10. Lincenses and Supply Agreements | 12 Months Ended |
Dec. 31, 2013 |
Notes to Financial Statements | ' |
10. Lincenses and Supply Agreements | ' |
Patent and Subsidiary Acquisition |
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The Company entered into a share exchange agreement on April 24, 2012 to acquire all of the outstanding shares of TNI BioTech IP, Inc., (“TNI IP”) a biotechnology firm incorporated in Florida formed to acquire patents related to the treatment of cancer and HIV/AIDS and autoimmune diseases, using Met-enkephalin (“MENK”) and Naltraxone (“LDN”). The goal of TNI IP’s management is to enable mankind and civilization to combat fatal diseases by activating and mobilizing the body’s own immune system using TNI IP’s patented use of Met-enkephalin (referred to herein as MENK). |
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The first patents acquired by TNI IP were acquired from Dr. Nicholas P. Plotnikoff and Professor Fengping Shan in 2012. Dr. Plotnikoff and Dr. Shan have been specializing in research activities directed toward the study of cytokines, which are hormones naturally produced by the immune system. The primary cytokine, among many others currently being studied by TNI IP, is MENK. The Company is focused on the treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases through the use of our lead compounds. |
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The Company entered into a Sale of Technology Agreement with Dr. Nicholas P. Plotnikoff on March 4, 2012, wherein Dr. Plotnikoff agreed to transfer and assign all of his rights, title and interest in: European Patent United Kingdom, Germany, France, Ireland EP 1401471 BI Methods for inducing sustained immune response; Russian Patent Russian Federation patent number 2313364; The Patent Office of the People’s Republic of China, Application No.: 200810165784.8 China Patent CN1015113407 A The Patent Office of the People’s Republic of China ISSN: 1006-2858 CN 21-1349/R; Patent Agencies Government of India Patent, Application number 1627/KOLNP/2003 number 220265 an Enkephalin Peptide Composition; and the US Patent Pending, US Patent Application 10/146.999 e. The Company received all the production formulations and technology designs from Dr. Plotnikoff necessary for the manufacturing, formulation, production and protocols of the MENK treatment of cancer and HIV/AIDS. As consideration for entering into the Sale of Technology Agreement, Dr. Plotnikoff received 8,000,000 shares of common stock, a royalty of a single-digit percentage on all sales of MENK and was granted the position of Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. |
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TNI IP changed its name from TNI BioTech, Inc. to TNI BioTech IP, Inc. on April 23, 2012. TNI BioTech IP, Inc. is the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. TNI IP was acquired in exchange for 20,250,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, of which 8,000,000 shares were issued to Dr. Plotnikoff for TNI IP’s acquisition of the patent and the remaining 12,250,000 shares were issued to the founders of TNI IP in exchange for all of their right, title and interest in their TNI IP shares. The goodwill arising on the acquisition of TNI BioTech IP, Inc. was valued at $98,000,000 and license agreements arising from the acquisition of TNI BioTech IP, Inc. were valued at $16,006,000. |
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At the time of the acquisition, the valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets were determined using the fair market price for the Company’s common stock, which were exchanged for shares of TNI BioTech IP, Inc. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company performed an annual valuation to determine whether any goodwill or intangible assets that had been acquired by the Company were impaired. The result of this valuation was that material impairments were identified. The Company recognized an impairment of the goodwill arising on the acquisition of TNI BioTech IP, Inc. of $98,000,000. |
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Patent License Agreements |
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On August 13, 2012, the Company signed an exclusive License Agreement with Ms. Jacqueline Young for the intellectual property developed by Dr. Bernard Bihari relating to treatments with opioid antagonists such as naltrexone and Met-enkephalin for a variety of diseases and conditions including malignant lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic herpes virus infections, chronic herpes viral infections such as chronic genital herpes caused by the herpes simplex virus Type 2 and chronic infections due to the Epstein-Barr virus and a treatment method for humans infected with HTLV-III (AIDS) virus, including patients clinically diagnosed as suffering from AIDS and those suffering from AIDS-related complex (ARC). The Bihari patents were acquired in exchange for 540,000 shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair market value of $972,000 and assumed liabilities of $400,000, which is payable to Ms. Young over a twenty-four month period in equal installments to reimburse her for the costs of a New York City office in accordance with the patent license agreement. The patent liability at December 31, 2013 totaled $118,333. The cost of the patent totaled $1,372,000. Additionally, the Company will pay the licensor a royalty payment of 1% of gross MENK sales and provide the licensor a position as non-executive chairman of the Company. The License Agreement is valid for the life of the patents and expires on a country by country basis in each country where patent rights exist, upon the expiration of the last to expire patent in each country or in the event the patent in such country is held to be invalid and/or unenforceable (by a court or government body of competent jurisdiction) or admitted to be invalid or unenforceable. Additionally, TNI can cancel the License Agreement upon 120 days’ written notice and shall pay all royalties and fees that have accrued under the Agreement. TNI has the exclusive rights to the intellectual property however, Licensor retains a right to practice the Licensed Patents solely for noncommercial, academic research purposes. |
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On December 24, 2012, the Company signed an agreement for the acquisition of patent rights for the intellectual property of Dr. Jill Smith and LDN Research Group, LLC (the “Patent License Agreement”), whose members are Dr. Ian S. Zagon, Dr. Patricia J. McLaughlin and Moshe Rogosnitzky and orphan drug designation by the FDA to a novel late-stage drug, trademarked “LDN,” for the treatment of Pediatric Crohn’s disease. The patent covers methods and formulations for treatment of the inflammatory and ulcerative diseases of the bowel, using naltrexone in low doses as an opioid antagonist. These patents were acquired in exchange for 300,000 shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair market value of $2,715,000 and payment of $165,384 (consisting of a $100,000 initial license fee and payment of $65,384 of expenses), which totaled $2,880,384. The Company is also required to pay an annual license fee of $100,000 and a minimum annual royalty of $100,000. The Company has an exclusive, worldwide license to make, have made, use, lease, import, offer for sale and sell Licensed Products and to use the method under the patent rights. The agreement will terminate on the expiration or abandonment of the last patent to expire or ten years after the sale of the first licensed product. The Company may terminate the agreement upon 90 days’ written notice, provided all sublicenses are terminated and all amounts due and owing are paid to the licensor parties. The licensor parties may terminate the agreement ten days' after notice to the Company if the Company is ten days late in payment or there is a breach that remains uncured for ten days after written notice of such breach. |
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In partial consideration of the Patent License Agreement, the Company agreed to pay to the members the applicable milestone payments listed below after substantial achievement of each milestone event is achieved by the Company, its Affiliates or Sublicensees. |
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A. | Upon initiation of each Phase III trial, the Company will pay $350,000. |
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B. | Upon positive completion of each Phase III clinical trial of the therapeutic use of an LDN compound in the Field of Use, the Company will pay $150,000. |
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C. | When an NDA is accepted for review by the FDA, the Company will pay $250,000. |
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D. | When FDA approval to market the NDA is approved, the Company will pay $750,000. |
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E. | Upon the first dosing of the first patient in a Phase III clinical trial for each Licensed Product, the Company will pay 250,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. |
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F. | Upon the first sale of each Licensed Product, the Company will issue 400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. |
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G. | Upon the achievement of $20 Million in cumulative sales for each licensed product covered by NDAs, the Company will issue 500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. |
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The Company must pay an annual license fee in the low six-figure range and mid single digit percentage royalties on the net sales of each licensed product with an annual minimum royalty payment in the low six-figure range. The Company will pay a sublicense fee between 10-20% calculated on the payments the Company receives from any such sublicense. |
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As part of the Patent License Agreement, the Company has the right to apply to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the transfer of the orphan drug status, the investigational new drug applications (INDs), and the right to acquire the relevant clinical data set from Dr. Smith. The FDA has designated orphan drug status for the use of low dose naltrexone in the treatment of pediatric patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. |
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The Patent License Agreement calls for the formation of a Development Committee to monitor the clinical progress of the Licensed Products and will consist of independent scientific and technical leaders who are highly regarded by the scientific community in the Field of Use of each Licensed Product. The development committee consists of at least one representative from the Licensor Parties and one representative from the Company in addition to outside experts in the field. |
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Naltrexone in low dose is a platform immunomodulatory technology that the Company expects to clinically test in the treatment of other immune-mediated or immune-deficient diseases for which it has previously acquired additional patents. |
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The Company signed an exclusive licensing agreement with The Penn State Research Foundation on January 18, 2013 to license all of the intellectual property developed by Dr. Ian S. Zagon, Dr. Patricia J. McLaughlin and Dr. Jill P. Smith for the treatment of cancer titled “Opioid Growth Factor and Cancer” and “Combination Therapy with Opioid Growth Factor and Taxanes for the Treatment of Cancer” (the “Licensing Agreement”). |
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The patent covers methods and formulations related to the treatment and prevention of different cancers. More specifically, the present inventions describe the use of drugs that interact with opioid receptors (naltrexone, naloxone and the pentapeptide growth factor Met-enkephalin) to inhibit and arrest the growth of cancer. |
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As part of the Licensing Agreement, TNI BioTech is working to acquire the orphan drug designation (IND) and clinical data set from Dr. Jill Smith. |
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The Licensing Agreement calls for TNI BioTech to: (a) use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, commercialize, market and sell Licensed Products in a manner consistent with the Business Plan; (b) expend a minimum of $110,000 (per annum) to develop and commercialize Licensed Products as soon as practicable, consistent with sound business practices and judgment; (c) be responsible for obtaining all requisite regulatory approvals needed to use or sell Licensed Products in the Field of Use; and (d) make the first commercial sale of a Licensed Product by December 31, 2016. The Company is in compliance with these requirements. |
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The Licensing Agreement provides that the Company must make an initial license fee of $100,000 and the issuance of 300,000 shares and an annual license maintenance fee in the low ten thousand dollar amount range. The Company will also make payments to licensor upon the achievement of certain milestone events such as initiations of Phase II or Phase III clinical trials in a low hundred thousand dollar amount, acceptance of the NDA by the FDA in a low hundred thousand amount and FDA approvals in a high hundred thousand dollar amount. The Company will issue shares upon reaching certain milestones including the issuance of a mid ten thousand amount of shares upon the first dosing of patients in clinical trials, the issuances of a low hundred thousand number of shares upon the initial sale of a licensed product and a milestone fee of a low hundred thousand share amount upon reaching sales of $20 million in cumulative sales. If the Company achieves all of the milestones, a total of $1,350,000 will be paid in milestone payments. |
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The Company will also pay the licensor a percentage of net sales in the mid single digit range of the licensed products each quarter subject to a minimum royalty payment in the low hundred thousand dollar range. The Company must also pay the licensor a low double digit percentage of any payments received from any sublicenses. |
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The Licensing Agreement calls for the formation of a Development Committee to monitor the clinical progress of the Licensed Products, which will consist of independent scientific and technical leaders who are highly regarded by the scientific community in the Field of Use of each Licensed Product. |
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The Licensing Agreement terminates on the expiration or abandonment of the last patent to expire or become abandoned. The Company may terminate the Licensing Agreement at any time upon 60 days’ prior written notice and ceasing to make and sell all licensed products, the termination of all sublicenses and payment of all monies owed under the Licensing Agreement. The licensor may terminate the agreement 30 days after notice to the Company if the Company is 30 days late in payment or a breach that remains uncured for 45 days after written notice of such breach. |
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On March 15, 2013 the Company executed a Patent License Agreement with Professor Fengping Shan. The Company obtained exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the licensed technology. The licensed technology is the intellectual property developed and owned by Professor Shan (i) relating to the treatment of a variety of diseases and conditions with MENK including multiple forms of lymphoma and cancer and (ii) a treatment method for humans infected with the HLTV-III (AIDS) virus including AIDS and AIDS related complex (ARC). The licensed technology includes the methods and formulations for these treatments including but not limited to all INDs, communications with regulatory agencies, patient data, and letters relating to these treatments. The licensed technology also includes the following patents: 200710158742.7 MENK, its application is in treating leukemia and other blood cancers; No. 200710051586.4 MENK, its application is in preparation of human and animal vaccines; No. 200610046249.1, a nasal spray formulation containing MENK; No. 201210290150.1 LDN, combined with MENK, its application is in preparation of an anticancer drug (Pending); No. 201210302259.2 LDN, combined with MENK, its application is in preparation of leukophoresis for anticancer (Pending); No. 200810229085.5 Compound MENK as a drug for colon cancer and pancreatic cancer; No. o. 200910011030.1, Naltrexone as well as analougues being anticancer drug. Under this license, the Company must issue 500,000 shares to Prof. Shan upon final transfer of the licenses, and reimburse Prof. Shan for all out of pocket expenses in connection with the patents in mid five figure range. The Company will pay Prof. Shan a mid single digit percentage running royalty of gross sales subject to decreases if third party intellectual property is needed to complete such sale or product but in no event less than a high percentage of a low single digit percentage and a low single digit percentage of all sublicense revenue. This agreement shall last for the duration of each of the licensed patents however the Company may terminate the license agreement on 120 days' written notice to Professor Shan. |
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