license under MHKDG’s patents, licenses, materials and exclusive know-how to develop, manufacture, use, sell, offer for sale, export and import and otherwise commercialize on a world-wide basis (the “License Agreement”). The aggregate purchase price consisted of an upfront cash payment in the amount of $25 million and a transfer of shares in MoonLake AG representing a 9.9% ownership stake in MoonLake AG following the transaction. Subject to the terms of the license agreement, milestone cash payments of up to EUR 307.1 million ($339.5 million using a December 31, 2023 exchange rate) are potentially payable, of which EUR 7.5 million ($8.0 million using the then applicable exchange rate of 1.073 USD per EUR) has been recognized as expensed as of December 31, 2023. Future milestones will become payable upon regulatory filing acceptances in the US, in the European Union and Japan, first commercial sales in these geographies, and meeting certain annual thresholds in global net sales. In addition, the License Agreement requires us to pay royalties within the range of low to mid-teen percent of net sales.
Loan from BVF
On October 15, 2021, MoonLake AG entered into a loan agreement, as amended, with the BVF Shareholders, pursuant to which the BVF Shareholders loaned $8,139,000, $5,946,000, and $915,000, respectively ($15,000,000 in aggregate), for general corporate purposes of MoonLake AG, including product and technology development, operations, sales and marketing, management expenses, and salaries. The loan was interest-free and was repaid in full on April 11, 2022.
Public Offering of Class A Ordinary Shares
On June 27, 2023, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement with Leerink Partners LLC and Guggenheim Securities LLC, as the representatives of the underwriters named therein, relating to the issuance and sale of an aggregate of 9,200,000 Class A Ordinary Shares at a public offering price of $50.00 per share (the “Offering”), including shares issued upon exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares, for aggregate gross proceeds of $460.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.
Certain of the purchasers or their affiliates were, or became upon the completion of the Offering, beneficial holders of more than 5% of the Company’s ordinary shares.
Related Party Transaction Policy
We have adopted a written related person transaction policy that sets forth our procedures for the identification, review, consideration and approval or ratification of related person transactions. For purposes of our policy, a related person transaction is a transaction, arrangement or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which we and any related person (as defined above) are, were or will be participants in which the amount involved exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years. Transactions involving compensation for services provided to us as an employee or director, among other limited exceptions, are deemed to have standing pre-approval by the Audit Committee but may be specifically reviewed if appropriate in light of the facts and circumstances.
Under the policy, if a transaction has been identified as a related person transaction, our Audit Committee must review the material facts and either approve or disapprove of the entry into the transaction. If advance approval of the transaction is not feasible, then the transaction will be considered and, if the Audit Committee determines it to be appropriate, ratified at the next regularly scheduled meeting. In addition, under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, our employees and directors have an affirmative responsibility to avoid activities that create or give the appearance of a conflict of interest, and directors and executive officers must consult and seek prior approval of potential conflicts of interest from the Audit Committee. In considering related party transactions, our Audit Committee will take into account the relevant available facts and circumstances including, but not limited to:
• | whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than terms generally available to an unaffiliated third party under the same or similar circumstances; and |
• | the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction. |
Except for the Offering, which was reviewed in accordance with the foregoing policies and procedures, the related party transactions described above were consummated prior to our adoption of the formal, written policy described above, and, accordingly, the foregoing policies and procedures were not followed with respect to these transactions. However, we believe that the terms obtained or consideration that we paid or received, as applicable, in connection with these transactions were comparable to terms available or the amounts that would be paid or received, as applicable, in arm’s-length transactions at such time.