CURIS INC
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Feb 8, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Feb 8, 2024
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Item 6. [RESERVED]
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements, based on current expectations and related to future events and our future financial performance, that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many important factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. As used throughout this Annual Report, the terms “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the business of Curis, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, except where the context otherwise requires, and the term “Curis” refers to Curis, Inc. Unless otherwise indicated, in this Annual Report, all common share amounts and per share amounts have been adjusted to reflect a 1-for-20 reverse stock split of Curis' common stock.
Overview
Emavusertib
We are a biotechnology company focused on the development of emavusertib (CA-4948), an orally available, small molecule inhibitor of Interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase, or IRAK4. IRAK4 plays an essential role in the toll-like receptor, or TLR, and interleukin-1 receptor, or IL-1R, signaling pathways, which are frequently dysregulated in patients with cancer. TLRs and the IL-1R family signal through the adaptor protein Myeloid Differentiation Primary Response Protein 88, which results in the assembly and activation of IRAK4, initiating a signaling cascade that induces cytokine and survival factor expression mediated by the NF-κB protein complex. Preclinical studies targeting IRAK4 in combination with FMS‐like tyrosine kinase 3, or FLT3, have demonstrated the ability to overcome the adaptive resistance incurred when targeting FLT3 alone. Further, emavusertib has shown anti-tumor activity across a broad range of hematologic malignancies including monotherapy activity in patient-derived xenografts and synergy with both azacitidine and venetoclax.
The FDA placed partial clinical holds on our TakeAim Leukemia Phase 1/2 study and our TakeAim Lymphoma Phase 1/2 study in April 2022 after we reported a serious adverse event in the TakeAim Leukemia Phase 1/2 study. In August 2022, the FDA lifted the partial clinical hold on the TakeAim Lymphoma Phase 1/2 study. In July 2023, we announced that the FDA lifted the partial clinical hold on the TakeAim Leukemia Phase 1/2 study. Both studies are actively recruiting patients, within and outside the US.
TakeAim Leukemia
Emavusertib is currently undergoing testing in a Phase 1/2 open-label, single arm expansion trial in patients with relapsed or refractory, or R/R, AML and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, or hrMDS, also known as the TakeAim Leukemia Phase 1/2 study. In January and December 2022, and July and December 2023, we presented clinical data for patients from the ongoing TakeAim Leukemia Phase 1/2 study.
TakeAim Lymphoma
In addition to the TakeAim Leukemia Phase 1/2 study, we are testing emavusertib in combination with ibrutinib in a Phase 1/2 open-label, single arm expansion trial in patients with R/R primary central nervous system lymphoma or PCNSL also known as the TakeAim Lymphoma Phase 1/2 study. In June 2022 and December 2023, we provided preliminary clinical data for patients with various hematological malignancies in the combination portion of the ongoing TakeAim Lymphoma Phase 1/2 study. In December 2023, we provided initial clinical and safety data of emavusertib in combination with ibrutinib in several non-Hodgkin's lymphoma subtypes including PCNSL patients.
AML Triplet Study
We have initiated a Phase 1 clinical study of emavusertib as an add-on agent to the combination of azacitidine and venetoclax to treat patients with AML, which we refer to as the AML Triplet study. The AML Triplet study is currently being conducted in Spain, Germany, and Italy.
We are party to a collaboration agreement with Genentech Inc., or Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, under which Genentech and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, or Roche, are commercializing Erivedge®(vismodegib), a first-in-class orally administered small molecule Hedgehog signaling pathway antagonist. Erivedge is approved for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma, or BCC.
In January 2015, we entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement with Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited, or Aurigene, which was amended in September 2016 and February 2020, for the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule compounds in the areas of immuno-oncology and precision oncology. As of December 31, 2023, we have licensed four programs under the Aurigene collaboration, including emavusertib.
Liquidity
Since our inception, we have funded our operations primarily through private and public placements of our equity securities, license fees, contingent cash payments, royalties and research and development funding from our corporate collaborators, and the monetization of certain royalty rights. We have never been profitable on an annual basis and had an accumulated deficit of $1.2 billion as of December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred a net loss of $47.4 million and used $38.4 million of cash in operations. We expect to continue to generate operating losses in the foreseeable future. Based upon our current operating plan, we believe that our $56.3 million of existing cash, cash equivalents and investments at December 31, 2023 should enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2025. We have based this assessment on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. Our current cash, cash equivalents, and investments, are not expected to fund our operations beyond 12 months from the date of filing this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Funding Requirements” below and Note 1, “Nature of Business,” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II,
Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of our liquidity and the conditions and events that raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.
We will need to generate significant revenues to achieve profitability, and do not expect to achieve profitability in the foreseeable future, if at all. We will require additional funding to fund the development of emavusertib through regulatory approval and commercialization, and to support our continued operations. We will need to seek additional funding through a number of potential avenues, including, private or public equity financings, collaborations, or other strategic transactions as needed. If sufficient funds are not available, we will have to delay, reduce the scope of, or eliminate our research and development program for emavusertib, including related clinical trials and operating expenses, potentially delaying the time to market for or preventing the marketing of emavusertib, which could adversely affect our business prospects and our ability to continue our operations, and would have a negative impact on our financial condition and ability to pursue our business strategies. In addition, we may seek to engage in one or more strategic alternatives, such as a strategic partnership with one or more parties, the licensing, sale or divestiture of some of our assets or proprietary technologies or the sale of our company, but there can be no assurance that we would be able to enter into such a transaction or transactions on a timely basis or on terms favorable to us, or at all.
Key Drivers
We believe that near term key drivers to our success will include:
our ability to focus and successfully plan and execute current and planned clinical trials for emavusertib, and for such clinical trials to generate favorable data;
our ability to raise additional financing, when required, to fund operations; and/or
our ability to collaborate or license emavusertib and to successfully develop and commercialize emavusertib.
Our current collaborations and license agreements are summarized below and detailed in the Business section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See "Business—Our Collaborations and License Agreements."
Aurigene
Our exclusive collaboration agreement, as amended, with Aurigene provides for the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule compounds in the areas of immuno-oncology and selected precision oncology targets. As of December 31, 2023, we have four licensed programs, including emavusertib.
Under the collaboration agreement, as amended, Aurigene granted us an option to obtain exclusive, royalty-bearing licenses to relevant Aurigene technology to develop, manufacture and commercialize products containing certain of such compounds anywhere in the world, except for India and Russia, which are territories retained by Aurigene. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, as amended, Aurigene also obtains rights to develop and commercialize CA-170 in Asia.
For each of the current four licensed programs, we have remaining unpaid or unwaived payment obligations of $42.5 million per program, related to regulatory approval and commercial sales milestones, plus specified additional payments for approvals for additional indications, if any.
We have agreed to pay Aurigene tiered royalties on our and our affiliates’ annual net sales of products at percentage rates ranging from the high single digits up to 10%, subject to specified reductions. In addition, we have agreed to make certain payments to Aurigene upon our entry into sublicense agreements on any program(s).
ImmuNext License Agreement
In January 2020, we entered into an option and license agreement with ImmuNext, or the ImmuNext Agreement. Under the terms of the ImmuNext Agreement, we agreed to engage in a collaborative effort with ImmuNext, and to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial of an ImmuNext compound that antagonizes VISTA. We were conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial with respect to CI-8993, ImmuNext’s lead compound. In exchange, ImmuNext granted us an exclusive option, exercisable until the earlier of (a) four years after January 6, 2020 and (b) 90 days after database lock for the first Phase 1 trial in which the endpoints are satisfied to obtain an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and commercialize certain VISTA antagonizing compounds, including CI-8993, and products containing these compounds in the field of oncology. We did not exercise our option. The rights to the VISTA antagonizing compounds reverted to ImmuNext upon the expiration of the ImmuNext Agreement in January 2024.
Genentech Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Collaboration Agreement
In 2003, we entered into a collaborative research, development and license agreement with Genentech, which we refer to as the collaboration agreement.
Under the terms of our collaboration agreement with Genentech, we granted Genentech an exclusive, global, royalty-bearing license, with the right to sublicense, to make, use, sell and import molecules capable of inhibiting the Hedgehog signaling pathway (including small molecules, proteins and antibodies) for human therapeutic applications, including cancer therapy. Genentech subsequently granted a sublicense to Roche for non-U.S. rights to Erivedge, other than in Japan where such rights are held by Chugai. Genentech and Roche are responsible for worldwide clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and supply, formulation, and sales and marketing of Erivedge.
We are eligible to receive up to an aggregate of $115.0 million in contingent cash milestone payments, exclusive of royalty payments, in connection with the development of Erivedge or another small molecule Hedgehog pathway inhibitor, assuming the successful achievement by Genentech and Roche of specified clinical development and regulatory objectives. Of this amount, we have received $59.0 million to date.
In addition to the contingent cash milestone payments, our wholly owned subsidiary, Curis Royalty, LLC, or Curis Royalty, is entitled to a royalty on net sales of Erivedge that ranges from 5% to 7.5% based upon global Erivedge sales by Roche and Genentech. We recognized $9.9 million of royalty revenue from Genentech’s net sales of Erivedge during the year ended December 31, 2023, and have recognized an aggregate of $100.1 million in royalty revenues since Erivedge was approved.
Financial Operations Overview
General. Our future operating results will largely depend on the progress of emavusertib. The results of our operations will vary significantly from year to year and quarter to quarter and depend on, among other factors, the cost and outcome of any preclinical development or clinical trials then being conducted. For a discussion of our liquidity and funding requirements, see “Liquidity” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Funding Requirements.”
Liability Related to the Sale of Future Royalties. In March 2019, the Company and Curis Royalty entered into the royalty interest purchase agreement, or Oberland Purchase Agreement, with entities managed by Oberland Capital Management, LLC, or the Purchasers. Upon closing of the Oberland Purchase Agreement, Curis Royalty received an upfront purchase price of $65.0 million from the Purchasers, approximately $33.8 million of which was used to pay off the remaining loan principal under the credit agreement with HealthCare Royalty Partners III, L.P., or HealthCare Royalty, and $3.7 million of which was used to pay transaction costs, including $3.4 million to HealthCare Royalty in accrued and unpaid interest and prepayment fees under the loan, resulting in net proceeds of $27.5 million. Curis Royalty will also be entitled to receive milestone payments of $53.5 million if the Purchasers receive payments pursuant to the Oberland Purchase Agreement in excess of $117.0 million on or prior to December 31, 2026, which milestone payments may each be paid, at the option of the Purchasers, in a lump sum in cash or out of the Purchaser’s portion of future payments under the Oberland Purchase Agreement.
In March 2023, Curis and Curis Royalty received a letter from counsel to Oberland Capital Management, LLC, the Purchasers and the Agent alleging defaults under Sections 4.04 and 6.04(b) of the Oberland Purchase Agreement and demanding cure of the asserted default under Section 6.04(b) of the Oberland Purchase Agreement. The asserted basis for the alleged defaults is that Curis and Curis Royalty were required to disclose, and failed to disclose, certain information prior to execution of the Oberland Purchase Agreement and that Curis and Curis Royalty have since failed to disclose certain information that has been requested by the Purchasers pursuant to Section 6.04(b) of the Oberland Purchase Agreement. The letter further alleges that these alleged defaults are events of default under the Oberland Purchase Agreement and that each alleged default separately entitles the Purchasers to exercise the put option, which would require Curis Royalty to repurchase a portion of certain royalty and royalty related payments, excluding a portion of non U.S. royalties retained by Curis Royalty, referred to as the Purchased Receivables at a price, referred to as the Put/Call Price, equal to 250% of the sum of the upfront purchase price and any portion of the milestone payments paid in a lump sum by the Purchasers, if any, minus certain payments previously received by the Purchasers with respect to the Purchased Receivables. The Purchasers have not attempted to exercise that put option but have purported to reserve their alleged right to exercise it without further notice. The Purchasers have also reserved other asserted rights in respect of the alleged defaults, including the asserted right to seek judicial remedies, including for damages and rescission, and to assert alleged claims against Curis and Curis Royalty for indemnification on the basis of material breach and fraud in the inducement. Curis and Curis Royalty dispute these allegations. However, if Oberland elects to pursue these claims, and if Curis and Curis Royalty are unsuccessful in defending against these claims, it could have a material adverse impact on Curis and Curis Royalty, including their ability to continue as a going concern. We have not received any further communication on this topic from counsel to Oberland Capital Management, LLC, or the Purchasers and the Agent since the March 2023 letter. As of December 31, 2023, the estimated amount of the Put/Call Price is $56.9 million.
For further discussion of the Oberland Purchase Agreement, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Royalty Interest Purchase Agreement”. For a further discussion of risks related to the letter from Oberland Capital Management, LLC, the Purchasers and the Agent, please refer to “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to our Financial Results and Need for Financing”.
Revenue. We do not expect to generate any revenues from our direct sale of products for several years, if ever. Substantially all of our revenues to date have been derived from license fees, research and development payments, and other amounts that we have received from our strategic collaborators and licensees, including royalty payments. Since the first quarter of 2012, we have recognized royalty revenues related to Genentech’s sales of Erivedge and we expect to continue to recognize royalty revenue in future quarters from Genentech’s sales of Erivedge in the U.S. and Roche’s sales of Erivedge outside of the U.S. However, a significant portion of our royalty and royalty-related revenues under our collaboration with Genentech will be paid to the Purchasers, pursuant to the Oberland Purchase Agreement. The Oberland Purchase Agreement will terminate upon the earlier to occur of (i) the date on which Curis Royalty’s rights to receive the Purchased Receivables owed by Genentech under the Genentech collaboration agreement have terminated in their entirety or (ii) the date on which payment in full of the Put/Call Price is received by the Purchasers pursuant to the Purchasers’ exercise of their put option or Curis Royalty’s exercise of its call right. For additional information regarding the terms and termination provisions of this agreement, see Note 8, “Liability Related to the Sale of Future Royalties,” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We could receive additional milestone payments from Genentech, provided that contractually specified development and regulatory objectives are met. Also, we could receive milestone payments from the Purchasers, provided that contractually specified royalty payment amounts are met within applicable time periods. Our only source of revenues and/or cash flows from operations for the foreseeable future will be royalty payments that are contingent upon the continued commercialization of Erivedge under our collaboration with Genentech, and contingent cash payments for the achievement of clinical, development and regulatory objectives, if any, that are met, under our collaboration with Genentech. Our receipt of additional payments under our collaboration with Genentech cannot be assured, nor can we predict the timing of any such payments, as the case may be.
Research and Development. Research and development expense primarily consists of costs incurred to develop emavusertib. These expenses consist primarily of:
salaries and related expenses for personnel, including stock-based compensation expense;
costs of conducting clinical trials, including amounts paid to clinical centers, clinical research organizations and consultants, among others;
other outside service costs including regulatory and costs of contract manufacturing;
the cost of companion drugs;
facility costs; and
certain payments that we make to Aurigene under our collaboration agreement, including, for example, milestone payments.
We expense research and development costs as incurred.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. Drug candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. As a result, we expect that our research and development expenses will increase substantially over the next several years as we conduct our clinical trials of emavusertib; prepare regulatory filings for our drug candidate; continue to develop additional drug candidates; and potentially advance our drug candidates into later stages of clinical development.
The successful development and commercialization of emavusertib is highly uncertain. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the preclinical and clinical development of emavusertib. This uncertainty is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development and commercialization, including the uncertainty of:
our ability to successfully enroll our current and future clinical trials and our ability to initiate future clinical trials;
the scope, quality of data, rate of progress and cost of clinical trials and other research and development activities undertaken by us or our collaborators;
the cost and timing of regulatory approvals and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements;
the results of future preclinical studies and clinical trials;
the cost of establishing clinical and commercial supplies of emavusertib and any products that we may develop;
the cost and timing of establishing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities;
our ability to become and remain profitable, which requires that we, either alone or with collaborators, must develop and eventually commercialize emavusertib with significant market potential and successfully launch a product for commercial sale;
the effect of competing technological and market developments; and
the cost and effectiveness of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights.
Any changes in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of emavusertib could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of emavusertib. For example, if the FDA or another regulatory authority otherwise delays our clinical trials or requires us to conduct clinical trials or other testing beyond those that we currently expect, or if we experience significant delays in enrollment in any of our clinical trials, we could be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time to complete clinical development of that drug candidate. We may never obtain regulatory approval for emavusertib. If we do obtain regulatory approval for our drug candidate, drug commercialization will take several years and millions of dollars in development costs.
A further discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties associated with completing our research and development program on schedule, or at all, and some consequences of failing to do so, are set forth under “Part I, Item 1A—Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
General and Administrative. General and administrative expense consists primarily of salaries and related expenses, including stock-based compensation expense for personnel in executive, finance, accounting, business development, legal, information technology, corporate communications and human resource functions. Other costs include facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expense, insurance, and professional fees for legal, patent and accounting services. Patent costs include certain patents covered under collaborations, a portion of which is reimbursed by collaborators and a portion of which is borne by us.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires that we make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosure of certain assets and liabilities at our balance sheet date. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe to be appropriate under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of certain liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe that the following accounting estimates are critical to understanding the judgment and estimate we use in preparing our financial statements.
The discussion of our critical accounting estimates is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion of all of our accounting estimates. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by generally accepted accounting principles, with no need for management’s judgment in their application. There are also areas in which management’s judgment in selecting any available alternative would not produce a materially different result.
Accrued Research and Development
We have entered into various agreements with CROs, CMOs and other service providers. Our research and development accruals are estimated based on the level of services performed, progress of the studies, including the phase or completion of events, and contracted costs. The estimated costs of research and development provided, but not yet invoiced, are included in accrued liabilities on the balance sheet. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from the original estimates, we will adjust the accrual accordingly. Payments made to third parties under these arrangements in advance of the performance of the related services are recorded as prepaid expenses and other current assets and other assets until the services are rendered. To date, our estimated accruals have not differed materially from actual costs incurred.
Liability Related to the Sale of Future Royalties
As a result of the obligation to pay future royalties to the Purchasers, we recorded the proceeds from this transaction as a liability on our consolidated balance sheet that is accounted for using the interest method over the estimated life of the Oberland Purchase Agreement. As a result, we impute interest on the transaction and record imputed interest expense at the estimated interest rate. Our estimate of the interest rate under the Oberland Purchase Agreement is based on the amount of royalty payments expected to be received by the Purchasers over the life of the arrangement. We periodically assess the expected royalty payments to Curis Royalty from Genentech using a combination of historical results and forecasts from market data sources. To the extent such payments are greater or less than the initial estimates or the timing of such payments is materially different than the original estimates, we will prospectively adjust the amortization of the liability.
Results of Operations (all amounts rounded to the nearest thousand)
Years Ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022:
| For the Year EndedDecember 31, · Percentage Increase/ (Decrease) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 v. 2022 | |
| Revenues, net | $10,023 | $10,162 | (1)% |
| Cost of royalty revenues | 212 | 257 | (18)% |
| Research and development | 39,496 | 43,277 | (9)% |
| General and administrative | 18,647 | 19,648 | (5)% |
| Other income (expense) | 919 | (3,652) | >100% |
| Net loss | $(47,413) | $(56,672) | (16)% |
Revenues, net
Revenues, net remained consistent for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Cost of royalties
Cost of royalties is comprised of amounts due to third party university patent licensors in connection with Genentech and Roche's Erivedge net sales.
Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses are summarized as follows:
| For the Year EndedDecember 31, · Percentage Increase/ (Decrease) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 v. 2022 | |
| Direct research and development expenses | $23,078 | $20,691 | 12% |
| Employee related costs | 14,330 | 20,025 | (28)% |
| Facility related costs | 2,088 | 2,561 | (18)% |
| Total research and development expenses | $39,496 | $43,277 | (9)% |
Research and development expense decreased by $3.8 million or 9%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the prior year. The decrease was attributable primarily to lower employee-related costs due to reduced headcount and lower research and consulting costs, partially offset by an increase in clinical costs.
We expect that a majority of our research and development expenses for the foreseeable future will be incurred in connection with our efforts to advance emavusertib, including clinical and preclinical development costs, manufacturing, and payments to our collaborators and/or licensors.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses are summarized as follows:
| For the Year EndedDecember 31, · Percentage Increase/ (Decrease) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 v. 2022 | |
| Employee related costs | $9,171 | $10,404 | (12)% |
| Professional, legal, and consulting services | 5,598 | 5,259 | 6% |
| Facility related costs | 2,810 | 2,580 | 9% |
| Insurance costs | 1,068 | 1,405 | (24)% |
| Total general and administrative expenses | $18,647 | $19,648 | (5)% |
General and administrative expenses decreased by $1.0 million, or 5%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to lower employee-related costs due to reduced headcount.
Other Income and Expense
Other income increased for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to other expense in the prior year. The increase was attributable to an increase in interest income and a decrease in the non-cash expense related to the sale of future royalties.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have financed our operations primarily through private and public placements of our equity securities, license fees, contingent cash payments and research and development funding from our corporate collaborators, and the monetization of certain royalty rights. See “Funding Requirements” below and Note 1, “Nature of Business,” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of our liquidity and the conditions and events that raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.
As of December 31, 2023, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of cash, cash equivalents, and investments of $56.3 million, excluding our restricted cash, long-term of $0.5 million. Our cash and cash equivalents are highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less at date of purchase. Our short-term investments primarily include commercial paper, corporate bonds and notes, and/or government obligations. We maintain cash balances with financial institutions in excess of insured limits.
Common Stock Purchase Agreement
In February 2020, we entered into a common stock purchase agreement, or the Agreement, with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC, or Aspire Capital, for the sale of up to $30.0 million of our common stock. We did not sell shares of common stock under the Agreement during the year ended December 31, 2022. The Agreement expired in August 2022. We also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with Aspire Capital in connection with its entry into the Agreement, which also expired in August 2022.
Equity Offerings
In March 2021, we entered into a sales agreement, or the 2021 Sales Agreement, with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., or Cantor, and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC , or JonesTrading, to sell from time to time shares of our common stock through an “at-the-market offering” program under which Cantor and JonesTrading act as sales agents. We sold 229,185 shares under the 2021 Sales Agreement, representing gross proceeds of $6.3 million. On February 8, 2024, we entered into an amended and restated sales agreement, or the 2024 Sales Agreement, with Cantor and JonesTrading, which supersedes the 2021 Sales Agreement.
In July 2023, we issued and sold, in a registered direct offering, or the July Registered Direct, to certain institutional investors an aggregate of 920,488 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $16.40 per share for net proceeds of approximately $13.8 million.
Royalty Interest Purchase Agreement
In March 2019, we and Curis Royalty entered into the royalty interest purchase agreement, or the Oberland Purchase Agreement, with the Purchasers. We sold to the Purchasers a portion of our rights to receive royalties from Genentech on potential net sales of Erivedge.
As upfront consideration for the purchase of the royalty rights, the Purchasers paid to Curis Royalty $65.0 million less certain transaction expenses. Curis Royalty will also be entitled to receive up to $53.5 million in milestone payments based on sales of Erivedge if the Purchasers receive payments pursuant to the Oberland Purchase Agreement in excess of $117.0 million on or prior to December 31, 2026. For further discussion please refer to Note 8, “Liability Related to the Sale of Future Royalties,” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In March 2023, Curis and Curis Royalty received a letter from counsel to Oberland Capital Management, LLC, the Purchasers and the Agent alleging defaults under the Oberland Purchase Agreement. The letter further alleges that these alleged defaults are events of default under the Oberland Purchase Agreement and that each alleged default separately entitles the Purchasers to exercise the put option, which would require Curis Royalty to repurchase the Purchased Receivables at the Put/Call Price. The Purchasers have not attempted to exercise that put option but have purported to reserve their alleged right to exercise it without further notice. The Purchasers have also reserved other asserted rights in respect of the alleged defaults, including the asserted right to seek judicial remedies, including for damages and rescission, and to assert alleged claims against Curis and Curis Royalty for indemnification on the basis of material breach and fraud in the inducement. Curis and Curis Royalty dispute these allegations. However, if Oberland elects to pursue these claims, and if Curis and Curis Royalty are unsuccessful in defending against these claims, it could have a material adverse impact on Curis and Curis Royalty, including our ability to continue as a going concern. We have not received any further communication on this topic from counsel to Oberland Capital Management, LLC, or the Purchasers and the Agent since the March 2023 letter. As of December 31, 2023, the estimated amount of the Put/Call Price is $56.9 million.
For a further discussion please refer to “Financial Operations Overview–Liability Related to the Sale of Future Royalties” above. For a further discussion of risks related to the letter from Oberland Capital Management, LLC, the Purchasers and the Agent, please refer to “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to our Financial Results and Need for Financing”.
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Cash flows from operating activities consist of our net loss adjusted for various non-cash items and changes in operating assets and liabilities. Cash used in operating activities during 2023 and 2022 was $38.4 million and $54.3 million, respectively. Net cash used in operations decreased $15.9 million in 2023 compared to 2022 primarily attributable to decreased research and development expenses and timing of payments.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Cash provided by investing activities in 2023 and 2022 was $37.8 million and $33.0 million, respectively. Cash provided by investing activities during both periods was primarily attributable to net investment activity from purchases and maturities of short-term investments for the respective periods.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Cash provided by financing activities was $7.6 million and $0.9 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively. Cash provided by financing activities in 2023 was primarily due to proceeds from the July Registered Direct, partially offset by payments related to Oberland Purchase Agreement. Cash provided by financing activities in 2022 was primarily due to proceeds from the 2021 Sales Agreement, partially offset by payments related to the Oberland Purchase Agreement.
Funding Requirements
We have incurred significant losses since our inception. As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $1.2 billion. We will require substantial funds to continue our research and development program and to fulfill our planned operating goals. Our planned operating and capital requirements currently include the support of our current and future research and development activities for emavusertib as well as development candidates we have and continue to license under our collaboration with Aurigene. We will require substantial additional capital to fund the further development of emavusertib, as well as to fund our general and administrative costs and expenses. Moreover, our agreements with collaborators impose significant potential financial obligations on us.
Based upon our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments of $56.3 million as of December 31, 2023, should enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2025. We have based this assessment on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. Our current cash, cash equivalents, and investments, are not expected to fund our operations beyond 12 months from the date of filing this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See Note 1 “Nature of Business,” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of our liquidity and the conditions and events that raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. Our resources are focused on emavusertib. If we are unable to obtain sufficient funding, we will be forced to delay, reduce in scope or eliminate our research and development program for emavusertib, including related clinical trials and operating expenses, potentially delaying the time to market for, or preventing the marketing of, emavusertib, which could adversely affect our business prospects and our ability to continue operations, and would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategies. Our ability to raise additional funds will depend on financial, economic and market conditions, many of which are outside of our control, and we may be unable to raise financing when needed, or on terms favorable to us, or at all. In addition, we may seek to engage in one or more strategic alternatives, such as a strategic partnership with one or more parties, the licensing, sale or divestiture of some of our assets or proprietary technologies or the sale of our company, but there can be no assurance that we would be able to enter into such a transaction or transactions on a timely basis or on terms favorable to us, or at all. Our failure to raise capital through a financing or strategic alternative as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital, we would be unable to fund our operations and may be required to evaluate alternatives, which could include dissolving and liquidating our assets or seeking protection under the bankruptcy laws, and a determination to file for bankruptcy could occur at a time that is earlier than when we would otherwise exhaust our cash resources. If we decide to dissolve and liquidate our assets or to seek protection under the bankruptcy laws, it is unclear to what extent we would be able to pay our obligations, and, accordingly, it is further unclear whether and to what extent any resources would be available for distributions to stockholders.
Furthermore, there are a number of factors that may affect our future capital requirements and further accelerate our need for additional working capital, many of which are outside our control, including the following:
unanticipated costs in our research and development program;
the timing and cost of obtaining regulatory approvals for emavusertib and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements;
payments due to licensors, including Aurigene, for patent rights and technology used in our drug development program;
the costs of commercialization activities for emavusertib if it receives marketing approval, to the extent such costs are our responsibility, including the costs and timing of establishing drug sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities;
unplanned costs to prepare, file, prosecute, defend and enforce patent claims and other patent-related costs, including litigation costs and technology license fees;
unexpected losses in our cash investments or an inability to otherwise liquidate or access our cash investments due to unfavorable conditions in the capital markets, including volatility and instability in the capital markets; and
our ability to continue as a going concern.
To become and remain profitable, we, either alone or with collaborators, must develop and eventually commercialize one or more drug candidates with significant market potential. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including completing preclinical testing and clinical trials of our drug candidates, obtaining marketing approval for these drug candidates, manufacturing, marketing and selling those drugs for which we may obtain marketing approval and satisfying any post marketing requirements. We may never succeed in these activities and, even if we do, may never generate revenues that are significant or large enough to achieve profitability. While Erivedge is being commercialized by Genentech and Roche, emavusertib is currently only in early clinical testing.
For the foreseeable future, we will need to spend significant capital in an effort to develop and commercialize emavusertib and we expect to incur substantial operating losses. Our failure to become and remain profitable would, among other things, depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our research and development program or continue our operations.
Contractual Obligations
Our headquarters consist of office and laboratory space in Lexington, Massachusetts. We occupy approximately 31,112 feet of space. In addition to the base rent, we are responsible for our share of operating expenses and real estate taxes for a portion of the leased space, in accordance with the terms of the lease agreement. The future minimum lease payments and related obligations under the agreement are $3.1 million over two years. In addition, our cash commitments for outside service obligations are $0.7 million over three years.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.