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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 13, 2022

 

Registration No. 333-264894

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE

SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

ADVAXIS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   2836   02-0563870

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

9 Deer Park Drive, Suite K-1

Monmouth Junction, New Jersey

(609) 452-9813

(Address, including zip code and telephone number,

including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

Kenneth Berlin

President and Chief Executive Officer

9 Deer Park Drive, Suite K-1

Monmouth Junction, New Jersey

(609) 452-9813

(Name, address, including zip code and telephone number,

including area code, of agent for service)

 

With copies to:

 

Justin W. Chairman, Esq.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

1701 Market Street

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103

Telephone: (215) 963-5000

Facsimile: (215) 963-5001

 

Ron Ben-Bassat, Esq.

Eric Victorson, Esq.

Sullivan & Worcester LLP

1633 Broadway

New York, New York 10019

Telephone: (212) 660-5003

Facsimile: (212) 660-3000

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after this registration statement becomes effective.

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box: ☒

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:

 

Large accelerated filer ☐   Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer

  Smaller reporting company
    Emerging growth company

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act, or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 13, 2022

 

 

ADVAXIS, INC.

 

2,500,000 Shares of Common Stock and Warrants to Purchase

         2,500,000 Shares of Common Stock

$       per Unit

 

 

 

We are offering 2,500,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, and warrants (“Common Stock Purchase Warrants”) to purchase 2,500,000 shares of common stock pursuant to this prospectus. Each whole Common Stock Purchase Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $        , will be exercisable upon issuance and will expire five years from the date of issuance. The shares of common stock and the Common Stock Purchase Warrants will be issued and sold to purchasers in the ratio of one-to-one.

 

The shares of common stock and the accompanying Common Stock Purchase Warrants will be sold in units (each, a “common stock unit” or the “units”), with each common stock unit consisting of one share of common stock and one Common Stock Purchase Warrant to purchase one share of our common stock. The shares of common stock and Common Stock Purchase Warrants will be immediately separable on issuance. Each common stock unit will be sold at a price of $       per common stock unit.

 

We have applied to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “ADXS”. Although we believe that as of the consummation of this offering, we will meet the listing criteria for listing of our common stock on Nasdaq, there is no assurance that our application will be approved. On March 31, 2022, our stockholders approved a proposal giving our board of directors the authorization to effect a reverse split (the “reverse split”) of our outstanding shares of common stock at a specific ratio within a range of one-for-20 to one-for-80 (or any number in between), with the exact ratio to be set within such range in the discretion of our board of directors without further approval or authorization of our stockholders, with our board of directors having the ultimate discretion as to whether or not to proceed with the reverse split. On June 3, 2022, our board of directors approved the reverse split at a ratio of one-for-80, which took effect on June 6, 2022. Prior to this offering, our common stock has traded on the OTCQX® Best Market under the symbol “ADXSD.” As of June 8, 2022, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $3.70. The Common Stock Purchase Warrants will not be listed on any national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system.

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4.

 

  

Per Common

Stock Unit

   Total 
Public offering price  $             $           
Underwriting discount and commissions(1)  $   $  
Proceeds, before expenses, to us  $   $ 

 

(1) We have agreed to pay certain expenses of the underwriter, as well as a non-accountable expense allowance to the underwriter equal to 0.5% of the gross proceeds received in this offering (excluding proceeds received from exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) which is not included in the underwriting discounts and commission. See “Underwriting” on page 86 for additional information regarding underwriters’ compensation.

 

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

We have granted the underwriter an option, exercisable within 45 days after the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 375,000 additional shares of our common stock and/or Common Stock Purchase Warrants upon the same terms and conditions as the shares offered by this prospectus to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

The underwriter expects to deliver the securities to purchasers on or about           , 2022.

 

Sole Book-Running Manager

A.G.P.

 

The date of this prospectus is        , 2022.

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  Page
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements ii
Prospectus Summary 1
Risk Factors 4
Use of Proceeds 32
Information Regarding Our Common Stock 33
Dividend Policy 34
Capitalization 35
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 36
Business 48
Management 70
Executive Compensation 75
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management 79
Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions, Director Independence 81
Description of Securities 82
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Common Stock 85
Underwriting 86
Legal Matters 88
Experts 88
Where You Can Find More Information 88
Index to Financial Statements F-1

 

We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus and in any free-writing prospectus we prepare or authorize. We have not, and the underwriter has not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we take no responsibility for any other information others may give you. We are not, and the underwriter is not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the cover page of this prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

 

Some of the industry and market data contained in this prospectus are based on independent industry publications or other publicly available information, while other information is based on our internal sources. Although we believe that each source is reliable as of its respective date, the information contained in such sources has not been independently verified, and neither we nor the underwriter can assure you as to the accuracy or completeness of this information.

 

For investors outside the United States: We have not, and the underwriter has not, done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of common stock and Common Stock Purchase Warrants and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.

 

TRADEMARKS, TRADE NAMES AND SERVICE MARKS

 

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference contain references to our trademarks and to trademarks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus, including logos, artwork and other visual displays, may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

 

i
 

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

Certain statements in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:

 

  the success and timing of our clinical trials, including patient accrual;

 

  our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval and/or reimbursement of our product candidates for marketing;

 

  our ability to obtain the appropriate labeling of our products under any regulatory approval;

 

  our plans to develop and commercialize our products;

 

  the successful development and implementation of future sales and marketing campaigns;

 

  the change of key scientific or management personnel;

 

  the size and growth of the potential markets for our product candidates and our ability to serve those markets;

 

  our ability to successfully compete in the potential markets for our product candidates, if commercialized;

 

  regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries;

 

  the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our product candidates;

 

  new products, product candidates or new uses for existing products or technologies introduced or announced by our competitors and the timing of these introductions or announcements;

 

  market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;

 

  our available cash;

 

  the accuracy of our estimates regarding expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and needs for additional financing;

 

  our ability to obtain additional funding;

 

  any outcomes from our review of strategic transactions and options to maximize stockholder value;

 

  the ability of our product candidates to successfully perform in clinical trials and to resolve any clinical holds that may occur;

 

  our ability to obtain and maintain approval of our product candidates for trial initiation;

 

  our ability to manufacture and the performance of third-party manufacturers;

 

  our ability to identify license and collaboration partners and to maintain existing relationships;

 

  the performance of our clinical research organizations, clinical trial sponsors and clinical trial investigators, and collaboration partners for any clinical trials we conduct;

 

  our ability to successfully implement our strategy;

 

  our ability to maintain the listing of the shares of our common stock on the OTCQX® Best Market (“OTCQX”), from which we received a notification on May 10, 2022 that by virtue of closing below $0.10 for more than 30 consecutive calendar days, our common stock no longer meets the Standards for Continued Qualification for the OTCQX U.S. tier, and that if we do not regain qualification by November 7, 2022, our common stock will be moved from OTCQX to the OTC Pink market; and

 

  our ability to meet Nasdaq listing requirements, have our listing application accepted by Nasdaq and maintain our listing on Nasdaq.

 

This list is only an example of the risks that may affect the forward-looking statements. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize or fail to materialize, or if the underlying assumptions are incorrect, then actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

 

Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation, those discussed elsewhere in this prospectus. It is important not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our analysis, judgment, belief or expectation only as of the date of this prospectus. We undertake no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this prospectus.

 

ii
 

 

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

 

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making your investment decision. Before investing in our common stock, purchase warrants or pre-funded warrants, you should read the entire prospectus carefully, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” and the information in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Unless the context otherwise requires, we use the terms “Advaxis,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar designations in this prospectus to refer to Advaxis, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.

 

Overview

 

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary Lm Technology antigen delivery products based on a platform technology that utilizes live attenuated Listeria monocytogenes, or Lm, bioengineered to secrete antigen/adjuvant fusion proteins. These Lm-based strains are believed to be a significant advancement in immunotherapy as they integrate multiple functions into a single immunotherapy by accessing and directing antigen-presenting cells (“APCs”) to stimulate anti-tumor T cell immunity, stimulate and activate the innate immune system with the equivalent of multiple adjuvants, and simultaneously reduce tumor protection in the tumor micro-environment, or TME, to enable the T cells to attack tumor cells.

 

We believe that its current pipeline evaluating off-the shelf, neoantigen-directed immunotherapies (i.e., our HOT program) can address significant unmet needs in the current oncology treatment landscape. Specifically, our first drug construct from the HOT program is ADXS-503 (HOT Lung), which has been designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and has the potential to optimize checkpoint inhibitors’ performance in NSCLC, while having a generally well-tolerated safety profile. On July 15, 2021, the Company announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study evaluating the second drug construct from our HOT program, ADXS-504 (HOT Prostate), in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. The study, being conducted at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, is the first clinical evaluation of ADXS-504 for the treatment of early prostate cancer.

 

We have completed and closed out clinical studies of Lm Technology immunotherapies in several program areas including the following:

 

  Human Papilloma Virus (“HPV”) associated cancers
     
  Personalized neoantigen-directed therapies
     
  Prostate-specific antigen (“PSA”) directed therapy

 

While we have been winding down clinical studies of Lm Technology immunotherapies in these program areas, our license agreements continue with OS Therapies, LLC for ADXS-HER2 and with Global BioPharma, or GBP, for the exclusive license for the development and commercialization of ADXS-HPV or AXAL in Asia, Africa, and the former USSR territory, exclusive of India and certain other countries.

 

Changes to Our Capital Structure

 

Reverse Stock Split

 

On March 31, 2022, we received the approval of the requisite number of holders of the shares of our common stock to amend our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, or Charter, to effect a reverse split of the shares of our common stock at a ratio of one-for-20 to one-for-80 (or any number in between), with the exact ratio to be set within such range in the discretion of our board of directors without further approval or authorization of our stockholders, with our board of directors having the ultimate discretion as to whether or not to proceed with the reverse split. On June 3, 2022, our board of directors approved the reverse split at a ratio of one-for-80, which took effect on June 6, 2022. All references in this prospectus to number of shares, price per share and weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding prior to this reverse stock split have been adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split on a retroactive basis, unless otherwise noted.

 

Corporate Information

 

We were organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware.

 

Throughout this prospectus, we refer to various service marks and trade names that we use in our business. Other trademarks and service marks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders.

 

In this prospectus, the terms “Advaxis,” “we,” “us,” “our” and “the Company” refer to Advaxis, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

 

Our principal executive offices are located at 9 Deer Park Drive, Suite K-1, Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852 and our telephone number is (609) 452-9813. Our website address is www.advaxis.com. The information contained therein or connected thereto shall not be deemed to be incorporated into this prospectus or the registration statement of which it forms a part.

 

 

1
 

 

 

The Offering

 

Common stock offered by us   2,500,000 Shares
     
Common Stock Units   The shares of common stock and accompanying Common Stock Purchase Warrants will be sold in units, with each unit consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock. Each common stock unit will be sold at a price of $         per unit. The common stock units will be separable immediately upon issuance.
     
Common Stock Purchase Warrants offered by us   Common Stock Purchase Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 2,500,000 shares of common stock. Each Common Stock Purchase Warrant will have an exercise price of $         per share, will be immediately exercisable and will expire on the five-year anniversary of the original issuance date. The shares of common stock and Common Stock Purchase Warrants will be issued separately and will be immediately separable upon issuance. This prospectus also relates to the offering of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants. For additional information, see “Description of Securities — Common Stock Purchase Warrants to be Issued as Part of this Offering” on page 83 of this prospectus.
     

Common stock outstanding

immediately after this offering

  4,320,480 shares(1)
     
Use of proceeds   The proceeds from the sale of securities offered by this prospectus will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.”
     

Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board

trading symbol

  “ADXSD”
     
Proposed Nasdaq Capital Market trading symbol   We have applied to list our common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol “ADXS”. Although we believe that as of the consummation of this offering, we will meet the listing criteria for listing of our common stock on Nasdaq, there is no assurance that our application will be approved.
     
No Listing of Warrants   We do not intend to apply for listing of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants on any national securities exchange or trading system.
     
Risk factors  

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4 for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our securities.

 

(1) The number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after this offering is based on 1.82 million shares outstanding as of June 9, 2022 and excludes shares issuable pursuant to the underwriter’s over-allotment option.

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus reflects or assumes: (i) no exercise of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants; and (ii) no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to an additional shares of common stock and/or Common Stock Purchase Warrants in this offering.

 

 

2
 

 

 

SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS

 

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, any one of which could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition or business. These risks include, but are not limited to, those listed below. This list is not complete, and should be read together with the section titled “Risk Factors” below:

 

We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future.
We will require additional capital to fund our operations and if we fail to obtain necessary financing, we will not be able to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
We are significantly dependent on the success of our Lm Technology platform and our product candidates based on this platform.
If we are unable to establish, manage or maintain strategic collaborations in the future, our revenue and drug development may be limited.
We are subject to certain U.S. and foreign anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, export control, sanctions and other trade laws and regulations. We can face serious consequences for violations.
We need to attract and retain highly skilled personnel; we may be unable to effectively manage growth with our limited resources.
We depend upon our senior management and key consultants and their loss or unavailability could put us at a competitive disadvantage.
The biotechnology and immunotherapy industries are characterized by rapid technological developments and a high degree of competition. We may be unable to compete with more substantial enterprises.
As a matter of course, we are reviewing strategic transactions for our company. We may not be successful in identifying or completing any strategic transaction and any such strategic transaction completed may not yield additional value for stockholders.
We can provide no assurance that our clinical product candidates will obtain regulatory approval or that the results of clinical studies will be favorable.
Drug discovery and development is a complex, time-consuming and expensive process that is fraught with risk and a high rate of failure.
We may face legal claims; legal disputes are expensive and we may not be able to afford the costs.
We can provide no assurance of the successful and timely development of new products.
Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners, principal investigators, or CROs may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We must comply with significant government regulations.
Ongoing healthcare legislative and regulatory reform measures may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We rely upon patents to protect our technology. We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights and we may be liable for infringing the intellectual property rights of others.
The price of the shares of our common stock may be volatile.
A limited public trading market may cause volatility in the price of the shares of our common stock.
We may be at an increased risk of securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.
Our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law have anti-takeover provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control, which may cause our stock price to decline.

 

 

3
 

 

RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in the shares of our common stock and our Common Stock Warrants involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus before deciding to invest in the shares of our common stock and our Common Stock Warrants. If any of these risks occur, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could suffer materially. In such event, the trading price of the shares of our common stock could decline and you might lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business. Certain statements below are forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this prospectus.

 

Risks Related to Our Financial Position, Capital Needs and Strategic Considerations

 

We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future.

 

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company. Investment in biotechnology product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a product candidate will fail to gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. We have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we continue to incur significant development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. As a result, we are not profitable and have incurred losses in each period since our inception.

 

We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates, and begin to commercialize any approved products. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenues. If any of our product candidates fails in clinical studies or do not gain regulatory approval, or if approved, fails to achieve market acceptance, we may never become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ (deficit) equity and working capital.

 

We will require additional capital to fund our operations and if we fail to obtain necessary financing, we will not be able to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

 

The research and development of our products has consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. We expect to continue to invest in advancing the clinical development of our product candidates and to commercialize any product candidates for which we receive regulatory approval. As of April 30, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $32.1 million. We will require additional capital for the further development of our product candidates. We are pursuing various ways to support our development efforts including debt and/or equity financing as well as targeting potential collaborators of our products.

 

We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of one or more of our products or product candidates or one or more of our other research and development initiatives. Our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement and involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary as a result of a number of factors, including the factors discussed elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our future funding requirements, both near and long-term, will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:

 

  The progress, timing, costs and results of the clinical studies underway;

 

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  future clinical development plans we establish for our product candidates;
  the number and characteristics of product candidates that we develop or may in-license;
  the outcome, timing and cost of meeting regulatory requirements established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including the potential for the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to require that we perform more studies than those that we currently expect;
  the cost of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing our patent claims and other intellectual property rights;
  the cost of defending intellectual property disputes, including patent infringement actions brought by third parties against us or our product candidates;
  the effect of competing technological and market developments;
  the cost and timing of completion of commercial-scale outsourced manufacturing activities; and
  the cost of establishing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for any product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval in regions where we choose to commercialize our products on our own.

 

As we recently announced in connection with the termination of the Merger Agreement for our planned merger with Biosight, we are continuing to explore options to maximize stockholder value, including reviewing strategic transactions for our company. We may not be successful in identifying or completing any strategic transaction and any such strategic transaction completed may not yield additional value for stockholders.

 

In December 2021, we announced that we had terminated our merger agreement with Biosight. We also announced in December 2021 that we plan to continue to explore additional options to maximize stockholder value. As such, we are reviewing strategic transactions and alternatives. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in identifying or completing any strategic transactions, that any such strategic transaction will result in additional value for our stockholders or that the process will not have an adverse impact on our business. These transactions could include, but are not limited to, collaboration agreements, co-development agreements, strategic mergers, reverse mergers, the issuance of securities (in addition to this offering) or buyback of public shares, or the purchase, in-license or out-license or sale of specific assets, in addition to other potential actions aimed at increasing stockholder value. There can be no assurance that the review of strategic transactions will result in the identification or consummation of any transaction. Our Board of Directors may also determine that our most effective strategy is to continue to effectuate our current business plan. The process of reviewing strategic transactions may be time consuming and disruptive to our business operations and, if we are unable to effectively manage the process, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. We could incur substantial expenses associated with identifying and evaluating potential strategic alternatives. No decision has been made with respect to any transaction and we cannot assure you that we will be able to identify and undertake any transaction that allows our shareholders to realize an increase in the value of their shares of common stock or provide any guidance on the timing of such action, if any.

 

We also cannot assure you that any potential strategic transaction or other alternative transaction, if identified, evaluated and consummated, will provide greater value to our stockholders than that reflected in the current price of the shares of our common stock. Any potential transaction would be dependent upon a number of factors that may be beyond our control, including, but not limited to, market conditions, industry trends, the interest of third parties in our business and the availability of financing to potential buyers on reasonable terms. We do not intend to comment regarding the evaluation of strategic alternatives until such time as our Board of Directors has determined the outcome of the process or otherwise has deemed that disclosure is appropriate or required by applicable law. As a consequence, perceived uncertainties related to our future may result in the loss of potential business opportunities and volatility in the market price of the shares of our common stock and may make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners.

 

Risks Related to Our Business, Industry and Strategy

 

We are a clinical stage company.

 

We are a clinical stage biotechnology company with a history of losses and can provide no assurance as to future operating results. As a result of losses that will continue throughout our clinical stage, we may exhaust our financial resources and be unable to complete the development of our products. We anticipate that we will continue to incur significant operational costs as we execute on our clinical development strategy. Our deficit will continue to grow during our drug development period.

 

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We have sustained losses from operations in each fiscal year since our inception, and we expect losses to continue for the foreseeable future due to our substantial investment in research and development. As of April 30, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $431.4 million and stockholders’ equity of $35.2 million. We expect to spend substantial additional sums on the continued administration and research and development of proprietary products and technologies with no certainty that our immunotherapies will become commercially viable or profitable as a result of these expenditures. If we fail to raise a significant amount of capital, we may need to significantly curtail operations or cease operations in the near future. If any of our product candidates fail in clinical trials or does not gain regulatory approval, we may never become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods.

 

We are significantly dependent on the success of our Lm Technology platform and our product candidates based on this platform.

 

We have invested, and we expect to continue to invest, significant efforts and financial resources in the development of product candidates based on our Lm Technology. Our ability to generate meaningful revenue, which may not occur for the foreseeable future, if ever, will depend heavily on the successful development, regulatory approval and commercialization of one or more of these product candidates, and such regulatory approval and commercialization may never occur.

 

The successful development of immunotherapies is highly uncertain.

 

Successful development of immunotherapies is highly uncertain and is dependent on numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control. Immunotherapies that appear promising in the early phases of development may fail to reach, or be delayed in reaching, the market for several reasons including:

 

  preclinical study results that may show the immunotherapy to be less effective than desired (e.g., the study failed to meet its primary objectives) or to have harmful or problematic side effects;
     
  clinical study results that may show the immunotherapy to be less effective than expected (e.g., the study failed to meet its primary endpoint) or to have unacceptable side effects;
     
  failure to receive the necessary regulatory approvals or a delay in receiving such approvals. Among other things, such delays may be caused by slow enrollment in clinical studies, length of time to achieve study endpoints, delays in receiving the necessary products or supplies for the conduct of clinical or pre-clinical trials, additional time requirements for data analysis, or Biologics License Application preparation, discussions with the FDA, an FDA request for additional preclinical or clinical data, FDA delays in inspecting manufacturing establishments, failure to receive FDA approval for manufacturing processes or facilities, or unexpected safety or manufacturing issues;

 

  manufacturing costs, formulation issues, pricing or reimbursement issues, or other factors that make the immunotherapy uneconomical; and
     
  the proprietary rights of others and their competing products and technologies that may prevent the immunotherapy from being commercialized.

 

Success in preclinical and early clinical studies does not ensure that large-scale clinical studies will be successful. Clinical results are frequently susceptible to varying interpretations that may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approvals. The length of time necessary to complete clinical studies and to submit an application for marketing approval for a final decision by a regulatory authority varies significantly from one immunotherapy to the next and may be difficult to predict.

 

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Even if our product candidates are approved, they may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses and populations for which they may be marketed. They may also be subject to other conditions of approval, may contain significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings, contraindications, and precautions, may not be approved with label statements necessary or desirable for successful commercialization, or may contain requirements for costly post-market testing and surveillance, or other requirements, including the submission of a REMS, to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products. If we do not receive FDA approval for, and successfully commercialize our product candidates, we will not be able to generate revenue from these product candidates in the United States in the foreseeable future, or at all. Any significant delays in obtaining approval for and commercializing our product candidates will have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition.

 

We must rely upon third parties for manufacturing.

 

We currently have agreements with third party manufacturing facilities for production of many of our immunotherapies for research and development and testing purposes. We depend on third-party manufacturers to supply all of our clinical materials, but we do not have direct control over their personnel or operations. Third-party manufacturers must be able to meet our deadlines as well as adhere to quality standards and specifications. Our reliance on third parties for the manufacturing of our drug substance, investigational new drugs and, in the future, any approved products, creates a dependency that could severely disrupt our research and development, our clinical testing, and ultimately our sales and marketing efforts if the source of such supply proves to be unreliable or unavailable. For instance, manufacturers may experience unforeseen problems, such as material or personnel shortages, temporary or permanent facility closures, or scale up challenges. If any contracted manufacturing operation is unreliable or unavailable, we may not be able to manufacture clinical drug supplies of our immunotherapies, and our preclinical and clinical testing programs may not be able to move forward and our entire business plan could fail. If we are able to commercialize our products in the future, there is no assurance that any third-party manufacturers will be able to meet commercialized scale production requirements in a timely manner.

 

There is also no guarantee that our third-party manufacturers will be able to manufacture our product candidates in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMPs”). Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of adventitious agents or other contaminants, or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of a product candidate that may not be detectable in final product testing. If these third-party manufacturers are not able to comply with cGMPs, we may not be able to conduct clinical trials, may need to conduct additional studies, and may not, eventually, receive and maintain FDA approval for those products. Deviations from manufacturing requirements may also require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time-consuming for a third party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon or by third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business. A failure to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements may also result in regulatory enforcement actions against our manufacturers.

 

While we are ultimately responsible for the manufacturing of our product candidates, other than through our contractual arrangements, we have little control over our manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards. If our manufacturers encounter manufacturing difficulties, including cGMP compliance, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which we may not be able to on favorable terms or at all, and which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain and maintain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved. Any new manufacturers would need to either obtain or develop the necessary manufacturing know-how, and obtain the necessary equipment and materials, which may take substantial time and investment. We must also receive FDA approval for the use of any new manufacturers for commercial supply.

 

If we are unable to establish, manage or maintain strategic collaborations in the future, our revenue and drug development may be limited.

 

Our strategy includes eventual substantial reliance upon strategic collaborations for marketing and commercialization of our clinical product candidates, and we may rely even more on strategic collaborations for research, development, marketing and commercialization for some of our immunotherapies. To date, we have been heavily reliant upon third party outsourcing for our clinical trials execution and production of drug supplies for use in clinical trials. Establishing strategic collaborations is difficult and time-consuming. Our discussions with potential collaborators may not lead to the establishment of collaborations on favorable terms, if at all. For example, potential collaborators may reject collaborations based upon their assessment of our financial, clinical, regulatory or intellectual property position. Our current collaborations, as well as any future new collaborations, may never result in the successful development or commercialization of our immunotherapies or the generation of sales revenue. To the extent that we have entered or will enter into co-promotion or other collaborative arrangements, our product revenues are likely to be lower than if we directly marketed and sold any products that we may develop.

 

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Management of our relationships with our collaborators will require:

 

  significant time and effort from our management team;
     
  financial funding to support said collaboration;
     
  coordination of our research and development programs with the research and development priorities of our collaborators; and
     
  effective allocation of our resources to multiple projects.

 

If we continue to enter into research and development collaborations at the early phases of drug development, our success will in part depend on the performance of our corporate collaborators. We will not directly control the amount or timing of resources devoted by our corporate collaborators to activities related to our immunotherapies and our collaborations may terminate at any time. Our corporate collaborators may not commit sufficient resources to our research and development programs or the commercialization, marketing or distribution of our immunotherapies. If any corporate collaborator fails to commit sufficient resources or terminate their collaborations with us, our preclinical or clinical development programs related to this collaboration could be delayed or terminated.

 

Further, our collaborators may pursue existing or other development-stage products or alternative technologies in preference to those being developed in collaboration with us. Collaborators may also fail to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements, which may subject them or us to regulatory enforcement actions. Finally, if we fail to make required milestone or royalty payments to our collaborators or to observe other obligations in our agreements with them, our collaborators may have the right to terminate those agreements.

 

Changes in product candidate manufacturing or formulation may result in additional costs or delay.

 

In an effort to optimize processes and results, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods, manufacturing sites, and formulation, are altered as product candidates are developed from preclinical studies to late-stage clinical trials toward approval and commercialization. Any of these changes could cause our product candidates to perform differently and affect the results of planned clinical trials or other future clinical trials conducted with the altered materials. Such changes may also require additional testing, regulatory disclosure, or prior approval from the FDA. For instance, the FDA may require that we conduct a comparability study that evaluates the potential differences in the product candidate resulting from the change. Delays in designing and completing such a study to the satisfaction of the FDA could delay or preclude our development and commercialization plans, and the regulatory approval of our product candidates. It may also require the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of our product candidates and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. Any of the foregoing could limit our future revenues and growth. Any changes would also require that we devote time and resources to manufacturing development, including with third-party manufacturers, and would also likely require additional testing and regulatory actions on our part, which may delay the development of our product candidates.

 

We may incur significant costs complying with environmental laws and regulations.

 

We and our contracted third parties use hazardous materials, including chemicals and biological agents and compounds that could be dangerous to human health and safety or the environment. As appropriate, we store these materials and wastes resulting from their use at our or our outsourced laboratory facility pending their ultimate use or disposal. We contract with a third party to properly dispose of these materials and wastes. We are subject to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and wastes. Compliance with such laws and regulations may be costly.

 

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Additional laws and regulations governing international operations could negatively impact or restrict our operations.

 

If we further expand our operations outside of the United States, we must dedicate additional resources to comply with numerous laws and regulations in each jurisdiction in which we plan to operate. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, authorizing payment or offering anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with certain accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations.

 

Compliance with the FCPA is expensive and difficult, particularly in countries in which corruption is a recognized problem. In addition, the FCPA presents particular challenges in the pharmaceutical industry, because, in many countries, hospitals are operated by the government, and doctors and other hospital employees are considered foreign officials. Certain payments to hospitals in connection with clinical trials and other work have been deemed to be improper payments to government officials and have led to FCPA enforcement actions.

 

Various laws, regulations and executive orders also restrict the use and dissemination outside of the United States, or the sharing with certain non-U.S. nationals, of information classified for national security purposes, as well as certain products and technical data relating to those products. If we expand our presence outside of the United States, it will require us to dedicate additional resources to comply with these laws, and these laws may preclude us from developing, manufacturing or selling certain products and product candidates outside of the United States, which could limit our growth potential and increase our development costs.

 

The failure to comply with laws governing international business practices may result in substantial civil and criminal penalties and suspension or debarment from government contracting. The SEC also may suspend or bar issuers from trading securities on U.S. exchanges for violations of the FCPA’s accounting provisions.

 

We are subject to certain U.S. and foreign anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, export control, sanctions and other trade laws and regulations. We can face serious consequences for violations.

 

Among other matters, U.S. and foreign anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, export control, sanctions and other trade laws and regulations, which are collectively referred to as Trade Laws, prohibit companies and their employees, agents, clinical research organizations, legal counsel, accountants, consultants, contractors and other partners from authorizing, promising, offering, providing, soliciting or receiving, directly or indirectly, corrupt or improper payments or anything else of value to or from recipients in the public or private sector. Violations of Trade Laws can result in substantial criminal fines and civil penalties, imprisonment, the loss of trade privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, exclusion from public tenders, reputational harm and other consequences. We have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or government-affiliated hospitals, universities and other organizations. We plan to engage third parties for clinical trials and/or to obtain necessary permits, licenses, patent registrations and other regulatory approvals and we can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our personnel, agents or partners, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have prior knowledge of such activities.

 

If we use biological materials in a manner that causes injury, we may be liable for damages.

 

Our research and development activities involve the use of biological and hazardous materials. Although we believe our safety procedures for handling and disposing of these materials complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations, we cannot entirely eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from the use, storage, handling or disposal of these materials. We do not carry specific biological waste or pollution liability or remediation insurance coverage, nor do our workers’ compensation, general liability, and property and casualty insurance policies provide coverage for damages and fines/penalties arising from biological exposure or contamination. Accordingly, in the event of contamination or injury, we could be held liable for damages or penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources, and our clinical trials or regulatory approvals could be suspended or terminated.

 

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We need to attract and retain highly skilled personnel; we may be unable to effectively manage growth with our limited resources.

 

As of April 30, 2022, we had 15 employees, 14 of which were full time employees. Our ability to attract and retain highly skilled personnel is critical to our operations and expansion. We face competition for these types of personnel from other technology companies and more established organizations, many of which have significantly larger operations and greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we have. We may not be successful in attracting and retaining qualified personnel on a timely basis, on competitive terms, or at all. If we are not successful in attracting and retaining these personnel, or integrating them into our operations, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be materially adversely affected. In such circumstances we may be unable to conduct certain research and development programs, unable to adequately manage our clinical trials and other products, unable to commercialize any products, and unable to adequately address our management needs.

 

We depend upon our senior management and key consultants and their loss or unavailability could put us at a competitive disadvantage.

 

We depend upon the efforts and abilities of our senior executives, as well as the services of several key consultants. The loss or unavailability of the services of any of these individuals for any significant period of time could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. We have not obtained, do not own, nor are we the beneficiary of, key-person life insurance.

 

The biotechnology and immunotherapy industries are characterized by rapid technological developments and a high degree of competition. We may be unable to compete with more substantial enterprises.

 

The biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries are characterized by rapid technological developments and a high degree of competition. As a result, our actual or proposed immunotherapies could become obsolete before we recoup any portion of our related research and development and commercialization expenses. Competition in the biopharmaceutical industry is based significantly on scientific and technological factors. These factors include the availability of patent and other protection for technology and products, the ability to commercialize technological developments and the ability to obtain governmental approval for testing, manufacturing and marketing. We compete with specialized biopharmaceutical firms in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, as well as a growing number of large pharmaceutical companies that are applying biotechnology to their operations. Many biopharmaceutical companies have focused their development efforts in the human therapeutics area, including cancer. Many major pharmaceutical companies have developed or acquired internal biotechnology capabilities or made commercial arrangements with other biopharmaceutical companies. These companies, as well as academic institutions and governmental agencies and private research organizations, also compete with us in recruiting and retaining highly qualified scientific personnel and consultants. Our ability to compete successfully with other companies in the pharmaceutical field will also depend to a considerable degree on the continuing availability of capital to us.

 

We are aware of certain investigational new products under development or approved products by competitors that are used for the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of certain diseases we have targeted for product development. Various companies are developing biopharmaceutical products that have the potential to directly compete with our immunotherapies even though their approach may be different. The biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries are highly competitive, and this competition comes from both biotechnology firms and major pharmaceutical companies, including companies like: Gritstone, Moderna, BMS, Merck and Neon Therapeutics, among others, each of which is pursuing cancer vaccines and/or immunotherapies. Many of these companies have substantially greater financial, marketing, and human resources than we do (including, in some cases, substantially greater experience in clinical testing, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceutical products). We also experience competition in the development of our immunotherapies from universities and other research institutions and compete with others in acquiring technology from such universities and institutions.

 

In addition, certain of our immunotherapies may be subject to competition from investigational new drugs and/or products developed using other technologies, some of which have completed numerous clinical trials.

 

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A global health crisis such as a pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease, such as the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), may materially and adversely affect our business and operations.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the United States and global economies and has affected, and may continue to affect, our operations and those of third parties on which we rely, including by causing disruptions in our raw material supply and the manufacturing of our product candidates. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the operations of the FDA and other health authorities, which can result in delays of reviews and approvals, including with respect to our product candidates. The evolving COVID-19 pandemic has, and may continue to, directly or indirectly affect the pace of enrollment in our clinical trials as patients may avoid or may not be able to travel to healthcare facilities and physicians’ offices unless due to a health emergency and clinical trial staff can no longer get to the clinic. Additionally, such facilities and offices have been and may continue to be required to focus limited resources on non-clinical trial matters, including treatment of COVID-19 patients, thereby decreasing availability, in whole or in part, for clinical trial services. In addition, employee disruptions and remote working environments related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal, state and local responses to such virus, could materially affect the efficiency and pace with which we work and develop our product candidates and the manufacturing of our product candidates. In addition, COVID-19 infection of our workforce could result in a temporary disruption in our business activities, including manufacturing and other functions. Further, while the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global financial markets may reduce our ability to access capital, which could negatively affect our short-term and long-term liquidity. Additionally, the stock market has been unusually volatile during the COVID-19 outbreak and such volatility may continue. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, financing or clinical trial activities, or on healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole. However, these effects could have a material impact on our liquidity, capital resources, operations and business and those of the third parties on which we rely.

 

Risks Related to Russia – Ukraine

 

We are currently operating in a period of economic uncertainty and capital markets disruption, which has been significantly impacted by geopolitical instability due to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any negative impact on the global economy and capital markets resulting from the conflict in Ukraine or any other geopolitical tensions.

 

U.S. and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops was reported. Although the length and impact of the ongoing military conflict is highly unpredictable, the conflict in Ukraine could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. We are continuing to monitor the situation in Ukraine and globally and assessing its potential impact on our business.

 

Additionally, the recent military conflict in Ukraine has led to sanctions and other penalties being levied by the United States, European Union and other countries against Russia and Russian nationals. Additional potential sanctions and penalties have also been proposed or threatened. Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets, potentially making it more difficult for us to raise additional financing.

 

Although our business has not been materially impacted by the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine to date, it is impossible to predict the extent to which our operations, or those of our suppliers and manufacturers, will be impacted in the short and long term, or the ways in which the conflict may impact our business. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial. Any such disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described in this prospectus.

 

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Risks Related to the Development and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates

 

We can provide no assurance that our clinical product candidates will obtain regulatory approval or that the results of clinical studies will be favorable.

 

We are currently evaluating the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in clinical trials. However, even though the initiation and conduct of the clinical trials is in accordance with the governing regulatory authorities in each country, as with any investigational new drug (under an IND in the United States, or the equivalent in countries outside of the United States), we are at risk of a clinical hold at any time based on the evaluation of the data and information submitted to the governing regulatory authorities.

 

There can be delays in obtaining FDA and/or other necessary regulatory approvals in the United States and in countries outside the United States for any investigational new drug and failure to receive such approvals would have an adverse effect on the investigational new drug’s potential commercial success and on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. The time required to obtain approval by the FDA and non-U.S. regulatory authorities is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. For example, the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical trials or study endpoints; or we may be unable to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks. In addition, the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials or the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission of a BLA or New Drug Application, or NDA or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere. The FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities may fail to approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and the approval policies or regulations of the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.

 

In addition to the foregoing, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. We have not submitted for nor obtained regulatory approval for any product candidate in-humans (US & EU) and it is possible that none of our existing product candidates or any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future will ever obtain regulatory approval.

 

Drug discovery and development is a complex, time-consuming and expensive process that is fraught with risk and a high rate of failure.

 

Product candidates are subject to extensive pre-clinical testing and clinical trials to demonstrate their safety and efficacy in humans. Conducting pre-clinical testing and clinical trials is a lengthy, time-consuming and expensive process that takes many years. We cannot be sure that pre-clinical testing or clinical trials of any of our product candidates will demonstrate the safety, efficacy and benefit-to-risk profile necessary to obtain marketing approvals. In addition, product candidates that experience success in pre-clinical testing and early-stage clinical trials will not necessarily experience the same success in larger or late-stage clinical trials, which are required for marketing approval.

 

Even if we are successful in advancing a product candidate into the clinical development stage, before obtaining regulatory and marketing approvals, we must demonstrate through extensive human clinical trials that the product candidate is safe and effective for its intended use. Human clinical trials must be carried out under protocols that are acceptable to regulatory authorities and to the independent committees responsible for the ethical review of clinical studies. There may be delays in preparing protocols or receiving approval for them that may delay the start or completion of the clinical trials. In addition, clinical practices vary globally, and there is a lack of harmonization among the guidance provided by various regulatory bodies of different regions and countries with respect to the data that is required to receive marketing approval, which makes designing global trials increasingly complex. There are a number of additional factors that may cause our clinical trials to be delayed, prematurely terminated or deemed inadequate to support regulatory approval, such as:

 

  safety issues up to and including patient death (whether arising with respect to trials by third parties for compounds in a similar class as tour product or product candidate), inadequate efficacy, or an unacceptable risk-benefit profile observed at any point during or after completion of the trials;
     
  slower than expected rates of patient enrollment, which could be due to any number of factors, including failure of our third-party vendors, including our CROs, to effectively perform their obligations to us, a lack of patients who meet the enrollment criteria or competition from clinical trials in similar product classes or patient populations, or onerous treatment administration requirements;

 

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  subjects may drop out of our clinical trials, be lost to follow-up at a higher rate than we anticipate, or not comply with the required clinical trial procedures;
     
  we may experience delays in reaching, or fail to reach, agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective trial sites and our CROs;

 

  the cost of clinical trials may be greater than we anticipate or we may have insufficient funds for a clinical trial or to pay the substantial FDA user fees;
     
  the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our study design, including endpoints, our intended indications, or our interpretation of data;
     
  the risk of failure of our clinical investigational sites and related facilities, including our suppliers and CROs, to maintain compliance with the FDA’s cGMP and GCP regulations or similar regulations in countries outside of the U.S., including the risk that these sites fail to pass inspections by the appropriate governmental authority, which could invalidate the data collected at that site or place the entire clinical trial at risk;
     
  any inability to reach agreement or lengthy discussions with the FDA, equivalent regulatory authorities, or ethical review committees on trial design that we are able to execute or we may be required to modify our trial design such that studies are impracticable;
     
  regulators may require us to perform additional or unanticipated clinical trials to obtain approval or we may be subject to additional post-marketing testing, surveillance, or REMS requirements to maintain regulatory approval;
     
  FDA refusal to accept the data from foreign clinical trial sites, to the extent we use such sites;
     
  changes in laws, regulations, regulatory policy or clinical practices, especially if they occur during ongoing clinical trials or shortly after completion of such trials; and
     
  clinical trial record keeping or data quality and accuracy issues.

 

Any deficiency in the design, implementation or oversight of our development programs could cause us to incur significant additional costs, conduct additional trials, experience significant delays, prevent us from obtaining marketing approval for any product candidate or abandon development of certain product candidates, any of which could harm our business and cause our stock price to decline.

 

We may face legal claims; legal disputes are expensive and we may not be able to afford the costs.

 

We may face legal claims involving stockholders, consumers, clinical trial subjects, competitors, regulators and other parties. As described in the section entitled “Business – Legal Proceedings” of this prospectus, we are engaged in legal proceedings. Litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse rulings could occur, including monetary damages, or an injunction stopping us from engaging in business practices, or requiring other remedies, including, but not limited to, compulsory licensing of patents.

 

The costs of litigation or any proceeding, including, but not limited to, those relating to our intellectual property or contractual rights, could be substantial, even if resolved in our favor. Some of our competitors or financial funding sources have far greater resources than we do and may be better able to afford the costs of complex litigation. Also, a lawsuit, even if frivolous, will require considerable time commitments on the part of management, our attorneys and consultants. Defending these types of proceedings or legal actions involve considerable expense and could negatively affect our financial results. Legal claims may also adversely impact us in other ways, such as the withdrawal or slower enrollment in or from our clinical trials, regulatory enforcement actions, and negative media attention, any of which could materially and negatively harm us and our operations.

 

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We can provide no assurance of the successful and timely development of new products.

 

Our immunotherapies are at various stages of development. Further development and extensive testing will be required to determine their technical feasibility and commercial viability. We will need to complete significant additional clinical trials demonstrating that our product candidates are safe and effective to the satisfaction of the FDA and other non-U.S. regulatory authorities. The drug approval process is time-consuming, involves substantial expenditures of resources, and depends upon a number of factors, including the severity of the illness in question, the availability of alternative treatments, and the risks and benefits demonstrated in the clinical trials. Our success will depend on our ability to achieve scientific and technological advances and to translate such advances into licensable, FDA-approvable, commercially competitive products on a timely basis. Failure can occur at any stage of the process. If such programs are not successful, we may invest substantial amounts of time and money without developing revenue-producing products. As we enter a more extensive clinical program for our product candidates, the data generated in these studies may not be as compelling as the earlier results.

 

The proposed development schedules for our immunotherapies may be affected by a variety of factors, including technological difficulties, clinical trial failures, regulatory hurdles, clinical holds, competitive products, intellectual property challenges and/or changes in governmental regulation, many of which will not be within our control. Any delay in the development, introduction or marketing of our products could result either in such products being marketed at a time when their cost and performance characteristics would not be competitive in the marketplace or in the shortening of their commercial lives. In light of the long-term nature of our projects, the unproven technology involved and the other factors described elsewhere in this section, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully complete the development or marketing of any new products which could materially harm our business, results of operations and prospects.

 

Our research and development expenses are subject to uncertainty.

 

Factors affecting our research and development expenses include, but are not limited to:

 

  competition from companies that have substantially greater assets and financial resources than we have;
     
  need for market acceptance of our immunotherapies if we receive regulatory approval;
     
  ability to anticipate and adapt to a competitive market and rapid technological developments;
     
  ability to raise sufficient capital to fund our research and development activities;
     
  amount and timing of operating costs and capital expenditures relating to expansion of our business, operations and infrastructure;
     
  need to rely on multiple levels of outside funding due to the length of drug development cycles and governmental approved protocols associated with the pharmaceutical industry; and
     
  dependence upon key personnel including key independent consultants and advisors.

 

There can be no guarantee that our research and development expenses will be consistent from period to period. We may be required to accelerate or delay incurring certain expenses depending on the results of our studies and the availability of adequate funding.

 

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We may be required to suspend or discontinue clinical trials for a number of reasons, which could preclude approval of any of our product candidates.

 

Our clinical trials may be suspended at any time for a number of reasons. A clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, an IRB, the FDA or other regulatory authorities due to a failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, presentation or identification of unforeseen safety signals or issues, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using the investigational drug, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions, lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial, or for other business-related reasons. For example, in June 2019, we announced that we were closing our AIM2CERV Phase 3 clinical trial with AXAL in cervical cancer due to the delays we incurred as a result of the recent FDA partial clinical hold on the trial, as well as the estimated cost and time to completion of the trial. Furthermore, the Company has completed the clinical study report from Part A of the ADXS-NEO study and plans to close its ADXS-NEO program IND as next step. In addition, clinical trials for our product candidates could be suspended due to adverse side effects. Drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. We may also voluntarily suspend or terminate our clinical trials if at any time we believe that they present an unacceptable risk to patients or do not demonstrate clinical benefit. If we elect or are forced to suspend or terminate any clinical trial of any product candidates that we develop, the commercial prospects of such product candidates will be harmed and our ability to generate product revenues from any of these product candidates will be delayed or eliminated. Any of these occurrences may significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

 

Preliminary or interim results of a clinical trial are not necessarily predictive of future or final results.

 

Interim or preliminary data from clinical trials that we may conduct may not be indicative of the final results of the trial and are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Interim or preliminary data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the interim or preliminary data. As a result, interim or preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Even if our clinical trials are completed as planned, we cannot be certain that their results will support our proposed indications.

 

We are subject to numerous risks inherent in conducting clinical trials.

 

We outsource the management of our clinical trials to third parties. Agreements with CROs, clinical investigators and medical institutions for clinical testing and data management services, place substantial responsibilities on these parties that, if unmet, could result in delays in, or termination of, our clinical trials. For example, if any of our clinical trial sites or CROs fail to comply with FDA-approved good clinical practices, we may be unable to use the data gathered at those sites. If these clinical investigators, medical institutions or other third parties do not carry out their contractual duties or regulatory obligations or fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to their failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize, our agents. We are not certain that we will successfully recruit enough patients to complete our clinical trials nor that we will reach our primary endpoints. Delays in recruitment, lack of clinical benefit or unacceptable side effects would delay or prevent the initiation of future development of our agents.

 

While we have agreements governing the activities of such third parties and are responsible for our third party service provider’s activities and regulatory compliance, we have limited influence and control over their actual performance and activities and cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing clinical, non-clinical, and preclinical programs and cannot control whether they maintain regulatory compliance. Our third-party service providers may also have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting trials or other therapeutic development activities that could harm our competitive position.

 

Agreements with third parties conducting or otherwise assisting with our clinical or preclinical studies might terminate for a variety of reasons, including a failure to perform by the third parties. If any of our relationships with these third parties terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative providers or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional third parties involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new third party commences work. As a result, if we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it could delay our product development activities and adversely affect our business. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our third parties, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects, and results of operations.

 

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We or our regulators may suspend or terminate our clinical trials for a number of reasons. We may voluntarily suspend or terminate our clinical trials if at any time we believe they present an unacceptable risk to the patients enrolled in our clinical trials or do not demonstrate clinical benefit. In addition, regulatory agencies may order the temporary or permanent discontinuation of our clinical trials, or place our products on temporary or permanent hold, at any time if they believe that the clinical trials are not being conducted in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements or that they present an unacceptable safety risk to the patients enrolled in our clinical trials.

 

Our clinical trial operations are subject to regulatory inspections at any time. If regulatory inspectors conclude that we or our clinical trial sites are not in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements for conducting clinical trials, we may receive reports of observations or warning letters detailing deficiencies, and we will be required to implement corrective actions. If regulatory agencies deem our responses to be inadequate or are dissatisfied with the corrective actions we or our clinical trial sites have implemented, our clinical trials may be temporarily or permanently discontinued, we may be fined, we or our investigators may be precluded from conducting any ongoing or any future clinical trials, the government may refuse to approve our marketing applications or allow us to manufacture or market our products, and we may be criminally prosecuted.

 

The lengthy approval process as well as the unpredictability of future clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, which would materially harm our business, results of operations and prospects.

 

Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners, principal investigators, or CROs may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

We are exposed to the risk of employee and third-party fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners, manufacturers, investigators, or CROs could include intentional, reckless, negligent, or unintentional failures to comply with FDA regulations, comply with applicable fraud and abuse laws, provide accurate information to the FDA, properly calculate pricing information required by federal programs, comply with federal procurement rules or contract terms, report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. This misconduct could also involve the improper use or misrepresentation of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter this type of misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. Moreover, it is possible for a whistleblower to pursue a False Claims Act case against us even if the government considers the claim unmeritorious and declines to intervene, which could require us to incur costs defending against such a claim. Further, due to the risk that a judgment in an FCA case could result in exclusion from federal health programs or debarment from government contracts, whistleblower cases often result in large settlements. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.

 

We must comply with significant government regulations.

 

The research and development, manufacturing and marketing of human therapeutic and diagnostic products are subject to regulation, primarily by the FDA in the United States and by comparable authorities in other countries. These national agencies and other federal, state, local and foreign entities regulate, among other things, research and development activities (including testing in animals and in humans) and the testing, manufacturing, handling, labeling, storage, record keeping, approval, distribution, advertising and promotion of the products that we are developing. If we obtain approval for any of our product candidates, our operations will be directly or indirectly through our customers, subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statue and the federal False Claims Act, and privacy laws. We, our product candidates, and our products, if we receive marketing approval are and will continue to be subject to extensive governmental regulation and regulatory authorities do and will continue to closely monitor our and our contractor’s compliance through, among other methods, inspections. Noncompliance with applicable laws and requirements can result in various adverse consequences and regulatory enforcement actions, including delay in approving or refusal to approve product licenses or other applications, suspension or termination of clinical investigations, revocation of approvals previously granted, fines, criminal prosecution, civil and criminal penalties, restitution or disgorgement of profits, recall or seizure of products, exclusion from having our products reimbursed by federal health care programs, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, corporate integrity agreements or consent decrees, refusal to permit product import or export, modifications to labeling or promotional materials, issuance of corrective information, regulatory authority public statements, warning, untitled, or cyber letters, requirements for post-market studies or REMS, injunctions against shipping products and total or partial suspension of production and/or refusal to allow a company to enter into governmental supply contracts. Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining product approval and market acceptance of the particular product candidate, if approved, or could substantially increase the costs and expenses of developing and commercializing such product, which in turn could delay or prevent us from generating significant revenues from its sale. Any of these events could further have other material and adverse effects on our operations and business and could adversely impact our stock price and could significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

 

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The process of obtaining requisite FDA approval has historically been costly and time-consuming. Current FDA requirements for a new human biological product to be marketed in the United States include: (1) the successful conclusion of preclinical laboratory and animal tests, if appropriate, to gain preliminary information on the product’s safety; (2) filing with the FDA of an IND to conduct human clinical trials for drugs or biologics; (3) the successful completion of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the investigational new drug for its recommended use; and (4) filing by a company and acceptance and approval by the FDA of a BLA for marketing approval of a biologic, to allow commercial distribution of a biologic product. The FDA also requires that any drug or formulation to be tested in humans be manufactured in accordance with its cGMP regulations. This has been extended to include any drug that will be tested for safety in animals in support of human testing. The cGMPs set certain minimum requirements for procedures, record-keeping and the physical characteristics of the laboratories used in the production of these drugs. A delay in one or more of the procedural steps outlined above could be harmful to us in terms of getting our immunotherapies through clinical testing and to market.

 

We may not obtain or maintain the benefits associated with orphan drug designation, including market exclusivity.

 

Although we have been granted FDA orphan drug designation for AXAL for use in the treatment of anal cancer, HPV-associated head and neck cancer, Stage II-IV invasive cervical cancer and for ADXS-HER2 for the treatment of osteosarcoma in the United States, as well as EMA orphan drug designation for AXAL for the treatment of anal cancer and for ADXS-HER2 for the treatment of osteosarcoma in the EU, we may not receive the benefits associated with orphan drug designation. This may result from a failure to maintain orphan drug status or result from a competing product reaching the market that has an orphan designation for the same disease indication. Moreover, while orphan drug designation does provide us with certain advantages, it neither shortens the development time or regulatory review time of a product candidate nor gives the product candidate any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process.

 

Under U.S. rules for orphan drugs, if such a competing product reaches the market before ours does, if such product is considered by FDA to be the same as ours, and if such product is intended for the same orphan indication, the competing product could potentially obtain a scope of market exclusivity that limits or precludes our product from being sold in the United States for seven years unless we can demonstrate that our product is clinically superior. Even if we obtain exclusivity, the FDA could subsequently approve the same drug for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later drug is clinically superior to ours in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care. A competitor also may receive approval of different products for the same indication for which our orphan product has exclusivity or obtain approval for the same product but for a different indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity. Moreover, we may not be able to maintain our orphan drug designation or exclusivity and our product candidates would not be eligible for exclusivity if the approved indication is broader than the orphan drug designation.

 

In addition, if and when we request orphan drug designation in Europe, the European exclusivity period is ten years but can be reduced to six years if the drug no longer meets the criteria for orphan drug designation or if the drug is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified. Orphan drug exclusivity may be lost if the FDA or EMEA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.

 

17
 

 

We may incur substantial liabilities from any product liability claims if our insurance coverage for those claims is inadequate.

 

We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our immunotherapies in human clinical trials and will face an even greater risk if the approved products are sold commercially. An individual may bring a liability claim against us if one of the immunotherapies causes, or merely appears to have caused, an injury. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against the product liability claim, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

 

  decreased demand for our immunotherapies;
     
  damage to our reputation;
     
  withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
     
  costs of related litigation;
     
  substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;
     
  loss of revenues;
     
  the inability to commercialize immunotherapies; and
     
  increased difficulty in raising required additional funds in the private and public capital markets.

 

We have Product Liability and Clinical Trial Liability insurance coverage for each clinical trial. We do not have product liability insurance for sold commercial products because we do not have products on the market. We plan to expand such coverage to include the sale of commercial products if marketing approval is obtained for any of our immunotherapies. However, insurance coverage is increasingly expensive and we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost. Further, we may not be able to obtain insurance coverage that will be adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise.

 

We may not receive Fast Track Designation, Breakthrough Therapy Designation or any other designation that we may apply for from the FDA and, if granted, such designations may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process.

 

The FDA has granted Fast Track Designation for AXAL for adjuvant therapy for high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer patients, and has granted Fast Track Designation for ADXS-HER2 for patients with newly-diagnosed, non-metastatic, surgically-resectable osteosarcoma. We may seek Breakthrough Therapy Designation for our product candidates or Fast Track Designation for certain of our other product candidates. There is no guarantee, however, that we will be able to obtain or maintain such designations.

 

The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant any special designation, so even if we believe one of our product candidates is eligible for this designation, we cannot assure you that the FDA would decide to grant it. Additionally, even if we do receive a special designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. The FDA may also withdraw the designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program.

 

18
 

 

The results of clinical trials conducted at clinical trial sites outside the United States might not be accepted by the FDA, and data developed outside of a foreign jurisdiction similarly might not be accepted by such foreign regulatory authority.

 

Some of the clinical trials for our product candidates that are being or will be conducted through our partnerships and collaborations may be conducted outside the United States, and we intend in the future to conduct additional clinical trials outside the United States. Although the FDA, European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the relevant jurisdiction, acceptance of these data is subject to certain conditions. For example, the FDA requires that the clinical trial must be well designed and conducted and performed by qualified investigators in accordance with ethical principles such as IRB or ethics committee approval and informed consent, the trial population must adequately represent the U.S. population, and the data must be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice in ways that the FDA deems clinically meaningful. In addition, while these clinical trials are subject to the applicable local laws, acceptance of the data by the FDA will be dependent upon its determination that the trials were conducted consistent with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations. There can be no assurance that the FDA will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States as adequate support of a marketing application. Similarly, we must also ensure that any data submitted to foreign regulatory authorities adheres to their standards and requirements for clinical trials and there can be no assurance a comparable foreign regulatory authority would accept data from trials conducted outside of its jurisdiction.

 

Our relationships with healthcare providers and physicians and third-party payors will be subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits and future earnings.

 

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors in the United States and elsewhere play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of pharmaceutical products. Arrangements with third-party payors and customers can expose pharmaceutical manufacturers to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the federal False Claims Act, or FCA, which may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which such companies sell, market and distribute pharmaceutical products. In particular, the research of our product candidates, as well as the promotion, sales and marketing of healthcare items and services, as well as certain business arrangements in the healthcare industry, are subject to extensive laws designed to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, structuring and commission(s), certain customer incentive programs and other business arrangements generally. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of patient recruitment for clinical trials. The applicable federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to:

 

  the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual, or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of any good, facility, item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. A person or entity can be found guilty of violating the statute without actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it. In addition, a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA. The Anti-Kickback Statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers, and formulary managers on the other. There are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution;
     
  the federal civil and criminal false claims laws and civil monetary penalty laws, including the FCA, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false or fraudulent claims for payment to, or approval by Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs, knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim or an obligation to pay or transmit money to the federal government, or knowingly concealing or knowingly and improperly avoiding or decreasing or concealing an obligation to pay money to the federal government. Manufacturers can be held liable under the FCA even when they do not submit claims directly to government payors if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims. The government may deem manufacturers to have “caused” the submission of false or fraudulent claims by, for example, providing inaccurate billing or coding information to customers or promoting a product off-label. The FCA also permits a private individual acting as a “whistleblower” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the FCA and to share in any monetary recovery;

 

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  the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created additional federal criminal statutes that prohibit knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private) and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by any trick or device a material fact or making any materially false statements in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services relating to healthcare matters. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity can be found guilty of violating HIPAA without actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it;

 

  HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, which impose, among other things, requirements on certain healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses, known as covered entities, as well as their respective business associates, independent contractors that perform services for covered entities that involve the use, or disclosure of, individually identifiable health information, relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. HITECH also created new tiers of civil monetary penalties, amended HIPAA to make civil and criminal penalties directly applicable to business associates, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorneys’ fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions;
     
  the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended, or ACA, and its implementing regulations, which require some manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; and
     
  analogous state and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, and may be broader in scope than their federal equivalents; state and foreign laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers; state and foreign laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers, marketing expenditures or drug pricing; state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.

 

The distribution of pharmaceutical products is subject to additional requirements and regulations, including extensive record-keeping, licensing, storage and security requirements intended to prevent the unauthorized sale of pharmaceutical products. Pharmaceutical companies may also be subject to federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers.

 

The scope and enforcement of each of these laws is uncertain and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform, especially in light of the lack of applicable precedent and regulations. Federal and state enforcement bodies continue to closely scrutinize interactions between healthcare companies and healthcare providers, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and settlements in the healthcare industry. Ensuring business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws, as well as responding to possible investigations by government authorities, can be time and resource-consuming and can divert a company’s attention from the business.

 

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It is possible that governmental and enforcement authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law interpreting applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in federal and state funded healthcare programs, contractual damages and the curtailment or restricting of our operations, as well as additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws. Further, if any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to significant criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs. Any action for violation of these laws, even if successfully defended, could cause a biopharmaceutical manufacturer to incur significant legal expenses and divert management’s attention from the operation of the business. Prohibitions or restrictions on sales or withdrawal of future marketed products could materially affect business in an adverse way.

 

Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in other jurisdictions.

 

Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in one jurisdiction does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain regulatory approval in any other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval of a product candidate, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the product candidate in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the United States, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, as clinical trials conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval.

 

We may also submit marketing applications in other countries. Regulatory authorities in jurisdictions outside of the United States have requirements for approval of product candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those jurisdictions. Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our product candidates will be harmed.

 

Even if we receive regulatory approval of any product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates.

 

If any of our product candidates are approved, they will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, distribution, sampling, record-keeping, conduct of post-marketing studies and submission of safety, efficacy and other post-market information, including both federal and state requirements in the United States and requirements of comparable foreign regulatory authorities. In addition, we will be subject to continued compliance with cGMP and GCP requirements for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval.

 

Manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authority requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to cGMP regulations. As such, we and our contract manufacturers will be subject to continual review and inspections to assess compliance with cGMP and adherence to commitments made in any BLA, other marketing application and previous responses to inspection observations. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control.

 

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Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. Certain endpoint data we hope to include in any approved product labeling also may not make it into such labeling, including exploratory or secondary endpoint data such as patient-reported outcome measures. The FDA may also require a risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, or REMS, program as a condition of approval of our product candidates, which could entail requirements for long-term patient follow-up, a medication guide, physician communication plans or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. In addition, if the FDA, EMA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority approves our product candidates, we will have to comply with requirements including submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports and registration.

 

The FDA may impose consent decrees or withdraw approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with our product candidates, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information, imposition of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:

 

  restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of our products, withdrawal of the product from the market or voluntary or mandatory product recalls;
     
  fines, warning letters or holds on clinical trials;
     
  refusal by the FDA to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us or suspension or revocation of license approvals;
     
  product seizure or detention or refusal to permit the import or export of our product candidates; and
     
  injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

 

The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Products may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label. The policies of the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.

 

Coverage and reimbursement may be limited or unavailable in certain market segments for our product candidates, if approved, which could make it difficult for us to sell any product candidates profitably.

 

The success of our product candidates, if approved, depends on the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors. We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for, or accurately estimate the potential revenue from, our product candidates or assure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any product that we may develop.

 

Patients who are provided medical treatment for their conditions generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Coverage and adequate reimbursement from governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and commercial payors is critical to new product acceptance.

 

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Government authorities and other third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs and treatments they will cover and the amount of reimbursement. Coverage and reimbursement by a third-party payor may depend upon a number of factors, including the third-party payor’s determination that use of a product is:

 

  a covered benefit under its health plan;
     
  safe, effective and medically necessary;
     
  appropriate for the specific patient;
     
  cost-effective; and
     
  neither experimental nor investigational.

 

In the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors. As a result, obtaining coverage and reimbursement approval of a product from a government or other third-party payor is a time-consuming and costly process that could require us to provide to each payor supporting scientific, clinical and cost-effectiveness data for the use of our products on a payor-by-payor basis, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be obtained. Even if we obtain coverage for a given product, the resulting reimbursement payment rates might not be adequate for us to achieve or sustain profitability or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Additionally, third-party payors may not cover, or provide adequate reimbursement for, long-term follow-up evaluations required following the use of product candidates, once approved. Patients are unlikely to use our product candidates, once approved, unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate

 

Ongoing healthcare legislative and regulatory reform measures may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

Changes in regulations, statutes or the interpretation of existing regulations could impact our business in the future by requiring, for example: (i) changes to our manufacturing arrangements; (ii) additions or modifications to product labeling; (iii) the recall or discontinuation of our products; or (iv) additional record-keeping requirements. If any such changes were to be imposed, they could adversely affect the operation of our business.

 

In the United States, there have been and continue to be a number of legislative initiatives to contain healthcare costs. For example, in March 2010, the ACA was passed, which substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacted the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry. The ACA, among other things, addressed a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected, increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and extended the rebate program to individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, established annual fees and taxes on manufacturers of certain branded prescription drugs and created a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 70% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D.

 

Some of the provisions of the ACA have yet to be fully implemented, while certain provisions have been subject to judicial and Congressional challenges, as well as efforts by the Trump administration to repeal or replace certain aspects of the ACA. However, following several years of litigation in the federal courts, in June 2021, the United States Supreme Court upheld the ACA when it dismissed a legal challenge to the ACA’s constitutionality. Further legislative and regulatory changes under the ACA remain possible, although the Biden presidential administration has been taking steps to strengthen the ACA and the 117th Congress is not expected to have the same interest in repealing the law, in part due to the healthcare economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on many subsets of the U.S. population. In addition to the ACA, there have been and will likely continue to be other federal and state changes that affect the provision of healthcare goods and services in the United States. While we are unable to predict what changes may ultimately be enacted, to the extent that future changes affect how our products and services are paid for and reimbursed by government and private payers, our business could be adversely impacted. Moreover, complying with any new legislation or reversing changes implemented under the ACA could be time-intensive and expensive, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business. Litigation and legislation over the ACA are likely to continue, with unpredictable and uncertain results. We will continue to evaluate the effect that the ACA and possible changes and challenges to it has on our business.

 

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Inadequate funding for the FDA and other government agencies could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, prevent new products and services from being developed or commercialized in a timely manner or otherwise prevent those agencies from performing normal business functions on which the operation of our business may rely, which could negatively impact our business.

 

The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees, and statutory, regulatory, and policy changes. Average review times at the agency have fluctuated in recent years as a result.

 

Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical employees and stop critical activities. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, upon completion of this offering and in our operations as a public company, future government shutdowns could impact our ability to access the public markets and obtain necessary capital in order to properly capitalize and continue our operations.

 

Approval of our product candidates does not ensure successful commercialization and reimbursement.

 

We are not currently marketing our product candidates, nor can we until they are approved; however, we are seeking partnering and commercial opportunities for our products. We cannot assure you that we will be able to commercialize any of our product candidates ourselves or find a commercialization partner or that we will be able to agree to acceptable terms with any partner to launch and commercialize our products.

 

The commercial success of our product candidates is subject to risks in both the United States and European countries. In addition, in European countries, pricing and payment of prescription pharmaceuticals is subject to more extensive governmental control than in the United States. Pricing negotiations with European governmental authorities can take six to 12 months or longer after the receipt of regulatory approval and product launch. If reimbursement is unavailable in any country in which reimbursement is sought, limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at or reduced to unsatisfactory levels, our ability or any potential partner’s ability to successfully commercialize in such a country would be impacted negatively. Furthermore, if these measures prevent us or any potential partner from selling on a profitable basis in a particular country, they could prevent the commercial launch or continued sale in that country and could adversely impact the commercialization market opportunity in other countries.

 

Moreover, as a condition of approval, the regulatory authorities may require that we conduct post-approval studies. Those studies may reveal new safety or efficacy findings regarding our drug that could adversely impact the continued commercialization or future market opportunity in other countries.

 

In addition, we predominantly rely on a network of suppliers and vendors to manufacture our products. Should a regulatory authority make any significant findings on an inspection of our own operations or the operations of those companies, the ability for us to continue producing our products could be adversely impacted and further production could cease. Regulatory GMP requirements are extensive and can present a risk of injury or recall, among other risks, if not manufactured or labeled properly under GMPs.

 

Our potential revenues from the commercialization of our product candidates are subject to these and other factors, and therefore we may never reach or maintain profitability.

 

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Even if we are successful in obtaining market approval, commercial success of any of our product candidates will also depend in large part on the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payers, including government payers such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs and managed care organizations, which may be affected by existing and future health care reform measures designed to reduce the cost of health care. Third-party payers could require us to conduct additional studies, including post-marketing studies related to the cost effectiveness of a product, to qualify for reimbursement, which could be costly and divert our resources. If government and other health care payers were not to provide adequate coverage and reimbursement levels for one any of our products once approved, market acceptance and commercial success would be reduced.

 

In addition, if one of our products is approved for marketing, we will be subject to significant regulatory obligations regarding product promotion, the submission of safety and other post-marketing information and reports and registration, and will need to continue to comply (or ensure that our third party providers comply) with cGMPs, and Good Clinical Practices, or GCPs, for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. In addition, there is always the risk that we or a regulatory authority might identify previously unknown problems with a product post-approval, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency. Compliance with these requirements is costly, and any failure to comply or other issues with our product candidates’ post-market approval could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Risks Related to our Intellectual Property

 

We rely upon patents to protect our technology. We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights and we may be liable for infringing the intellectual property rights of others.

 

Our ability to compete effectively will depend on our ability to maintain the proprietary nature of our technologies, including the Lm-LLO based immunotherapy platform technology, and the proprietary technology of others with whom we have entered into collaboration and licensing agreements.

 

Currently, we own or have rights to several hundred patents and applications, which are owned, licensed from, or co-owned with Penn and Merck. We have obtained the rights to all future patent applications in this field originating in the laboratories of Dr. Yvonne Paterson and Dr. Fred Frankel, at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

We own or hold licenses to a number of issued patents and U.S. pending patent applications, as well as foreign patents and foreign counterparts. Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain patent protection both in the United States and in other countries for our product candidates, as well as the methods for treating patients in the product indications using these product candidates. Such patent protection is costly to obtain and maintain, and we cannot guarantee that sufficient funds will be available. Our ability to protect our product candidates from unauthorized or infringing use by third parties depends in substantial part on our ability to obtain and maintain valid and enforceable patents. Due to evolving legal standards relating to the patentability, validity and enforceability of patents covering pharmaceutical inventions and the scope of claims made under these patents, our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patents is uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions. Even if our product candidates, as well as methods for treating patients for prescribed indications using these product candidates are covered by valid and enforceable patents and have claims with sufficient scope, disclosure and support in the specification, the patents will provide protection only for a limited amount of time. Accordingly, rights under any issued patents may not provide us with sufficient protection for our product candidates or provide sufficient protection to afford us a commercial advantage against competitive products or processes.

 

In addition, we cannot guarantee that any patents will issue from any pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us. Even if patents have issued or will issue, we cannot guarantee that the claims of these patents are or will be valid or enforceable or will provide us with any significant protection against competitive products or otherwise be commercially valuable to us. The laws of some foreign jurisdictions do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as in the United States and many companies have encountered significant difficulties in protecting and defending such rights in foreign jurisdictions. Furthermore, different countries have different procedures for obtaining patents, and patents issued in different countries offer different degrees of protection against use of the patented invention by others. If we encounter such difficulties in protecting or are otherwise precluded from effectively protecting our intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions, our business prospects could be substantially harmed.

 

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The patent positions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including our patent position, involve complex legal and factual questions, and, therefore, validity and enforceability cannot be predicted with certainty. Patents may be challenged, deemed unenforceable, invalidated, or circumvented as a result of laws, rules and guidelines that are changed due to legislative, judicial or administrative actions, or review, which render our patents unenforceable or invalid. Our patents can be challenged by our competitors who can argue that our patents are invalid, unenforceable, lack utility, sufficient written description or enablement, or that the claims of the issued patents should be limited or narrowly construed. Patents also will not protect our product candidates if competitors devise ways of making or using these product candidates without infringing our patents.

 

We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our technologies, methods of treatment, product candidates, and any future products are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets and we have the funds to enforce our rights, if necessary.

 

The expiration of our owned or licensed patents before completing the research and development of our product candidates and receiving all required approvals in order to sell and distribute the products on a commercial scale can adversely affect our business and results of operations.

 

Litigation regarding patents, patent applications and other proprietary rights may be expensive and time consuming. If we are involved in such litigation, it could cause delays in bringing product candidates to market and harm our ability to operate.

 

Our success will depend in part on our ability to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Other parties may obtain patents in the future and allege that the products or use of our technologies infringe these patent claims or that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization.

 

In addition, third parties may challenge or infringe upon our existing or future patents. Proceedings involving our patents or patent applications or those of others could result in adverse decisions regarding:

 

  the patentability of our inventions relating to our product candidates; and/or
     
  the enforceability, validity or scope of protection offered by our patents relating to our product candidates.

 

Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and divert management time and attention in pursuing these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on us. If we are unable to avoid infringing the patent rights of others, we may be required to seek a license, defend an infringement action or challenge the validity of the patents in court. Patent litigation is costly and time consuming. We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. In addition, if we do not obtain a license, develop or obtain non-infringing technology, fail to defend an infringement action successfully or have infringed patents declared valid, we may:

 

  incur substantial monetary damages;
     
  encounter significant delays in bringing our product candidates to market; and/or
     
  be precluded from participating in the manufacture, use or sale of our product candidates or methods of treatment requiring licenses.

 

We may be unable to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

 

We also rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technologies, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, outside scientific collaborators, sponsored researchers, and other advisors to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.

 

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Some of our products are dependent upon our license agreement with Penn; if we breach the license agreement and/or fail to make payments due and owing to Penn under our license agreement, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

 

Pursuant to the terms of our license agreement with Penn, which has been amended from time to time, we have acquired exclusive worldwide licenses for patents and patent applications related to our proprietary Listeria vaccine technology. The license provides us with the exclusive commercial rights to the patent portfolio developed at Penn as of the effective date of the license, in connection with Dr. Paterson and requires us to pay various milestone, legal, filing and licensing payments to commercialize the technology. As of April 30, 2022, we did not have outstanding payables to Penn. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to make all future payments due and owing thereunder, that such licenses will not be terminated or expire during critical periods, that we will be able to obtain licenses from Penn for other rights that may be important to us, or, if obtained, that such licenses will be obtained on commercially reasonable terms. The loss of any current or future licenses from Penn or the exclusivity rights provided therein could materially harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

If we are unable to obtain licenses needed for the development of our product candidates, or if we breach any of the agreements under which we license rights to patents or other intellectual property from third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

 

If we are unable to maintain and/or obtain licenses needed for the development of our product candidates in the future, we may have to develop alternatives to avoid infringing on the patents of others, potentially causing increased costs and delays in drug development and introduction or precluding the development, manufacture, or sale of planned products. Some of our licenses provide for limited periods of exclusivity that require minimum license fees and payments and/or may be extended only with the consent of the licensor. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to meet these minimum license fees in the future or that these third parties will grant extensions on any or all such licenses. This same restriction may be contained in licenses obtained in the future.

 

Additionally, we can provide no assurance that the patents underlying any licenses will be valid and enforceable. To the extent any products developed by us are based on licensed technology, royalty payments on the licenses will reduce our gross profit from such product sales and may render the sales of such products uneconomical. In addition, the loss of any current or future licenses or the exclusivity rights provided therein could materially harm our business, financial condition and our operations.

 

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Risks Related to Ownership of our Securities and this Offering

 

Because we are quoted on the OTCQX instead of an exchange or national quotation system, our investors find it more difficult to trade in our stock, or might experience volatility in the market price of the shares of our common stock.

 

Shares of our common stock is quoted on the OTCQX. The OTCQX is often highly illiquid, in part because it does not have a national quotation system by which potential investors can follow the market price of shares except through information received and generated by a limited number of broker-dealers that make markets in particular stocks. There is a greater chance of volatility for securities that are quoted on the OTCQX as compared to a national exchange or quotation system. This volatility may be caused by a variety of factors, including the lack of readily available price quotations, the absence of consistent administrative supervision of bid and ask quotations, lower trading volume, and market conditions. Investors in the shares of our common stock may experience high fluctuations in the market price and volume of the trading market for our securities. These fluctuations, when they occur, have a negative effect on the market price for our securities. Accordingly, our stockholders may not be able to realize a fair price from their shares when they determine to sell them or may have to hold them for a substantial period of time until the market for the shares of our common stock improves.

 

We have applied to list our common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol “ADXS”. Subject to approval of listing on Nasdaq, our common stock will be listed on Nasdaq or, if Nasdaq approval is not obtained, then we expect our common stock to remain listed on the OTCQX. No assurance can be given that our listing application will be approved by Nasdaq or that a liquid trading market for our common stock will develop.

 

Our stock is listed on the OTCQX, if we fail to remain current on our reporting requirements or are unable to regain compliance with the OTCQX bid price requirements in a timely fashion, we could be removed from the OTCQX which would limit the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities in the secondary market.

 

Companies trading on the OTCQX, must be reporting issuers under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and must be current in their reports under Section 13, in order to maintain price quotation privileges on the OTCQX. As a result, the market liquidity for our securities could be severely adversely affected by limiting the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and the ability of stockholders to sell their securities in the secondary market. In addition, on May 10, 2022, we were notified by the OTCQX that our common stock closed below $0.10 for more than 30 consecutive calendar days and no longer meets the Standards for Continued Qualification for the OTCQX U.S. tier as per the OTCQX Rules for U.S. Companies. If the bid price for the common stock has not stayed at or above the $0.10 minimum for ten consecutive trading days by November 7, 2022, then our common stock will be moved from OTCQX to the OTC Pink market. If we fail to remain current on our reporting requirements, we may be unable to get relisted on the OTCQX and if we are unable to regain compliance with the OTCQX bid price requirements our common stock will no longer be listed on OTCQX, either of which may have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

We could issue additional “blank check” preferred stock without stockholder approval with the effect of diluting then current stockholder interests and impairing their voting rights, and provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable.

 

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, provides that we may authorize and issue up to 5,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock with designations, rights, and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our Board. Our Board is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue one or more series of preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting, or other rights, which could dilute the interest of or impair the voting power of our holders of shares of common stock. The issuance of a series of preferred stock could be used as a method of discouraging, delaying, or preventing a change in control. For example, it would be possible for our Board to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of our Company.

 

Sales of additional equity securities may adversely affect the market price of the shares of our common stock and your rights may be reduced.

 

We expect to continue to incur drug development and selling, general and administrative costs, and to satisfy our funding requirements, we will need to sell additional equity securities, which may be subject to registration rights and warrants with anti-dilutive protective provisions. The sale or the proposed sale of substantial amounts of the shares of our common stock or other equity securities in the public markets may adversely affect the market price of the shares of our common stock and our stock price may decline substantially. Our shareholders may experience substantial dilution and a reduction in the price that they are able to obtain upon sale of their shares. Also, new equity securities issued may have greater rights, preferences or privileges than our existing shares of common stock.

 

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The price of the shares of our common stock may be volatile.

 

The trading price of the shares of our common stock may fluctuate substantially. The price of the shares of our common stock that will prevail in the market may be higher or lower than the price you have paid, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. These fluctuations could cause you to lose part or all of your investment in the shares of our common stock and warrants. Those factors that could cause fluctuations include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

  price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;
     
  variations in our quarterly operating results;
     
  fluctuations in stock market prices and trading volumes of similar companies;
     
  actual or anticipated changes in our net loss or fluctuations in our operating results or in the expectations of securities analysts;
     
  the issuance of new equity securities pursuant to a future offering, including issuances of preferred stock;
     
  general economic conditions and trends, including changes in interest rates;
     
  positive and negative events relating to healthcare and the overall pharmaceutical and biotech sector;
     
  major catastrophic events;
     
  sales of large blocks of our stock;
     
  significant dilution caused by the anti-dilutive clauses in our financial agreements;
     
  departures of key personnel;
     
  changes in the regulatory status of our immunotherapies, including results of our clinical trials;
     
  events affecting Penn or any current or future collaborators;
     
  announcements of new products or technologies, commercial relationships or other events by us or our competitors;
     
  regulatory developments in the United States and other countries;
     
  failure of the shares of our common stock or warrants to be listed or quoted on the OTCQX Best Market or on a national market system; on May 10, 2022, we received a notification from the OTCQX that by virtue of closing below $0.10 for more than 30 consecutive calendar days, our common stock no longer meets the Standards for Continued Qualification for the OTCQX U.S. tier, and that if we do not regain qualification by November 7, 2022, our common stock will be moved from OTCQX to the OTC Pink market;
     
  changes in financial estimates by securities analysts who cover our company;
     
  changes in accounting principles; and
     
  perceptions of our company and discussion of us or our stock price by the financial and scientific press and in online investor communities.

 

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In addition, the stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of small companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Further, a systemic decline in the financial markets and related factors beyond our control may cause our share price to decline rapidly and unexpectedly.

 

So long as the shares of our common stock continue to be listed on the OTCQX, they could be subject to the so-called “penny stock” rules that impose restrictive sales practice requirements.

 

As the shares of our common stock have been de-listed from the Nasdaq Capital Market and are now listed on the OTCQX, which is not a “national securities exchange” as defined by the Exchange Act, and thus the shares of our common stock will be become subject to the so-called “penny stock” rules if the shares have a market value of less than $5.00 per share. The SEC has adopted regulations that define a penny stock to include any stock that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions, including an exception for stock traded on a national securities exchange. The SEC regulations impose restrictive sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell penny stocks to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. An accredited investor generally is a person whose individual annual income exceeded $200,000, or whose joint annual income with a spouse exceeded $300,000 during the past two years and who expects their annual income to exceed the applicable level during the current year, or a person with net worth in excess of $1.0 million, not including the value of the investor’s principal residence and excluding mortgage debt secured by the investor’s principal residence up to the estimated fair market value of the home, except that any mortgage debt incurred by the investor within 60 days prior to the date of the transaction shall not be excluded from the determination of the investor’s net worth unless the mortgage debt was incurred to acquire the residence. For transactions covered by this rule, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. This means that so long as the shares of our common stock are not listed on a national securities exchange, the ability of stockholders to sell their shares of common stock in the secondary market could be adversely affected.

 

If a transaction involving a penny stock is not exempt from the SEC’s rule, a broker-dealer must deliver a disclosure schedule relating to the penny stock market to each investor prior to a transaction. The broker-dealer also must disclose the commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and its registered representative, current quotations for the penny stock, and, if the broker-dealer is the sole market-maker, the broker-dealer must disclose this fact and the broker-dealer’s presumed control over the market. Finally, monthly statements must be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the customer’s account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.

 

There is no public market for the Common Stock Purchase Warrants being offered by us in this offering.

 

There is no established public trading market for the Common Stock Purchase Warrants and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply to list the Common Stock Purchase Warrants on any national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system, including the QTCQX or Nasdaq. Without an active market, the liquidity of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants will be limited, which may adversely affect their value.

 

Holders of Common Stock Purchase Warrants purchased in this offering will have no rights as common stockholders until such holders exercise their Common Stock Purchase Warrants and acquire the shares of our common stock.

 

Until holders of Common Stock Purchase Warrants acquire the shares of our common stock upon exercise thereof, such holders will have no rights with respect to the shares of common stock underlying the Common Stock Purchase Warrants. Upon exercise of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants, the holders will be entitled to exercise the rights of a common stockholder only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.

 

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The Common Stock Purchase Warrants are speculative in nature.

 

The Common Stock Purchase Warrants do not confer any rights of common stock ownership on its holders, such as voting rights or the right to receive dividends, but rather merely represent the right to acquire shares of common stock at a fixed price for a limited period of time. Following this offering, the market value of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants, if any, is uncertain and there can be no assurance that the market value of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants will equal or exceed their imputed offering price. The Common Stock Purchase Warrants will not be listed or quoted for trading on any market or exchange. There can be no assurance that the market price of the shares of common stock will ever equal or exceed the exercise price of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants, and consequently, it may not ever be profitable for holders of the Common Stock Purchase Warrants to exercise the Common Stock Purchase Warrants.

 

We may be at an increased risk of securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

 

The market price of the shares of our common stock may be volatile, and in the past companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

 

We do not intend to pay cash dividends.

 

We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on the shares of our common stock, and we do not anticipate declaring or paying cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any future determination as to the payment of cash dividends on the shares of our common stock will be at our Board of Directors’ discretion and will depend on our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements and other factors that our Board of Directors considers to be relevant.

 

Our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law have anti-takeover provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control, which may cause our stock price to decline.

 

Our certificate of incorporation, Bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions which could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if closing such a transaction would be beneficial to our shareholders. We are authorized to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock. This preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined at the time of issuance by our Board of Directors without further action by shareholders. The terms of any series of preferred stock may include voting rights (including the right to vote as a series on particular matters), preferences as to dividend, liquidation, conversion and redemption rights and sinking fund provisions. The issuance of any preferred stock could materially adversely affect the rights of the holders of the shares of our common stock, and therefore, reduce the value of the shares of our common stock. In the past, our Series D convertible redeemable preferred stock included voting rights superior to those of our common stock which had a dispositive effect on certain matters put to a vote of all shareholders. While this series of preferred stock has since been redeemed, the terms of one or more series of preferred stock may allow the holders of such preferred stock to exert significant control over our management and approvals requiring stockholder approval. In particular, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell our assets to, a third party and thereby preserve control by the present management.

 

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation, Bylaws and Delaware law also could have the effect of discouraging potential acquisition proposals or making a tender offer or delaying or preventing a change in control, including changes a shareholder might consider favorable. Such provisions may also prevent or frustrate attempts by our shareholders to replace or remove our management. In particular, the certificate of incorporation, Bylaws and Delaware law, as applicable, among other things; provide the Board of Directors with the ability to alter the Bylaws without shareholder approval and provide those vacancies on the Board of Directors may be filled by a majority of directors in office, and less than a quorum.

  

These provisions are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of our company to first negotiate with its board. These provisions may delay or prevent someone from acquiring or merging with us, which may cause the market price of the shares of our common stock to decline.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $8.200 million, assuming a public offering price of $3.70 per common stock unit, the last reported sale price for the shares of our common stock on June 8, 2022, as reported by the OTCQX, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and assuming none of the warrants issued in this offering are exercised. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, we estimate that we will receive additional net proceeds of approximately $1.290 million.

 

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us by $2.325 million, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. An increase (decrease) of 500,000 in the number of shares offered by us would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us by $1.721 million.

 

We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of shares by us for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

 

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INFORMATION REGARDING THE SHARES OF OUR COMMON STOCK

 

The shares of our common stock are currently quoted on the OTCQX under the symbol “ADXSD.” Concurrently with the consummation of this offering, we expect that the shares of our common stock will trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ADXS.”

 

Our stock has experienced periods, including extended periods, of limited or sporadic quotations.

 

As of April 30, 2022, there were approximately 30,000 holders of record of the shares of our common stock.

 

33
 

 

DIVIDEND POLICY

 

We have not declared or paid any dividends since inception on the shares of our common stock. We do not anticipate that we will declare or pay dividends in the foreseeable future on the shares of our common stock.

 

34
 

 

CAPITALIZATION

 

The following table describes our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of April 30, 2022:

 

  on an actual basis;
     
 

on an pro forma basis to reflect our sale of shares of common stock in this offering at an assumed offering price of $3.70 per share.

 

You should read this capitalization table together with the consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, as well as “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

   Actual  

Pro Forma(1)

 
   (amounts in thousands, except per share data) 
Cash and cash equivalents  $32,085   $40,285 
           
Stockholders’ equity:          
           
Common Stock - par value $0.001 per share, 170,000,000 shares authorized, 1,820,480 shares issued and outstanding at April 30, 2022 and October 31, 2021, actual; $0.001 par value, 170,000,000 shares authorized, 3,290,480 shares issued and outstanding, pro forma   2    4 
Additional paid-in capital   466,554    474,752 
Accumulated deficit   (431,405)   (431,405)
Total stockholders’ equity   35,151    43,351 
Total capitalization  $35,151   $43,351 

 

(1) A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $3.70 per share, would increase (decrease) each of cash and cash equivalents, total stockholders’ equity and total capitalization by $2.325 million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. An increase (decrease) of 500,000 in the number of shares offered by us would increase (decrease) each of cash and cash equivalents, total stockholders’ equity and total capitalization by $1.721 million.

 

The number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after this offering is based on 1,820,480 shares outstanding as of April 30, 2022. Pro forma as adjusted does not give effect to the impact of Common Stock Purchase Warrants or the Underwriter’s over-allotment option.

 

35
 

 

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements for the period ended October 31, 2021, and 2020, and notes thereto, and our unaudited financial statements for the three and six months ended April 30, 2022, and 2021, and notes thereto, included elsewhere in this prospectus. This report contains forward-looking information that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking information. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, availability and cost of financial resources, product demand, market acceptance and other factors discussed in this report under the heading “Risk Factors”. All amounts presented herein are expressed in thousands, except share and per-share data, unless otherwise specifically noted.

 

Overview

 

The Company is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary Lm Technology antigen delivery products based on a platform technology that utilizes live attenuated Listeria monocytogenes, or Lm, bioengineered to secrete antigen/adjuvant fusion proteins. These Lm-based strains are believed to be a significant advancement in immunotherapy as they integrate multiple functions into a single immunotherapy by accessing and directing antigen presenting cells to stimulate anti-tumor T cell immunity, stimulate and activate the innate immune system with the equivalent of multiple adjuvants, and simultaneously reduce tumor protection in the Tumor Microenvironment, or TME, to enable the T cells to attack tumor cells.

 

The Company believes that Lm Technology immunotherapies can complement and address significant unmet needs in the current oncology treatment landscape. Specifically, our product candidates (i.e., ADXS-PSA, ADXS-503 and ADXS-504) have the potential to optimize checkpoint performance, while having a generally well-tolerated safety profile, and most of our product candidates have an expected low cost of goods.

 

Advaxis is currently winding down or has wound down clinical studies of Lm Technology immunotherapies in three program areas:

 

  Human Papilloma Virus (“HPV”)-associated cancers
  Personalized neoantigen-directed therapies
  Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) associated cancers

 

All these clinical program areas are anchored in the Company’s Lm TechnologyTM, a unique platform designed for its ability to safely and effectively target various cancers in multiple ways. While we are currently winding down clinical studies of Lm Technology immunotherapies in these three program areas, our license agreements continue with OS Therapies, LLC for ADXS-HER2 and with Global BioPharma, or GBP, for the exclusive license for the development and commercialization of AXAL in Asia, Africa, and the former USSR territory, exclusive of India and certain other countries.

 

Recent Developments

 

COVID-19 Impact

 

The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its resurgences has and may continue to negatively impact global economic activity, which, despite progress in vaccination efforts, remains uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. In addition, a new Omicron variant of COVID-19, which appears to be the most transmissible variant to date, has spread globally. The continued impact of the pandemic cannot be predicted at this time, and could depend on numerous factors, including vaccination rates among the population, the occurrence and spread of additional variants of COVID-19, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against current or future variants and the response by governmental bodies and regulators.

 

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In response to COVID-19, the Company implemented remote working and thus far, has not experienced a significant disruption or delay in its operations as it relates to the clinical development or drug production of our drug candidates by third parties. We continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and take steps intended to mitigate the potential risks to our workforce and our operations. The COVID-19 pandemic has, and may continue to, directly or indirectly affect the pace of enrollment in our clinical trials as patients may avoid or may not be able to travel to healthcare facilities and physicians’ offices unless due to a health emergency and clinical trial staff can no longer get to the clinic. Nonetheless, thus far, the COVID-19 pandemic has not had a significant impact on our business or results of operations. However, we remain in contact with the clinical sites in our study and are in discussion with additional sites to combat any potential impact in enrollment. We are unable to determine or predict the extent, duration or scope of the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations, financial condition or liquidity.

 

Termination of Merger Agreement; Strategic Considerations

 

On July 4, 2021, the Company entered into a Merger Agreement (the “Merger Agreement”), subject to shareholder approval, with Biosight Ltd. (“Biosight”) and Advaxis Ltd. (“Merger Sub”), a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Advaxis. Under the terms of the agreement, Biosight was to merge with and into Merger Sub, with Biosight continuing as the surviving company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Advaxis (the “Merger”). Immediately after the merger, Advaxis stockholders as of immediately prior to the merger were expected to own approximately 25% of the outstanding shares of the combined company and former Biosight shareholders were expected to own approximately 75% of the outstanding shares of the combined company.

 

On December 30, 2021, the Company terminated the Merger Agreement, as the Company was unable to obtain shareholder approval to complete the transaction. As announced in December 2021, the Company plans to continue to explore additional options to maximize stockholder value in addition to this offering.

 

Financing

 

On January 31, 2022, the Company consummated an offering with certain institutional investors for the private placement of 1,000,000 shares of Series D convertible redeemable preferred stock (the “Series D Preferred Stock”). The shares, which have since been redeemed in accordance with their terms as described below, and are thus no longer outstanding as of the date of this prospectus, had an aggregate stated value of $5,000,000. Each share of the Series D preferred stock had a purchase price of $4.75, representing an original issue discount of 5% of the stated value. The shares of Series D Preferred Stock were convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock, upon the occurrence of certain events, at a conversion price of $20.00 per share. The conversion, at the option of the stockholder, could occur at any time following the receipt of the stockholders’ approval for a reverse stock split. The Company was permitted to compel conversion of the Series D Preferred Stock after the fulfillment of certain conditions and subject to certain limitations. The Series D Preferred Stock also had a liquidation preference over the shares of common stock, and could be redeemed by the investors, in accordance with certain terms, for a redemption price equal to 105% of the stated value, or in certain circumstances, 110% of the stated value. Total net proceeds from the offering, after deducting the financial advisor’s fees and other estimated offering expenses, were approximately $4.3 million.

 

On April 6, 2022, the holders of all 1,000,000 outstanding shares of the Series D Preferred Stock exercised their right to cause the Company to redeem all of such shares at a price per share equal to 105% of the stated value per share of $5.00, and such shares were redeemed accordingly.

 

Results of Operations for the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2021 Compared to the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2020

 

Revenue

 

Revenue increased $3.0 million for the year ended October 31, 2021 compared to $0.3 million for the year ended October 31, 2020. In the current period, we recognized royalty payments from OST.

 

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Research and Development Expenses

 

We invest in research and development to advance our Lm technology through our preclinical and clinical development programs. Research and development expenses for the years ended October 31, 2021 and 2020 were categorized as follows (in thousands):

 

   Fiscal Years Ended
October 31,
   Increase
(Decrease)
 
   2021   2020   $   % 
                 
Hotspot/Off-the-Shelf therapies  $4,261   $3,515   $746    21%
Prostate cancer   30    948    (918)   (97)%
HPV-associated cancers   2,069    3,667    (1,598)   (44)%
Personalized neoantigen-directed therapies   495    1,266    (771)   (61)%
Other expenses   3,707    6,216    (2,509)   (40)%
Total research & development expense  $10,562   $15,612   $(5,050)   (32)%
                     
Stock-based compensation expense included in research and development expense  $164   $308   $(144)   (47)%

 

Hotspot/Off-the-Shelf Therapies (ADXS-HOT)

 

Research and development costs associated with our hotspot mutation-based therapy for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 increased 21% to $4.3 million compared to the same period in 2020. The increase is attributable to the costs associated with the increase in patient enrollment in the HOT-503 study and the commencement of our investigator-sponsored HOT-504 study.

 

Prostate Cancer (ADXS-PSA)

 

Research and development costs associated with our prostate cancer therapy for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 decreased $0.9 million, or 97%, compared to the same period in 2020. The decrease is attributable to the winding down of the Phase 1/2 study of our ADXS-PSA compound in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s humanized monoclonal antibody. We do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of the study.

 

HPV-Associated Cancers (AXAL)

 

The majority of the HPV-associated research and development costs include clinical trial and other related costs associated with our AXAL programs in cervical and head and neck cancers. HPV-associated costs for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 decreased $1.6 million, or 44%, compared to the same period in 2020. The decrease is attributable to wind down costs associated with the closure of our Phase 3 AIM2CERV study in high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer. We do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of the study.

 

Personalized Neoantigen-Directed Therapies (ADXS-NEO)

 

Research and development costs associated with personalized neoantigen-directed therapies for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 decreased $0.8 million, or 61%, compared to the same period in 2020. The decrease is attributable to wind down costs associated with the termination of our ADXS-NEO study. We do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of the study.

 

Other Expenses

 

Other expenses include salary and benefit costs, stock-based compensation expense, professional fees, laboratory costs and other internal and external costs associated with our research & development activities. Other expenses for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 decreased $2.5 million, or 40%, compared to the same period in 2020. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in salary related expenses, temporary worker expenses and consulting expenses due to a change in focus on the clinical development of our HOT-503 and HOT-504 programs and substantially less on our early research programs.

 

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General and Administrative Expenses

 

General and administrative expenses primarily include salary and benefit costs and stock-based compensation expense for employees included in our finance, legal and administrative organizations, outside legal and professional services, and facilities costs. General and administrative expenses for the years ended October 31, 2021 and 2020 were as follows (in thousands):

 

   Years Ended
October 31,
   Increase
(Decrease)
 
   2021   2020   $   % 
                 
General and administrative expense  $11,464   $11,090   $374    3%
                     
Stock-based compensation expense included in general and administrative expense  $402   $583   $(181)   (31)%

 

 

General and administrative expenses for the year ended October 31, 2021 increased $0.4 million, or 3%, compared to the same period in 2020. This increase primarily relates to increases in (1) legal and consulting fees, including $1.4 million in legal and consulting fees related to the merger with Biosight (2) sublicense fees (3) proxy solicitation fees related to both the annual shareholder meeting and the merger with Biosight, (4) amounts paid in settlement of a shareholder demand letter and (5) losses on disposal of property and equipment in connection with the termination of our office lease at our former location. These increases were partially offset by decreases in (1) rent and utilities due to the termination of our office lease at our former location, (2) personnel costs and (3) charges related to the abandonment of non-strategic intellectual property.

 

Changes in Fair Values

 

For the year ended October 31, 2021, we recorded non-cash income from changes in the fair value of the warrant liability of approximately $1.0 million. The decrease in the fair value of liability warrants resulted primarily from the issuance of warrants in the April 2021 Offering. The warrants issued in the April 2021 Private Placement decreased in fair value from date of issuance to October 31, 2021 due to a decrease in our share price from $45.60 at April 14, 2021 to $38.80 at October 31, 2021.

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020, we recorded non-cash expense from changes in the fair value of the warrant liability of $0.

 

Loss on shares issued in settlement of warrants

 

On October 16, 2020, the Company entered into private exchange agreements with certain holders of warrants issued in connection with the Company’s January 2020 public offering of shares of common stock and warrants. The warrants being exchanged provide for the purchase of up to an aggregate of 62,500 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $100.00 per share. The warrants became exercisable on July 21, 2020 and have an expiration date of July 21, 2025. Pursuant to such exchange agreements, the Company agreed to issue 37,500 shares of common stock to the investors in exchange for the warrants. In connection with the exchange of warrants for shares of common stock, the Company recorded a loss of approximately $77,000 as the fair value of the shares issued exceeded the fair value of warrants exchanged.

 

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Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended April 30, 2022 and 2021 (Unaudited)

 

Revenue

 

Revenue was $250,000 for the three months ended April 30, 2022 compared to $1,375,000 for the three months ended April 30, 2021. In the current period, we received the annual licensing fee from GBP. In the prior period, we recognized royalty payments from OST.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

We invest in research and development to advance our Lm technology through our pre-clinical and clinical development programs. Research and development expenses for the three months ended April 30, 2022 and April 30, 2021 were categorized as follows (in thousands):

 

   Three Months Ended
April 30,
   Increase
(Decrease)
 
   2022   2021   $   % 
                 
Hotspot/Off-the-Shelf therapies  $805   $786   $19    2%
Prostate cancer   -    52    (52)   (100)%
HPV-associated cancers   125    914    (789)   (86)%
Personalized neoantigen-directed therapies   8    260    (252)   (97)%
Other expenses   546    2,332    (1,786)   (77)%
Total research & development expense  $1,484   $4,344   $(2,860)   (66)%
                     
Stock-based compensation expense included in research and development expense  $11   $56   $(45)   (80)%

 

Hotspot/Off-the-Shelf Therapies (ADXS-HOT)

 

Research and development costs associated with our hotspot mutation-based therapy for the three months ended April 30, 2022 increased approximately 2% to $805,000 compared to the same period in 2021. The increase is not material.

 

Prostate Cancer (ADXS-PSA)

 

Research and development costs associated with our prostate cancer therapy for the three months ended April 30, 2022 decreased 100% to $0 compared to the same period in 2021. The study has been completed and we do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of the study.

 

HPV-Associated Cancers (AXAL)

 

The majority of the HPV-associated research and development costs include clinical trial and other related costs associated with our AXAL programs in cervical and head and neck cancers. HPV-associated costs for the three months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $789,000, or 86%, compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease is attributable to wind down costs associated with the closure of our Phase 3 AIM2CERV study in high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer. We do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of our Phase 3 AIM2CERV study.

 

Personalized Neoantigen-Directed Therapies (ADXS-NEO)

 

Research and development costs associated with personalized neoantigen-directed therapies for the three months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $252,000, or 97%, compared to the same period in 2021. The study has been completed and we do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of the study.

 

Other Expenses

 

Other expenses include salary and benefit costs, stock-based compensation expense, professional fees, laboratory costs and other internal and external costs associated with our research & development activities. Other expenses for the three months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $1,786,000, or 77%, compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease is attributable to (1) prior period losses on disposal of property and equipment in connection with the termination of our office lease at our former location, (2) decrease in personnel costs due to decreases in headcount, stock compensation and bonus accruals, and (3) decrease in depreciation expense.

 

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General and Administrative Expenses

 

General and administrative expenses primarily include salary and benefit costs and stock-based compensation expense for employees included in our finance, legal and administrative organizations, outside legal and professional services, and facilities costs. General and administrative expenses for the three months ended April 30, 2022 and April 30, 2021 were as follows (in thousands):

 

   Three Months Ended
April 30,
   Increase
(Decrease)
 
   2022   2021   $   % 
                 
General and administrative expense  $1,768   $3,352   $(1,584)   (47)%
                     
Stock-based compensation expense included in general and administrative expense  $12   $159   $(147)   (92)%

 

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $1,584,000, or 47%, compared to the same period in 2021. This decrease primarily relates to (1) prior period losses on disposal of property and equipment in connection with the termination of our office lease at our former location, (2) prior period sublicense fees paid to the University of Pennsylvania for the OST milestones reached, (3) prior period amounts paid in settlement of a shareholder demand letter, (4) decrease in personnel costs due to decreases in stock compensation and bonus accruals, (5) decrease in consulting fees, and (6) decreases in rent, utilities and depreciation due to the termination of our office lease at our former location.

 

Changes in Fair Values

 

For the three months ended April 30, 2022, we recorded non-cash income from changes in the fair value of derivative liabilities of approximately $607,000. The decrease in the derivative liabilities is attributable to a decrease in our share price from $10.88 at January 31, 2022 to $6.56 at April 30, 2022.

 

For the three months ended April 30, 2021, we recorded non-cash income from changes in the fair value of derivative liabilities of approximately $995,000. The decrease in the derivative liabilities resulted from the issuance of Private Placement Offering warrants on April 14, 2021. The Private Placement Offering warrants had a decrease in fair value of approximately $980,000 from April 14, 2021 to April 30, 2021 due to a decrease in our share price from $45.36 at April 14, 2021 to $39.12 at April 30, 2021.

 

Results of Operations for the Six Months Ended April 30, 2022 and 2021

 

Revenue

 

Revenue was $250,000 for the six months ended April 30, 2022 compared to $2,990,000 for the six months ended April 30, 2021. In the current period, we received the annual licensing fee from GBP. In the prior period, we recognized royalty payments from OST.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

We invest in research and development to advance our Lm technology through our pre-clinical and clinical development programs. Research and development expenses for the six months ended April 30, 2022 and April 30, 2021 were categorized as follows (in thousands):

 

   Six Months Ended
April 30,
   Increase
(Decrease)
 
   2022   2021   $   % 
                 
Hotspot/Off-the-Shelf therapies  $1,805   $1,986   $(181)   (9)%
Prostate cancer   54    95    (41)   (43)%
HPV-associated cancers   85    1,445    (1,360)   (94)%
Personalized neoantigen-directed therapies   8    392    (384)   (98)%
Other expenses   1,186    2,996    (1,810)   (60)%
Total research & development expense  $3,138   $6,914   $(3,776)   (55)%
                     
Stock-based compensation expense included in research and development expense  $24   $113   $(89)   (79)%

 

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Hotspot/Off-the-Shelf Therapies (ADXS-HOT)

 

Research and development costs associated with our hotspot mutation-based therapy for the six months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately 9% to $1,805,000 compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease is attributable to a slowdown in patient enrollment in the HOT-503 study.

 

Prostate Cancer (ADXS-PSA)

 

Research and development costs associated with our prostate cancer therapy for the six months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $41,000, or 43%, compared to the same period in 2021. The study has been completed and we do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of the study.

 

HPV-Associated Cancers (AXAL)

 

The majority of the HPV-associated research and development costs include clinical trial and other related costs associated with our AXAL programs in cervical and head and neck cancers. HPV-associated costs for the six months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $1,360,000, or 94%, compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease is attributable to wind down costs associated with the closure of our Phase 3 AIM2CERV study in high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer. We do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of our Phase 3 AIM2CERV study.

 

Personalized Neoantigen-Directed Therapies (ADXS-NEO)

 

Research and development costs associated with personalized neoantigen-directed therapies for the six months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $384,000, or 98%, compared to the same period in 2021. The study has been completed and we do not anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the wind down of the study.

 

Other Expenses

 

Other expenses include salary and benefit costs, stock-based compensation expense, professional fees, laboratory costs and other internal and external costs associated with our research & development activities. Other expenses for the six months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $1,810,000, or 60%, compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease is attributable to (1) prior period losses on disposal of property and equipment in connection with the termination of our office lease at our former location, (2) decrease in personnel costs due to decreases in headcount, stock compensation and bonus accruals, and (3) decrease in depreciation expense.

 

General and Administrative Expenses

 

General and administrative expenses primarily include salary and benefit costs and stock-based compensation expense for employees included in our finance, legal and administrative organizations, outside legal and professional services, and facilities costs. General and administrative expenses for the six months ended April 30, 2022 and April 30, 2021 were as follows (in thousands):

 

   Six Months Ended
April 30,
   Increase
(Decrease)
 
   2022   2021   $   % 
                 
General and administrative expense  $4,278   $6,360   $(2,082)   (33)%
                     
Stock-based compensation expense included in general and administrative expense  $25   $338   $(313)   (93)%

 

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General and administrative expenses for the six months ended April 30, 2022 decreased approximately $2,082,000, or 33%, compared to the same period in 2021. This decrease primarily relates to (1) prior period losses on disposal of property and equipment in connection with the termination of our office lease at our former location, (2) prior period sublicense fees paid to the University of Pennsylvania for the OST milestones reached, (3) prior period amounts paid in settlement of a shareholder demand letter, (4) decrease in personnel costs due to decreases in stock compensation and bonus accruals, and (5) decreases in rent, utilities and depreciation due to the termination of our office lease at our former location. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in proxy solicitation fees related to the Previously Proposed Merger and the reverse stock split.

 

Changes in Fair Values

 

For the six months ended April 30, 2022, we recorded non-cash income from changes in the fair value of derivative liabilities of approximately $4,409,000. The decrease in the derivative liabilities was attributable to a decrease in our share price from $38.80 at October 31, 2021 to $6.56 at April 30, 2022.

 

For the six months ended April 30, 2021, we recorded non-cash income from changes in the fair value of derivative liabilities of approximately $968,000. The decrease in the derivative liabilities resulted from the issuance of Private Placement Offering warrants on April 14, 2021. The Private Placement Offering warrants had a decrease in fair value of approximately $980,000 from April 14, 2021 to April 30, 2021 due to a decrease in our share price from $45.36 at April 14, 2021 to $39.12 at April 30, 2021.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Management’s Plans

 

Similar to other development stage biotechnology companies, our products that are being developed have not generated significant revenue. As a result, we have historically suffered recurring losses and we have required significant cash resources to execute our business plans. These losses are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

 

Historically, the Company’s major sources of cash have comprised proceeds from various public and private offerings of its securities (including common stock), debt financings, clinical collaborations, option and warrant exercises, income earned on investments and grants, and interest income. From October 2013 through April 30, 2022, the Company raised approximately $339.4 million in gross proceeds from various public and private offerings of our common stock. The Company has sustained losses from operations in each fiscal year since our inception, and we expect losses to continue for the indefinite future. As of April 30, 2022 and October 31, 2021, the Company had an accumulated deficit of approximately $431.4 million and $428.6 million, respectively, and stockholders’ equity of approximately $35.2 million and $38.9 million, respectively.

 

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The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the global economy and created significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. An extended period of economic disruption could negatively affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and access to sources of liquidity. As of April 30, 2022, the Company had approximately $32.1 million in cash and cash equivalents. The actual amount of cash that the Company will need to continue operating is subject to many factors.

 

The Company recognizes that it will need to raise additional capital in order to continue to execute its business plan in the future. There is no assurance that additional financing will be available when needed or that the Company will be able to obtain financing on terms acceptable to it or whether the Company will become profitable and generate positive operating cash flow. If the Company is unable to raise sufficient additional funds, it will have to further scale back its operations. The Company believes it has sufficient capital to fund its obligations, as they become due, in the ordinary course of business into the second fiscal quarter of 2024. The Company based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, and we could use available capital resources sooner than currently expected.

 

Cash Flows

 

Operating Activities

 

Net cash used in operating activities was $15.4 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 compared to $21.9 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020. Net cash used in operating activities includes reduced spending associated with our clinical trial programs and general and administrative activities. The decrease was due to measures to control costs for non-essential items in areas that did not support our strategic direction, and as a result, we have continued to reduce non-strategic operating expenditures over the past several quarters.

 

Net cash used in operating activities includes spending associated with our clinical trial programs and general and administrative activities. Net cash used in operating activities was approximately $8,456,000 for the six months ended April 30, 2022 compared to $8,900,000 for the six months ended April 30, 2021. The variance is due to fluctuations in cash collected from revenue generated, as well as timing of disbursements relating to accounts payable and accrued expenses.

 

Investing Activities

 

Net cash used in investing activities was $11,000 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 compared to $0.7 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020. The decrease is a result of proceeds on disposal of property and equipment and the abandonment of certain non-strategic intellectual property in the prior period that led to less patent costs in the current period.

 

Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $135,000 for six months ended April 30, 2022 compared to $54,000 for the six months ended April 30, 2021. The increase is the result of proceeds on a prior period disposal of property and equipment partially offset by reductions in purchases for intangible assets.

 

Financing Activities

 

Net cash provided by financing activities was $31.9 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 as compared to $15.5 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020. In April 2021, the Company completed an offering of (i) 219,718 shares of common stock, (ii) 95,899 pre-funded warrants to purchase 95,899 shares of common stock and (iii) registered common share purchase warrants to purchase 140,552 shares of common stock (the “Registered Direct Offering”) with two healthcare focused, institutional investors. The Company also issued to the investors, in a concurrent private placement, unregistered common share purchase warrants to purchase 175,065 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Private Placement” and together with the Registered Direct Offering, the “April 2021 Offering”). We received gross proceeds of approximately $20 million, before deducting the fees and expenses payable by us in connection with the April 2021 Offering.

 

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Net cash used in financing activities was approximately $938,000 for the six months ended April 30, 2022 compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $31,886,000 for the six months ended April 30, 2021. On January 31, 2022, the Company closed on an offering with certain institutional investors for the private placement of 1,000,000 shares of Series D Preferred Stock. The shares sold had an aggregate stated value of $5,000,000. Each share of the Series D Preferred Stock was sold for a purchase price of $4.75, representing an original issue discount of 5% of the stated value. Total net proceeds from the offering, after deducting the financial advisor’s fees and other estimated offering expenses, were approximately $4.3 million. The Series D preferred stock also had a liquidation preference over the shares of common stock, and could be redeemed by the investors, in accordance with certain terms, for a redemption price equal to 105% of the stated value, or in certain circumstances, 110% of the stated value. On April 6, 2022, the holders of all 1,000,000 outstanding shares of the Series D Preferred Stock exercised their right to cause the Company to redeem all of such shares at a price per share equal to 105% of the stated value per share of $5.00, and such shares were redeemed accordingly.

 

In January 2020, we completed a public offering of 125,000 shares of our common stock, which resulted in net proceeds of approximately $9.7 million. Additionally, during the year end October 31, 2020, we sold 31,113 shares under the ATM program for net proceeds of $1.531 million, and we sold 140,525 shares of common stock under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement for net proceeds of approximately $5.1 million.

 

In November 2020, the Company closed on a public offering of 383,333 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $24.00 per share. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, the net proceeds from the offering were approximately $8.5 million. In addition, the Company also undertook a concurrent private placement of warrants to purchase up to 191,667 shares of common stock. The warrants have an exercise price per share of $28.00, are exercisable immediately and will expire five years from the date of issuance.

 

On April 12, 2021, the Company completed an offering of (i) 219,718 shares of common stock, (ii) 95,899 pre-funded warrants to purchase 95,899 shares of common stock and (iii) registered common share purchase warrants to purchase 140,552 shares of common stock with two healthcare focused, institutional investors. The Company also issued to the investors, in a concurrent private placement, unregistered common share purchase warrants to purchase 175,065 shares of the Company’s common stock. We received gross proceeds of approximately $20 million, before deducting the fees and expenses payable by us in connection with the offering.

 

During the six months ended April 30, 2021, warrant holders from the Company’s November 2020 and April 2021 offerings exercised 230,343 warrants in exchange for 230,343 shares of the Company’s common stock. Pursuant to these warrant exercises, the Company received aggregate proceeds of approximately $3.8 million

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of April 30, 2022, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

Revenue Recognition

 

Under ASC 606, an entity recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration which the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that an entity determines are within the scope of ASC 606, the entity performs the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that the entity will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract, determines those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.

 

The Company enters into licensing agreements that are within the scope of ASC 606, under which it may exclusively license rights to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize its product candidates to third parties. The terms of these arrangements typically include payment to the Company of one or more of the following: non-refundable, upfront license fees; reimbursement of certain costs; customer option exercise fees; development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments; and royalties on net sales of licensed products.

 

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In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as it fulfills its obligations under its agreements, the Company performs the following steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies each performance obligation. As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company must use significant judgment to determine: (a) the number of performance obligations based on the determination under step (ii) above; (b) the transaction price under step (iii) above; and (c) the stand-alone selling price for each performance obligation identified in the contract for the allocation of transaction price in step (iv) above. The Company uses judgment to determine whether milestones or other variable consideration, except for royalties, should be included in the transaction price as described further below. The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation on a relative stand-alone selling price basis, for which the Company recognizes revenue as or when the performance obligations under the contract are satisfied.

 

Amounts received prior to revenue recognition are recorded as deferred revenue. Amounts expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as current portion of deferred revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Amounts not expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as deferred revenue, net of current portion.

 

Exclusive Licenses. If the license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the arrangement, the Company recognizes revenue from non-refundable, upfront fees allocated to the license when the license is transferred to the customer and the customer is able to use and benefit from the license. In assessing whether a performance obligation is distinct from the other performance obligations, the Company considers factors such as the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities of the collaboration partner and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. In addition, the Company considers whether the collaboration partner can benefit from a performance obligation for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining performance obligation, whether the value of the performance obligation is dependent on the unsatisfied performance obligation, whether there are other vendors that could provide the remaining performance obligation, and whether it is separately identifiable from the remaining performance obligation. For licenses that are combined with other performance obligation, the Company utilizes judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognition. The measure of progress, and thereby periods over which revenue should be recognized, are subject to estimates by management and may change over the course of the research and development and licensing agreement. Such a change could have a material impact on the amount of revenue the Company records in future periods.

 

Milestone Payments. At the inception of each arrangement that includes research or development milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether the milestones are considered probable of being achieved and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. If it is probable that a significant revenue reversal would not occur, the associated milestone value is included in the transaction price. An output method is generally used to measure progress toward complete satisfaction of a milestone. Milestone payments that are not within the control of the Company or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received. The Company evaluates factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether it is probable that a significant revenue reversal would not occur. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the probability of achievement of all milestones subject to constraint and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect revenue and earnings in the period of adjustment.

 

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Stock Based Compensation

 

The Company has an equity plan which allows for the granting of stock options to its employees, directors and consultants for a fixed number of shares with an exercise price equal to the fair value of the shares at date of grant. The Company measures the cost of services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the fair value of the award. The fair value of the award is measured on the grant date and is then recognized over the requisite service period, usually the vesting period, in both research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statement of operations, depending on the nature of the services provided by the employees or consultants.

 

The process of estimating the fair value of stock-based compensation awards and recognizing stock-based compensation cost over their requisite service period involves significant assumptions and judgments. The Company estimates the fair value of stock option awards on the date of grant using the Black Scholes Model (“BSM”) for the remaining awards, which requires that the Company makes certain assumptions regarding: (i) the expected volatility in the market price of its shares of common stock; (ii) dividend yield; (iii) risk-free interest rates; and (iv) the period of time employees are expected to hold the award prior to exercise (referred to as the expected holding period). As a result, if the Company revises its assumptions and estimates, stock-based compensation expense could change materially for future grants.

 

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation using fair value recognition and records forfeitures as they occur. As such, the Company recognizes stock-based compensation cost only for those stock-based awards that vest over their requisite service period, based on the vesting provisions of the individual grants.

 

Derivative Financial Instruments

 

The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. For stock-based derivative financial instruments, the Company used the Monte Carlo simulation model and the Black-Scholes model to value the derivative instruments at inception and on subsequent valuation dates. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the consolidated balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.

 

Intangible Assets

 

Intangible assets primarily consist of legal and filing costs associated with obtaining patents and licenses and are amortized on a straight-line basis over their remaining useful lives which are estimated to be twenty years from the effective dates of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) License Agreements, beginning in July 1, 2002. These legal and filing costs are invoiced to the Company through Penn and its patent attorneys.

 

Management has reviewed its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset might not be recoverable and its carrying amount exceeds its fair value, which is based upon estimated undiscounted future cash flows. Net assets are recorded on the consolidated balance sheet for patents and licenses related to AXAL, ADXS-HOT and ADXS-PSA and other products that are in development. However, if a competitor were to gain FDA approval for a treatment before us or if future clinical trials fail to meet the targeted endpoints, the Company would likely record an impairment related to these assets. In addition, if an application is rejected or fails to be issued, the Company would record an impairment of its estimated book value.

 

Leases

 

Effective November 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC Topic 842, Leases (“ASC 842”) using the modified retrospective transition approach by applying the new standard to all leases existing as of the date of initial application. Results and disclosure requirements for reporting periods beginning after November 1, 2019 are presented under ASC 842, while prior period amounts have not been adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with the previous guidance in ASC 840, Leases.

 

At the inception of an arrangement, the Company determines whether an arrangement is or contains a lease based on the facts and circumstances present in the arrangement. An arrangement is or contains a lease if the arrangement conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Most leases with a term greater than one year are recognized on the consolidated balance sheet as operating lease right-of-use assets and current and long-term operating lease liabilities, as applicable. The Company has elected not to recognize on the consolidated balance sheet leases with terms of 12 months or less. The Company typically only includes the initial lease term in its assessment of a lease arrangement. Options to extend a lease are not included in the Company’s assessment unless there is reasonable certainty that the Company will renew.

 

Operating lease liabilities and their corresponding right-of-use assets are recorded based on the present value of lease payments over the expected remaining lease term. Certain adjustments to the right-of-use asset may be required for items such as prepaid or accrued rent. The interest rate implicit in the Company’s leases is typically not readily determinable. As a result, the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate, which reflects the fixed rate at which the Company could borrow on a collateralized basis the amount of the lease payments in the same currency, for a similar term, in a similar economic environment. In transition to ASC 842, the Company utilized the remaining lease term of its leases in determining the appropriate incremental borrowing rates.

 

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BUSINESS

 

Overview

 

Advaxis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary Listeria monocytogenes, or Lm, Technology antigen delivery products based on a platform technology that utilizes live attenuated Lm bioengineered to secrete antigen/adjuvant fusion proteins. These Lm-based strains are believed to be a significant advancement in immunotherapy as they integrate multiple functions into a single immunotherapy and are designed to access and direct antigen presenting cells to stimulate anti-tumor T cell immunity, activate the immune system with the equivalent of multiple adjuvants, and simultaneously reduce tumor protection in the Tumor Microenvironment, or TME, to enable T cells to eliminate tumors. The Company believes that Lm Technology immunotherapies can complement and address significant unmet needs in the current oncology treatment landscape. Specifically, the Company’s product candidates have the potential to optimize the clinical impact of checkpoint inhibitors while having a generally well-tolerated safety profile. The Company’s passion for the clinical potential of Lm Technology is balanced by focus and fiscal discipline which is directed towards improving treatment options for cancer patients and increasing shareholder value.

 

Advaxis is focused on single antigen and multiple antigen delivery products and is in various stages of clinical development. All of the Company’s products are anchored in the Company’s Lm TechnologyTM, a unique platform designed for its ability to target various cancers in multiple ways. As an intracellular bacterium, Lm is an effective vector for the presentation of antigens through both the Major Histocompatibility Complex, or MHC, I and II pathways, due to its active phagocytosis by Antigen Presenting Cells, or APCs. Within the APCs, Lm produces virulence factors which allow survival in the host cytosol and potently stimulate the immune system.

 

Through a license from the University of Pennsylvania and through its own development efforts, Advaxis has exclusive access to a proprietary formulation of attenuated Lm that we call Lm Technology. Lm Technology is designed to optimize this natural system, and one of the keys to the enhanced immunogenicity of Lm Technology is the tLLO-fusion protein, which is made up of tumor associated antigen, or TAA, fused to a highly immunogenic bacterial protein that triggers potent cellular immunity. The tLLO-fusion protein is also designed to help reduce immune tolerance in the TME and to promote antigen spreading, thereby improving activity in the TME. Multiple copies of the tLLO-fusion protein within each construct may increase antigen presentation and TME impact.

 

As the field of immunotherapy continues to evolve, the flexibility of the Lm Technology platform has allowed Advaxis to develop highly innovative products. To date, Lm Technology has demonstrated preclinical synergy with multiple checkpoint inhibitors, co-stimulatory agents and radiation therapy. The safety profile of all Lm Technology constructs seen to date across over 470 patients has been generally predictable and manageable, consisting mostly of mild to moderate flu-like symptoms that have been transient and associated with infusion.

 

The Advaxis Corporate Strategy and Strategic Considerations

 

Our strategy is to advance the Lm Technology platform and leverage its unique capabilities to design and develop an array of cancer treatments. We are currently conducting or planning clinical studies of Lm Technology immunotherapies in non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumor types, prostate cancer and HPV-associated cancers. We are working with, or are in the process of identifying, collaborators and potential licensees for these programs.

 

Advaxis is currently mainly concentrating on its disease-focused, hotspot/”off-the-shelf” neoantigen-directed therapies called ADXS-HOT. ADXS-HOT is a program that leverages the Company’s proprietary Lm technology to target hotspot mutations that commonly occur in specific cancer types. ADXS-HOT drug candidates are designed to target acquired shared or “public” mutations in tumor driver genes along with other cancer-associated antigens that also commonly occur in specific cancer types.

 

We expect that we will continue to invest in our core clinical program areas and will also remain opportunistic in evaluating Investigator Sponsored Trials, or ISTs, as well as licensing opportunities as we are actively looking for partners and/or licensees for these programs. The Lm Technology platform is protected by a range of patents, covering both product and process, some of which we believe can be maintained into 2039.

 

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In December 2021, we announced that we had terminated our merger agreement with Biosight Ltd. (“Biosight”), pursuant to which Biosight was to merge with and into Advaxis Ltd. (“Merger Sub”), a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Advaxis, with Biosight continuing as the surviving company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Advaxis (the “Merger”). As also announced in December 2021, we plan to continue to explore additional options to maximize stockholder value.

 

Lm Technology and the Immunotherapy Landscape

 

The challenge of cancer immunotherapy has been to find the best overall balance between efficacy and side effects when mobilizing the body’s immune system to fight against cancer. The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors was a significant step forward, particularly with anti-PD-1 therapies, and brought with it impressive clinical activity in many different types of cancers, including melanoma, lung, head and neck and urothelial cancers. However, a literature review published in Science in 2018 noted that anti-PD-1 monotherapy response rates are only in the 15-25% range, and rise to ≥50% only in selected groups of patients with desmoplastic melanoma, Merkel carcinoma or tumors with mismatch-repair deficiency. Development of secondary resistance with disease progression is yet another common limitation of these therapies. Therefore, for most cancer patients, there is room for improvement. Checkpoint inhibitors can expand existing cancer fighting cells that may already be present in low numbers and support their activity against cancer cells, but if the right cancer-fighting cells are not present, checkpoint inhibitors may not provide clinical benefit. Similarly, there are many mechanisms of immune tolerance that are distinct from the checkpoints which may also be blocking the immune system from fighting cancer. Based on both pre-clinical and early clinical data, Advaxis believes that checkpoint inhibitors, when combined with treatments such as Lm Technology, can have an amplified anti-tumor effect. Lm Technology incorporates several complementary elements that include innate immune stimulation, potent generation of cancer-targeted T cells, ability to boost immunity through multiple treatments, enhancing lymphocyte infiltration into tumors, reduction of non-checkpoint mediated immune tolerance within the tumor microenvironment, and promotion of antigen spreading which may amplify the effects of treatment. These results provide rationale for further testing of Lm Technology agents alone and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors.

 

Traditional cancer vaccines were another development within immunotherapy and have a history beginning over 30 years ago. Unfortunately, these vaccines have largely been unsuccessful for a variety of potential reasons. These include poor selection of targets, imbalanced antigen presentation by inclusion of certain immune enhancing agents (adjuvants), failure to consider the blocking actions of immune tolerance, and choice of vaccine vectors. In some cases, patients may develop neutralizing antibodies, preventing further treatments. In contrast to traditional cancer vaccines, Lm Technology takes advantage of a natural pathway in the immune system that evolved to protect us against Listeria infections, that also happens to generate the same type of immunity that is required when fighting cancer. The live but weakened (attenuated) bacteria stimulate a balanced concert of innate immune triggers and present the tumor antigen target precisely where it needs to be able to generate potent cancer fighting cells from within the immune system itself. The multitude of accompanying signals serves to broadly mobilize most of the immune system in support of fighting what seems to be a Listeria infection, and is then “re-directed” against cancer cell targets. Additionally, the unique intracellular lifecycle of Listeria avoids the creation of neutralizing antibodies, thereby allowing for repeat administration as a chronic therapy with a sustained enhancing of tumor antigen-specific T cell immunity.

 

Looking back on the last two decades, there have been promising technology advancements to harness and activate killer T cells against cancers and every day more is learned about the interplay between immunity and cancer that can lead to improved treatments. However, there are still significant unmet needs in the immunotherapy landscape that Advaxis feels Lm Technology may be able to address and complement. Specifically, Lm Technology has the potential to optimize and expand checkpoint inhibitor activity in combination. It also avoids many of the limitations of previous cancer vaccine attempts by tapping into the pathway reserved for defense against Listeria infection while incorporating the best cancer targets science can identify, including neoantigens that result from mutations in the cancer. To date, Lm Technology products have a manageable safety profile, do not generate neutralizing antibodies lending themselves to retreatments, and most of the products are designed to be immediately available for treatment without the complication and expense of modifying a patient’s own cells in a laboratory.

 

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Lm Technology: An optimized Listeria -based antigen delivery system

 

Advaxis’ Listeria -based immunotherapies are designed for antigen delivery through a process of insertion of multiple copies of the proprietary tLLO-fusion protein into each extrachromosomal protein expression and secretion plasmid that makes and secretes the target protein right inside the patient’s antigen presenting cells to initiate and/or boost their immune response. The tLLO-fusion protein approach was developed at the University of Pennsylvania as an improvement over insertion of a single copy of the target gene, as an ACT-A (or other Lm peptide) fusion, within the bacterial genome for four key reasons:

 

  1. Multiple copies of the DNA in the plasmids per bacteria can result in larger amounts of tLLO -fusion protein being expressed simultaneously, versus a single copy. This is designed to improve antigen presentation and immunologic priming and increases the number of T cells generated for a particular treatment.
  2. tLLO expressed on plasmids (with or without a tumor target protein attached) has been shown preclinically to reduce numbers and immune suppressive function of Tregs and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, or MDSCs, in the tumor microenvironment. Presented preclinical data demonstrates that Tregs are destroyed as soon as five days after the first Lm Technology treatment and that suppressive M2 tumor-associated macrophages, or TAMs, are replaced by M1 macrophages which support antigen presentation and adoptive immunity.
  3. The extrachromosal DNA plasmids themselves also contain CpG sequence patterns that trigger TLR-9, which confers additional innate immune stimulation beyond a listeria without the plasmids.
  4. The multiple copies of bacterial DNA plasmids (up to 80-100 per bacteria) confers additional stimulation of the STING receptor within APC’s which has been associated with enhancing anti-cancer immunity in patients.

 

Clinical Pipeline

 

Advaxis is focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary Lm Technology antigen delivery products. Advaxis has completed and closed out clinical studies of Lm Technology immunotherapies in three program areas:

 

  HPV associated cancers
     
  Personalized neoantigen-directed therapies
     
  PSA directed therapy

 

All these clinical program areas are anchored in the Company’s Lm TechnologyTM, a unique platform designed for its ability to safely and effectively target various cancers in multiple ways. The Phase 1/2 study with ADXS-PSA ± pembrolizumab in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients was closed on January 25, 2021. The MEDI Phase 2 combo study (AZ) with AXAL ± durvalumab in Cervical and Head and Neck Cancer and the AIM2CERV Phase 3 clinical trial with ADXS-HPV (AXAL) in cervical cancer were closed on August 22, 2019 and June 11, 2021, respectively. The study with personalized neoantigen-directed therapies (ADXS-NEO) was closed on May 22, 2020 and the NEO program-IND inactivation request was submitted to the FDA on May 10, 2021.

 

While we are currently winding down clinical studies of Lm Technology immunotherapies in these program areas, our license agreements continue with OS Therapies, LLC, for ADXS-HER2, and with GBP for the exclusive license for the development and commercialization of ADXS-HPV or AXAL in Asia, Africa, and the former USSR territory, exclusive of India and certain other countries.

 

Advaxis Pipeline of Product Candidates

 

 

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Disease-focused hotspot/’off -the-shelf’ neoantigen therapies (ADXS-HOT)

 

Advaxis is creating a new group of immunotherapy constructs for major solid tumor cancers that combines our optimized Lm Technology vector with promising targets designed to generate potent anti-cancer immunity. The ADXS-HOT program is a series of novel cancer immunotherapies that will target somatic mutations, or hotspots; cancer testis antigens, or CTAs; and oncofetal antigens, or OFAs. These three types of targets form the basis of the ADXS-HOT program because they are designed to be more capable of generating potent, tumor-specific, and high-strength killer T cells, versus more traditional over-expressed native sequence tumor associated antigens. Most hotspot mutations and OFA/CTA proteins play critical roles in oncogenesis; targeting both at once could significantly impair cancer proliferation. The ADXS-HOT products will combine many of the potential high avidity targets that are expressed in all patients with the target disease into one “off-the-shelf,” ready-to-administer treatment. The ADXS-HOT technology has a strong intellectual property, or IP, position, with potential protection into 2037, and an IP filing strategy providing for broad coverage opportunities across multiple disease platforms and combination therapies. In July 2018, the Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, allowed the Company’s investigational new drug, or IND, application for its ADXS-HOT drug candidate (ADXS-503) for non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC.

 

The Phase 1/2 clinical trial of ADXS-503 is seeking to establish the recommended dose, safety, tolerability and clinical activity of ADXS-503 administered alone and in combination with a KEYTRUDA® in approximately 50 patients with NSCLC, in at least five sites across the U.S. The two dose levels with monotherapy in Part A, (1 x108 CFU and 5 x108 CFU) have been completed. Part B with ADXS-503 (1 x108 CFU) in combination with KEYTRUDA® is currently enrolling its efficacy expansion for up to 18 patients at dose level 1 (1 x108 CFU + KEYTRUDA®) with the potential to proceed to dose level 2 (5 x108 CFU + KEYTRUDA®) at a later date. Part C, which is evaluating ADXS-503 in combination with KEYTRUDA® (1 x108 CFU + KEYTRUDA®) as a first-line treatment for patients with NSCLC with PD-L1 expression ≥ 1% or who are unfit for chemotherapy, is currently enrolling patients.

 

Initial results from Part A and Part B were presented in a poster titled, “Phase 1/2 Study of an Off-the-Shelf, Multi-Neoantigen Vector (ADXS-503) Alone and in Combination with Pembrolizumab in Subjects with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)” at the 2020 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting. ADXS-503 alone (Part A) and in combination with pembrolizumab (Part B-DL1 and Part C) appeared safe and tolerable. There were no added toxicities from combining ADXS-503 with pembrolizumab.

 

In Part A, ADXS-503 alone achieved stable disease in 50% (n=6) of heavily pre-treated patients including prior treatment with checkpoint inhibitors in all but one patient. In Part B, the overall response rate (17%) and disease control rate (67%) (n=6) suggest that adding on ADXS-503 after immediate prior progression on pembrolizumab may re-sensitize or enhance response to pembrolizumab. The first two patients treated in the Part B achieved SD and PR for more than 10 months. Another patient with squamous histology in Part B also achieved stable disease, suggesting this regimen may be broadly applicable across NSCLC. Patients with known KRAS mutations in tumor samples have achieved stable disease in the study, including KRAS G12D in two out of six patients in Part A and KRAS G12V in one out of three in Part B DL1. Mutational analysis is ongoing across all patients. Biomarker data from nine patients to date, six from Part A and three from Part B, showed (a) activation of cytotoxic- and/or memory-CD8+ T cells in patients treated with monotherapy and in combination therapy and (b) 100% efficient priming by ADXS-503 with generation of CD8+ T cells against neoantigens in the vector as well as antigen spreading observed.

 

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The Company presented updated clinical data from Part B of the ADXS-503 clinical study at ASCO Annual Meeting 2021. The poster presentation titled “A phase 1 study of an off-the-shelf, multi-neoantigen vector (ADXS-503) in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progressing on pembrolizumab as last therapy” presented data on 10 patients who have been treated with ADXS-503 as an add-on therapy to patients failing pembrolizumab as last therapy with 10 patients evaluable for safety and nine patients evaluable for efficacy. Combination therapy was well tolerated with no dose limiting toxicity or added toxicity of the two drugs. Grades 1 and 2, transient and reversible events included chills, fever, and fatigue, in approximately half of the patients. The Overall Response Rate (“ORR”) was 11% (1/9) and Disease Control Rate (“DCR”) was 44% (4/9). Clinical benefit was durable, with an observed partial response (“PR”) and stable disease (“SD”) sustained for over a year, and another observed SD lasting over six months. An additional PR was maintained for approximately four months. Biomarker data demonstrate that patients who seem to achieve clinical benefit include those with PD-L1 expression ≥50%, secondary resistance disease to pembrolizumab and those who show proliferation and/or activation of NK and CD8+ T cells within the first weeks of therapy. Translational studies showed (a) antitumoral T cell responses elicited against hot-spot mutation antigens and/or tumor-associated antigens (“TAAs”); (b) emergence of naive CD8+ T cell clones, suggesting reactivity against novel antigens; and (c) induction of proliferation and/or activation of pre-existing CD8+ T cell clones, including PD-1 upregulation.

 

Enrollment in Part B of the ongoing study will continue to further evaluate the clinical benefit and immune effects of adding on ADXS-503 to patients progressing on pembrolizumab. An update of the clinical and translational results is expected to be presented at a medical conference in 2Q2022.

 

Advaxis also entered into an agreement with Columbia University Irving Medical Center in April 2021 to fund a phase 1 clinical study evaluating ADXS-504 in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. The study started early in 3Q 2021 and it will be the first clinical evaluation of ADXS-504, Advaxis’ off-the-shelf neoantigen immunotherapy drug candidate for early prostate cancer.

 

Nearly 248,530 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021. It has been estimated that ~135,000 new cases undergo radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT). Of these cases, 20–40% of pts with RP and 30–50% with RT will experience rising prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels following local therapy (BCR) within 10 years, a condition known as biochemical recurrence (BCR). BCR is not typically associated with imminent death, and biochemical progression may occur over a prolonged period. Clinicians treating men with BCR thus face a difficult set of decisions in attempting to delay the onset of metastatic disease and death while avoiding over-treating patients whose disease may never affect their overall survival or quality of life.

 

The phase 1 open-label study will evaluate the safety and tolerability of ADXS-504 monotherapy, administered via infusion, in 9-18 patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer, i.e., those with elevation of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood after radical prostatectomy or radical radiotherapy (external beam or brachytherapy) and who are not currently receiving androgen ablation therapy. The study will also evaluate if the body’s immune system can control the prostate cancer following treatment with ADXS-504 monotherapy.

 

HPV-Related Cancers

 

The Company conducted several studies evaluating axalimogene filolisbac, or AXAL, for HPV-related cancers. AXAL is an Lm-based antigen delivery product directed against HPV and designed to target cells expressing HPV.

 

In June 2019, the Company announced the closing of its AIM2CERV Phase 3 clinical trial with axalimogene filolisbac (AXAL) in high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer. Company estimates showed that the remaining cost to complete the AIM2CERV trial ranged from $80 million to $90 million, and initial efficacy data was not anticipated for at least three years. Therefore, results from the clinical trial were not the basis for the decision to close the study, nor was safety as the trial recently underwent its third Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) review with no safety issues noted. The Company has unblinded the AIM2CERV clinical data generated to date and currently has no plans to present it at any medical conference as the data set is incomplete and inconclusive. The Company will complete the clinical study report of the AIM2CERV Phase 3 study in 1Q 2022.

 

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In 2014, Advaxis granted Global BioPharma, or GBP, an exclusive license for the development and commercialization of AXAL in Asia, Africa, and the former USSR territory, exclusive of India and certain other countries. GBP is responsible for all development and commercial costs and activities associated with the development in their territories.

 

Other HPV Program Licensing Agreements

 

Biocon Limited, or Biocon, our co-development and commercialization partner for AXAL in India and key emerging markets, filed a MAA for licensure of this immunotherapy in India. The companies will evaluate next steps regarding potential registration in India.

 

Especificos Stendhal SA de CV, or Stendhal, the Company’s co-development and commercialization partner for AXAL in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and other Latin American countries, agreed to pay $10 million in support payment towards the expense of AIM2CERV over the duration of the trial, contingent upon Advaxis achieving annual project milestones, pursuant to a Co-Development and Commercialization Agreement, or the Stendhal Agreement. The Company was in arbitration proceedings with Stendhal. For more information see the section entitled “Business – Legal Proceedings.

 

Knight Therapeutics Inc., or Knight, holds an exclusive license to commercialize AXAL in Canada, as well as other product candidates.

 

Personalized Neoantigen-directed Therapies (ADXS-NEO)

 

ADXS-NEO is an individualized Lm Technology antigen delivery product developed using whole-exome sequencing of a patient’s tumor to identify neoantigens. ADXS-NEO is designed to work by presenting a large payload of neoantigens directly into dendritic cells within the patient’s immune system and stimulating a T cell response against cancerous cells. In October 2019, the Company announced that it has dosed its last patient in Part A, in monotherapy, and does not intend to continue into Part B, in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor. As a result, Advaxis has closed this study. The Company has completed the clinical study report from Part A of the ADXS-NEO study and the NEO program-IND inactivation request has been submitted to FDA.

 

Prostate Cancer (ADXS-PSA)

 

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer found in American men and is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, behind only lung cancer. More than 160,000 men are estimated to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018, with approximately 30,000 deaths each year. Unfortunately, in about 10-20% of cases, men with prostate cancer will go on to develop castration-resistant prostate cancer, or CRPC, which refers to prostate cancer that progresses despite androgen deprivation therapy. Metastatic CRPC, or mCRPC, occurs when the cancer spreads to other parts of the body and there is a rising prostate-specific antigen, PSA, level. This stage of prostate cancer has an average survival of 9-13 months, is associated with deterioration in quality of life, and has few therapeutic options available.

 

Recent data regarding checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy has shown some antitumor activity that provides disease control in a subset of patients with bone predominant mCRPC previously treated with next generation hormonal agents and docetaxel. Data from the KEYNOTE-199 trial in bone predominant-mCRPC patients treated with KEYTRUDA®, or pembrolizumab, was updated at the ASCO GU meeting in 2019. In this trial, the total stable disease/disease stabilization rate was 39% with no responses reported so far, and only one patient with ≥50% decrease in the post-baseline PSA value. It is hypothesized that the limited activity in mCRPC may be due to 1) the inability of the checkpoint inhibitor to infiltrate the tumor microenvironment and 2) the presence of an immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment, or TME. The combination therapy with agents—like Lm constructs—that induce T cell infiltration within the tumor and decrease negative regulators in the TME may improve performance of checkpoints in prostate cancer.

 

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Lm Technology constructs demonstrated the ability to induce anti-tumor T cell responses and T cell infiltration in the TME and to reduce the number and suppressive function of Tregs and MDSCs in the TME. For example, destruction of Tregs in the TME has been documented as soon as five days after dosing Lm constructs in models. This reduction of immune suppression in the tumors has been attributed to our proprietary tLLO-fusion peptides expressed by multiple copies of the plasmids in each bacteria. Because of all these effects, it is hypothesized that Lm constructs can turn “cold prostate tumors” into “hot tumors” that better respond to checkpoint inhibitors. Advaxis believes that the combination of ADXS-PSA, its immunotherapy designed to target the PSA antigen, with a checkpoint inhibitor may provide an alternative treatment option for patients with mCRPC.

 

Advaxis has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ADXS-PSA as monotherapy and in combination with KEYTRUDA®, Merck’s anti PD-1 antibody, in a Phase 1/2, open-label, multicenter, dose determination and expansion trial in patients with previously treated metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (KEYNOTE-046). ADXS-PSA was tested alone or in combination with KEYTRUDA in an advanced and heavily pretreated patient population who had progressed on androgen deprivation therapy. A total of 13 and 37 patients were evaluated on monotherapy and combination therapy, respectively. For the ADXS-PSA monotherapy dose escalation and determination portion of the trial, cohorts were started at a dose of 1 x 109 cfu (n=7) and successfully escalated to higher dose levels of 5x109 cfu (n=3) and 1x1010 cfu (n=3) without achieving a maximum tolerated dose. TEAEs noted at these higher dose levels were generally consistent with those observed at the lower dose level (1 x 109 cfu) other than a higher occurrence rate of Grade 2/3 hypotension. The Recommended Phase II Dose of ADXS-PSA monotherapy was determined to be 1x 109 cfu based on a review of the totality of the clinical data. This dose was used in combination with 200mg of pembrolizumab in a cohort of six patients to evaluate the safety of the combination before moving into an expanded cohort of patients. The safety of the combination was confirmed and enrollment in the expansion cohort phase was initiated. Enrollment in the study was completed in January 2017.

 

At the final data cutoff of September 16, 2019, median overall survival for 37 patients in the combination arm was 33.6 months (95% CI, range 15.4-33.6 months). This updated median overall survival is an increase from the previous data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in April 2019, where median overall survival was 21.1 months in the combination arm. The combination of ADXS-PSA with KEYTRUDA®, might be associated with prolonged OS in this population, particularly in patients with unmet medical needs like visceral metastasis (16.4 months, range 4.0 - not reached) and those with prior docetaxel (16 months, range 6.4-34.6). The majority of TEAEs consisted of transient and reversible Grade 1-2 chills/rigors, fever, hypotension, nausea and fatigue. The combination of ADXS-PSA and KEYTRUDA® has appeared to be well-tolerated to date, with no additive toxicity observed. The Company presented these new data at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, CA. on February 2020 and the final results were submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal in 4Q 2021 Advaxis has completed the clinical study report for the ADXS-PSA study. The Company is currently seeking potential partners regarding opportunities to expand or advance this mCRPC program.

 

Other Lm Technology Products

 

HER2 Expressing Solid Tumors

 

HER2 is overexpressed in a percentage of solid tumors including osteosarcoma. According to published literature, up to 60% of osteosarcomas are HER2 positive, and this overexpression is associated with poor outcomes for patients. ADXS-HER2 is an Lm Technology antigen delivery product candidate designed to target HER2 expressing solid tumors including human and canine osteosarcoma. ADXS-HER2 has received FDA and EMA orphan drug designation for osteosarcoma and has received Fast Track designation from the FDA for patients with newly-diagnosed, non-metastatic, surgically-resectable osteosarcoma.

 

A phase 1B dose escalation study of ADXS31-164 in subjects with HER-2 expressing tumors was completed, and the database lock was completed in November 2018. Overall, ADXS31-164 IV infusion at the dose of 1×109 CFU appeared to be safe and well tolerated in 12 subjects treated and evaluable. No objective responses were observed in this late stage heavily pre-treated patient cohort. The results of this study were primarily intended to describe the safety and tolerability of ADXS31-164. This study was not intended to contribute to the evaluation of the effectiveness of ADXS31-164 for the treatment of patients with a history of HER2 expressing tumors. Advaxis has completed the clinical study report and it has been transferred along with the ADXS31-164 program-IND to OS Therapies, as described below.

 

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In September 2018, the Company announced that it had granted a license to OS Therapies, LLC, or OS Therapies, for the use of ADXS31-164, also known as ADXS-HER2, for evaluation in the treatment of osteosarcoma in humans. Under the terms of the license agreement, OS Therapies, in collaboration with the Children’s Oncology Group, will be responsible for the conduct and funding of a clinical study evaluating ADXS-HER2 in recurrent, completely resected osteosarcoma. In December 2020 and January 2021, we received an aggregate of $1,415,000 from OS Therapies upon achievement of the $1,550,000 funding milestone set forth in the license agreement. In April 2021, the Company achieved the second milestone set forth in the license agreement for evaluation in the treatment of osteosarcoma in humans and received the amount due from OS Therapies of $1,375,000 in May 2021. For more information, see Note 10 “Licensing Agreements” to our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 and 2020 on page F-23 and Note 12 “Licensing Agreements” to our unaudited interim financial statements for the three and six months ended April 30, 2022 and 2021 on page F-43.

 

Canine Osteosarcoma

 

On March 19, 2014, we entered into a definitive Exclusive License Agreement, or Aratana Agreement, with Aratana Therapeutics, Inc., or Aratana, where we granted Aratana an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license, with the right to sublicense, certain of our proprietary technology that enables Aratana to develop and commercialize animal health products that will be targeted for treatment of osteosarcoma and other cancer indications in animals. A product license request was filed by Aratana for ADXS-HER2 (also known as AT-014 by Aratana) for the treatment of canine osteosarcoma with the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA. Aratana received communication in December 2017 that the USDA granted Aratana conditional licensure for AT-014 for the treatment of dogs diagnosed with osteosarcoma, one year of age or older. Initially, Aratana plans to make the therapeutic available for purchase at approximately two dozen veterinary oncology practice groups across the United States who participate in the study. Aratana received communication in December 2017 that the USDA granted Aratana conditional licensure for AT-014 for the treatment of dogs diagnosed with osteosarcoma, one year of age or older. Aratana is currently conducting an extended field study which is a requirement for full USDA licensure. Initially, Aratana plans to make the therapeutic available for purchase at approximately two dozen veterinary oncology practice groups across the United States who participate in the study.

 

Under the terms of the Aratana Agreement, Aratana paid an upfront payment to Advaxis in the amount of $1,000,000 upon signing of the Aratana Agreement. Aratana will also pay Advaxis: (a) up to $36.5 million based on the achievement of milestone relating to the advancement of products through the approval process with the USDA in the United States and the relevant regulatory authorities in the European Union, or E.U., in all four therapeutic areas and up to an additional $15 million in cumulative sales milestones based on achievement of gross sales revenue targets for sales of any and all products for use in non-human animal health applications, or the Aratana Field, (regardless of therapeutic area), and (b) tiered royalties starting at 5% and going up to 10%, which will be paid based on net sales of any and all products (regardless of therapeutic area) in the Aratana Field in the United States. Royalties for sales of products outside of the United States will be paid at a rate equal to half of the royalty rate payable by Aratana on net sales of products in the United States (starting at 2.5% and going up to 5%). Royalties will be payable on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis from first commercial sale of a product in a country until the later of (a) the 10th anniversary of first commercial sale of such product by Aratana, its affiliates or sub licensees in such country or (b) the expiration of the last-to-expire valid claim of our patents or joint patents claiming or covering the composition of matter, formulation or method of use of such product in such country. Aratana will also pay us 50% of all sublicense royalties received by Aratana and its affiliates. In fiscal year 2019, the Company received approximately $8,000 in royalty revenue from Aratana. Additionally, in July 2019, Aratana announced that their shareholders approved a merger agreement with Elanco Animal Health, or Elanco, whereby Elanco is now the majority shareholder of Aratana. On October 6, 2020, the Company received a notice from Aratana, dated September 17, 2020, indicating that Aratana was terminating the Exclusive License Agreement effective December 21, 2020. The Company did not incur any early termination penalties as a result of the termination. Aratana was required to make all payments to the Company that were otherwise payable under the Exclusive License Agreement through the effective date of termination.

 

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Corporate Information

 

We were originally incorporated in the State of Colorado on June 5, 1987 under the name Great Expectations, Inc. We were a publicly-traded “shell” company without any business until November 12, 2004 when we acquired Advaxis, Inc., a Delaware corporation, through a Share Exchange and Reorganization Agreement, dated as of August 25, 2004, which we refer to as the Share Exchange, by and among Advaxis, the stockholders of Advaxis and us. As a result of the Share Exchange, Advaxis became our wholly-owned subsidiary and our sole operating company. On December 23, 2004, we amended and restated our articles of incorporation and changed our name to Advaxis, Inc. On June 6, 2006, our stockholders approved the reincorporation of our company from Colorado to Delaware by merging the Colorado entity into our wholly-owned Delaware subsidiary. Our date of inception, for financial statement purposes, is March 1, 2002 and the Company was listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) in 2014. In December 2021, the Company was delisted from Nasdaq and accepted onto the OTCQX. On June 6, 2022 our 1 for 80 reverse stock split took effect.

 

Our principal executive offices are located at 9 Deer Park Drive, Suite K-1, Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852, and our telephone number is (609) 452-9813. We maintain a corporate website at www.advaxis.com which contains descriptions of our technology, our product candidates and the development status of each drug. We make available free of charge through our internet website our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to these reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to, the SEC. We are not including the information on our website as a part of, nor incorporating it by reference into, this report. The SEC maintains a website that contains annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements, and other information that issuers (including us) file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s website address is http://www.sec.gov.

 

Intellectual Property

 

Protection of our intellectual property is important to our business. We have a robust patent portfolio that protects our product candidates and Lm -based immunotherapy technology. Currently, we own or have rights to several hundred patents and applications, which are owned, licensed from, or co-owned with University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, Merck, National Institute of Health, or NIH, and/or Augusta University. We aggressively prosecute and defend our patents and proprietary technology. Our patents and applications are directed to the compositions of matter, use, and methods thereof, of our Lm-LLO immunotherapies for our product candidates, including AXAL, ADXS-PSA, ADXS-HOT, ADXS-HER2. We have and may continue to abandon prosecuting certain patents that are not strategically aligned with the direction of the Company.