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Nature of Business
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Nature of Business [Abstract]  
Nature of Business

Note 1. Nature of Business

 

Basis of Presentation

 

Soligenix, Inc. (the “Company”) is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need. The Company maintains two active business segments: BioTherapeutics and Vaccines/BioDefense.

 

The Company’s BioTherapeutics business segment is developing a novel photodynamic therapy (SGX301) utilizing topical synthetic hypericin activated with safe visible florescent light for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (“CTCL”), its first-in-class innate defense regulator (“IDR”) technology, dusquetide (SGX942) for the treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer, and proprietary formulations of oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate (“BDP”) for the prevention/treatment of gastrointestinal (“GI”) disorders characterized by severe inflammation, including pediatric Crohn’s disease (SGX203) and acute radiation enteritis (SGX201).

 

The Company’s Vaccines/BioDefense business segment includes active development programs for RiVax®, its ricin toxin vaccine candidate, OrbeShield®, a GI acute radiation syndrome (“GI ARS”) therapeutic candidate and SGX943, a melioidosis therapeutic candidate. The development of the vaccine program is currently supported by the heat stabilization technology, known as ThermoVax®, under existing and on-going government contract funding. With the government contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID”), the Company will attempt to advance the development of RiVax® to protect against exposure to ricin toxin. We have advanced the development of OrbeShield® for the treatment of GI ARS with funds received under our awarded government contracts with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (“BARDA”) and NIAID. We will continue to pursue additional government funding support.

 

The Company generates revenues under government grants primarily from the National Institutes of Health (the “NIH”) and government contracts from BARDA and NIAID. The NIAID contract for the development of OrbeShield® was completed during the first quarter of 2017 along with the BARDA contract base period, with BARDA electing not to extend the current contract beyond the base period. We will continue to apply for additional government funding.

 

The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology industry including, but not limited to, development of new technological innovations, dependence on key personnel, protections of proprietary technology, compliance with the United States Food and Drug Administration (the U.S. “FDA”) regulations, and other regulatory authorities, litigation, and product liability. Results for the three months ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the full year.

 

Liquidity

 

In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 205-40, Going Concern, the Company has evaluated whether there are conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the consolidated financial statements are issued. As of March 31, 2017, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $151,856,399. During the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company incurred a net loss of $1,733,437 and used $1,626,615 of cash in operations. The Company expects to continue to generate losses in the foreseeable future. The Company’s liquidity needs will be largely determined by the budgeted operational expenditures incurred in regards to the progression of its product candidates. The Company’s plans to meet its liquidity needs primarily include its ability to control the timing and spending on its research and development programs and raising additional funds through potential partnership and/or financings. Based on the Company’s approved operating budget, management believes that it will have sufficient capital to meet the anticipated cash needs for working capital and capital expenditures through at least June 30, 2018. Based on the Company’s current rate of cash outflows, cash on hand, proceeds from government contract and grant programs, proceeds available from the equity line with Lincoln Park, LLC (“Lincoln Park”) and proceeds from the State of New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program, management believes that its current cash will be sufficient to meet the anticipated cash needs for working capital and capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months following the issuance of this report.

 

As of March 31, 2017, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $7,143,821 as compared to $8,772,567 as of December 31, 2016, representing a decrease of $1,628,746 or 19%. The decrease in cash was attributable to net cash used in operations of $1,626,615. As of March 31, 2017, the Company had working capital of $5,681,951 as compared to working capital of $7,243,918 as of December 31, 2016, representing a decrease of $1,561,967 or 22%. This decrease is primarily related to expenditures to support the collection of long-term follow-up safety data from the Phase 2 trial of SGX942 for the treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer and to support the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX301 for the treatment of CTCL.

 

Management’s business strategy can be outlined as follows:

 

Complete enrollment and report preliminary results in the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX301 for the treatment of CTCL;
Initiate a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX942 for the treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients;
Initiate a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX203 for the treatment of pediatric Crohn’s disease;
Continue development of RiVax® in combination with the Company’s ThermoVax® technology, to develop new heat stable vaccines in biodefense with NIAID support;
Advance the preclinical and manufacturing development of OrbeShield® as a biodefense medical countermeasure for the treatment of GI ARS contingent upon government funding support;
Continue to apply for and secure additional government funding for each of the Company’s BioTherapeutics and Vaccines/BioDefense programs through grants, contracts and/or procurements;
Pursue business development opportunities for the Company’s pipeline programs, as well as explore merger/acquisition strategies; and
Acquire or in-license new clinical-stage compounds for development.

 

The Company’s plans with respect to its liquidity management include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

The Company has up to $15.8 million in active government contract and grant funding still available to support its associated research programs through 2017 and beyond, provided the federal agencies exercise all options and do not elect to terminate the contracts or grants for convenience. The Company plans to submit additional contract and grant applications for further support of its programs with various funding agencies;
The Company has continued to use equity instruments to provide a portion of the compensation due to vendors and collaboration partners and expects to continue to do so for the foreseeable future;
The Company will pursue Net Operating Loss (“NOL”) sales in the state of New Jersey pursuant to its Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program. Based on the receipt of $530,143 in proceeds from the sale of NJ NOL in 2016, the Company expects to participate in the program during 2017 and beyond as long as the program is available;
The Company plans to pursue potential partnerships for pipeline programs. However, there can be no assurances that we can consummate such transactions.
The Company has $10.3 million available from an equity facility expiring in March 2019; and

 

The Company may seek additional capital in the private and/or public equity markets, pursue government contracts and grants as well as business development activities to continue its operations, respond to competitive pressures, develop new products and services, and to support new strategic partnerships. The Company evaluates additional equity/debt financing opportunities on an ongoing basis and may execute them when appropriate. However, there can be no assurances that the Company can consummate such a transaction, or consummate a transaction at favorable pricing.

 

Reverse Stock Split

 

On October 7, 2016, the Company completed a reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding shares of common stock at a ratio of one-for-ten, whereby every ten shares of its common stock was exchanged for one share of its common stock. The Company’s common stock began trading on the OTCQB on a reverse split basis at the market opening on October 7, 2016. All share and per share data have been restated to reflect this reverse stock split.