Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

LICENSE AGREEMENT

v3.24.0.1
LICENSE AGREEMENT
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
License Agreements  
LICENSE AGREEMENT
6.
LICENSE AGREEMENTS

The Company entered into a license agreement (the “Jenrin License Agreement”) with Jenrin Discovery, LLC (“Jenrin”), a privately held Delaware limited liability company, effective September 20, 2018. Pursuant to the Jenrin License Agreement, Jenrin granted the Company exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the Licensed Products (as defined in the Jenrin Agreement) which includes the Jenrin library of over 600 compounds and multiple issued and pending patent filings. The compounds are designed to treat inflammatory and fibrotic diseases by targeting the endocannabinoid system.

In consideration of the license and other rights granted by Jenrin, the Company paid Jenrin a $250,000 upfront cash payment and is obligated to pay potential milestone payments to Jenrin totaling up to $18,400,000 for each compound it elects to develop based upon the achievement of specified development and regulatory milestones. In addition, Corbus is obligated to pay Jenrin royalties in the mid, single digits based on net sales of any Licensed Products, subject to specified reductions.

The Company entered into a license agreement (the “Milky Way License Agreement”) with Milky Way BioPharma, LLC (“Milky Way”), a subsidiary of Panorama Research Inc., effective May 25, 2021. Pursuant to the Milky Way License Agreement, the Company received an exclusive license, under certain patent rights and know-how owned or controlled by Milky Way, to develop, commercialize, and otherwise exploit products containing antibodies against integrin αvβ6 and/or integrin αvβ8 (“Licensed Products”), one of which the Company is referring to as CRB-602. Under the terms of the Milky Way License Agreement, the Company will have sole responsibility for research, development, and commercialization of any Licensed Products, and Company has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform these activities. The Milky Way Agreement may be terminated earlier in specified situations, including termination for material breach or termination by Corbus with advance notice. A notice of termination without reason was executed by Corbus and sent to Milky Way BioPharma, LLC on January 25, 2024.

The Company entered into a license agreement (the “UCSF License Agreement”) with the Regents of the University of California (“The Regents”) effective May 26, 2021. Pursuant to the UCSF License Agreement, the Company received an exclusive license to certain patents relating to humanized antibodies against integrin αvβ8, one of which the Company is referring to as CRB-601, along with non-exclusive licenses to certain related know-how and materials. The Company amended the UCSF License Agreement with The Regents effective November 17, 2022 adding additional antibody patents to the agreement.

 

In consideration for the license and other rights granted to the Company under the UCSF License Agreement, the Company paid The Regents a license issue fee of $1,500,000. In consideration for the additional antibody patents granted to the Company, the Company will pay The Regents a license issue fee of $750,000, payable in two equal installments of $375,000 (first payment paid during the first quarter 2023 and the second payment due on the first anniversary of the Amendment Effective Date).

 

The Company further amended the UCSF License Agreement with The Regents effective August 14, 2023 to incorporate certain new technology rights and amend the payment schedule for the development milestone for the filing of patent rights and the development milestone for the filing of an IND.

 

In addition to the license issuance fees, the Company is obligated to pay an annual license maintenance fee, as well as up to $153,150,000 in potential milestone payments, excluding indication milestones for antibodies used for diagnostic products and services that will be an additional $50,000 for each new indication, for the achievement of certain development, regulatory, and sales milestones. In addition, the Company is also obligated to pay royalties in the lower, single digits on sales of products falling within the scope of the licensed patents, which is subject to a minimum annual royalty obligation, and a percentage share of certain payments received by Company from sublicensees or in connection with the sale of the licensed program.

 

The Company entered into the CSPC License Agreement with CSPC effective February 12, 2023. Pursuant to the CSPC License Agreement, the Company received an exclusive license to develop and commercialize a novel clinical stage antibody drug conjugate targeting Nectin-4, which the Company is referring to as CRB-701, in the U.S., Canada, the European Union (including the European Free Trade Area), the United Kingdom, and Australia.

 

In consideration for the license granted to the Company under the CSPC License Agreement, the Company will pay CSPC an upfront payment of $7,500,000 ($5,000,000 paid at signing during the first quarter 2023 followed by a $2,500,000 payment due in August 2024). The Company is obligated to pay potential milestone payments to CSPC totaling up to $130,000,000 based upon the achievement of specified development and regulatory milestones and $555,000,000 in potential commercial milestone payments. In addition, we are obligated to pay royalties in the low double digits based on net sales of any Licensed Products, as defined in the CSPC License Agreement.

The Company determined that substantially all of the fair value of the Jenrin License Agreement and CSPC License Agreement was attributable to a single in-process research and development asset which did not constitute a business. The Company determined that substantially all of the fair value of the Milky Way License Agreement and the UCSF License Agreement was attributable to separate groups of in-process research and development assets which did not constitute a business. The Company concluded that it did not have any alternative future use for the acquired in-process research and development assets. Thus, the Company recorded the various upfront payments to research and development expenses in the quarter the license deals became effective. The Company will account for the development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments in the period that the relevant milestones are achieved as either research and development expense or as an intangible asset as applicable. In the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded the $7,500,000 upfront license payment to CSPC as research and development expense, which includes the $5,000,000 paid in cash up front and $2,500,000 recorded as an accrued expense. Under the UCSF License Agreement, the Company also recorded a $1,200,000 development milestone for the filing of patent rights and a $1,225,000 development milestone for the filing of the IND as research and development expense, which includes $2,325,000 in accrued expense ($300,000 currently due, $400,000 due on June 30, 2024, and $1,625,000 due on December 30, 2024) based upon an amended payment schedule.