Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Collaboration Agreement

v2.4.0.6
Collaboration Agreement
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Collaboration Agreement [Abstract]  
COLLABORATION AGREEMENT

3. COLLABORATION AGREEMENT

On December 20, 2009, the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, OncoGenex Technologies, entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., or Teva, for the development and global commercialization of custirsen (and related compounds), a pharmaceutical compound designed to inhibit the production of clusterin, a protein the Company believes is associated with cancer treatment resistance, or the Licensed Product. Under the Collaboration Agreement, Teva paid the Company upfront payments in the aggregate amount of $50 million, acquired $10 Million of our common stock at a premium under a separate Stock Purchase Agreement and has agreed to pay up to $370 million upon the achievement of developmental and commercial milestones and royalties at percentage rates ranging from the mid-teens to mid-twenties on net sales, depending on aggregate annual net sales of the Licensed Product.

Under the Stock Purchase Agreement, Teva’s $10 million equity investment in the Company was made at a 20% premium to a thirty-day average closing price, resulting in the issuance of 267,531 of the Company’s common shares purchased at a price of $37.38 per share. The 20% share premium was included as consideration for the custirsen license and was included in collaboration revenue.

In connection with the Collaboration Agreement and pursuant to the terms of agreements between the Company and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Isis, relating to custirsen, the Company paid Isis $10 million which was recorded as research and development expense in 2009. The Company also paid approximately $333,333 to the University of British Columbia, or UBC, pursuant to the terms of their license agreement relating to custirsen, which has been recorded as research and development expense in 2009. Pursuant to the terms of the agreements, the Company anticipates that it would be required to pay third parties 31% of any milestone payments that are not based on a percentage of net sales of the Licensed Product. Pursuant to the terms of these agreements, the Company anticipates it will pay royalties to third-parties of 4.88% to 8.00% of net sales, unless the Company’s royalties are adjusted for competition from generic compounds, in which case royalties to third parties will also be subject to adjustment on a country-by-country basis. Certain third-party royalties are tiered based on the royalty rate received by the Company. Minimum royalty rates payable by the Company assume certain third-party royalties are not paid at the time that the Licensed Product is marketed due to the expiration of patents held by such third parties. Maximum royalty rates assume all third-party royalty rates currently in effect continue in effect at the time the Licensed Product is marketed. No milestones were due in 2011 and the Company does not anticipate making any royalty payments to Isis in 2012.

Teva has the exclusive worldwide right and license to develop and commercialize products containing custirsen and related compounds. The Company has an option to co-promote any Licensed Product in the United States and Canada.

Teva is responsible for all costs relating to product commercialization including costs incurred in relation to the Company’s co-promotion option, except for start-up costs in advance of commercialization.

 

On March 6, 2012, OncoGenex Technologies and Teva entered into an amendment to the Collaboration Agreement, or the Collaboration Agreement Amendment. Under the Collaboration Agreement Amendment, OncoGenex Technologies and Teva revised the clinical development plan, or Amended Clinical Development Plan, under which the following three phase 3 clinical trials have been or are expected to be initiated:

 

   

The ongoing phase 3 clinical trial, referred to as the SYNERGY trial, or SYNERGY, to evaluate a survival benefit for custirsen in combination with first-line docetaxel treatment in patients with castrate resistant prostate cancer, or CRPC.

 

   

A phase 3 clinical trial, referred to as the AFFINITY trial, or AFFINITY, to evaluate a survival benefit for custirsen in combination with cabazitaxel treatment as second-line chemotherapy in patients with CRPC. This trial will be conducted in lieu of the phase 3 clinical trial, referred to as SATURN, which was designed to evaluate a durable pain palliation benefit for custirsen in combination with cabazitaxel or docetaxel as second-line chemotherapy in patients with CRPC. The Company began closing down the Saturn trial in the first quarter of 2012.

 

   

A phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate a survival benefit for custirsen in combination with chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC.

Teva will be responsible for conducting any other studies and development work necessary to obtain required regulatory approvals. The Company may assume some of these activities if assigned by the joint steering committee. Teva will be responsible for all such costs. The joint steering committee will oversee the development and regulatory approval of any Licensed Product. The Company may terminate its participation in the joint steering committee at any time.

Funding responsibilities for the Clinical Development Plan will be allocated as follows:

 

   

The Company will be required to spend $30 million in direct and indirect development costs, and

 

   

Teva will fund all other expenses under the Clinical Development Plan.

The Collaboration Agreement will remain in effect, on a country-by-country basis, until the expiration of the obligation of Teva to pay royalties on sales of the Licensed Product in such country (or earlier termination under its terms). After the completion of all three phase 3 clinical trials set forth in the Clinical Development Plan, or upon early termination due to a material adverse change in the Company’s patent rights related to custirsen or safety issues or “futility” as defined in the Collaboration Agreement, Teva may terminate the Collaboration Agreement at its sole discretion upon three months’ notice if notice is given prior to regulatory approval of a Licensed Product and upon six months’ notice if notice is given after such regulatory approval. If Teva terminates the Collaboration Agreement for any reasons other than an adverse change in custirsen patent rights, safety issues or “futility” determination as previously described, it will remain responsible for paying for any remaining costs of all three phase 3 clinical trials, except for specified development expenses that are the responsibility of the Company. Either party may terminate the Collaboration Agreement for an uncured material breach by the other party or upon the bankruptcy of either party. If the Collaboration Agreement is terminated by the Company for other than an uncured material breach by Teva, the Company will pay Teva a royalty on sales of Licensed Products. The percentage rates of such royalties (which are in the single digits) vary depending on whether termination occurs prior to the first regulatory approval in the United States or a primary European Market or after one of these approvals. These royalties would expire on a country-by-country basis on the earlier of ten years after the first commercial sale of a Licensed Product or certain thresholds related to generic competition.

In the event of a change of control of the Company, within 90 days of the change of control, Teva may terminate the joint steering committee at its sole discretion, terminate the co-promotion option at its sole discretion if the option has not been exercised by the Company or, if exercised, but not yet executed by the Company, or terminate the co-promotion option if in its commercially reasonable opinion co-promotion with the Company’s successor would be materially detrimental to Teva’s interests.

 

Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $1.3 million, which consists of partial recognition of deferred collaboration revenue representing OncoGenex’s contribution to the custirsen phase 3 development plan under the Collaboration Agreement with Teva and custirsen manufacturing costs and certain other preclinical and clinical trial costs incurred by OncoGenex in the year ended December 31, 2011 that are reimbursable from Teva on a cash basis. As at March 31, 2012, a remaining balance of $17.3 million of the up-front payment was recorded in deferred collaboration revenue, and $0.3 million relating to revenue reimbursable on a cash basis is included in Amounts Receivable. There was $5.5 million in revenue recorded in the year ended December 31, 2011 as a result of the Collaboration Agreement with Teva.