Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Sponsored Research and License Agreements

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Sponsored Research and License Agreements
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Sponsored Research and License Agreements  
Sponsored Research and License Agreements

7.              Sponsored Research and License Agreements

 

We conduct research and development programs independently and in connection with our corporate collaborators. We currently do not have significant active collaborations. We have several active collaborations that we have currently considered not significant. Under these collaborations, which we enter into in the ordinary course of business, we received or may be entitled to receive upfront cash payments, progress dependent contingent payments on events achieved by such partners and royalties on any net sales of products sold by such partners under the agreements. Total future contingent payments to us under all of these current collaborations could exceed $152.3 million if all potential product candidates achieved all of the payment triggering events under all of our current collaborations (based on a single product candidate under each agreement). Of this amount, up to $61.2 million relates to the achievement of development events, up to $53.6 million relates to the achievement of regulatory events and up to $37.5 million relates to the achievement of certain commercial or launch events. This estimated future contingent amount does not include any estimated royalties that could be due to us if the partners successfully commercialize the licensed products.

 

Since we do not control the research, development or commercialization of the product candidates generated under these collaborations, we are not able to reasonably estimate when, if at all, any contingent payments would become payable to us. As such, the contingent payments we could receive thereunder involve a substantial degree of risk to achieve and may never be received. Accordingly, we do not expect, and investors should not assume, that we will receive all of the potential contingent payments provided for under these collaborations and it is possible that we may never receive any additional significant contingent payments or royalties under these collaborations.

 

In June 2012, we entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with AstraZeneca AB (AZ) for the development and commercialization of our program, R256, an inhaled janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor shown to inhibit interleukin (IL)-13 and IL-4 signaling, which is being investigated as a treatment for moderate to severe chronic asthma. AZ is responsible for beginning the first-in- human clinical studies for R256, and for designing and conducting the clinical development of the compound. AZ also has exclusive rights to commercialize R256 around the world. AZ paid us an upfront payment of $1.0 million in July 2012. Under the agreement, we were obligated to provide the following deliverables: (i) granting a license of rights to our program, and (ii) delivery of a small batch of compound to AZ. We concluded that these deliverables should be accounted for as separate units of accounting. As our obligations with respect to the deliverables were achieved by June 30, 2012, we recognized revenue of $1.0 million in the second quarter of 2012. On December 31, 2013, we earned revenue associated with the time-based non-refundable payment of $5.8 million from AZ in consideration for AZ’s decision to continue its development of R256 in asthma.

 

In June 2011, we entered into an exclusive license agreement with BerGenBio AS (BerGenBio) for the development and commercialization of an oncology program, which is currently in Phase 1 development. BerGenBio is responsible for all activities it wishes to perform under the license we granted to it. In July 2012, we received a time-based payment of $500,000 from BerGenBio due to us on June 29, 2012, pursuant to the terms of the agreement. We recognized the payment as revenue in the second quarter of 2012.

 

In August 2002, we entered into a collaboration agreement with Daiichi Sankyo (Daiichi) to pursue research related to a specific target from a novel class of drug targets called ligases that control cancer cell proliferation through protein degradation, which is currently in Phase 1 development. In April 2013, we received a $1.4 million payment from Daiichi related to Daiichi’s filing of an investigational new drug (IND) for an oncology compound. In January 2012, we received a $750,000 payment from Daiichi. To date, we have earned payments under this arrangement totaling $7.9 million and may earn additional payments in connection with the achievement by Daiichi of certain clinical events. The research phase of this three-year collaboration expired in August 2005. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, we retain the rights to co-develop and co- promote certain products resulting from this collaboration in North America, while Daiichi retains co-development and promotion rights in the remainder of the world. Future events that may trigger payments to us under the Daiichi agreement are based solely on Daiichi’s future efforts and achievements of specified events.