Monopar Therapeutics (MNPR) FY 2024 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharma company with late-stage ALXN1840 for Wilson disease, and radiopharmaceutical programs, including Phase 1-stage MNPR-101-Zr for imaging advanced cancers along with Phase 1a-stage MNPR-101-Lu and late preclinical-stage MNPR-101-Ac225 for the treatment of advanced cancers. We leverage our scientific and clinical experience to help reduce the risk and accelerate the clinical development of our drug product candidates.
Financial Status
Our cash, cash equivalents and investments as of December 31, 2024, were $60.2 million. As discussed further below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we expect that our current funds will be sufficient at least through December 31, 2026, in order for us to: (1) assemble a regulatory package and file an NDA for the in-licensed ALXN1840 investigational drug candidate for Wilson disease; (2) continue to conduct and conclude our first-in-human imaging and dosimetry clinical trial with MNPR-101-Zr; (3) continue to conduct our first-in-human therapeutic clinical trial of MNPR-101-Lu; (4) advance our preclinical MNPR-101-Ac program into the clinic; and (5) invest in internal R&D projects to expand our radiopharmaceutical pipeline.
Prior to the fourth quarter of 2024, our primary funding source over the past three years was sales of shares of our common stock under at-the-market sales programs. At-the-market sales were through the Capital on Demand™ Sales Agreements with JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC (“Jones Trading”). For the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold 557,761 shares of our common stock at an average gross price per share of $7.72 for net proceeds of approximately $4.2 million after deducting fees, commissions and expenses of $107,806. We may implement additional at-the-market offerings in the future.
On October 30, 2024, pursuant to a placement agent agreement with Rodman & Renshaw LLC, we sold 1,181,540 shares of our common stock at $16.25 per share in a public offering, yielding net proceeds of approximately $17.8 million, after deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses.
On December 23, 2024, pursuant to an underwriting agreement with Piper Sandler & Co., we sold 798,655 shares of our common stock at $23.79 per share in a public offering. Concurrent with that offering, we completed a private placement of pre-funded warrants to purchase 882,761 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $23.789 per pre-funded warrant to an institutional investor. The net proceeds of the shares and the pre-funded warrants sold were approximately $37.4 million after fees, commissions and other offering expenses.
ALXN1840 for Wilson Disease
ALXN1840 (bis-choline tetrathiomolybdate) is an investigational once-daily, orally-administered drug candidate in development for the treatment of Wilson disease, a rare and progressive genetic condition in which the body’s pathway for removing excess copper is compromised. Over time this excess copper results in the build-up of toxic copper levels in the liver, brain, and other organs, leading to damage that greatly impacts a patient’s life. Patients can develop a wide range of symptoms, including liver disease and psychiatric or neurological manifestations, such as personality changes, tremors and difficulty walking, swallowing or talking. In some cases, the damage and loss of function may be irreversible. ALXN1840 is a novel small molecule designed to selectively and tightly bind and remove copper from the body’s tissues and blood. ALXN1840 has been granted Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track designation in the U.S. and orphan designation in the EU.
Wilson disease affects 1 in 30,000 live births in the U.S. There are an estimated 10,000 Wilson disease patients in the U.S., with an estimated 5,000 patients currently diagnosed and being treated with SoC.
Alexion completed a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of Wilson disease patients on ALXN1840, which met its primary endpoint in assessing copper mobilization over 48 weeks, defined as daily mean Area Under the Effect Curve (“AUEC”) for directly measured non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper (“dNCC”). In the trial, 214 patients were enrolled, and the trial was randomized, rater-blinded, and multi-centered, designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ALXN1840 versus standard-of-care (“SoC”) in patients with Wilson disease aged 12 years and older. Patients taking ALXN1840 experienced rapid copper mobilization, with a response at 4 weeks and sustained through the 48 weeks. The primary endpoint demonstrated three-times greater copper mobilization with ALXN1840 compared to the SoC arm (Least Square Mean Difference (“LSM Diff”) 2.18 µmol/L; p 0.0001), including in patients who had been treated previously with SoC for an average of 10 years.
Additionally, data from patients in the Phase 3 clinical trial who exhibited at the time of study entry an incomplete and/or intolerant response (“IIR”) to prior treatment on SoC showed that more patients on ALXN1840 as compared to SoC in the trial exhibited improved neurological symptoms (45% vs. 20%, respectively) and fewer exhibited worsened neurological symptoms (5% vs. 17%, respectively) when assessed on a reported Minimal Clinically Important Difference (“MCID”) scale. These data suggest ALXN1840 may reduce the risk of neurological worsening when compared to SoC.
Alexion terminated the ALXN1840 program in Wilson disease based on its review of results from Phase 2 mechanistic trials and discussions with regulatory authorities. Their analysis of the Phase 2 mechanistic trials was that they failed to demonstrate a net-negative copper balance in Wilson disease patients during short-term treatment with ALXN1840 and to reduce hepatic copper concentration after treatment with ALXN1840. The decision not to progress the ALXN1840 program in Wilson disease was not related to any safety signals.
Following Alexion’s decision, in October 2024, we entered into an exclusive worldwide license for the program and assumed responsibility for all future global development and commercialization activities. In the near term, we will be focusing on assembling a regulatory package and submitting an NDA. We expect to submit an NDA to the FDA in early 2026.
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MNPR-101 for Radiopharmaceutical Use, Development Update
We have a proprietary first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody, MNPR-101, that targets the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (“uPAR”). uPAR is expressed on several of the more aggressive, deadly cancers including pancreatic, breast, ovarian, colorectal, and bladder cancers. We have conjugated MNPR-101 to imaging and therapeutic radioisotopes for the purpose of creating highly precise radiopharmaceutical agents that have the potential to image and treat tumors expressing uPAR while reducing exposure to healthy tissues. In February 2024, we received regulatory clearance in Australia to commence a first-in-human Phase 1 imaging and dosimetry clinical trial with our novel radiopharmaceutical imaging agent MNPR-101-Zr (MNPR-101 conjugated to zirconium-89) in patients with advanced cancers, and in April 2024, we launched the Phase 1 trial. In July 2024, we announced the enrollment of our first patient and in September 2024, we announced positive early clinical data validating the tumor-targeting ability of MNPR-101-Zr. In August 2024, we received regulatory clearance in Australia to commence a first-in-human Phase 1a clinical trial of our novel uPAR-targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy MNPR-101-Lu (MNPR-101 conjugated to lutetium-177) in patients with advanced solid cancers. We launched the trial in October 2024, and it is now active and open for patient enrollment. We dosed our first with MNPR-101-Lu in early December 2024.
In October 2024, we presented clinical data at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Annual Congress 2024 showing significant uptake of MNPR-101-Zr in a patient with advanced ovarian cancer together with preclinical and clinical data showing favorable biodistribution, tumor uptake, and low off-target binding of our uPAR-targeted radiopharmaceuticals MNPR-101-Zr, MNPR-101-Lu, and MNPR-101-Ac (MNPR-101 conjugated to actinium-225).
We are also actively exploring opportunities to expand our radiopharmaceutical pipeline primarily through internal development efforts. In October 2024, we announced the filing of a provisional patent application for new radiopharmaceutical compounds and a family of linkers used to connect radioisotopes with targeting agents, including our uPAR-targeting antibody MNPR-101.
Our Strategy
Our management team has extensive experience in developing therapeutics and medical technologies through global regulatory approval and commercialization. In aggregate, companies they co-founded have achieved four drug approvals and three diagnostic medical imaging device approvals in the U.S. and the EU, successfully sold an asset developed by management which subsequently had a positive Phase 3 clinical trial, sold two oncology-focused diagnostic imaging businesses to Fortune Global 1000 firms, and completed the clinical and commercial development and ultimately the sale of a commercial biopharmaceutical company for $800 million in cash. In addition, the team has supported multiple regulatory submissions with the FDA and EMA and launched multiple drugs in the U.S and the EU. Understanding the preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial development processes and hurdles are key factors in successful drug development, and the expertise demonstrated by our management team across all of these areas increases the probability of success in advancing the product candidates in our product pipeline. Our strategic goal is to acquire, develop, and commercialize innovative treatments for patients with unmet medical needs. Key elements of our strategy to achieve this goal are to:
| ● | Assemble a regulatory package for ALXN1840 to file an NDA. We are planning to assemble a regulatory package to support an NDA approval for ALXN1840 in Wilson disease patients who have more severe symptoms. | |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Advance the development of MNPR-101 for radiopharmaceutical use as a therapeutic as well as a diagnostic imaging agent. Based on promising preclinical data from our imaging and efficacy animal model studies in multiple cancers including triple-negative breast and pancreatic cancers, and human clinical data from our MNPR-101-Zr Phase 1 clinical trial validating the tumor-targeting ability of MNPR-101, we have dedicated resources and funds toward the development of our radiopharmaceutical programs. We have two open and active human clinical trials for our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program; a Phase 1 imaging and dosimetry clinical trial of MNPR-101-Zr in patients with advanced cancers and a Phase 1a therapeutic clinical trial of MNPR-101-Lu in patients with advanced cancers. In addition, we are continuing our preclinical development of MNPR-101-Ac, using the alpha-emitter actinium-225 conjugated to MNPR-101. | |
| ● | Expand our drug development pipeline through internal efforts, in-licensing and acquisition of product candidates. We plan to continue the expansion of our drug development pipeline through internal research and development, as well as acquire or in-license additional product candidates, particularly those that leverage existing scientific and clinical data to help reduce the risks of the next steps in clinical development. The focus on this front will include identifying both novel and established targets and candidates that complement our radiopharmaceutical and rare disease programs. | |
| ● | Utilize the expertise and prior experience of our team in the areas of asset acquisition, drug development and commercialization to establish ourselves as a leading biopharma company. Our senior executive team has relevant experience in biopharmaceutical in-licensing and acquisitions as well as developing product candidates through approval and commercialization. In aggregate, our team has co-founded BioMarin Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: BMRN), Sensant Corp. (acquired by Siemens), American BioOptics (assets acquired by Olympus), Raptor Pharmaceuticals ($800 million sale to Horizon Therapeutics), and Wilson Therapeutics (acquired by Alexion in June 2018 for $764 million; Alexion was subsequently acquired by AstraZeneca). In October 2024, we in-licensed ALXN1840 (bis-choline tetrathiomolybdate) from Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, and plan to pursue regulatory approval and commercialization of this late-stage drug candidate for Wilson disease. |
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Revenues
We are a microcap biopharma company. We have no approved drugs and have not generated any revenues. To date, we have engaged in acquiring or in-licensing drug product candidates, and in entering into collaboration agreements for the preclinical testing and clinical development of our drug product candidates along with providing the infrastructure to support the clinical development of our drug product candidates. We do not anticipate revenues from operations until we complete testing and development of one of our drug product candidates and obtain marketing approval, or until we sell, enter into a collaborative marketing arrangement, or out-license one of our drug product candidates to another party. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
During the year ended December 31, 2024, there were two recently issued accounting pronouncements applicable to us that are described in more detail in Note 2 of our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in Note 2 of our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe the following accounting policies to be critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Clinical Trials Accruals
We accrue and expense the costs for clinical trial activities performed by third parties based upon estimates of the percentage of work completed over the life of the individual study in accordance with agreements established with contract research organizations, service providers, and clinical trial sites. We estimate the amounts to accrue based upon discussions with internal clinical personnel and external service providers as to progress or stage of completion of trials or services and the agreed upon fee to be paid for such services. Costs of setting up clinical trial sites for participation in the trials are expensed immediately as R&D expenses. Clinical trial site costs related to patient screening and enrollment are accrued as patients are screened/entered into the trial.
Stock-Based Compensation
We account for stock-based compensation arrangements with employees, non-employee directors and consultants using a fair value method, which requires the recognition of compensation expense for costs related to all stock-based compensation grants, including stock option and restricted stock unit (“RSU”) grants. The fair value method requires us to estimate the fair value of stock-based payment awards on the date of grant using an option pricing model or, in the case of RSUs, the closing stock price on the date of grant.
Stock-based compensation costs for stock awards granted to our employees, non-employee directors and consultants are based on the fair value of the underlying instruments calculated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model on the date of grant for stock options and using the closing stock price on the date of grant for RSUs and recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is the vesting period. Determining the appropriate fair value model and related assumptions requires judgment, including selecting methods for estimating our future stock price volatility and expected holding term. For options granted in 2023, the expected volatility rates are estimated based on our actual historical volatility over the three-year period from our initial public offering on December 18, 2019, through December 31, 2022. For options granted in 2024, the expected volatility rates are estimated based on our actual historical volatility over the four-year period from our initial public offering on December 18, 2019, through December 31, 2023. The expected term for stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, was estimated using the simplified method. Forfeitures only include actual forfeitures to-date as the Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur due to a limited history of forfeitures. We have not paid dividends and do not anticipate paying a cash dividend in future vesting periods and, accordingly, use an expected dividend yield of zero. The risk-free interest rate is based on the rate of U.S. Treasury securities with maturities consistent with the estimated expected term of the awards.
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Results of Operations
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023
The following table summarizes the results of our operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | Variance | |||||||||
| Research and development expenses | $ | 13,006 | $ | 5,600 | $ | 7,406 | ||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 3,156 | 3,231 | (75 | ) | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 16,162 | 8,831 | 7,331 | |||||||||
| Operating loss | (16,162 | ) | (8,831 | ) | (7,331 | ) | ||||||
| Other income | 171 | — | 171 | |||||||||
| Interest income | 404 | 429 | (25 | ) | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (15,587 | ) | $ | (8,402 | ) | $ | (7,185 | ) |
Research and Development (“R&D”) Expenses
R&D expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024, were $13,006,000, compared to $5,600,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023. This represents an increase of $7,406,000 primarily attributed to (1) a $8,557,000 increase related to the in-licensing of ALXN1840, (2) a $335,000 increase in R&D personnel expenses and (3) a $130,000 net increase in other R&D expenses, partially offset by (4) a $1,616,000 decrease in Validive clinical trial-related expenses due to the closure of the trial in March 2023.
General and Administrative (“G&A”) Expenses
G&A expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024, were $3,156,000, compared to $3,231,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023. This represents a decrease of $75,000 primarily attributed to a decrease in G&A personnel expenses due to the reduction in equity grants to our Chief Executive Officer in 2024.
Other Income
Other income for the year ended
December 31, 2024
, increased by $171,000 versus the year ended
December 31, 2023, due to the release of an accrued liability.
Interest Income
Interest income for the year ended December 31, 2024, decreased by $25,000 versus the year ended December 31, 2023.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have incurred losses and cumulative negative cash flows from operations since we commenced operations, resulting in an accumulated deficit of approximately $75.8 million as of December 31, 2024. We anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. We expect that our R&D and G&A expenses will increase to enable the execution of our strategic plan. We anticipate that the currently available funds as of March 14, 2025, will fund our planned operations at least through December 31, 2026. We will seek to obtain needed capital through a variety of methods, including but not limited to the sale of our common stock, debt financings, strategic partnerships or other sources of capital at our disposal.
We invest our cash equivalents in money market accounts and U.S. Treasury securities.
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Cash Flows
The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | Variance | |||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (6,404 | ) | $ | (7,858 | ) | $ | 1,454 | ||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (14,338 | ) | 4,928 | (19,266 | ) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 59,292 | 2,027 | 57,265 | |||||||||
| Effect of exchange rates | — | (17 | ) | 17 | ||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 38,550 | $ | (920 | ) | $ | 39,470 |
During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we had net cash inflow of $38,550,000 and net cash outflow of $920,000, respectively, an increase of $39,470,000. The increase in cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, was due to the increase in funds available to invest from the October 2024 financing. The increase in net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, was a result of higher proceeds from sales of our common stock under an at-the-market sales program and the October 2024 and December 2024 financing rounds.
Cash Flow Used in Operating Activities
The decrease of $1,454,000 in cash flow used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, was primarily related to an increase in liabilities including the accrual of $3,000,000 related to the upfront payment payable to Alexion for the in-licensing of ALXN1840.
Cash Flow (Used in) Provided By Investing Activities
The increase to cash flow used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to cash provided by investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023, of $19,266,000 was related to the purchase of investments in U.S. Treasury securities during 2024 resulting from an increase in cash available for investment from proceeds from sales of our common stock under an at-the-market sales program and from the October 2024 financing.
Cash Flow Provided by Financing Activities
The increase in cash flow provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, of $57,265,000 was primarily due to higher net proceeds from sales of our common stock through an at-the-market sales program and the October 2024 and December 2024 financing rounds.
Future Funding Requirements
To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales. We do not know when, or if, we will generate any revenue from product sales. We do not expect to generate any revenue from product sales or royalties unless and until we obtain regulatory approval of and commercialize any of our current or future drug product candidates, or we out-license or sell a drug product candidate to another party. At the same time, we expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing development activities, particularly as we continue the research, development, future preclinical studies and clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, our current and future drug product candidates. If we obtain regulatory approval of any of our current or future drug product candidates, we will need substantial additional funding for precommercial and commercialization requirements and our continuing drug product development operations.
As a company, we have not completed development through marketing approvals of any therapeutic products. We expect to continue to incur significant increases in expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially as we:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | develop our ALXN1840 investigational drug candidate as a treatment for Wilson disease; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | progress our MNPR-101-Zr imaging and dosimetry clinical trial in advanced cancer patients; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | progress our MNPR-101-Lu therapeutic clinical trial in advanced cancer patients; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | continue the preclinical activities and potentially advance MNPR-101-Ac into the clinic as a therapeutic in advanced cancer patients; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | support intellectual property initiatives for our Wilson disease and radiopharmaceutical programs; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | identify and potentially invent or license novel targets and drug candidates complementing our radiopharmaceutical and rare disease programs, and pursue the future preclinical and clinical development and regulatory requirements of such drug product candidates; |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | seek regulatory approvals for any of our current and future drug product candidates that successfully complete registration clinical trials; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | establish or purchase the services of a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we obtain marketing approval; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | develop or contract for manufacturing/quality capabilities or establish a reliable, high quality supply chain sufficient to support our clinical requirements and to provide sufficient capacity to launch and supply the market for any product for which we obtain marketing approval; and |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | add or contract for required operational, financial and management information systems and capabilities and other specialized expert personnel to support our drug product candidate development, precommercial and planned commercialization efforts. |
We anticipate that the funds available as of March 14, 2025, will fund our obligations at least through December 31, 2026. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and commercialization of our drug product candidates, and the extent to which we enter into collaborations with third parties to participate in the development and commercialization of our drug product candidates, we are unable to accurately estimate with high reliability the amounts and timing required for increased capital outlays and operating expenditures associated with our current and anticipated drug product candidate development programs.
Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the development program for ALXN1840 in Wilson disease; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the clinical development progress of MNPR-101-Zr in imaging advanced cancers; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the clinical development progress of MNPR-101-Lu as a therapeutic agent in advanced cancers; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the progress of preclinical and clinical development of MNPR-101-Ac; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the progress of preclinical activities towards identifying novel targets and candidates to complement our radiopharmaceutical and rare disease programs; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the number and characteristics of other drug product candidates that we may invent, license, acquire, or otherwise pursue; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the costs, timing and outcomes of seeking, obtaining, and maintaining FDA, TGA and other international regulatory approvals; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the scope, progress, timing, cost and results of research, preclinical development and clinical trials and regulatory requirements for future drug product candidates; |
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| ● | the costs associated with establishing or contracting for manufacturing/quality requirements and establishing or contracting for sales, marketing and distribution capabilities; | |
|---|---|---|
| ● | our ability and related costs to maintain, expand and defend the scope of our intellectual property portfolio, including the amount and timing of any payments we may be required to make in connection with the licensing, filing, defense and enforcement of any patents or other intellectual property rights; | |
| ● | our need and ability to hire or contract additional management, administrative, scientific, regulatory, medical, sales and marketing, manufacturing/quality and other specialized personnel or external expertise; |
| ● | the effect and timing of entry of competing products and/or new therapies that may limit market penetration or prevent the introduction of our drug product candidates or reduce the commercial potential of our product portfolio; | |
|---|---|---|
| ● | our need to implement additional required internal management, operational, record keeping and other systems and infrastructure; and | |
| ● | the economic and other terms, timing and success of our existing collaboration and licensing arrangements and any collaboration, licensing or other arrangements into which we may enter in the future, including the timing of receipt of or payment to or from others of any license, milestone or royalty payments under these arrangements. |
We intend to continue evaluating drug product candidates for the purpose of growing our pipeline. Identifying and securing high-quality compounds usually takes time and related expenses. Our spending could be significantly accelerated in the future if additional drug product candidates are acquired and enter clinical development. In this event, we may be required to expand our management team, and pay higher contract manufacturing costs, contract research organization fees, other clinical development costs and insurance costs that are not currently projected. Beyond our current funds, substantial additional long-term funding is needed to further develop our radiopharmaceutical and rare disease programs.
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Until we can generate a sufficient amount of product revenue to finance our cash requirements, we expect to finance our future cash needs primarily through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, strategic collaborations and grant funding. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our current stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our current stockholders’ rights. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through marketing and distribution arrangements or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with other parties, we likely will have to share or relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or drug product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us, which will reduce our future returns and affect our future operating flexibility. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our pipeline product development or commercialization efforts or grant rights to others to develop and market drug product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
License, Development and Collaboration Agreements
Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease
On October 23, 2024, the Company executed a License Agreement with Alexion, pursuant to which Alexion granted us an exclusive worldwide license for the development and commercialization of ALXN1840, a drug candidate for Wilson disease. As initial upfront consideration for the License Agreement, we issued Alexion 387,329 shares (representing 9.9% of our outstanding shares at the time) of our common stock and agreed to make an upfront cash payment of $4.0 million. A cash payment of $1.0 million was paid at the time of signing and the remaining $3.0 million was paid in January 2025, pursuant to the terms of the agreement. We agreed to an anti-dilution provision that entitled Alexion to receive additional shares at no cost to maintain their 9.9% ownership until we raised the next $25.0 million of our common stock, subject to a maximum of 705,015 shares unless we obtained stockholder approval. Pursuant to the anti-dilution right, we issued an additional 157,188 shares of common stock to Alexion. No further obligations exist pursuant to the anti-dilution right.
Additionally, we are obligated to milestone payments of up to $94.0 million for the achievement of regulatory approval and sales related milestones. In addition, the Company is obligated to pay tiered royalties based on net sales in the low- to mid-double digit range. We have also given Alexion the right of first negotiation regarding any rights should we intend to sublicense ALXN1840. Furthermore, we will have to pay Alexion a percentage in the mid-double digits of any sublicensing income received by us. As part of this License Agreement, we have assumed an agreement from Alexion, under which we will also owe a third-party single digit millions in cash milestone payment upon regulatory approval in Europe and a single digit percentage royalty on net sales in Europe.
NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC (“NorthStar”)
In June 2024, we entered into a long-term, non-exclusive master supply agreement with NorthStar under which NorthStar will provide us with the therapeutic radioisotope actinium-225 (“Ac-225”). The original collaboration agreement was amended at that time to clarify certain economic terms and terms related to jointly developed intellectual property rights for our MNPR-101 for radiopharmaceutical use. We have acquired these rights from NorthStar, together with certain broad, jointly developed intellectual property pertaining to MNPR-101, giving us full ownership and title to our lead MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical platform. We will jointly share ownership of the filed patent application on the use of PCTA as a linker with Ac-225, which has shown that MNPR-101 has superior binding and yield with Ac-225 over the current industry-leading linker, DOTA.
XOMA Ltd.
To humanize our MNPR-101 antibody, we have taken a non-exclusive license to XOMA (US) LLC’s humanization technology and know-how. Humanization involves replacing most of the non-critical parts of the mouse sequence of an antibody with the human sequence to minimize the ability of the human immune system to recognize this antibody as foreign. As such, MNPR-101 has been engineered to be 95% human sequence using the XOMA technology. Under the terms of the non-exclusive license with XOMA Ltd., we are to pay only upon the achievement of clinical, regulatory and sales milestones, potentially totaling $14.925 million. The agreement does not require the payment of sales royalties. As of March 14, 2025, we had not reached any milestones and had not been required to pay XOMA Ltd. any funds under this license agreement. The first milestone payment is payable upon first dosing of a human patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial. We are currently conducting Phase 1 clinical trials and cannot reliably predict when we will be able to commence a Phase 2 clinical trial, if at all.
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Service Providers
In the normal course of business, we contract with service providers to assist in the performance of R&D, including drug product manufacturing, process development, clinical and preclinical development, and G&A including financial strategy, audit, tax and legal support. We can elect to discontinue the work under these agreements at any time. We could also enter into collaborative research and development, contract research, manufacturing and supplier agreements in the future, which may require upfront payments and/or long-term commitments of cash.
Office Lease
We recently entered into a 36-month lease beginning April 1, 2025 for our executive headquarters at 1000 Skokie Blvd in the Village of Wilmette, Illinois at a monthly rate of $3,580/month, and we also have a month-to-month lease for additional space at the same location for $2,379 per month. We also recently entered into a lease for a small wet laboratory space and certain equipment at the Helix 51 Bioscience Incubator at The Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois at a rate of $1,000/month, which is cancellable after 6 months with 30 days advance written notice.
Legal Contingencies
We are currently not, and to date have never been, a party to any adverse material legal proceedings.
Indemnification
In the normal course of business, we enter into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties and provide for general indemnification. Our exposure under these agreements is unknown because it involves claims that may be made against us in the future, but that have not yet been made. To date, we have not paid any claims or been required to defend any action related to our indemnification obligations. However, we may record charges in the future as a result of these indemnification obligations.
In accordance with our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Bylaws and the indemnification agreements entered into with each officer and non-employee director, we have indemnification obligations to our officers and non-employee directors for certain events or occurrences, subject to certain limits, while they are serving at our request in such capacity. There have been no claims to date. See Item 1A - “Risk Factors - We have limited the liability of and indemnified our directors and officers.”