UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020

or

For the transition period from _______ to _______

Commission File Number: 001-39114

 

Galera Therapeutics, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

(610) 725-1500

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

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 whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a 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  ☒

As of May 7, 2020, the registrant had 24,824,623 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, outstanding.

 

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Quarterly Report are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this Quarterly Report, including without limitation statements regarding our plans to develop and commercialize our product candidates, the timing of our ongoing or planned clinical trials, the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals, the anticipated direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and operations, including manufacturing, research and development costs, clinical trials and employees, the clinical utility of our product candidates, our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy, our expectations about the willingness of healthcare professionals to use our product candidates, the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and the plans and objectives of management for future operations and capital expenditures are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report are only predictions and are based largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our limited operating history; anticipating continued losses for the foreseeable future; needing substantial funding and the ability to raise capital; our dependence on avasopasem manganese (GC4419); uncertainties inherent in the conduct of clinical trials; difficulties or delays enrolling patients in clinical trials; the FDA’s acceptance of data from clinical trials outside the United States; undesirable side effects from our product candidates; risks relating to the regulatory approval process; failure to capitalize on more profitable product candidates or indications; ability to receive Breakthrough Therapy Designation or Fast Track Designation for product candidates; failure to obtain regulatory approval of product candidates in the United States or other jurisdictions; ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review; risks related to commercialization; risks related to competition; ability to retain key employees and manage growth; risks related to intellectual property; inability to maintain collaborations or the failure of these collaborations; our reliance on third parties; the possibility of system failures or security breaches; liability related to the privacy of health information obtained from clinical trials and product liability lawsuits; unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives; environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and operations, including preclinical studies and clinical trials, and general economic conditions; risks related to ownership of our common stock; significant costs as a result of operating as a public company; and those described under the sections in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and this Quarterly Report entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”.

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond our control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

 

 

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PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements.

GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(IN THOUSANDS EXCEPT SHARE AND PER-SHARE AMOUNTS)

(unaudited)

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited interim consolidated financial statements.

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(IN THOUSANDS EXCEPT SHARE AND PER SHARE AMOUNTS)

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited interim consolidated financial statements.

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(IN THOUSANDS)

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited interim consolidated financial statements.

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK AND

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

(IN THOUSANDS EXCEPT SHARE AMOUNTS)

(unaudited)

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited interim consolidated financial statements.

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(IN THOUSANDS)

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited interim consolidated financial statements.

 

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Galera Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on November 19, 2012 (inception) and together with its subsidiaries, (the Company, or Galera) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a pipeline of novel, proprietary therapeutics that have the potential to transform radiotherapy in cancer. The Company’s lead product candidate, avasopasem manganese (GC4419, also referred to as avasopasem), is a potent and highly selective small molecule dismutase mimetic being developed for the reduction of severe oral mucositis (SOM). In February 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to avasopasem for the reduction of SOM induced by radiotherapy with or without systemic therapy. The Company is currently evaluating avasopasem in a Phase 3 registrational trial (referred to as the ROMAN trial) for its ability to reduce the incidence and severity of SOM induced by radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC), its lead indication, and in a Phase 2a trial for its ability to reduce the incidence of esophagitis induced by radiotherapy in patients with lung cancer. In addition to developing avasopasem for the reduction of normal tissue toxicity from radiotherapy, the Company is developing its dismutase mimetics to increase the anti-cancer efficacy of higher daily doses of radiotherapy, including stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). The Company’s second dismutase mimetic product candidate, GC4711, is being developed to increase the anti-cancer efficacy of SBRT and has successfully completed Phase 1 trials of intravenous GC4711 in healthy volunteers. The Company plans to leverage its observations from the ongoing avasopasem SBRT pilot Phase 1b/2a trial in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) to prepare a GC4711 SBRT combination Phase 1b/2a safety and anti-cancer efficacy trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Liquidity

The Company has incurred recurring losses and negative cash flows from operations since inception and has an accumulated deficit of $179.8 million as of March 31, 2020. The Company anticipates incurring additional losses until such time, if ever, that it can generate significant sales of its product candidates currently in development. The Company expects its existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, together with the expected payments from Blackstone Life Sciences (formerly known as Clarus Ventures) in the amount of $57.5 million upon the achievement of certain clinical enrollment milestones in the ROMAN trial and the anti-cancer program in combination with SBRT under the Royalty Agreement (as defined below) and Amendment No. 1 to the Royalty Agreement, will enable the Company to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2022. See Notes 6 and 10.

On November 12, 2019, the Company completed an initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock, which resulted in the issuance and sale of 5,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $12.00 per share, generating net proceeds of $53.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and other offering costs. On December 9, 2019, in connection with the partial exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters of the Company's IPO, 445,690 additional shares of common stock were sold at the IPO price of $12.00 per share, generating net proceeds of approximately $5.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts and other offering costs. Upon the closing of the IPO, all outstanding shares of the Company’s Series A, Series B and Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock were automatically converted into 19,061,502 shares of the Company’s common stock.

The summary of significant accounting policies disclosed in the Company’s annual consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 10, 2020 have not materially changed, except as set forth below.

Basis of presentation and consolidation

The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) for interim financial information. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to U.S. GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) and Accounting Standards Updates (ASU) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

In the opinion of management, the accompanying interim consolidated financial statements include all normal and recurring adjustments (which consist primarily of accruals, estimates and assumptions that impact the financial statements) considered necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position as of March 31, 2020 and its results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, and statements of changes in redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholder’s equity (deficit) and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020, or for any future period. The interim consolidated financial statements, presented herein, do not contain the required disclosures under U.S. GAAP for annual financial statements. Therefore, these interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the annual audited consolidated financial statements and related notes as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019, included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K and filed with the SEC on March 10, 2020.

Use of estimates

The preparation of unaudited interim consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Estimates and assumptions are periodically reviewed and the effects of revisions are reflected in the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements in the period they are determined to be necessary. Significant areas that require management’s estimates include the fair value of common stock, prior to the IPO, share-based compensation assumptions, royalty purchase liability assumptions and accrued clinical trial expense.

The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations and financial condition, including manufacturing, clinical trials, research and development costs and employee-related amounts, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain, including as a result of new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions taken to contain or treat COVID-19, as well as the economic impact on local, regional, national and international customers and markets. Management has made estimates regarding the impact of COVID-19 within the Company’s financial disclosures and there may be changes to those estimates in future periods. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Net loss per share

Basic loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. Diluted loss per share of common stock includes the effect, if any, from the potential exercise or conversion of securities, such as redeemable convertible preferred stock and stock options, which would result in the issuance of incremental shares of common stock. For diluted net loss per share, the weighted-average number of shares of common stock is the same for basic net loss per share due to the fact that when a net loss exists, dilutive securities are not included in the calculation as the impact is anti-dilutive.

The following potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, as they would be anti-dilutive:

 

 

Amounts in the above table reflect the common stock equivalents for the redeemable convertible preferred stock.

Recent accounting pronouncements

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement, which removes and modifies some existing disclosure requirements and adds others. This ASU is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

interim periods therein. The Company adopted this ASU on January 1, 2020 and it did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The Company utilizes valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs to the extent possible. The Company determines fair value based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability in the principal or most advantageous market. When considering market participant assumptions in fair value measurements, the following fair value hierarchy distinguishes between observable and unobservable inputs, which are categorized in one of the following levels:

The following table presents the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis (amounts in thousands):

 

 

 

There were no changes in valuation techniques during the three months ended March 31, 2020. The Company’s short-term investment instruments are classified using Level 1 inputs within the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices, broker or dealer quotations, or alternative pricing sources with reasonable levels of price transparency.

Property and equipment consist of (amounts in thousands):

 

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Depreciation expense was $80,000 and $46,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Accrued expenses consist of (amounts in thousands):

 

 

In November 2018, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement (the Royalty Agreement), with Clarus IV Galera Royalty AIV, L.P., Clarus IV-A, L.P., Clarus IV-B, L.P., Clarus IV-C, L.P. and Clarus IV-D, L.P. (collectively, Blackstone or Blackstone Life Sciences). Pursuant to the Royalty Agreement, Blackstone agreed to pay up to $80.0 million (the Royalty Purchase Price) in four tranches of $20.0 million each upon the achievement of specific Phase 3 clinical trial patient enrollment milestones. The Company received the first tranche of the Royalty Purchase Price in November 2018. In April 2019, the Company received $20.0 million in connection with the achievement of the second milestone under the Royalty Agreement. In February 2020, the Company received a $20.0 million payment in connection with the achievement of the third milestone under the Royalty Agreement.

The Company accounts for the Royalty Agreement as a debt instrument. The $60.0 million proceeds from the first three tranches under the Royalty Agreement have been recorded as a liability on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Interest expense is imputed based on the estimated royalty repayment period described below which results in a corresponding increase in the liability balance. The Company recognized $1.1 million and $0.4 million in noncash interest expense during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of March 31, 2020, the effective interest rate was 8.7%.

Blackstone is entitled to a mid single-digit percentage royalty based on the worldwide net sales of avasopasem and GC4711 (the Products). The royalty period will continue until the latest to occur of (i) the 12th anniversary of commercial launch of the Products, (ii) the expiration of the patents covering such Products, and (iii) the expiration of regulatory data protection or market exclusivity or similar regulatory protection afforded by the health authorities in such country, to the extent such protection or exclusivity effectively prevents generic versions of such Products from entering the market in such country.

If Blackstone fails to fund the remaining $20.0 million Royalty Purchase Price within two days of the conditions to the payment of such tranche having been satisfied, the Company may terminate its obligation to accept such tranche. In such an event, the Company’s royalty obligations to Blackstone shall be reduced to a low single-digit percentage.

The Royalty Agreement will remain in effect until the aggregate amount of the royalty payments paid to Blackstone exceeds a fixed single-digit multiple of the actual amount of the Royalty Purchase Price received by the Company, unless earlier terminated pursuant to the mutual written agreement of the Company and Blackstone.

On May 11, 2020, the Company entered into Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement with Clarus IV Galera Royalty AIV, L.P. See Note 10.

The Company has non-cancelable operating leases for office and laboratory space in Malvern, Pennsylvania and St. Louis, Missouri which, as of March 31, 2020, have remaining lease terms of approximately 3.0 and 0.9 years, respectively. The Company adopted ASC 842 on January 1, 2019 resulting in the recognition of a current operating lease liability of $0.3 million and a noncurrent operating lease liability of $0.8 million with a corresponding $1.1 million right-of-use (ROU) asset, which was based on the present value of the minimum rental payments of the lease. The discount rate used to account for the Company’s operating lease under ASC 842 is the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate of 5.3%.

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:

The components of lease expense were as follows:

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:

Future minimum rental payments under the Company’s non-cancelable operating leases were as follows as of March 31, 2020 (amounts in thousands):

 

 

In connection with the Company’s IPO, in November 2019, the Company’s board of directors adopted and the Company’s stockholders approved the Galera Therapeutics, Inc. 2019 Incentive Award Plan (the 2019 Plan), which became effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement on Form S-1 for the IPO. Upon effectiveness of the 2019 Plan, the Company ceased granting new awards under the Prior Plan (as defined herein).

The 2019 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights and other stock-based awards. The number of shares of common stock initially available for issuance under the 2019 Plan is 1,948,970 shares of common stock plus the number of shares subject to awards outstanding under the Prior Plan that expire, terminate or are otherwise surrendered, cancelled, forfeited or repurchased by the Company on or after the effective date of the 2019 Plan. In addition, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2019 Plan is subject to an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020 and ending on and including January 1, 2029 equal to the lesser of (i) 4% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) such smaller number of shares of common stock as determined by the Company’s board of directors. Pursuant to this provision, the Company added 992,463 shares to the total shares available for issuance under the

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2019 Plan effective January 1, 2020. The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2019 Plan upon the exercise of incentive stock options is 14,130,029.

In November 2019, the Company’s board of directors adopted and the Company’s stockholders approved the Galera Therapeutics, Inc. 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ESPP). The ESPP allows employees to buy Company stock through after-tax payroll deductions at a discount from market value. The number of shares of common stock initially available for issuance under the ESPP is 243,621 shares of common stock plus an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020 and ending on and including January 1, 2029 equal to the lesser of (i) 1% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) such smaller number of shares of common stock as determined by the Company’s board of directors, provided that not more than 3,288,886 shares of common stock may be issued under the ESPP. Pursuant to this provision, the Company added 248,115 shares to the total shares available for issuance under the ESPP effective January 1, 2020.

In November 2012, the Company adopted the Equity Incentive Plan (the Prior Plan). The total number of shares authorized under the Prior Plan as of December 31, 2019 was 3,038,259, all of which were subject to outstanding awards. No further grants will be made under the Prior Plan; however, the Prior Plan continues to govern awards that are outstanding under it.

The Company’s stock option awards vest based on the terms in the governing agreements and generally vest over four years and have a term of 10 years.

Share-based compensation expense was as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

 

 

The following table summarizes the activity related to stock option grants for the three months ended March 31, 2020:

 

 

As of March 31, 2020, the unrecognized compensation cost was $19.1 million and will be recognized over an estimated weighted-average amortization period of 3.5 years. The aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding and options exercisable as of March 31, 2020 was $16.6 million and $14.3 million, respectively. Options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 had weighted-average grant-date fair values of $10.72 and $5.45 per share, respectively.

The fair value of options is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which takes into account inputs such as the exercise price, the estimated fair value of the underlying common stock at the grant date, expected term, expected stock price volatility, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The fair value of stock options during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 was determined using the methods and assumptions discussed below.

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The grant date fair value of each option grant was estimated throughout the quarter using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using the following weighted-average assumptions:

 

 

IntellectMap provides advisory services to the Company. The chief executive officer of IntellectMap is the brother of the Company’s chief executive officer. Fees incurred by us with respect to IntellectMap during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 were $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and related precautions have directly or indirectly impacted the timeline for some of the Company’s clinical trials. In April 2020, the Company delayed indefinitely the initiation of the Phase 2a multi-center trial in Europe assessing the safety of avasopasem in patients with HNC undergoing standard-of-care radiotherapy, which was planned for the first half of 2020, due to concerns with patient enrollment. This trial was expected to enroll up to 70 patients and contribute to the safety database for avasopasem in patients with HNC receiving radiotherapy. As a result, the target enrollment for the ROMAN trial was increased to approximately 450 patients in order to ensure the Company is positioned to maintain the planned size of the safety database in a timely manner, with completion of enrollment now expected in the first half of 2021 and data now expected in the second half of 2021, subject to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business. With this change in the ROMAN trial, the Company anticipates that the assumptions underlying its calculation of interest expense on the royalty purchase liability will change. The Company imputes interest expense on its royalty purchase obligations by estimating risk adjusted future royalty payments over the term of the Royalty Agreement which takes into consideration the probability and timing of obtaining FDA approval and the potential future revenue from commercializing its product candidates.

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GALERA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Amendment to Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences (Formerly Known as Clarus Ventures)

On May 11, 2020, the Company entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Royalty Agreement (the Amendment) with Clarus IV Galera Royalty AIV, L.P. (the Blackstone Purchaser). The Blackstone Purchaser is affiliated with Blackstone Life Sciences, the successor in interest to Clarus Ventures. The Amendment increased the Royalty Purchase Price by $37.5 million, to $117.5 million by increasing the fourth tranche from $20.0 million to $37.5 million and adding a new $20.0 million tranche upon the achievement of an additional clinical enrollment milestone.

Pursuant to the amended Royalty Agreement, in connection with the payment of each tranche of the Royalty Purchase Price, the Company has agreed to sell, convey, transfer and assign to Blackstone all of its right, title and interest in a high single-digit percentage of (i) worldwide net sales of the Products and (ii) all amounts received by the Company or its affiliates, licensees and sublicensees with respect to Product-related damages (collectively, the Product Payments) during the Royalty Period. The Royalty Period means, on a Product-by-Product and country-by-country basis, the period of time commencing on the commercial launch of such Product in such country and ending on the latest to occur of (i) the 12th anniversary of such commercial launch, (ii) the expiration of all valid claims of the Company’s patents covering such Product in such country, and (iii) the expiration of regulatory data protection or market exclusivity or similar regulatory protection afforded by the health authorities in such country, to the extent such protection or exclusivity effectively prevents generic versions of such Product from entering the market in such country.

The amended Royalty Agreement will remain in effect until the date on which the aggregate amount of the Product Payments paid to Blackstone exceeds a fixed single-digit multiple of the actual amount of the Royalty Purchase Price received by the Company, unless earlier terminated pursuant to the mutual written agreement of the Company and Blackstone.

On May 11, 2020, as partial consideration for the Amendment, the Company issued two warrants to the Blackstone Purchaser to purchase an aggregate of 550,661 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price equal to $13.62 per share, each of which will become exercisable upon the receipt by Galera of the applicable specified milestone payment. The issued warrants expire six years after the initial exercise date of each respective warrant.  

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many important factors, including those set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 10, 2020, and this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in, or implied, by these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a pipeline of novel, proprietary therapeutics that have the potential to transform radiotherapy in cancer. We leverage our expertise in superoxide dismutase mimetics to design drugs to reduce normal tissue toxicity from radiotherapy and to increase the anti-cancer efficacy of radiotherapy. Our lead product candidate, avasopasem manganese (GC4419, also referred to as avasopasem), is a potent and highly selective small molecule dismutase mimetic we are initially developing for the reduction of severe oral mucositis, or SOM. SOM is a common, debilitating complication of radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer, or HNC. In February 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to avasopasem for the reduction of SOM induced by radiotherapy with or without systemic therapy. In October 2018, we began evaluating avasopasem in a Phase 3 registrational trial, which we refer to as the ROMAN Trial, and we now expect to report top-line data from this trial in the second half of 2021. We believe avasopasem, which to date is not approved for any indication, has the potential to be the first FDA-approved drug and the standard of care for the reduction in the incidence of SOM in patients with HNC receiving radiotherapy, and we plan to further evaluate its use in other radiotherapy-induced toxicities, including esophagitis. In January 2020, we announced that the first patient was dosed in a Phase 2a trial evaluating the efficacy of avasopasem in reducing the incidence of radiotherapy-induced esophagitis in patients with lung cancer. In addition to developing avasopasem for the reduction of normal tissue toxicity from radiotherapy, we are also developing our dismutase mimetics to increase the anti-cancer efficacy of higher daily doses of radiotherapy, including stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT. Our second dismutase mimetic product candidate, GC4711, is being developed to increase the anti-cancer efficacy of SBRT and we have successfully completed Phase 1 trials of intravenous GC4711 in healthy volunteers. We plan to leverage our observations from the ongoing avasopasem SBRT pilot Phase 1b/2a safety and anti-cancer efficacy trial in locally advanced pancreatic cancer, or LAPC, to prepare a GC4711 SBRT combination Phase 1b/2a trial in non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC.   

Since our inception, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, acquiring and developing product and technology rights, and conducting research and development. We have incurred recurring losses and negative cash flows from operations and have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of equity and proceeds received under the Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement, which we refer to as the Royalty Agreement, with Clarus IV Galera Royalty AIV, L.P., Clarus IV-A, L.P., Clarus IV-B, L.P., Clarus IV-C, L.P. and Clarus IV-D, L.P., or collectively, Blackstone or Blackstone Life Sciences (formerly known as Clarus Ventures), receiving aggregate gross proceeds of $273.1 million through March 31, 2020. On November 12, 2019, we completed our initial public offering, or IPO, which resulted in the issuance and sale of 5,000,000 shares of common stock at the IPO price of $12.00 per share, generating net proceeds of $53.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts and other offering costs. On December 9, 2019, in connection with the partial exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters of our IPO, 445,690 additional shares of common stock were sold at the IPO price of $12.00 per share, generating net proceeds of $5.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts and other offering costs. Our ability to generate product revenue sufficient to achieve profitability will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of one or more of our current or future product candidates. Our net loss was $51.9 million and $23.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $18.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2020, we had $120.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and an accumulated deficit of $179.8 million. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we operate as a public company, advance our product candidates through all stages of development and clinical trials and, ultimately, seek regulatory approval. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution.

As a result, we will need to raise substantial additional capital to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we plan to finance our operations through the sale of equity, debt financings or other capital sources, which may include collaborations with other companies or other strategic transactions. There is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining an adequate level of financing as and when needed to finance our operations on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to secure adequate additional funding as and when needed,

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we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more product candidates or delay our pursuit of potential in-licenses or acquisitions.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we are able to generate product sales, we may not become profitable. If we fail to become profitable or are unable to sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce or terminate our operations.

We expect our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, together with the expected payments from Blackstone Life Sciences in the amount of $57.5 million upon the achievement of certain clinical enrollment milestones in the ROMAN trial and the anti-cancer program in combination with SBRT under the Royalty Agreement and Amendment No. 1 to the Royalty Agreement, entered into in May 2020, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2022. See “Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences (Formerly Known as Clarus Ventures)” below.

Business Update Regarding COVID-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic has presented a substantial public health and economic challenge around the world and is affecting our employees, communities, clinical trial sites and business operations, as well as the U.S. economy and international financial markets. The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19, the actions taken to contain it or treat its impact, and the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets. See “Risk Factors—Other Risks Related to Our Business—The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel strain of coronavirus has adversely impacted, and could continue to adversely impact, our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of operations and financial condition” in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

While we are currently continuing our ongoing clinical trials, the COVID-19 pandemic and related precautions have directly or indirectly impacted the timeline for certain of our clinical trials. We have delayed indefinitely the initiation of the Phase 2a multi-center trial in Europe assessing the safety of avasopasem in patients with HNC undergoing standard-of-care radiotherapy, which was planned for the first half of 2020, due to concerns with clinical trial enrollment in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This trial was expected to enroll up to 70 patients and contribute to the safety database for avasopasem in patients with HNC receiving radiotherapy. As a result, in order to ensure we are positioned to maintain the size of the safety database in a timely manner, the ROMAN trial target enrollment has been increased to approximately 450 patients, with completion of enrollment now expected in the first half of 2021 and data now expected in the second half of 2021, subject to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. We will continue to monitor and assess the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe regarding the initiation of the trial in Europe.

We continue to expect to report top-line data from our pilot, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1b/2a trial of avasopasem in combination with SBRT in patients with LAPC in the second half of 2020 and to commence a Phase 1b/2a trial with GC4711 in combination with SBRT in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, in a manner consistent with recent regulatory guidance to maintain the safety of participants and providers, in the second half of 2020, subject to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. Mitigation activities to minimize COVID-19-related operation disruptions are ongoing given the severity and evolving nature of the situation, and we are continuing to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and ongoing clinical development activity, generally.

Our third-party contract manufacturing partners continue to operate at or near normal levels. While we currently do not anticipate any material interruptions in our clinical trial supply or manufacturing scale-up activities, it is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic and response efforts may have an impact in the future on our third-party suppliers and contract manufacturing partners' ability to manufacture our clinical trials supply or progress manufacturing scale-up activities.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, beginning in March 2020, we have closed our executive offices with our administrative employees continuing their work outside of our offices, restricted on-site staff to only those required on-site to execute their job responsibilities and limited the number of staff in our research and development laboratory.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets,

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liabilities, and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to accrued expenses and stock-based compensation. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our critical accounting policies are described under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 10, 2020 and the notes to the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. During the three months ended March 31, 2020 there were no material changes to our critical accounting policies from those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Components of Results of Operations

Research and Development Expense

Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred in connection with the discovery and development of our product candidates. We expense research and development costs as incurred. These expenses include:

We track our external research and development expenses on a program-by-program basis, such as fees paid to CROs, CMOs and research laboratories in connection with our pre-clinical development, process development, manufacturing and clinical development activities. However, we do not track our internal research and development expenses on a program-by-program basis as they primarily relate to compensation, early research and other costs which are deployed across multiple projects under development.

The following table summarizes our research and development expenses by program for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

 

 

Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development, such as avasopasem, generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development,

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primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect our research and development expenses to increase significantly over the next several years as we increase personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, conduct our later-stage clinical trials for avasopasem and GC4711 and conduct other clinical trials for current and future product candidates and prepare regulatory filings for our product candidates.

The successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the remainder of the development of our product candidates, or when, if ever, material net cash inflows may commence from our product candidates. This uncertainty is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the duration and cost of clinical trials, which vary significantly over the life of a project as a result of many factors, including:

Our expenditures are subject to additional uncertainties, including the terms and timing of regulatory approvals. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for our product candidates. We may obtain unexpected results from our clinical trials. We may elect to discontinue, delay or modify clinical trials of our product candidates. A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of a product candidate could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of that product candidate. For example, if the FDA or other regulatory authorities were to require us to conduct clinical trials beyond those that we currently anticipate, or if we experience significant delays in enrollment in any of our clinical trials, we could be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development. Product commercialization will take several years, and we expect to spend a significant amount in development costs.

General and Administrative Expense

General and administrative expense consists primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation expense for employees in executive, finance, accounting, information technology, business development and human resource functions. General and administrative expense also includes corporate facility costs, including rent, utilities, depreciation and maintenance, not otherwise included in research and development expense, as well as legal fees related to intellectual property and corporate matters and fees for accounting and consulting services.

We expect that our general and administrative expense will increase in the future to support our continued research and development activities, potential commercialization efforts and to enable us to operate as a public company. These increases will likely include increased costs related to the hiring of additional personnel, fees to outside consultants, lawyers and accountants and

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expenses related to services associated with maintaining compliance with the requirements of Nasdaq and the SEC, insurance and investor relations costs. If any of our current or future product candidates obtains U.S. regulatory approval, we expect that we would incur significantly increased expenses associated with building a sales and marketing team.

Interest Income

Interest income consists of amounts earned on our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments held with large institutional banks, U.S. Treasury obligations and a money market mutual fund invested in U.S. Treasury obligations, and our short-term investments in U.S. Treasury obligations.

Interest Expense

Interest expense consists of non-cash interest on proceeds received under the Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences.

Foreign Currency Losses

Foreign currency losses consist primarily of exchange rate fluctuations on transactions denominated in a currency other than the U.S. dollar.

Net Operating Loss and Research and Development Tax Credit Carryforwards

As of December 31, 2019, we had federal and state tax net operating loss carryforwards of $91.5 million and $113.6 million, respectively, which each begin to expire in 2032 unless previously utilized. We also had foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $1.2 million which do not expire. As of December 31, 2019, we also had federal, state and foreign research and development tax credit carryforwards of $5.1 million. The federal research and development tax credit carryforwards will begin to expire in 2032 unless previously utilized.

Utilization of the federal and state net operating losses and credits may be subject to a substantial annual limitation. The annual limitation may result in the expiration of our net operating losses and credits before we can use them. We have recorded a valuation allowance on substantially all of our deferred tax assets, including our deferred tax assets related to our net operating loss and research and development tax credit carryforwards.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and 2019

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

 

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Research and Development Expense

Research and development expense increased by $5.8 million from $8.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 to $14.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase of $4.2 million for avasopasem development costs, due to greater patient enrollment and an increase in the number of clinical sites in our ROMAN trial, costs related to additional clinical trials including the Phase 2a trial for the treatment of esophagitis in patients with lung cancer, beginning additional toxicology studies of avasopasem and incurrence of costs associated with manufacturing scale-up activities. Personnel related and share-based compensation expense increased by $1.2 million primarily due to increases in employee headcount and grants of stock options to new and existing employees.

General and Administrative Expense

General and administrative expense increased by $1.7 million from $1.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 to $3.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to increased employee headcount and share-based compensation expense, and increased insurance, professional fees and operating costs as a result of becoming a public company.

Interest Income

Interest income remained consistent between periods, with balances of $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Higher average invested cash balances during the three months ended March 31, 2020 were offset by lower average interest rates.

Interest Expense

We recognized $1.1 million and $0.4 million in non-cash interest expense during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, in connection with the Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Through March 31, 2020, we have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of equity and $60.0 million of proceeds received under the Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences, receiving aggregate gross proceeds of $273.1 million. On November 12, 2019, we completed our IPO, which resulted in the issuance and sale of 5,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $12.00 per share, generating net proceeds of $53.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts and other offering costs. On December 9, 2019, in connection with the partial exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters of our IPO, 445,690 additional shares of common stock were sold at the IPO price of $12.00 per share, generating net proceeds of approximately $5.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts and other offering costs. As of March 31, 2020, we had $120.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and an accumulated deficit of $179.8 million. We have no ongoing material financing commitments, such as lines of credit or guarantees, that are expected to affect our liquidity over the next five years.

Cash Flows

The following table shows a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands):

 

 

Operating Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, we used $12.4 million of net cash in operating activities. Cash used in operating activities reflected our net loss of $18.3 million, partially offset by non-cash charges of $2.4 million related to share-based

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compensation, interest expense on our Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences and depreciation expense, and $3.5 million in cash from changes in operating assets and liabilities. The primary use of cash was to fund our operations related to the development of our product candidates.

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, we used $8.9 million of net cash in operating activities. Cash used in operating activities reflected our net loss of $10.3 million, partially offset by $1.2 million in non-cash charges, principally related to share-based compensation expense and interest expense on our Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences.

Investing Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, we used $4.4 million of net cash in investing activities, primarily attributable to net purchases of our short-term investments.

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, investing activities provided $2.6 million in net cash proceeds, primarily attributable to $2.9 million in net sales of short-term investments, partially offset by $0.3 million for the purchase of property and equipment.

Financing Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, financing activities provided $20.0 million, attributable to the proceeds received in connection with the Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences, as disclosed below.

Funding Requirements

We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue the research and development of, continue or initiate clinical trials of, and seek marketing approval for, our product candidates. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. Furthermore, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our research and development programs or future commercialization efforts.

We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially as we:

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We expect our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, together with the expected payments from Blackstone Life Sciences in the amount of $57.5 million upon the achievement of certain clinical enrollment milestones in the ROMAN trial and the anti-cancer program in combination with SBRT under the amended Royalty Agreement, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2022.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with research, development and commercialization of product candidates, we are unable to estimate the exact amount of our working capital requirements. Our future funding requirements will depend on, and could increase significantly as a result of, many factors, including:

Identifying potential product candidates and conducting pre-clinical studies and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes many years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain marketing approval and achieve product sales. In addition, our product candidates, if approved, may not achieve commercial success. Our commercial revenues, if any, will be derived from sales of product candidates that we do not expect to be commercially available for the next couple of years, if at all. Accordingly, we will need to continue to rely on additional financing to achieve our business objectives. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. For example, the trading prices for our and other biopharmaceutical companies’ stock have been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we may face difficulties raising capital through sales of our common stock and any such sales may be on unfavorable terms. See “Risk Factors—Other Risks Related to Our Business—The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel strain of coronavirus has adversely impacted and could continue to adversely impact, our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of operations and financial condition” in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our existing stockholders’ rights. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.

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If we raise funds through additional collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences (Formerly Known as Clarus Ventures)

In November 2018, we entered into the Royalty Agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences. Pursuant to the Royalty Agreement, Blackstone agreed to pay us, in the aggregate, up to $80.0 million, or the Royalty Purchase Price, in four tranches of $20.0 million each upon the achievement of specified clinical milestones in our ROMAN Trial. We agreed to apply the proceeds from such payments primarily to support clinical development and regulatory activities for avasopasem, GC4711 and any pharmaceutical product comprising or containing avasopasem or GC4711, or, collectively, the Products, as well as to satisfy working capital obligations and for general corporate expenses. We achieved the first milestone under the Royalty Agreement and received the first tranche of the Royalty Purchase Price in November 2018, received the second tranche of the Royalty Purchase Price in April 2019 in connection with the achievement of the second milestone under the Royalty Agreement, and received the third tranche of the Royalty Purchase Price in February 2020 in connection with the achievement of the third milestone under the Royalty Agreement.

On May 11, 2020, we entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Royalty Agreement, or the Amendment, with Clarus IV Galera Royalty AIV, L.P., or the Blackstone Purchaser. The Blackstone Purchaser is affiliated with Blackstone Life Sciences, successor in interest to Clarus Ventures. The Amendment increased the Royalty Purchase Price by $37.5 million to $117.5 million by increasing the fourth tranche from $20.0 million to $37.5 million and adding a new $20.0 million tranche upon the achievement of an additional clinical enrollment milestone.  

Pursuant to the amended Royalty Agreement, in connection with the payment of each tranche of the Royalty Purchase Price, we have agreed to sell, convey, transfer and assign to Blackstone all of our right, title and interest in a high single-digit percentage of (i)  worldwide net sales of the Products and (ii) all amounts received by us or our affiliates, licensees and sublicensees with respect to Product-related damages (collectively, the Product Payments) during the Royalty Period. The Royalty Period means, on a Product-by-Product and country-by-country basis, the period of time commencing on the commercial launch of such Product in such country and ending on the latest to occur of (i) the 12th anniversary of such commercial launch, (ii) the expiration of all valid claims of our patents covering such Product in such country, and (iii) the expiration of regulatory data protection or market exclusivity or similar regulatory protection afforded by the health authorities in such country, to the extent such protection or exclusivity effectively prevents generic versions of such Product from entering the market in such country.

The amended Royalty Agreement will remain in effect until the date on which the aggregate amount of the Product Payments paid to Blackstone exceeds a fixed single-digit multiple of the actual amount of the Royalty Purchase Price received by us, unless earlier terminated pursuant to the mutual written agreement of us and Blackstone.

On May 11, 2020, as partial consideration for the Amendment, we issued two warrants to the Blackstone Purchaser to purchase an aggregate of 550,661 shares of our common stock at an exercise price equal to $13.62 per share, each of which will become exercisable upon the receipt by Galera of the applicable specified milestone payment. The issued warrants expire six years after the initial exercise date of each respective warrant.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, including entities sometimes referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities that were established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. We do not engage in off-balance sheet financing arrangements. In addition, we do not engage in trading activities involving non-exchange traded contracts. We therefore believe that we are not materially exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had engaged in these relationships.

Effect of Inflation

Inflation did not have a significant impact on our net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2020 or 2019.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our interim consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a description of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our consolidated financial statements.

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JOBS Act Transition Period

In April 2012, the JOBS Act was enacted. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Thus, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. However, we have chosen to opt out of such extended transition period and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. Our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable. However, we may take advantage of the other exemptions discussed below.

Subject to certain conditions, as an emerging growth company we may rely on certain exemptions and reduced reporting requirements, including, without limitation, (1) not being required to provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and (2) not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements, known as the auditor discussion and analysis. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest to occur of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, or December 31, 2024, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC, which means the market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

We are a smaller reporting company as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this Item 3.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures.

 

Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures

In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act). Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level as of March 31, 2020.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in management’s evaluation pursuant to Rules 13a-15(d) or 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act during the quarter ended March 31, 2020 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II—OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings.

We are not subject to any material legal proceedings.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information set forth in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the factors described in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2020. Except as disclosed below, there have been no material changes to the risk factors described in that report. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described in our Risk Factors could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. In such an event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations.

Other Risks Related to Our Business

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel strain of coronavirus has adversely impacted and could continue to adversely impact, our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of operations and financial condition.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. Since then, COVID-19 has spread to multiple countries, including the United States. In response to the spread of COVID-19, we have closed our executive offices with our administrative employees continuing their work outside of our offices, restricted on-site staff to only those required on-site to execute their job responsibilities and limited the number of staff in any given research and development laboratory. While we are currently continuing our ongoing clinical trials, the COVID-19 pandemic and related precautions have directly or indirectly impacted the timeline for certain of our clinical trials. We have delayed indefinitely the initiation of the Phase 2a multi-center trial in Europe assessing the safety of avasopasem manganese in patients with HNC undergoing standard-of-care radiotherapy, which was planned for the first half of 2020. This trial was expected to enroll up to 70 patients and contribute to the safety database for avasopasem in patients with HNC receiving radiotherapy. As a result, the target enrollment for the ROMAN trial was increased to approximately 450 patients in order to ensure we are positioned to maintain the planned size of the safety database in a timely manner, with completion of enrollment now expected in the first half of 2021 and top-line data now expected in the second half of 2021, subject to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. We will continue to monitor and assess the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe regarding the initiation of the trial in Europe. We are continuing to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and ongoing clinical development activity, generally. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may experience further disruptions that could severely impact our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In addition, the trading prices for our and other biopharmaceutical companies’ stock have been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we may face difficulties raising capital through sales of our common stock and any such sales may be on unfavorable terms. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which the outbreak further impacts our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. Such factors include but are not limited to the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders and social distancing in the United States and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and treat the disease.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

Use of Proceeds

On November 12, 2019, we completed our IPO and issued and sold 5,000,000 shares of our common stock at a price to the public of $12.00 per share for net proceeds of approximately $53.0 million, after deducting the underwriting discounts and offering expenses. On December 9, 2019, in connection with the partial exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters of our IPO, we issued and sold 445,690 additional shares of common stock at a price of $12.00 per share, generating net proceeds of approximately $5.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts.

 

Net proceeds of approximately $58.0 million have been invested in money market funds and U.S. Treasury obligations. There has been no material change in the expected use of the net proceeds from our IPO as described in our final prospectus, dated November 6, 2019, filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act relating to the Registration Statement.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information.

None.

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Item 6. Exhibits.

The exhibits listed on the Exhibit Index are either filed or furnished with this report or incorporated herein by reference.

 

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

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Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION

I, J. Mel Sorensen, certify that:

 

 

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATION

I, Christopher Degnan, certify that:

 

 

 

Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Galera Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) for the period ended March 31, 2020 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 32.2

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Galera Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) for the period ended March 31, 2020 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge: