Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT

v3.22.1
STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Stockholders Equity Note [Abstract]  
STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT

NOTE 8—STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

Purchase Agreement with GPB—On December 29, 2017, the Company entered into the Purchase Agreement with GPB Debt Holdings II, LLC (“GPB”), pursuant to which the Company issued to GPB a $13 million principal amount senior

secured convertible promissory note (the “GPB Note”) for an aggregate purchase price of $12.5 million, reflecting a 4.0% original issue discount.

In connection with the issuance of GPB Note, the Company also issued to GPB a warrant (the “GPB Warrant”) to purchase up to 240,764 of common stock at an exercise price of $10.80 per share, with customary adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and other recapitalization events and anti-dilution provisions set forth in the GPB Warrant. The GPB Warrant became exercisable six months after issuance and has a term of five years from the initial exercise date.

 

The Company determined that under ASC 815-40, GPB Warrant should be separately recognized at fair value as a liability upon issuance. The warrant liability is remeasured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 inputs and any change in the fair value of the liability is recorded in earnings.

 

The following table sets forth the fair values of the warrants as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

 

Warrant liability—GPB

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

Balance, beginning of period

 

$

83

 

 

$

38

 

Change in fair value included in the statement of operations

 

 

(43

)

 

 

45

 

Balance, end of period

 

$

40

 

 

$

83

 

 

The fair value of the warrant derivative liabilities was determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing models.

 

The value as of the dates set forth the in the table below, were based on upon following assumptions:

 

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

Adjusted exercise price

 

$

10.28

 

 

$

10.28

 

Stock price

 

$

1.67

 

 

$

1.23

 

Risk‑free interest rate

 

 

0.56

%

 

 

0.15

%

Expected volatility (peer group)

 

 

104.00

%

 

 

120.00

%

Expected life (in years)

 

 

1.50

 

 

 

2.50

 

Expected dividend yield

 

 

 

 

 

Number outstanding

 

 

252,802

 

 

 

252,802

 

Purchase Agreement with Holders of 10% Senior Secured Debentures—In October 2018, EMI sold and issued $12.2 million principal amount of 10% Senior Secured Debentures and common stock purchase warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,220,000 shares of EMI common stock to a limited number of accredited investors. EMI’s obligations under the Debentures were secured by a security interest in substantially all EMI assets and guaranteed by EMI’s U.S. subsidiaries. The net proceeds of the sale of the debentures and warrants were used to fund EMI’s original $13.2 million loan to EJ Holdings. in October 2018 reflected on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

The Debentures were amended and restated in their entirety in conjunction with the Merger. The common stock purchase warrants issued in conjunction with the original Debentures also were amended and restated in their entirety in conjunction with the Merger.

The Amended and Restated 10% Senior Secured Convertible Debentures issued in conjunction with the Merger were convertible at the option of each holder into shares of EMI common stock immediately prior to the Merger at a conversion price of $10.00 a share, subject to adjustment for stock splits, merger reorganizations and other customary events. The related amended and restated warrants were exercisable immediately prior to the Merger for an aggregate of 1,460,000 shares of EMI common stock at an initial exercise price of $10.00 per share. The exercise price of the warrants was subject to reduction in connection with a “going public event” such as the Merger based upon the “VWAP” (i.e., volume-weighted average trading price) of the Company common stock at the time of the Merger. Upon completion of the Merger, the amended and restated warrants became exercisable for shares of the Company common stock and the exercise price of the warrants and the number of underlying warrant shares were adjusted based upon exchange ratio in the Merger. The exercise price of the amended and restated warrants was subsequently adjusted in accordance with their terms to $5.87 per share based upon the VWAP of the Company common stock on the day following completion of the Merger.

Pursuant to the terms of a securities amendment agreement entered into in February 2020, the Amended and Restated 10% Senior Secured Convertible Debentures were once again amended and restated in their entirety to extend their maturity date to April 21, 2021 and reduce the conversion price of thereof to $3.00 per share from $9.52 per share. The related amended and restate common stock purchase warrants also were amended and restated again to reduce the exercise price thereof to $3.00

per share from $5.87 per share. The newly Amended and Restated 10% Senior Secured Convertible Debentures and related newly amended and restated warrants provide for so-called full-ratchet anti-dilution adjustments in the event we sell or issue shares of common stock or common stock equivalents at an effective price per share less than the conversion price of the debentures or the exercise price of the warrants, subject to certain exceptions. The conversion price of the Amended and Restated 10% Senior Secured Convertible Debentures and the exercise price of the related amended and restated warrants were reduced to $2.00 a share as a result of the Company’s subsequent sale of 100,000 shares of common stock at a price of $2.00 a share and were subsequently reduced again to $1.54 a share when the Company issued 324,675 shares of Company’s commons stock at $1.54 per share as described below. See Note 7 for information regarding prepayment of the Debentures.

The Company evaluated the common stock purchase warrants issued in connection with the original issuance of the 10% Senior Secured Debentures in October 2018 under ASC 815-40 and concluded that the warrants should be separately recognized at fair value as a liability. The liability is remeasured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 input and any changes in fair value is recorded in earnings. In 2019, the Debentures were amended and restated to be convertible into common stock of EMI immediately prior to completion of the Merger.

On September 22, 2020, the Company and EMI entered into a securities amendment agreement (the “September 2020 Amendment”) with the holders of the Amended and Restated 10% Senior Secured Convertible Debentures described above. The September 2020 Amendment amended in certain respects the securities purchase agreement among EMI and the Debenture holders originally entered into on September 8, 2018, as amended by the February 2020 Amendment, and provides that the Debentures are to be amended in certain respects as set forth in the form of Allonge Amendment No. 1 to the debentures included in the September 2020 Agreement (the “Allonge”). Pursuant to the Allonge, the aggregate monthly redemption payments under the Debentures were reduced to $500,000 from $1,000,000 in principal amount and the maturity date of the Debentures was extended from April 21, 2021 to August 31, 2021. The monthly redemption payments resumed in September 2020.

In consideration of the Debenture holder’s financial accommodations to the Company, the Company issued to the holders, pro rata based upon the relative principal amounts of their Debentures, five-year common stock purchase warrants to purchase a total of up to 1,840,000 shares of the Company common stock at an exercise price of $2.00 a share. The warrants provide for so-called full-ratchet anti-dilution adjustments in the event the Company sells or issues shares of common stock or common stock equivalents at an effective price per share less than the exercise price of the warrants, subject to certain exceptions. The exercise price also remains subject to adjustment for stock splits and other customary events. In October 2018, the Company granted to T.R. Winston and its affiliates for services relating to the September 2020 Amendment common stock purchase warrants to purchase up to 75,000 shares of the Company common stock at an exercise price of $2.10 a share and otherwise on terms identical to the warrants issued to the debenture holders described above.  

The exercise price of the amended and restated warrants was reduced to $2.00 per share in February 2020 and to $1.54 per share in March 2021 pursuant to the anti-dilution adjustment provisions of the warrants. The warrants were valued using Black-Scholes-Merton model. The fair value as of agreement date and the anti-dilution adjustment dates was based upon following assumptions:

 

 

March 2, 2021 (Anti-dilution adjustment date)

 

 

February 28, 2020 (Anti-dilution adjustment date)

 

 

February 21, 2020 (Amendment date)

 

Exercise price

 

$

1.54

 

 

$

2.00

 

 

$

3.00

 

Common stock fair value

 

$

1.52

 

 

$

1.60

 

 

$

1.89

 

Volatility

 

101.00%-120.00%

 

 

 

93.00

%

 

 

92.00

%

Risk-free rate

 

0.21%-0.58%

 

 

 

0.86

%

 

 

1.29

%

Expected life (in years)

 

2.64-4.56

 

 

 

3.54

 

 

 

3.56

 

 

Purchase agreement with Holder of a Convertible Promissory Note - On June 15, 2020, the holder of a convertible promissory note in the principal amount of $3,150,000 agreed to an extension of the maturity date to June 15, 2023 in exchange for an increase in the interest rate on the note from 11% to 12%. In conjunction with the amendment, the Company issued to the note holder five-year warrants to purchase a total of up to 1,250,000 shares of the Company common stock at an exercise price of $2.05 a share. The modification of debt was considered debt extinguishment and a $1.4 million loss on debt extinguishment was recognized in the consolidated statements of operation and comprehensive income (loss). Under ASC 815-40, the Company concluded that the related warrants should be recognized at fair value as a liability. The warrant liability is remeasured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 input and any changes in the fair value of liability is recorded in earnings.

The following table presents the change in fair value of the warrants as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

Warrant liability— Convertible Promissory Note

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

Balance, beginning of period

 

$

988

 

 

$

 

Fair value at issuance date

 

 

 

 

 

1,425

 

Change in fair value included in the statement of operations

 

 

475

 

 

 

(437

)

Balance, end of period

 

$

1,463

 

 

$

988

 

The fair value of the warrant derivative liabilities was determined using the Black-Scholes Merton model and was based upon following assumptions:

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

Exercise price

 

$

2.05

 

 

$

2.05

 

Stock price

 

$

1.67

 

 

$

1.68

 

Risk‑free interest rate

 

 

1.04

%

 

 

0.31

%

Expected volatility (peer group)

 

 

117.00

%

 

 

101.00

%

Expected life (in years)

 

 

3.46

 

 

 

4.46

 

Expected dividend yield

 

 

 

 

Number outstanding

 

 

1,250,000

 

 

 

1,250,000

 

A summary of the Company’s warrants activity for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 is presented below:

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

 

Warrants outstanding, beginning of period

 

8,439,480

 

 

 

4,931,099

 

 

Granted

 

 

 

 

3,625,000

 

 

Exercised

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cancelled, forfeited and expired

 

(203,463

)

 

 

(116,619

)

 

Warrants outstanding, end of period

 

8,236,017

 

 

 

8,439,480

 

 

 

A summary of outstanding warrants by year issued and exercise price as of December 31, 2021 is presented below.

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding

 

 

Exercisable

 

Year issued

Exercise Price

 

Number of

Warrants

Issued

 

 

Weighted

Average

Remaining

Contractual

Life (Years)

 

 

Weighted

Average

Exercise

Price

 

 

Total

 

 

Weighted

Average

Exercise

Price

 

Prior to January 1, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$1.54-$36.24

 

 

4,611,017

 

 

 

1.14

 

 

$

9.14

 

 

 

4,611,017

 

 

$

9.14

 

 

Total

 

 

4,611,017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,611,017

 

 

 

 

 

At December 31, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

2.05

 

 

1,250,000

 

 

 

3.46

 

 

$

2.05

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

$

1.54

 

 

2,375,000

 

 

 

3.70

 

 

$

1.54

 

 

 

2,375,000

 

 

$

1.54

 

 

2020 Total

 

 

3,625,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,375,000

 

 

 

 

 

At December 31, 2021

Grand Total

 

 

8,236,017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,986,017

 

 

 

 

 

  

In April 2021, the Company amended a warrant to purchase 1,365,189 shares of common stock to extend the exercise period from May 9, 2021 to May 9, 2022.     

 

Stock options – Upon completion of the Merger, the EMI Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan was assumed by the Company. The 2011 Stock Incentive Plan permits grants of incentive stock options to employees, including executive officers, and other share-based awards such as stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, stock units, stock bonus and unrestricted stock awards to employees, directors, and consultants for up to 9,000,000 shares of common stock. Options granted under the 2011 Stock Incentive Plan expire ten years after grant. Options granted to directors vest in quarterly installments and all other option grants vest over a minimum period of three years, in each case, subject to continuous service with the Company. Each stock option outstanding under the 2011 Stock Incentive Plan at the effective time of the Merger

was automatically converted into a stock option exercisable for a number of shares of the Company’s common stock and at an exercise price calculated based on the exchange ratios in the Merger. The 2011 Stock Incentive Plan expired in May 2021, after which no further awards may be made under the plan.

 

The Company also had an Amended and Restated 2012 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan under which the Company may grant incentive stock options to selected employees including officers, non-employee consultants and non-employee directors. The Plan was terminated in September 2021.

 

On September 29, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted the Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc. 2021 Stock Incentive Plan upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee of the Board. The 2021 Stock Incentive Plan was approved by stockholders on November 23, 2021. No more than 4,000,000 shares of common stock may be issued pursuant to awards under the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan. The number of shares available for Awards, as well as the terms of outstanding awards, is subject to adjustment as provided in the Stock Incentive Plan for stock splits, stock dividends, reverse stock splits, recapitalizations and other similar events. As of December 31, 2021, no awards were outstanding under the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan

 

Management has valued stock options at their date of grant utilizing the Black‑Scholes‑Merton Option pricing model. The fair value of the underlying shares was determined by the market value of stock of similar companies and recent arm’s length transactions involving the sale of the Company’s common stock. Prior the Merger, the Company lacked company-specific historical and implied volatility information for its common stock. Therefore, the expected volatility was calculated using the historical volatility of a comparative public traded companies. The following table presents the assumptions used on recent dates on which options were granted by the Company.

 

 

 

June 29, 2020

 

Stock Price

 

$

1.67

 

Exercise Price

 

$

2.05

 

Term

 

5.5-6 years

 

Risk-Free Rate

 

0.28% - 0.38%

 

Dividend Yield

 

 

Volatility

 

78.91%-80.49%

 

 

The risk‑free interest rate is based on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury issues with a term approximating the expected life of the options depending on the date of the grant and expected life of the respective options.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company did not grant any stock options. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company granted options to purchase up to 90,000 shares of common stock. The options have an exercise prices of $2.05 per share. All of the options are exercisable for ten years from the date of grant and will vest and become exercisable with respect to the underlying shares as follows: as to one‑third of the shares on the first anniversary of the grant date, and as to the remaining two‑thirds of shares in twenty‑four approximately equal monthly installments over a period of two years thereafter.

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 is presented below:

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

 

 

Number of

Options

 

 

Weighted‑

Average

Exercise

Price

 

 

Number of

Options

 

 

Weighted‑

Average

Exercise

Price

 

Options outstanding, beginning of period

 

 

7,110,025

 

 

$

4.63

 

 

 

7,245,350

 

 

$

4.68

 

Granted or deemed issued

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

90,000

 

 

$

2.05

 

Exercised

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

Cancelled, forfeited and expired

 

 

(1,141,687

)

 

$

3.82

 

 

 

(225,325

)

 

$

5.08

 

Options outstanding, end of period

 

 

5,968,338

 

 

$

4.78

 

 

 

7,110,025

 

 

$

4.63

 

Options exercisable at end of year

 

 

5,937,837

 

 

$

4.80

 

 

 

6,986,268

 

 

$

4.47

 

Options available for future grant

 

 

4,000,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,302,475

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company recognized $553,000 and $739,000, respectively, of share‑based compensation expense. As of December 31, 2021, there was approximately $21,000 of total

unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested share‑based compensation awards outstanding under the EMI Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan. That cost is expected to be recognized over the weighted-average remaining period of 1.2 years.

Collaborative Research and Development Agreement with Kainos Medicine, Inc—On February 26, 2021, the Company entered into a collaborative and research and development agreement with Kainos Medicine, Inc. (“Kainos”) to lead the preclinical development of Kainos’ patented IRAK4 inhibitor (“KM10544”) as an anti-cancer drug and further advance the research and development activity currently underway at Kainos. The companies also entered into a letter of intent regarding possible future joint development of small molecule therapeutics and other pharmaceutical assets.

Pursuant to the agreement, the Company paid and issued to Kainos $500,000 in cash and 324,675 shares of common stock of the Company equivalent to $500,000 in additional consideration, which were recorded as research and development expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). The Company, in turn, has been granted rights of first negotiation and first refusal for an exclusive license regarding the development and commercialization of products based on the intellectual property resulting from the agreement.

On October 7, 2021, the Company entered into a License Agreement, with Kainos under which Kainos granted the Company an exclusive license in the territory encompassing the U.S., the U.K. and the EU to patent rights, know-how and other intellectual property relating to Kainos’s novel IRAK4 inhibitor, referred to as KM10544, for the treatment of cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and solid tumor cancers. In consideration of the license, the Company paid Kainos a six-figure upfront fee in cash and agreed to make additional cash payments upon the achievement of specified milestones totaling in the mid-eight figures and pay a single-digit percentage royalty based on net sales of the licensed products and a similar percentage of any sublicensing consideration.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company incurred $1.5 million of research and development expenses related to the Kainos collaboration and license arrangements.