9. NOTES PAYABLE

D&O Financing

In November 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with a financing company for $984,375 to finance one of the Company’s insurance policies. The terms of the loan stipulate equal monthly payments of principal and interest payments of $111,041 over a nine-month period. Interest accrues on this loan at an annual rate of 3.64%. This loan was fully repaid in July 2022.

In November 2022, the Company entered into a loan agreement with a financing company for $452,250 to finance one of the Company’s insurance policies. The terms of the loan stipulate equal monthly payments of principal and interest payments of $51,387 over a nine-month period. Interest accrues on this loan at an annual rate of 5.4%. Prepaid expenses as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, included approximately $41,875 and $418,750, respectively, related to the underlying insurance policy being financed. The loan was fully repaid in July 2023.

Loan and Security Agreement with K2 HealthVentures LLC

On July 28, 2020, the Company, with its subsidiary, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as borrower, entered into a secured Loan and Security Agreement with K2 HealthVentures LLC (“K2HV”), an unrelated third party (the “Loan and Security Agreement”) and received $20,000,000 upon signing. The loan matures on August 1, 2024 and the Company is obligated to make interest only payments for the first 24 months and then interest and equal principal payments for the next 24 months commencing on September 1, 2022. The Company entered into an Amendment to the Loan and Security Agreement (the "Amended Loan and Security Agreement") on October 25, 2022. The Amended Loan and Security Agreement defers the commencement of principal repayments by a one-year period from September 1, 2022 to September 1, 2023 and if the Company raises at least $30 million in net proceeds through capital raising transactions, the commencement of principal repayments will be deferred by an additional six months to March 1, 2024. Interest accrues at a variable annual rate equal to the greater of (i) 8.5% and (ii) the rate of interest noted in The Wall Street Journal, Money Rates section, as the “Prime Rate” plus 5.25%, in each case, subject to a step-down of 25 basis points upon the funding of the second tranche. The interest rate used at September 30, 2023 was 13.75%.

In accordance with ASC Topic No. 470-50, “Debt – Modifications and Extinguishments” (Topic No. 470), the amendment noted above was determined to be a modification, thus no gain or loss was recorded.

Pursuant to the Loan and Security Agreement, K2HV may elect to convert up to $5,000,000 of the outstanding loan balance into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $282.00 per share. The Amended Loan and Security Agreement adjusts the conversion price of $2,000,000 of the maximum $5,000,000 convertible amount by adjusting the conversion price of $875,000 of the loan from $282.00 per share to $4.50 per share, and $1,125,000 of the loan from $282.00 per share to $7.875 per share. The remaining $3,000,000 will continue to have a conversion price of $282.00 per share. The decrease in the conversion price resulted in an increase in the fair value of the conversion option of $573,000, which was recorded as an increase to the debt discount and additional paid in capital as of December 31, 2022. On June 1, 2023, K2HV converted $875,000 of the outstanding loan balance into 194,444 shares of the Company's stock at a conversion price of $4.50 per share. As of September 30, 2023, $4,125,000 of the outstanding loan balance remains available to convert into shares of the Company's common stock.

In connection with the Loan and Security Agreement, on July 28, 2020, the Company issued K2HV a warrant to purchase up to 2,873 common shares (the “K2 Warrant”) at an exercise price of $208.80 (the “Warrant Price”). The K2 Warrant may be exercised either for cash or on a cashless “net exercise” basis and expires on July 28, 2030. The total proceeds attributed to the K2 Warrant was approximately $472,000 based on the relative fair value of the K2 Warrant as compared to the sum of the fair values of the K2 Warrant, prepayment feature, default feature, and debt. Total proceeds attributed to the prepayment and default features was approximately $546,000. The Company also incurred approximately $1,244,000 of debt issuance costs from the Loan and Security Agreement. In connection with entering into the Amended Loan and Security Agreement, the Company incurred an additional $119,000 of debt issuance costs. The proceeds attributed to the K2 Warrant, the prepayment and default features, and the debt issuance costs are all included in the debt discount. The Company is required to make a final payment in excess of the stated principal equal to $1,590,000. See Note 14 for more detail on assumptions used in the valuation of the K2 warrant and see Note 15 for more information on the assumptions used in valuation of the default and prepayment features.

The total principal amount of the loan under the Amended Loan and Security Agreement outstanding at September 30, 2023, including the $1,590,000 final payment discussed above, is $20,025,456.

Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default (as defined in the Loan and Security Agreement), and during the continuance of an Event of Default, the applicable rate of interest, described above, will be increased by 5.00% per annum. The secured term loan maturity date is August 1, 2024, and the Loan and Security Agreement includes both financial and non-financial covenants. The Company was in compliance with these covenants as of September 30, 2023. The obligations under the Loan and Security Agreement are secured on a senior basis by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries. The subsidiaries of the Company are guarantors of the obligations of the Company under the Loan and Security Agreement.

The total debt discount related to the Amended Loan and Security Agreement of approximately $2,954,000 is being charged to interest expense using the effective interest method over the term of the debt. At September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the fair value of our outstanding debt, which is considered level 3 in the fair value hierarchy, approximates carrying value. Interest expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 was approximately $980,000 and $2,886,000, respectively. Interest expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 was $811,000 and $2,193,000, respectively.