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| LICENSE AND OTHER AGREEMENTS | LICENSE AND OTHER AGREEMENTS Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. On March 24, 2025, LNHC (i) assigned its rights to its intellectual property portfolio to Ligand (the “Assignment Agreement”); (ii) entered into an Exclusive License and Sublicense Agreement with Ligand (the “ZELSUVMI License”), pursuant to which Ligand licensed to LNHC the intellectual property rights necessary to make, use, sell or offer to sell ZELSUVMI for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum in humans worldwide, except for Japan; and (iii) entered into a Master Services Agreement For Product Supply (the “Ligand MSA”). In addition, on July 1, 2025, LNHC and Ligand entered into a Transition Services Agreement (the “Ligand TSA”). Ligand Assignment Agreement On March 24, 2025, LNHC assigned all of its intellectual property rights, including patents, to Ligand. The Assignment Agreement covered all assets within the NITRICIL patent portfolio and other nitric oxide releasing compounds previously held by LNHC. Historically, Novan and LNHC, through the 363 transaction, acquired exclusive rights to intellectual property, including those that were ultimately developed into the specific library of NITRICIL compounds, pursuant to license agreements with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC”), entered into in July 2007 and October 2009, which were subsequently amended, restated and consolidated in June 2012 (the “UNC License Agreement”). Under the UNC License Agreement, Novan, and subsequently LNHC, was granted an exclusive, worldwide license, with the ability to sublicense, to develop and commercialize products utilizing the licensed intellectual property. Novan and LNHC amended the UNC License Agreement multiple times since June 2012 to both expand the scope of licensed patents to cover additional nitric oxide technologies and to modify certain regulatory and/or commercial milestones under the UNC License Agreement. The Assignment Agreement assigned all of these rights, patents and intellectual property to Ligand. As of March 31, 2026 the last to expire patent related to ZELSUVMI originating from the UNC License Agreement, described below, is May 2026. Prior to the Assignment Agreement, LNHC had progressed the development of that in-licensed intellectual property portfolio from the UNC License Agreement and obtained 12 U.S. patents, in addition to two U.S. patents obtained with the original UNC License Agreement, resulting in a total of 14 issued U.S. patents covering ZELSUVMI. These 14 U.S. patents are expected to expire during the time period beginning in 2026 and ending in 2035. Upon the initial FDA approval of ZELSUVMI, LNHC applied for a 1280 day patent term extension (“PTE”), for the U.S. patent covering ZELSUVMI compositions. Assuming grant of the PTE application, the term of this patent may be extended from February 27, 2034, to August 30, 2037. Ligand Assignment Agreement Amendment As an inducement to certain investors to enter into the Convertible Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company and Ligand entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Assignment Agreement (the “Assignment Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which Ligand agreed to pay the Company (i) 75% of the milestone payment received by Ligand from Sato in respect of the first commercial sale of the “Licensed Product” (as defined in Amended Sato Agreement) in Japan; and (ii) fifty percent (50%) of any other amounts received by Ligand from Sato under the Amended Sato Agreement solely in respect of the “Licensed Product” (and, for the avoidance of doubt, no other product covered by the Amended Sato Agreement) in the “Licensed Field” (in each case, as defined in the Amended Sato Agreement), less any out-of-pocket costs incurred by Ligand to effectuate its rights, obligations and responsibilities under the Amended Sato Agreement. These amended rights to the Company were subsequently impacted by the terms of the Convertible Notes, in which the Company granted to each of the Convertible Investors (i) a 5.0% royalty on net sales of XEPI, and all other derivatives and modifications thereof, to be shared pro rata among all the Convertible Investors and (ii) the Company’s right to receive all royalty payments and milestone payments paid by Sato in respect of net sales of ZELSUVMI (less 50.0% of the milestone payment payable by Sato in respect of the first commercial sale of ZELSUVMI in Japan, which will be kept by the Company), to be shared pro rata among all the Convertible Investors. Ligand Royalty Agreement Under the terms of the ZELSUVMI License, Ligand is entitled to (i) a 13% royalty on worldwide sales, excluding, Japan, of ZELSUVMI prior to the expiration of the initial royalty term, defined as on a country-by-country basis, the period of time commencing on the effective date and continuing until the expiration or termination of the last to expire valid claim of the patent rights that are included in the specified intellectual property and that cover the licensed product; (ii) a 10.4% royalty on worldwide sales, excluding, Japan, of ZELSUVMI after the expiration of the initial royalty term; (iii) upon the first commercial sale of the ZELSUVMI, a $5,000 milestone; (iv) upon the occurrence obtaining a threshold of $35,000 in aggregate net sales during four consecutive calendar quarters, a $5,000 milestone; and (vi) 30% of all non-royalty sublicense income received by the Company or its affiliates from any sublicensee. The first commercial sale milestone has been accrued within accrued expenses on the condensed consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2026. Ligand may terminate the ZELSUVMI License on 30 days’ prior notice to the Company if (i) the Company fails to launch ZELSUVMI in the U.S. by December 31, 2025; (ii) the Company fails to use commercially reasonable efforts to enter into an agreement with a third-party to commercialize ZELSUVMI in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom by September 30, 2026; or (iii) the Company or its affiliates or potential sublicensee fails to receive regulatory approval for ZELSUVMI in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom by March 31, 2027. Under the ZELSUVMI License agreement, the Company is also obligated to satisfy certain contractual obligations pursuant to the license agreements with UNC, entered into in July 2007 and October 2009 by Novan, which were subsequently amended, restated and consolidated in June 2012 into the UNC License Agreement, and which were assumed during the Novan 363 transaction and assigned to Ligand on March 24, 2025 by LNHC. The UNC License Agreement is described below. The Company obligations regarding the UNC License Agreement include satisfying all payment obligations, due diligence, reporting, information, inspection and recordation obligations of Ligand under the UNC license agreement. In addition, the Company also has development rights for a period of 1 year commencing on the effective date of the ZELSUVMI License, to negotiate a development and funding agreement to develop and commercialize the product program designated by Ligand as SB207. If the Parties are unable to enter into a mutually agreeable development and funding agreement within 1 year of the effective date of the ZELSUVMI License, the Company will have no further rights to the SB207 program under the ZELSUVMI License. Ligand Master Services Agreement On March 24, 2025, LNHC and Ligand entered into the Ligand MSA under which Ligand, or related parties, may contract with LNHC for LNHC to provide Ligand active pharmaceutical ingredients for clinical or commercial use related to NITRICIL technology. In addition, the agreement also allows Ligand to require LNHC to provide manufacturing technology transfer services, if requested by Ligand, for products utilizing NITRICIL technology other than ZELSUVMI for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum in humans, to a potential third-party manufacturer. Ligand Transition Services Agreement On July 1, 2025, LNHC and Ligand entered into the Ligand TSA under which Ligand and LNHC could provide certain services to the other party related to supportive activities for intellectual property, R&D, or regulatory services provide by the Company to Ligand, or for certain administrative functions to be provided to the Company by Ligand. The Ligand TSA governs the nature of the activities of work, their scope, and the amounts be the charged to either party based on services performed. UNC License Agreement The UNC License Agreement currently requires the Company to pay UNC up to $250 in regulatory and commercial milestones on a licensed product by licensed product basis and a running royalty percentage in the low single digits on net sales of licensed products. Licensed products include any products being developed by the Company or by its sublicensees. In addition, the Company is obligated to reimburse UNC for reasonable prosecution and maintenance costs related to intellectual property. The UNC License Agreement remains in effect on a country by country and licensed product by licensed product basis until the expiration of the last to expire issued patent covering such licensed product in the applicable country. UNC may terminate the agreement or render the license granted thereunder non-exclusive for material breach of the agreement that remains uncured after 90 days of receipt of written notice thereof from UNC and may also terminate the agreement or render the license granted thereunder non-exclusive upon providing written notice for bankruptcy or insolvency-related events within 30 days of the occurrence of such events. July 1, 2025 Royalty Agreements As an inducement to enter into the Securities Purchase Agreement, Note 1 — “Organization and Description of Business” for detail, on July 1, 2025 the Company entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with Nomis RoyaltyVest LLC (“NRV”) (the “ZELSUVMI Royalty Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company sold to NRV all of the Company’s rights, title and interest in and to a portion of the Company’s revenue payments for ZELSUVMI and all accounts with respect thereto. The purchase price was $1. Under the terms of the ZELSUVMI Royalty Agreement, prior to the expiration of the initial royalty term NRV will receive (i) a 1.5% royalty on net sales of ZELSUVMI worldwide, other than in Japan; and (ii) 3.46% of non-royalty sublicensing payments received by the Company for its sublicensing of rights to ZELSUVMI, and after the expiration of the initial royalty term, NRV will receive (i) a 1.2% royalty on net sales of ZELSUVMI worldwide, other than in Japan; and (ii) 3.46% of non-royalty sublicensing payments received by LNHC for its sublicensing of rights to ZELSUVMI. The initial royalty term is defined as, on a country-by-country basis, the period of time commencing on the effective date and continuing until the expiration or termination of the last to expire valid claim of the patents that cover the ZELSUVMI. The Company concluded that the ZELSUVMI Royalty Agreement represents a sale of future revenues under ASC 470, Debt (“ASC 470”) as the agreement does not convey to the counterparty any rights to the intellectual property underlying ZELSUVMI and the Company will continue to have significant ongoing involvement in the generation of the royalties due to the counterparties. See below for additional detail. On July 1, 2025, the Company and NRV, Ligand, and Madison Royalty LLC, a Colorado limited liability company (“Madison”, being formed on behalf of certain of the legacy Channel directors and management team with the Company’s former Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Francis Knuettel II, as the sole and managing member as of July 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025), entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Channel Products Royalty Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company sold to each of NRV, Ligand, and Madison, and each of NRV, Ligand, and Madison purchased, all of the Company’s rights, title and interest in and to a portion of the Company’s revenue payments all accounts related to or utilizing the covered products, as defined within that agreement (the “Channel Covered Products”). The purchase price was $1. The Company concluded that the Channel Products Royalty Agreement represents an R&D funding arrangement under ASC 730-20 in which it is presumed probable that the Company will repay the funding due to the significant related party relationship with the counterparties. Therefore, the Company accounts for the obligation to repay as a liability consistent with ASC 470. See below for additional detail. November 6, 2025 Royalty Agreements On November 6, 2025, concurrent with the XEPI Royalty Agreement, discussed below, the Company and NRV, Ligand, and Madison entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Channel Products Royalty Agreement (the “Amended Channel Products Royalty Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company, NRV, Ligand and Madison amended the definition of the Channel Covered Products to exclude (i) Nitricil-based technology and (ii) XEPI. The Company evaluated the amendment concluding that the modification would be treated as a debt extinguishment as the difference in cash flows is greater than 10%. Due to significant related party relationships with certain investors to the Amended Channel Products Royalty Agreement, the Company determined it appropriate to account for the extinguishment as a contribution increasing additional paid-in capital. Under the terms of the Amended Channel Products Royalty Agreement, (A) prior to the expiration of the Initial Royalty Term, (i) NRV will receive a 5.3% royalty, Ligand will receive a 1.7% royalty and Madison will receive a 1.5% royalty on Net Sales (as defined in the Amended Channel Products Royalty Agreement) of the Channel Covered Products worldwide, and (ii) NRV will receive 12.23%, Ligand will receive 3.92% and Madison will receive 3.46% of non-royalty sublicensing payments received by Pharmaceutical Sub for its sublicensing of rights to the Channel Covered Products worldwide; and (B) after the expiration of the Initial Royalty Term, (i) NRV will receive a 4.24% royalty, Ligand will receive a 1.36% royalty and Madison will receive a 1.2% royalty on Net Sales of the Channel Covered Products worldwide, and (ii) NRV will receive 12.23%, Ligand will receive 3.92% and Madison will receive 3.46% of non-royalty sublicensing payments received by Pharmaceutical Sub for its sublicensing of rights to the Channel Covered Products worldwide. The Initial Royalty Term is defined as, on a country-by-country basis, the period of time commencing on the effective date of the Merger and continuing until the expiration or termination of the last to expire valid claim of the patents that cover the Channel Covered Products. On November 6, 2025, the Company entered into the Convertible Securities Purchase Agreement, such transaction, the Convertible Note Financing. See Note 8 — “Notes Payable” for additional detail regarding these Convertible Notes. As partial consideration for the Convertible Notes, the Company granted to each of the Convertible Investors (i) a 5.0% royalty on net sales of XEPI, for topical use, and all other derivatives and modifications thereof, to be shared pro rata among all the Convertible Investors, (the “XEPI Royalty Agreement”) and (ii) the Company’s right to receive all royalty payments and milestone payments paid by Sato in respect of net sales of ZELSUVMI (less 50.0% of the milestone payment payable by Sato in respect of the first commercial sale of ZELSUVMI in Japan, which will be kept by the Company), to be shared pro rata among all the Convertible Investors (the “Sato Payments”), collective with the XEPI Royalty Agreement, the “Convertible Royalty Agreements”. The Company concluded that the Convertible Royalty Agreements represent a sale of future royalties under ASC 470 as the agreement does not convey to the counterparties any rights to the intellectual property underlying XEPI and the Company will continue to have significant ongoing involvement in the generation of royalties due to the counterparties related to the Sato Agreement. See below for additional detail. As detailed in Note 7 — “Notes Payable”, the Convertible Securities Purchase Agreement is presumed to not be at arms-length due to the significant related party relationships involved. Therefore, the instruments were each recorded at their initial fair value. The Company will account for royalties due as revenue and will accrete the financing using the effective interest method based on estimated and actual cash flows payable to the counterparties over the estimated life of the Convertible Royalty Agreement. Further, the Company allocated issuance costs to the financing as a debt issuance cost, which reduced the initial carrying value of the financing. Accounting for Royalty Agreements The Company accounts for the Reedy Creek Purchase Agreement, the ZELSUVMI Royalty Agreement, the Amended Channel Products Royalty Agreement and the Convertible Royalty Agreements as liabilities and will accrete the financings using the effective interest method based on estimated and actual cash flows payable to the counterparties over the estimated lives of the applicable agreements. At the effective date of the agreements, the effective annual interest rate of the specific financing was estimated and contains significant assumptions that affect both the amount recorded at the effective date and the interest expense that will be recognized over the term of the corresponding agreement. The Company periodically assesses the estimated royalty payments and to the extent the amount or timing of such payments is materially different than the original estimates, an adjustment is made to the effective interest rate, which will be recorded prospectively to increase or decrease interest expense. There are a number of factors that could materially affect the amount and timing of royalty payments and the amount of interest expense recorded by the Company over the term. Such factors include, but are not limited to, volumes of revenue generated by the underlying products, changing standards of care, the introduction of competing products, manufacturing or other delays, generic competition, intellectual property matters, adverse events that result in regulatory authorities placing restrictions on the use of the drug products, delays or discontinuation of development and commercialization applicable products, and other events or circumstances that are not currently foreseen. Changes to any of these factors could result in increases or decreases to both forecasted revenues and interest expense. The following table provides the significant assumptions used in determining the initial fair value of the financing used in allocating the proceeds based on relative fair value for the Reedy Creek Purchase Agreement, the ZELSUVMI Royalty Agreement, the Amended Channel Products Royalty Agreement and the Convertible Royalty Agreements, in addition to managements forecasts and estimates as it relates to the future cash flow of the underlying assets (weighted average, as applicable):
During the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company paid $1,513 in royalties to licensing counterparties based on the payment terms within the respective license agreements. As noted within the related license agreements and definition of net sales, covered products are considered sold when paid for. As such, royalty payments are calculated based on cash payments received by the Company during the respective calendar quarter, rather than the accrual basis. The Company accrues royalty obligations based on the accrual basis, as net revenue is recorded within the condensed consolidated statements of operations. The following table provides the activity of the financing for the three months ended March 31, 2026 for the Reedy Creek Purchase Agreement, the ZELSUVMI Royalty Agreement, the Amended Channel Products Royalty Agreement and the Convertible Royalty Agreements (weighted average, as applicable):
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