Exhibit 10.1
ASSET PURCHASE
AGREEMENT
This Asset Purchase Agreement (this
"Agreement") is dated as of February 11, 2009 by and between
Pharmos Corporation ("Pharmos US"), Pharmos Ltd. ("Pharmos IL" and
together with Pharmos US, the "Seller") and Reperio Pharmaceuticals
Ltd., an Israeli company ("Buyer") (Seller and Buyer shall
sometimes be referred to collectively as the “Parties”,
and severally as a “Party”).
W I T N E S S E T H
:
WHEREAS, Seller has been engaged in
the research and development of CB2 synthetic small molecular
drugs;
WHEREAS, Seller is the owner of the
patent applications specified in Exhibit A (the
"Applications") and the related Know How (as defined
below).
WHEREAS, Seller desires to sell to
Buyer and Buyer desires to purchase from Seller all right, title
and interest in and to the Applications, any Patent Rights thereto,
and the Know How (as defined below), on the terms and conditions
set forth in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the
premises, the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, and
for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt, adequacy,
and sufficiency of all of which are hereby acknowledged, and
intending to be legally bound hereby, the Parties hereby agree as
follows:
DEFINITIONS
“Additional Ingredient”
shall mean any compound or substance which (i) is contained in a
product and (ii) when administered to a patient has a therapeutic
or prophylactic clinical effect independent of a Product (as
defined below), either directly or by acting synergistically with
or otherwise enhancing the effect of other compounds or substances
other than the Product (as defined below) contained in such
product.
"Affiliate" shall mean, with
respect to a Party, any person, organization or entity controlling,
controlled by or under common control with, such Party. For
purposes of this definition only, “control” of another
person, organization or entity shall mean the possession, directly
or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the
activities, management or policies of such person, organization or
entity, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by
contract or otherwise. Without limiting the foregoing, control
shall be presumed to exist when a person, organization or entity
(i) owns or directly controls more than fifty percent (50%) of the
outstanding voting shares or other ownership interest of the other
organization or entity, or (ii) possesses, directly or indirectly
the power to elect or appoint more than fifty percent (50%) of the
members of the governing body of the organization or other
entity.
"Assets" means: (i) the Patent
Rights; (ii) the Know How; (iii) any quantity of those compounds
described in or covered by the Applications, held by Seller; (iv)
any documentation in connection with the Sponsored Programs in
either digital and/or hard copy, including without
limitation, the actual OCS grants
received starting 2004, as reflected in the financial files
prepared by the independent auditor of the Seller; and (v) the
Contracts.
"Contracts" means the agreements
with any of the following: (i) Prof. Manuel Guzman, Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. School of Biology, Complutense
University, Madrid, Spain, and (ii) CHDI Foundation Inc, the
Huntingdon's Disease Research Group, US attached hereto as
Exhibit B .
“Closing” shall have
the meaning ascribed thereto in Section 1.5 hereof; including the
closing of the transactions contemplated thereby;
“Combination Product” shall mean a
product, compound or substance which comprises a Product (as
defined below) and at least one Additional Ingredient.
"Exit Event" shall mean (a) a
merger of the Buyer with any third party, following which the Buyer
is not the surviving entity; (b) the sale of all or substantially
all of the Buyer’s assets in one transaction or series of
related transactions; or (c) the sale of all or substantially all
of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Buyer by its
then current shareholders to any third party.
“Encumbrances” means
any and all leases, charges, claims, equitable interests, liens,
options, rights of refusal, pledges, mortgage, assignments,
security interests, sales contracts, license agreements or
arrangements, any liability whatsoever to make any payment by way
of royalties, fees or otherwise, restrictions, obligations or
encumbrances of any kind with the exception of the Assumed
Liabilities as defined below.
"Know How" means the know how, information,
technology, formulae, data, designs, drawings, specifications,
associated to and inventions described in the Applications, any
other proprietary information required or useful for the
exploitation of the Patent Rights and any intellectual property
rights related thereto including: (i) all technical reports and
documentation, chemical data and laboratory data and notebooks
available at Pharmos IL relating solely to the Application, the
compounds described therein and the process of the development
thereof; (ii) the research and development programs conducted at
Pharmos IL, with the support of the OCS resulting in the inventions
described in the Applications and the supporting documentation;
(iii) any customer and supplier lists (including contact details),
pricing and cost information, and business and marketing plans,
proposals and information relating solely to the compounds covered
under the Applications; (iv) any material, data, correspondences
and information in connection with the discussions and negotiations
between Seller and any potential partner or collaborator, including
without limitations, the entities specified in Section
1.4(b) in connection with the Assets; and (v) any material, data,
correspondences and information in connection with the Contracts
and the activities taken thereunder. Certain items specified above
are subject to confidentiality undertaking by Seller and shall be
assigned subject to Buyer assuming such limitation.
“Liabilities” means (i) any and all
indebtedness of Seller, whether or not evidenced by any contract,
and (ii) all liabilities, duties and obligations of, and claims
against, or relating to Seller, or to the operation of the business
or the ownership, possession or use of any of the Assets
or any other assets by the Seller
on or prior to the Closing, in each case whether accrued,
unaccrued, matured, unmatured, absolute, contingent, known or
unknown, asserted or unasserted and whether now existing or arising
at any time prior to, at, or after the Closing.
“License Payment” shall mean any
payments or other consideration that Buyer receives from an
unaffiliated third party ("Licensee"), in consideration of or under
a license, or the grant of an option to obtain a license, of some
or all of the rights in the Patent Rights (whether or not any such
grant of right is actually referred to as a license but
specifically excluding any M&A type of transaction), including
without limitation royalty payment, license fees, milestone
payments and license maintenance fees but specifically excluding:
(i) reimbursement for research and development and patent related
expenses; (ii) payments specifically committed to cover future
costs to be incurred by Buyer under further research and
development program; and (iii) Royalties payable in accordance with
Section 1.4 below in connection with sales by the Buyer
("Transaction"). In the event that the Transaction with the
Licensee involves additional technology and/or intellectual
property of the Buyer, then License Payment shall be determined by
multiplying the amount received by the Buyer from the Licensee
under the Transaction by the fraction of C/(C+D) where
“C” is the fair market value of the Patent Rights; and
“D” is the fair market value of all other technology
and intellectual property included in the Transaction with
Licensee. In such event, the Parties shall negotiate in
good faith to arrive at a determination of the respective fair
market values of the Patent Rights and all other technology and
intellectual property included in the Transaction.
"Patent Rights" means the Applications
including, without limitation, all provisional applications,
continuations, continuations-in-part, divisions, reissues,
renewals, and all patents granted thereon, and all
patents-of-addition, reissue patents, reexaminations and extensions
or restorations by existing or future extension or restoration
mechanisms, including, without limitation, supplementary protection
certificates or the equivalent thereof.
"Sponsored Programs" the research and
development programs conducted at Pharmos IL, with the support of
the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Labor (the “OCS”) and specified in
Exhibit C.
ARTICLE I
TERMS OF THE TRANSACTION
Section
1.1
Sale and Purchase of the Assets . On and subject
to the terms and conditions set forth hereunder and in reliance
upon the representations and warranties of the Parties set forth
herein, effective as of and contingent upon the Closing, Seller
shall and hereby does sell, transfer, convey, assign and deliver to
Buyer, and Buyer shall purchase from Seller, all of Seller's
Assets, rights, title and/or interest in the Assets as of the
Closing. The Assets shall be conveyed free and clear of
all liabilities, obligations, or Encumbrances other than the
Assumed Liabilities specified in Section 1.3 below; Following the
Closing the Seller shall not have any right title or interest
whatsoever in any of the Assets, other than that the Buyer shall
and hereby grants the Seller or any successor or assignee a non
exclusive right to use the information covered under items (iv) and
(v) of the definition "Know How" for any use or purpose without
limitation to the extent such information is applicable other than
to the Assets. Nothing contained
herein shall derogate from Seller's
undertaking under Section 7.2 below or be deemed or interpreted as
a grant of license or right in and to any of the other
Assets.
Section
1.2
Consideration . In consideration of the transfer and
assignment of the Assets, Buyer shall, at the Closing: (i) assume
the Assumed Liabilities as specified in Section 1.3 below; (ii) pay
Pharmos US an amount equal to US$ 200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand US
Dollars), V.A.T, if applicable, not included (the “Upfront
Payment”); and (iii) issue to Pharmos US 11,111 ordinary
shares of the Buyer with nominal value of NIS0.01 each (the "
Shares "), constituting 10% (ten percent) of the
issued and outstanding share capital of the Buyer as of the date
hereof. Thereafter, Pharmos US shall be further entitled to Royalty
Payment and License Payment as set forth in Section 1.4
below.
Section
1.3
Assumed Liabilities . At the Closing, the
Buyer shall and hereby does assume and agree to pay, perform and
discharge when due all liabilities and obligations of Seller under
the Sponsored Programs to the extent such liability or obligation
relates to the inventions described in the Applications and
specified in the letter provided to the OCS in the form attached
hereto as Exhibit D (the "Assumed Liabilities") and as may
be further amended with the consent of the Parties and the OCS and
reflected in the final approval of the OCS, which will be attached
as Exhibit D and replace the attached letter. Other than as
set forth herein, Buyer shall not assume or have any responsibility
or obligation, with respect to any Liability of the
Seller.
Section
1.4
The Contingent Payments . Following the Closing, the Buyer
shall pay Pharmos US additional amounts, as follows:
(a)
Royalties . Royalty payment equal to 3.5% (three
and a half) of the gross amount invoiced or billed by the Buyer or
its Affiliate on its behalf (but not any of its Licensees or
assignees) in connection with the sale of any product, process or
service that is derived from, comprises of or incorporates the
Patent Rights and/or the Know How or any part thereof, or that uses
the Patent Rights and/or the Know How as a basis for subsequent
modifications of the compounds covered under the Patent Rights and
that are standard in drug development including, without
limitation, the construction of modified compounds based on the
Patent Rights that work essentially in a chemically analogues
manner to the Patent Rights (the "Product" and the "Royalties"
respectively).
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set
forth herein, in the event a Product is sold by the Buyer in the
form of a Combination Product, Royalties from such Combination
Product, shall be determined by multiplying the gross amount
invoiced or billed by the Buyer (but not any of its Licensees or
assignees) in connection with the sale of the Combination Product
during the applicable royalty reporting period, by the fraction
A/(A+B) where: “A” is the average sale price of the
Product contained in the Combination Product when sold separately
by the Buyer; and “B” is the average price of the other
Additional Ingredients included in the Combination Product when
sold separately by its supplier, in each case during the applicable
royalty reporting period or if sales of both the Product and/or
other Additional Ingredients did not occur in such period, then in
the most recent royalty reporting period in which sales of both
occurred. In the event that such average sale price
cannot be determined for either the Product and all other
Additional Ingredients included in the Combination Product,
Royalties from such Combination Product, shall be determined by
multiplying the gross amount
invoiced or billed by the Buyer
(but not any of its licensees or assignees) in connection with the
sale of the Combination Product during the applicable royalty
reporting period, by the fraction of C/(C+D) where “C”
is the fair market value of the Product; and “D” is the
fair market value of all other Additional Ingredients included in
the Combination Product. In such event, the Parties
shall negotiate in good faith to arrive at a determination of the
respective fair market values of the Product and all other
Additional Ingredients included in the Combination
Product.
(b)
License Payment . Buyer or its Affiliate on its behalf shall
pay an amount equal to 10% (ten percent) of all License Payment
actually received by the Buyer or its Affiliate on its behalf from
a Licensee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the rate shall be equal
to 25% (twenty five percent) if the License Payment is received by
the Buyer or its Affiliate on its behalf from any of the following
companies: P&G, BTG, J&J, AstraZeneca or Bayer under a
Transaction consummated at any time prior to the second anniversary
of the execution of this Agreement.
(c)
Payment upon Exit Event . Upon the occurrence of an Exit
Event, if the closing thereof is held at any time prior to lapse of
18 months following the execution of this Agreement (the "Initial
Period"), the Buyer shall pay an amount equal to 10% (ten percent)
of the aggregate pre-tax consideration amount to be received by the
Buyer or its shareholders (as applicable), in cash or in kind,
subject to and upon the closing of the Exit Event, whether any such
amount is paid at the initial closing of such Event or thereafter
through an earn-out or escrow arrangement (the "Consideration").
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the rate shall be equal to 25%
(twenty five percent) if the Exit Event is entered into with any of
the following companies: P&G, BTG, J&J, AstraZeneca or
Bayer. Following the Initial Period, Buyer shall pay an amount
equal to 5% (five percent) of the fair market value assigned to the
Assets as part of the Exit Event out of the aggregate Consideration
received by the Buyer or its shareholders. Upon the payment of the
foregoing Consideration, the assignee and/or the Buyer shall be
released from the obligations set forth above in connection with
payment of Royalties and License Payment in connection with the
Assets assigned under such transaction. In the event that the
Consideration includes any success or milestone based payments or
royalties from future sales of products, then the rate shall be
increased to 10% (ten percent).
(d)
Sale of Assets . In the event that the Buyer sells its right
and title in and to any of the Assets and such sale does not
constitute an Exit Event (i.e. does not involve the sale of all or
substantially all of the assets of the Buyer), then, Buyer shall
pay an amount equal to 5% (five percent) of the aggregate pre-tax
consideration amount to be received by the Buyer, in cash or in
kind, upon the closing of such transaction or thereafter, as
further detailed hereafter. In the event that the foregoing
transaction includes any success or milestone based payments or
royalties from future sales of products, then the transaction shall
be deemed a Transaction entitling Seller to receive License Payment
in accordance with Section 1.4(b) above. Payment in several
installments (based on passage of time alone), payment under escrow
arrangement for indemnification purposes or any other payment
mechanism that is not milestone, success or sales related shall not
cause the payment to be deemed License Payment and shall be covered
under this Section, provided that Seller shall be entitled to its
share from any such future amount. In any event the assignee shall
be released from any payment obligation to the Seller, and the
Buyer shall be subject to any payment pursuant to this Section
1.4(d).
(e)
Payment and Termination of Obligation . Payment of Royalties
shall be made within 30 days following the end of a calendar year
with respect to the preceding
year on a Product-by-Product and
country-by-country basis until the expiry of the last of any Patent
Rights covering the respective Product in such jurisdiction.
Payment on account of License Payment shall be made within 10 days
following the actual receipt of any non-contingent, non refundable
License Payment by the Buyer and as long as the Buyer or its
Affiliate receives any payment from a Licensee under a respective
Transaction in connection with the Patent Rights. Payment upon Exit
Event shall be made following the actual receipt of non-contingent,
non-refundable amount on account of Consideration by the Buyer or
its shareholders, as applicable. Payment in connection with the
sale of the Assets or any part thereof, under Section 2.4(d) shall
be made following the actual receipt of non-contingent,
non-refundable amount by the Buyer.
(f)
Reports . The Buyer shall report to Pharmos US in writing
within 30 days following the first commercial sale of a Product or
the closing of a definitive agreement for a Transaction with a
Licensee which may result in License Payment. Within 30 days
following the end of each calendar year the Buyer shall provide
Pharmos US with a report signed by the Buyer’s chief
financial officer of all amounts due to Pharmos US in connection
with Royalties and License Payment during the preceding year
pursuant to this Section 1.4 including a breakdown of the number
and type of products sold, discounts, returns, the country and
currency in which the sales were made, invoice dates and all other
data enabling the Royalties and License Payment payable to be
calculated accurately. The annual report shall accompany the annual
payment of Royalties and shall also include the Buyer's sales and
Royalty forecasts for the following calendar year, if available.
The Buyer shall require any Licensee to provide it with royalty
reports detailed as customary in license agreements of such
type. Upon request, the Buyer shall produce such
reports to Pharmos US.
(g)
Currency and Method of Payment . All payments to be made to
Pharmos US pursuant to this Agreement shall be made in U.S. dollars
and by wire transfer to such bank account as Pharmos US may direct
from time to time. Foreign currency shall be converted into U.S.
dollars using the average applicable interbank transfer rate
determined by reference to the currency trading rates published by
The Wall Street Journal (Eastern U.S. edition), over all business
days of the calendar year for which the payment is due.
(h)
Audit . The Buyer shall keep and shall cause its Licensee to
keep true and complete records regarding sales of Products in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, in their
respective countries of operation and to retain such records within
the preceding period of five years and, if this Agreement is
terminated for any reason whatsoever, for five (5) years after the
end of the calendar year in which such termination becomes
effective. Such records shall contain sufficient detail to enable
the determination of any Royalties and License Payment due to
Pharmos US hereunder. Upon reasonable written notice to
the Buyer, Pharmos US, through a designated independent auditor,
shall have access during normal business hours to all such records
of the Buyer and to any audit prepared by the
Buyer under an agreement with its Licensees, if any,
once for each calendar year. The independent auditor appointed by
Pharmos US shall report to Pharmos US on such records only to the
extent reasonably necessary to enable Pharmos US to assess whether
the obligation of the Buyer with respect to the maintenance of such
records has been fulfilled and/or to determine the amount of any
Royalties or License Payment due to Pharmos US hereunder. The
independent auditor shall be obligated to maintain the
confidentiality of such records. Any discrepancy shall be amended
based on such report. Pharmos US shall bear the costs of such
audit, unless the audit performed
reveals underpayment of more than
10% in a calendar year, in which case Buyer shall bear the full
costs of such audit.
(i)
Late Payments . Buyer shall pay interest to
Seller on the aggregate amount of any payments that are not paid on
or before the date such payments are due under this Agreement at a
rate per annum equal to three percent (3%) above the London
Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) as determined for each month on the
last business day of that month, assessed from the day payment was
initially due until the date of payment.
(j)
Withholding Tax . If applicable laws require that taxes be
withheld from any amounts due to Seller hereunder, Buyer shall (a)
deduct these taxes from the remittable amount, (b) pay the taxes to
the proper taxing authority, and (c) promptly deliver to Seller a
statement including the amount of tax withheld and justification
therefor, and such other information as may be necessary for tax
credit purposes.
Section
1.5
The Closing .
The Closing shall take place
immediately upon the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions
precedent set forth in this Agreement, or at such other time and
place as may be agreed by the Parties (the “Closing”).
Upon the Closing the following transactions shall occur and all
transactions at the Closing shall be deemed to take place
simultaneously, and no transaction shall be deemed to have been
completed and no documents or certificates shall be deemed to have
been delivered until all other transactions are completed and all
other documents and certificates are delivered:
(a) Buyer
shall pay Pharmos US the Upfront Payment by wire transfer to the
following bank account: Account No. 200-001-298-118-6,
at Wachovia Bank, NA, 1889 State Route 27, Edison, NJ 08817, USA,
ABA No. 021200025; or as shall be otherwise agreed upon between the
Parties and shall provide Pharmos US with a share certificate
evidencing the issuance of the Shares;
(b) Seller
shall deliver to Buyer an executed bill of sale for the Assets and
executed letter of assignments for the Applications and the
Contracts in the form attached hereto as Schedule 1.5(b),
accompanied by any consent required under the Contracts in
connection with the assignment thereof;
(c) Seller
shall deliver to Buyer an executed power of attorney in the form
reasonably acceptable to Parties;
(d)
The Parties shall execute such assignments and other instruments of
conveyance as the Buyer may reasonably request to effectively
consummate the transactions to be consummated at the Closing (it
being understood that the Buyer and the Seller shall not be
required to make any representations, warranties or covenants,
expressed or implied, in any such assignments and other
instruments); and
(e) Seller
shall sell, assign, transfer and deliver to Buyer, Seller’s
entire, right, title and interest in the Assets and provide Buyer
with any item of the Assets which is in tangible form (including
documents, materials and hard copy data).
ARTICLE II
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF
SELLER
Seller represents and warrants to
Buyer that the following statements are true, correct and complete
as of the date hereof and as of the Closing:
Section
2.1
Authority Relative to This Agreement . Seller has
full power and authority to execute, deliver, and perform this
Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated
hereby. This Agreement has been duly executed and
delivered by Seller and constitutes, and each other agreement,
instrument, or document executed or to be executed by Seller in
connection with the transactions contemplated hereby has been, or
when executed will be, duly executed and delivered by Seller, a
valid and legally binding obligation of Seller, enforceable against
Seller in accordance with their respective terms, except that such
enforceability may be limited by (a) applicable bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, and similar laws affecting
creditors' rights generally and (b) equitable principles which may
limit the availability of certain equitable remedies (such as
specific performance) in certain instances.
Section
2.2
Organization and Good Standing . Each of Pharmos US and
Pharmos IL is duly organized, in good standing and validly existing
under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, and has the
requisite power and authority to own its properties and to carry on
its business.
Section
2.3
Noncontravention . The execution, delivery, and
performance by Seller of this Agreement and the consummation by it
of the transactions contemplated hereby do not and will not: (a)
violate or be in conflict with (i) any law, rule, regulation, or
order of any governmental agency applicable to Seller, (ii) the
organizational documents of Seller, (iii) any agreement, judgment,
license, order, or permit applicable to or binding upon Seller, or
(iv) any provision of any bond, debenture, note, mortgage,
indenture, lease, contract, agreement, or other instrument or
obligation to which Seller is a party or by which Seller or any of
its properties may be bound. (b) constitute (with or without the
giving of notice or the passage of time or both) a default under,
or give rise (with or without the giving of notice or the passage
of time or both) to any right of termination, cancellation, or
acceleration thereunder, (c) result in the acceleration of any
indebtedness owed by Seller, or (d) result in or require the
creation of any encumbrance upon any assets or properties of
Seller, or (e) give rise to any claim by or right of a creditor of
the Seller under bankruptcy or insolvency laws, in each
case, where such conflict, acceleration or encumbrance would have a
material adverse effect upon the condition of the Assets, the
ability of the Seller to perform its undertakings hereunder or the
binding effect of this Agreement.
Section
2.4
Title to the Assets .
(a) To its best knowledge, Seller is the sole
and exclusive owner of all rights, title and interests in and to
the Assets free and clear of all Encumbrances.
(b) To its best knowledge, the delivery to Buyer
of the instruments of transfer of ownership contemplated by this
Agreement will, at the Closing, vest good and marketable title to
the Assets in Buyer, free and clear of all Encumbrances.
Section
2.5
Encumbrances . Seller has good and transferable
title to the Assets, f
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