Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Acquisition of Patents and Intangibles

v3.20.4
Acquisition of Patents and Intangibles
6 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2020
Acquisition of Patents and Intangibles
Note
8
. Acquisition of Patents and Intangibles
The Company consummated an asset purchase on October 16, 2012, and paid $3,500,000 for certain assets, including intellectual property, certain related licenses and sublicenses, FDA filings and various forms of the leronlimab (PRO 140) drug substance. The Company followed the guidance in ASC 805,
Business Combinations
, to determine if the Company acquired a business. Based on the prescribed accounting, the Company acquired assets and not a business. As of November 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company has recorded and is amortizing $3,500,000 of intangible assets related to the patent rights acquired. The Company estimates the acquired patent has an estimated life of ten years. Subsequent to the acquisition date, the Company has continued to expand, amend and file new patents central to its current clinical trial strategies, which, in turn, have extended the protection period for certain methods of using leronlimab (PRO 140) and formulations comprising leronlimab (PRO 140) out through at least 2031 and 2038, respectively, in various countries.
On November 16, 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of ProstaGene, LLC (“ProstaGene”), a biotechnology
start-up
company, which included patents related to clinical research, a proprietary CCR5 technology for early cancer diagnosis, and a noncompetition agreement with ProstaGene’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Richard G. Pestell. The Company accounted for the ProstaGene acquisition as an asset acquisition under
ASC 805-10-55,
Business Combinations,
because the assets retained from ProstaGene do not include an assembled workforce, and the gross value of the assets acquired meets the screen test in
ASC 805-10-55-5A
related to substantially all of the fair value being concentrated in a single asset or group of assets (i.e., the proprietary technology and patents) and, thus, is not considered a business. Thus, management concluded that the acquisition did not include both an input and substantive processes that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs. The acquisition of ProstaGene’s assets expanded the Company’s clinical development of leronlimab (PRO 140) into cancer indications and potential commercialization of certain cancer diagnostic tests. The aggregate purchase price paid for the ProstaGene acquisition was $11,558,000 based on the issuance of 20,278,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $0.57 per share, including 1,620,000 shares to the investment bank for advisory services. In connection with the purchase, the Company entered into a Stock Restriction Agreement with Dr. Pestell, (the “Stock Restriction Agreement”), restricting the transfer of 8,342,000 shares of common stock payable to Dr. Pestell for a three-year period from the closing date of the ProstaGene transaction (the “Restricted Shares”). The Stock Restriction Agreement provided that in the event Dr. Pestell’s employment with the Company is terminated by Dr. Pestell not for Good Reason, or by the Company for Cause, as defined in Dr. Pestell’s employment agreement with the Company, the Company would have an option to repurchase such Restricted Shares from Dr. Pestell at a purchase price of $0.001 per share. The Restricted Shares were to vest and be released from the Stock Restriction Agreement in three equal annual installments commencing one year after the closing date of the acquisition of ProstaGene. On July 25, 2019, the Company’s Board terminated the employment of Dr. Richard G. Pestell prior to the vesting of any of the Restricted Shares. The vesting and/or release or forfeiture of the Restricted Shares is currently subject to litigation between the Company and Dr. Pestell.
A summary of the net purchase price and allocation to the acquired assets is as follows (in thousands):
 
    
ProstaGene,
LLC
 
CytoDyn Inc. equity
   $ 11,558  
Acquisition expenses
     741  
Release of deferred tax asset
     2,827  
    
 
 
 
Total cost of acquisition
   $ 15,126  
    
 
 
 
    
ProstaGene,
LLC
 
Intangible assets
   $ 15,126  
Other
     —    
  
 
 
 
Allocation of acquisition costs
   $ 15,126  
  
 
 
 
Assets acquired from ProstaGene include (1) patents issued in the United States and Australia related to “Prostate Cancer Cell Lines, Gene Signatures and Uses Thereof” and “Use of Modulators of CCR5 in the Treatment of Cancer and Cancer Metastasis,” (2) an algorithm used to identify a
14-gene
signature to predict the likelihood and severity of cancer diagnoses, and (3) a noncompetition agreement in connection with an employment agreement with Dr. Pestell as Chief Medical Officer of the Company. The fair value of the assets acquired approximates the consideration paid. The Company did not assume any liabilities. The fair value of the technology acquired is identified using the Income Approach. The fair value of the patents acquired is identified using the Cost to Reproduce Method. The fair value of noncompetition agreement acquired is identified using the Residual Value Method. Goodwill is not recorded as the transaction represents an asset acquisition in accordance with ASU
2017-01.
Acquisition costs for asset acquisitions are capitalized and included in the total cost of the transaction. In addition, pursuant to ASC 805,
Business Combinations
, the net tax effect of the deferred tax liability arising from the book to tax basis differences is recorded as a cost of the acquisition.
The fair value of the technology acquired is identified using the Income Approach. The fair value of the patents acquired is identified using the Cost to Reproduce Method. The fair value of the noncompetition agreement acquired is identified using the Residual Value Method. Goodwill is not recorded as the transaction represents an asset acquisition in accordance with ASU
2017-01.
Acquisition costs for asset acquisitions are capitalized and included in the total cost of the transaction. In addition, pursuant to ASC 805, the net tax effect of the deferred tax liability arising from the book to tax basis differences is recorded as a cost of the acquisition.

The following presents intangible assets activity, inclusive of patents (in thousands):
 
   
November 30, 2020
   
May 31, 2020
 
Leronlimab (PRO 140) patent
   $ 3,500      $ 3,500  
ProstaGene, LLC intangible asset acquisition
     15,126        15,126  
Website development costs
     20        20  
Accumulated amortization
     (6,184      (5,190
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total amortizable intangible assets, net
     12,462        13,456  
Patents currently not amortized
     —          —    
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Carrying value of intangibles, net
   $ 12,462      $ 13,456  
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Amortization expense related to all intangible assets was approximately $0.5 million and $1.0 million and $0.5
million and
$1.0
million for the three and six months ended November 30, 2020 and 2019. The following table summarizes the estimated aggregate future amortization expense related to the Company’s intangible assets with finite lives as of November 30, 2020:
 
Fiscal Year
  
Amount
 
2021 (6 months remaining)
  
$
994
 
2022
  
 
1,912
 
2023
  
 
1,301
 
2024
  
 
1,023
 
2025
  
 
1,023
 
Thereafter
  
 
6,209
 
 
  
 
 
 
Total
  
$
12,462