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Nature of Business
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Nature of Business  
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: Specialized BioTherapeutics and Public Health Solutions.

The Company’s Specialized BioTherapeutics business segment is developing and moving towards commercialization of HyBryte™ (a proposed proprietary name of SGX301 or synthetic hypericin), a novel photodynamic therapy utilizing topical synthetic hypericin activated with safe visible light for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (“CTCL”). With a successful Phase 3 study complete, regulatory approval is being sought and commercialization activities for this product candidate are being advanced initially in the United States (“U.S.”). Development programs in this business segment also include expansion of synthetic hypericin (SGX302) into psoriasis, the Company’s first-in-class innate defense regulator technology, dusquetide (SGX942) for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including oral mucositis in head and neck cancer, and proprietary formulations of oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate (“BDP”) for the prevention/treatment of gastrointestinal disorders characterized by severe inflammation, including pediatric Crohn’s disease (SGX203).

The Company’s Public Health Solutions business segment includes active development programs for RiVax®, its ricin toxin vaccine candidate and SGX943, a therapeutic candidate for antibiotic resistant and emerging infectious disease, and vaccine programs, including a program targeting filoviruses (such as Marburg and Ebola) and a program developing CiVax™, its vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19 (caused by SARS-CoV-2). The development of the vaccine programs is currently supported by the heat stabilization platform technology, known as ThermoVax®. To date, this business segment has been supported with government grant and contract funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID”), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (“DTRA”).

The Company generates revenues under government grants primarily from the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) and government contracts from NIAID. The Company has a subcontract of approximately $700,000 from a NIAID grant over five years for its thermostabilization technology, a DTRA subcontract of approximately $600,000 over three years for SGX943 and a subcontract of approximately $1.5 million from a NIAID grant over two years for development of CiVax™. The Company 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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) regulations, and other regulatory authorities, litigation, and product liability.

Results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 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 September 30, 2021, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $201,061,231. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company incurred net loss of $7,847,097 and used $8,684,266 of cash in operating activities. The Company expects to continue to generate losses in the foreseeable future. The Company’s liquidity needs will be determined largely 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, current rate of cash outflows, cash on hand, proceeds from government grant programs, cash available from the loan from Pontifax Medison Finance, proceeds received from the sale of shares of the Company’s common stock via the At Market Issuance Sales Agreement (“B. Riley Sales Agreement”) with B. Riley Securities, Inc., and management of the Company’s cash burn, 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 12 months from issuance of these financial statements.

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $28,867,487 as compared to $18,676,663 as of December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $10,190,824 or 55%. As of September 30, 2021, the Company had working capital of $24,648,908 as compared to working capital of $13,386,485 as of December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $11,262,423 or 84%. The increase in cash and working capital was primarily related to proceeds received from the utilization of the B. Riley Sales Agreement, partially offset by cash used in operating activities.

Management’s business strategy can be outlined as follows:

Following positive primary endpoint results for the Phase 3 FLASH (Florescent Light Activated Synthetic Hypericin) clinical trial of HyBryte™ in CTCL as well as further statistically significant improvement in response rates with longer treatment (18 weeks compared to 12 and 6 weeks of treatment), pursue a New Drug Application (“NDA”) filing and commercialization in the U.S. while continuing to explore ex-U.S. partnership.
Expand development of synthetic hypericin under the research name SGX302 into psoriasis following the positive Phase 3 FLASH study and positive proof-of-concept demonstrated in a small Phase 1/2 pilot study in mild-to-moderate psoriasis patients.
Continue to analyze the full dataset from the Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX942, including data from long-term (12 month) follow-up, to better understand why the study did not achieve the statistically significant benefit expected, despite demonstrating clinically meaningful reductions in oral mucositis consistent with the previous Phase 2 study. Any clarity gained from further analysis, especially with respect to specific subsets of patients that may benefit from SGX942 therapy, will be communicated to and discussed with the U.S. and/or European regulatory health authorities.
Continue development of the Company’s heat stabilization platform technology, ThermoVax®, in combination with its programs for RiVax® (ricin toxin vaccine), CiVax™ (COVID-19 vaccine) and filovirus vaccines for Ebola, Sudan, and Marburg Viruses, with U.S. government funding support.
Continue to apply for and secure additional government funding for each of the Company’s Specialized BioTherapeutics and Public Health Solutions programs through grants, contracts and/or procurements.
Pursue business development opportunities for the Company’s pipeline programs, as well as explore merger/acquisition strategies.
Acquire or in-license new clinical-stage compounds for development, as well as evaluate new indications with existing pipeline 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 $1.6 million in active government grant funding still available as of September 30, 2021 to support its associated research programs through November 2022, provided the federal agencies do not elect to terminate the grants for convenience. The Company plans to submit additional contract and grant applications for further support of its programs with various funding agencies. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will obtain additional governmental grant funding;
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 continue to pursue Net Operating Loss (“NOL”) sales in the state of New Jersey pursuant to its Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program if available;
The Company plans to pursue potential partnerships for pipeline programs as well as continue to explore merger and acquisition strategies. However, there can be no assurances that the Company can consummate such transactions;
The Company has up to $10.0 million remaining available from the loan and security agreement with Pontifax Medison Finance as of November 11, 2021, which includes an immediately available $5 million line of credit and a $5 million late withdrawal loan that is contingent upon the initial filing of the NDA for CTCL;
The Company has up to $26.8 million remaining from the B. Riley Sales Agreement as of November 11, 2021 under the prospectus supplement updated August 13, 2021; and
The Company may seek additional capital in the private and/or public equity markets, to continue its operations, respond to competitive pressures, develop new products and services, and to support new strategic partnerships. The Company is evaluating 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.