Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Agreements

v3.19.1
Agreements
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
ASSET ACQUISITION AND LICENSE AGREEMENTS  
Agreements
Agreements

Lilly CERC-611 License
 
On September 22, 2016, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (“Lilly”) pursuant to which the Company received exclusive, global rights to develop and commercialize CERC-611, previously referred to as LY3130481, a potent and selective Transmembrane AMPA Receptor Regulatory Proteins (“TARP”) ã-8-dependent á-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazolepropionic acid (“AMPA”) receptor antagonist. The terms of the license agreement provide for an upfront payment of $2.0 million, of which $750,000 was due within 30 days of the effective date of the license agreement, and the remaining balance of $1.25 million is due after the first subject is dosed with CERC-611 in a multiple ascending dose study and is recorded as license obligations on the balance sheet at December 31, 2018. Additional payments may be due upon achievement of development and commercialization milestones, including the first commercial sale. Upon commercialization, the Company is obligated to pay Lilly milestone payments and a royalty on net sales.
Merck CERC-301 License

In 2013, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”) pursuant to which Merck granted the Company rights relating to certain small molecule compounds. In consideration of the license, the Company paid an initial payment of $750,000, and upon achievement of acceptance by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, of Merck pre-clinical data and FDA approval of a Phase 3 clinical trial the Company will pay an additional $750,000. Additional payments may be due upon achievement of development and regulatory milestones, including the first commercial sale. Upon commercialization, the Company is obligated to pay Merck milestone payments and royalties on net sales.
Merck CERC-406

In 2013, the Company entered into a separate exclusive license agreement with Merck pursuant to which Merck granted the Company certain rights in small molecule compounds which are known to inhibit the activity of COMT. In consideration of the license, the Company made a $200,000 upfront payment to Merck. Additional payments may be due upon the achievement of development and regulatory milestones. Upon commercialization of a COMT product, the Company is required to pay Merck royalties on net sales.
Poly-Vi-Flor and Tri-Vi-Flor Related Contracts

Supply and License Agreement, effective December 1, 2014, by and between TRx and Merck & Co. (“Merck”)

On December 1, 2014 TRx entered into a Supply and License Agreement with Merck. The initial term of the agreement expires on December 31, 2020, and the agreement will automatically continue for subsequent one-year terms thereafter until terminated in accordance with its terms. Pursuant to the agreement, Merck agrees to supply a specific compound called Metafolin® to TRx for use in dietary supplements within a defined market, and TRx agrees to purchase 100% of its Metafolin requirements from Merck. Under the agreement, TRx has an exclusive license under a number of U.S. and international patents, as well as related trade secrets, know-how and trademark rights, to make and sell TRx products positioned in the pediatric market (i.e., targeted for children 0-3 years of age) in the U.S. Under the agreement, TRx also has a non-exclusive license under the same intellectual property rights to make and sell TRx dietary supplement products within the U.S. outside of certain specified fields, including products containing Metafolin in combination with folic acid or any other folate, products positioned for type II diabetes, pharmaceutical drugs, and medical, fortified, and special dietary foods. TRx must pay Merck a royalty of two-percent (2%) of net sales from TRx products in the pediatric field that contain Metafolin. The royalty payment does not apply to net sales of TRx products marketed as pre-or postnatal vitamins. The royalty payment will continue to apply throughout the initial term and any automatic renewal periods. The minimum annual order quantity for the compound is 1kg. Payments of royalties are made by TRx within 45 days following the end of each calendar quarter.
Settlement and License Agreement, dated February 28, 2011, by and between TRx and Mead Johnson and Company LLC, as amended

TRx entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Mead Johnson and Company LLC, and the parties subsequently entered into an amendment to such agreement on October 6, 2011. Pursuant to the agreement, Mead Johnson granted TRx an exclusive license to the “Poly-Vi-Flor” and “Tri-Vi-Flor” trademarks and agreed not to oppose TRx’s seeking the marks Poly-Vi-Flor and Tri-Vi-Flor in the United States and in any other countries where Mead Johnson does not have an active registration for such marks. As consideration for such licenses, TRx agreed to pay a royalty to Mead Johnson in the amount of 10% of net revenues received by TRx with respect to products sold under the Poly-Vi-Flor and Tri-Vi-Flor trademarks during the term of the agreement. The term of the agreement is indefinite and will continue unless terminated pursuant to the provisions of the agreement. Payments are made by TRx in arrears on a quarterly basis within 45 days after the end of a given calendar quarter.
Redemption Agreement with Additional Poly-Vi-Flor Royalty Obligation

TRx and the Selling Members entered into an Agreement to Redeem Membership Interest on May 31, 2011 with a former Member, Presmar Associates, Inc. Pursuant to the agreement, TRx and the Selling Members agreed to pay to Presmar Associates a royalty payment of 5% of gross sales for Poly-Vi-Flor branded or authorized generic product and, upon the sale of the Poly-Vi-Flor trademark to a third party, to pay to Presmar Associates 5% of the cash proceeds from such sale transaction. Any future sale of the Poly-Vi-Flor trademark to a third party would require that 5% of the sale proceeds be paid to Presmar Associates. Payments are made by TRx in arrears on a quarterly basis within 45 days after the end of a given calendar quarter.

Millipred Related Contracts

License and Supply Agreement between TRx and Watson Laboratories, Inc.

TRx entered into a License and Supply Agreement with Watson Laboratories, Inc. on May 19, 2008, and the parties subsequently entered into amendments of the agreement on July 19, 2013 and April 1, 2016. Pursuant to the most recent amendment, the term of the agreement was extended for an additional five-year period expiring on April 1, 2021. However, TRx has the option to terminate the agreement following the first commercial sale of a generic product which occurred in April of 2017. If neither party terminates the agreement prior to April 1, 2021, then the agreement will automatically renew for successive one-year periods. The amended agreement provides that the company make license payments of $75,000 in February and August of each year through April 2021.

Ulesfia Related Contracts

First Amended and Restated Exclusive Ulesfia Distribution Agreement, dated December 18, 2015, by and between Zylera and Lachlan Pharmaceuticals (“Lachlan”)

In November 2017, the Company acquired TRx and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Zylera. The previous owners of TRx beneficially own more than 10% of our outstanding common stock. Zylera, which is our wholly owned subsidiary, entered into the First Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement with Lachlan, effective December 18, 2015. Pursuant to the Lachlan Agreement, Lachlan named Zylera as its exclusive distributor of Ulesfia in the United States and agreed to supply Ulesfia to Zylera exclusively for marketing and sale in the United States.

Zylera is obligated to purchase a minimum of 20,000 units per year, or approximately $1.2 million worth of product, from Lachlan, subject to certain termination rights. Zylera must pay Lachlan $58.84 per unit and handling fees that are equal to $3.66 per unit of fully packaged Ulesfia in 2018, and escalate at a rate of 10% annually, as well as reimburse Lachlan for all product liability insurance fees incurred by Lachlan. The Lachlan Agreement also requires that Zylera make certain cumulative net sales milestone payments and royalty payments to Lachlan with a $3 million annual minimum payment unless and until there has been a “Market Change” involving a new successful competitive product. Lachlan is obligated to pay identical amounts to an unrelated third party from which it obtained rights to Ulesfia, with the payments ultimately flowing to Summers Laboratories, Inc. (“Summers Labs”). Because of the dispute described below, the Company has not made any payments to Lachlan under the Lachlan Agreement subsequent to the acquisition date.

On December 10, 2016, Zylera informed Lachlan that a Market Change had occurred due to the introduction of Arbor Pharmaceuticals' lice product, Sklice®.  On June 5, 2017, Lachlan and Zylera entered into joint legal representation along with other unrelated third parties in negotiation and arbitration of a dispute with Summers Labs regarding the existence of a Market Change and the concomitant obligations of the parties. The arbitration panel issued an interim ruling on October 23, 2018 that no market change had occurred up to and including the date of the hearing. The arbitration panel issued a second interim ruling on December 26, 2018. The second interim award rejected Summers Labs' request to accelerate future minimum royalties, however, it ruled in favor of Summers Labs that it is owed reimbursement for all reasonable costs and expenses, including legal fees, by Shionogi, as well as interest, as stipulated in the contract. The arbitration panel issued a final award on March 1, 2019 that dictated the final amount of reimbursable costs and interest as contemplated in the second interim ruling. The final award has no direct bearing on the Company as the Company was not a named defendant to the original claim by Summers Labs and a federal court denied Zylera's ability to be a counterclaimant in the matter. Furthermore, the Company is not subject to the guarantee or interest provisions identified in the second ruling as these elements of the contractual relationship were not passed down to the Company’s agreement with Lachlan. However, the Company has interpreted this ruling's impact on the Lachlan agreement to mean that a market change has not occurred, and the minimum purchase obligation and minimum royalty provisions of the contract are active and due for any prior periods as well as going forward for any future periods.

The Company has recognized a $7.8 million liability for these minimum obligations in accrued liabilities as of December 31, 2018. Under the terms of the TRx Purchase Agreement, the former TRx owners are required to indemnify the Company for 100% of all pre-acquisition losses related this arbitration, including legal costs, and possible minimum payments in excess of $1 million. Furthermore, the former TRx owners are required to indemnify the Company for 50% of post-acquisition Ulesfia losses, which would include losses resulting from having to fund these minimum obligations. The Company has recorded an indemnity receivable of $4.9 million in other receivables as of December 31, 2018, which the Company believes is fully collectible. The receivable is net of $1.9 million collection made in the fourth quarter of 2018 from a full cash escrow release with the former TRx owners from the escrow that was established as a part of the TRx acquisition. The post-acquisition minimum obligations net of amounts recorded within the indemnity receivable of $2.2 million has been recorded in cost of product sales for the year ended December 31, 2018. If the Company fails to make these minimum obligations timely then the Lachlan Agreement may be terminated by Lachlan, in which case the Company would no longer be able to sell the Ulesfia product, but it would also not be subject to future minimum obligations. Lachlan has not requested payment for the minimum obligations.

Commercial, Supply, and Distribution Agreements

Acquired Product Marketing Rights - Karbinal

On February 16, 2018, in connection with the acquisition of Avadel's pediatric products, the Company entered into a supply and distribution agreement with TRIS Pharma (the "Karbinal Agreement"), under which the Company is granted the exclusive right to distribute and sell the product in the United States. The initial term of the Karbinal Agreement is 20 years. The Company will pay TRIS a royalty equal to 23.5% of net sales. Avadel has agreed to offset the 23.5% royalty payable by 8.5%, for a net royalty equal to 15%, in fiscal year 2018 and 2019 for net sales of Karbinal. The make-whole payment is capped at $750,000 each year. The Karbinal Agreement also contains minimum unit sales commitments, which is based on a commercial year that spans from August 1 through July 31, of 70,000 units through 2033. The Company is required to pay TRIS a royalty make whole payment of $30 for each unit under the 70,000 units annual minimum sales commitment through 2033. The annual payment is due in August of each year. The Karbinal Agreement also has multiple commercial milestone obligations that aggregate up to $3.0 million based on cumulative net sales, the first of which is triggered at $40.0 million.

Acquired Product Marketing Rights - AcipHex

On February 16, 2018, in connection with the acquisition of Avadel's pediatric products, the Company assumed the License and Assignment Agreement for AcipHex (“AcipHex Agreement”) between Eisai, Inc. and FSC Therapeutics, LLC dated June 2014 and the Supply Agreement between Eisai, Inc. and FSC Laboratories, Inc. dated June 2014. Per the AcipHex Agreement, the Company is granted the exclusive license to exploit the products in the territory (U.S.) and an exclusive license to use Eisai trademarks to sell the products. Eisai will manufacture and supply the requirements for supply of the products. The term of the AcipHex Agreement is perpetual unless terminated per the agreement. Eisai will receive (a) a royalty with respect to the sales of AcipHex equal to 15.0% of Net Sales. The royalties are payable until the first commercial sale of an unauthorized generic product in the territory or the date that is five years from the effective date of the agreement. A maximum $8.0 million of sales-based milestone payments is possible should AcipHex accumulated net sales exceed $50.0 million in any twelve-month period

Acquired Product Marketing Rights- Cefaclor

On February 16, 2018, in connection with the acquisition of Avadel's pediatric products, the Company assumed the License, Supply and Distribution Agreement for Cefaclor between Yung Shin Pharm. Ind, Co., Ltd. and FSC Therapeutics, LLC dated March 2015 (“Cefaclor Agreement”). The initial term of the Cefaclor Agreement runs through December 31, 2024 and will automatically renew for additional, successive twelve-month periods unless terminated by either party. Yung Shin will receive a royalty equal to 15.0% of Net Sales of Cefaclor. A maximum $6.5 million of sales-based milestone payments is possible should Cefaclor accumulated net sales exceed $40.0 million in any twelve-month period.