UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Amendment No. 4
ANTIGENICS INC.
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Delaware
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06-1562417 | |
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(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
630 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2100
Garo H. Armen
with copies to:
Paul M. Kinsella
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
If the only securities being registered on this form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. o
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, as amended (the “Securities Act”) other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. þ
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. o
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. o
If delivery of the prospectus is expected to be made pursuant to Rule 434, please check the following box. o
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 the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
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The information in the 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 prospectus
is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not
soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where
an offer is not permitted. |
PROSPECTUS
$100,000,000
ANTIGENICS INC.
Common Stock, Preferred Stock and Debt Securities
We may offer to the public from time to time in one or more series or issuances:
| • | shares of our common stock; | |
| • | shares of our preferred stock; or | |
| • | debt securities consisting of debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness. |
Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “AGEN.”
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time we sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” before you make your investment decision. We will reflect any fundamental change to the terms of the offering in a post-effective amendment to the registration statement which includes this prospectus.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before buying any of our securities, you should carefully consider this risk factors identified under “Risk Factors” beginning on Page 4.
We will sell the securities to underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to investors.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
This prospectus may not be used to sell securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
The date of this prospectus is December 22, 2004.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Oncophage® and AroplatinTM are trademark of Antigenics Inc. Other trademarks included in this prospectus are the property of their owners.
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of registration statements that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission using a “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf process, we may, from time to time, issue and sell to the public any combination of the securities described in the registration statement in one or more offerings.
ANTIGENICS INC.
We are a biotechnology firm developing products to treat cancers, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. Our most advanced product candidate is Oncophage®, a personalized cancer vaccine being tested in several types of cancer, including in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (the most common type of kidney cancer) and for metastatic melanoma. Our product candidate portfolio also includes (1) AG-858, a personalized cancer vaccine in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, (2) AG-702/ AG-707, a therapeutic vaccine program in Phase 1 clinical development for the treatment of genital herpes, and (3) AroplatinTM, a liposomal chemotherapeutic. Our related business activities include research and development, regulatory and clinical affairs, business development, and administrative functions that support these activities.
We maintain our principal operations in Lexington, Massachusetts and our executive offices in New York, New York. The address for our executive offices is 630 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2100, New York, New York 10111 and our telephone number is (212) 994-8200.
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RISK FACTORS
If you purchase Antigenics securities, you will take on financial risk. In deciding whether to invest, you should carefully analyze the following risk factors in addition to the other information included and incorporated by reference in this prospectus. It is especially important to consider these risk factors when you read forward-looking statements.
| If we incur operating losses for longer than we expect, we may be unable to continue our operations. |
From our inception through September 30, 2004, we have generated net losses totaling $318 million. Our net losses for the nine months ended September 30, 2004, and for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002, and 2001 were $38.7 million, $65.9 million, $55.9 million, and $73.5 million, respectively. We expect to incur significant losses over the next several years as we continue our clinical trials, apply for regulatory approvals, continue development of our technologies, and expand our operations. Phase 3 clinical trials are particularly expensive to conduct, and during 2005 we plan to initiate new Phase 3 clinical trials in renal cell carcinoma and melanoma. Furthermore, our ability to generate cash from operations is dependent on if and when we will be able to commercialize our products. We expect that the earliest we may be able to commercialize Oncophage would be in late 2005. If we incur operating losses for longer than we expect, we may be unable to continue our operations.
| If we fail to obtain the capital necessary to fund our operations, we will be unable to advance our development programs and complete our clinical trials. |
On September 30, 2004, we had approximately $106.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. In February 2004, we sold 5,400,000 shares of our common stock, raising net proceeds of approximately $54 million. With our current capital we expect that we could fund our development programs, clinical trials, and other operating expenses through at least the end of 2005. We plan to raise additional funds prior to that time. For the nine months ended September 30, 2004, the sum of our average monthly cash used in operating activities plus our average monthly capital expenditures was approximately $5.2 million. Total capital expenditures for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 were $2.4 million. We anticipate additional capital expenditures of up to $2.6 million during the remainder of 2004. Since our inception, we have financed our operations primarily through the sale of equity. In order to finance our future operations, we will be required to raise additional funds in the capital markets, through arrangements with corporate partners, or from other sources. Additional financing, however, may not be available on favorable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise additional funds when we need them, we will be required to delay, reduce, or eliminate some or all of our development programs and some or all of our clinical trials, including the development programs and clinical trials supporting our most advanced product candidate, Oncophage. We also may be forced to license technologies to others under agreements that allocate to third parties substantial portions of the potential value of these technologies.
| Because the FDA has indicated to us that part I of our current Phase 3 trial in renal cell carcinoma, by itself, will not be sufficient to support a biologics license application for product approval, unless the FDA changes its position, we would not expect to generate product revenue from sales of Oncophage for at least several years, if ever. |
On September 3, 2003, the FDA placed our Phase 3 Oncophage clinical trials in renal cell carcinoma and in melanoma on partial clinical hold. The FDA’s written correspondence instituting the partial clinical hold indicated that Oncophage was not sufficiently characterized. Product characterization represents our products’ specifications for purity, identity, potency and pH. On October 24, 2003, we submitted to the FDA additional specifications for purity, identity, potency and pH, which represent product characterization data, and on November 24, 2003, we announced that the FDA had lifted the partial clinical hold. Even though the FDA lifted the partial clinical hold, the FDA has informed us that, for purposes of part I of our Phase 3 trial in renal cell carcinoma (trial C-100-12) and our Phase 3 trial in melanoma (trial C-100-21), Oncophage has been insufficiently characterized and that the results obtained with an insufficiently characterized product could not be used to provide efficacy data in support of a biologics
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The FDA has indicated that, by itself, part I of our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial in renal cell carcinoma is not sufficient to support a BLA filing. We intend to expand our clinical development plan by initiating a second part to this Phase 3 trial in a similar patient population. The FDA has approved this registration plan, which comprises two components — part I and part II. The FDA has indicated that part I alone will not be sufficient for approval, as they consider part II of the trial as potentially providing the definitive evidence of safety and efficacy; however, we expect that part I will be accepted as part of the BLA filing. While the FDA has expressly excluded the possibility that part I of our renal cell carcinoma trial alone can support a BLA filing, we intend to complete part I, which is a large, controlled study, perform final analysis, and review the data closely. Should the results from the first part of the trial be clearly positive in terms of clinical outcomes, we plan to submit the data to the FDA and request that the agency reconsider its position regarding the use of the data from part I of the trial alone to support a BLA filing, while part II of the study is continuing. We expect to support that position with data which may demonstrate that Oncophage used in part I of the study be considered sufficiently characterized. We would expect to derive that data from additional tests we plan to perform on frozen portions of the administered product. We plan to complete such tests if and when the FDA accepts the validation of our qualified assays for potency. We believe that the FDA is unlikely to reverse its position unless part I of the trial demonstrates significant benefit to patients. We believe that demonstration of efficacy might be persuasive given (1) part I of our Phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial is designed to show that patients being treated with Oncophage have approximately a 44% recurrence-free survival advantage over patients in the observation arm, which we believe would be regarded as a substantial benefit in this patient population, (2) Oncophage has a favorable safety profile, particularly when compared with the toxicity associated with many cancer drugs, (3) part I of the trial represents the largest single randomized trial to date in this patient population and was designed to show statistically significant results, and (4) the patients with the stage of renal cell carcinoma addressed in this trial have no approved post-surgical treatment options. Other companies have submitted BLAs, and obtained approvals, based on data from non-definitive Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies while the companies complete confirmatory studies. We are not aware of a situation in which the FDA has reconsidered its position that a clinical trial could not be considered pivotal, and therefore would not support licensure, because of its determination that the product candidate was insufficiently characterized. However, as noted previously, we plan to perform additional tests of Oncophage product samples produced prior to December 2003 and attempt to demonstrate that our product should be considered sufficiently characterized. There is no assurance that we will be successful in demonstrating that our product is sufficiently characterized or that the FDA would accept such a strategy.
Even if we are able to demonstrate that the Oncophage used in part I of the trial should be considered sufficiently characterized and part I of the trial demonstrates significant benefit to patients, the FDA is likely to continue to adhere to its current position that the data from this part of the trial cannot, by itself, support a BLA. In addition, the results of our two potency tests may not indicate that the Oncophage used in part I of the trial is sufficiently characterized. Furthermore, part I may not meet its statistical endpoint, or the FDA could determine that making Oncophage available based on the part I
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We may not be able to secure additional financing to complete part II of the renal cell carcinoma trial even if the results from part I trial are positive. If we cannot raise funding because we are unable to convince the FDA that the data from part I should be deemed sufficient, by itself, to support a BLA filing, we may become insolvent.
| Because we expect to conduct additional Phase 3 clinical trials of Oncophage in the treatment of melanoma prior to submitting a BLA for this indication, we will not commercialize Oncophage in this indication for several years, if ever. |
We have concluded enrollment in our Phase 3 trial of Oncophage in patients with metastatic melanoma (C-100-21). We believe that, due to a relatively high failure rate in vaccine manufacturing, this study will not, by itself, support a BLA filing. Even if we had not experienced the high manufacturing failure rate, the FDA has indicated that this study, like part I of our Phase 3 renal cell carcinoma study, could not, by itself, support a BLA filing because the FDA views the Oncophage administered to patients in this study prior to December 2003 as insufficiently characterized. We have not yet had any specific discussions with the FDA regarding our clinical development plan for melanoma. Accordingly, we do not know the types of studies that the FDA will require to support a BLA filing. We did not discuss our regulatory strategy for melanoma during our type A meeting with the FDA to discuss renal cell carcinoma. Even if the FDA were to indicate agreement with our clinical development plan, that plan may fail to support a BLA filing for many reasons, including failure of the trials to demonstrate that Oncophage is safe and effective in this indication, failure to conduct the studies in compliance with the clinical trial protocols, or a change in the FDA’s views.
| Our commercial launch of Oncophage may be delayed or prevented, which would diminish our business prospects. |
In December 2003, we announced that the Data Monitoring Committee, or DMC, had convened as scheduled for the interim analysis of our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of Oncophage in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, C-100-12. The DMC is a panel of cancer specialists who review the safety and conduct of the trial at regular intervals but are not otherwise involved in the study. The DMC has no direct relationship with the FDA but can make recommendations regarding the further conduct of the trial, which recommendations are reported to the FDA. The use of the DMC is intended to enhance patient safety and trial conduct. The DMC recommended that the trial proceed as planned and did not require that we change the number of patients required to meet the trial’s objectives. Our Phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial is designed to show that patients in the Oncophage arm have approximately a 44% recurrence-free survival advantage over the patients in the observation arm. We believe that this would be regarded as a substantial benefit in this patient population. We interpreted the recommendation by the DMC that we would not need to add patients in order to potentially achieve a 44% recurrence-free survival advantage as an encouraging development, indicating that the trial could demonstrate efficacy goals without increasing the number of patients in the trial. The DMC’s recommendations do not assure either that the trial will demonstrate statistically significant results or that the trial will prove adequate to support approval of Oncophage for commercialization in the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma. The assessment of the interim analysis is preliminary. The final data from the trial may not demonstrate efficacy and safety. Data from clinical trials are subject to varying interpretations.
Inconclusive or negative final data from part I of our Phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial would have a significant negative impact on our prospects. If the results in any of our clinical trials are not positive, we may abandon development of Oncophage for the applicable indication.
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| The regulatory approval process is uncertain, time-consuming and expensive. |
The process of obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals for new therapeutic products is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. It also can vary substantially, based on the type, complexity and novelty of the product. Our most advanced product candidate, Oncophage, is a novel cancer therapeutic vaccine that is personalized for each patient. To date, the FDA has not approved any cancer therapeutic vaccines for commercial sale, and foreign regulatory agencies have approved only a limited number. Both the FDA and foreign regulatory agencies, particularly the European Medicines Agency responsible for product approvals in Europe, have relatively little experience in reviewing personalized oncology therapies, and the partial clinical hold that the FDA had placed on our current Phase 3 Oncophage clinical trials primarily related to product characterization issues partially associated with the personalized nature of Oncophage. Oncophage may experience a long regulatory review process and high development costs, either of which could delay or prevent our commercialization efforts. We have not held discussions with regulatory agencies other than the FDA regarding product approval strategies. As of September 30, 2004, we have spent approximately 10 years and $161 million on our research and development program in heat shock proteins for cancer.
To obtain regulatory approvals, we must, among other requirements, complete carefully controlled and well-designed clinical trials demonstrating that a particular product candidate is safe and effective for the applicable disease. Several biotechnology companies have failed to obtain regulatory approvals because regulatory agencies were not satisfied with the structure or conduct of clinical trials or the ability to interpret the data from the trials; similar problems could delay or prevent us from obtaining approvals. We plan to initiate part II of our Phase 3 trial for Oncophage in renal cell carcinoma in early 2005. During 2005, we also intend to initiate a second Phase 3 trial in melanoma. Even after reviewing the protocols for these trials, the FDA and other regulatory agencies may not consider the trials to be adequate for registration and may disagree with our overall strategy to seek approval for Oncophage in renal cell carcinoma or melanoma. In this event, the potential commercial launch of Oncophage would be at risk, which would likely have a materially negative impact on our ability to generate revenue and our ability to secure additional funding.
The timing and success of a clinical trial is dependent on enrolling sufficient patients in a timely manner, avoiding adverse patient reactions and demonstrating in a statistically significant manner the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. Because we rely on third-party clinical investigators and contract research organizations to conduct our clinical trials, we may encounter delays outside our control, particularly if our relationships with any third-party clinical investigators or contract research organizations are adversarial. The timing and success of our Phase 3 trials, in particular, are also dependent on the FDA and other regulatory agencies accepting each trial’s protocol, statistical analysis plan, product characterization tests, and clinical data. If we are unable to satisfy the FDA and other regulatory agencies with such matters, including the specific matters noted above, and/or our Phase 3 trials yield inconclusive or negative results, we will be required to modify or expand the scope of our Phase 3 studies or conduct additional Phase 3 studies to support BLA filings, including additional studies beyond the new part II Phase 3 trial in renal cell carcinoma and second Phase 3 trial in melanoma that we plan to initiate during 2005. In addition, the FDA may request additional information or data to which we do not have access. Delays in our ability to respond to such an FDA request would delay, and failure to adequately address all FDA concerns would prevent, our commercialization efforts.
In addition, we, or the FDA, might further delay or halt our clinical trials for various reasons, including but not limited to:
| • | we may fail to comply with extensive FDA regulations; | |
| • | a product candidate may not appear to be more effective than current therapies; | |
| • | a product candidate may have unforeseen or significant adverse side effects or other safety issues; | |
| • | the time required to determine whether a product candidate is effective may be longer than expected; |
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| • | we may be unable to adequately follow or evaluate patients after treatment with a product candidate; | |
| • | patients may die during a clinical trial because their disease is too advanced or because they experience medical problems that may not be related to the product candidate; | |
| • | sufficient numbers of patients may not enroll in our clinical trials; or | |
| • | we may be unable to produce sufficient quantities of a product candidate to complete the trial. |
Furthermore, regulatory authorities, including the FDA, may have varying interpretations of our pre-clinical and clinical trial data, which could delay, limit, or prevent regulatory approval or clearance. Any delays or difficulties in obtaining regulatory approvals or clearances for our product candidates may:
| • | adversely affect the marketing of any products we or our collaborators develop; | |
| • | impose significant additional costs on us or our collaborators; | |
| • | diminish any competitive advantages that we or our collaborators may attain; and | |
| • | limit our ability to receive royalties and generate revenue and profits. |
If we do not receive regulatory approval for our product candidates in a timely manner, we will not be able to commercialize them in the timeframe anticipated, and, therefore, our business will suffer.
| We must receive separate regulatory approvals for each of our product candidates for each type of disease indication before we can market and sell them in the United States or internationally. |
We and our collaborators cannot sell any drug or vaccine until we receive regulatory approval from governmental authorities in the United States, and from similar agencies in other countries. Oncophage and any other drug candidate could take a significantly longer time to gain regulatory approval than we expect or may never gain approval or may gain approval for only limited indications.
| Even if we do receive regulatory approval for our product candidates, the FDA or international regulatory authorities will impose limitations on the indicated uses for which our products may be marketed or subsequently withdraw approval, or take other actions against us or our products adverse to our business. |
The FDA and international regulatory authorities generally approve products for particular indications. If an approval is for a limited indication, this limitation reduces the size of the potential market for that product. Product approvals, once granted, may be withdrawn if problems occur after initial marketing. Failure to comply with applicable FDA and other regulatory requirements can result in, among other things, warning letters, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, refusal of the government to renew marketing applications and criminal prosecution.
| Delays enrolling patients in our studies will slow or prevent completion of clinical trials. |
We have encountered in the past, and may encounter in the future, delays in initiating trial sites and in enrolling patients into our clinical trials. Future enrollment delays will postpone the dates by which we expect to complete the impacted trials and the potential receipt of regulatory approvals. If we fail to enroll sufficient numbers of patients in clinical trails, the trials may fail to demonstrate the efficacy of a product candidate at a statistically significant level. While such trials may help support our efforts to obtain marketing approval, they generally would not, by themselves, be sufficient for obtaining approval. In our cancer trials, enrollment difficulties may arise due to many factors, including the novel nature of Oncophage, the identification of patients’ meeting the specific criteria for inclusion in our trials, the speed by which participating clinical trial sites review our protocol and allow enrollment and any delay in contract negotiations between us and the participating clinical trial sites. In addition, we may encounter problems in our clinical trials due to the advanced disease state of the target patient population. Even if
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| If new data from our research and development activities continues to modify our strategy, then we expect to continually adjust our projections of timelines and costs of programs; this uncertainty may depress the market price of our stock and increase our expenses. |
Because we are focused on novel technologies, our research and development activities, including our clinical trials, involve the ongoing discovery of new facts and the generation of new data, based on which, we determine next steps for a relevant program. These developments are sometimes a daily occurrence and constitute the basis on which our business is conducted. We need to make determinations on an ongoing basis as to which of these facts or data will influence timelines and costs of programs. We may not always be able to make such judgments accurately, which may increase the costs we incur attempting to commercialize our product candidates. These issues are pronounced in our efforts to commercialize Oncophage, which represents an unprecedented approach to the treatment of cancer.
| We will not generate further product sales revenue from Quilvax-FELV. |
To date, we have generated product sales revenue from only one product, a feline leukemia vaccine, the manufacturing rights to which we sold in March 2004 to Virbac, S.A., our former marketing partner. Prior to the sale, our revenues from the feline leukemia vaccine for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 and the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002, and 2001 were $0.3 million, $3.5 million, $2.6 million, $1.6 million, respectively. We no longer sell that product.
| Failure to enter into significant collaboration agreements may hinder our efforts to commercialize Oncophage and will increase our need to rely on equity sales to fund our operations. |
We are engaged in efforts to partner Oncophage, our most advanced product candidate, with a pharmaceutical or larger biotech company to assist us with global commercialization. While we have been pursuing these business development efforts for several years, we have not negotiated a definitive agreement relating to the potential commercialization of Oncophage. Many larger companies may be unwilling to commit to a substantial agreement prior to receipt of additional clinical data or, in the absence of such data, may demand economic terms that are unfavorable to us. Even if Oncophage generates favorable clinical data, we may not be able to negotiate a transaction that provides us with favorable economic terms. While some other biotechnology companies have negotiated large collaborations, we may not be able to negotiate any agreements with terms that replicate the terms negotiated by those other companies. We may not, for example, obtain significant upfront payments or substantial royalty rates. Some larger companies are skeptical of the commercial potential and profitability of a personalized product candidate like Oncophage. If we fail to enter into such collaboration agreements, our efforts to commercialize Oncophage may be undermined. In addition, if we do not raise funds through collaboration agreements, we will need to rely on sales of additional securities to fund our operations. Sales of additional equity may substantially dilute the ownership of existing stockholders.
| We may not receive significant payments from collaborators due to unsuccessful results in existing collaborations or failure to enter into future collaborations. |
Part of our strategy is to develop and commercialize some of our product candidates by continuing our existing arrangements with academic and corporate collaborators and licensees and by entering into new collaborations. Our success depends on our ability to negotiate such agreements and on the success of the other parties in performing research, preclinical and clinical testing. Our collaborations involving QS-21, for example, depend on our licensees successfully completing clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approvals. These activities frequently fail to produce marketable products. For example, in March 2002, Elan Corporation and Wyeth Ayerst Laboratories announced a decision to cease dosing patients in their Phase 2A clinical trial of their AN-1792 Alzheimer’s vaccine containing our QS-21 adjuvant after several
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| If we are unable to purify heat shock proteins from some cancer types, we may have difficulty successfully completing our clinical trials and, even if we do successfully complete our clinical trials, the size of our potential market would decrease. |
Heat shock proteins occur naturally in the human body and have the potential to activate powerful cellular immune responses. Our ability to successfully develop and commercialize Oncophage or AG-858 for a particular cancer type depends on our ability to purify heat shock proteins from that type of cancer. If we experience difficulties in purifying heat shock proteins for a sufficiently large number of patients in our clinical trials, including our Phase 3 clinical trials, it may lower the probability of a successful analysis of the data from these trials and ultimately the ability to obtain FDA approval. Our overall manufacturing success rate to date for our Phase 3 trial, C-100-12, in renal cell carcinoma is 92%; for our Phase 3 trial in metastatic melanoma, C-100-21, it is 70%. Our inability to manufacture adequate amounts of Oncophage for approximately 30% of the patients randomized to date in the Oncophage treatment arm of the melanoma trial will jeopardize the potential for the trial, as currently designed, to meet its pre-specified clinical endpoints. To address this lower success rate for melanoma we instituted an inhibitor process to avoid the breakdown of proteins. Subsequent to the implementation of this change we successfully produced Oncophage for 18 of 23 patients, a success rate of approximately 78%, whereas previously we had produced Oncophage for 123 of 179 patients. The small sample size used subsequent to our process change may make the reported improvement in our manufacturing success unreliable as a predictor of future success.
Based on our completed earlier clinical trials and our ongoing clinical trials conducted in renal cell carcinoma (including our C-100-12 trial), we have been able to manufacture Oncophage from 93% of the tumors delivered to our manufacturing facility; for melanoma (including our C-100-21 trial), 78%; for colorectal cancer, 98%; for gastric cancer, 81%; for lymphoma, 89%; and for pancreatic cancer, 46%. The relatively low rate for pancreatic cancer is due to the abundance of proteases in pancreatic tissue. Proteases are enzymes that break down proteins. These proteases may degrade the heat shock proteins during the purification process. We have made process development advances that have improved the manufacture of Oncophage from pancreatic tissue. In an expanded Phase 1 pancreatic cancer study, Oncophage was manufactured from five of five tumor samples (100%), bringing the aggregate success rate for this cancer type, which was previously 30%, to 46%. We have successfully manufactured AG-858 from approximately 81% of the patient samples received.
We may encounter problems with other types of cancers as we expand our research. If we cannot overcome these problems, the number of cancer types that our heat shock protein product candidates could treat would be limited. In addition, if we commercialize our heat shock protein product candidates, we may face claims from patients for whom we are unable to produce a vaccine.
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| If we fail to sustain and further build our intellectual property rights, competitors will be able to take advantage of our research and development efforts to develop competing products. |
If we are not able to protect our proprietary technology, trade secrets, and know-how, our competitors may use our inventions to develop competing products. We currently have exclusive rights to at least 81 issued U.S. patents and 87 foreign patents. We also have rights to at least 67 pending U.S. patent applications and 208 pending foreign patent applications. However, our patents may not protect us against our competitors. The standards which the United States Patent and Trademark Office uses to grant patents, and the standards which courts use to interpret patents, are not always applied predictably or uniformly and can change, particularly as new technologies develop. Consequently, the level of protection, if any, that will be provided by our patents if we attempt to enforce them, and they are challenged, is uncertain. In addition, the type and extent of patent claims that will be issued to us in the future is uncertain. Any patents that are issued may not contain claims that permit us to stop competitors from using similar technology.
In addition to our patented technology, we also rely on unpatented technology, trade secrets and confidential information. We may not be able to effectively protect our rights to this technology or information. Other parties may independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques or otherwise gain access to or disclose our technology. We generally require each of our employees, consultants, collaborators and certain contractors to execute a confidentiality agreement at the commencement of an employment, consulting, collaborative or contractual relationship with us. However, these agreements may not provide effective protection of our technology or information or, in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure, they may not provide adequate remedies.
| We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights, and we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use, our technology. |
If we choose to go to court to stop someone else from using the inventions claimed in our patents, that individual or company has the right to ask a court to rule that our patents are invalid and should not be enforced against that third party. These lawsuits are expensive and would consume time and other resources even if we were successful in stopping the infringement of our patents. In addition, there is a risk that the court will decide that our patents are not valid and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions. There is also the risk that, even if the validity of our patents is upheld, the court will refuse to stop the other party on the grounds that such other party’s activities do not infringe our patents.
Furthermore, a third party may claim that we are using inventions covered by such third party’s patents or other intellectual property rights and may go to court to stop us from engaging in our normal operations and activities. These lawsuits are expensive and would consume time and other resources. There is a risk that a court would decide that we are infringing the third party’s patents and would order us to stop the activities covered by the patents. In addition, there is a risk that a court will order us to pay the other party substantial damages for having violated the other party’s patents. The biotechnology industry has produced a proliferation of patents, and it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. We know of patents issued to third parties relating to heat shock proteins and alleviation of symptoms of cancer, respectively. We have reviewed these patents, and we believe, as to each claim in those patents, that we either do not infringe the claim of the patents or that the claim is invalid. Moreover, patent holders sometimes send communications to a number of companies in related fields, suggesting possible infringement, and we, like a number of biotechnology companies, have received this type of communication, including with respect to the third-party patents mentioned above, as well as a communication alleging infringement of a patent relating to certain gel-fiberglass structures. If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our products either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent and/or that the patent claims are invalid, which we may not be able to do. Proving invalidity, in particular, is difficult since it requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued
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Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to enter into collaborations with other entities.
| If we fail to maintain positive relationships with particular individuals, we may be unable to successfully develop our product candidates, conduct clinical trials and obtain financing. |
Pramod K. Srivastava, Ph.D., a member of our board of directors, the chairman of our scientific advisory board, and a consultant to us, and Garo H. Armen, Ph.D., the chairman of our board of directors and our chief executive officer, who together founded Antigenics in 1994, have been, and continue to be, integral to building the company and developing our technology. If either of these individuals decreases his contributions to the company, our business could be adversely impacted.
Dr. Srivastava is not an employee of Antigenics and has other professional commitments. We sponsor research in Dr. Srivastava’s laboratory at the University of Connecticut Health Center in exchange for the right to license discoveries made in that laboratory with our funding. Dr. Srivastava is a member of the faculty of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. The regulations and policies of the University of Connecticut Health Center govern the relationship between a faculty member and a commercial enterprise. These regulations and policies prohibit Dr. Srivastava from becoming our employee. Furthermore, the University of Connecticut may modify these regulations and policies in the future to further limit Dr. Srivastava’s relationship with us. Dr. Srivastava has a consulting agreement with Antigenics, which includes financial incentives for him to remain associated with us, but these may not prove sufficient to prevent him from severing his relationship with Antigenics, even during the time covered by the consulting agreement. In addition, this agreement does not restrict Dr. Srivastava’s ability to compete against us after his association with Antigenics is terminated. This agreement expires in March 2005 but will be automatically extended for additional one-year periods unless either party decides not to extend the agreement. If Dr. Srivastava were to terminate his affiliation with us or devote less effort to advancing our technologies, we may not have access to future discoveries that could advance our technologies.
We do not have an employment agreement with Dr. Armen. In addition, we do not carry key employee insurance policies for Dr. Armen or any other employee.
We also rely greatly on employing and retaining other highly trained and experienced senior management and scientific personnel. Since our manufacturing process is unique, our manufacturing and quality control personnel are very important. The competition for these and other qualified personnel in the biotechnology field is intense. If we are not able to attract and retain qualified scientific, technical and managerial personnel, we probably will be unable to achieve our business objectives.
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| We face litigation that could result in substantial damages and may divert management’s time and attention from our business. |
Antigenics, our chairman and chief executive officer, Garo H. Armen, Ph.D., and two brokerage firms that served as underwriters in our initial public offering have been named as defendants in a federal civil class action lawsuit. The suit alleges that the brokerage arms of the investment banking firms charged secret excessive commissions to certain of their customers in return for allocations of our stock offering. The suit also alleges that shares of our stock were allocated to certain of the investment banking firms’ customers based upon agreements by such customers to purchase additional shares of our stock in the secondary market. To date, the plaintiffs have not asserted a specific amount of damages. We have submitted settlement papers with the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York; however, a failure to finalize a settlement could require us to pay substantial damages. Regardless of the outcome, participation in a lawsuit may cause a diversion of our management’s time and attention from our business.
In addition, we are involved in other litigation, and may become involved in additional litigation, with former employees, our commercial partners, and others. Any such litigation could be expensive in terms of out-of-pocket costs and management time, and the outcome of any such litigation will be uncertain.
| If we fail to obtain adequate levels of reimbursement for our product candidates from third-party payers, the commercial potential of our product candidates will be significantly limited. |
Our profitability will depend on the extent to which government authorities, private health insurance providers and other organizations provide reimbursement for the cost of our product candidates. Many patients will not be capable of paying for our product candidates themselves. A primary trend in the United States health care industry is toward cost containment. Large private payers, managed care organizations, group purchasing organizations, and similar organizations are exerting increasing influence on decisions regarding the use of particular treatments. Furthermore, many third-party payers limit reimbursement for newly approved health care products. Cost containment measures may prevent us from becoming profitable.
It is not clear that public and private insurance programs will determine that Oncophage or our other product candidates come within a category of items and services covered by their insurance plans. For example, although the federal Medicare program covers drugs and biological products, the program takes the position that the FDA’s treatment of a product as a drug or biologic does not require the Medicare program to treat the product in the same manner. Accordingly, it is possible that the Medicare program will not cover Oncophage or our other product candidates if they are approved for commercialization. It is also possible that there will be substantial delays in obtaining coverage of Oncophage or our other product candidates and that, if coverage is obtained, there may be significant restrictions on the circumstances in which there would be reimbursement. Where insurance coverage is available, there may be limits on the payment amount. Congress and the Medicare program periodically propose significant reductions in the Medicare reimbursement amounts for drugs and biologics. Such reductions could have a material adverse effect on sales of any of our product candidates that receive marketing approval. In December 2003, the President of the United States signed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. The future impact of this legislation on our product candidates is uncertain. Effective January 1, 2004, Medicare payments for many drugs administered in physician’s offices were reduced significantly. This provision impacts many drugs used in cancer treatment by oncologists and urologists. The payment methodology changes in future years, and it is unclear how the payment methodology will impact reimbursement for Oncophage, if it receives regulatory approval, and incentives for physicians to recommend Oncophage relative to alternative therapies.
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| Product liability and other claims against us may reduce demand for our products or result in substantial damages. |
We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to testing our product candidates in human clinical trials and will face even greater risks if we sell our product candidates commercially. An individual may bring a product liability claim against us if one of our product candidates causes, or merely appears to have caused, an injury. Product liability claims may result in:
| • | decreased demand for our product candidates; | |
| • | injury to our reputation; | |
| • | withdrawal of clinical trial volunteers; | |
| • | costs of related litigation; and | |
| • | substantial monetary awards to plaintiffs. |
We manufacture Oncophage and AG-858 from a patient’s cancer cells, and a medical professional must inject Oncophage or AG-858 into that same patient. A patient may sue us if we, a hospital, or a delivery company fails to deliver the removed cancer tissue or that patient’s Oncophage or AG-858. We anticipate that the logistics of shipping will become more complex if the number of patients we treat increases, and it is possible that all shipments will not be made without incident. In addition, administration of Oncophage or AG-858 at a hospital poses risk of delivery to the wrong patient. Currently, we do not have insurance that covers loss of or damage to Oncophage or AG-858, and we do not know whether insurance will be available to us at a reasonable price or at all. We have limited product liability coverage for clinical research use of product candidates. Our product liability policy provides $10 million aggregate coverage and $10 million per occurrence. This limited insurance coverage may be insufficient to fully compensate us for future claims.
| We may incur significant costs complying with environmental laws and regulations. |
We use hazardous, infectious, and radioactive materials in our operations, which have the potential of being harmful to human health and safety or the environment. We store these hazardous (flammable, corrosive, toxic), infectious, and radioactive materials, and various wastes resulting from their use, at our facilities pending use and ultimate disposal. We are subject to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations governing use, generation, storage, handling, and disposal of these materials. We may incur significant costs complying with both current and future environmental health and safety laws and regulations. In particular, we are subject to regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the International Air Transportation Association, and various state and local agencies. At any time, one or more of the aforementioned agencies could adopt regulations that may affect our operations. We are also subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Resource Conservation Development programs.
Although we believe that our current procedures and programs for handling, storage, and disposal of these materials comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidents involving contamination from these materials. Although we have limited pollution liability coverage ($2 million) and a workers’ compensation liability policy, in the event of an accident or accidental release, we could be held liable for resulting damages, which could be substantially in excess of any available insurance coverage and could substantially disrupt our business.
| Our competitors in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may have superior products, manufacturing capability or marketing expertise. |
Our business may fail because we face intense competition from major pharmaceutical companies and specialized biotechnology companies engaged in the development of product candidates and other
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| • | commercialize their products sooner than we commercialize our own; | |
| • | develop safer or more effective therapeutic drugs or preventive vaccines and other therapeutic products; | |
| • | implement more effective approaches to sales and marketing; | |
| • | establish superior intellectual property positions; or | |
| • | discover technologies that may result in medical insights or breakthroughs which render our drugs or vaccines obsolete, possibly before they generate any revenue. |
More specifically, if we receive regulatory approvals, some of our product candidates will compete with well-established, FDA-approved therapies such as interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha for renal cell carcinoma and melanoma, which have generated substantial sales over a number of years. We anticipate that we will face increased competition in the future as new companies enter markets we seek to address and scientific developments surrounding immunotherapy and other cancer therapies continue to accelerate.
Risks Related to our Common Stock
| Our officers and directors may be able to block proposals for a change in control. |
Antigenics Holdings L.L.C. is a holding company that owns shares of our common stock and as of September 30, 2004, Antigenics Holdings L.L.C. controlled approximately 25% of our outstanding common stock. Due to this concentration of ownership, Antigenics Holdings L.L.C. may be able to prevail on all matters requiring a stockholder vote, including:
| • | the election of directors; | |
| • | the amendment of our organizational documents; or | |
| • | the approval of a merger, sale of assets, or other major corporate transaction. |
Certain of our directors and officers directly and indirectly own approximately 74% of Antigenics Holdings L.L.C. and, if they elect to act together, can control Antigenics Holdings L.L.C. In addition, several of our directors and officers directly and indirectly own approximately 4% of our outstanding common stock.
| A single, otherwise unaffiliated, stockholder holds a substantial percentage of our outstanding capital stock. |
According to publicly filed documents, Mr. Brad M. Kelley beneficially owns 5,546,240 shares of our outstanding common stock and 31,620 shares of our Series A convertible preferred stock. The shares of
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Mr. Kelley’s substantial ownership position provides him with the ability to substantially influence the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval. Furthermore, collectively, Mr. Kelley and Antigenics Holdings L.L.C. control approximately 37% of our outstanding common stock, providing substantial ability, if they vote in the same manner, to determine the outcome of matters submitted to a stockholder vote. If Mr. Kelley were to convert all of his preferred stock into common stock, the combined percentage would increase to 39%. Additional purchases of our common stock by Mr. Kelley also would increase both his own percentage of outstanding voting rights and the percentage combined with Antigenics Holdings L.L.C. (Mr. Kelley’s shares of preferred stock do not carry voting rights; the common stock issuable upon conversion, however, carries the same voting rights as other shares of common stock.)
| Provisions in our organizational documents could prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to replace our current management. |
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without consent of our board of directors. Our certificate of incorporation provides for a staggered board and removal of directors only for cause. Accordingly, stockholders may elect only a minority of our board at any annual meeting, which may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in management. In addition, under our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors may issue shares of preferred stock and determine the terms of those shares of stock without any further action by our stockholders. Our issuance of preferred stock could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock and thereby effect a change in the composition of our board of directors. Our certificate of incorporation also provides that our stockholders may not take action by written consent. Our bylaws require advance notice of stockholder proposals and nominations, and permit only our president or a majority of the board of directors to call a special stockholder meeting. These provisions may have the effect of preventing or hindering attempts by our stockholders to replace our current management. In addition, Delaware law prohibits a corporation from engaging in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock until the holder has held the stock for three years unless, among other possibilities, the board of directors approves the transaction. The board may use this provision to prevent changes in our management. Also, under applicable Delaware law, our board of directors may adopt additional anti-takeover measures in the future.
| Our stock has low trading volume and its public trading price has been volatile. |
Between our initial public offering on February 4, 2000 and October 22, 2004, and for the twelve and six months ended October 22, 2004, the closing price of our common stock has fluctuated between $4.72 and $52.63 per share, $4.72 and $12.48, and $4.72 and $10.36 per share, respectively, with an average daily trading volume for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 of approximately 446,000 shares. The market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to the operating performance of individual companies. In addition to general market volatility, many factors may have a significant adverse effect on the market price of our stock, including:
| • | announcements of decisions made by public officials; | |
| • | results of our preclinical and clinical trials; | |
| • | announcements of technological innovations or new commercial products by us or our competitors; | |
| • | developments concerning proprietary rights, including patent and litigation matters; |
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| • | publicity regarding actual or potential results with respect to products under development by us or by our competitors; | |
| • | regulatory developments; and | |
| • | quarterly fluctuations in our financial results. |
| The sale of a significant number of shares could cause the market price of our stock to decline. |
The sale by us or the resale by stockholders of a significant number of shares of our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. As of September 30, 2004, we had approximately 45,487,000 shares of common stock outstanding. All of these shares are eligible for sale on the NASDAQ National Market, although certain of the shares are subject to sales volume and other limitations.
We have filed registration statements to permit the sale of 10,436,831 shares of common stock under our equity incentive plan, and certain equity plans that we assumed in the acquisitions of Aquila Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. We have also filed a registration statement to permit the sale of 300,000 shares of common stock under our employee stock purchase plan. We have also filed a registration statement to permit the sale of 100,000 shares of common stock under our directors’ deferred compensation plan. As of September 30, 2004, options to purchase approximately 5,019,000 shares of our common stock upon exercise of options with a weighted average exercise price per share of $9.80 were outstanding. Many of these options are subject to vesting that generally occurs over a period of up to five years following the date of grant. As of September 30, 2004, warrants to purchase approximately 92,000 shares of our common stock with a weighted average exercise price per share of $40.69 were outstanding. On August 12, 2004, we filed a registration statement relating to the resale of 350,000 shares of our common stock that we issued in a private placement on July 30, 2004 in connection with our acquisition of assets from Mojave Therapeutics, Inc. Once that registration statement becomes effective, those shares may be offered and sold from time to time by the selling securityholders listed in the related prospectus. The market price of our common stock may decrease based on the expectation of such sales. Similarly, on August 12, 2004, we filed a registration statement with respect to an aggregate of $100 million of our common stock, preferred stock, and debt. The market price of our common stock may decrease based on investor expectations that we will issue a substantial number of shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock at low prices.
| Because we are a relatively small company and are cash flow negative, we expect to be disproportionately negatively impacted by recently enacted changes in the securities laws and regulations, which are likely to increase our costs and require additional management resources. |
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which became law in July 2002, has required changes in some of our corporate governance, securities disclosure and compliance practices. In response to the requirements of that Act, the SEC and the Nasdaq have promulgated new rules and listing standards covering a variety of subjects. Compliance with these new rules and listing standards has significantly increased our legal and financial and accounting costs, and we expect these increased costs to continue. In addition, the requirements have taxed a significant amount of management’s and the Board of Directors’ time and resources. Likewise, these developments may make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly independent directors, or qualified executive officers. Because we are a relatively small company and are cash flow negative, we expect to be disproportionately negatively impacted by these changes in securities laws and regulations which will increase our costs, require additional management resources and may, in the event that we receive anything other than an unqualified report on our internal controls over financial reporting result, in greater difficulty in raising funding for our operations and negatively impact our stock price.
As directed by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC adopted rules requiring public companies to include a report of management on the company’s internal controls over financial reporting in their annual reports on Form 10-K that contains an assessment by management of the
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NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This information statement contains forward-looking statements. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of terms like “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “estimate,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “future,” “project” and similar terms. Forward-looking statements may include statements about our time lines for completing clinical trials, time lines for releasing data from clinical trials, time lines for initiating new clinical trials, expectations regarding clinical trials and regulatory processes, expectations regarding test results, future product research and development activities, the expected effectiveness of therapeutic drugs and vaccines in treating diseases, applicability of our heat shock protein technology to multiple cancers and infectious diseases, competitive position, plans for regulatory filings, possible receipt of future regulatory approvals, expected cash needs, plans for sales and marketing, implementation of corporate strategy and future financial performance. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, that clinical trials may not demonstrate that our products are both safe and more effective than current standards of care; that we may be unable to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to conduct additional clinical trials; that we may not be able to enroll sufficient numbers of patients in our clinical trials; that we may be unable to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commercialize our products because the FDA or other regulatory agencies are not satisfied with our trial protocols or the results of our trials; that we may fail to adequately protect our intellectual property or that we are determined to infringe on the intellectual property of others; changes in financial markets and geopolitical developments; and the solvency of counter-parties under subleases and general real estate risks. Forward-looking statements, therefore, should be considered in light of all of the information included or referred to in this information statement, including the information set forth under the heading “RISK FACTORS” beginning on page 4.
You are cautioned not to place significant reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this information statement. We undertake no obligation to update these statements.
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BUSINESS
Overview
We are a biotechnology firm developing products to treat cancers, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. Our most advanced product candidate is Oncophage®, a personalized cancer vaccine being tested in several types of cancer, including in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (the most common type of kidney cancer) and for metastatic melanoma. Our product candidate portfolio also includes (1) AG-858, a personalized cancer vaccine in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, (2) AG-702/ AG-707, a therapeutic vaccine program in Phase 1 clinical development for the treatment of genital herpes, and (3) AroplatinTM, a liposomal chemotherapeutic. Our related business activities include research and development, regulatory and clinical affairs, business development, and administrative functions that support these activities.
Our Products Under Development
Introduction
Heat shock proteins, our founding technology platform, form the basis for our most advanced product candidate, Oncophage, and for our AG-858 and AG-702/ AG-707 product candidates. We have observed clinical activity in Phase 1, Phase 1/2 and Phase 2 trials of Oncophage in terms of improvement or stabilization of disease in multiple cancer types. This includes data demonstrating complete disappearance (a complete response) or substantial shrinkage of tumor lesions (a partial response) in a portion of patients with renal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and lymphoma. Additionally, in a portion of patients who were rendered disease-free by surgery, we have observed signs of positive impact on disease such as disease free survival in resectable pancreatic cancer and increased survival in a subset population in stage IV colon cancer. In our studies to date, the vaccine has shown a favorable safety profile. The most common side effects have been mild-moderate injection site reactions and transient low-grade fevers. We believe that these human data further support the broad applicability and corresponding commercial potential of our heat shock protein candidates.
Oncophage is a personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine that is based on a heat shock protein called gp96 and it is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for renal cell carcinoma and metastatic melanoma. Oncophage has received Fast Track designation and Orphan Drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for both renal cell carcinoma and metastatic melanoma.
AG-858 is a personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine based on a different heat shock protein called HSP70, which is being tested in combination with GleevecTM (imatinib mesylate, Novartis) in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the blood system in which too many white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow.
AG-702/ AG-707 is our therapeutic vaccine program for the treatment of genital herpes. While AG-702 consists of a heat shock protein (HSP70) attached to a single peptide, or protein fragment, of herpes simplex virus-2, AG-707 is a multivalent vaccine (a type of vaccine that addresses multiple components of the virus) that contains multiple herpes simplex virus-2 peptides. We initiated a proof-of principle Phase 1 trial for AG-702 in the fourth quarter of 2001, we plan to file an investigational new drug application (IND) during the first half of 2005 for AG-707 and plan to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of AG-707 shortly thereafter. We have experienced delays in the animal experiments performed to support the basis of clinical development and IND filing. Delays in animal experiments are common. We continue to work towards achieving an effective formulation from our animal studies and expect to complete these studies in the first half of 2005.
Our other product candidates and clinical programs include Aroplatin, a novel liposomal third-generation platinum chemotherapeutic that has been studied in two Phase 1 trials of patients with colorectal cancer and other solid tumors. Platinum chemotherapeutics are cancer drugs containing the metallic element platinum, which has been shown to have some anti-cancer effects. In the case of
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Through our preclinical research programs, we intend to develop additional novel compounds to treat cancer and infectious diseases that are designed to be more efficacious and safer than conventional therapies. Our lead preclinical program is focused on a “next-generation” Oncophage vaccine, which incorporates several important innovations. With these advances, we expect to be able to manufacture sufficient quantities of a personalized cancer vaccine from much smaller tumor tissue samples. We are also studying pathways through which heat shock proteins activate the immune system as well as combinations of Oncophage and other compounds.
Heat Shock Protein Technology
Heat shock proteins, or HSPs, are also called stress proteins. HSPs are a group of proteins that are induced when a cell undergoes various types of environmental stresses like heat, cold and oxygen deprivation. HSPs are present in all cells in all life forms from bacteria to mammals, and their structure and function are similar across these diverse life forms. Under normal conditions, heat shock proteins play a major role in transporting fragments of proteins called peptides, including antigenic peptides, within a cell, and are thus called “chaperones.” Antigens or antigenic peptides are portions of proteins which stimulate an immune response. Because HSPs chaperone peptides, HSPs bind to the broad array of antigens, or antigenic “fingerprint” of the cell in which they reside.
Although heat shock proteins are normally found inside cells, they also serve an important purpose when found extracellularly, or outside of cells. When they are found outside of cells, it indicates that a cell has undergone necrosis, a type of rupturing cell death caused by disease, mutation, or injury whereby a cell’s contents are spilled into the body tissue. Extracellular HSPs are a powerful “danger signal” to the immune system and they therefore are capable of generating a targeted immune response against the infection or disease responsible for the necrotic cell death.
Combined, the intracellular and extracellular functions of heat shock proteins form the key to our technology. The “chaperoning” nature of heat shock proteins allows us to produce vaccines containing all the antigenic peptides of a given disease. In the case of cancer, the vaccines are personalized, consisting of heat shock proteins purified from a patient’s tumor cells which remain bound, or complexed, to the broad array of peptides produced by that patient’s tumor. These heat shock protein-peptide complexes, or HSPPCs, when injected into the skin, have the ability to stimulate a powerful T-cell-based immune response capable of targeting and killing the cancer cells from which these complexes were derived. Because cancer is a highly variable disease from one patient to another, we believe that a personalized vaccination approach is required to generate a more robust and targeted immune response.
For diseases that are not highly variable from one patient to another, such as genital herpes, we do not believe that a personalized vaccination approach is required. For example, in our AG-702/ AG-707 program for the treatment of genital herpes, we complex, or bind, one or several defined antigenic herpes peptides to a heat shock protein (HSP70) that we genetically engineer creating an HSPPC. This HSPPC, when injected into the skin, is designed to elicit a T-cell-based immune response to the synthetic peptides carried by the heat shock protein.
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Product Development Portfolio
Below is a list of the clinical status of our lead product candidates under development.
| Status | ||||||
| Product | Phase 3(1) | Phase 2 | Phase 1 | |||
|
Oncophage
|
Renal cell carcinoma(2) | Colorectal cancer(2) | Pancreatic cancer(2) | |||
| Melanoma(2) |
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma(2) Gastric cancer(2) |
Lung cancer | ||||
|
AG-858
|
Chronic myelogenous leukemia | |||||
|
AG-702
|
Genital herpes | |||||
|
Aroplatin
|
Colorectal cancer(2)(3) | |||||
| (1) | These are multi center trials being conducted in the U.S. as well as internationally. |
| (2) | These trials are closed to enrollment. |
| (3) | We do not intend to initiate new clinical trials of Aroplatin until we complete our review of this program. |
Oncophage
Introduction
Oncophage, our most advanced product candidate, is a personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine that is based on heat shock protein gp96 and is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma and metastatic melanoma. Each Oncophage vaccine is made from a patient’s tumor tissue. After a surgeon removes a patient’s tumor, a portion of that tumor tissue is frozen and shipped overnight to our manufacturing facility in Massachusetts. In our current Phase 3 trials, we generally require seven grams of tumor tissue to yield a sufficient amount of Oncophage for a typical course of treatment.
Using a proprietary manufacturing process that takes approximately eight to ten hours per individual patient lot, we isolate the heat shock protein peptide complexes, or HSPPCs, from the tumor tissue. Through this isolation process, the HSPPCs are extracted and purified from the tumor tissue, then formulated in sterile saline solution and packaged in standard single injection vials. After the performance of stringent quality control testing, including sterility testing, we ship Oncophage frozen back to the hospital pharmacy for administration after a patient has fully recovered from surgery, which is usually four to six weeks later. A medical professional administers Oncophage by injecting the product into the skin weekly for four weeks and every other week thereafter until that patient’s supply of Oncophage is depleted.
Although we believe that our technology is applicable to all cancer types, our initial focus with Oncophage is on cancers that have poor or no available treatment options and that typically yield larger quantities of tumor tissue from the surgical procedure.
We filed an investigational new drug application, or IND, for Oncophage in November 1996 that the FDA allowed on December 20, 1996. We started enrolling patients in our first clinical trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York in November 1997. To date, we have treated over 700 cancer patients with Oncophage in our clinical trials.
We believe that the collective results from these clinical trials show that Oncophage has a favorable safety profile. We also believe that these results demonstrate that treatment with Oncophage can generate immunological and anti-tumor responses.
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Oncophage Clinical Programs
Renal Cell Carcinoma
Background. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 35,000 new cases of kidney cancer in the United States in 2004, and about 12,000 people will die from the disease. Renal cell carcinoma accounts for about 85 percent of all kidney tumors. By the time renal cell carcinoma is diagnosed in these patients, about one-third of them will have developed metastatic disease.
The current standard of care for patients with non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma consists of a nephrectomy, or surgical removal of the kidney, followed by observation. For patients with metastatic disease, the only FDA approved treatment is intravenous high-dose interleukin-2, a human cytokine, which is a hormone-like protein that facilitates communication between cells of the immune system. The response rate, which includes partial responses and complete responses, of patients who are treated with high-dose interleukin-2 is approximately 15 percent. Treatment with high-dose interleukin-2 often causes severe adverse side effects. These side effects often can lead to discontinuation of treatment. Although not FDA-approved for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, a lower-dose of interleukin-2 injected subcutaneously, or underneath the skin, either alone or in combination with other cytokines, has become a treatment option. This treatment regimen has been the subject of a number of studies with widely varying outcomes, none of which have demonstrated any survival benefit. Unlike for metastatic renal cell carcinoma listed above, there is no FDA approved treatment for non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma at the present time.
Clinical Trials. In a Phase 1/2 trial conducted at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, Texas, we enrolled patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The trial was opened for enrollment on February 4, 1998, and 38 patients with renal cell carcinoma were treated in the study. Of the 38 treated patients, one patient had a complete response and two patients had a partial response. Another seven patients showed no substantial change in their disease status, which is referred to as disease stabilization. The reported median time from surgery to worsening or progession of disease (time to progression) was 2.9 months and the reported median time from surgery to death (survival) was 1.3 years from date of surgery. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. No serious adverse events were reported with treatment with Oncophage.
A Phase 2 trial for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma was initiated at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in March 1999. Findings from this trial were presented at the 39th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, in June 2003. At the ASCO meeting, the clinical investigators reported preliminary data on 61 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with at least one dose of Oncophage. One patient was reported to have had a complete response, two additional patients were reported to have had partial responses and eighteen patients were reported to have had disease stabilization. Final results of the study are being evaluated. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. In this trial patients were treated with Oncophage until progression and IL-2 after progression. No significant toxicity was observed to be associated with Oncophage treatment.
Oncophage received Fast Track designation for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma from the FDA in October 2001. Oncophage is the first personalized cancer vaccine to receive Fast Track designation. Oncophage also received Orphan Drug status in renal cell carcinoma from the FDA in May 2002.
We initiated a Phase 3, multicenter, international trial for non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma identified as Study C-100-12 in 2000 into which the first patient was randomized in February 2001. We did not submit a special protocol assessment to the FDA for this trial as the guidance for such was not finalized until May 2002. Such an assessment would generally seek confirmation that the FDA would consider the clinical trial protocol acceptable for purposes of product approval. We are conducting this trial at sites located in the following countries — USA, Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Israel, Russia and Poland. On September 2, 2003, the
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In late December 2003, we announced achievement of a major milestone of this trial. A planned interim analysis of the data from our Phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial was conducted. Based on its review of the safety data, efficacy data and other information regarding the trial, the independent Data Monitoring Committee, a panel of cancer specialists who are reviewing the safety and conduct of the trial at regular intervals but are not otherwise involved in the study, recommended that the trial proceed as planned and advised that there was no need to change the number of patients we planned to enroll in this trial. The Data Monitoring Committee also declared the design and conduct of the trial sound and raised no safety concerns. We remain blinded to the efficacy data from the trial. The members of the Data Monitoring Committee are only affiliated with us through this DMC relationship. We pay the members $2,000 per meeting pursuant to individual contracts.
This trial has been closed to enrollment. The final analysis for the trial will be triggered once a pre-specified number of events occur. An event is defined as a recurrence of a patient’s renal cell carcinoma or death of a patient. Events are reviewed and confirmed, on a blinded basis, by an independent Clinical Events Committee comprised of expert radiologists and an expert oncologist. Based on the overall trend of events in this trial to date, we estimate that the earliest the final analysis for this trial will occur is in early 2005. The final analysis for the endpoint of recurrence-free survival in trial C-100-12 is a prospectively defined statistical analysis, which will occur at a time when a pre-defined number of patients in the study have had re-occurrence (recurrence) of their disease. It is termed final analysis because it is set up to be the last analysis performed in the study for that endpoint and its results will determine the success of the trial with respect to that endpoint.
On July 20, 2004, we held a meeting with the FDA medical review team for Oncophage in renal cell carcinoma. The medical review team is specifically focused on the review of patient safety, product efficacy, clinical protocols and clinical development plan-related issues. This compares to the product review team, which is focused on the review of non-clinical issues such as product features, chemistry, manufacturing, and formulation. The purpose of the meeting with the medical review team was to address issues surrounding the clinical development plan for product registration of Oncophage in renal cell carcinoma. This was a “Type A” meeting; such meetings are typically held to review critically important issues for the development of a product and are scheduled within 30 days of the meeting request. The FDA expressed agreement with our overall proposed registration plan. This plan includes using the current Phase 3 trial as part of our product registration strategy and dividing the study into two components of the trial. We plan to initiate a part II Phase 3 trial in early 2005. Following the final analysis of our current Phase 3 clinical trial, we intend to consult with the FDA and present additional data and rationale to
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The FDA has indicated that, by itself, part I of our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial in renal cell carcinoma is not sufficient to support a BLA filing. We intend to expand our clinical development plan by initiating a second part to this Phase 3 trial in a similar patient population. The FDA has approved this registration plan, which comprises two components — part I and part II. The FDA has indicated that part I alone will not be sufficient for approval, as they consider part II of the trial as potentially providing the definitive evidence of safety and efficacy; however, we expect that part I will be accepted as part of the BLA filing. While the FDA has expressly excluded the possibility that part I of our renal cell carcinoma trial alone can support a BLA filing, we intend to complete part I, which is a large, controlled study, perform final analysis, and review the data closely. Should the results from the first part of the trial be clearly positive in terms of clinical outcomes, we plan to submit the data to the FDA and request that the agency reconsider its position regarding the use of the data from part I of the trial alone to support a BLA filing, while part II of the study is continuing. We expect to support this position with data which may demonstrate that Oncophage used in part I of the study be considered sufficiently characterized. We would expect to derive that data from additional tests we plan to perform on frozen portions of the administered product. We plan to complete such tests if and when the FDA accepts the validation of our qualified assays for potency. We believe that the FDA is unlikely to reverse its position unless part I of the trial demonstrates significant benefit to patients. We believe that demonstration of efficacy might be persuasive given (1) part I of our Phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial is designed to show that patients being treated with Oncophage have approximately a 44% recurrence-free survival advantage over patients in the observation arm, which we believe would be regarded as a substantial benefit in this patient population, (2) Oncophage has a favorable safety profile particularly when compared with the toxicity associated with many cancer drugs, (3) part I of the trial represents the largest single randomized trial to date in this patient population and was designed to show statistically significant results, and (4) the patients with the stage of renal cell carcinoma addressed in this trial have no approved post-surgical treatment options. Other companies have submitted BLAs, and obtained approvals, based on data from non-definitive Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies while the companies complete confirmatory studies. We are not aware of a situation in which the FDA has reconsidered its position that a clinical trial could not be considered pivotal, and therefore would not support licensure, because of its determination that the product candidate was insufficiently characterized. However, as noted previously, we plan to perform additional tests of Oncophage product samples produced prior to December 2003 and attempt to demonstrate that our product should be considered sufficiently characterized. There is no assurance that we will be successful in demonstrating that our product is sufficiently characterized or that the FDA would accept such a strategy.
Melanoma
Background. Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma accounts for only about 4 percent of skin cancer cases, yet it causes about 79 percent of skin cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society also estimates that physicians will diagnose about 55,100 new cases of melanoma in the United States in 2004 and that the disease will kill approximately 7,910 people in 2004. The incidence of melanoma is growing at a rate of approximately 3 percent per year based on a report of the American Cancer Society.
Oncologists treat advanced or metastatic melanoma, also known as stage III or IV, with surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, or chemotherapy, depending on the case. Approximately 15% of all melanoma patients at the time of their first diagnosis have stage III or stage IV disease. Existing treatments have not significantly improved overall survival of patients with melanoma. The median survival of patients with stage III melanoma varies widely according to published literature. According to published literature, the median survival of patients with late stage III melanoma is about 24 months and patients
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Clinical Trials. We have treated 36 patients in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, evaluating Oncophage as a treatment for late stage III and early stage IV metastatic melanoma, as well as 45 patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients with stage IV disease. In the phase 1/2 study (C-100-02), which evaluated HSPPC-96 vaccination in patients with advanced non-metastatic or limited metastatic melanoma (Stage III N2 or Stage IV), 13 of 20 patients (65%) treated with vaccine and who also had complete surgical removal of all cancer are still alive after six years compared to one of 16 (6%) patients that still had some cancer left after surgery and are still alive after six years. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. The investigator reported data from the Phase 2 trial (C-100-06) that showed that 28 patients had residual disease after surgery and, of these patients, five patients responded favorably to Oncophage, including one who was reported to have achieved a complete response for more than five years. The investigators also reported that Oncophage vaccination generated anti-melanoma immune responses in about one-half of the patients. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. Results of this Phase 2 trial were presented by the investigators at the American Society of Clinical Oncologists, or ASCO, meeting in May 2001 and the American Association for Cancer Research, or AACR, meeting in October 2001 where it was selected by the conference organizers as one of six presentations out of over 800 to be highlighted and presented to the press. In October 2002, the results from this trial were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the official journal of ASCO.
Oncophage received Fast Track designation for the treatment of melanoma in February 2002. Oncophage also received Orphan Drug status in metastatic melanoma from the FDA in July 2002. In February 2002, we initiated a multicenter, international Phase 3 trial in metastatic melanoma identified as Study C-100-21. We are conducting this trial at sites located in the following countries — USA, UK, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Hungary, Australia, Russia and Ukraine. On September 2, 2003, the FDA imposed a partial clinical hold on our Phase 3 clinical trials because of inadequate data to support specifications for our product purity, identity, potency, and pH. The FDA provided comments and requested additional information in a letter received October 1, 2003. During the pendency of the partial clinical hold, we could not enroll any additional patients in our Phase 3 trials in renal cell carcinoma and melanoma. Patients, who were already enrolled or in the screening process for enrollment, were allowed to continue with the study procedures including therapy with Oncophage. We produced information in response to the FDA comments mentioned above in a submission on October 22, 2003. On November 21, 2003 the FDA lifted the partial clinical hold because the issues raised had been satisfactorily addressed. The FDA did not impose any conditions or limitations when it lifted the partial clinical hold in November 2003. At that time, the FDA requested further information regarding Oncophage and the established potency assay. The FDA had additional minor comments suggesting that we should try to reduce the variability among assay readings, that we should use patients’ full names rather than initials on the vaccine tubes, that we should comment on the use of different formulations for the melanoma and renal cancer Oncophage trials, and finally, that we should use SAS rather than EXCEL as our statistical computer program. This trial is closed to enrollment. We believe this study will not qualify as registrational due to the relatively high failure rate in vaccine manufacturing. The vaccine could not be produced for approximately 30% of patients in this study. We have not had detailed discussions or formally asked the FDA if our overall product approval strategy for Oncophage in melanoma is acceptable. We did not cover these issues during our July 20, 2004 Type A meeting regarding our clinical trial in renal cell carcinoma.
Other Cancers
Oncophage has also been studied in other cancers, including colorectal cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer. Recent data from some of these trials is summarized below. During the second quarter of 2004, we initiated an additional Oncophage Phase 1/2 trial for lung cancer and plan to begin enrollment in a Phase 1/2 trial for breast cancer in the first quarter of 2005.
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Colorectal. Results from a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were published as a featured article in the August 15, 2003 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. The paper presented data on 29 patients with stage IV colorectal cancer that had spread to the liver who had undergone complete resection, or surgical removal, of their metastasized disease. The paper also showed that in the trial, patients who responded immunologically to the vaccine (52 percent of study subjects) had a statistically significant survival advantage compared with patients who did not respond immunologically. Responders demonstrated a two-year overall survival rate of 100 percent, compared with 50 percent for nonresponders, and a disease-free survival rate of 51 percent, compared with 8 percent among nonresponders. These results were statistically significant. This trial has been closed to enrollment.
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Findings from a Phase 2, open-label, single-arm study for newly diagnosed or relapsed low-grade, indolent, or slow-growing, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were presented by the principal investigator from the trial at the ASCO meeting in June 2003. The study was conducted at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Among the 10 patients who received Oncophage in the Phase 2 trial, there were responses reported in six: one partial response, two minor responses and three disease stabilizations. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. These findings were updated at the American Society of Hematology, or ASH, 45th annual meeting in December 2003. The study’s lead investigator reported indications of clinical activity in eight out of 14 evaluable patients in the trial, including one partial response, two minor responses and five disease stabilizations. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. Oncophage was reported to be well tolerated and without significant adverse effects in this study. This trial has been closed to enrollment.
Gastric. Data from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating Oncophage as a treatment for metastatic gastric cancer was presented at the ASCO meeting in 2002. In the trial, 15 patients with gastric cancer (stage II to stage IV) underwent surgery, then Oncophage vaccination. At 32 months post-surgery, three were still disease-free, nine had survived, and the mean disease-free and overall survival rates were seven months and over 16 months, respectively. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. No toxicity was observed to be associated with Oncophage treatment. This trial was conducted with clinical investigators at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Hospital in Mainz, Germany, Technical University of Munich in Germany, and the Russian Oncology Research Center in Moscow, Russia.
Pancreatic. In early 1999, we conducted a pilot Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating Oncophage as a treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer. We conducted the trial with clinical investigators at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Initially, five patients were treated. Subsequently, five more patients were treated. Updated data from this pilot study were presented at the 12th annual European Cancer Conference, or ECCO, in September 2003. These data were highlighted in a press release issued by the Federation of European Cancer Societies during the ECCO conference. In this trial, which included 10 evaluable patients, the manufacture of Oncophage was feasible and no toxicity associated with vaccination was observed. Recent follow-up data from patients in this Phase 1 trial of Oncophage indicates a median overall survival of over 26 months, with one patient still alive and disease-free after more than five years and two other patients alive and disease-free 2.7 and 2.6 years after treatment. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. This trial has been closed to enrollment.
Manufacturing
Oncophage is manufactured in a new 162,000 square-foot manufacturing and research and development facility in Lexington, Massachusetts. We are currently leasing approximately 94,000 square-feet of this facility and plan to expand to 132,000 square feet on or before August 2005 with a second planned expansion to 162,000 square feet on or before March 2006. We estimate that the facility’s current capacity, for Oncophage and AG-858 combined, is approximately 10,000 patient doses per year, expandable to between 40,000 and 50,000 patient doses per year. On average, it takes eight to ten hours of direct processing time to manufacture a patient batch of Oncophage. We currently have 19 employees in
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After manufacturing, Oncophage is tested and released by our quality systems staff. The quality control organization, consisting of 16 employees, performs a series of release assays designed to ensure that the product meets all applicable specifications. Our quality assurance staff of 9 employees also reviews manufacturing and quality control records prior to batch release in an effort to assure conformance with Good Manufacturing Practices as mandated by the FDA and foreign regulatory agencies.
Our Oncophage manufacturing staff is rigorously trained and routinely evaluated for conformance to manufacturing procedures and quality standards. This oversight is intended to ensure compliance with FDA regulations and to provide consistent vaccine output. Our quality control and quality assurance staff is similarly trained and evaluated as part of our effort to ensure consistency in the testing and release of the product, materials, equipment and facilities.
AG-858
AG-858 is a personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine based on our heat shock protein technology for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML, a type of cancer characterized by the proliferation of abnormal white blood cells. AG-858 consists of purified HSPPCs based on a specific heat shock protein called HSP70. Because CML is a cancer of the blood, these HSPPCs are purified from a patient’s white blood cells, which are obtained through leukapheresis, a method of blood filtration through a machine whereby white blood cells are removed and other blood cell types are returned to the donor.
Background. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 33,440 new cases of all types of leukemia in 2004 in the United States. Of these, about 4,600 cases will be diagnosed as chronic myelogenous leukemia. The current standard of care for CML is treatment with GleevecTM (imatinib mesylate, Novartis).
Clinical Trials. In December 2002, interim data was reported from a pilot trial conducted at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. This pilot trial studied the feasibility of using purified HSP70 and its associated antigens, also known as HSPPC-70, in combination with Gleevec for the treatment of CML. In this exploratory trial, the investigators reported that five out of the five evaluable patients showed a clinical response that could be objectively verified by reproducible criteria such as the measurable reduction of quantity of tumor cells present in the patients blood. Updated data were subsequently presented as an oral presentation at the ASCO meeting in June 2003. The investigators reported that seven of the eight patients evaluated achieved a clinical response. Further data on this HSPPC-70 study were presented at the ASH meeting in December 2003. Of the 17 evaluable patients, 11 experienced a reduction in levels of disease as determined either by cytogenetic or molecular tests which measure, respectively, the number or presence of leukemia causing CML cells in the patient’s blood. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable for any of these results. HSPPC-70 vaccines were successfully prepared for all patients and were well tolerated in the clinical trial.
In April 2003, we initiated an international, multi-center Phase 2 trial combining AG-858, Antigenics’ HSP70-based product candidate, with Gleevec. In May 2004, the Company voluntarily placed enrollment of this study on hold to modify the cell collection procedure. The study resumed on July 24, 2004. The trial will evaluate the safety and cytogenetic response (changes in the amount of tumor cells in the patient’s blood) of this combination treatment in up to 40 patients with chronic phase CML who are currently receiving Gleevec treatment but are cytogenetically positive. We expect to complete enrollment in this trial by mid 2005 and to release the data from this trial approximately 12-15 months after completion of enrollment.
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Manufacturing
We also transferred the manufacture of AG-858 to our facility in Lexington, Massachusetts during the first quarter of 2004. The facility’s initial capacity, for Oncophage and AG-858 combined, is approximately 10,000 patient doses per year, expandable to between 40,000 and 50,000 patient doses per year. On average, it takes 20 to 25 hours of direct processing time to manufacture a patient batch of AG-858. We are developing a revised manufacturing process for AG-858 to reduce this processing time. All patient doses of HSPPC-70 for the pilot study were manufactured at the University of Connecticut, where the study is being conducted.
The manufacturing process for AG-858 is based on similar principles as those used for Oncophage. After manufacturing, AG-858 is fully tested and released by our quality systems staff. The quality control organization performs a series of release assays designed to ensure that the product meets all applicable specifications. Our quality assurance staff also reviews manufacturing and quality control records prior to batch release in an effort to assure conformance with Good Manufacturing Practices as mandated by the FDA and key foreign regulatory agencies.
Our AG-858 manufacturing staff is rigorously trained and routinely evaluated for conformance to manufacturing procedures and quality standards. This oversight is intended to ensure compliance with FDA regulations and to provide consistent vaccine output. Our quality control and quality assurance staff is similarly trained and evaluated as part of our effort to ensure consistency in the testing and release of the product, materials, equipment and facilities.
AG-702/ AG-707
AG-702/ AG-707 is our therapeutic vaccine program based on our heat shock protein technology for the treatment of genital herpes, a chronic disease caused by herpes simplex virus-2, or HSV-2. AG-702 consists of HSPPCs that we manufacture by complexing, or binding, a heat shock protein to a single peptide of HSV-2 and is referred to as a monovalent vaccine. In theory, this monovalent vaccine would only address approximately 40 percent of the patient population due to variances in patients’ genetic makeup. AG-707 is a multivalent vaccine (a type of vaccine that addresses multiple targets) containing multiple HSV-2 peptides. The multivalent AG-707 is therefore designed to address HSV-2 infection in a broad population of patients (up to 90 percent of those affected). AG-707 is designed to be a off-the-shelf product because the antigenic profile of HSV-2 is similar in all patients so personalization of the products is not required. The most common side effects of AG-702/ AG-707 have been injection site reactions or transient low-grade fevers. Laboratory experiments to characterize and formulate AG-707 have demonstrated an immune response and reduced disease severity in animals treated with product prior to exposure to HSV2 virus and stability in pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo models.
Background. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in surveys from 1997 that about one in five people in the United States ages 12 or older is infected with HSV-2. The World Health Organization estimated in 1995 that approximately 21 million people worldwide are infected each year. Genital herpes is currently treated with palliative antiviral agents that reduce further replication of the virus.
Clinical Trials. We initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of AG-702 as a proof-of-principle study in the fourth quarter of 2001 at The University of Washington. This is a dose-escalation study in both healthy volunteers and genital herpes patients. We expect to file an Investigational New Drug application (IND) for AG-707, our multivalent product candidate, for the treatment of genital herpes in the first half of 2005 and, assuming allowance of the IND by the FDA, we would expect to begin enrolling patients shortly thereafter.
Manufacturing
The synthetic peptide components used in of AG-702/ AG-707 are manufactured for us by a contract manufacturer. The recombinant HSP70 used in AG-702 was also produced by a contract manufacturer.
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Aroplatin
Aroplatin is a novel liposomal formulation of a third-generation platinum chemotherapeutic structurally similar to Oxaliplatin, a recently approved treatment for colorectal cancer. Although, structural similarity does not guarantee similar clinical benefit, laboratory studies comparing Aroplatin to Oxaliplatin showed that Aroplatin suppressed tumor growth, caused a reduction in tumor size, and provided a 50% increase in survival as compared to control animals. This data represents a five-fold improvement to results seen from the Oxaliplatin arm of the study. Laboratory studies also indicate that Aroplatin has considerable anti-tumor activity, which is the ability to kill cancer cells. This anti-tumor activity has been demonstrated in over ten tumor cell lines with results that are at least three fold, or better, than those of cisplatin and/or carboplatin, two other approved platinum chemotherapeutic agents. Platinum chemotherapeutics are cancer drugs containing the metallic element platinum, which has been shown to have some anti-cancer effects. Platinum chemotherapeutics have shown the ability to shrink solid tumors and, often in combination with non-platinum anti-cancer agents, have demonstrated moderate ability to slow the spread of several types of solid tumor cancers. Published results which demonstrate activity of Aroplatin against tumors cells resistant to cisplatin and carboplatin suggest that Aroplatin may be useful in cancers that are already resistant to platinum agents. Aroplatin is also encapsulated in a liposome, or a round shell of phospholipids, the basic components of human cell membranes. Liposome encapsulation has been shown to increase a drug’s bioavailability, or the amount of time and specific distribution within the body, which can extend the treatment’s effect. In some cases, liposomal drugs have been shown to accumulate at the site of a tumor, delivering higher concentrations of the drug to a disease target. The liposomal delivery system can also help to reduce the damaging effects of some drugs on healthy tissues. Aroplatin has the safety profile of a chemotherapeutic agent; the most common side effect being suppression of formation of new red or white blood cells and platelets in the bone marrow. Thus, based on its chemical structure which makes it active against platinal resistant tumors and its liposomal formulation, we believe that Aroplatin will have some advantages for the treatment of certain cancers compared with current platinum-based chemotherapeutics such as carboplatin and cisplatin.
Clinical Trials
We initiated a Phase 2 trial for advanced colorectal cancer unresponsive to medical treatment (refractory) in 2002. This single-arm, open-label trial, conducted at the Arizona Cancer Center, was designed to evaluate the effect of Aroplatin alone in patients whose disease is not responsive to standard first-line cancer treatments (5-fluorouracil/leucovorin or capecitabine and irinotecan). In September 2003, the investigators presented findings from this trial at ECCO. One out of the 15 evaluable patients demonstrated a partial clinical response and two experienced disease stabilization. Because this was a single-arm study without a comparator arm, statistical significance is not calculable. In addition, researchers observed that Aroplatin appears well tolerated in this pretreated patient population. This trial is closed to enrollment.
In January 2003, we also initiated at the John Wayne Cancer Center, in Santa Monica, California, a Phase 1/ 2 trial of Aroplatin for a variety of advanced solid tumors amenable to platinum therapy. This study is closed to enrollment.
We are currently conducting preclinical experiments with Aroplatin to determine how the formulation of Aroplatin could be improved. Subject to the results of these experiments, we may launch a series of further preclinical experiments to support future clinical trials with an improved formulation or we may make the decision to suspend or delay the current development of Aroplatin. We estimate that preclinical testing will conclude during 2004 followed, if successful, by further clinical development.
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Manufacturing
Aroplatin has been manufactured for us by contract manufacturers. These contract manufacturers also produce drug products for other pharmaceutical companies at clinical and commercial scale and are regularly inspected and qualified by US and foreign regulatory agencies.
QS-21
Introduction
QS-21 is an adjuvant, or a substance added to vaccines and other immunotherapies that is designed to enhance the body’s immune response to the antigen contained within the treatment. QS-21 is best known for its ability to stimulate antibody, or humoral, immune response, and has also been shown to activate cellular immunity. A natural product, QS-21 is a triterpene glycoside, or saponin, a natural compound purified from the bark of a South American tree called Quillaja saponaria. It is sufficiently characterized with a known molecular structure, thus distinguishing it from other adjuvant candidates, which are typically emulsions, polymers or biologicals.
QS-21 has been tested in more than 90 clinical trials involving, in aggregate, over 3,100 patients in a variety of cancer indications and infectious diseases. These studies have been carried out by academic institutions predominantly located in the United States and by global pharmaceutical companies at more than 20 international sites. A number of these studies have shown QS-21 to be significantly more effective in stimulating antibody responses than aluminum hydroxide or aluminum phosphate, the only adjuvants used in approved vaccines in the United States today. None of these QS-21 trials have been pivotal. QS-21 is currently being used in one commercial product approved in Europe. This product is a veterinary drug used as a vaccination against feline leukemia virus and is owned and marketed by Virbac SA.
Partnered QS-21 Programs
A number of pharmaceutical and biotech companies have licensed QS-21 for a variety of human diseases. Companies with active and ongoing QS-21 programs are GlaxoSmithKline, P.L.C., Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Elan Corporation, plc. and Advanced Bioscience Laboratories. In return for rights to use QS-21, these companies have agreed to pay us license fees, milestone payments, and royalties on product sales. We have retained worldwide manufacturing rights and have the right to subcontract manufacturing for QS-21. In addition to these companies, we have developed a number of academic collaborations to test new vaccine concepts and products containing QS-21. Currently, there are no pivotal trials ongoing with QS-21. GlaxoSmithKlein, P.L.C., however, has recently released data on a proof of concept study in malaria that may form the basis for Phase 3 trials utilizing QS-21. Elan Pharmaceuticals, a sponsor that had been investigating a product candidate for Alzheimer’s disease, notified us of patients who were reported to show clinical signs consistent with inflammation of the central nervous system. The investigators reported “possible” causality with the study drug. We do not have details regarding these events. To our knowledge, however, there is no report of a causal connection between QS-21 and development of inflammation of the central nervous system. In one study investigating the product candidate for Alzheimer’s disease, no events involving inflammation of the central nervous system have been reported from the study arm in which only QS-21 was administered. Additionally, no events of inflammation of the central nervous system have been reported to us from any other studies of drugs containing adjuvant QS-21.
Manufacturing
We have entered into a supply agreement as of March 2004 for the production of QS-21. To date, we have not purchased any product under this agreement. The manufacturer is capable of producing up to 2 million doses per batch at this facility. We have retained worldwide manufacturing rights and have the right to subcontract manufacturing for QS-21.
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Preclinical Programs
“Next Generation” Oncophage
Our lead preclinical program is focused on a “next-generation” Oncophage vaccine, which incorporates several important innovations. In this next generation Oncophage, the binding of heat shock proteins to peptides occurs artificially in a test tube rather than naturally, as in our first generation Oncophage. This will allow us to prepare larger quantities of product than the original Oncophage. We expect to be able to manufacture sufficient quantities of a personalized cancer vaccine from much smaller tumor tissue samples. This approach would be designed to treat patients with earlier stages of disease in a broader array of cancers. Clinical trials conducted with first generation Oncophage will not need to be repeated, as the first generation will continue to be used for treatment of cancers in which it is currently being used for in Phase 3 clinical trials.
HSP Combinations
During 2004, we have launched a significant preclinical program to evaluate Oncophage in combination with other compounds such as other biologic and chemotherapeutic products. Some of these combination experiments will be conducted in collaboration with prospective pharmaceutical partners who have expressed an interest in studying certain of their compounds in combination with Oncophage.
Intellectual Property Portfolio
We devote significant resources to protecting and expanding our intellectual property portfolio. We seek to protect our core technologies through a combination of patents, trade secrets, and know-how. We currently have exclusive rights to 81 issued United States patents and 87 foreign patents. We also have rights to 67 pending United States patent applications and 208 pending foreign patent applications. Our issued patents cover our core technologies including (i) HSPs such as Oncophage and AG-858 for treatment of cancers; (ii) HSPs such as AG-707 for treatment of infections; (iii) HSPs for treatment of autoimmune disorders; (iv) saponin adjuvants such as QS-21; and (v) liposomal drugs, including Aroplatin. In addition, several patent applications are related to technology based on HSP receptors, including CD91, one of our preclinical programs. The following tables provide detailed information regarding the United States patents and patent applications relating to our product candidates and technologies and their uses. The tables encompass less than all of our 151 issued patents and 197 pending patent applications because a substantial portion of our patent portfolio is directed to alternative and/or non-core technologies.
Table 1
| HSPs in | ||||||||
| Oncophage® & | Autoimmune | HSP | ||||||
| Products or Technologies | AG-858 | AG-707 | Disorders | Receptors | ||||
|
Number of issued U.S. patents
|
12 | 9 | 1 | 0 | ||||
|
Expiration range
|
2015 — 2018 | 2015 — 2017 | 2017 | — | ||||
|
Number of pending U.S. patent
applications
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | ||||
|
Number of issued foreign patents
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | ||||
|
Expiration range
|
2015 — 2018 | 2015 — 2016 | 2018 | — | ||||
|
Number of pending foreign patent
applications
|
11 | 8 | 4 | 9 |
We also have rights to 24 issued U.S. patents and 22 U.S. patent applications 6 issued foreign patents and 53 foreign patent applications directed to various other HSP technologies. With the exception of one patent application that we own outright, all of our patent applications relating to Oncophage®, AG-858 and AG-707 are licensed exclusively to us.
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Table 2
| Products or Technologies | QS-21 | Aroplatin | ||
|
Number of issued U.S. patents
|
5 | 3 | ||
|
Expiration range
|
2008 — 2017 | 2010 — 2020 | ||
|
Number of pending U.S. patent
applications
|
3 | 6 | ||
|
Number of issued foreign patents
|
35 | 18 | ||
|
Expiration range
|
2008 — 2012 | 2006 — 2012 | ||
|
Number of pending foreign patent
applications
|
23 | 6 |
All patents and applications relating to QS-21 are owned by Antigenics. All of the foreign patents and two foreign patent applications relating to AroplatinTM and all of the U.S. patents and U.S. patent applications relating to AroplatinTM are licensed exclusively to us. We own four foreign applications relating to AroplatinTM.
It is worth noting that:
| • | patent applications in the United States are currently maintained in secrecy until they are published, generally 18 months after they are first filed in any country; | |
| • | patent applications in other countries, likewise, generally are not published until 18 months after they are first filed in any country; | |
| • | publication of technological developments in the scientific or patent literature often lags behind the date of these developments; and | |
| • | searches of prior art may not reveal all relevant prior inventions. |
In addition to our patents, we rely on our trade secrets and know-how to provide a competitive advantage, and we intend to continue to develop and protect this proprietary information. We take active measures to control access to know-how and trade secrets through confidentiality agreements, which we require almost all of our employees, consultants and scientific collaborators to execute upon the commencement of an employment or consulting relationship with us. These agreements generally provide that all confidential information developed or made known to the individual by us during the course of the individual’s relationship with us is to be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties except in specific circumstances. In the case of employees and consultants, the agreements generally provide that all inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us are assigned to us and become our exclusive property.
With the exception of one patent application that we own outright, all of our heat shock protein patents and patent applications relating to Oncophage, AG-858, and AG-702/707 have been exclusively licensed to us by the following academic institutions:
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
In November 1994, we entered into a patent license agreement with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Through the Mount Sinai agreement, we obtained an exclusive worldwide license to patent rights relating to the heat shock protein technology that resulted from the research and development performed by Dr. Pramod Srivastava, our founding scientist and one of our directors. We agreed to pay Mount Sinai a royalty on the net sales of products covered by the licensed patent rights and also provided Mount Sinai with a 0.45% equity interest in the company (approximately 62,000 shares) valued at approximately $90,000 at the time of issuance. The term of the Mount Sinai agreement ends when the last of the licensed patents expires (2018) or becomes no longer valid. If we fail to pay royalties that are due under the agreement, Mount Sinai may issue written notice to us. If we continue to fail to pay royalties after 60 days of the written notice, Mount Sinai can terminate the agreement. The Mount Sinai agreement requires us to use due diligence to make the products covered by the licensed patent rights commercially available, including a requirement for us to use best efforts to reach a number of developmental
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Fordham University
During 1995, Dr. Srivastava moved his research to Fordham University. We entered into a sponsored research and technology license agreement with Fordham in March 1995 relating to the continued development of the heat shock protein technology and agreed to make payments to Fordham to sponsor Dr. Srivastava’s research. Through the Fordham agreement, we obtained an exclusive, perpetual, worldwide license to all of the intellectual property, including all the patent rights, that resulted from the research and development performed by Dr. Srivastava at Fordham. We also agreed to pay Fordham a royalty on the net sales of products covered by the Fordham agreement through the last expiration date on the patents under the agreement (2018) or when the patents become no longer valid. The agreement does not contain any milestone payment provisions or any due diligence provisions. Dr. Srivastava moved his research to the University of Connecticut Health Center during 1997 and, accordingly, the parts of the agreement related to payments for sponsored research at Fordham terminated in mid-1997. During the term of this agreement, we paid Fordham approximately $2,374,000.
University of Connecticut
Research Agreement
In February 1998, we entered into a research agreement with the University of Connecticut Health Center, or UConn, and Dr. Srivastava relating to the continued development of heat shock protein technology. The research agreement provides us with an option to license inventions stemming from the research that we sponsor at UConn and provides certain pre-determined royalty rates for licensed inventions. The research agreement had an initial term of five years which was amended during 2002 and again on December 31, 2003 to currently : (1) extend the term of the research agreement to December 31, 2008, and (2) provide for an annual payment of $1,350,000 payable quarterly at the rate of $337,500 from 2004 to 2008. UConn may terminate the research agreement upon 60 days written notice if it is unable to fulfill the terms of the research agreement. We can terminate the research agreement by giving 30 days written notice in the event that Dr. Srivastava terminates his employment by UConn or is otherwise unable to continue his research at UConn.
License Agreement
In May 2001, we entered into a license agreement with UConn. Through the license agreement, we obtained an exclusive worldwide license to patent rights resulting from inventions discovered under the research agreement. The term of the license agreement ends when the last of the licensed patents expires (2018) or becomes no longer valid. UConn may terminate the agreement: (1) if, after 30 days written notice, we fail to make any payments due under the License Agreement, or (2) we cease to carry on our business related to the patent rights or if we initiate or conduct actions in order to declare bankruptcy. We may terminate the agreement upon 90 days written notice. The license agreement contains aggregate milestone payments of approximately $1.2 million for each product we develop covered by the licensed patent rights. These milestone payments are contingent upon regulatory filings, regulatory approvals, and commercial sales of products. We have also agreed to pay UConn a royalty on the net sales of products covered by the license agreement as well as annual license maintenance fees beginning in May 2006. Royalties otherwise due on the net sales of products covered by the license agreement may be credited against the annual license maintenance fee obligations. As of September 30, 2004, we have paid approximately $55,000 to UConn under the license agreement. The license agreement gives us complete discretion over the commercialization of products covered by the licensed patent rights but also requires us to use commercially reasonable diligent efforts to introduce commercial products within and outside the United States. If we fail to meet these due diligence requirements, UConn may be able to terminate the license agreement.
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Amendment Agreement
In March 2003, we entered into an amendment agreement that amended certain provisions of both the research agreement and the license agreement. The amendment agreement provides that any time we elect to exercise our option to license inventions discovered or developed as a result of research we sponsor at UConn, such inventions will be automatically covered under the terms of our existing license agreement with UConn. In consideration for execution of the amendment agreement and for the license of additional patent rights, we agreed to pay UConn an up-front payment and to make future payments for each patent or patent application with respect to which we exercise our option under the research agreement. As of September 30, 2004, we have paid approximately $52,000 to UConn under the amendment agreement.
With the exception of five patent applications that we own outright, all of our Aroplatin patents and patent applications have been exclusively licensed to us by the following corporation and institution:
Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.
In December 2000, Aronex Pharmaceuticals, a company we acquired in July 2001, entered into a license agreement with Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. The license agreement grants us the exclusive right to an issued U.S. patent application that contains certain claims to the active ingredient in Aroplatin. Except for the treatment of hepatoma, the license agreement gives us the exclusive right to make, use, develop, import and sell Aroplatin in the United States. The term of the license agreement ends when the licensed patent expires. As the Sumitomo patent has not issued yet, the term of the license agreement would end 17 years after the date that the Sumitomo patent is issued. Either party may terminate the license agreement by giving written notice to the other party upon the occurrence of the following events: (1) if the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings, or has a trustee or receiver appointed for substantially all of its assets, (2) if the other party becomes insolvent, or (3) if the other party defaults in its performance under the license agreement. Prior to our acquisition of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Sumitomo received a $500,000 up-front payment in 2001 from Aronex Pharmaceuticals and will receive subsequent milestone payments from us in the aggregate of up to $3.5 million if regulatory filings, regulatory approval and sales in connection with Aroplatin occur. We agreed to pay Sumitomo royalties on the net sales of Aroplatin in the United States upon commercialization of the product. The license agreement does not contain any due diligence provisions.
University of Texas Board of Regents / University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
In June 1988, a predecessor to Aronex Pharmaceuticals entered into an exclusive license agreement with: (1) The Board of Regents of The University of Texas System, and (2) The University of Texas System Cancer Center, collectively referred to as the “University of Texas”. As amended, the exclusive license agreement grants us the exclusive, worldwide license to patents containing claims that relate to Aroplatin. The term of the exclusive license agreement expires when the last licensed patent expires (2010). Either party may terminate the agreement upon 60 days written notice if the other party materially breaches any material terms of the exclusive license agreement. The agreement requires that we meet certain diligence provisions, specifically the conduct of ongoing and active research, developmental activities, marketing, clinical testing, or a licensing program, directed towards the production and sale of Aroplatin. If we fail to comply with these diligence provisions, the University of Texas may be able to terminate the exclusive license agreement upon 90 days written notice. The University of Texas also has the right terminate the exclusive license agreement in the event that: (1) we discontinue our business, (2) we have a receiver or trustee appointed for our assets, or (3) we are the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding. We agreed to pay the University of Texas royalties on the net sales of Aroplatin. The applicable royalty percentage is dependent on the level of net sales of Aroplatin. We have also agreed to make a $200,000 milestone payment to the University of Texas if the FDA approves a new drug application for Aroplatin. To date, we have not made any payments to the University of Texas under the license agreement.
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Regulatory Considerations
Governmental authorities in the United States and other countries extensively regulate the preclinical and clinical testing, manufacturing, labeling, storage, record keeping, advertising, promotion, export, marketing and distribution, among other things, of our investigational product candidates. In the United States, the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act and other federal statutes and regulations, subject pharmaceutical products to rigorous review.
In order to obtain approval of a new product from the FDA, we must, among other requirements, submit proof of safety and efficacy as well as detailed information on the manufacture and composition of the product. In most cases, this proof entails extensive preclinical, clinical, and laboratory tests. The FDA may also require confirmatory trials, post-marketing testing and extra surveillance to monitor the effects of approved products or place conditions on any approvals that could restrict the commercial applications of these products.
The first stage of the FDA approval process for a new biologic or drug involves completion of preclinical studies and the submission of the results of these studies to the FDA. This, together with proposed clinical protocols, manufacturing information, analytical data and other information, in an investigational new drug application, or IND, must become effective before human clinical trials may commence. Preclinical studies involve laboratory evaluation of product characteristics and animal studies to assess the efficacy and safety of the product. The FDA regulates preclinical studies under a series of regulations called the current “Good Laboratory Practices” regulations. If the sponsor violates these regulations, in some cases, the FDA may invalidate the studies and require that the sponsor replicate those studies.
After the IND becomes effective, a sponsor may commence human clinical trials. The sponsor typically conducts human clinical trials in three sequential phases, but the phases may overlap. In Phase 1 trials, the sponsor tests the product in a small number of patients or healthy volunteers, primarily for safety at one or more doses. Phase 1 trials in cancer however are often conducted with patients that are not healthy who have end-stage or metastatic cancer. In Phase 2, in addition to safety, the sponsor evaluates the efficacy of the product in a patient population somewhat larger than Phase 1 trials. Phase 3 trials typically involve additional testing for safety and clinical efficacy in an expanded population at geographically dispersed test sites. The sponsor must submit to the FDA a clinical plan, or “protocol,” accompanied by the approval of the institution participating in the trials, prior to commencement of each clinical trial. The FDA may order the temporary or permanent discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time.
The sponsor must submit to the FDA the results of the preclinical and clinical testing, together with, among other things, detailed information on the manufacture and composition of the product, in the form of a new drug application or, in the case of a biologic, like Oncophage or AG-858, a biologics license application. In a process which can take a year or more, the FDA reviews this application and, when and if it decides that adequate data is available to show that the new compound is both safe and effective for a particular indication and that other applicable requirements have been met, approves the drug or biologic for marketing. The amount of time taken for this approval process is a function of a number of variables, including the quality of the submission and studies presented, the potential contribution that the compound will make in improving the treatment of the disease in question, and the workload at the FDA.
Congress enacted the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 in part to ensure the availability of safe and effective drugs, biologics, and medical devices by expediting the FDA review process for new products. The Modernization Act establishes a statutory program for the approval of Fast Track products, including biologics. A Fast Track product is defined as a new drug or biologic intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition that demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for this condition. Under the Fast Track program, the sponsor of a new drug or biologic may request the FDA to designate the drug or biologic as a Fast Track product at any time during the clinical development of the product. This designation assures access to FDA personnel for consultation throughout the development process and provides an opportunity to request accelerated review of a
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The Modernization Act specifies that the FDA must determine if the product qualifies for Fast Track designation within 60 days of receipt of the sponsor’s request. The FDA can base approval of a marketing application for a Fast Track product on an effect on a clinical endpoint or on another endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. The FDA may subject approval of an application for a Fast Track product to:
| • | post-approval studies to validate the surrogate endpoint or confirm the effect on the clinical endpoint; and | |
| • | prior review of all promotional materials. |
In addition, the FDA may withdraw its approval of a Fast Track product on a number of grounds, including the sponsor’s failure to conduct any required post-approval study with due diligence.
If a preliminary review of the clinical data suggests that a Fast Track product may be effective, the FDA may initiate review of sections of a marketing application for a Fast Track product before the sponsor completes the application. This rolling review is available if the applicant provides a schedule for submission of remaining information and pays applicable user fees. However, the time periods specified under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act concerning timing goals to which the FDA has committed in reviewing an application, do not begin until the sponsor submits the complete application.
The Orphan Drug Program provides a mechanism for the FDA to acknowledge that a product is designed to treat a disease with limited prevalence in the United States. An Orphan Drug designation bestows certain advantages including extending marketing exclusivity if the product is ultimately approved for marketing, considerations in trial size and design based on the actual patient population, and tax credits for some research and development expenses. We hold orphan drug designations for Oncophage in renal cell carcinoma and in melanoma.
The FDA may, during its review of a new drug application or biologics license application, ask for additional test data. If the FDA does ultimately approve a product, it may require post-marketing testing, including potentially expensive Phase 4 studies, and extra surveillance to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the drug. In addition, the FDA may in some circumstances impose restrictions on the use of the drug that may be difficult and expensive to administer, and may require prior approval of promotional materials.
Before approving a new drug application or biologics license application, the FDA will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured and will not approve the product unless the manufacturing facilities are in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices. In order to accomplish this inspection, a local field division of the FDA is responsible for completing this inspection and providing a recommendation for or against approval. We are in communication with the field division of the FDA regarding our manufacturing facilities. This effort is intended to assure appropriate facility and process design to avoid potentially lengthy delays in product approvals due to inspection deficiencies.
Following approval, the manufacture, holding, and distribution of a product must be in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices. Manufacturers must expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control and record keeping and reporting to ensure full compliance with those requirements. The labeling, advertising, promotion, marketing, and distribution of a drug or biologic product must be in compliance with FDA regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with applicable requirements can lead to the FDA demanding that production and shipment cease, and, in some cases, that the manufacturer recall products, or to enforcement actions that can include seizures, injunctions, and criminal prosecution. These failures can also lead to FDA withdrawal of approval to market a product.
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We are also subject to regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, and the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and other regulatory statutes, and may in the future be subject to other federal, state or local regulations. Either or both OSHA and/or the EPA may promulgate regulations that may affect our research and development programs.
Sales of pharmaceutical products outside the United States are subject to foreign regulatory requirements that vary widely from country to country. Whether or not we have obtained FDA approval, we must obtain approval of a product by comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries prior to the commencement of marketing the product in those countries. The time required to obtain this approval may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval.
Competition
Competition in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is intense. Many pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies have products on the market and are actively engaged in the research and development of products for the treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders. In addition, many competitors focus on immunotherapy as a treatment for cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders. In particular, some of these companies are developing cancer vaccines produced from a patient’s own cells or tissue. Others are focusing on developing heat shock protein products. We compete for funding, access to licenses, personnel, and third-party collaborations. In addition, many competitors have substantially greater financial, manufacturing, marketing, sales, distribution, and technical resources, and more experience in research and development, clinical trials and regulatory matters, than we do. A competing company developing, or acquiring rights to, a more efficacious therapeutic product for the same diseases we are targeting, or one which offers significantly lower costs of treatment, could render our products noncompetitive or obsolete.
Academic institutions, governmental agencies, and other public and private research institutions conduct significant amounts of research in biotechnology, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacology. These entities have become increasingly active in seeking patent protection and licensing revenues for their research results. They also compete with us in recruiting and retaining skilled scientific talent.
We are aware of certain programs and products under development by others that may compete with our programs and products. Several companies, including Biomira Inc., CancerVax Corporation, Cell Genesys Inc., Corixa Corporation, Dendreon Corporation, Genzyme Corporation and Intracel Corporation, are developing treatments for cancer based on modulation of the immune system, including cancer vaccines. In addition, several companies, including Pfizer Inc, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Genentech, Roche, Merck, Schering-Plough, AstraZeneca, and Wyeth, have expertise in, and are developing products for the treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders. We are aware of one competitor, Dendreon Corporation, who received fast track designation for Provenge, an autologous cancer vaccine for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Certain companies to which we have licensed QS-21 have also licensed vaccine adjuvants form direct competitors, such as Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Corixa Corporation and Avant Immunotherapeutics. The existence of products developed by these and other competitors, or other products of which we are not aware or which other companies may develop in the future, may adversely affect the marketability of products we develop.
Employees
As of September 30, 2004, we had 227 employees, of whom 27 have PhDs and 4 have MDs. None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. We believe that we have good relations with our employees.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
Except as otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities covered by this prospectus for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, research and development expenditures, clinical trial expenditures, acquisitions of new technologies, and investments. Additional information on the use of net proceeds from the sale of securities covered by this prospectus may be set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the specific offering.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS
The following table sets forth our dollar coverage deficiency. The ratio of earnings to fixed charges is not disclosed since it is a negative number in each year and period shown below. Any time we offer debt securities pursuant to this prospectus, we will provide an updated table setting forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges on a historical basis in the applicable prospectus supplement, if required. Any time we offer shares of preferred stock pursuant to this prospectus, we will provide a table setting forth our ratio of combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends to earnings, if required.
| For The | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| For The Year Ended December 31, | Nine Months | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | September 30, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Coverage deficiency
|
$ | (18,124 | ) | $ | (46,717 | ) | $ | (73,984 | ) | $ | (56,142 | ) | $ | (66,266 | ) | $ | (52,341 | ) | ||||||
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DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK
The following summary of the terms of our common stock is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our charter and by-laws, copies of which are on file with the SEC as exhibits to previous SEC filings. Please refer to “Where You Can Find More Information” below for directions on obtaining these documents.
We have authority to issue 100,000,000 shares of common stock. As of December 1, 2004, we had 45,522,820 shares of common stock outstanding.
General
Subject to preferences that may apply to shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding shares of common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of assets legally available for payment of dividends, as the board may from time to time determine. Each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting for the election of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the shares voted can elect all of the directors then standing for election. The common stock is not entitled to preemptive rights and is not subject to conversion or redemption. Each outstanding share of common stock offered by this prospectus will, when issued, be fully paid and nonassessable.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer and Trust Company. Its telephone number is (800) 937-5449.
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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK
We currently have authorized 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock, 31,620 shares of which have been designated Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and were issued and outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. The remaining 24,968,380 authorized shares of preferred stock are undesignated and not issued and outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. As of the date of this prospectus, we do not have any equity securities that would be senior to, or on par with, our authorized preferred stock.
Series A Preferred Stock
On September 24, 2003, we sold 31,620 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $.01 per share, which we refer to as “Series A Preferred Stock”, to Brad M. Kelley. Under the terms and conditions of the Certificate of Designation creating the Series A Preferred Stock, the stock is convertible by the holder at any time into shares of our common stock, is non-voting, carries a 2.5 percent annual dividend yield, has an initial conversion price of $15.81, and is redeemable by us at its face amount on or after September 24, 2013. The liquidation value of this Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is equal to $1,000 per share outstanding plus any accrued unpaid dividends. The Certificate of Designation does not restrict the repurchase or redemption of shares by us while there is an arrearage in the payment of dividends. The Certificate of Designations does not contemplate a sinking fund. This description of the Series A Preferred Stock is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Certificate of Designation.
Undesignated Shares
Under Delaware law and our charter, our board of directors is authorized, without stockholder approval, to issue shares of preferred stock from time to time in one or more series. Subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law and our charter and by-laws, the board of directors can determine the number of shares constituting each series of preferred stock and the designation, preferences, voting powers, qualifications, and special or relative rights or privileges of that series. These may include provisions concerning voting, redemption, dividends, dissolution or the distribution of assets, conversion or exchange, and other subjects or matters as may be fixed by resolution of the board or an authorized committee of the board.
Our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction which holders of some, or a majority, of our common stock might believe to be in their best interests or in which holders of some, or a majority, of our common stock might receive a premium for their shares over the then market price of those shares.
If we offer a specific series of preferred stock under this prospectus, we will describe the terms of the preferred stock in the prospectus supplement for such offering and will file a copy of the certificate establishing the terms of the preferred stock with the SEC. To the extent required, this description will include:
| • | the title and stated value; | |
| • | the number of shares offered, the liquidation preference per share and the purchase price; | |
| • | the dividend rate(s), period(s) and/or payment date(s), or method(s) of calculation for such dividends; | |
| • | whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate; | |
| • | the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any; | |
| • | the provisions for a sinking fund, if any; | |
| • | the provisions for redemption, if applicable; |
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| • | any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market; | |
| • | whether the preferred stock will be convertible into Antigenics common stock, and, if applicable, the conversion price (or how it will be calculated) and conversion period; | |
| • | whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if applicable, the exchange price (or how it will be calculated) and exchange period; | |
| • | voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock; | |
| • | a discussion of any material and/or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock; | |
| • | the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of Antigenics; and | |
| • | any material limitations on issuance of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Antigenics. |
The preferred stock offered by this prospectus will, when issued, be fully paid and nonassessable and will not have, or be subject to, any preemptive or similar rights.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for any series or class of preferred stock will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
We will issue the debt securities offered by this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement under an indenture to be entered into between Antigenics and the trustee identified in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of the debt securities will include those stated in the indenture and those made part of the indenture by reference to the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as in effect on the date of the indenture. We have filed a copy of the form of indenture as an exhibit to the registration statement in which this prospectus is included. The indenture will be subject to and governed by the terms of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
We may offer under this prospectus up to an aggregate principal amount of $100,000,000 in debt securities; or if debt securities are issued at a discount, or in a foreign currency, foreign currency units or composite currency, the principal amount as may be sold for an initial public offering price of up to $100,000,000. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will represent direct, unsecured obligations of Antigenics and will rank equally with all of our other unsecured indebtedness.
The following statements relating to the debt securities and the indenture are summaries, qualified in their entirety to the detailed provisions of the indenture.
General
We may issue the debt securities in one or more series with the same or various maturities, at par, at a premium, or at a discount. We will describe the particular terms of each series of debt securities in a prospectus supplement relating to that series, which we will file with the SEC.
The prospectus supplement will set forth, to the extent required, the following terms of the debt securities in respect of which the prospectus supplement is delivered:
| • | the title of the series; | |
| • | the aggregate principal amount; | |
| • | the issue price or prices, expressed as a percentage of the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities; | |
| • | any limit on the aggregate principal amount; | |
| • | the date or dates on which principal is payable; | |
| • | the interest rate or rates (which may be fixed or variable) or, if applicable, the method used to determine such rate or rates; | |
| • | the date or dates from which interest, if any, will be payable and any regular record date for the interest payable; | |
| • | the place or places where principal and, if applicable, premium and interest, is payable; | |
| • | the terms and conditions upon which we may, or the holders may require us to, redeem or repurchase the debt securities; | |
| • | the denominations in which such debt securities may be issuable, if other than denominations of $1,000 or any integral multiple of that number; | |
| • | whether the debt securities are to be issuable in the form of certificated debt securities (as described below) or global debt securities (as described below); | |
| • | the portion of principal amount that will be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity date if other than the principal amount of the debt securities; | |
| • | the currency of denomination; |
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| • | the designation of the currency, currencies or currency units in which payment of principal and, if applicable, premium and interest, will be made; | |
| • | if payments of principal and, if applicable, premium or interest, on the debt securities are to be made in one or more currencies or currency units other than the currency of denomination, the manner in which the exchange rate with respect to such payments will be determined; | |
| • | if amounts of principal and, if applicable, premium and interest may be determined by reference to an index based on a currency or currencies or by reference to a commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index, then the manner in which such amounts will be determined; | |
| • | the provisions, if any, relating to any collateral provided for such debt securities; | |
| • | any addition to or change in the covenants and/or the acceleration provisions described in this prospectus or in the indenture; | |
| • | any events of default, if not otherwise described below under “Events of Default”; | |
| • | the terms and conditions, if any, for conversion into or exchange for shares of common stock or preferred stock; | |
| • | any depositaries, interest rate calculation agents, exchange rate calculation agents or other agents; and | |
| • | the terms and conditions, if any, upon which the debt securities shall be subordinated in right of payment to other indebtedness of Antigenics. |
We may issue discount debt securities that provide for an amount less than the stated principal amount to be due and payable upon acceleration of the maturity of such debt securities in accordance with the terms of the indenture. We may also issue debt securities in bearer form, with or without coupons. If we issue discount debt securities or debt securities in bearer form, we will describe material U.S. federal income tax considerations and other material special considerations which apply to these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.
We may issue debt securities denominated in or payable in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units. If we do, we will describe the restrictions, elections, and general tax considerations relating to the debt securities and the foreign currency or currencies or foreign currency unit or units in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Exchange and/or Conversion Rights
We may issue debt securities which can be exchanged for or converted into shares of common stock or preferred stock. If we do, we will describe the term of exchange or conversion in the prospectus supplement relating to these debt securities.
Transfer and Exchange
We may issue debt securities that will be represented by either:
| • | “book-entry securities,” which means that there will be one or more global securities registered in the name of a depositary or a nominee of a depositary; or | |
| • | “certificated securities,” which means that they will be represented by a certificate issued in definitive registered form. |
We will specify in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular offering whether the debt securities offered will be book-entry or certificated securities.
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Certificated Debt Securities
If you hold certificated debt securities, you may transfer or exchange such debt securities at the trustee’s office or at the paying agent’s office or agency in accordance with the terms of the indenture. You will not be charged a service charge for any transfer or exchange of certificated debt securities but may be required to pay an amount sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with such transfer or exchange.
You may effect the transfer of certificated debt securities and of the right to receive the principal of, premium, and/or interest, if any, on the certificated debt securities only by surrendering the certificate representing the certificated debt securities and having us or the trustee issue a new certificate to the new holder.
Global Securities
If we decide to issue debt securities in the form of one or more global securities, then we will register the global securities in the name of the depositary for the global securities or the nominee of the depositary, and the global securities will be delivered by the trustee to the depositary for credit to the accounts of the holders of beneficial interests in the debt securities.
The prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of the depositary arrangement for debt securities of a series that are issued in global form. None of our company, the trustee, any payment agent or the security registrar will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in a global debt security or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to these beneficial ownership interests.
No Protection in the Event of Change of Control
The indenture does not have any covenants or other provisions providing for a put or increased interest or otherwise that would afford holders of debt securities additional protection in the event of a recapitalization transaction, a change of control of Antigenics or a highly leveraged transaction. If we offer any covenants or provisions of this type with respect to any debt securities covered by this prospectus, we will describe them in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Covenants
Unless otherwise indicated in this prospectus or a prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not have the benefit of any covenants that limit or restrict our business or operations, the pledging of our assets or the incurrence by us of indebtedness. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement any material covenants in respect of a series of debt securities.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets
We have agreed in the indenture that we will not consolidate with or merge into any other person or convey, transfer, sell or lease our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any person, unless:
| • | the person formed by the consolidation or into or with which we are merged or the person to which our properties and assets are conveyed, transferred, sold or leased, is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the U.S., any state or the District of Columbia or a corporation or comparable legal entity organized under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction and, if we are not the surviving person, the surviving person has expressly assumed all of our obligations, including the payment of the principal of and, premium, if any, and interest on the debt securities and the performance of the other covenants under the indenture; and | |
| • | immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no event of default, and no event which, after notice or lapse of time or both, would become an event of default, has occurred and is continuing under the indenture. |
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Events of Default
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the following events will be events of default under the indenture with respect to debt securities of any series:
| • | we fail to pay any principal or premium, if any, when it becomes due; | |
| • | we fail to pay any interest within 30 days after it becomes due; | |
| • | we fail to observe or perform any other covenant in the debt securities or the indenture for 60 days after written notice specifying the failure from the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series; and | |
| • | certain events involving bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of Antigenics or any of our significant subsidiaries. |
The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of the debt securities of any series of any default, except in payment of principal of or premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities of a series, if the trustee considers it to be in the best interest of the holders of the debt securities of that series to do so.
If an event of default (other than an event of default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) occurs, and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may accelerate the maturity of the debt securities. If this happens, the entire principal amount, plus the premium, if any, of all the outstanding debt securities of the affected series plus accrued interest to the date of acceleration will be immediately due and payable. At any time after the acceleration, but before a judgment or decree based on such acceleration is obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of outstanding debt securities of such series may rescind and annul such acceleration if:
| • | all events of default (other than nonpayment of accelerated principal, premium or interest) have been cured or waived; | |
| • | all lawful interest on overdue interest and overdue principal has been paid; and | |
| • | the rescission would not conflict with any judgment or decree. |
In addition, if the acceleration occurs at any time when Antigenics has outstanding indebtedness which is senior to the debt securities, the payment of the principal amount of outstanding debt securities may be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment of any amounts due under the senior indebtedness, in which case the holders of debt securities will be entitled to payment under the terms prescribed in the instruments evidencing the senior indebtedness and the indenture.
If an event of default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occurs, the principal, premium and interest amount with respect to all of the debt securities of any series will be due and payable immediately without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or the holders of the debt securities of that series.
The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series will have the right to waive any existing default or compliance with any provision of the indenture or the debt securities of that series and to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, subject to certain limitations specified in the indenture.
No holder of any debt security of a series will have any right to institute any proceeding with respect to the indenture or for any remedy under the indenture, unless:
| • | the holder gives to the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default; | |
| • | the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the affected series make a written request and offer reasonable indemnity to the trustee to institute a proceeding as trustee; |
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| • | the trustee fails to institute a proceeding within 60 days after such request; and | |
| • | the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the affected series do not give the trustee a direction inconsistent with such request during such 60-day period. |
These limitations do not, however, apply to a suit instituted for payment on debt securities of any series on or after the due dates expressed in the debt securities.
Modification and Waiver
From time to time, we and the trustee may, without the consent of holders of the debt securities of one or more series, amend the indenture or the debt securities of one or more series, or supplement the indenture, for certain specified purposes, including:
| • | to provide that the surviving entity following a change of control of Antigenics permitted under the indenture will assume all of our obligations under the indenture and debt securities; | |
| • | to provide for certificated debt securities in addition to uncertificated debt securities; | |
| • | to comply with any requirements of the SEC under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939; | |
| • | to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency, or make any other change that does not materially and adversely affect the rights of any holder; and | |
| • | to appoint a successor trustee under the indenture with respect to one or more series. |
From time to time we and the trustee may, with the consent of holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities, amend or supplement the indenture or the debt securities, or waive compliance in a particular instance by us with any provision of the indenture or the debt securities. We may not, however, without the consent of each holder affected by such action, modify or supplement the indenture or the debt securities or waive compliance with any provision of the indenture or the debt securities in order to:
| • | reduce the amount of debt securities whose holders must consent to an amendment, supplement, or waiver to the indenture or such debt security; | |
| • | reduce the rate of or change the time for payment of interest; | |
| • | reduce the principal of or change the stated maturity of the debt securities; | |
| • | make any debt security payable in money other than that stated in the debt security; | |
| • | change the amount or time of any payment required or reduce the premium payable upon any redemption, or change the time before which no such redemption may be made; | |
| • | waive a default in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities or a redemption payment; or | |
| • | take any other action otherwise prohibited by the indenture to be taken without the consent of each holder affected by the action. |
Defeasance of Debt Securities and Certain Covenants in Certain Circumstances
The indenture permits us, at any time, to elect to discharge our obligations with respect to one or more series of debt securities by following certain procedures described in the indenture. These procedures will allow us either:
| • | to defease and be discharged from any and all of our obligations with respect to any debt securities except for the following obligations (which discharge is referred to as “legal defeasance”): |
| (1) | to register the transfer or exchange of such debt securities; |
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| (2) | to replace temporary or mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen debt securities; | |
| (3) | to compensate and indemnify the trustee; or | |
| (4) | to maintain an office or agency in respect of the debt securities and to hold monies for payment in trust; or |
| • | to be released from our obligations with respect to the debt securities under certain covenants contained in the indenture, as well as any additional covenants which may be contained in the applicable supplemental indenture (which release is referred to as “covenant defeasance”). |
In order to exercise either defeasance option, we must deposit with the trustee or other qualifying trustee, in trust for that purpose:
| • | money; | |
| • | U.S. Government Obligations (as described below) or Foreign Government Obligations (as described below) which through the scheduled payment of principal and interest in accordance with their terms will provide money; or | |
| • | a combination of money and/or U.S. Government Obligations and/or Foreign Government Obligations sufficient in the written opinion of a nationally-recognized firm of independent accountants to provide money; |
which in each case specified above, provides a sufficient amount to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the debt securities of the series, on the scheduled due dates or on a selected date of redemption in accordance with the terms of the indenture.
In addition, defeasance may be effected only if, among other things:
| • | in the case of either legal or covenant defeasance, we deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel, as specified in the indenture, stating that as a result of the defeasance neither the trust nor the trustee will be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940; | |
| • | in the case of legal defeasance, we deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel stating that we have received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling to the effect that, or there has been a change in any applicable federal income tax law with the effect that (and the opinion shall confirm that), the holders of outstanding debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes solely as a result of such legal defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner, including as a result of prepayment, and at the same times as would have been the case if legal defeasance had not occurred; | |
| • | in the case of covenant defeasance, we deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that the holders of the outstanding debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of covenant defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if covenant defeasance had not occurred; and | |
| • | certain other conditions described in the indenture are satisfied. |
If we fail to comply with our remaining obligations under the indenture and applicable supplemental indenture after a covenant defeasance of the indenture and applicable supplemental indenture, and the debt securities are declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any undefeased event of default, the amount of money and/or U.S. Government Obligations and/or Foreign Government Obligations on deposit with the trustee could be insufficient to pay amounts due under the debt securities of the affected series at the time of acceleration. We will, however, remain liable in respect of these payments.
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The term “U.S. Government Obligations” as used in the above discussion means securities which are direct obligations of or non-callable obligations guaranteed by the United States of America for the payment of which obligation or guarantee the full faith and credit of the United States of America is pledged.
The term “Foreign Government Obligations” as used in the above discussion means, with respect to debt securities of any series that are denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars (1) direct obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged or (2) obligations of a person controlled or supervised by or acting as an agent or instrumentality of such government the timely payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by that government, which in either case under clauses (1) or (2), are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer.
Regarding the Trustee
We will identify the trustee with respect to any series of debt securities in the prospectus supplement relating to the applicable debt securities. You should note that if the trustee becomes a creditor of Antigenics, the indenture and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 limit the rights of the trustee to obtain payment of claims in certain cases, or to realize on certain property received in respect of any such claim, as security or otherwise. The trustee and its affiliates may engage in, and will be permitted to continue to engage in, other transactions with us and our affiliates. If, however, the trustee, acquires any “conflicting interest” within the meaning of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, it must eliminate such conflict or resign.
The holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding debt securities of any series may direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for exercising any remedy available to the trustee. If an event of default occurs and is continuing, the trustee, in the exercise of its rights and powers, must use the degree of care and skill of a prudent person in the conduct of his or her own affairs. Subject to that provision, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture at the request of any of the holders of the debt securities, unless they have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity or security.
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ANTI-TAKEOVER EFFECTS OF DELAWARE LAW AND OF OUR CHARTER AND BY-LAWS
The following paragraphs summarize certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law and our charter and by-laws. The summary is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Delaware General Corporation Law and to our charter and by-laws, copies of which are on file with the SEC. Please refer to “Where You Can Find More Information” below for directions on obtaining these documents.
Delaware Law
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law is applicable to corporate takeovers of Delaware corporations. Subject to exceptions enumerated in Section 203, Section 203 provides that a corporation shall not engage in any business combination with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the date that the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder unless:
| • | prior to that date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; | |
| • | upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, though some shares may be excluded from the calculation; and | |
| • | on or subsequent to that date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors of the corporation and by the affirmative votes of holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Except as specified in Section 203, an interested stockholder is generally defined to include any person who, together with any affiliates or associates of that person, beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation, or is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation, any time within three years immediately prior to the relevant date. Under some circumstances, Section 203 makes it more difficult for an interested stockholder to effect various business combinations with a corporation for a three-year period. Our certificate of incorporation and by-laws do not exclude the company from the restrictions imposed under Section 203. We expect that the provisions of Section 203 may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with our board of directors. These provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control of Antigenics, which could depress the market price of our stock and which could deprive stockholders of opportunities to realize a premium on shares of our stock held by them.
Charter and By-Law Provisions
Our certificate of incorporation and by-laws contain provisions that could discourage potential takeover attempts and make more difficult attempts by stockholders to change management. Our certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders may not take action by written consent but may only act at a stockholders’ meeting, and that only our president or a majority of our board of directors may call special meetings of the stockholders. Our by-laws also require that stockholders provide advance notice of business to be brought by a stockholder before the annual meeting. Our certificate of incorporation includes provisions classifying the board of directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms. In addition, our directors may only be removed from office for cause. Under our certificate of incorporation and by-laws, the board of directors determines the size of the board and may fill vacancies on the board. The by-laws provide that stockholders may not make nominations for directors at any annual or special meeting unless the stockholder intending to make a nomination notifies Antigenics of the stockholder’s intention a specified period in advance and furnishes certain information.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell the securities being offered by us in this prospectus:
| • | directly to purchasers; | |
| • | through agents; | |
| • | through dealers; | |
| • | through underwriters; or | |
| • | through a combination of any of these methods of sale. |
We and our agents and underwriters may sell the securities being offered by us in this prospectus from time to time in one or more transactions:
| • | at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed; | |
| • | at market prices prevailing at the time of sale; | |
| • | at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or | |
| • | at negotiated prices. |
We may solicit directly offers to purchase securities. We may also designate agents from time to time to solicit offers to purchase securities. Any agent that we designate, who may be deemed to be an “underwriter” as that term is defined in the Securities Act, may then resell such securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by such agent at the time of resale. We may engage in at the market offerings only of our common stock. An “at the market” offering is an offering of our common stock at other than a fixed price to or through a market maker. Under Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, the total value of at the market offerings made under this prospectus may not exceed 10% of the aggregate market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates. Any underwriter that we engage for an at the market offering would be named in a post-effective amendment to the registration statement containing this prospectus. Additional details of our arrangement with the underwriter, including commissions or fees paid by us and whether the underwriter is acting as principal or agent, would be described in the related prospectus supplement.
If we use underwriters to sell securities, we would enter into an underwriting agreement with the underwriters at the time of the sale to them. The names of the underwriters would be set forth in the prospectus supplement which would be used by them together with this prospectus to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities offered, the underwriters may be deemed to have received compensation from us in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. Underwriters may also receive commissions from purchasers of the securities.
Underwriters may also use dealers to sell securities. If this happens, the dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents.
Underwriting compensation paid by us to underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities offered in this prospectus, and discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers, would be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Underwriters, dealers, agents and other persons may be entitled, under agreements that may be entered into with us, to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribution with respect to payments which they may be required to make in respect of such liabilities.
Underwriters and agents may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business. If so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will authorize underwriters, dealers, or other persons to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase securities pursuant to contracts
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Any underwriter may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing and syndicate short covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Over-allotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which creates a short position. Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. Syndicate short covering transactions involve purchases of securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim selling concessions from dealers when the securities originally sold by such dealers are purchased in covering transactions to cover syndicate short positions. These transactions may cause the price of the securities sold in an offering to be higher than it would otherwise be. These transactions, if commenced, may be discontinued by the underwriters at any time.
Each series of securities offered under this prospectus would be a new issue with no established trading market, other than our common stock, which is listed on the Nasdaq National Market. Any shares of our common stock sold pursuant to a prospectus supplement will be listed on the Nasdaq National Market or on an exchange on which the common stock offered is then listed, subject (if applicable) to official notice of issuance. Any underwriters to whom we sell securities for public offering and sale may make a market in the securities that they purchase, but the underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We may elect to list any of the securities we may offer from time to time for trading on an exchange or on the Nasdaq National Market, but we are not obligated to do so.
The anticipated date of delivery of the securities offered hereby will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to each offering.
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VALIDITY OF SECURITIES
Our counsel, Ropes & Gray LLP, Boston, Massachusetts, will pass on the validity of the securities offered by this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of Antigenics Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2003 and 2002, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2003, have been incorporated by reference herein and in the registration statement in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent accountants, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing. The audit report covering the December 31, 2003 consolidated financial statements refers to a change in accounting for purchase method business combinations completed after June 30, 2001, a change in accounting for goodwill and intangible assets effective January 1, 2002 and a change in accounting for asset retirement obligations effective January 1, 2003.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information from other documents that we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information by referring to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 prior to the sale of all the securities covered by this prospectus:
| • | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003 filed with the SEC on March 15, 2004 (File No. 000-29089); | |
| • | our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2004 filed with the SEC on May 7, 2004 (File No. 000-29089), for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2004 filed with the SEC on August 9, 2004 (File No. 000-29089) and for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2004 filed with the SEC on November 9, 2004 (File No. 000-29089); | |
| • | our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 4, 2004 (File No. 000-29089), February 18, 2004 (File No. 000-29089), April 1, 2004 (File No. 000-29089), May 27, 2004 (File No. 000- 29089), September 10, 2004 (File No. 000-29089) and December 15, 2004 (File No. 000-29089); and | |
| • | the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed on January 24, 2000 (File No. 000-29089), including any amendment or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
We will provide to you, without charge, upon your written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that we incorporate by reference, including exhibits. Please direct requests to: Investor Relations at Antigenics Inc., 630 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10111, where the phone number is (212) 994-8200.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized any person to provide you different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the cover.
We file annual, quarterly, and special reports and proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document that we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 450 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the Public Reference Room. Our SEC filings are also available on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.
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PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
| Item 14. | Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution |
The expenses in connection with the securities being registered are as follows:
| Amount To | ||||
| Be Paid | ||||
|
Registration fee
|
$ | 9,167.03 | ||
|
Printing and Engraving Expenses
|
100,000.00 | |||
|
Legal fees and expenses
|
250,000.00 | |||
|
Accounting fees and expenses
|
200,000.00 | |||
|
Miscellaneous
|
832.97 | |||
|
Total
|
$ | 560,000.00 | ||
All of the above figures, except the SEC registration fee, are estimated, and we will pay all of the above expenses.
| Item 15. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers |
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, other than an action by or in the right of the corporation, by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the corporation’s request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The power to indemnify applies to actions brought by or in the right of the corporation as well, but only to the extent of expenses, including attorneys’ fees but excluding judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of the action or suit. And with the further limitation that in these actions no indemnification shall be made in the event of any adjudication of negligence or misconduct in the performance of his duties to the corporation, unless a court believes that in light of all the circumstances indemnification should apply.
Article V of Antigenics’ By-laws provides that Antigenics shall, to the extent legally permitted, indemnify each person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that he is or was, or has agreed to become, a director or officer of Antigenics, or is or was serving, or has agreed to serve, at the request of Antigenics, as a director, officer or trustee of, or in a similar capacity with, another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprises. The indemnification provided for in Article V is expressly not exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled under any law, agreement or vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such persons.
Section 145(g) of the Delaware General Corporation Law and Article V of By-laws of Antigenics provide that the company shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of its officers, directors, employees and agents, against any liability asserted against and incurred by such persons in any such capacity.
II-1
Antigenics has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers and has obtained insurance covering its directors and officers against losses and insuring Antigenics against certain of its obligations to indemnify its directors and officers.
Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation may eliminate or limit the personal liability of a director to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, provided that such provisions shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. No such provision shall eliminate or limit the liability of a director for any act or omission occurring prior to the date when such provision becomes effective.
Section 6 of Article FIFTH of the Certificate of Incorporation of Antigenics eliminates a director’s personal liability for monetary damages to Antigenics and its stockholders to the fullest extent permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
| Item 16. | Exhibits |
| Exhibit | ||||
| Number | Description of Document | |||
| 1.1 | Form of Underwriting Agreement.* | |||
| 4.1 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Antigenics Inc. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 10, 2002 (File No. 000-29089) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.2 | Amended and Restated By-laws of Antigenics Inc. Filed as Exhibit 3.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 10, 2002 (File No. 000-29089) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.3 | Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of Antigenics Inc. filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on September 24, 2003. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 0-29089) dated September 25, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.4 | Form of Warrant to purchase Common Stock, together with a list of holders. Filed as Exhibit 4.2 to our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-91747) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.5 | Form of Debenture. Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of Aquila Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (File No. 0-12081) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.6 | Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant. Filed as Exhibit 4.3 to Current Report on Form 8-K dated April 17, 2000 (File No. 0-20111) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.7 | Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant. Filed as Exhibit 4.2 to Current Report on Form 8-K dated April 17, 2000 (File No. 0-20111) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.8 | Registration Rights Agreement dated August 2, 1989 by and among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-47418) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.9 | First Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement dated April 18, 1990, by and among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-47418) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.10 | Second Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement dated October 31, 1991, by and among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.4 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-47418) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
II-2
| Exhibit | ||||
| Number | Description of Document | |||
| 4.11 | Third Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement, dated September 10, 1993, among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.24 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-71166) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.12 | Fourth Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement dated January 20, 1994, among Aronex Pharmaceuticals and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.5 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 1999 (File No. 0-20111) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.13 | Form of Warrant to Purchase of Common Stock issued to Paramount Capital Inc. Filed as Exhibit 1.2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-67599) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.14 | Form of Indenture. Filed as Exhibit 4.14 to Amendment No. 1 to Form S-3 dated July 23, 2002 (File No. 333-90380) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.15 | Certificate of Designation of Preferred Stock.* | |||
| 4.16 | Right of First Refusal Agreement dated as of May 21, 2004, between Antigenics Inc. and Brad M. Kelley. Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 0-29089) dated May 27, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 5.1 | Opinion of Ropes & Gray LLP. Filed as Exhibit 5.1 to Form S-3 dated August 12, 2004 (File No. 333-118175) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 12.1 | Statement Regarding Calculation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges. Filed as Exhibit 12.1 to Amendment No. 3 to Form S-3 dated December 15, 2004 (File No. 333-118175) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 23.1 | Consent of KPMG LLP. | |||
| 23.2 | Consent of Ropes & Gray LLP. Included in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1. | |||
| 24.1 | Power of Attorney. Filed as Exhibit 24.1 to Form S-3 dated August 12, 2004 (File No. 333-118175) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 25.1 | Statement of Eligibility of Trustee on Form T-1.** | |||
| * | To be filed by amendment or by Current Report on Form 8-K pursuant to Item 601(b) of Regulation S-K. |
| ** | To be filed separately pursuant to Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939. |
II-3
| Item 17. | Undertakings |
| (a) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes: |
| (1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: |
| (i) | To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; | |
| (ii) | To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in the volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and | |
| (iii) | To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement; |
| provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3, Form S-8 or Form F-3, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement. | ||
| (2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. | |
| (3) | To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. |
| (b) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (c) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
II-4
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, State of New York, as of December 22, 2004.
| ANTIGENICS INC. |
| By: | /s/ GARO ARMEN, PH.D. |
|
|
|
| Garo Armen, Ph.D. | |
| Chief Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated and as of December 22, 2004.
| Signature | Title | |||
|
/s/ GARO ARMEN, PH.D. Garo Armen, Ph.D. |
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors (Principal Executive, Financial, and Accounting Officer) | |||
|
/s/ PETER THORNTON Peter Thornton |
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
|
* Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D. |
Director | |||
|
* Frank AtLee |
Director | |||
|
* Gamil de Chadarevian |
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors | |||
|
* Tom Dechaene |
Director | |||
|
* Margaret Eisen |
Director | |||
|
* Wadih Jordan |
Director | |||
|
* Mark Kessel |
Director | |||
II-5
| Signature | title | |||
|
* Pramod Srivastava, Ph.D. |
Director | |||
| *By: |
/s/ GARO ARMEN, PH.D. Garo Armen, Ph.D. Attorney-in-Fact |
|||
II-6
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Exhibit | ||||
| Number | Description of Document | |||
| 1.1 | Form of Underwriting Agreement.* | |||
| 4.1 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Antigenics Inc. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 10, 2002 (File No. 000-29089) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.2 | Amended and Restated By-laws of Antigenics Inc. Filed as Exhibit 3.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 10, 2002 (File No. 000-29089) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.3 | Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of Antigenics Inc. filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on September 24, 2003. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 0-29089) dated September 25, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.4 | Form of Warrant to purchase Common Stock, together with a list of holders. Filed as Exhibit 4.2 to our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-91747) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.5 | Form of Debenture. Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of Aquila Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (File No. 0-12081) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.6 | Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant. Filed as Exhibit 4.3 to Current Report on Form 8-K dated April 17, 2000 (File No. 0-20111) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.7 | Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant. Filed as Exhibit 4.2 to Current Report on Form 8-K dated April 17, 2000 (File No. 0-20111) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.8 | Registration Rights Agreement dated August 2, 1989 by and among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-47418) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.9 | First Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement dated April 18, 1990, by and among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-47418) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.10 | Second Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement dated October 31, 1991, by and among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.4 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-47418) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.11 | Third Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement, dated September 10, 1993, among Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.24 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-71166) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.12 | Fourth Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement dated January 20, 1994, among Aronex Pharmaceuticals and certain of its stockholders. Filed as Exhibit 10.5 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 1999 (File No. 0-20111) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.13 | Form of Warrant to Purchase of Common Stock issued to Paramount Capital Inc. Filed as Exhibit 1.2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-67599) of Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.14 | Form of Indenture. Filed as Exhibit 4.14 to Amendment No. 1 to Form S-3 dated July 23, 2002 (File No. 333-90380) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 4.15 | Certificate of Designation of Preferred Stock.* | |||
| 4.16 | Right of First Refusal Agreement dated as of May 21, 2004 between Antigenics Inc. and Brad M. Kelly. Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 0-29089) dated May 27, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 5.1 | Opinion of Ropes & Gray. Included with original filing of this Registration Statement. Filed as Exhibit 5.1 to Form S-3 dated August 12, 2004 (File No. 333-118175) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 12.1 | Statement Regarding Calculation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges. Filed as Exhibit 12.1 to Amendment No. 3 to Form S-3 dated December 15, 2004 (File No. 333-118175) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 23.1 | Consent of KPMG LLP. | |||
| 23.2 | Consent of Ropes & Gray LLP. Included in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1. | |||
| 24.1 | Power of Attorney. Included with original filing of this Registration Statement. Filed as Exhibit 24.1 to Form S-3 dated August 12, 2004 (File No. 333-118175) and incorporated herein by reference. | |||
| 25.1 | Statement of Eligibility of Trustee on Form T-1.** | |||
| * | To be filed by amendment or by Current Report on Form 8-K pursuant to Item 601(b) of Regulation S-K. |
| ** | To be filed separately pursuant to Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939. |