RA Capital Healthcare Fund, L.P., an affiliate of RA Capital Management, L.P. (“RA Capital”), purchased 9,480,052 ordinary shares in the offering at the offering price of $2.15 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 7,093,656 ordinary shares at the offering price of $2.1499 per pre-funded warrant. RA Capital is the investment manager of RA Capital Healthcare Fund, L.P., one of our principal shareholders. Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D., a member of our Board, is the Managing Partner of RA Capital. In addition, Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd. (“SNBL”), one of our principal shareholders, purchased 3,720,930 ordinary shares in the offering at the offering price of $2.15 per share. Ken Takanashi, a member of our Board, is an executive officer of SNBL and an executive officer and director of SNBL USA.
Consulting Agreement with Gregory L. Verdine, Ph.D.
Gregory L. Verdine, Ph.D., a member of our Board, entered into a consulting agreement with Wave Life Sciences USA, Inc. (“Wave USA”), our wholly owned subsidiary, dated as of April 1, 2012, pursuant to which Dr. Verdine serves as a scientific advisor. The consulting agreement does not have a specified term and may be terminated by either party upon 14 days’ prior written notice. Wave USA paid Dr. Verdine $12,500 per month pursuant to the consulting agreement and, in each of 2021 and in January 2022 through September 2022, Dr. Verdine was paid an aggregate of $150,000 and $112,500, respectively, under this agreement. In October 2022, the Compensation Committee approved a grant to Dr. Verdine of a non-qualified share option for 163,467 ordinary shares in lieu of cash payment under this consulting agreement for the service period of October 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024 and vests in equal monthly installments over that period, subject to Dr. Verdine’s continued service under the consulting agreement.
Agreements with GSK and its Affiliate
On December 13, 2022, Wave Life Sciences USA, Inc. and Wave Life Sciences UK Limited, two of our direct, wholly-owned subsidiaries entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement (the “GSK Collaboration Agreement”) with GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property (No. 3) (“GSK”), which became effective on January 27, 2023. Pursuant to the GSK Collaboration Agreement, we and GSK have agreed to collaborate on the research, development, and commercialization of oligonucleotide therapeutics, including a global exclusive license to WVE-006. The discovery collaboration has an initial four-year research term and combines our proprietary discovery and drug development platform, PRISMTM, with GSK’s unique insights from human genetics and its global development and commercial capabilities.
Under the terms of the GSK Collaboration Agreement, we received an upfront payment of $170.0 million, which included a cash payment of $120.0 million and a $50.0 million equity investment. With respect to the $50.0 million equity investment, on December 13, 2022, we entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (the “GSK Share Purchase Agreement”) with Glaxo Group Limited (“GGL”), an affiliate of GSK, pursuant to which we sold 10,683,761 of our ordinary shares to GGL (the “GSK Shares”) at a purchase price of $4.68 per share. In connection with the GSK Share Purchase Agreement, GGL and we agreed upon certain rights and restrictions as set forth in the Investor Agreement, dated as of January 26, 2023 (the “GSK Investor Agreement”). Under the GSK Investor Agreement, during the 30-month period after the date of the GSK Investor Agreement, GGL and its affiliates will be bound by certain “standstill” provisions. The GSK Shares are subject to a lock-up restriction, such that GGL will not, and will also cause its affiliates not to, without our prior approval, sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of the GSK Shares during the 30-month period after the effective date of the GSK Investor Agreement. For a certain period following the expiration of the lock-up period, subject to certain conditions and limitations, we agreed to provide certain demand registration rights to GGL in order to register all or a portion of the GSK Shares purchased by GGL. We also provided GGL with certain “piggyback” registration rights for a certain period following the expiration of the lock-up period, subject to certain conditions and limitations, such that when we propose to register our ordinary shares for our account, GGL will have the right to include some or all of the GSK Shares in such registration. The GSK Investor Agreement also contains other customary terms and conditions of the parties with respect to the registration of GSK Shares.
Contract Research Services Provided by SNBL
In April 2023, we engaged SNBL, one of our principal shareholders, to provide approximately $2.8 million in certain non-human primate contract research services to us. Ken Takanashi, a member of our Board, is an executive officer of SNBL and an executive officer and director of SNBL USA.
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