until, as determined on an AZ-Licensed Product-by-AZ-Licensed Product and country-by-country basis, the later of the date of the expiration of the last-to-expire AstraZeneca-licensed patent right containing a valid claim in such country and ten years from the first commercial sale of such AZ-Licensed Product in such country.

There were no payments made or due in connection with AZ-Licensed Products for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Hengrui Exclusive Option and License Agreement

In January 2018, the Company entered into an exclusive option and license agreement, or the Hengrui License Agreement, with Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., Ltd. (Hengrui), whereby Hengrui granted the Company an exclusive option to obtain certain exclusive rights to research, develop and commercialize products containing the compound designated by Hengrui as SHR0302, a Janus kinase type 1 inhibitor, in topical formulations for the treatment of skin diseases, disorders, and conditions in the United States, Japan, Canada and the European Union (including for clarity the United Kingdom). The Company made a $0.4 million upfront non-refundable cash payment to Hengrui upon execution of the Hengrui Option and License Agreement, which was recorded as research and development expense. In December 2019, the Company exercised its exclusive option under the agreement, for which it made a $1.5 million cash payment, which was recorded in research and development expense, and also contemporaneously amended the agreement to expand the territory to additionally include Canada. In addition, the Company has agreed to make cash payments of up to an aggregate of $20.5 million upon achievement of specified clinical development and regulatory approval milestones with respect to the licensed products and cash payments of up to an additional aggregate of $200.0 million in sales-based milestones based on certain aggregate annual net sales volumes with respect to a licensed product.

With respect to any products the Company commercializes under the Hengrui License Agreement, it will pay tiered royalties to Hengrui on net sales of each licensed product by the Company, or its affiliates, or its sublicensees, ranging from mid single-digit to sub-teen percentage rates based on tiered annual net sales bands subject to specified reductions. The Company is obligated to pay royalties until the later of (1) expiration of the last valid claim of the licensed patent rights covering such licensed product in such country and (2) expiration of regulatory exclusivity for the relevant licensed product in the relevant country, on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis. Additionally, the Company is obligated to pay Hengrui a specified percentage, ranging from the low-thirties to the sub-teens, of certain non-royalty sublicensing income it receives from sublicensees of its rights to the licensed products, such percentage decreasing as the development stage of the licensed products advance.

There were no payments made or due in connection with Hengrui for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Hawkeye Collaboration Agreement

In June 2019, the Company entered into a collaboration agreement, or Hawkeye Agreement, with Hawkeye Therapeutics, Inc. (Hawkeye), a related party with common ownership, for the development of one or more new applications of roflumilast. The Hawkeye Agreement grants Hawkeye an exclusive license to certain intellectual property developed under the agreement as it relates to the applications.

Contemporaneously with the execution of the Hawkeye Agreement, the Company entered into a stock purchase agreement, purchasing 995,000 shares of Hawkeye’s common stock at $0.0001 per share, representing 19.9% of the outstanding common stock of Hawkeye at the time of the purchase. In the event that Hawkeye issues shares of Series A convertible preferred stock with proceeds over $5.0 million, Hawkeye is required to issue to the Company a number of fully-paid fully-vested shares of common stock determined by dividing (i) $2,000,000 by (ii) an amount equal to the cash price per share for Series A convertible preferred stock. Other than the potential issuance of this common stock, there are no upfront payments, milestones or royalties pursuant to the Hawkeye Agreement. The Company determined that Hawkeye is a VIE for which consolidation is not required as it is not the primary beneficiary.