COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | NOTE 7 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Commitments On January 31, 2020, the Company entered into a Statement of Work and License Agreement (the “HBV License Agreement”) by and among the Company, G Tech Bio, LLC, a California limited liability company (“G Tech”), and G Health Research Foundation, a not-for-profit entity organized under the laws of California doing business as Seraph Research Institute (“SRI”) (collectively the “Licensors”), whereby the Company acquired a perpetual, sublicensable, exclusive license (the “HBV License”) for a treatment under development (the “Treatment”) aimed to treat Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infections. The HBV License Agreement states that in consideration for the HBV License, the Company shall provide cash funding for research costs and equipment and certain other in-kind funding related to the Treatment over a 24-month period, and provides for an up-front payment of $ 1.2 2 1.2 The cash funding for research costs pursuant to the HBV License Agreement consisted of monthly payments amounting to $144,500 that covered scientific staffing resources to complete the project as well as periodic payments for materials and equipment needed to complete the project. There were no payments made after January 31, 2022. The Company paid zero under the HBV License Agreement during the quarters ending December 31, 2024, and 2023. The Company has filed a claim against the Licensors, which includes certain payments it made related to this license (see Contingencies sub-section below). On April 18, 2021, the Company entered into a Statement of Work and License Agreement (the “License Development Agreement”), by and among the Company, G Tech and SRI (collectively, the “Licensors”), whereby the Company acquired a perpetual sublicensable, exclusive license (the “Development License”) to research, develop, and commercialize certain formulations which were aimed at preventing and treating pan-coronavirus or the potential combination of the pan-coronavirus and pan-influenza, including the SARS-coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and pan-influenza (the “Prevention and Treatment”). The Development License Agreement was entered into pursuant to the existing Framework Agreement between the parties dated November 15, 2019. The Development License Agreement states that in consideration for the Development License, the Company shall provide cash funding for research costs and equipment and certain other in-kind funding related to the Prevention and Treatment over a 24-month period. Additionally, the Development License Agreement provides for an up-front payment of $ 10,000,000 760,000 The Development License Agreement provides for (i) cooperation related to the development of intellectual property related to the Prevention and Treatment and (ii) a 3% royalty to G Tech on any net sales that may occur under the Development License Agreement. The Company is no longer pursuing any product candidates that relate to this license. The Company has filed a claim against the Licensors to recover all monies it paid related to this license (see Contingencies below). On August 25, 2021, the Company entered into an ALC Patent License and Research Funding Agreement in the HIV Field (the “ALC License Agreement”) with Serhat Gümrükcü and SRI (collectively, the “Licensors”) whereby the Licensors granted the Company an exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, fully paid-up, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, proprietary technology subject to a U.S. patent application, to make, use, offer to sell, sell or import products for use solely for the prevention, treatment, amelioration of or therapy exclusively for HIV in humans, and research and development exclusively relating to HIV in humans; provided the Licensors retained the right to conduct HIV research in the field. Pursuant to the ALC License Agreement, the Company granted a non-exclusive license back to the Licensors, under any patents or other intellectual property owned or controlled by the Company, to the extent arising from the ALC License, to make, use, offer to sell, sell or import products for use in the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, amelioration or therapy of any (i) HIV Comorbidities and (ii) any other diseases or conditions outside the HIV Field. The Company made an initial payment to SRI of $ 600,000 600,000 G Tech and SRI are controlled by Anderson Wittekind, a stockholder of the Company. Service Agreements – Contingencies Securities Class Action Litigation. Federal Derivative Litigation. the United States District Court for the Central District of California denied defendants’ motion to dismiss the Securities Class Action Litigation. On October 23, 2024, the court in the Koenig matter stayed the case pending further order of the court. On January 10, 2025, the parties in the Koenig matter filed a joint status report requesting that all pending deadlines in the matter remain suspended. The parties’ deadline to file a joint status report in the Koenig matter is April 11, 2025. On October 28, 2024, the court in the Solak matter stayed the case for ninety (90) days. On January 29, 2025, the court in the Solak matter stayed the case for an additional ninety (90) days. The defendants have not yet responded to either complaint. The Company intends to contest these matters but expresses no opinion as to the likelihood of favorable outcomes. Management is unable to determine the likelihood of a loss, including a possible range of losses, if any, arising from this matter as of the reporting date. State Derivative Litigation. On October 21, 2022, the Company filed a Complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles against Serhat Gümrükcü, William Anderson Wittekind (“Wittekind”), G Tech, SG & AW Holdings, LLC, and SRI (collectively, the “Defendants”). The Complaint alleges that the Defendants engaged in a “concerted, deliberate scheme to alter, falsify, and misrepresent to the Company the results of multiple studies supporting its Hepatitis B and SARS-CoV-2/influenza pipelines.” Specifically, “Defendants manipulated negative results to reflect positive outcomes from various studies, and even fabricated studies out of whole cloth.” As a result of the Defendants’ conduct, the Company claims that it “paid approximately $25 million to Defendants and third-parties that it would not otherwise have paid.” On April 21, 2023, defendants Wittekind, G Tech, SG & AW Holdings, LLC, and SRI filed a demurrer with respect to some, but not all, of the Company’s claims, as well as a motion to strike. On September 6, 2023, the court denied in part and granted in part the pending motions. On September 7, 2023, the court entered a case management order setting the final status conference, trial, and other intervening deadlines. On December 4, 2023, the Defendants answered the Company’s First Amended Complaint and G Tech and SRI filed a Cross-Complaint. In the Cross-Complaint, G Tech and SRI seek declaratory and injunctive relief related to certain agreements between G Tech, SRI, and the Company, including, inter alia On March 1, 2021, the Company’s former Chief Financial Officer, Robert Wolfe, and his company, Crossfield, Inc., filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont against the Company, Renovaro Biosciences Denmark ApS, and certain directors and officers. In the Complaint, Mr. Wolfe and Crossfield, Inc. asserted claims for abuse of process and malicious prosecution, alleging, inter alia, that the Company lacked probable cause to file and prosecute an earlier action, and sought millions of dollars of compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages. The allegations in the Complaint relate to an earlier action filed by the Company and Renovaro Biosciences Denmark ApS in the Vermont Superior Court, Orange Civil Division. On March 3, 2022, the court partially granted the Company’s motion to dismiss, dismissing the abuse of process claim against all defendants and all claims against Mark Dybul and Henrik Grønfeldt-Sørensen, the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer and former member of the Board of Directors, respectively. On November 29, 2022, the Company filed a motion for summary judgment with respect to the sole remaining claim of malicious prosecution. On August 24, 2023, the court denied the motion for summary judgment. On November 7, 2024, the Court reset the trial date for May 6, 2025. The Company denies the allegations set forth in the Complaint and will continue to vigorously defend against the remaining claim. On June 7, 2023, Weird Science LLC (“Weird Science”), Wittekind, the William Anderson Wittekind 2020 Annuity Trust, the William Anderson Wittekind 2021 Annuity Trust, the Dybul 2020 Angel Annuity Trust, and the Ty Mabry 2021 Annuity Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed a Verified Complaint against the Company in the Court of Chancery of Delaware. In the Verified Complaint, Plaintiffs alleged that the Company breached the February 16, 2018 Investor Rights Agreement between the Company, Weird Science, and RS Group ApS (the “Investor Rights Agreement”). According to the Verified Complaint, the Investor Rights Agreement required the Company to (i) notify all “Holders” of “Registrable Securities” at least 30 days prior to filing a registration statement and (ii) afford such Holders an opportunity to have their Registrable Securities included in such registration statement. Plaintiffs alleged that the Company breached these registration rights by failing to provide the required notice in connection with S-3 registration statements filed by the Company on July 13, 2020 and February 11, 2022. The Company moved to dismiss the Verified Complaint on September 15, 2023. On December 4, 2023, in lieu of opposing the motion to dismiss, Plaintiffs filed a Verified First Amended Complaint (“FAC”). In the FAC, Plaintiffs assert claims against the Company and others for purported breaches of the Investor Rights Agreement, fraud, tortious interference with a contract, and several other torts. Plaintiffs seek compensatory, exemplary, and punitive damages, as well as certain declaratory relief, specific performance, and pre- and post-judgment interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees. The Company filed a motion to dismiss the FAC on December 18, 2023, and the court held a hearing on the Company’s motion to dismiss on November 15, 2024. At the hearing, the court dismissed (1) all claims brought on behalf of Wittekind and the Trusts, (2) the fraudulent concealment claim against the Company and others (without prejudice), and (3) the breach of contract claim against the Company related to a registration statement that was not filed in 2023. At the hearing, the court also found that punitive damages were not available to Plaintiffs. The court took the remaining issues briefed on the Company’s motion to dismiss under advisement. The Company denies Plaintiffs’ allegations and remaining claims and intends to vigorously defend against these claims. On August 24, 2023, counsel on behalf of Weird Science, Wittekind, individually, and Wittekind, as trustee of the Trusts served a demand to inspect the Company’s books and records (the “Demand”) pursuant to Delaware General Corporation Law, § 220 (“Section 220”). The Demand seeks the Company’s books and records in connection with various issues identified in the Demand. The Company takes its obligations under Section 220 seriously and, to the extent that the requests are proper under Section 220, intends to comply with those obligations. On January 19, 2024, Weird Science and Wittekind sent the Board of Directors a letter demanding it take corrective actions with respect to twenty-one issues identified therein. On February 27, 2024, Weird Science and Wittekind sent the Board of Directors a supplemental letter that expanded their demand for corrective actions to twenty-six issues. In response to these demand letters, the Board of Directors initially formed a Special Committee (“Special Committee”) of independent directors on February 29, 2024. The Special Committee retained Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth LLP as its counsel to investigate the issues identified in the demand letters. The Special Committee’s investigation is ongoing. On January 23, 2024, Weird Science and Wittekind filed a shareholder derivative action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against certain officers, directors, and investors of the Company, as well as other defendants, in connection with, inter alia On November 27, 2024, Weird Science and Wittekind filed a notice of appeal of the court’s decision granting the director defendants’ motion to dismiss. The appeal remains pending. On June 21, 2024, the Company filed suit against Weird Science, Wittekind, and certain trusts in connection with the February 16, 2018 merger involving the Company and two companies closely associated with Gumrukcu. In the complaint, the Company alleges that Gumrukcu and others deliberately and fraudulently concealed a murder-for-hire scheme from the Company in order to induce the Company to enter into the merger agreement, which resulted in the defendants receiving shares and compensation. The Company asserts claims for fraudulent concealment, equitable fraud, unjust enrichment, and civil conspiracy and seeks, inter alia |