UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

OR

Commission File Number 001-35932

 

ARCTURUS THERAPEUTICS LTD.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 900-2660

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Ordinary Shares, Par Value NIS 0.07 Per Share; Ordinary Shares traded on the NASDAQ stock market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ☐ NO ☒

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. YES ☐ NO ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES ☒ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). YES ☒ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ☐ NO ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing price of the Ordinary Shares on The NASDAQ Stock Market on March 1, 2019 was $41.3 million.

The number of Registrant’s Ordinary Shares outstanding as of March 1, 2019 was 10,761,523.

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, or this annual report, and the documents incorporated by reference herein may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth below under Part I, Item 3.D, “Risk Factors” in this annual report. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These statements, which represent our current expectations or beliefs concerning various future events, may contain words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate” or other words indicating future results, though not all forward-looking statements necessarily contain these identifying words. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the following:

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Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those projected. These statements are only current predictions and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. In addition, historic results of scientific research, preclinical and clinical trials do not guarantee that the conclusions of future research or trials would not suggest different conclusions or that historic results referred to herein would not be interpreted differently in light of additional research, preclinical and clinical trials results. The forward-looking statements contained in this annual report are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in our other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements.

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PART I

Item 1. Business.

Introduction

Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. (“we,” “us,” “Arcturus,” or the “Company”) is an RNA medicines company focused on significant opportunities in rare diseases with a current focus on liver and respiratory diseases.  In addition to our internal mRNA platform, our proprietary lipid nanopartical deliver system, LUNAR^®, enables multiple nucleic acid medicines.  The Company’s internet address is https://arcturusrx.com/. The Company was founded in 2013.  On November 15, 2017, Alcobra Ltd. acquired Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. (“Arcturus Inc.”) pursuant to a merger between the companies. Immediately after giving effect to the merger, on November 15, 2017, Alcobra Ltd. changed its name to Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. On November 16, 2017, the Company commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “ARCT.” On February 11, 2019, we disclosed our intention to initiate a process to redomicile from an Israeli limited company to a U.S. corporation, as described more fully under “Redomiciliation,” below.  

The Company’s principal executive offices are located in San Diego, California. Our key proprietary technology has the potential to address the major hurdles in RNA development, namely the effective and safe delivery of RNA therapeutics to disease-relevant target tissues. We believe the versatility of our platform to target multiple tissues, its compatibility with various nucleic acid therapeutics, and our expertise in developing scalable manufacturing processes puts us in a good position to deliver on the next generation of nucleic medicines.

We believe that we can use our proprietary technologies to develop RNA medicines in multiple therapeutic approaches: (1) mRNA, DNA, and replicon protein replacement for therapeutics and protein delivery for vaccines; (2) siRNA, microRNA, and antisense oligonucleotides – knockdown of genes overexpressed in disease; and (3) CRISPR, TALEN, zinc finger proteins, megatals and meganucleases – gene editing of errant genes.

Recent Developments

Redomiciliation

On February 11, 2019, we disclosed our intention to initiate a process to redomicile from an Israeli limited company to a U.S. corporation. The final form and timing of the redomiciliation has not yet been finalized and the redomiciliation is subject to the approval of our shareholders, Israeli court approval and approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), among other conditions precedent. On February 11, 2019, we filed an application with the Tel Aviv District Court to approve the convening of a general shareholders meeting of the Company for the approval of the redomiciliation pursuant to Sections 350 and 351 of the Israeli Companies Law (the “Companies Law”).

In connection with the redomiciliation, the Company entered into a share exchange agreement between the Company and a special-purpose company, Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (“NewCo”) (the “Share Exchange Agreement”) in connection with the contemplated redomiciling of the Company from Israel to Delaware (the “Redomiciliation”). Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, and in order to effectuate the transactions contemplated by the Share Exchange Agreement, on February 11, 2019, the Company filed an application with the

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Tel Aviv District Court to approve the convening of a general shareholders meeting of the Company for the approval of the Redomiciliation pursuant to Sections 350 and 351 of the Companies Law, 1999-5759. The Share Exchange Agreement and the Redomiciliation are subject to shareholder approval as required by the Companies Law, Israeli court approval, effectiveness of filings to be made with the SEC, approval of the listing of shares of NewCo by the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) and the other conditions precedent set forth in the Share Exchange Agreement (the “Conditions Precedent”).

In furtherance of the Redomiciliation, the holders of Ordinary Shares of the Company as of a future record date and the holders of options to purchase Ordinary Shares of the Company as of the same record date will transfer their Ordinary Shares of the Company and options to purchase Ordinary Shares of the Company, respectively, to NewCo and, in exchange thereof, will receive one share of common stock of NewCo for each ordinary share of the Company and one option to purchase one share of common stock of NewCo in exchange for each option to purchase an ordinary share of the Company, respectively.

The Company intends the common stock of NewCo to be listed on NASDAQ. Upon consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Share Exchange Agreement, it is expected that the Company’s Ordinary Shares will be delisted from trading on NASDAQ, and the Company is expected to become a private company (as defined in the Companies Law) wholly-owned by NewCo.

Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, the Company also agreed, subject to the Conditions Precedent set forth therein, to transfer all of the shares of Arcturus Therapeutics Inc. (“Arcturus Sub”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, to NewCo through a reduction of the Company’s equity and the distribution of a dividend-in-kind, such that Arcturus Sub and the Company shall each become a wholly-owned and direct subsidiary of NewCo.

Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency Development Program

On February 11, 2019, the Company announced the termination of the obligations of CureVac AG for the preclinical development of ARCT-810, effective 180 days from February 5, 2019 and the re-assumption by the Company of the worldwide rights thereto.  Arcturus will reassume 100% global rights for its flagship asset, clinical development candidate ARCT-810, a messenger RNA (mRNA) drug to treat OTC deficiency. ARCT-810 was previously subject to a 50/50 collaboration between Arcturus and CureVac AG. CureVac elected not to continue its obligations for the development of ARCT-810 under and pursuant to the terms of the collaboration.

The preclinical development program for ARCT-810, including Investigational New Drug Application (IND) enabling studies, remains on track. Arcturus is planning to file an IND for ARCT-810 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Pursuant to the terms of the Co-Development Agreement, CureVac is obligated to continue to fund its share of the preclinical expenses for the OTC program until August 5, 2019.

Current Technologies and Limitations

Messenger RNA can be immunogenic. The current lipid nanoparticle technology used to deliver mRNA therapeutics are also limited by their propensity to cause immune responses. This decreases the tolerability of the medicine. These delivery systems are not biodegradable, which causes accumulation of these lipids in cells upon repeat dosing.  Each of these aspects of current lipid nanoparticle delivery systems is expected to ultimately limit the utility and therapeutic reach of the RNA therapies they deliver.

Arcturus aims to mitigate the immune response and tolerability issues associated with the LNP mRNA delivery with the development of both less immunogenic mRNAs and biodegradable lipids. The Company has developed processes for the scale up of LNP-mRNA therapeutics to support clinical development.  

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mRNA therapeutics offer an attractive promise that other RNA medicines cannot provide – to increase the production of a protein in the body that is either defective or expressed at low levels to improve symptoms of a genetic disease without interacting with the patient’s genetic code.  mRNA therapies have yet to be successful in delivering an approved therapy to patients because of the technical hurdles facing this therapeutic approach.  These hurdles include:

Arcturus’ lipid-mediated delivery platform is designed to address many of the technical issues encountered to date for this very promising area of RNA medicines.

RNA Medicines, Markets and Arcturus’ Technology

There is a significant, unmet medical need in the field of rare genetic diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10,000 diseases are caused by an error, or mutation, in a single gene, and currently no FDA-approved drug exists for over 95% of known, rare genetic diseases. Moreover, these diseases affect one in a hundred people at birth, and 350 million people worldwide live with a rare genetic disease. Many of these diseases cause moderate to severe symptoms, significantly decreasing quality of life and life expectancy.

 

Nucleic acid medicines have the potential to treat diseases caused by genetic mutations, including diseases that cannot be treated by conventional drugs, such as small molecules and biologics. Some of these medicines function by providing the means for producing a deficient yet vital protein in vivo.  Within a cell, DNA carries the blueprint, in the form of genes, from which all proteins necessary for life are encoded. Each gene has the code, carried by a nucleic acid molecule called messenger RNA (“mRNA”), informing the cell’s machinery the pattern of building blocks for making one or more proteins needed for normal biological function.

 

Nucleic acid therapeutics represent a significant advancement in targeted medicines and several of this class of therapeutics are being developed by public and private companies. These therapies have three general objectives:

siRNA therapies, double-stranded RNA compounds that activate machinery in the cell to destroy a target RNA in the body, are useful in treating diseases caused by viral infections, malfunctioning proteins or an excess of certain proteins that contribute to the severity of symptoms of a disease. siRNA compounds are designed to bind perfectly to one mRNA and trigger machinery in the body to cause the cell to destroy the disease-causing mRNA. This mechanism, called RNA interference (“RNAi”), can be used to prevent mutated genes from being translated into defective proteins that cause disease and can stop viruses from replicating inside the body.

Naked RNA and some DNA molecules are quickly degraded by enzymes in the bloodstream and can cause a strong immune response. Therefore, nucleic acid medicines (mRNA, DNA and siRNA) developed for systemic use must use a vector to deliver the nucleic acid medicine to target cells. Viral delivery vectors and lipid-mediated delivery systems are the two main delivery systems used in a large number of nucleic acid-based therapeutics in development.

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Viral delivery vectors are very effective at delivering DNA to alter the genetic make-up of the patient’s cells. However, they can cause liver damage and activate an immune response in human patients. Viral vectors may also cause accidental mutations in host DNA. Patients treated with viral vectors can also develop antibodies against these vectors that make the treatment less effective over time.  

Lipid-mediated delivery systems are the most common non-viral vectors because they are biocompatible and do not cause insertional mutagenesis. They can also be manipulated to target specific cells in the body. In 2018, the first siRNA therapy using a lipid-mediated delivery system was approved by the FDA for the treatment of polyneuropathy associated with hereditary transthyretin (hTTR) amyloidosis, Onpattro^® (Patisiran). Despite these advantages, older lipid-mediated delivery systems, like that utilized in Onpattro^®, can stimulate adverse immune responses, requiring co-administration of steroids, and cause liver damage in patients due to their inability to be degraded by the body.

Our Platform Technology

LUNAR

Our LUNAR^® lipid-mediated delivery technology includes a diverse, growing library of over 150 proprietary lipids that we rationally designed to be versatile, maximizing efficacy and increasing tolerability of a diverse selection of nucleic acids, target cell types and routes of administration. A key feature of our LUNAR lipids is their biodegradability, decreasing the undesired effects caused by lipid accumulation that are associated with tolerability issues present in other lipid-mediated RNA medicine delivery platforms. Our experienced team continues to innovate in the area of producing LUNAR lipid formulated nucleic acid medicines in a scalable and highly-reproducible manner, reducing the costs of goods for the therapies in our pipeline.

In addition to our LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery technology, we believe we have created innovative, proprietary improvements to producing mRNA medicines, including improvements that increase purity, scalability, efficiency in production times, and adaptability to different mRNA modification strategies.  We strive to use these proprietary innovations to benefit each mRNA medicine in our pipeline.

We continue to invest in our LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery of mRNA (encoding CRISPR, TALEN, zinc finger proteins, and meganucleases), siRNA, DNA, microRNA, and antisense oligonucleotide technology platforms to improve their efficacy and safety profile, further expanding their applications. This investment had led to key innovations ensuring optimal characteristics of our LUNAR formulated drug product are attained, which we believe sets us apart from other nucleic acid therapeutics and lipid-mediated delivery platforms.

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Our Pipeline

We are using our proprietary technology to develop nucleic acid medicines to treat diseases with unmet medical needs, accelerated clinical paths and clear commercial opportunities. Our preclinical pipeline currently has seven active preclinical drug discovery and development programs. This includes wholly-owned programs as well as programs in partnership with Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. (“Ultragenyx”), Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (“Janssen”), Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (“Synthetic Genomics” or “SGI”) and CureVac AG (“CureVac”).

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Our Strategy

We aim to leverage our proprietary and licensed intellectual property relating to LUNAR and our nucleic acid technologies to develop a pipeline of mRNA therapeutics for infectious rare diseases and rare genetic disorders with significant unmet medical needs. In addition to our collaborations noted above, we are focused on balancing our portfolio with internally-owned and partnered programs to advance our preclinical candidates in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Our flagship program, LUNAR-OTC, is on track to enter first-in-human studies during 2020.

Our business strategy has three main areas of focus:

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Our Competitive Strengths

We believe our proprietary LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery and nucleic acid technologies, extensive intellectual property portfolio and experienced research and development team will enable us to advance our drug candidates and existing partnerships, and further partner our technology platform thereby expanding future development and commercial opportunities.

We believe that our competitive strengths include the following, among other areas:

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Key Attributes of Our LUNAR Lipid-Mediated Delivery Technology

We have designed our LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery platform to address major challenges with nucleic acid medicine delivery, including transfection efficiency, adverse immune reactions and liver damage. See below for a graphic representation of our LUNAR formulation, where blue spheres represent polyethylene glycol (“PEG”) lipids and the orange, darker orange, and yellow spheres represent the proprietary Arcturus (ATX) lipid excipient and other structural components (phospholipid and cholesterol).  

Graphic of LUNAR

 

 

LUNAR formulations are a multi-component, lipid-mediated drug delivery system that utilizes our proprietary lipids, called ATX lipids. Each of our ATX lipids contains an amino head group and a biodegradable lipid backbone. The amino head group is a key chemical component of the ATX lipid, making it pH-sensitive and providing it distinct advantages as a component of our LUNAR formulation. At acidic pH, ATX lipids are positively charged, facilitating interaction with the negatively charged nucleic acid, thereby enabling LUNAR particle formation. At physiological pH (e.g., pH 7.4), LUNAR formulations are neutrally charged, avoiding the toxicity often seen with permanently positively-charged lipid-mediated delivery technology, used by other RNA medicine companies. Upon uptake into a cell, by a process called endocytosis that forms a cellular structure called an endosome around the LUNAR formulated nucleic acid therapeutic, the amino head group again becomes positively charged, disrupting the endosome and the LUNAR particle, and releasing the nucleic acid therapeutic into the cell.

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LUNAR-mediated delivery of a nucleic acid therapeutic into cells

The disruption of the LUNAR particle also releases the components of the formulation into the cell, where the ATX lipid is degraded by enzymes in the cell allowing for the lipids to be cleared from the cell.  We designed the ATX lipid to be biodegradable by engineering chemical structural components called esters into the ATX backbone that are sensitive to cellular enzymes called esterases. This degradation prevents ATX lipids from accumulating inside the cell and causing toxicity.

 

 

 

LUNAR compatibility with nucleic acids of various size

We have generated a growing library of over 150 proprietary ATX lipids. ATX lipids are rationally designed to fit the application and vary depending on the target cell type and route of administration. We perform extensive formulation screening for each nucleic acid therapeutic to determine the optimal ATX lipid and LUNAR composition for the particular nucleic acid therapeutic, the desired route of administration and target cell type. We have demonstrated high encapsulating efficiency when formulating a wide range of nucleic acid sizes, 20 to 12,000 nucleotides in length (figure below, left), and particle size was within the acceptable range to maximize targeting and efficacy (figure below, right).

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LUNAR Scalability

We have extensively characterized the safety and efficacy profile of first-generation LUNAR 1.0 in rodents and non-human primates and have confirmed its scalability for manufacturing. To test consistency across batch size, we tested batches from 50 milligrams to 30 grams (figure below), and to test reproducibility we tested three different batches of 30 grams each.  In both experiments, we demonstrated the LUNAR formulation process is both scalable and reproducible, maintaining both particle size and encapsulation percentage independent of batch size.

 

 

LUNAR Reproducibility

 

 

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LUNAR In Vivo Proof-of-Concept Data

LUNAR formulations can be designed to target different cell types in the liver

We have optimized LUNAR to deliver nucleic acid therapeutics preferentially to different cell types in the liver after intravenous (IV) delivery.  When mice were treated with a single intravenous dose of two different LUNAR-siRNA formulations, significant target mRNA knockdown was observed in hepatocytes 72 hours post-treatment (figure below, left). Shown in green, the composition of a different LUNAR-siRNA formulation was modified to also achieve significant target mRNA knockdown in stellate cells, an important cell type for certain liver indications, such as NASH. The hepatocyte-targeting (formulation 1, red bars) was also used to formulate a green fluorescent protein (GFP) mRNA and mice were treated with a single IV dose (figure below, right). 24 hours later, GFP protein was seen throughout the liver, particularly in hepatocytes.

 

Repeat dose efficacy in non-human primates

To demonstrate efficacy of LUNAR-mRNA in a repeat-dose setting, we treated non-human primates once weekly for four weeks with LUNAR-formulated erythropoetin (EPO) mRNA (figure below). EPO protein expression levels were determined 6 hours following each treatment, and elevated serum EPO levels were maintained following each treatment.

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Antigen-specific responses following IM delivery of LUNAR-mRNA in influenza vaccination mouse model

We have demonstrated in proof-of concept studies in mice the utility of LUNAR-formulated mRNA in oncology and infectious disease vaccine applications. Mice were treated at Day 0 (prime) and Day 21 (boost) via intramuscular delivery with 0.5 mg/kg LUNAR-encapsulated hemagglutinin mRNA (2 formulations; LUNAR 1 and LUNAR 2). At Day 35, serum titers were determined in a hemagglutination inhibition assay (figure below, left) and antigen-specific cytokine production was evaluated from CD8+ T-cells (figure below, right). With both formulations tested, titers between 10³-10⁴ were achieved and a significant increase in % of TNFα and IFNα expressing cells was observed.

 

Our Proprietary mRNA and Protein Design Technology

Arcturus has developed in-house expertise in protein and mRNA design to benefit the mRNA programs in its pipeline to address many of the known challenges that face the viability of mRNA therapeutics today.  Arcturus has identified several design elements of mRNA compounds that provide improved translation (conversion from mRNA to protein) of our mRNA therapeutics, including untranslated regions derived from species that have not previously been combined with human mRNA sequences.  This platform technology is applicable to many different human mRNA sequences that we currently are approaching in our discovery efforts.  We have also identified ways to engineer human protein sequences to increase the half-life of the proteins produced by our mRNA therapies as well as directing specific types of proteins more efficiently to certain cellular structures of interest.  These innovations are broadly applicable to several programs that are part of our mRNA discovery efforts.  

In addition to these platform technologies, Arcturus has developed a proprietary tool to aid our team in the efficient design and development of new mRNA drugs.  Arcturus’ mRNA Design Suite is a cloud-based software suite with a collection of proprietary bioinformatic algorithms aimed at achieving highly improved potency of a drug substance through optimization of mRNA sequences.  The algorithms were developed in house through the integration of experimentally validated optimization processes.  Through multi-layered in silico QC pipelines, mRNA Design Suite promptly generates error-free sequences in its highest quality accompanied by various statistics.  Additionally, mRNA Design Suite seamlessly interacts with Arcturus plasmid/mRNA production database to accelerate the process from mRNA design to gene synthesis, cloning, and mRNA production.

 

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Our Unlocked Nucleic Acid (UNA) Oligomer Chemistry

UNAs are RNA analogues in which the C2’-C3’ bond of the ribose ring is absent (figure below). UNA chemistry technology can potentially be applied to multiple types of RNA medicines including mRNA, siRNA, microRNA and guide RNAs for gene editing. One or more UNAs can be positioned strategically along a nucleic acid strand to manipulate the chemical properties of the molecule.

RNA structure compared with UNA structure

 

UNAs can potentially improve the efficiency and specificity of siRNA-mediated protein suppression. siRNAs are short double-stranded RNA molecules. Once inside the cell, they become part of the RNA-induced silencing complex (“RISC”) and are split into two single siRNA strands. One of these strands stays with RISC and binds to any mRNA with a complementary sequence. If the wrong siRNA strand stays with RISC, it can bind to different mRNAs than the target mRNA and therefore inhibit translation of other proteins. This is an undesired off-target effect and is one of the major barriers to developing effective siRNA medicines. Incorporating a single UNA into siRNA molecules can make one of the strands preferentially bind to RISC improving specificity. Additionally, incorporation of UNA modifications can reduce susceptibility of the siRNA to nuclease degradation, improving the efficiency of siRNA-mediated protein suppression.

We own a comprehensive suite of UNA technology patents for therapeutic and reagent use, enabling us to operate freely and to independently pursue nucleic acid therapeutic candidates incorporating this technology. We are also actively pursuing other novel chemistry technologies with the aim of overcoming the development and therapeutic challenges of nucleic acid medicines. Our goal is to expand our nucleic acid technology portfolio and strengthen our ability to develop safer and more effective nucleic acid therapeutic candidates.

INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

We are developing mRNA therapeutic candidates to treat rare diseases with unmet medical needs through the following two internal development programs.

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1.LUNAR-OTC (ARCT-810)

On February 11, 2019, Arcturus disclosed that the Company will reassume 100% global rights for its flagship asset, clinical development candidate ARCT-810, a mRNA drug to treat OTC Deficiency. The LUNAR-OTC program addresses orinithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, a rare, genetic disease caused by mutations in the OTC gene that leads to dysfunctional or deficient OTC levels. OTC deficiency causes the body to accumulate ammonia levels which are neurotoxic and harmful to the liver.  Currently, there are only treatments to remove excess ammonia and no disease-modifying treatments of the underlying genetic disorder are available.  We use our LUNAR platform to deliver normal OTC mRNA into hepatocytes, where OTC is produced and functions, to produce normal functioning OTC with potentially disease-modifying effects for these patients.

Our LUNAR-OTC approach has the potential to treat the underlying defect that causes the debilitating symptoms that OTC deficiency (dysfunctional or decreased levels of OTC protein), rather than mitigating symptoms by sequestration of ammonia which is at high levels in these patients.

Overview of OTC Deficiency

OTC deficiency is caused by mutations in the OTC gene which leads to a non-functional or deficient OTC enzyme. OTCD is the most common urea cycle disorder.  Urea cycle disorders are a group of inherited metabolic disorders that make it difficult for afflicted patients to remove toxic waste products as proteins are digested.  OTC deficiency is a life-threatening genetic disease. OTC is a critical enzyme in the urea cycle, which takes place in liver cells, and converts ammonia to urea. This conversion does not occur properly in patients with OTC deficiency and ammonia accumulates in their blood, acting as a neurotoxin and liver toxin. This can cause severe symptoms including vomiting, headaches, coma and death. OTC deficiency is an inherited disease that can cause developmental problems, seizures and death in newborn babies. It is an X-linked disorder, so is more common in boys. Patients with less severe symptoms may present later in life, as adults. There is currently no cure for OTC deficiency, apart from liver transplant. However, this treatment comes with significant risk of complications such as organ rejection, and transplant recipients must take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives. Current standard of care for OTC patients is a low-protein diet and ammonia scavengers to try and prevent patients from accumulating ammonia. These treatments do not address the underlying cause of disease.

The LUNAR-OTC Solution

Our preclinical proof-of-concept studies have shown that LUNAR-delivered human OTC mRNA reduces urinary orotic acid levels in a well-established mouse model of OTC deficiency: OTC-spf ^ash mice. These mice have elevated urinary orotic acid. Because they have a small amount of residual OTC enzyme activity, they are not hyperammonemic unless challenged with a high protein diet through inhibition of the residual OTC enzyme activity.  

We treated OTC-spf ^ash mice, with induced hyperammonemia resulting from a high protein diet, with one intravenous dose of LUNAR-encapsulated human OTC mRNA (candidate mRNA sequences tested at a low, middle, and high dose levels). A LUNAR-encapsulated Luciferase mRNA was included as a control. As shown in the figure below, this single treatment significantly reduced urinary orotic acid levels for at least seven days post-treatment (n=4-6 animals per group).

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Urinary orotic acid levels following single administration

 

Functional effects following repeat dosing of LUNAR-encapsulated human OTC mRNA in OTC-spf ^ash mice were then determined. OTC-spf ^ash mice were placed on a high-protein diet to induce hyperammonemia and treated with once weekly intravenous doses of LUNAR-encapsulated human OTC mRNA for 5 weeks at 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg with a 2-week washout period.   As shown in the figure below, animals in the 1.0 mg/kg LUNAR-OTC treatment group were completely protected from lethality (n=10 animals per group).

Survival of OTC-deficient mice on high protein diet following weekly LUNAR-OTC treatment

 

Our LUNAR-OTC program utilizes our current innovations in protein sequence optimization, mRNA coding region optimization and our proprietary untranslated regions that increase the efficiency of our mRNA therapeutic to translate into protein, the half-life of the OTC protein and also its localization into the mitochondria (a cellular structure) where the OTC protein resides and functions.

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The LUNAR-CF program addresses cystic fibrosis, a progressive lung disease caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. We use our LUNAR platform to deliver optimized CFTR mRNA into airway epithelial cells. This allows airway cells to produce functional CFTR protein using their native translational machinery and protein trafficking pathways.

This approach has the potential to treat the underlying defect that causes CF (dysfunctional or absent CFTR protein) in all such patients, regardless of mutation type.  The potential has been recognized by Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. (CFFT), with whom we have partnered to develop this important therapy.

Overview of CF

According to the National Institutes of Health, CF is the most common lethal genetic disease in the United States. Currently, Arcturus is focusing on Class 1 patients which make up approximately 10% of the United States CF population. More than 30,000 people are living with CF in the United States, 70,000 people worldwide, and approximately 1,000 people are newly-diagnosed each year. There are 2,000 known mutations in the CFTR gene that affect the function of the CFTR protein, an ion channel that controls chloride and sodium movement in-and-out of cells. When this channel is absent or dysfunctional, thick mucus can accumulate in airways and pancreatic ducts, which can cause coughing, chronic bacterial infections, inflammation, tissue scarring, digestive problems and other serious complications. The median lifespan for a person with CF in the United States is 37 years, and the cause of death is usually lung damage.

There are currently no FDA-approved drugs that can treat all 2,000 CFTR mutations. The FDA has approved three CFTR modulator therapies (Kalydeco^®, Orkambi^® and Symdeko^®), to treat fewer than 40 CF-causing mutations. These drugs do not treat the underlying genetic cause of CF, but instead assist the mutant CFTR protein to reach the cell membrane and/or increase the functional ion channel activity of the mutant CFTR protein. For patients with other mutations, palliative treatment, including antibiotics and mucolytics, is the primary standard of care. Many of these patients ultimately suffer from decreased lung function and require lung transplant.

Our LUNAR-CF Solution

With the support of CFFT, we are developing an mRNA therapeutic to treat and prevent lung disease in CF patients. Our LUNAR-CF compound comprises normal CFTR mRNA encapsulated by LUNAR delivery technology. This approach is a form of protein replacement therapy as it enables lung cells to produce normal CFTR protein.

We have completed preclinical proof-of-concept studies, demonstrating that LUNAR efficiently delivers a functional reporter mRNA efficiently into mouse lung epithelial cells in vivo (figure below). Six hours following intratracheal delivery of 0.1 mg/kg of the LUNAR-encapsulated reporter green fluorescent protein (GFP) mRNA, GFP protein expression (shown in brown) was observed in mouse lung epithelial cells of the primary bronchus and in bronchioles, important lung structures, located in the upper and lower airways.

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In vivo targeting to lung epithelial cells following treatment with LUNAR-reporter mRNA

 

 

Through optimization of the CFTR mRNA coding sequence and untranslated regions, we were also able to significantly improve CFTR expression and demonstrate enhanced ion channel activity in an in vitro model system. In cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial (CFBE) cells transfected with a lead candidate CFTR mRNA sequence, protein expression was significantly increased and the duration of expression was prolonged compared to a reference CFTR mRNA which is the natural coding sequence (figure below, left). When the Arcturus lead candidate CFTR mRNA was transfected into FRT epithelial cells (a cell type used to measure conductance in CF research), a significant increase in transepithelial conductance was observed (figure below, right), indicating that the CFTR protein produced from the mRNA is functional. In this study, the same reference CFTR mRNA was included and minimal functional activity was observed, indicating significant improvement of our proprietary mRNA design compared to the natural sequence.

CFTR protein expression (left) and functional activity (right)

 

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COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS

In addition to our internal development programs, we have a number of development partnerships structured such that we work to discover siRNA or mRNA therapeutic candidates formulated in our LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery system. We are collaborating with Janssen to develop nucleic acid-based candidates for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and potentially other infectious or respiratory diseases, with SGI to enable their self-replicating RNA technology for animal and human vaccines and therapeutics, with Takeda to develop nucleic acid therapeutic candidates for NASH and other gastrointestinal disorders, with Ultragenyx to develop mRNA therapeutic candidates for rare disease targets and with CureVac to develop mRNA therapeutic and vaccine candidates for various indications. We have also received funding from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc., or CFFT, to support our LUNAR-CF development program, which is described above.

Janssen Agreement

On October 18, 2017, we entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement (“Janssen Agreement”) with Janssen to address hepatitis B virus (HBV) with an RNA approach. Under this agreement, we are collaborating with Janssen to create therapeutics intended to treat HBV, and at Janssen’s option, other infectious or respiratory disease viruses. Both parties to the Janssen Agreement will carry out their respective research obligations pursuant to agreed upon joint research plans. Janssen may select certain therapeutics in the field for further development by the parties under a joint research plan subject to the terms of the Janssen agreement. Following these joint research efforts, if Janssen selects a development candidate, we will grant to Janssen an exclusive license to the development candidate. As a part of this agreement with Janssen, we will not engage in research independent of this agreement with Janssen for HBV or other disease areas in which Janssen has exercised its option rights to products in the therapeutic area. 

The Janssen agreement provides that Janssen will develop the licensed development candidates, obtain certain regulatory approvals and commercialize products containing the development candidates. With respect to rights in infectious and respiratory diseases, Janssen also has an option to have us develop and license therapeutics for infectious and respiratory disease viruses, provided that we may collaborate with third parties and license any rights in the option disease areas to third parties so long as Janssen has not exercised its option rights to products in the therapeutic area. Under the Janssen Agreement, both parties also grant each other certain non-exclusive, royalty-free licenses to conduct the research under the agreement.

Under the Janssen Agreement, Janssen paid us an up-front fee in the mid $5 million to $10 million range. On a development candidate-by-development candidate basis, Janssen will pay us certain development milestone payments of up to $56.5 million for each of the first two products in HBV and in each indication for which Janssen exercises an option. In addition, Janssen will pay us multiple sales milestone payments in the $20 million to $40 million range if specified annual net sales milestones are achieved by Janssen, on a research program-by-research program basis for the first calendar year in which such net sales milestones have been achieved. Janssen will also pay option exercise fees within the $1 to $5 million range, depending on timing of the election to include either of the option fields. In addition, Janssen will pay royalties on annual net sales of licensed products up to mid-single digits range, subject to reduction on a country-by-country and licensed-product-by-licensed-product basis and subject to certain events, such as expiration of program patents.

The Janssen Agreement will terminate when no further royalty payments on any licensed products are payable. Janssen may terminate the Janssen Agreement at any time on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis, or in its entirety, in each case upon 60 days’ written notice.

Ultragenyx Agreement

On October 26, 2015, we and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement, as amended on October 17, 2017 and April 20, 2018 (the “Ultragenyx Agreement”). Ultragenyx initially selected two development targets, including Glycogen Storage Disease III, and the parties agreed to a list of eight additional reserved targets related to rare diseases for which Ultragenyx has the exclusive right to evaluate for collaborative development. During the reserved target exclusivity period Ultragenyx may substitute a reserved target for a selected target, and/or exercise an expansion option by payment to us, whereby a reserved target will be deemed an additional target (and will preclude an additional reserved target in place of the converted reserved target). Further, during the reserved target exclusivity period, Ultragenyx may replace a reserved target with a proposed new target, subject to certain conditions including whether we have the ability to partner such new target.

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The Ultragenyx Agreement additionally provides for limitations on our activities with third parties utilizing LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery technology with respect to a development target for a specified period of time. During the reserved target exclusivity period, we have agreed to exclusivity with respect to any product containing mRNA, including modified mRNA, or UNA oligomer with respect to such reserved target, and will first offer Ultragenyx a right of first negotiation for any other RNA product or a product utilizing the LUNAR delivery technology with respect to such reserved target. The reserved target restrictions terminate upon expiration of the reserved target exclusivity period for each target, which may be extended on a reserved target-by-reserved target basis upon payment of an exclusivity extension fee.

On a reserved target-by-reserved target basis, following the target exclusivity period, Ultragenyx receives an exclusive right of first negotiation to obtain an exclusive license to exploit RNA products with respect to such reserved target. Following the reserved target right of first negotiation period, if the parties have not entered into an agreement during a specified time period, the rights of Ultragenyx terminate and we may grant a license or enter into a third-party arrangement with respect to such reserved target.

Under the Ultragenyx Agreement, Ultragenyx receives a co-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable license under our technology and collaboration technology to conduct collaborative development of development targets, compounds and products. The license remains in effect for a specified option period based upon development plan milestones being achieved with respect to development targets and reserved targets and compounds and products with respect to such development targets and reserved targets. If Ultragenyx exercises its option with respect to a development target and the parties enter into a license agreement, Ultragenyx receives an exclusive (even as to us), royalty bearing, sublicenseable (subject to certain limitations), license under our technology and collaboration technology to exploit compound and products with respect to such development target.

For development and reserved targets that revert to us, we will pay Ultragenyx royalties on net sales of discontinued targets on a country-by-country basis, until the expiration of the last valid claim or the product-specific patents or patent rights licensed by Ultragenyx to us covering such discontinued targets. Such royalties depend on the state of development of the corresponding discontinued target, set in the low-single digits range.

Ultragenyx paid us an upfront fee of $10 million. We are entitled to certain additional payments upon exercise of the Ultragenyx expansion option and/or exclusivity extension (if any), and for costs incurred by us in conducting the activities assigned to us under each collaboration development plan. In addition, on a development target-by-development target basis, Ultragenyx will pay us a one-time milestone payment after the first optimized lead designation for the first product with respect of such development target. For each development target for which Ultragenyx exercises its option, Ultragenyx will pay us a one-time option exercise fee based upon on the total number of development targets for which option exercises have been made by Ultragenyx. The option exercise fee is subject to reduction if a development target does not, for example, utilize RNA delivery technology covered by our patent or a nucleic acid chemistry technology covered by our patent. Ultragenyx will also pay us certain milestone payments in the maximum amount of $49 million per development target with respect to clinical/regulatory development, and a maximum amount of $90 million per development target with respect to commercialization, in each case subject to reduction if such product does not utilize RNA delivered technology covered by our patent. Ultragenyx will pay royalties as a percentage of net sales on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis during the applicable royalty term up to 10%.

The Ultragenyx Agreement provides that each party owns their respective collaboration know-how and collaboration patents and jointly own all joint collaboration know-how and joint collaboration patents, provided that Ultragenyx owns all right, title and interest in and to all collaboration technology that specifically relates to (a) the composition or formulation of a particular compound or product, or (b) any method of using, making or administering a particular compound or product. Further, we will own all improvements to LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery technology and/or UNA oligomer chemistry.

The Ultragenyx Agreement expires on the last-to-expire royalty term for the last product on a development target-by-development target basis, unless earlier terminated. Upon expiration with respect to a particular development target, the licenses to Arcturus know-how granted to Ultragenyx to exploit products with respect to such development target will be fully paid-up, irrevocable and exclusive. On a target-by-target basis, Ultragenyx has the right to terminate for convenience with respect to such target upon 60 days written notice.

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Synthetic Genomics Agreement

On October 24, 2017, we entered into a Research and Exclusive License Agreement with Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (the “Synthetic Genomics Agreement”). Under the Synthetic Genomics Agreement, we will carry out research relating to our LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery for specifically agreed research programs in the area of self-replicating mRNA.

We granted Synthetic Genomics an exclusive, worldwide license, under our intellectual property related to LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery, to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize for vaccine and human therapeutic self-amplifying RNA products but expressly excluding diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of respiratory disease viruses other than influenza.

Each party retains ownership rights over intellectual property invented jointly by Synthetic Genomics and us (with inventorship determined by U.S. patent law). Under the Synthetic Genomics Agreement, we own all LUNAR product manufacturing process and process technology within any jointly invented program intellectual property (pursuant to an assignment by Synthetic Genomics of its interest in the joint intellectual property). Synthetic Genomics owns all other intellectual property conceived by or for us or jointly invented in performing any research plan that is not expressly assigned to us. Synthetic Genomics will reimburse us for labor costs and pay us a percentage of all cash payments received from any sublicense for a LUNAR product, in the mid 10% to 20% range, less payments made to third parties to obtain the right to practice intellectual property used to develop or necessary to make, use, or sell all or part of licensed LUNAR product (which reduction may not exceed 50% of the aggregate amount paid to us with respect to a specific LUNAR product for any calendar quarter).

If Synthetic Genomics enters into a LUNAR research agreement with a third party, does not develop a LUNAR product with such third party, but subsequently licenses non-LUNAR products to and develops non-LUNAR products with such third party, then Synthetic Genomics will pay us a percentage of the consideration received for such non-LUNAR product in the 5% to 10% range. In the event that Synthetic Genomics desires to sell LUNAR products for which it obtains marketing approval, the Synthetic Genomics Agreement provides that we and Synthetic Genomics will negotiate in good faith with respect to the economics for that specific product opportunity.

Under the Synthetic Genomics Agreement, in order to maintain exclusive rights, Synthetic Genomics must achieve certain specified milestones or pay us annual exclusivity maintenance fees.

Unless earlier terminated, the agreement with Synthetic Genomics continues in full force and effect until the expiration, abandonment, or termination of the last valid claim of a patent within the licensed intellectual property, provided that, the agreement will terminate on the seventh anniversary of the effective date if the agreement becomes non-exclusive and neither Synthetic Genomics nor its sublicensee have achieved specified preclinical milestones within designated time periods. In addition, Synthetic Genomics has the right to terminate the agreement for convenience on ninety (90) days’ written notice.

Takeda Agreement

On December 6, 2016, we entered into a Research Agreement with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda (collectively, “Takeda”), as amended December 21, 2017 (the “Takeda Agreement”). Under the agreement with Takeda, we and Takeda are conducted a research program (“Research Program”) to discover siRNA medicine(s) for the treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (“NASH”). We intend to develop siRNA compounds formulated in LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery technology for in vivo studies. The Takeda agreement stated that for the initial research term, which has a stated end date of December 20, 2018 (“Research Term”), Takeda received a non-exclusive and worldwide license, with a right to sub-license, our technology for the purpose of conducting the research program under our agreement. We have further agreed, for the period of two years after the Research Term, not to engage in any research or development activities for which LUNAR and UNA oligomers are used against the same NASH target that is the subject of the Research Program. On March 8, 2019, the Company entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement with Takeda for the purpose of designing, optimizing and manufacturing LUNAR®-formulated mRNA Therapeutics.

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Providence Agreement

On March 16, 2016, we entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement with a related party, Providence (the “Providence Agreement”), whose CEO and President is also a shareholder of the Company, to identify and optimize microRNA modulators or mimetics for the treatment of neoplastic diseases. In April 2017, the Providence Agreement was amended to include mRNA for the treatment of neoplastic disease. In July 2018, the Providence Agreement was amended and restated to cover brain neoplasms, breast neoplasms and ovarian neoplasms.  Each party is responsible for their own research costs under the agreement, and Providence is responsible for all of the development costs through the completion of Phase 2 clinical trials. We are entitled to share in future product revenue of each product provided we share in the product’s post Phase 2 costs. Separately, Providence has agreed to pay a specified rate for the use of our employees.

CureVac Agreements

On January 1, 2018, we entered into a Development and Option Agreement with CureVac AG (“CureVac”), which was amended on May 3, 2018, as restated in the Restated Amendment to the Development and Option Agreement on September 28, 2018 (such agreement, as amended by the restated amendment, the “Development and Option Agreement”). Under the terms of the Development and Option Agreement, CureVac and Arcturus agreed to conduct joint preclinical development programs and we granted CureVac a license on pre-agreed license terms, with respect to targets to be identified during the term of our agreement, to develop and commercialize certain products incorporating our patents and know-how related to delivery systems based on or incorporating lipid-mediated delivery systems (including the LUNAR^® platform) (the “Arcturus LMD Technology”), and CureVac patents and know-how related to mRNA technology. Under the terms of the Development and Option Agreement, we granted to CureVac a worldwide, non-exclusive license to use the Arcturus LMD Technology, including the right to grant sublicenses, for the purpose of conducting research and preclinical development activities, subject to certain limitations. In addition, CureVac granted to us a worldwide, non-exclusive license under its mRNA technology, solely to the extent necessary to execute the activities contemplated by the agreement. Subject to certain restrictions, the parties will have an undivided one-half interest in the patents and know-how developed jointly by the parties during the course of the agreement. Pursuant to a May 2018 amendment to the Development and Option Agreement (which as noted above was amended and restated on September 28, 2018), we increased the number of targets available to CureVac under the Development and Option Agreement and agreed upon the license forms to be executed upon selection of the targets by CureVac.

In consideration for the rights granted under the agreement, we received an upfront fee from CureVac. Each development program will be subject to the terms of a work plan under which the parties will use diligent efforts to develop defined products. CureVac may designate certain targets as reserved targets, subject to certain pre-existing restrictions. CureVac has licenses from us for a pre-defined number of targets to use the Arcturus LMD Technology for the development and commercialization of products. To the extent a reserved target is only available on a nonexclusive basis, CureVac may elect to enter into a non-exclusive license agreement. Such licenses shall be obtained under separate, pre-negotiated forms of license agreements to be entered into by the parties upon identification of the targets. If CureVac identifies a target pursuant to the agreement, it will be required to pay us a fee for an exclusive license – or non-exclusive license, as applicable – based on whether the target is a rare disease target or non-rare disease targets. Pursuant to the form of exclusive license agreement, if CureVac achieves all development and commercialization milestones with respect to the licensed product developed for an identified target, CureVac will be required to pay certain development and regulatory approval milestones depending on whether the target is a rare disease target or non-rare disease target. CureVac will also be required to pay us low single-digit royalties on the net sales of each product falling under a license agreement on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis. Such royalties are subject to reduction for third party payments with respect to licensed products or if there is no valid claim under the licensed patents, but may not fall below a specified percentage if the licensed product during the royalty term is not covered by a licensed patent. Further, if within 24 months after the license agreement effective date, CureVac grants a sublicense to a third party under the license agreement for the development and commercialization of licensed products, then CureVac will pay us a single-digit percentage of the total sublicense income actually received by CureVac to the extent the sublicense income exceeds the fee paid by CureVac under the Development and Option Agreement to identify a target for this license agreement and the milestone payments paid by CureVac under this license agreement. The fees, milestones and royalty payments for a non-exclusive license are fifty percent (50%) of the corresponding payments for an exclusive license.

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The Development and Option Agreement has an initial term of eight years unless earlier terminated or extended in accordance with its terms. Within 60 days prior to the expiration of the initial term, CureVac has the option to extend the initial term of the agreement on an annual basis for up to a total of three successive years upon payment to us of an annual non-refundable extension fee. CureVac has the right to terminate the agreement in full or on a program-by-program basis (i) in the event of material breach by us that is not cured within the cure period specified in the agreement, (ii) in the event of a change in control of Arcturus or (iii) without cause upon 60 days’ notice to us. We have the right to terminate the agreement upon material breach by CureVac that is not cured within the period specified by the agreement. Upon termination, all licenses granted under the agreement will terminate, but any license agreement entered into pursuant upon the identification of a target will remain in effect.

Concurrently with the Development and Option Agreement, we entered into a Co-Development and Co-Commercialization Agreement with CureVac (the “Co-Development Agreement”). Pursuant to the Co-Development Agreement, the overall collaboration will be managed by a joint steering committee. The parties also have the option to co-develop two mRNA programs for CureVac and one mRNA program for us, including targets for such programs selected from the reserved target list established under the Development and Option Agreement.

Unless earlier terminated, the Co-Development Agreement shall continue in full force and effect on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis until the commercialization party no longer sells product in such country, or with respect to opt-out products, the expiration of the royalty term for such product in accordance with the terms of the agreement. A program initiated pursuant to the Co-Development Agreement may be earlier terminated (i) by CureVac with respect to an Arcturus program and by Arcturus with respect to a CureVac program, for convenience upon 180 days written notice, or (ii) by either party in the event of material breach, if the breaching party has not cured such breach within the applicable cure period. The Co-Development Agreement may be earlier terminated by either party in the event the other party commences legal action against the terminating party challenging the scope of the non-challenging party’s patents.

On February 11, 2019, the Company announced the termination of the obligations of CureVac for the preclinical development of ARCT-810, effective 180 days from February 5, 2019 and the re-assumption by the Company of the worldwide rights thereto.  Arcturus will reassume 100% global rights for its flagship asset, clinical development candidate ARCT-810, a messenger RNA (mRNA) drug to treat ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency. ARCT-810 was previously subject to a 50/50 collaboration between Arcturus and CureVac AG under the Co-Development Agreement. CureVac elected not to continue its obligations for the preclinical development of ARCT-810 under and pursuant to the terms of the collaboration, which will be effective in the third quarter of 2019.

Pursuant to the terms of the Co-Development Agreement, CureVac is obligated to continue to fund its share of the preclinical expenses for the OTC program into August of 2019.  

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OTHER MATERIAL AGREEMENTS

The Company has certain other material agreements, including the Protiva Agreement and CFFT Agreement discussed below.

Protiva Agreement

On August 9, 2013, Marina Biotech, Inc. (“Marina”) assigned certain intellectual property, including patents, inventions and patent-related information related to UNA oligonucleotide therapeutics to us pursuant to a Patent Assignment and License Agreement, as well as Marina’s rights and obligations under a License Agreement with Protiva Biotherapeutics Inc. (“Protiva”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbutus Biopharma Corporation, dated November 28, 2012 (the “Protiva Agreement”). The intellectual property licensed from Marina and Protiva is a significant component of our UNA oligomer chemistry platform. As partial consideration for the assignment from Marina, we granted Marina a royalty-free, fully-paid, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive license to use the inventions, ideas and information embodied in the assigned patents to develop, make, use and sell chemical compounds intended for human and animal therapeutic uses (including certain rights to sublicense in connection with continuing research, development and/or commercialization). We also paid an upfront fee to Marina and agreed to maintain the assigned patents in certain countries.

Under the assigned Protiva Agreement, we granted Protiva a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license with certain rights to sublicense (in connection with continuing research, development and/or commercialization) to exploit our patents, know-how and inventions relating to our technology for purposes of the development of human therapeutics. Protiva will pay us milestone payments with an aggregate value of up to $3.25 million for each Protiva product directed to a specific gene target, upon achievement of certain development milestones with respect to each such product and target. If, instead, Protiva sublicenses the commercialization rights for a Protiva product, then Protiva will pay us a percentage of sublicense revenues paid to Protiva by such sublicensee, depending on the development stage of such Protiva product at the time of sublicense. In addition, Protiva will pay us royalties on net sales of Protiva products during the royalty term depending on the type of product, on a country-by-country basis. For licensed Protiva products, royalties will be paid in the low single digit range on net sales for such product, subject to reduction on net sales for such product in the event there is no patent coverage or generic products are introduced with respect to such Protiva product. A royalty reduction for a Protiva product will also apply if Protiva is required to license third party intellectual property to commercialize such product, subject to a floor for such reductions.

The Protiva Agreement term, for a particular Protiva product in a particular country, will expire (on a country-by-country basis) upon the earlier of (i) the expiration of the royalty term for such Protiva product in such country or (ii) the end of the calendar quarter in which sales in such country of generic products exceed a certain amount compared to sales of Protiva products in such country. The Protiva Agreement will expire in its entirety upon expiration of the last royalty term for any of our patents with respect to which Protiva has a license under the Protiva Agreement, unless earlier terminated. Protiva may terminate the Protiva Agreement for convenience in its entirety, or for a particular country or countries, upon ninety days’ prior written notice to Arcturus.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Agreement

On May 16, 2017, CFFT awarded us with funds for a development program to identify lead CFTR mRNA sequences and LUNAR formulations, demonstrate tolerability of LUNAR CFTR mRNA, and demonstrate translatability of aerosolized LUNAR (the “CFFT Agreement”). The award of approximately $3.1 million will be received according to a milestone schedule and unused funds will be retained by CFFT. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to conduct the development program, and after the completion of a development program, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to continue to develop the product. The award includes a grant of rights under CFFT know-how to assist us to research, develop, commercialize, make or otherwise exploit a product.

If the award results in a successful product, we will pay CFFT a specified payment amount in installments following commercialization based on a formula that is a single-digit multiple of the total award amount, plus a payment equal to the awarded payments, after aggregate net sales of the product exceed certain thresholds. Further, in the event of a license, sale or other transfer of the product or our development program technology (including a change of control transaction), we will pay CFFT a percentage of such transfer payments actually received by us or our shareholders (subject to a royalty cap).

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CFFT has an interruption license right under the CFFT Agreement so that if we fail to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop a product for a certain time period before the first commercial sale of the product, CFFT may, upon written notice of such interruption to us and our failure to effectively deny such interruption or cure such interruption as set forth in the CFFT Agreement, exercise certain rights pursuant to procedures set forth in the CFFT Agreement. CFFT’s interruption license rights include, in certain cases, payments from us to CFFT, or the grant of an exclusive (even as to us), worldwide license to CFFT under our development program technology solely to the extent necessary to manufacture, have manufactured, license, use, sell, offer to sell, and support the product in the field of treatment of cystic fibrosis and other pulmonary diseases.

All inventions, data, know-how, information, results, analyses and other intellectual property rights resulting from the development program will be owned by us, and subject to certain exceptions, CFFT assigns and transfers to us all of CFFT’s right, title, and interest in and to all inventions and other intellectual property resulting from the development program.

Either party may terminate the CFFT Agreement for cause (e.g., material breach by the other party of its covenants or obligations).

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Our business success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our proprietary technologies, inventions and know-how, and on its ability to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We strive to protect our intellectual property through a combination of patents, trademarks, trade secrets, licensing agreements and confidentiality agreements with employees, advisors, consultants and contractors.

We rely on continuing technological innovation to strengthen our proprietary position in the field of nucleic acid medicines. Therefore, we plan to continue to file patent applications in jurisdictions around the world as we discover and develops novel nucleic acid technology platforms and novel nucleic acid therapeutic candidates. We cannot guarantee that future applications will be issued.

Our Patent Portfolio

As of March 1, 2019, we are the sole owner of 152 patents and pending patent applications including 18 U.S. patents, 24 pending U.S. patent applications, 7 pending international applications under Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”), 44 foreign patents and 59 pending foreign patent applications. The claims of these patents and pending applications include compositions of matter, methods of use, manufacturing process and drug product formulations. These claims cover the use of our core platform technologies including the use of LUNAR and lipid components to deliver nucleic acid, the use of UNA oligomers for therapeutics and reagents, and the use of LNA oligomers for therapeutics. Claims also cover the composition of matter and use of our therapeutic candidates to treat target diseases including HBV and NASH. Our issued patents are expected to expire between 2028 and 2038, without taking into account any possible patent term extensions.

Our patent portfolio includes the following patents and pending patent applications for LUNAR, UNA and the use of LNA in certain RNA medicines:

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Our patent portfolio includes a filing covering our LUNAR-OTC program, specifically our engineered OTC protein and our optimized mRNA sequence that encodes for the engineered OTC protein.  This patent application will have a term until 2040 without extension.

Patent Terms

The term of individual patents depends on the countries in which they are obtained. The patent term is 20 years from the earliest effective date of filing a non-provisional patent application in most of the countries in which we file.

Under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act (also known as the Hatch-Waxman Act), U.S. patent holders can apply for a patent term extension to compensate for the patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. Patent extension is only available for patents covering FDA-approved drugs. The extension can be up to five years beyond the original expiration date of the patent and cannot extend a patent term for longer than 14 years from the date of product approval. Only one patent extension is granted per approved drug. Similar provisions may be available in foreign jurisdictions including Europe. Arcturus intends to apply for patent term extensions where possible.

We also rely on trade secrets to protect our product candidates. Our commercial success also depends in part on our non-infringement of the patents or proprietary rights of third parties. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risks related to our intellectual property, please see Item 1A “Risk Factors” – “Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.”

The laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in certain foreign jurisdictions. 

Our success depends in part on our ability to:

We also protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors and other contractors. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that our employees, consultants, scientific advisors or other contractors use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

In conducting our business, we face many risks that may interfere with our business objectives. Some of these risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In particular, we are subject to various risks resulting from inherent unknowns and uncertainties in the drug development process, as well as changing economic, political, industry, regulatory, business and financial conditions. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face.

You should carefully consider the following factors and other information in this annual report before you decide to invest in our Ordinary Shares. If any of the negative events referred to below occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer. In any such case, the trading price of our Ordinary Shares could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

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RISKS RELATED TO OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION AND NEED FOR ADDITIONAL CAPITAL

Our auditor’s report includes a going concern paragraph.

Our auditor’s report on our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018 includes a going concern paragraph. The Company’s products that are being developed have not generated significant revenue. As a result, the Company has suffered recurring losses and requires significant cash resources to execute its business plans. These losses are expected to continue for an extended period of time. The aforementioned factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date of filing. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of asset amounts or the classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued.

Historically, the major source of our cash has been from proceeds from various public and private offerings of Ordinary Shares, debt issuances and through collaboration agreements. Management’s plans to mitigate an expected shortfall of capital and to support future operations, include raising additional funds. The actual amount of cash that it will need to operate is subject to many factors.

The Company also recognizes it will need to raise additional capital in order to continue to execute its business plan in the future. There is no assurance that additional financing will be available when needed or that management will be able to obtain financing on terms acceptable to the Company or that the Company will become profitable and generate positive operating cash flow. If the Company is unable to raise sufficient additional funds, it will have to scale back its operations.

We have a limited operating history, have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future.

We are a preclinical nucleic acid medicines company with a limited operating history. Since inception, our operations have been primarily limited to acquiring and licensing intellectual property rights, developing our nucleic acid product platform, undertaking basic research around nucleic acid targets and conducting preclinical studies for our initial programs. We have not yet obtained regulatory approval for any product candidates. Consequently, any predictions about our future success or viability, or any evaluation of our business and prospects, may not be accurate.

We have incurred losses in each year since our inception. Our net losses were $21.8 million and $10.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $44.9 million.

We have devoted most of our financial resources to research and development, including our preclinical development activities. To date, we have funded our operations primarily through upfront payments, research funding and milestones from strategic alliances and collaborations, and through the sale of equity and convertible securities. We expect to continue to incur substantial and increased expenses, losses and negative cash flows as we expand our development activities and advance our preclinical programs. If our product candidates are not successfully developed or commercialized, including because of a lack of capital, or if we do not generate enough revenue following marketing approval, we will not achieve profitability and our business may fail. Even if we or our strategic alliance partners successfully obtain regulatory approval to market a product candidate, our revenues will also depend upon the size of any markets in which our product candidates have received market approval and our ability to achieve sufficient market acceptance and adequate market share for our products.

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We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

We have never generated any revenue from product sales, have generated only limited revenue since inception, and may never be profitable.

Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability depends on our ability, alone or with strategic alliance partners, to successfully complete the development of, obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for and commercialize our product candidates. We do not anticipate generating revenues from sales of our products for the foreseeable future, if ever. Our ability to generate future revenues from product sales depends heavily on our success in:

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses and when we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability, if ever. In addition, our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we are required by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or other foreign regulatory agencies to perform studies and trials in addition to those that we currently anticipate.

Even if one or more of the product candidates that we independently develop is approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing any approved product. Even if we are able to generate revenues from the sale of any approved products, we may not become profitable and may need to obtain additional funding to continue operations.

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We may need to raise additional capital, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

Developing pharmaceutical products, including conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, is expensive. We expect our research and development expenses to substantially increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance our product candidates towards or through clinical trials. We may need to raise additional capital to support our operations and such funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. As of December 31, 2018, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $36.7 million. We cannot provide assurances that our plans will not change or that changed circumstances will not result in the depletion of our capital resources more rapidly than we currently anticipate. For example, our preclinical trials may encounter technical or other difficulties. Additionally, our strategic alliance partners may not elect to pursue the development and commercialization of any of our product candidates that are subject to their respective strategic alliance agreements with us. Any of these events may increase our development costs more than we expect. In order to support our long-term plans, we may need to raise additional capital or otherwise obtain funding through additional strategic alliances if we choose to initiate preclinical or clinical trials for new product candidates other than programs currently partnered. In any event, we will require additional capital to obtain regulatory approval for, and to commercialize, future product candidates.

Any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize future product candidates. In addition, we cannot guarantee that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may be required to:

If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we will be prevented from pursuing development and commercialization efforts, which will have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects.

We are exposed to interest rate risk, including under our existing loan agreements with our lender.

We are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates. Exposure to interest rate risk results from our debt obligations, including the Loan Agreement entered into on October 12, 2018 by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc., with Western Alliance Bank (the “Western Loan Agreement”).  The Western Loan Agreement bears a variable interest rate of 1.25% above the prime rate published by the Western Edition of the Wall Street Journal. As of December 31, 2018, we had $10.0 million outstanding under the Western Loan Agreement. If we were to experience a 10% adverse change in the prime rate referenced above, the annual effect such change would have on our statement of operations, based on the amount we had outstanding as of December 31, 2018, under the Western Loan Agreement, would be approximately $70,000.  

Our indebtedness could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Agreements with our lenders, including with Western Alliance Bank, create several limitations on us, including but not limited to:

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Our ability to comply with these covenants in future periods will depend on our financial and operating performance, which in turn will be subject to economic conditions and to financial, market and competitive factors, many of which are beyond our control.  Any of these factors or others described in the Western Loan Agreement could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our debt contains customary default clauses, a breach of which may result in acceleration of the repayment of some or all of this debt.

The Western Loan Agreement contains customary default clauses as well as covenants which include the Company’s (1) nomination of a clinical candidate, which the Company was in compliance with, and (2) submission of a clinical candidate for Investigational New Drug application (“IND”), made to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In the event we were to default on our obligations under our debt and were unable to cure or obtain a waiver of such default, the repayment of our debt may be accelerated.  If such acceleration were to occur, we would be required to secure alternative sources of equity or debt financing to be able to repay the debt. Alternative financing may not be available on terms satisfactory to us, or at all. New debt financing may require the cooperation and agreement of our existing lenders. If acceptable alternative financing were unavailable, we would have to consider alternatives to fund the repayment of the debt, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

RISKS RELATED TO THE DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCT CANDIDATES

Preclinical and clinical studies of our product candidates may not be successful. If we are unable to generate successful results from preclinical and clinical studies of our product candidates, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business may be materially harmed.

We have no products on the market and all of our product candidates are in preclinical development. In particular, none of our product candidates have ever been tested in a human subject. Our ability to achieve and sustain profitability depends on obtaining regulatory approvals for and, if approved, successfully commercializing our product candidates, either alone or with third parties. Before obtaining regulatory approval for the commercial distribution of our product candidates, we or an existing or future collaborator must conduct extensive preclinical tests and clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity and potency of our product candidates.

The success of our product candidates will depend on several factors, including the following:

If we do not achieve one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully complete the development or commercialization of our product candidates, which would materially harm our business.

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The approach we are taking to discover and develop drugs is novel and may never lead to marketable products.

We have concentrated our therapeutic product research and development efforts on nucleic acid technology, and our future success depends on the successful development of this technology and products based on our nucleic acid product platform. Except for Onpattro (patisiran, which is marketed by Alnylam, Kynamro (mipomersen), which was marketed by Kastle Therapeutics, Vitravene (fomivirsen), which Novartis withdrew from the US market in 2006 and Spinraza (nusinersen), which is marketed by Biogen Inc., neither we, nor any other company, has to our knowledge received regulatory approval to market nucleic acid therapeutics. The scientific discoveries that form the basis for our efforts to discover and develop product candidates are relatively new. The scientific evidence to support the feasibility of developing product candidates based on these discoveries is both preliminary and limited. If we do not successfully develop and commercialize product candidates based upon our technological approach, we may not become profitable and the value of our Ordinary Shares may decline.

Further, our focus solely on nucleic acid technology for developing drugs as opposed to multiple, more proven technologies for drug development increases the risks associated with the ownership of our Ordinary Shares. If we are not successful in developing any product candidates using nucleic acid technology, we may be required to change the scope and direction of our product development activities. In that case, we may not be able to identify and implement successfully an alternative product development strategy.

We may not be successful in our efforts to identify or discover potential product candidates.

The success of our business depends primarily upon our ability to identify, develop and commercialize nucleic acid medicines. Our research programs may initially show promise in identifying potential product candidates, yet fail to yield product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons, including:

If any of these events occur, we may be forced to abandon our development efforts for a program or programs, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and could potentially cause us to cease operations. Research programs to identify new product candidates require substantial technical, financial and human resources. We may focus our efforts and resources on potential programs or product candidates that ultimately prove to be unsuccessful.

If future clinical trials of our product candidates fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities or do not otherwise produce positive results, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of product candidates, we or our strategic alliance partners must conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product candidates in humans. Clinical trials are expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and are uncertain as to the outcome. A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. The outcome of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval for their products.

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Events which may result in a delay or unsuccessful completion of clinical development include:

If we or our strategic alliance partners are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of any product candidates beyond those that are currently contemplated, are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of any such product candidates or other testing, or if the results of these trials or tests are not positive, are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we or our strategic alliance partners may:

Our product development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or marketing approvals. We do not know whether any clinical trials will begin as planned, will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which would impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations. Any inability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development, whether independently or with our strategic alliance partners, could result in additional costs to us or impair our ability to generate revenues from product sales, regulatory and commercialization milestones and royalties.

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Any of our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties impacting safety that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or limit the scope of any approved label or market acceptance.

Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. While we have not yet initiated clinical trials for any of our product candidates, it is likely that there may be side effects associated with their use. Results of our trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of these or other side effects. In such an event, our trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Such side effects could also affect patient recruitment, the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Further, clinical trials by their nature test product candidates in only samples of the potential patient populations. With a limited number of patients and limited duration of exposure in such trials, rare and severe side effects of our product candidates may not be uncovered until a significantly larger number of patients are exposed to the product candidate.

If any of our future products, if and when approved for commercial sale, cause serious or unexpected side effects, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

Any of these events could prevent us or our partners from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our future products and impair our ability to generate revenues from the commercialization of these products either by us or by our strategic alliance partners.

Even if we complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials, we cannot predict whether or when we will obtain regulatory approval to commercialize a product candidate and we cannot, therefore, predict the timing of any revenue from a future product.

Neither we nor our strategic alliance partners can commercialize a product until the appropriate regulatory authorities, such as the FDA, have reviewed and approved the product candidate. The regulatory agencies may not complete their review processes in a timely manner, or we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval. Additional delays may result if an FDA Advisory Committee recommends restrictions on approval or recommends non-approval. In addition, we or our strategic alliance partners may experience delays or rejections based upon additional government regulation from future legislation or administrative action, or changes in regulatory agency policy during the period of product development, clinical trials and the review process.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for a product candidate, we will still face extensive regulatory requirements and our products may face future development and regulatory difficulties.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval in the United States, the FDA may still impose significant restrictions on the indicated uses or marketing of our product candidates, or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies or post-market surveillance. The holder of an approved new drug application (“NDA”) is obligated to monitor and report adverse events, or AEs, and any failure of a product to meet the specifications in the NDA. The holder of an approved NDA must also submit new or supplemental applications and obtain FDA approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling or manufacturing process. Advertising and promotional materials must comply with FDA rules and are subject to FDA review, in addition to other potentially applicable federal and state laws.

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In addition, drug product manufacturers and their facilities are subject to payment of user fees and continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, and adherence to commitments made in the NDA. If we or a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product such as AEs of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions relative to that product or the manufacturing facility, including requiring recall or withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing.

If we or our partners fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements following approval of any of our product candidates, a regulatory agency may:

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize our future products and generate revenues.

We may use our financial and human resources to pursue a particular research program or product candidate and fail to capitalize on programs or product candidates that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

As a result of our limited financial and human resources, we will have to make strategic decisions as to which targets and product candidates to pursue and may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through strategic alliance, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate, or we may allocate internal resources to a product candidate in a therapeutic area in which it would have been more advantageous to enter into a partnering arrangement.

If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties.

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Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials or other work-related injuries, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR RELIANCE ON THIRD PARTIES

We depend upon our third-party alliances with partners and contract organizations for the development, manufacture and eventual commercialization of certain nucleic acid product candidates. If these third-party alliances are unsuccessful or are terminated, we may be unable to commercialize certain product candidates and we may be unable to generate revenues from our development programs.

We depend upon third party alliance partners for financial and scientific resources for the clinical development, manufacture and commercialization of certain of our nucleic acid product candidates. These alliances will likely provide us with limited control over the course of development of a nucleic acid product candidate, especially once a candidate has reached the stage of clinical development. For example, in our alliance with Ultragenyx, Ultragenyx has the option to obtain an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize product candidates upon the achievement of relevant endpoints in preclinical studies and clinical trials. However, Ultragenyx is not under any obligation to exercise these options to progress any of our nucleic acid product candidates. While Ultragenyx has development obligations with respect to programs that it may elect to pursue under our agreement, our ability to ultimately recognize revenue from this and future relationships will depend upon the ability and willingness of our alliance partners to successfully meet their respective responsibilities under our agreements with them. Our ability to recognize revenues from successful strategic alliances may be impaired by several factors including:

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If any of our alliance partners do not elect to pursue the development and commercialization of our nucleic acid development candidates or if they terminate the strategic alliance, then, depending on the event:

Any of these events would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

On February 11, 2019, the Company announced the termination of the obligations of CureVac AG (“CureVac”) for the preclinical development of ARCT-810, effective 180 days from February 5, 2019 and the re-assumption by the Company of the worldwide rights thereto.  Arcturus will reassume 100% global rights for its flagship asset, clinical development candidate ARCT-810, a messenger RNA (mRNA) drug to treat ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency. ARCT-810 was previously subject to a 50/50 collaboration between Arcturus and CureVac AG. CureVac elected not to continue its obligations for the preclinical development of ARCT-810 under and pursuant to the terms of the collaboration.

The preclinical development program for ARCT-810, including Investigational New Drug Application (IND) enabling studies, remains on track. Arcturus is planning to file an IND for ARCT-810 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Pursuant to the terms of the Co-Development Agreement, CureVac is obligaed to continue to fund its share of the preclinical expenses for the OTC program until August of 2019.  We expect that Curevac’s share of these preclinical expenses for 2019 will be between $6 and $7.5 million.  However, CureVac’s decision to terminate its participation in our OTC deficiency program will require that we finance additional preclinical and clinical activities to develop and commercialize OTC products.  We will be materially harmed if we are unable to obtain such additional funds.

Certain agreements with our alliance partners may impair or prevent entirely our ability to generate revenues from the development, manufacture and commercialization of certain product candidates.  

Under the Development and Option Agreement with CureVac, as amended (the “CureVac Agreement”), CureVac may be entitled to trigger an option to license certain of our product candidates.  CureVac may identify certain of our development candidates as targets under the CureVac Agreement and exercise an option to enter into an exclusive or non-exclusive license agreement with us with respect to these identified targets, subject to the limitations given in the CureVac Agreement.  The exercise of this option by CureVac may impair or prevent entirely our ability to generate revenues from the commercialization of these development candidates, as the licensing agreement may give CureVac the right to receive some or all of the revenues from the development, manufacture and/or commercialization of these development candidates.  Our inability to realize the benefits from developing, manufacturing or marketing our development candidates with our alliance partners, including with CureVac, may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.

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We rely on third parties to conduct some aspects of our compound formulation, research and preclinical studies, and those third parties may not perform satisfactorily, including failing to meet deadlines for the completion of such formulation, research or testing.

We do not expect to independently conduct all aspects of our drug discovery activities, compound formulation research or preclinical studies of product candidates. We currently rely and expect to continue to rely on third parties to conduct some aspects of our preclinical studies and formulation development.

Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us at any time. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it would delay our product development activities. Our reliance on these third parties for research and development activities will reduce our control over these activities but will not relieve us of our responsibilities. For example, for product candidates that we develop and commercialize on our own, we will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our IND-enabling studies and clinical trials are conducted in accordance with the study plan and protocols for the trial.

If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated study plans and protocols, we will not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the necessary preclinical studies to enable us or our strategic alliance partners to select viable product candidates for IND submissions and will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully develop and commercialize such product candidates.

We rely on third-party manufacturers to produce the supply of our preclinical product candidates, and we intend to rely on third parties to produce future clinical supplies of product candidates that we advance into clinical trials and commercial supplies of any approved product candidates.

Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks, including risks that we would not be subject to if we manufactured the product candidates ourselves, including:

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Any of these events could lead to clinical study delays or failure to obtain regulatory approval, or impact our ability to successfully commercialize future products. Some of these events could be the basis for FDA action, including injunction, recall, seizure or total or partial suspension of production.

We rely on limited sources of supply for the drug substance of product candidates and any disruption in the chain of supply may cause a delay in developing and commercializing these product candidates.

We have established manufacturing relationships with a limited number of suppliers to manufacture raw materials and the drug substance used to create our product candidates. The availability of such suppliers to manufacture raw materials for our product candidates may be limited. Further, each supplier may require licenses to manufacture such components if such processes are not owned by the supplier or in the public domain. As part of any marketing approval, a manufacturer and its processes are required to be qualified by the FDA prior to commercialization. If supply from the approved vendor is interrupted, there could be a significant disruption in commercial supply. An alternative vendor would need to be qualified through an NDA supplement which could result in further delay. The FDA or other regulatory agencies outside of the United States may also require additional studies if a new supplier is relied upon for commercial production. Switching vendors may involve substantial costs and is likely to result in a delay in our desired clinical and commercial timelines.

In addition, if our alliance partners elect to pursue the development and commercialization of certain programs, we will lose control over the manufacturing of the product candidate subject to the agreement. Also, we will not be able to ensure that the product candidates will be manufactured under the correct conditions to permit the product candidates to be used in such clinical trials.

These factors could cause the delay of clinical trials, regulatory submissions, required approvals or commercialization of our product candidates, cause us to incur higher costs and prevent us from commercializing our products successfully. Furthermore, if our suppliers fail to deliver the required commercial quantities of active pharmaceutical ingredients on a timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices, and we are unable to secure one or more replacement suppliers capable of production in a timely manner at a substantially equivalent cost, our clinical trials may be delayed or we could lose potential revenue.

Manufacturing issues may arise that could increase product and regulatory approval costs or delay commercialization.

As we scale-up manufacturing of product candidates and conduct required stability testing, product, packaging, equipment and process-related issues may require refinement or resolution in order to proceed with any clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval for commercial marketing. We may identify significant impurities, which could result in increased scrutiny by the regulatory agencies, delays in clinical programs and regulatory approval, increases in our operating expenses, or failure to obtain or maintain approval for product candidates or any approved products.

We intend to rely on third parties to conduct, supervise and monitor our clinical trials, and if those third parties perform in an unsatisfactory manner, it may harm our business.

We or our strategic alliance partners intend to rely on contract research organizations (“CROs”) and clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials. While we will have agreements governing their activities, we and our strategic alliance partners have limited influence over their actual performance. We will control only certain aspects of our CROs’ activities. Nevertheless, we or our strategic alliance partners will be responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials are conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards and our reliance on the CROs will not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities.

We, our alliance partners and our CROs will be required to comply with the FDA’s or other regulatory agency’s good clinical practices, or GCPs, for conducting, recording and reporting the results of IND-enabling studies and clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of future clinical trial participants are protected. The FDA and non-U.S. regulatory

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agencies enforce these GCPs through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and clinical trial sites. If we or our future CROs fail to comply with applicable GCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or applicable non-U.S. regulatory agency may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving any marketing applications for the relevant jurisdiction. Upon inspection, the FDA or applicable non-U.S. regulatory agency may determine that our future clinical trials did not comply with GCPs. In addition, our future clinical trials will require a sufficiently large number of test subjects to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a potential drug product. Accordingly, if our future CROs fail to comply with these regulations or fail to recruit a sufficient number of patients, we may be required to repeat such clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

Our future CROs will not be our employees, and we will not be able to control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our future clinical and nonclinical programs. These CROs may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials, or other drug development activities which could harm our competitive position. If our future CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements, or for any other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize our product candidates. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for such products and any product candidates that we develop would be harmed, our costs could increase, and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed.

We intend to rely on other third parties to store and distribute drug products for any clinical trials that we may conduct. Any performance failure on the part of our distributors could delay clinical development or marketing approval of our product candidates or commercialization of our products, if approved, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential product revenue.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

If we are unable to obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to our future products and product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patents and other forms of intellectual property rights, including in-licenses of intellectual property rights of others, for our product candidates, methods used to develop and manufacture our product candidates and methods for treating patients using our product candidates, as well as our ability to preserve our trade secrets, to prevent third parties from infringing upon our proprietary rights and to operate without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others. As of March 1, 2019, we are the sole owner of 152 patents and pending patent applications including 18 U.S. patents, 24 pending U.S. patent applications, 7 pending international under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”), 44 foreign patents and 59 pending foreign patent applications. The strength of patents in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical field involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. The patent applications that we own or in-license may fail to result in patents with claims that cover the products in the United States or in other countries. There is no assurance that all of the potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found; such prior art can invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing based on a pending patent application. Even if patents do successfully issue, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed or invalidated. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent others from designing around our claims.

If the patent applications we hold or have in-licensed with respect to our programs or product candidates fail to issue or if their breadth or strength of protection is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop product candidates, and threaten our ability to commercialize, future products. We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue or whether any issued patents will be found invalid and unenforceable or will be threatened by third parties. A patent may be challenged through one or more of several administrative proceedings including post-grant challenges, re-examination or opposition before the U.S. PTO or foreign patent offices. For example, re-examination of, or oppositions to, patents owned by or licensed to us have previously been initiated, and while we believe these concluded proceedings did not result in a commercially relevant impact on the individual patents, any successful challenge of patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any product candidates that we or our strategic alliance partners may develop.

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Since patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing, and some remain so until issued, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file any patent application related to a product candidate. Furthermore, in certain situations, if we and one or more third parties have filed patent applications in the United States and claiming the same subject matter, an administrative proceeding, known as an interference, can be initiated to determine which applicant is entitled to the patent on that subject matter. Such an interference proceeding provoked by third parties or brought by us may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications, or those of our alliance partners or licensors. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to require us to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license at all, or on commercially reasonable terms. Our defense of a patent or patent application in such a proceeding may not be successful and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees.

In addition, patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after it is filed. Various extensions may be available however the life of a patent, and the protection it affords is limited. Once the patent life has expired for a product, we may be open to competition from generic medications. Further, if we encounter delays in regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market a product candidate under patent protection could be reduced.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable, including processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our drug discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents. Although each of our employees agrees to assign their inventions to us through an employee inventions agreement, and all of our employees, consultants, advisors and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology are required to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot provide any assurances that all such agreements have been duly executed, that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. For example, the FDA, as part of its Transparency Initiative, is currently considering whether to make additional information publicly available on a routine basis, including information that we may consider to be trade secrets or other proprietary information, and it is not clear at the present time how the FDA’s disclosure policies may change in the future, if at all.

Further, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the non-patented intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, and there is no guarantee that we will have any such enforceable trade secret protection, we may not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.

Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There is a substantial amount of litigation, both within and outside the United States, involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including patent infringement lawsuits. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we and our strategic alliance partners are pursuing development candidates. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties.

Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in patents that our product

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candidates may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover the manufacturing process of any of our product candidates, any molecules formed during the manufacturing process or any final product itself, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such product candidate unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire. Similarly, if any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our formulations, processes for manufacture or methods of use, including combination therapy, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the applicable product candidate unless we obtained a license or until such patent expires. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, pay royalties, redesign our infringing products or obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.

If we fail to obtain licenses or comply with our obligations in these agreements under which we license intellectual property rights from third parties or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

We are a party to intellectual property license agreements that are important to our business and expect to enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our existing license agreements impose, and we expect that future license agreements will impose, various obligations on us, as described in “Other Material Agreements” and “Collaboration Agreements” under Part I, Item 1 and elsewhere in this annual report.

We may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates, and we have done so from time to time. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates, which could harm our business significantly. We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist which might be enforced against our future products, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or, with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties.

We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensees, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensees. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours or of our licensees is not valid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing.

Our defense in a lawsuit may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensees, misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States.

Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our Ordinary Shares.

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We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

We employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of our employees’ former employers or other third parties. We may also be subject to claims that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. There is no guarantee of success in defending these claims, and if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and other employees.

RISKS RELATED TO COMMERCIALIZATION OF PRODUCT CANDIDATES

The commercial success of our programs that are part of our strategic alliance agreements will depend in large part on the development and marketing efforts of our alliance partners. If our alliance partners are unable or unwilling to perform in accordance with the terms of our agreements, our potential to generate future revenue from these programs would be significantly reduced and our business would be materially and adversely harmed.

If or when our strategic alliance partners elect to further pursue the development and commercialization of any of the product candidates that are subject to its strategic alliance agreement with us, we will have limited influence and/or control over their approaches to development and commercialization. If strategic alliance partners do not perform in the manner that we expect or fail to fulfill their responsibilities in a timely manner, or at all, the clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization efforts related to product candidates we have licensed to such strategic alliance partners could be delayed or terminated. If we terminate any of our strategic alliances or any program thereunder, we may have the right to assume the responsibility at our own expense for the development of the applicable product candidates. Assuming sole responsibility for further development will increase our expenditures, and may mean we will need to limit the size and scope of one or more of our programs, seek additional funding and/or choose to stop work altogether on one or more of the affected product candidates. This could result in a limited potential to generate future revenue from such product candidates and our business could be materially and adversely affected.

We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive. We have competitors both in the United States and internationally, including major multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and universities and other research institutions. Our competitors may have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations. Additional mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis, drug products that are more effective or less costly than any product candidate that we may develop.

All of our programs are preclinical and targeted toward indications for which there are product candidates in clinical development. We will face competition from other drugs currently approved or that may be approved in the future for the same therapeutic indications. For example, both Synlogic and Ultragenyx are currently conducting clinical trials with therapies to treat ornithine transcarbamylase, or OTC, deficiency. Currently approved therapies for these patients include the small molecule nitrogen scavengers sodium benzoate, sodium phenylacetate, and sodium phenylbutyrate, and glycerol phenylbutyrate (brand name Ravicti^®). Our ability to compete successfully will depend largely on our ability to leverage our experience in drug discovery and development to:

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The availability of our competitors’ products could limit the demand, and the price we are able to charge, for any products that we may develop and commercialize. We will not achieve our business plan if the acceptance of any of these products is inhibited by price competition or the reluctance of physicians to switch from existing drug products to our products, or if physicians switch to other new drug products or choose to reserve our future products for use in limited circumstances. The inability to compete with existing or subsequently introduced drug products would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.

Established pharmaceutical companies may invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to in-license novel compounds that could make our product candidates less competitive. In addition, any new product that competes with an approved product must demonstrate compelling advantages in efficacy, convenience, tolerability and safety in order to overcome price competition and to be commercially successful. Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection, receiving FDA approval or discovering, developing and commercializing product candidates before we do, which would have a material adverse impact on our business.

The commercial success of our product candidates will depend upon the acceptance of these product candidates by the medical community, including physicians, patients and healthcare payors.

The degree of market acceptance of any product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including:

Unless other formulations are developed in the future, we expect our compounds to be formulated in an injectable form. Injectable medications may be disfavored by patients or their physicians in the event drugs which are easy to administer, such as oral medications, are available. If a product is approved, but does not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients and healthcare payors, we may not generate sufficient revenues from such product and we may not become or remain profitable. Such increased competition may decrease any future potential revenue for future product candidates due to increasing pressure for lower pricing and higher discounts in the commercialization of our product.

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If we are unable to establish sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our product candidates, we may be unable to generate any revenues.

We currently do not have an organization for the sales, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products and the cost of establishing and maintaining such an organization may exceed the cost-effectiveness of doing so. In order to market any products that may be approved, we must build our sales, marketing, managerial and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services. With respect to certain of our current programs as well as future programs, we may rely completely on an alliance partner for sales and marketing. In addition, we intend to enter into strategic alliances with third parties to commercialize other product candidates, including in markets outside of the United States or for other large markets that are beyond our resources. Although we intend to establish a sales organization if we are able to obtain approval to market any product candidates for niche markets in the United States, we will also consider the option to enter into strategic alliances for future product candidates in the United States if commercialization requirements exceed our available resources. This will reduce the revenue generated from the sales of these products.

Our current and any future strategic alliance partners may not dedicate sufficient resources to the commercialization of our product candidates or may otherwise fail in their commercialization due to factors beyond our control. If we are unable to establish effective alliances to enable the sale of our product candidates to healthcare professionals and in geographical regions, including the United States, that will not be covered by our own marketing and sales force, or if our potential future strategic alliance partners do not successfully commercialize the product candidates, our ability to generate revenues from product sales will be adversely affected.

If we are unable to establish adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, whether independently or with third parties, we may not be able to generate sufficient product revenue and may not become profitable. We will be competing with many companies that currently have extensive and well-funded marketing and sales operations. Without an internal team or the support of a third party to perform marketing and sales functions, we may be unable to compete successfully against these more established companies.

If we obtain approval to commercialize any approved products outside of the United States, a variety of risks associated with international operations could materially adversely affect our business.

If we obtain approval to commercialize any approved products outside of the United States, we expect that we will be subject to additional risks related to entering into international business relationships, including:

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Coverage and adequate reimbursement may not be available for our product candidates, which could make it difficult for us to sell products profitably.

Market acceptance and sales of any product candidates that we develop will depend on coverage and reimbursement policies and may be affected by future healthcare reform measures. Government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers, government payors and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. We cannot be sure that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be available for any future product candidates. Also, inadequate reimbursement amounts may reduce the demand for, or the price of, our future products. Further, one payor’s determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage for the product. If reimbursement is not available, or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize product candidates that we develop.

In addition, we cannot be certain if and when we will obtain formulary approval to allow us to sell any products that we may develop and commercialize into our target markets. Obtaining formulary approval from hospitals and from payors can be an expensive and time-consuming process. Failure to obtain timely formulary approval will limit our commercial success.

There have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in the United States and in some foreign jurisdictions that could affect our ability to sell products profitably. These legislative and/or regulatory changes may negatively impact the reimbursement for drug products, following approval. The availability of numerous generic treatments may also substantially reduce the likelihood of reimbursement for our future products. The potential application of user fees to generic drug products may expedite the approval of additional generic drug treatments. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of any products that we develop, due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative changes. If we fail to successfully secure and maintain reimbursement coverage for our future products or are significantly delayed in doing so, we will have difficulty achieving market acceptance of our future products and our business will be harmed.

In addition, in some non-U.S. jurisdictions, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing drug pricing vary widely from country to country. For example, the EU provides options for its member states to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. A member state may approve a specific price for the medicinal product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. There can be no assurance that any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products. Historically, products launched in the EU do not follow price structures of the U.S. and generally tend to be priced significantly lower.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND INDUSTRY

Our future success depends on our ability to attract and retain key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.

We are highly dependent on principal members of our executive team, and any reduction or loss of their services may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives. While we have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers, any of them could leave our employment at any time, as all of our employees are “at will” employees. Recruiting and retaining other qualified employees for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will also be critical to our success. There is currently a shortage of skilled executives in our industry, which is likely to continue. As a result, competition for skilled personnel is intense and the turnover rate can be high. We may not be able to attract and retain personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical companies for individuals with similar skill sets. In addition, failure to succeed in preclinical studies and clinical trials may make it more challenging to recruit and retain qualified personnel. The inability to recruit any executive or key employee or the loss of the services of any executive or key employee might impede the progress of our research, development and commercialization objectives.

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We may need to expand our organization and may experience difficulties in managing this growth, which could disrupt our operations.

As of December 31, 2018, we had 72 employees. In the future we may expand our employee base to increase our managerial, scientific, operational, commercial, financial and other resources and we may hire more consultants and contractors. Future growth would impose significant additional responsibilities on our management, including the need to identify, recruit, maintain, motivate and integrate additional employees, consultants and contractors. Also, our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure or give rise to operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees or reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of additional product candidates. Moreover, if our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate and/or grow revenues could be reduced, and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize product candidates and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.

Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading.

We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees could include intentional or nonintentional failures to comply with the regulations of the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, to provide accurate information to the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, to comply with healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, to report financial information or data accurately or to disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of conduct, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, possible exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid and other government healthcare programs, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight, particularly if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance, disgorgement, imprisonment, and contractual damages.

We intend to redomicile to the U.S. and such redomiciliation may result in disruptions to our business or otherwise materially harm our results of operations or financial condition.

We are incorporated in Israel, while all of our offices, assets, management, board members and most of our business partners are located in the United States. We have begun proceedings in Israel to reincorporate in the State of Delaware, in the United States, while maintaining our Nasdaq listing. Such reincorporation may require a significant amount of time, cost and focus from management and other employees, which may divert attention from our research and commercial activities. If any reincorporation activities we undertake in the future fail to achieve some or all of the expected benefits therefrom, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

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In addition, a redomiciliation of the company will be subject to all corporate approvals, which will include an approval of our shareholders, and such redomiciliation may result in certain shareholders recognizing taxable income in the jurisdiction in which such shareholders are tax residents or in, in certain cases, in which their members or partners are resident. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of the company after the reincorporation. If a plan to redomicile the company is adopted and executed, we do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders to pay such taxes.

Certain current and future relationships with customers and third-party payors as well as certain of our business operations may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws and health information privacy and security laws. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits and future earnings.

If we obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates and begin commercializing those products in the United States, our operations may be directly, or indirectly through our customers, further subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the federal False Claims Act. These laws may impact, among other things, our proposed sales, marketing and education programs. In addition, we may be subject to patient privacy regulation by the federal government and by the U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. The healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include:

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In addition, the European Union, or EU, has established its own data security and privacy legal framework, including but not limited to Directive 95/46/EC, or the Data Protection Directive. The European General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, took effect on May 25, 2018, which contains new provisions specifically directed at the processing of health information, higher sanctions and extra-territoriality measures intended to bring non-EU companies under the regulation. We anticipate that over time we may expand our business operations to include additional operations in the EU, including potentially conducting preclinical and clinical trials. With such expansion, we would be subject to increased governmental regulation in the EU countries in which we might operate, including regulation due to the GDPR.  

If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, possible exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid and other government healthcare programs, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight, particularly if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance, disgorgement, imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

Recent and future healthcare legislation may further impact our business operations.

The United States and some foreign jurisdictions are considering or have enacted a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our products profitably. Among policy makers and payors in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality or expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives. For example, in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively the ACA, was enacted, which made a number of substantial changes in the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Since its passage, there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, as well as recent efforts by the Trump administration to repeal or replace certain aspects of the ACA. Since January 2017, President Trump has signed two Executive Orders and other directives designed to delay the implementation of certain provisions of the ACA or otherwise circumvent some of the requirements for health insurance mandated by the ACA. Concurrently, Congress has considered legislation that would repeal or repeal and replace all or part of the ACA. While Congress has not passed comprehensive repeal legislation, two bills affecting the implementation of certain taxes under the ACA have been signed into law. On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1, “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018,” informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which significantly revises the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 includes a provision repealing, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate.” Additionally, on January 22, 2018, President Trump signed a continuing resolution on appropriations for fiscal year 2018 that delayed the implementation of certain ACA-mandated fees, including the so-called “Cadillac” tax on certain high cost employer-sponsored insurance plans, the annual fee imposed on certain health insurance providers based on market share, and the medical device excise tax on non-exempt medical devices. Further, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, or the BBA, among other things, amends the ACA, effective January 1, 2019, to increase from 50 percent to 70 percent the point-of-sale discount that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D and to close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the “donut hole.” As a result, there is significant uncertainty regarding future healthcare reform and its impact on our operations.

Further, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny in the United States of pharmaceutical pricing practices in light of the rising cost of prescription drugs and biologics. Such scrutiny has resulted in several recent Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for products. At the federal level, the Trump administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2019 contains further drug price control measures that could be enacted during the 2019 budget process or in other future legislation, including, for example, measures to permit Medicare Part D plans to negotiate the price of certain drugs under Medicare Part B, to allow some states to

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negotiate drug prices under Medicaid, and to eliminate cost sharing for generic drugs for low-income patients. While any proposed measures will require authorization through additional legislation to become effective, Congress and the Trump administration have each indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs. At the state level, legislatures have increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

We expect that healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and lower reimbursement, and in additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved product. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government-funded programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors.

We cannot predict what healthcare reform initiatives may be adopted in the future. Further federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory developments are likely, and we expect ongoing initiatives to increase pressure on drug pricing. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenues from product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop product candidates.

We face potential product liability, and, if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability and costs.

The use of our product candidates in future clinical trials and the sale of any products for which we obtain marketing approval exposes us to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability claims might be brought against us by consumers, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products. For example, unanticipated adverse effects could result from the use of our future products or product candidates which may result in a potential product liability claim. If we cannot successfully defend against product liability claims, we could incur substantial liability and costs. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

We plan to obtain product liability insurance relating to the use of our therapeutics in future clinical trials. However, such insurance coverage may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive and in the future we may not be able to obtain or maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. If and when we obtain marketing approval for product candidates, we intend to expand our insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products; however, we may be unable to obtain product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or in adequate amounts. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated adverse effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our share price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could adversely affect our results of operations and business.

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Cyber security risks and the failure to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our computer hardware, software, and Internet applications and related tools and functions could result in damage to our reputation and/or subject us to costs, fines or lawsuits.

Our business requires manipulating, analyzing and storing large amounts of data. In addition, we rely on a global enterprise software system to operate and manage our business. We also maintain personally identifiable information about our employees. Our business therefore depends on the continuous, effective, reliable, and secure operation of our computer hardware, software, networks, Internet servers, and related infrastructure. To the extent that our hardware or software malfunctions or access to our data by internal research personnel is interrupted, our business could suffer. The integrity and protection of our employee and company data is critical to our business and employees have a high expectation that we will adequately protect their personal information. The regulatory environment governing information, security and privacy laws is increasingly demanding and continues to evolve. Maintaining compliance with applicable security and privacy regulations may increase our operating costs. Although our computer and communications hardware is protected through physical and software safeguards, it is still vulnerable to fire, storm, flood, power loss, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, physical or software break-ins, software viruses, and similar events. These events could lead to the unauthorized access, disclosure and use of non-public information. The techniques used by criminal elements to attack computer systems are sophisticated, change frequently and may originate from less regulated and remote areas of the world. As a result, we may not be able to address these techniques proactively or implement adequate preventative measures. If our computer systems are compromised, we could be subject to fines, damages, litigation and enforcement actions, and we could lose trade secrets, the occurrence of which could harm our business. In addition, any sustained disruption in internet access provided by other companies could harm our business.

Business interruptions could delay us in the process of developing our future products.

Our headquarters are located in San Diego, California. We are vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes and wild fires, as well as other events that could disrupt our operations. We do not carry insurance for earthquakes or other natural disasters and we may not carry sufficient business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur. Any losses or damages we incur could have a material adverse effect on our business operations.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR ORDINARY SHARES

The market price of our Ordinary Shares may be highly volatile and investors may not be able to resell shares at or above the price at which they purchase the shares.

Since our merger on November 15, 2017 through March 1, 2019, our closing share price as reported on The Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”), has ranged from $4.11 to $10.22. The trading price of our Ordinary Shares is likely to continue to be volatile.

Our share price could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including but not limited to the following factors:

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In addition, companies trading in the stock market in general, and Nasdaq in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our Ordinary Shares, regardless of our actual operating performance.

The requirements of being a publicly traded company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.

As a publicly traded company, we have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq have imposed various requirements on public companies. In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, was enacted. There are significant corporate governance and executive compensation related provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act that require the SEC to adopt additional rules and regulations in these areas such as “say on pay” and proxy access. Shareholder activism, the current political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currently anticipate. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain our current levels of such coverage. In addition, most of our personnel consists of the Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. employees prior to the merger, some of whom may not have previously managed and operated a public company.  These employees will need to devote substantial time to gaining expertise regarding operations as a public company and compliance with applicable laws and regulations including the costs associated with the filing requirements under Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

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We are no longer an “emerging growth company” and are therefore subject to the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting and certain other increased disclosure and governance requirements.

At the end of fiscal year 2018, we lost our status as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”).  As a result, we are no longer able to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements. Therefore, we are now subject to certain requirements that apply to other public companies that did not previously apply to us, due to our previous status as an emerging growth company. These requirements include:

Failure to comply with these requirements could subject us to enforcement actions by the SEC, divert management’s attention, damage our reputation, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition. In particular, if our independent registered public accounting firm is not able to render the required attestation, it could result in a loss of investor confidence in the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of our financial reports. We expect that the loss of “emerging growth company” status and compliance with these additional requirements will require management to expend additional time while also condensing the time frame available to comply with certain requirements, which may further increase our legal and financial compliance costs.

We may be at risk of securities class action litigation.

We may be at risk of securities class action litigation. This risk is especially relevant for us due to our dependence on positive clinical trial outcomes and regulatory approvals of each of our product candidates. In the past, medicines, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have experienced significant stock price volatility, particularly when associated with binary events such as clinical trials and product approvals. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources, or have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects.

Sales of a substantial number of our Ordinary Shares in the public market by our existing shareholders could cause our share price to fall.

If our existing shareholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of those Ordinary Shares in the public market, the trading price of our Ordinary Shares could decline. In particular, the former shareholders, warrant holders and noteholders of Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. received an aggregate of 6,631,712 of our Ordinary Shares pursuant to the merger in an unregistered transaction, which shares may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Those shareholders are eligible to sell those shares in the public market without restriction, except for shareholders who are deemed “affiliates” of the Company under Rule 144 under the Securities Act. In addition, Ordinary Shares that are either subject to outstanding options or reserved for future issuance under our employee benefit plans are or may become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting schedules and Rule 144 under the Securities Act. If these Ordinary Shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, that could create downward pressure on the trading price of our Ordinary Shares and cause the trading price to decline.

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Future sales and issuances of our Ordinary Shares or rights to purchase Ordinary Shares, including pursuant to our equity incentive plans, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our shareholders and could cause our share price to fall.

We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our shareholders may experience substantial dilution. Pursuant to our 2018 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2018 Plan, our management is authorized to grant options and other equity-based awards to our employees, directors and consultants. We may sell Ordinary Shares, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time, any of which may result in material dilution to investors and/or our existing shareholders. New investors could also be issued securities with rights superior to those of our existing shareholders.

We may be unable to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements of Nasdaq.

Our Ordinary Shares are currently listed on Nasdaq. In order to maintain this listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including a minimum closing bid price requirement for our Ordinary Shares of $1.00 per share. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing standards. For example, if we were to fail to meet the minimum bid price requirement for 30 consecutive business days, we could become subject to delisting. Although Nasdaq may provide us with a compliance period in which to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, we cannot assure you that we would be able to regain compliance within the period provided by Nasdaq. In order to regain compliance with such requirement, the closing bid price of our Ordinary Shares would need to meet or exceed $1.00 per share for at least 10 consecutive business days during the compliance period. If we were not able to regain compliance within the allotted compliance period for this requirement or any other applicable listing standard, including any extensions that may be granted by Nasdaq, our Ordinary Shares would be subject to delisting. In the event that our Ordinary Shares are delisted from Nasdaq and are not eligible for quotation or listing on another market or exchange, trading of our Ordinary Shares could be conducted only in the over-the-counter market or on an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities such as the Pink Sheets or the OTC Bulletin Board. In such event, it could become more difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate price quotations for our Ordinary Shares and there would likely also be a reduction in our coverage by securities analysts and the news media, which could cause the price of our Ordinary Shares to decline further.

We are treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes.

Pursuant to Section 7874 of the Code, we are treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, we are subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax as if we were incorporated in the United States. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers regarding the tax consequences of holding our Ordinary Shares based on their particular circumstances.

The recently enacted U.S. federal income tax reform bill could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

As noted above, on December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which significantly revises the Code. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, among other things, contains significant changes to U.S. federal corporate taxation, including reduction of the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, limitation of the tax deduction for interest expense to 30% of adjusted earnings (except for certain small businesses), limitation of the deduction for net operating losses to 80% of current year taxable income and elimination of net operating loss carrybacks, one time taxation of offshore earnings at reduced rates regardless of whether they are repatriated, elimination of U.S. tax on foreign earnings (subject to certain important exceptions), immediate deductions for certain new investments instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time, and modifying or repealing many business deductions and credits. Notwithstanding the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the overall impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is uncertain and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the newly enacted federal tax law. The impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on holders of our Ordinary Shares is also uncertain and could be adverse. We urge our shareholders to consult with their legal and tax advisors with respect to this legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in or holding our Ordinary Shares.

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Unlike in prior years, as of January 1, 2019, we are required to comply with the domestic reporting regime under the Exchange Act and will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses, and our management will be required to devote substantial additional time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance matters.

We determined that, effective as of January 1, 2019, we no longer qualified as a “foreign private issuer” under the rules and regulations of the SEC. While we were a foreign private issuer, we were exempt from compliance with certain laws and regulations of the SEC, including the proxy rules, the short-swing profits recapture rules and certain governance requirements, such as independent director oversight of the nomination of directors and executive compensation. In addition, we were not required to file annual, quarterly and current reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies registered under the Exchange Act. As a result of this determination, beginning on January 1, 2019, we were no longer entitled to “foreign private issuer” exemptions and we plan to report as a domestic U.S. filer, including filing quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and proxy statements under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, commencing January 1, 2019, our “insiders” are subject to the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act and will be no longer exempt from the requirements of Regulation FD promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act. Moreover, beginning January 1, 2019, we were no longer permitted to follow our home country rules in lieu of the corporate governance obligations imposed by Nasdaq, and will be required to comply with the governance practices required of U.S. domestic issuers.  

The regulatory and compliance costs associated with the reporting and governance requirements applicable to U.S. domestic issuers may be significantly higher than the costs we previously incurred as a foreign private issuer. As a result, we expect that the loss of foreign private issuer status will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities highly time consuming and costly. In addition, we need to develop our reporting and compliance infrastructure and may face challenges in complying with the new requirements applicable to us.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, U.S. federal net operating losses, or NOLs, incurred in 2018 and in future years may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal NOLs is limited. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses for United States federal income tax purposes, unused NOLs will carry forward to offset future taxable income (subject to any applicable limitations), if any. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change NOLs and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research tax credits) to offset its post-change income may be limited. We believe we may have triggered an “ownership change” limitation at the completion of our merger with Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. in November 2017, however we have not completed a study in accordance with Sections 382 and 383 of the Code to determine whether this ownership change has occurred. We may also experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our share ownership. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change NOL carryforwards to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us. Similar provisions of U.S. state tax law may also apply to limit our use of accumulated state tax attributes, including our state NOLs. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed. As a result, even if we attain profitability, we may be unable to use a material portion of our NOLs and other tax attributes, which could negatively impact our future cash flows.

We do not intend to pay dividends on our Ordinary Shares so any returns will be limited to the value of our shares.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our Ordinary Shares. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Moreover, the Companies Law, imposes certain restrictions on our ability to declare and pay dividends. See Item 10.B. “Memorandum and Articles of Association – Rights, Preferences and Restrictions of Shares – Dividend and Liquidation Rights” of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 for additional information. Any return to shareholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their shares.

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RISKS RELATED TO ISRAELI LAW AND OUR OPERATIONS IN ISRAEL

Provisions of Israeli law may make it easy for our shareholders to demand that we convene a shareholders meeting, and/or allow shareholders to convene a shareholder meeting without the consent of our management, which may disrupt our management’s ability to run our company.

Section 63(b) of the Companies Law may allow any one or more of our shareholders holding at least 5% of our voting rights to demand that we convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting. Also, in the event that we deny to convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting pursuant to such a request, Section 64 of the Companies Law provides that such shareholders may independently convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting and require us to cover the costs. If our shareholders decide to exercise these rights in a way inconsistent with our management's strategic plans, our management’s ability to run our company may be disrupted, and this process may entail significant costs to us.

Provisions of Israeli law and our amended and restated articles of association may delay, prevent or otherwise impede a merger with, or an acquisition of, our company, which could prevent a change of control, even when the terms of such a transaction are favorable to us and our shareholders.

Israeli corporate law regulates mergers, requires tender offers for acquisitions of shares above specified thresholds, requires special approvals for transactions involving directors, officers or significant shareholders and regulates other matters that may be relevant to such types of transactions. For example, a merger may not be consummated unless at least 50 days have passed from the date on which a merger proposal is filed by each merging company with the Israel Registrar of Companies and at least 30 days have passed from the date on which the shareholders of both merging companies have approved the merger. In addition, a majority of each class of securities of the target company must approve a merger. Moreover, a tender offer for all of a company’s issued and outstanding shares can only be completed if the acquirer receives positive responses from the holders of at least 95% of the issued share capital. Completion of the tender offer also requires approval of a majority of the offerees that do not have a personal interest in the tender offer, unless, following consummation of the tender offer, the acquirer would hold at least 98% of our outstanding shares. Furthermore, the shareholders, including those who indicated their acceptance of the tender offer, may, at any time within six months following the completion of the tender offer, petition an Israeli court to alter the consideration for the acquisition, unless the acquirer stipulated in its tender offer that a shareholder that accepts the offer may not seek such appraisal rights.

Furthermore, Israeli tax considerations may make potential transactions unappealing to us or to our shareholders whose country of residence does not have a tax treaty with Israel exempting such shareholders from Israeli tax. See Item 10.E. “Taxation – Israeli Taxation Considerations” of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 for additional information.

Our amended and restated articles of association also contain provisions that could delay or prevent changes in control or changes in our management without the consent of our Board of Directors. These provisions include the following:

As a domiciliary of Israel, our results may be adversely affected by political, economic and military instability in Israel.

As an Israeli company, political, economic and military conditions in Israel may directly affect our business. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have taken place between Israel and its neighboring countries, the Hamas militant group and the Hezbollah. Any hostilities involving Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and its trading partners could adversely affect our operations and results of operations.

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In addition, since 2010 political uprisings and conflicts have arisen in various countries in the Middle East. Such instability may lead to deterioration in the political and trade relationships that exist between the State of Israel and certain other countries. Several countries, principally in the Middle East, still restrict doing business with Israel and Israeli companies, and additional countries may impose restrictions on doing business with Israel and Israeli companies if hostilities in Israel or political instability in the region continues or increases. Similarly, Israeli companies are limited in conducting business with entities from countries that are considered to be in a state of war with Israel.

Further, in the past, the State of Israel and Israeli companies have been subjected to economic boycotts. Several countries still restrict business with the State of Israel and with Israeli companies. These restrictive laws and policies may have an adverse impact on our operating results, financial conditions or the expansion of our business.

It may be difficult to enforce a judgment of a U.S. court against us and the Israeli experts named herein in Israel or the United States, to assert U.S. securities laws claims in Israel or to serve process on certain of our officers and directors and these experts.

We were incorporated in Israel. Therefore, a judgment obtained against us, or any directors that reside outside of the United States, including a judgment based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws, may not be collectible in the United States and may not necessarily be enforced by an Israeli court. It also may be difficult for you to effect service of process on these persons in the United States or to assert U.S. securities law claims in original actions instituted in Israel. Additionally, it may be difficult for an investor, or any other person or entity, to initiate an action with respect to U.S. securities laws in Israel. Israeli courts may refuse to hear a claim based on an alleged violation of U.S. securities laws reasoning that Israel is not the most appropriate forum in which to bring such a claim. In addition, even if an Israeli court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Israeli law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proven as a fact by expert witnesses, which can be a time consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Israeli law. There is little binding case law in Israel that addresses the matters described above. As a result of the difficulty associated with enforcing a judgment against us in Israel, you may not be able to collect any damages awarded by either a U.S. or foreign court.

Your rights and responsibilities as a shareholder will be governed by Israeli law, which differs in some material respects from the rights and responsibilities of shareholders of U.S. companies.

The rights and responsibilities of the holders of our Ordinary Shares are governed by our amended and restated articles of association and by Israeli law. These rights and responsibilities differ in some material respects from the rights and responsibilities of shareholders in typical U.S.-based corporations. In particular, a shareholder of an Israeli company has certain duties to act in good faith and fairness towards the Company and other shareholders, and to refrain from abusing its power in the Company. See Item 10.B. “Memorandum and Articles of Association – Shareholder Duties” of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 for additional information. There is limited case law available to assist us in understanding the nature of this duty or the implications of these provisions. These provisions may be interpreted to impose additional obligations and liabilities on holders of our Ordinary Shares that are not typically imposed on stockholders of U.S. corporations.

We are subject to anti-takeover provisions that could delay or prevent our acquisition by another entity.

Provisions of Israeli corporate and tax law and of our amended and restated articles of association may have the effect of delaying, preventing or making more difficult any merger or acquisition of us. In addition, any merger or acquisition of us may require the prior consent of the Israel Innovation Authority (formerly known as the Office of the Chief Scientist), as well as the Investment Center of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment, or the Investment Center. Israeli law regulates mergers, votes required to approve a merger, acquisition of shares through tender offers and transactions involving significant shareholders. Any of these provisions may make it more difficult to acquire us. Accordingly, our acquisition by another entity could be delayed or prevented even if it would be beneficial to our shareholders.

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RISKS RELATED TO OUR REDOMICILIATION

Your rights as a shareholder will change as a result of the Redomiciliation.

Due to the differences between Delaware law and Israel law and differences between the governing documents of our newly formed Delaware corporation and our existing Israeli governed entity we are unable to adopt governing documents for Delaware that are identical to the governing documents for our existing Israeli governed entity.  We have sought to preserve in the certificate of incorporation and bylaws of our newly formed Delaware corporation a similar allocation of rights and powers between the shareholders and our board of directors that exists under our existing Israeli governed entity’s constitution.  Nevertheless, our newly formed Delaware corporation’s proposed certificate of incorporation and bylaws differ from our existing Israeli governed entity’s constitution, both in form and substance, and your rights as a shareholder will change.

The expected benefits of the Redomiciliation may not be realized.

There can be no assurance that all of the anticipated benefits of the Redomiciliation will be achievable, particularly as the achievement of the benefits are in many important respects subject to factors that we do not and cannot control, including the reaction of third parties with whom we enter into contracts and do business and the reactions of investors.

The Redomiciliation will result in additional direct and indirect costs, even if it is not completed.

We will incur additional costs as a result of the Redomiciliation. We expect to incur attorneys’ fees, accountants’ fees, filing and other regulatory fees, mailing expenses, proxy solicitation fees and financial printing expenses in connection with the Redomiciliation, even if the Scheme of Arrangement is not approved or completed. The Redomiciliation also may negatively affect us by diverting attention of our management and employees from our operating business during the period of implementation and by increasing other administrative costs and expenses.

The Redomiciliation may result in taxes imposed on our shareholders.

The Redomiciliation may result in shareholders recognizing taxable income in the jurisdiction in which such shareholders are tax residents or in, in certain cases, in which their members or partners are resident. If the Redomiciliation is executed, we may not make any cash distributions to shareholders to pay such taxes. Our shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of our equity after the Redomiciliation.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.  

Our principal place of business is located at 10628 Science Center Drive, Suite 250, San Diego, California, and our telephone number is (858) 900-2660. Our agent in the United States is Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc., whose address is that of our San Diego, California headquarters. Our World Wide Web address is www.arcturusrx.com. The information contained on that web site is not a part of this annual report. We believe our facilities are adequate for our current and near-term needs.

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

On February 8, 2019, the Company entered into a share exchange agreement (the “Share Exchange Agreement”) between the Company and a special-purpose company, Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (“NewCo”) in connection with the contemplated redomiciliation of the Company from Israel to Delaware (the “Redomiciliation”). Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, and in order to effectuate the transactions contemplated by the Share Exchange Agreement, on February 11, 2019, the Company filed an application with the Tel Aviv District Court to approve the convening of a general shareholders meeting of the Company for the approval of the Redomiciliation pursuant to Sections 350 and 351 of the Companies Law. The Share Exchange Agreement and the Redomiciliation are subject to shareholder approval as required by the Companies Law, Israeli court approval, effectiveness of filings to be made with the SEC, approval of the listing of shares of NewCo by the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) and the other conditions precedent set forth in the Share Exchange Agreement (the “Conditions Precedent”).

In furtherance of the Redomiciliation, the holders of Ordinary Shares of the Company as of a future record date and the holders of options to purchase Ordinary Shares of the Company as of the same record date will transfer their Ordinary Shares of the Company and options to purchase Ordinary Shares of the Company, respectively, to NewCo and, in exchange thereof, will receive one share of common stock of NewCo for each ordinary share of the Company and one option to purchase one share of common stock of NewCo in exchange for each option to purchase an ordinary share of the Company, respectively.

Concurrently, the Company intends the common stock of NewCo to be listed on NASDAQ. Upon consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Share Exchange Agreement, it is expected that the Company’s Ordinary Shares will be delisted from trading on NASDAQ, and the Company is expected to become a private company (as defined in the Companies Law) wholly-owned by NewCo.

Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, the Company also agreed, subject to the Conditions Precedent, to transfer all of the shares of Arcturus Therapeutics Inc. (“Arcturus Sub”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, to NewCo through a reduction of the Company’s equity and the distribution of a dividend-in-kind, such that Arcturus Sub and the Company shall each become a wholly-owned and direct subsidiary of NewCo.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Our Ordinary Shares are listed on Nasdaq under the trading symbol “ARCT” upon the effective date of the reverse merger with Alcobra Ltd. on November 15, 2017. The following table sets forth the range of high and low sales prices for our Ordinary Shares for the periods indicated. The quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail markup, markdown or commission, and may not represent actual transactions. Consequently, the information provided below may not be indicative of our ordinary share price under different conditions.

 

 

 

Holders of Ordinary Shares

As of March 1, 2019, there were 53 holders of record of our Ordinary Shares. As of such date, there were 10,761,523 shares of our Ordinary Shares outstanding.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our Ordinary Shares. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to support our operations and finance the growth and development of our business. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.

Our Board of Directors may determine that a dividend may be paid, wholly or partially, by the distribution of certain of our assets or by a distribution of paid up shares, debentures or debenture share or any of our securities or of any other companies or in any one or more of such ways in the manner and to the extent permitted by the Companies Law. Under Israeli law, dividends may only be paid out of our profits and other surplus funds, as defined in the Companies Law, as of the end of the most recent year or as accrued over a period of the most recent two years, whichever amount is greater, provided that there is no reasonable concern that payment of a dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and foreseeable obligations as they become due. No unpaid dividend or interest shall bear interest as against the Company and all dividends unclaimed for one year after having been declared may be invested or otherwise used by the directors until claimed.

There are currently no Israeli currency control restrictions on payments of dividends or other distributions with respect to our Ordinary Shares or the proceeds from the sale of shares, except for the obligation of Israeli residents to file reports with the Bank of Israel regarding certain transactions. However, legislation remains in effect pursuant to which currency controls can be imposed by administrative action at any time.

Non-residents of Israel who purchase our securities with non-Israeli currency will be able to repatriate dividends (if any), liquidation distributions and the proceeds of any sale of such securities, into non-Israeli currencies at the rate of exchange prevailing at the time of repatriation, provided that any applicable Israeli taxes have been paid (or withheld) on such amounts.

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Neither our amended and restated articles of association nor the laws of the State of Israel restrict in any way the ownership or voting of Ordinary Shares by non-residents of Israel, except with respect to citizens of countries that are in a state of war with Israel.  Our amended and restated articles of association do not impose any conditions governing changes in capital that are more stringent than required by the Companies Law.

Modification of Class Rights

If, at any time, the share capital is divided into different classes of shares, the rights attached to any class (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issuance of the shares of that class) may be varied with the consent in writing of the holders of all the issued shares of that class, or with the approval of a majority vote at a meeting of the shareholders passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of the class. The provisions of our amended and restated articles of association relating to general meetings shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to every such separate general meeting.  Unless otherwise provided by the conditions of issuance, the enlargement of an existing class of shares, or the issuance of additional shares thereof, shall not be deemed to modify or abrogate the rights attached to the previously issued shares of such class or of any other class. These conditions provide for the minimum shareholder approvals permitted by the Companies Law.

Israeli Taxation Considerations

The following is a summary of the material Israeli income tax laws applicable to us. This section also contains a discussion of material Israeli income tax consequences concerning the ownership and disposition of our Ordinary Shares. This summary does not discuss all the aspects of Israeli income tax law that may be relevant to a particular investor in light of his or her personal investment circumstances or to some types of investors subject to special treatment under Israeli law. Examples of this kind of investor include residents of Israel or traders in securities who are subject to special tax regimes not covered in this discussion. To the extent that the discussion is based on new tax legislation that has not yet been subject to judicial or administrative interpretation, we cannot assure you that the appropriate tax authorities or the courts will accept the views expressed in this discussion. This summary is based on laws and regulations in effect as of the date of this annual report and does not take into account possible future amendments which may be under consideration.

General corporate tax structure in Israel

As of January 1, 2018, Israeli resident companies, such as us, are generally subject to corporate tax at the rate of 23% on their taxable income. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, the corporate tax rate was 24% and 25%, respectively.

Capital gains derived by an Israeli resident company are generally subject to tax at the same rate as the corporate tax rate. Under Israeli tax legislation, a corporation will be considered as an “Israeli Resident” if it meets one of the following: (a) it was incorporated in Israel; or (b) its business is managed and controlled from Israel.

Taxation of our Israeli shareholders on receipt of dividends

Israeli residents who are individuals are generally subject to Israeli income tax for dividends paid on our Ordinary Shares (other than bonus shares or share dividends) at a rate of 25%, or 30% if the recipient of such dividend is a “substantial shareholder” (as defined below) at the time of distribution or at any time during the preceding 12-month period.

A “substantial shareholder” is generally a person who alone, or together with his relative or another person who collaborates with him on a regular basis, holds, directly or indirectly, at least 10% of any of the “means of control” of the corporation. “Means of control” generally include the right to vote in a general meeting of shareholders, receive profits, nominate a director or an officer, receive assets upon liquidation, or instruct someone who holds any of the aforesaid rights regarding the manner in which he or she is to exercise such right(s), and whether by virtue of shares, rights to shares or other rights, or in any other manner, including by means of voting or trusteeship agreements.

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The term “Israeli Resident” for individuals is generally defined under the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], 1961, or the Israeli Tax Ordinance, as an individual whose center of life is in Israel. According to the Israeli Tax Ordinance, in order to determine the center of life of an individual, account will be taken of the individual’s family, economic and social connections, including: (a) the place of the individual’s permanent home; (b) the place of residence of the individual and his family; (c) the place of the individual’s regular or permanent place of business or the place of his permanent employment; (d) place of the individual’s active and substantial economic interests; (e) place of the individual’s activities in organizations, associations and other institutions. The center of life of an individual will be presumed to be in Israel if: (a) the individual was present in Israel for 183 days or more in the tax year; or (b) the individual was present in Israel for 30 days or more in the tax year, and the total period of the individual’s presence in Israel in that tax year and the two previous tax years is 425 days or more. The presumption in this paragraph may be rebutted either by the individual or by the assessing officer.

Israeli resident corporations are generally exempt from Israeli corporate income tax with respect to dividends paid on our Ordinary Shares so long as the profits out of which the dividends were paid, were derived and taxed in Israel.

Capital Gains Taxes Applicable to Israeli Resident Shareholders

The income tax rate applicable to Real Capital Gain derived by an Israeli individual from the sale of shares which had been purchased after January 1, 2012, whether listed on a stock exchange or not, is 25%. However, if such shareholder is considered a “substantial shareholder” (as defined above) at the time of sale or at any time during the preceding 12-month period and/or claims a deduction for interest and linkage differences expenses in connection with the purchase and holding of such shares, such gain will be taxed at the rate of 30%.

Moreover, capital gains derived by an individual shareholder who is a dealer or trader in securities, or to whom such income is otherwise taxable as ordinary business income, are taxed in Israel at his/her marginal ordinary income tax rates (up to 50% in 2017, including excess tax as detailed below).

Israeli resident corporations are generally subject to regular corporate tax rate (24% in 2017 and 23% as of 2018) with respect to capital gains generated from the sale of our Ordinary Shares.

Taxation of Non-Israeli Shareholders on Receipt of Dividends

Non-Israeli residents are generally subject to Israeli income tax on the receipt of dividends paid on our Shares at the rate of 25% (or 30% for individuals, if such individual is a “substantial shareholder” at the time receiving the dividend or on any date in the 12 months preceding such date), unless a tax certificate is obtained in advance from the Israeli Tax Authority authorizing withholding-exempt remittances or a reduced rate of tax pursuant to an applicable tax treaty between Israel and the shareholder’s country of residence.

A non-Israeli resident who receives dividends from which tax was fully withheld is generally exempt from the duty to file tax returns in Israel in respect of such income; provided that (i) such income was not derived from a business conducted in Israel by the taxpayer, (ii) the taxpayer has no other taxable sources of income in Israel with respect to which a tax return is required to be filed and (iii) the taxpayer is not obliged to pay excess tax (as further explained below).

For example, under the Convention Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Israel with Respect to Taxes on Income, as amended (the “U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty”), Israeli withholding tax on dividends paid to a U.S. resident for treaty purposes may not, in general, exceed 25%, subject to certain conditions. Where the recipient is a U.S. corporation owning 10% or more of the outstanding shares of the voting stock of the paying corporation during the part of the paying corporation’s taxable year which precedes the date of payment of the dividend and during the whole of its prior taxable year (if any) and not more than 25% of the gross income of the paying corporation for such prior taxable year (if any) consists certain interest or dividends, the Israeli tax withheld may not exceed 12.5%, subject to certain conditions.

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Payers of dividends on our Ordinary Shares, including the Israeli stockbroker effectuating the transaction, or the financial institution through which the securities are held, are generally required, subject to any of the foregoing exemptions, reduced tax rates and the demonstration of a shareholder regarding his, her or its foreign residency, to withhold tax upon the distribution of dividend at the rate of 25% (whether the recipient is a substantial shareholder or not), so long as the shares are registered with a nominee company.

Capital gains income taxes applicable to non-Israeli shareholders.

Non-Israeli resident shareholders are generally exempt from Israeli capital gains tax on any gains derived from the sale, exchange or disposition of our Ordinary Shares, provided certain conditions, such as the shareholders did not acquire their shares prior to January 1, 2009 or acquired their shares after the Company was listed for trading on a stock exchange and such gains were not derived from a permanent establishment or business activity of such shareholders in Israel. However, non-Israeli corporations' shareholders will not be entitled to the foregoing exemptions if an Israeli resident (i) has a controlling interest of more than 25% in such non-Israeli corporation or (ii) is the beneficiary of or is entitled to 25% or more of the revenues or profits of such non-Israeli corporation, whether directly or indirectly.

In addition, a sale of securities by a non-Israeli resident may be exempt from Israeli capital gains tax under the provisions of an applicable tax treaty. For example, under the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, the sale, exchange or disposition of our Ordinary Shares by a shareholder who is a U.S. resident (for purposes of the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty) holding the Ordinary Shares as a capital asset and is entitled to claim the benefits afforded to such a resident by the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty (such shareholder is referred to herein as a Treaty U.S. Resident), is generally exempt from Israeli capital gains tax unless the one of the following scenarios : (i) such Treaty U.S. Resident is an individual and was present in Israel for 183 days or more in the aggregate during the relevant taxable year; (ii) such Treaty U.S. Resident holds, directly or indirectly, shares representing 10% or more of our voting power of the Company during any part of the 12 month period preceding such sale, exchange or disposition, subject to certain conditions; (iii) the capital gains arising from such sale, exchange or disposition are attributable to a permanent establishment of the Treaty U.S. Resident located maintained in Israel, subject to certain conditions; (iv) the capital gains arising from such sale, exchange or disposition is attributed to real estate located in Israel; or (v) the capital gains arising from such sale, exchange or disposition is attributed to royalties. In any such case, the sale, exchange or disposition of our Ordinary Shares would be subject to Israeli tax, to the extent applicable. However, under the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, such Treaty U.S. Resident would be permitted to claim a credit for such taxes against U.S. federal income tax imposed on any gain from such sale, exchange or disposition, under the circumstances and subject to the limitations specified in the U.S.-Israel Income Tax Treaty.

Regardless of whether shareholders may be liable for Israeli income tax on the sale of our Ordinary Shares, the payment of the consideration may be subject to withholding of Israeli tax at the source. Accordingly, shareholders may be required to demonstrate that they are exempt from tax on their capital gains in order to avoid withholding at source at the time of sale. Specifically, in transactions involving a sale of all of the shares of an Israeli resident company, in the form of a merger or otherwise, the Israel Tax Authority may require from shareholders who are not liable for Israeli tax to sign declarations in forms specified by this authority or obtain a specific exemption from the Israel Tax Authority to confirm their status as non-Israeli resident, and, in the absence of such declarations or exemptions, may require the purchaser of the shares to withhold taxes at source.

Excess Tax and Estate and Gift Tax

Individuals who are subject to tax in Israel are also subject to an additional income tax at a rate of 3% (till the end of 2016 the excess tax rate was 2%) on annual taxable income or gain exceeding a certain threshold (NIS 803,520 for 2016, NIS 640,000 for 2017, NIS 641,880 for 2018 and NIS 649,560 for 2019), which amount is linked to the annual change in the Israeli consumer price index), including, but not limited to, dividends, interest and capital gain.  Currently, Israeli law does not impose estate or gift taxes.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

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Issuer and Affiliated Purchaser -- Purchases of Equity Securities

We completed the sale of our intangible assets related to the ADAIR technology during fiscal year 2018. Pursuant to the asset purchase agreement for ADAIR, the Company received a 30% ownership interest in the common stock of a privately held company in consideration for the sale of the ADAIR technology.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

The following tables set forth a summary of our historical financial data as of, and for the periods ended on, the dates indicated. We have derived the statement of operations data and balance sheet data from our audited financial statements (in thousands). You should read the selected financial data in conjunction with the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” both of which are included elsewhere in this report.

 

 

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Overview

We are an emerging RNA medicines company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics directed towards rare, infectious, fibrotic, and respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical need. The genetic medicines industry is constantly struggling to identify non-viral delivery solutions for large RNA molecules to different cell types. Arcturus’ LUNAR® Delivery technology is lipid mediated – and non-viral.  LUNAR is versatile, compatible with various types of RNA -- and has been shown to deliver large RNA to different cell types including Liver hepatocytes, Liver stellate cells, Muscle cells (myocytes), and Lung cells (including bronchial epithelial cells).

Our activities since inception have consisted principally of performing research and development activities, general and administrative activities and raising capital to fund those efforts. Our activities are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including failing to secure additional funding before we achieve sustainable revenues and profit from operations. As of December 31, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $44.9 million.  

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Going Concern and Management’s Plans

The Company’s products that are being developed have not generated significant revenue. As a result, the Company has suffered recurring losses and requires significant cash resources to execute its business plans. These losses are expected to continue for an extended period of time. Based on our planned operations, we do not expect that our current cash and cash equivalents balances will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least 12 months after the date the consolidated financial statements are filed without raising additional capital through equity or debt financing. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one year from the date of the issuance of our 2018 consolidated financial statements. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of asset amounts or the classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued.

Historically, our major sources of cash have comprised proceeds from collaboration partners, various public and private offerings of our Ordinary Shares, option and warrant exercises, and interest income. From inception through December 2018, the Company raised approximately $131.5 million in gross proceeds from various public and private offerings of our Ordinary Shares, debt issuances, collaboration agreements, and the merger with Alcobra.

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had approximately $36.8 million in cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents. Management’s plans to mitigate an expected shortfall of capital, to support future operations, include raising additional funds. The actual amount of cash that it will need to operate is subject to many factors.

The Company also recognizes it will need to raise additional capital in order to continue to execute its business plan in the future. There is no assurance that additional financing will be available when needed or that management will be able to obtain financing on terms acceptable to the Company or whether the Company will become profitable and generate positive operating cash flow. If the Company is unable to raise sufficient additional funds, it will have to scale back its operations.

Overview

Since our inception, we have funded our operations principally with proceeds from the sale of capital stock, convertible notes and revenues earned through collaborative agreements. In November 2017, we obtained $36.4 million in cash and short-term investments from our merger with Alcobra Ltd. At December 31, 2018, we had $36.7 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents.

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On October 12, 2018, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement with Western Alliance Bank whereby the Company received gross proceeds of $10.0 million under a long-term debt agreement (the “Loan”). The Loan has a maturity date of October 1, 2022 and carries interest at the U.S. prime rate plus 1.25%. The loan has an interest-only period of 19 months, which could be extended by an additional 6 months if certain conditions are met, followed by an amortization period of 30 months, or 24 months if the interest-only period is extended.  Upon maturity or prepayment, the Company will be required to pay a 3% fee, or a 2% fee if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepts certain Investigational New Drug applications prior to maturity. The Company paid a loan origination fee of $128,000 which was recorded as a debt discount and will be accreted over the term of the loan. In addition, the Company is required to pay a fee of $350,000 upon certain change of control events. The Loan is collateralized by all of the assets of the Company, excluding intellectual property, which is subject to a negative pledge. In addition, the Company is required to maintain at least 50% of its deposit and investment accounts, or $20 million, whichever is lower, with the Western Alliance Bank.

 

The Loan includes financial covenants which include the Company’s (1) nomination of a clinical candidate by December 31, 2018, which the Company is in compliance with, and (2) submission of a clinical candidate for Investigational New Drug application (“IND”), made to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by December 31, 2019 and have it approved by January 31, 2020, provided that, if the Company has received net cash proceeds from sale, on or after October 12, 2018, of the Company’s equity securities in an amount of not less than $15,000,000, then the IND submission date shall extended to May 31, 2020 and the approval date shall be extended to June 30, 2020.

On October 15, 2018, the Company entered into a Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Leerink Partners LLC (“Leerink”), pursuant to which it may sell from time to time, at its option, up to an aggregate of $30.0 million of the Company’s Ordinary Shares through Leerink, as sales agent.  The Company is required to pay Leerink compensation in cash equal to 3.0% of gross proceeds for the Ordinary Shares sold through the Sales Agreement and the Company has agreed to reimburse Leerink for certain fees and expenses. Under the Sales Agreement, Leerink may sell Ordinary Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder, including, without limitation, sales made directly on or through NASDAQ, on or through any other existing trading market for the Ordinary Shares or to or through a market maker. If expressly authorized by the Company, Leerink may also sell Ordinary Shares in negotiated transactions.     

If we are unable to maintain sufficient financial resources, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain the needed financing on acceptable terms or at all. Additionally, equity or debt financings may have a dilutive effect on the holdings of the Company’s existing shareholders. Our future capital requirements are difficult to forecast and will depend on many factors.

We expect to continue to incur additional losses for the foreseeable future, and we will need to raise additional debt or equity financing or enter into additional partnerships to fund development. The ability of our Company to transition to profitability is dependent on identifying and developing successful mRNA drug candidates. In the near future, if we are not able to achieve planned milestones, incur costs in excess of our forecasts, or do not meet covenant requirements of our debt, we will need to reduce discretionary spending, discontinue the development of some or all of our products, which will delay part of our development programs, all of which will have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our intended business objectives.  There can be no assurances that additional financing will be secured or, if secured, will be on favorable terms.  These conditions raise substantial doubt about the business, results of operations, financial condition and/or our ability to fund scheduled obligations on a timely basis or at all.  The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. The consolidated financial statements do not reflect any adjustments related to the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary if we are unable to continue as a going concern.

 

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The following table shows a summary of our cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

Operating Activities

Our primary use of cash is to fund operating expenses, which consist mainly of research and development expenditures and general and administrative expenditures. We have incurred significant expenses which have been partially offset by cash collected through our collaboration agreements and acquired through our recent merger. Cash collections under the collaboration agreements can vary from year to year depending on the terms of agreement and work performed. These changes on cash flows primarily relate to the timing of cash receipts for upfront payments, reimbursable expenses and achievement of milestones under these collaborative agreements. 

Net cash used in operating activities was $20.8 million on a net loss of $21.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to net cash used of $0.5 million on a net loss of $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.  Adjustments for non-cash charges which includes share-based compensation and depreciation and amortization were $2.2 million and $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Changes in working capital resulted in adjustments to operating net cash outflows of $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, and net cash inflows of $7.4 million for the year December 31, 2017.

Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities of $22.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 reflected proceeds from the maturities of our short-term investments of $30.2 million, offset by purchases of short-term investments of $6.6 million, and cash used to purchase property and equipment of $1.5 million. Net cash provided by investing activities of $10.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 reflected proceeds from the maturities of our short-term investments of $10.6 million and negligible proceeds from the sale of equipment, offset by cash used to purchase property and equipment of $0.3 million.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities of $10.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 consisted of net proceeds from the exercise of stock options of $0.3 million and net proceeds from the long-term debt of $9.9 million. Net cash provided by financing activities of $7.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 consisted of proceeds from issuance of convertible promissory notes of $5.7 million, net proceeds from exercise of stock options and warrants of $0.9 million and net cash received in the issuance of shares for the net assets of Alcobra Ltd. of $0.5 million.

Funding Requirements

We anticipate that we will continue to generate annual net losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect the losses to increase as we continue the development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates, and begin commercialization of our products. As a result, we will require additional capital to fund our operations in order to support our long-term plans. The Company intends to seek additional capital through equity and/or debt financings, collaborative or other funding arrangements with partners or through other sources of financing. Should we seek additional financing from outside sources, we may not be able to raise such financing on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may be required to scale back or discontinue the advancement of product candidates, reduce headcount, liquidate our assets, file for bankruptcy, reorganize, merge with another entity, or cease operations.

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Our future funding requirements are difficult to forecast and will depend on many factors, including the following:

Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report. Our historical results of operations and the year-to-year comparisons of our results of operations that follow are not necessarily indicative of future results. As noted in the 2017 Annual Report, from an accounting perspective, the merger which closed on November 15, 2017 has been reflected in our financial statements as a recapitalization, whereby Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. was the deemed accounting acquirer. Accordingly, our results of operations described below reflect Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc.’s results, not Alcobra Ltd.’s results, for all periods presented.

Revenues

We enter into arrangements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners that may contain upfront payments, license fees for research and development arrangements, research and development funding, milestone payments, option exercise and exclusivity fees and royalties on future sales. The following table summarizes our total revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):

 

 

Collaboration revenue increased by $2.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in revenue was due to a new collaboration agreement that was signed during the first quarter of 2018 with CureVac that resulted in $4.4 million in revenue, an increase in revenue of $1.2 million related to the collaboration agreement with Ultragenyx as upfront payment amortization increased due to a change to the amortization period as well as revenue recognized from a payment received from Ultragenyx that extended the exclusivity period of reserved targets for one year. Lastly, a $1.4 million increase in revenue with Synthetic Genomics, Inc. related to a contract signed during the fourth quarter of 2017. These increases were primarily offset by decreased revenue of $3.6 million associated with Janssen as a result of the previous agreement being completed during the third quarter of 2017.  Furthermore, a decrease in revenue of $0.6 million resulted from lower revenue recognition for research and development funding from two other collaboration partners.

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On February 11, 2019, we announced the termination of the obligations of CureVac for preclinical development, effective 180 days from February 5, 2019 and the re-assumption by us of the worldwide rights thereto.  We will reassume 100% global rights of our flagship asset and clinical development candidate, a messenger RNA (mRNA) drug to treat ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency.

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses consist of research and development and general and administrative expenses.

 

 

Research and Development Expenses, net

Our research and development expenses consist primarily of payments for salaries and related personnel expenses, third-party clinical consultants, and laboratory supplies related to conducting research and development activities in conjunction with collaborative agreements and our internal research and development activities.

The increase of $1.1 million in research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 was due to an increase of $0.6 million in share-based compensation expense, an increase of $1.0 million in salaries related to new hires and increases in general facility costs of $0.7 million. The increase in research and development expenses were offset by lower expense of $0.9 million in research supplies and contract manufacturing costs primarily from the completion of our initial collaboration agreement with Janssen as well as the $0.3 million increase in grant funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related benefits for our executive, administrative and accounting functions and professional service fees for legal and accounting services as well as other general and administrative expenses.

The increase in general and administrative expenses of $13.0 million for year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 was partly due to proxy and related costs of $7.3 million, which included legal fees of $4.4 million, $1.2 million increase in insurance cost from a director “tail” insurance policy that was purchased pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Release, additional professional fees of $0.9 million, and other personnel costs of $0.8 million. The remaining increase of $5.7 million was due primarily the increase of $2.5 million of salaries and related expenses for new hires, $2.4 million of professional fees, $0.8 million of public company related expenses, $0.8 million in general facility and office costs and $0.6 million of insurance costs, offset by lower expense in share-based compensation of $1.6 million. The offset in share-based compensation is primarily related to a one-time modification of a restricted ordinary share agreement in 2017. Without the effect of this one-time adjustment, share-based compensation expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 would have been relatively the same amount as it was during the year ended December 31, 2017.

 

 

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Finance income (expense), net

 

 

Interest income is generated on cash and cash equivalents and our short-term investments. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the increase in interest income over the year ended December 31, 2017 resulted from increased balances including cash and investments obtained in conjunction with our merger.

Interest expense during 2018 was incurred primarily in conjunction with the long-term debt with Western Alliance Bank. Interest expense during 2017 was incurred from our convertible notes which were converted to Ordinary Shares in conjunction with our merger.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. As such, we make certain estimates, judgements and assumptions that we believe are reasonable, based upon information available to us. These judgements involve making estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain and may significantly impact our results of operations and financial condition. We describe our significant accounting policies more fully in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018. In the following paragraphs, we describe the specific risks associated with these critical accounting policies and we caution that future events may not reflect exactly as one may expect, and that best estimates may require adjustment.

The following are our significant accounting policies which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results. 

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue when each of the following four criteria is met: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (ii) products are delivered or as services are rendered; (iii) the sales price is fixed or determinable; and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured.

Multiple-element arrangements may include (i) grants of licenses, or options to obtain licenses, to intellectual property, (ii) research and development services, (iii) participation on joint research or joint development committees, or (iv) manufacturing or supply services. The payments we may receive under these arrangements typically include one or more of the following: non-refundable upfront license fees, option exercise fees, funding of research or development efforts, amounts due upon the achievement of specified objectives, or royalties on future product sales.

Multiple-element arrangements require the separability of deliverables included in an arrangement into different units of accounting and the allocation of arrangement consideration to the units of accounting. The evaluation of multiple-element arrangements requires management to make judgments about (i) the identification of deliverables, (ii) whether such deliverables are separable from the other aspects of the contractual relationship, (iii) the estimated selling price of each deliverable, and (iv) the expected period of performance for each deliverable.

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To determine the units of accounting under a multiple-element arrangement, management evaluates certain separation criteria, including whether the deliverables have stand-alone value, based on the relevant facts and circumstances for each arrangement. Management then estimates the selling price for each unit of accounting and allocates the arrangement consideration to each unit using the relative selling price method. The allocated consideration for each unit of accounting is recognized based on the method most appropriate for that unit of account and in accordance with the revenue recognition criteria detailed above.

If there are deliverables in an arrangement that are not separable from other aspects of the contractual relationship, they are treated as a combined unit of accounting, with the allocated revenue for the combined unit recognized in a manner consistent with the revenue recognition applicable to the final deliverable in the combined unit. Payments received prior to satisfying the relevant revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue in the accompanying balance sheets and recognized as revenue when the related revenue recognition criteria are met.

Most of our collaboration agreements provide for non-refundable milestone payments. We recognize revenue that is contingent upon the achievement of a substantive milestone in its entirety in the period in which the milestone is achieved. A milestone is considered substantive when the consideration payable to us for such milestone (i) is consistent with our performance necessary to achieve the milestone or the increase in value to the collaboration resulting from our performance, (ii) relates solely to our past performance and (iii) is reasonable relative to all of the other deliverables and payments within the arrangement. In making this assessment, we consider all facts and circumstances relevant to the arrangement, including factors such as the scientific, regulatory, commercial and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the milestone, the level of effort and investment required to achieve the milestone and whether any portion of the milestone consideration is related to future performance or deliverables.

We periodically review the estimated performance periods under the collaboration agreements, which provide for non-refundable upfront payments and fees. We adjusted the periods over which revenue was recognized when appropriate to reflect changes in assumptions relating to the estimated performance periods. In the first quarter of 2019, we will adopt new accounting guidance that will change future patterns of revenue recognition.

We record revenues related to the reimbursement of costs incurred under the collaboration agreements where we act as a principal, control the research or development activities and bear credit risk. Under our collaboration agreements, we are reimbursed for associated out-of-pocket costs and for a certain amount of our full-time equivalent, or FTE, costs based on an agreed-upon FTE rate. The gross amount of these pass-through reimbursed costs is reported as revenue in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, while the actual expenses for which we are reimbursed are reflected as research and development costs.

Emerging Growth Company

The Company will no longer qualify as an emerging growth company after December 31, 2018. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, as an “emerging growth company” through December 31, 2018, we elected to rely on other exemptions, including without limitation, (i) providing an auditor’s attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and (ii) complying with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis).

Under the JOBS Act, an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This provision allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different transition dates for public and private companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period specifically for Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). As a result of this election, our timeline to comply with this standard will in many cases be delayed as compared to other public companies that were not eligible to take advantage of this election or did not make this election. Therefore, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to those of companies that complied with the public company effective dates for this standard. 

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Off-balance sheet arrangements

 

None.  

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Our primary exposure to market risk is interest income sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of United States interest rates. Due to the nature of our investments, we believe that we are not subject to any material market risk exposure. We do not have any foreign currency or other derivative financial instruments.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The consolidated financial statements and related financial statement schedules required to be filed are listed in the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements and are incorporated herein and in Item 15 of Part IV of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our periodic and current reports that we file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In reaching a reasonable level of assurance, management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. In addition, the design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

As of December 31, 2018, our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level as of December 31, 2018.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15(d) -15(f) as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

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Because of inherent limitations, internal controls over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

As of December 31, 2018, our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting using the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013). In adopting the 2013 Framework, management assessed the applicability of the principles within each component of internal control and determined whether or not they have been adequately addressed within the current system of internal control and adequately documented. Based on this assessment, management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, concluded that, as of December 31, 2018, our internal control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. We were not required to have, nor have we, engaged our independent registered public accounting firm to perform an audit of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to SEC rules that permit us to provide only management’s report in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.

An evaluation was also performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer of any changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our last fiscal quarter and that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2018 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information.

None.

 

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PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

Executive Officers and Directors

The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers and directors as of March 1, 2019:

 

 

Joseph E. Payne is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. He serves on Arcturus’s Board since March 2013. He brings with him an exceptional track record of ushering novel therapeutics to the clinic including targeted RNA medicines utilizing lipid-mediated delivery technologies. Joseph’s background includes over 20 years of successful drug discovery experience at Merck Research Labs, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kalypsys, and Nitto as evidenced by over 40 publications and patents, and several investigational new drug (IND) clinical candidates. His academic training includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, magna cum laude from Brigham Young University, a Master of Science in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Calgary and Executive Training Certification from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Dr. Padmanabh Chivukula is the Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics. Dr. Chivukula has an exceptional and technically solid foundation in nanoparticle technology. Prior to Arcturus, from 2008 until February 2013, Dr. Chivukula was employed by Nitto, where his titles included Group Leader and Chief Scientist. Dr. Chivukula brings over 15 years of experience in drug delivery and therapeutic drug development, including leading the polymeric RNAi research department at Nitto. Dr. Chivukula has a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Utah where he specialized in nanoparticle technology.

Dr. Peter Farrell is the founder, former long-term CEO and current Chairman of ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD). Dr. Farrell has been Chairman and a director of ResMed since 1989, when the company began as a management buyout of sleep technology from Baxter Healthcare. Peter was previously Foundation Director of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Graduate School for Biomedical Engineering (1978-89) while simultaneously serving as Vice President of Research & Development for Baxter Healthcare in Tokyo (1984-89). Dr. Farrell served on the board of directors of NuVasive, Inc., a company focused on the surgical treatment of spine disorders. Dr. Farrell serves on the board of trustees of The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla and is Chairman of the Boston-based POC NMR diagnostic company, WaveGuide. Dr. Farrell is a fellow or honorary fellow of several professional bodies, including the US National Academy of Engineering. He was inducted as 1998 San Diego Entrepreneur of the Year for Health Sciences, 2001 Australian Entrepreneur of the Year and 2005 US National Entrepreneur of the

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Year for Health Sciences. Peter was appointed to the Executive Council of the division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School in 1998, was appointed Vice Chairman in 2000 (2000-2010), became Chairman in 2010 and served in that capacity for three years. He is on various academic advisory boards including UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering, where he was named the 2012 Gordon Fellow, UCSD’s Rady Business School and the MIT Dean of Engineering’s Advisory Council. Peter holds a B.E. with honors in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney, an SM in chemical engineering from MIT, a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a DSc from UNSW for research which resulted in improved treatment for both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients.

Andrew Sassine serves on the Board of Directors of Nasdaq listed ICAD Inc. and Nasdaq listed Gemphire Therapeutics, Inc. (GEMP). ICAD Inc. is a leading provider of advanced image analysis, workflow solutions and radiation therapy for early detection and treatment of cancer. Gemphire Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. He also is Chairman of the Board of privately held ComHear Inc., a digital audio software and device company. Mr. Sassine previously served on the board of Acorn Energy, Inc., CNS Response, Inc. and FluoroPharma Medical, Inc., (FMPI). Mr. Sassine served in various positions at Fidelity Investments from 1999 to 2012, including, most recently as Portfolio Manager. Between 2004 and 2011, he managed the Fidelity Small Cap Stock Fund, the Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities Fund and the Fidelity Advisor International Small Cap Opportunities Fund. Mr. Sassine joined Fidelity as a high yield research analyst, covering the Telecommunications, Satellite, Technology, Defense and Aerospace, and Restaurant Industries and in 2001, joined the international group as a research analyst covering small and mid-cap international stocks. Prior to joining Fidelity, he served as a vice president in the Acquisition Finance Group at Fleet National Bank. Mr. Sassine has been a member of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa Board of Advisors since 2009 and served on the Board of Trustees at the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech between 2009 and 2014. Mr. Sassine earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Iowa in 1987 and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993.

James Barlow is a member of the Board of Directors of NAHS Holding, Inc., an Employee Stock Ownership Plan company, whose affiliates provide post-acute care, subacute care, short and long-term rehabilitation, and skilled nursing in the United States. Mr. Barlow is a C-level financial executive with more than 30 years of experience leading teams in the successful strategic achievement of financial and operational goals, and expertise in domestic and international operations, financial planning, forecasting and reporting, restructurings, business development and integrations, treasury and investor relations. As an Executive Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) at Allergan, Inc. from January 2002 to March 2015, he oversaw financial due diligence, integration and structuring for all significant asset purchases, sales, business combinations and licensing transactions, the spin-off of Advanced Medical Optics, the $3.3 billion acquisition of Inamed Corporation and more than $4.5 billion in other transactions. He ensured consistent application of corporate policies and procedures and alignment with global reporting and corporate compliance requirements, made recommendations globally to improve financial operations and participated in robust financial planning/forecasting activities. Prior to joining Allergan, Mr. Barlow served as Chief Financial Officer of Wynn Oil Company, a division of Parker Hannifin Corporation, during 2001, Treasurer and Controller of Wynn’s International, Inc. from 1990 to 2000 and Vice President and Controller of Ford Equipment Leasing Company from 1986 to 1990.  From 1983 to 1985 Mr. Barlow worked for the accounting firm Deloitte Haskins and Sells.  Mr. Barlow received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, graduating magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University and a Master of Accountancy, graduating with honors - high distinction, from Brigham Young University. He is a certified public accountant (inactive).

Dr. Magda Marquet is an experienced and highly-regarded leader in the life sciences industry with a very successful track record in entrepreneurship.  She has a true passion for creating a winning corporate culture of innovation and expertise in strategic growth and corporate governance. She co-founded Althea Technologies in 1998, and led the company as co-CEO for ten years. Althea Technologies was successfully acquired by Ajinomoto in 2013.  As of today, Dr. Marquet remains as Chairman of the Board of the new entity Aji Bio-Pharma, a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization.  She is also the co-Founder of AltheaDx, a commercial stage precision medicine company with the world’s leading pharmacogenomics test for anxiety and depression.  She is co-Founder and co-CEO of ALMA Life Sciences, an early stage investment firm focusing on the creation and growth of innovative healthcare companies with an overall focus on prevention. In addition, Dr. Marquet serves as a Board member of Senté, Matrisys Bioscience, Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT), HUYA and

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Independa.  She is an advisor to Mesa Verde Venture Partners and City National Bank.  Dr. Marquet plays a pivotal role in developing San Diego’s entrepreneurial ecosystem where she serves on several non-profit boards, including BIOCOM, CONNECT, EDC and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego. Dr. Marquet has over three decades of experience in the biotechnology industry in the United States and Europe.  Prior to starting Althea Technologies, Dr. Marquet held management positions at Vical, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Protein Polymer Technologies, Syntro Corporation and Transgene.  She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from INSA/University of Toulouse, France.  Dr. Marquet has received numerous awards throughout her career including the 2005 Regional Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Life Sciences category, the Athena Pinnacle award, the Most Admired CEO award from the San Diego Business Journal, and the Director of the Year award (Corporate Governance) from the Corporate Directors Forum.  Under her leadership, Althea Technologies received several Best Companies to Work For awards.  Dr. Marquet is the first woman to be inducted into the CONNECT Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.

Board of Directors and Executives – Term and Contracts

We have entered into written employment agreements with all of our executive officers. Each of these agreements contains provisions regarding non-competition, confidentiality of information and ownership of inventions. The non-competition provision applies for a period that is generally 12 months following termination of employment. The employment agreements also include severance for certain key employees subject to our compensation policy. The enforceability of covenants not to compete in Israel and the United States is subject to limitations. In addition, we are required to provide notice prior to terminating the employment of our executive officers, other than in the case of a termination for cause.

Other than with respect to our directors that are also executive officers, we do not have written agreements with any director providing for benefits upon the termination of his employment with our company.

Board of Directors – Israeli Law

Under the Companies Law, our Board of Directors is vested with the power to set corporate policy and oversee our business. Our Board of Directors may exercise all powers and may take all actions that are not specifically granted to our shareholders or to management. Our Board of Directors serves as the primary corporate body responsible for risk management for our company, including cybersecurity risks, and periodically consults with the management of our company to obtain updates concerning, and internally discusses, the most material risks currently facing our company, and how those risks are being mitigated. Our executive officers are responsible for our day-to-day management and have individual responsibilities established by our Board of Directors. Our principal executive officer is appointed by, and serves at the discretion of, our Board of Directors, subject to the employment agreement that we have entered into with him. All other executive officers are appointed by our principal executive officer, and are subject to the terms of any applicable employment agreements that we may enter into with them.

Under our amended and restated articles of association, our Board of Directors must consist of at least five and not more than eleven directors. Our Board of Directors currently consists of five directors. We have only one class of directors. In accordance with the Companies Law and our amended and restated articles of association, our Board of Directors is required to appoint one of its members to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Farrell to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Each of our directors is elected at an annual or extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. The vote required for the election of each director is a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting and voting on the election proposal.

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External Directors – Exemption

In June 2016, we elected to be governed by an exemption under the Companies Law regulations that exempts us from appointing external directors and from complying with the Companies Law requirements related to the composition of the audit committee and compensation committee of our Board of Directors. Our eligibility for that exemption is conditioned upon: (i) the continued listing of our Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market (or one of a few select other non-Israeli stock exchanges); (ii) there not being a controlling shareholder (generally understood to be a 25% or greater shareholder) of our company under the Companies Law; and (iii) our compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rules requirements as to the composition of (a) our Board of Directors—which requires that we maintain a majority of independent directors (as defined under the Nasdaq Listing Rules) on our Board of Directors (subject to applicable cure periods under the Nasdaq Listing Rules) and (b) the audit and compensation committees of our Board of Directors, which rules requir