Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

LICENSE AGREEMENTS

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LICENSE AGREEMENTS
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
LICENSE AGREEMENTS

6. LICENSE AGREEMENTS

 

2003 License Agreement with the University of Michigan

 

In September 2003, Cellectar entered into an exclusive license agreement (the “U. Mich. Agreement”) with the Regents of the University of Michigan, (“U. Mich.”) for the development, manufacture and marketing of products under several composition-of-matter patents in North America that expire at varying dates in 2016.  The U. Mich. Agreement expires upon the expiration of the last covered patent.  The Company is responsible for an annual license fee of $10,000 and is required to pay costs associated with the maintenance of the patents covered by the U. Mich. Agreement.  Additionally, the Company is required to make milestone payments of $50,000 upon the filing of a New Drug Application (“NDA”) for a licensed product intended for use in a therapeutic or diagnostic application (such milestone fees may be deferred and paid within 12 months of the first commercial sale of such products) and make certain milestone payments within a year following the first commercial sale of any licensed products.  The sales milestones range from $100,000 to $200,000, dependent upon whether the drug is for use in a diagnostic or therapeutic application, provided that if sales in the first 12 months are less than the amount of the milestone, then we are required to pay 50% of all sales until the milestone is satisfied. The milestone payments may total up to $400,000. The U. Mich. Agreement provides that the Company pay a royalty equal to 3% of net sales of any licensed products sold by the Company or its sublicensees for such licensed products, provided however if the sublicense fee payable to the Company is between 4% and 5% of net sales, then the royalties payable to U. Mich. shall be equal to 50% of the sublicense fee.  Furthermore, the U. Mich. Agreement provides for a reduction in the royalties owed by up to 50% if the Company is required to pay royalties to any third parties related to the sale of the licensed products.  If the Company receives any revenue in consideration of rights to the licensed technology that is not based on net sales, excluding any funded research and development, the Company is required to pay U. Mich. 10% of amounts received.  U. Mich. may terminate the agreement if the Company ceases operations, if the Company fails to make any required payment under the agreement, or if the Company otherwise materially breaches the agreement, subject to the applicable notice and cure periods.  To date, the Company has made all payments as they have become due, there have been no defaults under the U. Mich. Agreement, nor has the Company been notified of a default by U. Mich. The Company may terminate the agreement with six months’ notice to U. Mich. and the return of licensed product and related data.  The U. Mich. Agreement contained milestones that required certain development activities to be completed by specified dates. All such development milestones have either been completed or have been removed by subsequent amendment to the agreement.  U. Mich. has provided no warranties as to validity or otherwise with respect to the licensed technology.

 

The Company paid approximately $600 and $300 to U. Mich. for the reimbursement of patent maintenance fees during the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.  As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, all annual license fees have been paid in a timely manner.

  

In connection with the U. Mich. Agreement, during 2003 Cellectar paid approximately $54,000 of back patent costs and issued 203,483 shares of common stock to U. Michigan as partial consideration for the rights described above.  The estimated fair-market value of the issuance was $80,412 and was recorded as a license cost and is included as a component of stockholders equity in the accompanying balance sheets.

 

License Agreement with Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

 

In January 2006, Cellectar entered into a license agreement (the “WARF Agreement”) with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (“WARF”) under which Cellectar received a license, with a right to grant sublicenses, to develop, manufacture, and market products with respect to certain patents.  The WARF Agreement required an initial license fee of $8,800 and provided that Cellectar pay royalties equal to 0.3% of sales of any licensed products.  Cellectar was also required to reimburse WARF for patent filing fees and related costs.  During the year ended December 31, 2010 there were no costs related to the patents under the WARF Agreement.  During 2010, the WARF Agreement was terminated.

 

Novelos License Agreements

 

During 2007, Novelos entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Lee’s Pharmaceutical (HK) Ltd. (“Lee’s Pharm”) whereby Lee’s Pharm obtained an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize NOV-002 and NOV-205 in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau (the “Chinese Territory”). Under the terms of the agreement the Company is entitled to receive up to $1,700,000 in future milestone payments upon the completion of development and marketing milestones by Lee’s Pharm and to receive royalty payments of between 12-25% of net sales of NOV-205 and NOV-002, as applicable, in the Chinese Territory and receive royalty payments of 12-15% of net sales of NOV-205 in the Chinese Territory. The agreement expires upon the expiration of the last patent covering any of the licensed products, or twelve years from the date of the first commercial sale in China, whichever occurs later.

 

During 2009, Novelos entered into a collaboration agreement (the “Collaboration Agreement”) with Mundipharma International Corporation Limited (“Mundipharma”) to develop, manufacture and commercialize, on an exclusive basis, Licensed Products (as defined in the Collaboration Agreement), including NOV-002, in Europe (other than the Russian Territory), Asia (other than the Chinese Territory) and Australia (collectively referred to as the “Mundipharma Territory”).  Mundipharma is an independent associated company of Purdue Pharma, L.P. (“Purdue”).  The Collaboration Agreement provides for Mundipharma to pay the Company royalties and fixed milestone payments based on sales and commercial launches in the licensed territories.  For countries in which patents are held, the Collaboration Agreement expires on a country-by-country basis within the Mundipharma Territory on the earlier of (1) expiration of the last applicable Novelos patent within the country or (2) the determination that any patents within the country are invalid, obvious or otherwise unenforceable.  For countries in which no patents are held, the Collaboration Agreement expires the earlier of 15 years from its effective date or upon generic product competition in the country resulting in a 20% drop in Mundipharma’s market share.  The Company may terminate the Collaboration Agreement upon breach or default by Mundipharma.  Mundipharma may terminate the Collaboration Agreement upon breach or default, filing of voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy by Novelos, the termination of certain agreements with companies associated with the originators of the licensed technology, or 30-day notice for no reason.

 

The Company has suspended development of the products covered by the collaboration agreements described above. The Company does not anticipate that the collaboration agreements will have a material effect on its future results of operations, cash flows, and financial position.