CLSN Celsion Corporation

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.

or

For the transition period from _______ to _______

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (609) 896-9100

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

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

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark 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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Yes ☐ No ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $13.1 million as of June 30, 2022 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) based on the closing sale price of $1.84 for the Registrant’s common stock on that date as reported by The Nasdaq Capital Market (“NASDAQ”). For purposes of this calculation, shares of common stock held by directors, officers and stockholders who own greater than 10% of the Registrant’s outstanding stock at June 30, 2022, were excluded. This determination of executive officers and directors as affiliates is not necessarily a conclusive determination for any other purpose.

As of March 28, 2023, 9,089,789 shares of the Registrant’s common stock were issued and outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement to be filed for its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III hereof. Such Proxy Statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

IMUNON, INC.

FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IMUNON, INC.

FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain of the statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) are forward-looking and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements may relate to such matters as anticipated financial performance, business prospects, technological developments, product pipelines, clinical trials and research and development activities, the adequacy of capital reserves and anticipated operating results and cash expenditures, current and potential collaborations, strategic alternatives and other aspects of our present and future business operations and similar matters. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, unforeseen changes in the course of research and development activities and in clinical trials; possible changes in cost, timing and progress of development, preclinical studies, clinical trials and regulatory submissions; our collaborators’ ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of any of our drug candidates; possible changes in capital structure, financial condition, future working capital needs and other financial items; changes in approaches to medical treatment; introduction of new products by others; success or failure of our current or future collaboration arrangements, risks and uncertainties associated with possible acquisitions of other technologies, assets or businesses; our ability to obtain additional funds for our operations; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our technologies and drug candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; our reliance on third parties to conduct preclinical studies or clinical trials; the rate and degree of market acceptance of any approved drug candidates; possible actions by customers, suppliers, strategic partners, potential strategic partners, competitors and regulatory authorities; compliance with listing standards of The Nasdaq Capital Market; and those listed under “Risk Factors” below and elsewhere in this Annual Report.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “believe,” “could,” “intend,” “predict,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would” and words of similar import regarding the Company’s expectations. Forward-looking statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. Although we believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of our knowledge of our industry, business and operations, we cannot guarantee that actual results will not differ materially from our expectations. In evaluating such forward-looking statements, you should specifically consider various factors, including the risks outlined under “Risk Factors.” The discussion of risks and uncertainties set forth in this Annual Report is not necessarily a complete or exhaustive list of all risks facing the Company at any particular point in time. We operate in a highly competitive, highly regulated and rapidly changing environment and our business is in a state of evolution. Therefore, it is likely that new risks will emerge, and that the nature and elements of existing risks will change, over time. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or changes therein, or to assess either the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any individual risk factor, combination of factors, or new or altered factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future. Unless the context requires otherwise or unless otherwise noted, all references in this Annual Report to “Imunon”, “the Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our” are to Imunon, Inc., a Delaware corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries, CLSN Laboratories, Inc., also a Delaware corporation and Celsion GmbH, a Swiss corporation.

Trademarks

The Imunon brand and product names, including but not limited to Imunon^® and ThermoDox^®, contained in this document are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of Imunon, Inc. or its subsidiary in the United States (the “U.S.”) and certain other countries. This document also contains references to trademarks and service marks of other companies that are the property of their respective owners.

OVERVIEW

On September 19, 2022, Celsion Corporation announced a corporate name change to Imunon, Inc., reflecting the evolution of the Company’s business focus and its commitment to developing cutting-edge immunotherapies and next-generation vaccines to treat cancer and infectious diseases. The Company’s common stock continues to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the new ticker symbol “IMNN” effective as of the opening of trading on September 21, 2022. The Company filed an amendment to its Articles of Incorporation to effect the new corporate name.

Imunon, Inc. (“Imunon” and the “Company”) is a fully integrated, clinical stage biotechnology company focused on advancing a portfolio of innovative treatments that harness the body’s natural mechanisms to generate safe, effective, and durable responses across a broad array of human diseases, constituting a differentiating approach from conventional therapies. Imunon has two platform technologies: Our TheraPlas® platform for the development of immunotherapies and other anti-cancer nucleic acid-based therapies, and our PLACCINE platform for the development of nucleic acid vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer. The Company’s lead clinical program, IMNN-001 (formerly known as GEN-1), is a DNA-based immunotherapy for the localized treatment of advanced ovarian cancer currently in Phase II development. IMNN-001 works by instructing the body to produce safe and durable levels of powerful cancer fighting molecules, such as interleukin-12 and interferon gamma, at the tumor site. Additionally, the Company is conducting preclinical proof-of-concept studies on a nucleic acid vaccine candidate targeting SARS-CoV-2 virus in order to validate its PLACCINE platform. Imunon’s platform technologies are based on the delivery of nucleic acids with novel synthetic delivery systems that are independent of viral vectors or devices. We will continue to leverage these platforms and to advance the technological frontier of plasmid DNA to better serve patients with difficult to treat conditions.

IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY Program

On June 20, 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of EGEN, Inc., a privately held corporation located in Huntsville, Alabama. Pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, CLSN Laboratories acquired all of EGEN’s right, title and interest in substantially all of the assets of EGEN, including cash and cash equivalents, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights, clinical data, certain contracts, licenses and permits, equipment, furniture, office equipment, furnishings, supplies and other tangible personal property. A key asset acquired from EGEN was the TheraPlas technology platform. The first drug candidate developed from this technology platform is IMNN-001.

THERAPLAS Technology Platform

TheraPlas is a technology platform for the delivery of DNA and mRNA therapeutics via synthetic non-viral carriers and is capable of providing cell transfection for double-stranded DNA plasmids and large therapeutic RNA segments such as mRNA. There are two components of the TheraPlas system, a plasmid DNA or mRNA payload encoding a therapeutic protein, and a delivery system. The delivery system is designed to protect the DNA/mRNA from degradation and promote trafficking into cells and through intracellular compartments. We designed the delivery system of TheraPlas by chemically modifying the low molecular weight polymer to improve its gene transfer activity without increasing toxicity. We believe that TheraPlas may be a viable alternative to current approaches to gene delivery due to several distinguishing characteristics, including enhanced molecular versatility that allows for complex modifications to potentially improve activity and safety.

The design of the TheraPlas delivery system is based on molecular functionalization of polyethyleneimine (“PEI”), a cationic delivery polymer with a distinct ability to escape from the endosomes due to heavy protonation. The transfection activity and toxicity of PEI is tightly coupled to its molecular weight; therefore, the clinical application of PEI is limited. We have used molecular functionalization strategies to improve the activity of low molecular weight PEIs without augmenting their cytotoxicity. In one instance, chemical conjugation of a low molecular weight branched BPEI1800 with cholesterol and polyethylene glycol (“PEG”) to form PEG-PEI-Cholesterol (“PPC”) dramatically improved the transfection activity of BPEI1800 following in vivo delivery. Together, the cholesterol and PEG modifications produced approximately 20-fold enhancement in transfection activity. Biodistribution studies following intraperitoneal or subcutaneous administration of DNA/PPC nanocomplexes showed DNA delivery localized primarily at the injection site with only a small amount escaping into the systemic circulation. PPC is the delivery component of our lead TheraPlas product, IMNN-001, which is in clinical development for the treatment of ovarian cancer. The PPC manufacturing process has been scaled up from bench scale (1-2 g) to 0.6Kg, and several lots produced using current Good Manufacturing Practice (“cGMP”) have been produced with reproducible quality.

We believe that TheraPlas has emerged as a viable alternative to current approaches due to several distinguishing characteristics such as strong molecular versatility that may allow for complex modifications to potentially improve activity and safety with little difficulty. The biocompatibility of these polymers reduces the risk of adverse immune response, thus allowing for repeated administration. Compared to naked DNA or cationic lipids, TheraPlas is generally safer, more efficient, and cost effective. We believe that these advantages place Imunon in a position to capitalize on this technology platform.

Ovarian Cancer Overview

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal of gynecological malignancies among women with an overall five-year survival rate of 45%. This poor outcome is due in part to the lack of effective prevention and early detection strategies. There were approximately 20,000 new cases of ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2021 with an estimated 13,000 deaths. Mortality rates for ovarian cancer declined very little in the last forty years due to the unavailability of detection tests and improved treatments. Most women with ovarian cancer are not diagnosed until Stages III or IV, when the disease has spread outside the pelvis to the abdomen and areas beyond causing swelling and pain. The five-year survival rates for Stages III and IV are 39 percent and 17 percent, respectively. First-line chemotherapy regimens are typically platinum-based combination therapies. Although this first line of treatment has an approximate 80 percent response rate, 55 to 75 percent of women will develop recurrent ovarian cancer within two years and ultimately will not respond to platinum therapy. Patients whose cancer recurs or progresses after initially responding to surgery and first-line chemotherapy have been divided into one of the two groups based on the time from completion of platinum therapy to disease recurrence or progression. This time period is referred to as platinum-free interval. The platinum-sensitive group has a platinum-free interval of longer than six months. This group generally responds to additional treatment with platinum-based therapies. The platinum-resistant group has a platinum-free interval of shorter than six months and is resistant to additional platinum-based treatments. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, topotecan, and Avastin are the only approved second-line therapies for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The overall response rate for these therapies is 10 to 20 percent with median overall survival (“OS”) of eleven to twelve months. Immunotherapy is an attractive novel approach for the treatment of ovarian cancer particularly since ovarian cancers are considered immunogenic tumors. IL-12 is one of the most active cytokines for the induction of potent anti-cancer immunity acting through the induction of T-lymphocyte and natural killer cell proliferation. The precedence for a therapeutic role of IL-12 in ovarian cancer is based on epidemiologic and preclinical data.

IMNN-001 (formerly GEN-1) Immunotherapy

IMNN-001 is a DNA-based immunotherapeutic drug candidate for the localized treatment of ovarian cancer by intraperitoneally administering an Interleukin-12 (“IL-12”) plasmid formulated with our proprietary TheraPlas delivery system. In this DNA-based approach, the immunotherapy is combined with a standard chemotherapy drug, which can potentially achieve better clinical outcomes than with chemotherapy alone. We believe that increases in IL-12 concentrations at tumor sites for several days after a single administration could create a potent immune environment against tumor activity and that a direct killing of the tumor with concomitant use of cytotoxic chemotherapy could result in a more robust and durable antitumor response than chemotherapy alone. We believe the rationale for local therapy with IMNN-001 is based on the following:

OVATION I Study. In February 2015, we announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) accepted, without objection, the Phase I dose-escalation clinical trial of IMNN-001 in combination with the standard of care in neoadjuvant ovarian cancer (the “OVATION I Study”). On September 30, 2015, we announced enrollment of the first patient in the OVATION I Study. The OVATION I Study was designed to:

In addition, the OVATION I Study established a unique opportunity to assess how cytokine-based compounds such as IMNN-001, directly affect ovarian cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment in newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients. The study was designed to characterize the nature of the immune response triggered by IMNN-001 at various levels of the patients’ immune system, including:

We initiated the OVATION I Study at four clinical sites at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Oklahoma University Medical Center, Washington University in St. Louis, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. During 2016 and 2017, we announced data from the first fourteen patients in the OVATION I Study. On October 3, 2017, we announced final translational research and clinical data from the OVATION I Study.

Key translational research findings from all evaluable patients are consistent with the earlier reports from partial analysis of the data and are summarized below:

The Company also reported encouraging clinical data from the first fourteen patients who completed treatment in the OVATION I Study. IMNN-001 plus standard chemotherapy produced no dose limiting toxicities and positive dose dependent efficacy signals which correlate well with positive surgical outcomes as summarized below:

On March 26, 2020, the Company announced with Medidata, a Dassault Systèmes company, that examining matched patient data provided by Medidata in a synthetic control arm (“SCA”) with results from the Company’s completed Phase Ib dose-escalating OVATION I Study showed positive results in progression-free survival (“PFS”). The hazard ratio (“HR”) was 0.53 in the ITT group, showing strong signals of efficacy. The Company believes these data may warrant consideration of strategies to accelerate the clinical development program for IMNN-001 in newly diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer patients by the FDA. In its March 2019 discussion with the Company, the FDA noted that preliminary findings from the Phase Ib OVATION I Study were exciting but lacked a control group to evaluate IMNN-001’s independent impact on impressive tumor response, surgical results and PFS. The FDA encouraged the Company to continue its IMNN-001 development program and consult with FDA with new findings that may have a bearing on designations such as Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy.

SCAs have the potential to revolutionize clinical trials in certain oncology indications and some other diseases where a randomized control is not ethical or practical. SCAs are formed by carefully selecting control patients from historical clinical trials to match the demographic and disease characteristics of the patients treated with the new investigational product. SCAs have been shown to mimic the results of traditional randomized controls so that the treatment effects of an investigational product can be visible by comparison to the SCA. SCAs can help advance the scientific validity of single arm trials, and in certain indications, reduce time and cost, and expose fewer patients to placebos or existing standard-of-care treatments that might not be effective for them.

On July 29, 2021, the Company announced final progression free survival (“PFS”) results from the OVATION I Study published in the Journal of Clinical Cancer Research. Median PFS in patients treated per protocol (n=14) was 21 months and was 18.4 months for the intent-to-treat (“ITT”) population (n=18) for all dose cohorts, including three patients who dropped out of the study after 13 days or less, and two patients who did not receive full NAC and IMNN-001 cycles. Under the current standard of care, in women with Stage III/IV ovarian cancer undergoing NAC, their disease progresses within about 12 months on average. The results from the OVATION I Study support continued evaluation of IMNN-001 based on promising tumor response, as reported in the PFS data, and the ability for surgeons to completely remove visible tumors at interval debulking surgery. IMNN-001 was well tolerated, and no dose-limiting toxicities were detected. Intraperitoneal administration of IMNN-001 was feasible with broad patient acceptance.

OVATION 2 Study. The Company held an Advisory Board Meeting on September 27, 2017 with the clinical investigators and scientific experts including those from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical School, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to review and finalize clinical, translational research and safety data from the OVATION I Study to determine the next steps forward for our IMNN-001 immunotherapy program. On November 13, 2017, the Company filed its Phase I/II clinical trial protocol with the FDA for IMNN-001 for the localized treatment of ovarian cancer. The protocol is designed with a single dose escalation phase to 100 mg/m² to identify a safe and tolerable dose of IMNN-001 while maximizing an immune response. The Phase I portion of the study will be followed by a continuation at the selected dose in approximately 110 patients randomized Phase II study.

In the OVATION 2 Study, patients in the IMNN-001 treatment arm will receive IMNN-001 plus chemotherapy pre- and post-interval debulking surgery (“IDS”). The OVATION 2 Study will include up to 110 patients with Stage III/IV ovarian cancer, with 12 to 15 patients in the Phase I portion and up to 95 patients in Phase II. The study is powered to show a 33% improvement in the primary endpoint, PFS, when comparing IMNN-001 with neoadjuvant + adjuvant chemotherapy versus neoadjuvant + adjuvant chemotherapy alone. The PFS primary analysis will be conducted after at least 80 events have been observed or after all patients have been followed for at least 16 months, whichever is later.

In March 2020, the Company announced encouraging initial clinical data from the first 15 patients enrolled in the Phase I portion of the OVATION 2 Study for patients newly diagnosed with Stage III and IV ovarian cancer. The OVATION 2 Study combines IMNN-001, the Company’s IL-12 gene-mediated immunotherapy, with standard-of-care neoadjuvant chemotherapy (“NACT”). Following NACT, patients undergo interval debulking surgery (IDS), followed by three additional cycles of chemotherapy.

IMNN-001 plus standard NACT produced positive dose-dependent efficacy results, with no dose-limiting toxicities, which correlates well with successful surgical outcomes as summarized below:

On March 23, 2020, the Company announced that the European Medicines Agency (the “EMA”) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (“COMP”) has recommended that IMNN-001 be designated as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of ovarian cancer. IMNN-001 is an IL-12 DNA plasmid vector encased in a non-viral nanoparticle delivery system, which enables cell transfection followed by persistent, local secretion of the IL-12 protein. IMNN-001 previously received orphan designation from the FDA.

In February 2021, the Company announced that it has received Fast Track designation from the FDA for IMNN-001, its DNA-mediated IL-12 immunotherapy currently in Phase II development for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer and also provided an update on the OVATION 2 Study. The Company reported that approximately one-third, or 34 patients, of the anticipated 110 patients had been enrolled into the OVATION 2 Study, of which 20 are in the treatment arm and 14 are in the control. Of the 34 patients enrolled in the trial, 27 patients have had their interval debulking surgery with the following results:

In June 2022, the Company announced that following a pre-planned interim safety review of 87 as treated patients (46 patients in the experimental arm and 41 patients in the control arm) randomized in the OVATION 2 Study, the Data Safety Monitoring Board (“DSMB”) unanimously recommended that the OVATION 2 Study continue treating patients with the dose of 100 mg/m². The DSMB also determined that safety is satisfactory with an acceptable risk/benefit, and that patients tolerate IMNN-001 during a course of treatment that lasts up to six months. No dose-limiting toxicities were reported. Interim clinical data from patients who have undergone interval debulking surgery showed that the IMNN-001 treatment arm is continuing to show improvement in R0 surgical resection rates and CRS 3 chemotherapy response scores over the control arm. A complete tumor resection (R0) is a microscopically margin-negative resection in which no gross or microscopic tumor remains in the tumor bed. The chemotherapy response score is a three-tier standardized scoring system for histological tumor regression into complete/near complete (CRS 3), partial (CRS 2) and no/minimal (CRS 1) response based on omental examination.

In September 2022, the Company announced that its Phase I/II OVATION 2 Study with IMNN-001 in advanced ovarian cancer has completed enrollment with 110 patients. Topline results are expected in the first half of 2024.

IMNN-001 in Combination with Avastin. In February 2023, the Company and Break Through Cancer, a public foundation dedicated to supporting translational research in the most difficult-to-treat cancers that partners with top cancer research centers, announce the commencement of patient enrollment in a collaboration to evaluate IMNN-001 in combination with Avastin® (bevacizumab) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer in the frontline, neoadjuvant clinical setting.

This Phase 1/2 study, titled “Targeting Ovarian Cancer Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) Using Immune and DNA Repair Directed Therapies,” is expected to enroll 50 patients with Stage III/IV advanced ovarian cancer and is being led by principal investigator Amir Jazaeri, M.D., Vice Chair for Clinical Research and Director of the Gynecologic Cancer Immunotherapy Program in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at MD Anderson. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will also be participating in the trial. In addition, The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will provide artificial intelligence services including biomarker and genomic analysis.

Patients will be randomized 1:1 in a two-arm trial. The primary endpoint is second look laparoscopy (SLL) and the secondary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS). Initial SLL data are expected within one year from the completion of enrollment and final PFS data are expected approximately three years from the completion of enrollment.

PLACCINE DNA VACCINE TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM

In January 2021, the Company announced the filing of a provisional U.S. patent application for a novel DNA-based, investigational vaccine for preventing or treating infections from a broad range of infectious agents including the coronavirus disease using its PLACCINE DNA vaccine technology platform (“PLACCINE”). The provisional patent covers a family of novel composition of multi-cistronic vectors and polymeric nanoparticles that comprise the PLACCINE DNA vaccine platform technology for preventing or treating infectious agents that have the potential for global pandemics, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variations, using the Company’s TheraPlas platform technology.

Imunon’s PLACCINE DNA vaccine technology platform is characterized by a single multi-cistronic DNA plasmid vector expressing multiple pathogen antigens delivered with a synthetic delivery system. We believe it is adaptable to creating vaccines for a multitude of pathogens, including emerging pathogens leading to pandemics as well as infectious diseases that have yet to be effectively addressed with current vaccine technologies. This flexible vaccine platform is well supported by an established supply chain to produce any plasmid vector and its assembly into a respective vaccine formulation.

The need for new vaccine technologies is urgent. Since 1980 more than 80 pathogenic viruses have been discovered, yet fewer than 4% have a commercially available prophylactic vaccine. We have engaged with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to pursue certain pathogens BARDA has identified as the most urgent and the most important.

PLACCINE is an extension of the Company’s synthetic, non-viral TheraPlas delivery technology currently in a Phase II trial for the treatment of late-stage ovarian cancer with IMNN-001. Imunon’s proprietary multifunctional DNA vaccine technology concept is built on the flexible PLACCINE technology platform that is amenable to rapidly responding to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as possible future mutations of SARS-CoV-2, other future pandemics, emerging bioterrorism threats, and novel infectious diseases. Imunon’s extensive experience with TheraPlas suggests that the PLACCINE-based nanoparticles are stable at storage temperatures of 4^oC to 25^oC, making vaccines developed on this platform easily suitable for broad world-wide distribution.

Imunon’s vaccine approach is designed to optimize the quality of the immune response dictating the efficiency of pathogen clearance and patient recovery. Imunon has taken a multivalent approach in an effort to generate an even more robust immune response that not only results in a strong neutralizing antibody response, but also a more robust and durable T-cell response. Delivered with Imunon’s synthetic polymeric system, the proprietary DNA plasmid is protected from degradation and its cellular uptake is facilitated.

COVID-19 Vaccine Overview

Emerging data from the recent literature indicates that the quality of the immune response as opposed to its absolute magnitude is what dictates SARS-CoV-2 viral clearance and recovery and that an ineffective or non-neutralizing enhanced antibody response might actually exacerbate disease. The first-generation COVID-19 vaccines were developed for rapid production and deployment and were not optimized for generating cellular responses that result in effective viral clearance. Though early data has indicated some of these vaccines to be over 95% effective, these first-generation vaccines were primarily designed to generate a strong antibody response, and while they have been shown to provide prophylactic protection against disease, the durability of this protection is currently unclear. Most of these vaccines have been specifically developed to target the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein (antigen), though it is known that restricting a vaccine to a sole viral antigen creates selection pressure that can serve to facilitate the emergence of viral resistance. Indeed, even prior to full vaccine rollout, it has been observed that the S protein is a locus for rapid evolutionary and functional change as evidenced by the D614G, Y453F, 501Y.V2, and VUI-202012/01 mutations/deletions. This propensity for mutation of the S protein leads to future risk of efficacy reduction over time as these mutations accumulate.

Our Next Generation Vaccine Initiative

Imunon’s vaccine candidate comprises a single plasmid vector containing the DNA sequence encoding multiple SARS-CoV-2 antigens. Delivery will be evaluated intramuscularly, intradermally, or subcutaneously with a non-viral synthetic DNA delivery carrier that facilitates vector delivery into the cells of the injected tissue and has potential immune adjuvant properties. Unique designs and formulations of Imunon vaccine candidates may offer several potential key advantages. The synthetic polymeric DNA carrier is an important component of the vaccine composition as it has the potential to facilitate the vaccine immunogenicity by improving vector delivery and, due to potential adjuvant properties, attract professional immune cells to the site of vaccine delivery.

Future vaccine technology will need to address viral mutations and the challenges of efficient manufacturing, distribution, and storage. We believe an adaptation of our TheraPlas technology, PLACCINE, has the potential to meet these challenges. Our approach is described in our provisional patent filing and is summarized as a DNA vaccine technology platform characterized by a single plasmid DNA with multiple coding regions. The plasmid vector is designed to express multiple pathogen antigens. It is delivered via a synthetic delivery system and has the potential to be easily modified to create vaccines against a multitude of infectious diseases, addressing:

We are conducting preliminary research associated with our recently announced proprietary DNA vaccine platform provisional patent filing. At the same time, we are redoubling our efforts and R&D resources in our immuno-oncology and next generation vaccine program.

On September 2, 2021, the Company announced results from preclinical in vivo studies showing production of antibodies and cytotoxic T-cell response specific to the spike antigen of SARS-CoV-2 when immunizing BALB/c mice with the Company’s next-generation PLACCINE DNA vaccine platform. Moreover, the antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen prevented the infection of cultured cells in a viral neutralization assay. The production of antibodies predicts the ability of PLACCINE to protect against SARS-CoV-2 exposure, and the elicitation of cytotoxic T-cell response shows the vaccine’s potential to eradicate cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. These findings demonstrate the potential immunogenicity of Imunon’s PLACCINE DNA vaccine, which is intended to provide broad-spectrum protection and resistance against variants by incorporating multiple viral antigens, to improve vaccine stability at storage temperatures of 4^o C and above, and to facilitate cheaper and easier manufacturing.

On January 31, 2022, the Company announced it had engaged BIOQUAL, Inc., a preclinical testing contract research organization, to conduct a non-human primate (NHP) challenge study with Imunon’s DNA-based approach for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The NHP pilot study follows the generation of encouraging mouse data and will evaluate the Company’s lead vaccine formulations for safety, immunogenicity and protection against SARS-CoV-2. In completed preclinical studies, Imunon demonstrated safe and efficient immune responses including IgG response, neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses that parallel the activity of commercial vaccines following intramuscular (IM) administration of novel vaccine compositions expressing a single viral antigen. In addition, vector development has shown promise of neutralizing activity against a range of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Imunon’s novel DNA-based vaccines have been based on a simple intramuscular injection that does not require viral encapsulation or special equipment for administration.

In April 2022, the Company presented its PLACCINE platform technology at the 2022 World Vaccine Congress. In an oral presentation during a Session on Cancer and Immunotherapy, Dr. Khursheed Anwer, the Company’s Chief Science Officer, highlighted the Company’s technology platform in his presentation entitled: “Novel DNA Approaches for Cancer Immunotherapies and Multivalent Infectious Disease Vaccines.” PLACCINE is demonstrating the potential to be a powerful platform that provides for rapid design capability for targeting two or more different variants of a single virus in one vaccine. There is a clear public health need for vaccines today that address more than one strain of viruses, like COVID-19, which have fast evolving variant capability to offer the widest possible protection. Murine model data has thus far been encouraging and suggests that the Company’s approach provides not only flexibility, but also the potential for efficacy comparable to benchmark COVID-19 commercial vaccines with durability to protect for more than 6 months.

In September 2022, the Company provided an update on the progress made in the development of a DNA-based vaccine using its PLACCINE platform technology. The Company reported evidence of IgG, neutralizing antibody, and T-cell responses to its SARS-CoV-2 PLACCINE vaccines in normal mice. In this murine model, the Company’s multivalent PLACCINE vaccine targeted against two different variants showed to be immunogenic as determined by the levels of IgG, neutralizing antibodies, and T-cell responses. Additionally, our multivalent vaccine was equally effective against two different variants of the COVID-19 virus while the commercial mRNA vaccine appeared to have lost some activity against the newer variant. The murine model data has thus far been encouraging and suggests that the Company’s approach provides not only flexibility, but also the potential for efficacy comparable to benchmark COVID-19 commercial vaccines with durability to protect expected to be greater than 6 months.

Final data from its now completed proof-of-concept mouse challenge study confirmed that a PLACCINE DNA-based vaccine can produce robust levels of IgG, neutralizing antibodies, and T-cell responses. The data demonstrates the ability of the Company’s PLACCINE vaccine to protect a SARS-CoV-2 mouse model in a live viral challenge. In the study, mice were vaccinated with a PLACCINE vaccine expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen from the D614G variant or the Delta variant, or a combination vaccine expressing both the D614G and Delta spike variants. The vaccination was administered by intramuscular injection on Day 0 and Day 14, followed by challenge with live SARS-CoV-2 virus on Day 42. All three vaccines, including the single and dual antigen vaccines, were found to be safe and elicited IgG responses and inhibited the viral load by 90-95%. The dual antigen vaccine was equally effective against both variants of the SARS CoV-2 virus.

In October 2022, the Company reported partial results from an ongoing non-human primate study designed to examine the immunogenicity of its proprietary PLACCINE vaccine which supports PLACCINE as a viable alternative to mRNA vaccines. The study examined a single plasmid DNA vector containing the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant spike antigen formulated with a synthetic DNA delivery system and administered by intramuscular injection. In the study, Cynomolgus monkeys were vaccinated with the PLACCINE vaccine or a commercial mRNA vaccine on Day 1, 28 and 84. Analysis of blood samples for IgG and neutralizing antibodies showed evidence of immunogenicity both in PLACCINE and mRNA vaccinated subjects. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage for viral load by quantitative PCR showed viral clearance by >90% of the non-vaccinated controls. Viral clearance from nasal swab followed a similar pattern in a majority of vaccinated animals and a similar clearance profile was observed when viral load was analyzed by the tissue culture infectious dose method.

In March 2023, the Company announced final results from the non-human primate study involving three vaccine-treated non-human primates. The final data are consistent with the earlier data and show excellent immunological response and viral clearance in non-human primates. More specifically, in this NHP study, we examined PLACCINE activity against more advanced SARS-CoV-2 variants and at a DNA dose that was not previously tested in NHP and demonstrated robust IgG responses, neutralizing antibody responses and complete clearance of virus following the challenge as seen in the previous study.

In a recent mouse study, a single dose of PLACCINE vaccine without a booster dose produced longer duration of IgG responses and higher T-cell activation than an mRNA vaccine. A 12-month PLACCINE stability study has now completed 9 months demonstrating continued drug stability at 4^oC (standard refrigerated temperature).

During 2023, the Company intends to choose the next pathogen target for our PLACCINE modality and plans to hold a pre-Investigational New Drug (pre-IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in advance of beginning human testing of a SARS-CoV-2 seasonal booster vaccine. Of note, the design of that trial will also inform the path for the next pathogen we will study, perhaps in early 2024. Incremental investments to generate novel vaccine designs with optimized antigens will allow Imunon to quickly generate early clinical data against additional pathogen targets that position the company to partner with large vaccine companies who will fund remaining clinical development.

THERMODOX^® - DIRECTED CHEMOTHERAPY

Liposomes are manufactured submicroscopic vesicles consisting of a discrete aqueous central compartment surrounded by a membrane bilayer composed of naturally occurring lipids. Conventional liposomes have been designed and manufactured to carry drugs and increase residence time, thus allowing the drugs to remain in the bloodstream for extended periods of time before they are removed from the body. However, the current existing liposomal formulations of cancer drugs and liposomal cancer drugs under development do not provide for the immediate release of the drug and the direct targeting of organ specific tumors, two important characteristics that are required for improving the efficacy of cancer drugs such as doxorubicin. A team of research scientists at Duke University developed a heat-sensitive liposome that rapidly changes its structure when heated to a threshold minimum temperature of 39.5º to 42º Celsius. Heating creates channels in the liposome bilayer that allow an encapsulated drug to rapidly disperse into the surrounding tissue. This novel, heat-activated liposomal technology is differentiated from other liposomes through its unique low heat-activated release of encapsulated chemotherapeutic agents. We are able to use several available focused-heat technologies, such as radiofrequency ablation (“RFA”), microwave energy and high intensity focused ultrasound (“HIFU”), to activate the release of drugs from our novel heat sensitive liposomes.

OPTIMA Study

The OPTIMA Study represents an evaluation of ThermoDox^® in combination with a first line therapy, RFA, for newly diagnosed, intermediate stage HCC patients. The OPTIMA Study was designed to enroll up to 550 patients globally at approximately 65 clinical sites in the U.S., Canada, European Union (“EU”), China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and will evaluate ThermoDox^® in combination with standardized RFA, which will require a minimum of 45 minutes across all investigators and clinical sites for treating lesions three to seven centimeters, versus standardized RFA alone. The primary endpoint for the OPTIMA Study is OS, and the secondary endpoints are progression free survival and safety. The statistical plan calls for two interim efficacy analyses by an independent Data Monitoring Committee (“DMC”).

In August 2018, the Company announced that the OPTIMA Study was fully enrolled. On August 5, 2019, the Company announced that the prescribed number of OS events had been reached for the first prespecified interim analysis of the OPTIMA Phase III Study. Following preparation of the data, the first interim analysis was conducted by the DMC. The DMC’s pre-planned interim efficacy review followed 128 patient events, or deaths, which occurred in August 2019. On November 4, 2019, the Company announced that the DMC unanimously recommended the OPTIMA Study continue according to protocol. The recommendation was based on a review of blinded safety and data integrity from 556 patients enrolled in the OPTIMA Study. Data presented demonstrated that PFS and OS data appeared to be tracking with patient data observed at a similar point in the Company’s subgroup of patients followed prospectively in the earlier Phase III HEAT Study, upon which the OPTIMA Study was based. On April 15, 2020, the Company announced that the prescribed minimum number of events of 158 patient deaths had been reached for the second pre-specified interim analysis of the OPTIMA Phase III Study. The hazard ratio for success at 158 deaths is 0.70, which represents a 30% reduction in the risk of death compared with RFA alone. On July 13, 2020, the Company announced that it has received a recommendation from the DMC to consider stopping the global OPTIMA Study. The recommendation was made following the second pre-planned interim safety and efficacy analysis by the DMC on July 9, 2020. The DMC analysis found that the pre-specified boundary for stopping the trial for futility of 0.900 was crossed with an actual value of 0.903. However, the 2-sided p-value of 0.524 for this analysis provided uncertainty, subsequently, the DMC left the final decision of whether or not to stop the OPTIMA Study to the Company. There were no safety concerns noted during the interim analysis. The Company followed the advice of the DMC and considered its options either to stop the study or continue to follow patients after a thorough review of the data, and an evaluation of our probability of success.

On August 4, 2020, the Company issued a press release announcing it would continue following patients for OS, noting that the unexpected and marginally crossed futility boundary, suggested by the Kaplan-Meier analysis at the second interim analysis on July 9, 2020, may be associated with a data maturity issue. On October 12, 2020, the Company provided an update on the ongoing data analysis from its Phase III OPTIMA Study with ThermoDox^® as well as growing interest among clinical investigators in conducting studies with ThermoDox^® as a monotherapy or in combination with other therapies. On February 11, 2021, the Company provided a final update on the Phase III OPTIMA Study and the decision to stop following patients in the Study. Independent analyses conducted by a global biometrics contract research organization and the NIH, did not find any evidence of significance or factors that would justify continuing to follow patients for OS. Therefore, the Company notified all clinical sites to discontinue following patients. The OPTIMA Study database of 556 patients has been frozen at 185 patient deaths. While the analyses did identify certain patient subgroups that appear to have had a clinical benefit, the Company concluded that it would not be in its best interest to pursue these retrospective findings as the regulatory hurdles supporting further discussion will be significant.

Investigator-Sponsored Studies with ThermoDox^®

The Company continues working closely and supporting investigations by others to evaluate the use of ThermoDox for the treatment of various cancers. Following inquiries from the NIH, we renewed our Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (“CRADA”) with the Institute at a nominal cost, one goal of which is to pursue their interest in a study of ThermoDox^® to treat patients with bladder cancer. Importantly, the Company is developing a business model to support these investigator-sponsored studies in a manner that will not interfere with its current focus on our IMNN-001 program and vaccine development initiative.

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN

We have not generated and do not expect to generate any revenue from product sales in the next several years, if at all. An element of our business strategy has been to pursue, as resources permit, the research and development of a range of drug candidates for a variety of indications. We may also evaluate licensing products from third parties to expand our current product pipeline. This is intended to allow us to diversify the risks associated with our research and development expenditures. To the extent we are unable to maintain a broad range of drug candidates, our dependence on the success of one or a few drug candidates would increase and results such as those announced in relation to the OPTIMA Study in February 2021 will have a more significant impact on our financial prospects, financial condition, and market value. We may also consider and evaluate strategic alternatives, including investment in, or acquisition of, complementary businesses, technologies, or products. As demonstrated by the OPTIMA Study results, drug research and development is an inherently uncertain process and there is a high risk of failure at every stage prior to approval. The timing and the outcome of clinical results are extremely difficult to predict. The success or failure of any preclinical development and clinical trial can have a disproportionately positive or negative impact on our results of operations, financial condition, prospects, and market value.

Our current business strategy includes the possibility of entering into collaborative arrangements with third parties to complete the development and commercialization of our drug candidates. In the event that third parties are contracted to manage the clinical trial process for one or more of our drug candidates, the estimated completion date would largely be under the control of that third party rather than us. We cannot forecast with any degree of certainty which proprietary products or indications, if any, will be subject to future collaborative arrangements, in whole or in part, and how such arrangements would affect our development plan or capital requirements. We may also apply for subsidies, grants or government or agency-sponsored studies that could reduce our development costs. However we cannot forecast with any degree of certainty whether we will be selected to receive any subsidy, grant or governmental funding.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $32.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, and interest receivable to fund its operations. The Company also had $6.0 million in restricted cash to fund its financing activity. This is coupled with $1.6 million of receivable from sale of the Company’s State of New Jersey net operating losses. The Company believes it has sufficient capital resources to fund its operations into 2025.

As a result of the risks and uncertainties discussed in this Annual Report, among others, we are unable to estimate the duration and completion costs of our research and development projects or when, if ever, and to what extent we will receive cash inflows from the commercialization and sale of a product if one of our drug candidates receives regulatory approval for marketing, if at all. Our inability to complete any of our research and development activities, preclinical studies or clinical trials in a timely manner or our failure to enter into collaborative agreements when appropriate could significantly increase our capital requirements and could adversely impact our liquidity. While our estimated future capital requirements are uncertain and could increase or decrease as a result of many factors, including the extent to which we choose to advance our research and development activities, preclinical studies and clinical trials, or whether we are in a position to pursue manufacturing or commercialization activities, we will need significant additional capital to progress our drug candidates through development and clinical trials, obtain regulatory approvals and manufacture and commercialize approved products, if any. We do not know whether we will be able to access additional capital when needed or on terms favorable to us or our stockholders. Our inability to raise additional capital, or to do so on terms reasonably acceptable to us, would jeopardize the future success of our business. See Part II, Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Annual Report for additional information regarding the Company’s financial condition, liquidity and capital resources.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURES

We are engaged in a limited amount of research and development in our own facilities and have sponsored research programs in partnership with various research institutions, including the NIH, the Wistar Institute and Acuitas Therapeutics. We are currently, with minimal cash expenditures, sponsoring clinical and pre-clinical research at the University of Utrecht and the Children’s Hospital Research Institute. The majority of the spending in research and development is for the funding of IMNN-001 clinical trials and our next generation vaccine initiative. Research and development expenses were approximately $11.7 million and $10.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. See Part II, Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Annual Report for additional information regarding expenditures related to our research and development programs.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION

Government authorities in the U.S., at the federal, state and local level, and in other countries extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, quality control, approval, manufacturing, labeling, post-approval monitoring and reporting, recordkeeping, packaging, promotion, storage, advertising, distribution, marketing and export and import of pharmaceutical products such as those we are developing. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.

Regulation in the U.S.

In the U.S., the FDA regulates drugs and biological products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FDCA”), the Public Health Service Act (the “PHSA”) and implementing regulations. Failure to comply with the applicable FDA requirements at any time pre- or post-approval may result in a delay of approval or administrative or judicial sanctions. These sanctions could include the FDA’s imposition of a clinical hold on trials, refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, issuance of warning or untitled letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties or criminal prosecution.

Research and Development

The vehicle by which FDA approves a new pharmaceutical product or a biologic product for sale and marketing in the U.S. is a New Drug Application (“NDA”) or a Biologics License Application (“BLA”). A new drug or biological product cannot be marketed in the U.S. without FDA’s approval of an NDA/BLA. The steps ordinarily required before a new drug can be marketed in the U.S. include (a) completion of pre-clinical and clinical studies; (b) submission and FDA acceptance of an Investigational New Drug application (“IND”), which must become effective before human clinical trials may commence; (c) completion of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the product to support each of its proposed indications; (d) submission and FDA acceptance of an NDA/BLA; (e) completion of an FDA inspection and potential audits of the facilities where the drug or biological product is manufactured to assess compliance with the cGMP and to assure adequate identity, strength, quality, purity, and potency; and (e) FDA review and approval of the NDA/BLA.

Pre-clinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity, formulation and stability, as well as animal studies, to assess the potential safety and efficacy of the product. Pre-clinical safety tests must be conducted by laboratories that comply with FDA regulations regarding good laboratory practice. The results of pre-clinical tests are submitted to the FDA as part of an IND and are reviewed by the FDA before the commencement of human clinical trials. Submission of an IND will not necessarily result in FDA authorization to commence clinical trials, and the absence of FDA objection to an IND does not necessarily mean that the FDA will ultimately approve an NDA/BLA or that a drug candidate otherwise will come to market.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational product to human subjects under the supervision of a qualified principal investigator. Clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with good clinical practices under protocols submitted to the FDA as part of an IND and with patient informed consent. Also, each clinical trial must be approved by an Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) and is subject to ongoing IRB monitoring.

Clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases, but the phases may overlap or be combined. Phase I clinical trials may be conducted in patients or healthy volunteers to evaluate the product’s safety, dosage tolerance and pharmacokinetics and, if possible, seek to gain an early indication of its effectiveness. Phase II clinical trials usually involve controlled trials in a larger but still relatively small number of subjects from the relevant patient population to evaluate dosage tolerance and appropriate dosage; identify possible short-term adverse effects and safety risks; and provide a preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of the drug for specific indications. Phase III clinical trials are typically conducted in a significantly larger patient population and are intended to further evaluate safety and efficacy, establish the overall risk-benefit profile of the product, and provide an adequate basis for physician labeling.

In limited circumstances when a patient has a serious or immediately life-threatening disease or condition and certain other conditions apply, a therapeutic drug candidate being studied in clinical trials may be made available for treatment of individual patients. Pursuant to the 21st Century Cures Act, the manufacturer of an investigational product for a serious or immediately life-threatening disease or condition is required to make available, such as by posting on its website, its policy on evaluating and responding to requests for individual patient access to such investigational product.

There can be no assurance that any of our clinical trials will be completed successfully within any specified time period or at all. We may suspend clinical trials at any time, or The FDA or IRB may suspend clinical trials at any time on various grounds, including among other things, if we, the FDA, our independent DMC, or the IRB conclude that clinical subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. The FDA inspects and reviews clinical trial sites, informed consent forms, data from the clinical trial sites (including case report forms and record keeping procedures) and the performance of the protocols by clinical trial personnel to determine compliance with good clinical practices. The conduct of clinical trials is complex and difficult, and there can be no assurance that the design or the performance of the pivotal clinical trial protocols of any of our current or future drug candidates will be successful.

U.S. Review and Approval Process

The results of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, if successful, are submitted to FDA in the form of an NDA or BLA. Among other things, the FDA reviews an NDA to determine whether the product is safe and effective for its intended use and reviews a BLA to determine whether the product is safe, pure, and potent, and in each case, whether the drug candidate is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP. The testing, submission, and approval process requires substantial time, effort, and financial resources, including substantial application user fees and annual product and establishment user fees. There can be no assurance that any approval will be granted for any product at any time, according to any schedule, or at all. The FDA may refuse to accept or approve an application if it determines those applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied. The FDA may also require additional testing for safety and efficacy. Even, if regulatory approval is granted, the approval will be limited to specific indications. There can be no assurance that any of our current drug candidates will receive regulatory approvals for marketing or, if approved, that approval will be for any or all of the indications that we request.

The FDA has agreed to certain performance goals in the review of NDAs and BLAs. The FDA has 60 days from its receipt of an NDA or BLA to determine whether the application will be accepted for filing based on the agency’s threshold determination that it is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. Once the NDA/BLA is accepted for filing, most standard reviews applications are completed within ten months of filing; most priority review applications are reviewed within six months of filing. Priority reviews are applied to a drug candidate that the FDA determines has the potential to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and, if approved, would be a significant improvement in safety or effectiveness compared to available therapies. The review process for both standard and priority review may be extended by the FDA for three additional months to consider certain late-submitted information, or information intended to clarify information already provided in the submission.

Section 505(b)(2) NDAs

As an alternative path to FDA approval for modifications to formulations or uses of drugs previously approved by the FDA, an applicant may submit an NDA under Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA. Section 505(b)(2) was enacted as part of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. A Section 505(b)(2) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and effectiveness, but where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies not conducted by, or for, the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference or use from the person by or for whom the investigations were conducted. This type of application permits reliance for such approvals on literature or on an FDA finding of safety, effectiveness or both for an approved drug product.

As such, under Section 505(b)(2), the FDA may rely, for approval of an NDA, on data not developed by the applicant. The FDA may also require companies to perform additional studies or measurements, including clinical trials, to support the change from the approved branded reference drug.

FDA Regulations Specific to Gene-Based Products

The FDA regulates gene-based products as biological products. Biological products intended for therapeutic use may be regulated by either the Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research (“CBER”) or the Center for Drug Evaluation & Research (“CDER”). Gene-based products are subject to extensive regulation under the FDCA, the PHSA, and their implementing regulations. Each clinical trial of investigational gene therapies must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (“IBC”) for each clinical site if they receive any funding whatsoever from the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”). IBCs were established under NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (“NIH Guidelines”) to provide local review and oversight of nearly all forms of research utilizing recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules. The IBC assesses biosafety issues, specifically, safety practices and containment procedures, related to the investigational product and clinical study. Compliance with the NIH Guidelines is mandatory for investigators at institutions receiving NIH funds for research involving recombinant DNA, however many companies and other institutions not otherwise subject to the NIH Guidelines voluntarily follow them. Such trials remain subject to FDA and other clinical trial regulations, and only after FDA, IBC, and other relevant approvals are in place can these protocols proceed.

Additional Controls for Biological Products

To help reduce the increased risk of the introduction of adventitious agents, the PHSA emphasizes the importance of manufacturing controls for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The PHSA also provides authority to the FDA to immediately suspend licenses in situations where there exists a danger to public health, to prepare or procure products in the event of shortages and critical public health needs, and to authorize the creation and enforcement of regulations to prevent the introduction or spread of communicable diseases in the U.S. and between states.

After a BLA is approved, the biological product may be subject to official lot release as a condition of approval. As part of the manufacturing process, the manufacturer is required to perform certain tests on each lot of the product before it is released for distribution. If the product is subject to official release by the FDA, the manufacturer submits samples of each lot of products to the FDA together with a release protocol showing a summary of the history of manufacture of the lot and the results of all of the manufacturer’s tests performed on the lot. The FDA may also perform certain confirmatory tests on lots of some products, such as viral vaccines, before releasing the lots for distribution by the manufacturer.

In addition, the FDA conducts laboratory research related to the regulatory standards on the safety, purity, potency, and effectiveness of biological products. As with drugs, after approval of biological products, manufacturers must address any safety issues that arise, are subject to recalls or a halt in manufacturing, and are subject to periodic inspection after approval.

Expedited Development and Review Programs

The FDA has various programs, including Fast Track, priority review, accelerated approval and breakthrough therapy, which are intended to expedite or simplify the process for reviewing drug candidates, or provide for the approval of a drug candidate on the basis of a surrogate endpoint. In January 2021, the FDA granted Fast Track designation for IMNN-001 for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Even if a drug candidate qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the drug candidate no longer meets the conditions for qualification or that the time period for FDA review or approval will be lengthened. Generally, drug candidates that are eligible for these programs are those for serious or life-threatening conditions, those with the potential to address unmet medical needs and those that offer meaningful benefits over existing treatments. For example, Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drug candidates to treat serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions and fill unmet medical needs.

Although Fast Track and priority review do not affect the standards for approval, the FDA will attempt to facilitate early and frequent meetings with a sponsor of a Fast Track designated drug candidate and expedite review of the application for a drug candidate designated for priority review. Accelerated approval provides for an earlier approval for a new drug candidate that meets the following criteria: is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, generally provides a meaningful advantage over available therapies and demonstrates an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality (IMM) that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on IMM or other clinical benefit. A surrogate endpoint is a laboratory measurement or physical sign used as an indirect or substitute measurement representing a clinically meaningful outcome. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require that a sponsor of a drug candidate receiving accelerated approval perform post-marketing clinical trials to verify and describe the predicted effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical endpoint, and the drug may be subject to accelerated withdrawal procedures.

A sponsor may seek FDA designation of a drug candidate as a “breakthrough therapy” if the drug candidate is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other therapeutics, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug candidate may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. A request for Breakthrough Therapy designation should be submitted concurrently with, or as an amendment to, an IND, but ideally no later than the end of Phase II. Drugs designated as breakthrough therapies are also eligible for accelerated approval and receive the same benefits as drugs with Fast Track designation. The FDA must take certain actions, such as holding timely meetings and providing advice, intended to expedite the development and review of an application for approval of a breakthrough therapy. Fast Track and breakthrough therapy designations may also be rescinded if the drug candidate does not continue to meet the designation criteria. Fast Track designation, priority review, accelerated approval, and breakthrough therapy designation do not change the standards for approval but may expedite the development or approval process.

Disclosure of Clinical Trial Information

Sponsors of clinical trials of FDA-regulated products are required to register and disclose certain clinical trial information. Information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, trial sites and investigators, and other aspects of the clinical trial is then made public as part of the registration. Sponsors are also obligated to disclose the results of their clinical trials within one year of completion, although disclosure of the results of these trials can be delayed in certain circumstances for up to two additional years. Competitors may use this publicly available information to gain knowledge regarding the progress of development programs.

Orphan Drug Designation

In 2005, the FDA granted orphan drug designation for IMNN-001 for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process. However, if a product which has an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan drug exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application to market the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity. Orphan drug designation can also provide opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and FDA user-fee benefits.

Hatch-Waxman Exclusivity

The FDCA provides a five-year period of non-patent data exclusivity within the U.S. to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity. During the exclusivity period, the FDA generally may not accept for review an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company that references the previously approved drug, except that such applications may be submitted after four years if they contain a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement.

Biosimilars

The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (the “BPCIA”) created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological drug candidates shown to be highly similar to or interchangeable with an FDA licensed reference product. Biosimilarity sufficient to reference a prior FDA-approved product requires that there be no differences in conditions of use, route of administration, dosage form, and strength, and no clinically meaningful differences between the biological drug candidate and the reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency. Biosimilarity must be shown through analytical trials, animal trials, and a clinical trial or trials, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services waives a required element. A biosimilar drug candidate may be deemed interchangeable with a prior approved product if it meets the higher hurdle of demonstrating that it can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product and, for products administered multiple times, the biological product and the reference product may be switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference product. Complexities associated with the larger, and often more complex, structures of biological products, as well as the process by which such products are manufactured, pose significant hurdles to implementation, which is still being evaluated by the FDA.

A reference product is granted 12 years of exclusivity from the time of first licensure of the reference product, and no application for a biosimilar can be submitted for four years from the date of licensure of the reference product. The first biological drug candidate submitted under the abbreviated approval pathway that is determined to be interchangeable with the reference product has exclusivity against a finding of interchangeability for other biological products for the same condition of use for the lesser of (i) one year after first commercial marketing of the first interchangeable biosimilar, (ii) 18 months after the first interchangeable biosimilar is approved if there is no patent challenge, (iii) 18 months after resolution of a lawsuit over the patents of the reference product in favor of the first interchangeable biosimilar applicant, or (iv) 42 months after the first interchangeable biosimilar’s application has been approved if a patent lawsuit is ongoing within the 42-month period.

Post-Approval Requirements

After FDA approval of a product is obtained, we and our contract manufacturers are required to comply with various post-approval requirements, including establishment registration and product listing, record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse reactions and production problems to the FDA, providing updated safety and efficacy information for drugs, or safety, purity, and potency for biological products, and complying with requirements concerning advertising and promotional labeling. As a condition of approval of an NDA/BLA, the FDA may require the applicant to conduct additional clinical trials or other post market testing and surveillance to further monitor and assess the drug’s safety and efficacy. The FDA can also impose other post-marketing controls on us as well as our products including, but not limited to, restrictions on sale and use, through the approval process, regulations and otherwise. The FDA also has the authority to require the recall of our products in the event of material deficiencies or defects in manufacture. A governmentally mandated recall, or a voluntary recall by us, could result from a number of events or factors, including component failures, manufacturing errors, instability of product or defects in labeling.

In addition, manufacturing establishments in the U.S. and abroad are subject to periodic inspections by the FDA and must comply with cGMP. To maintain compliance with cGMP, manufacturers must expend funds, time and effort in the areas of production and quality control. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the drug candidate and the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the quality, purity and potency of the drug candidate. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the drug candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its proposed shelf-life.

Foreign Clinical Studies to Support an IND, NDA, or BLA

The FDA will accept as support for an IND, NDA, or BLA a well-designed, well-conducted, non-IND foreign clinical trial if it was conducted in accordance with good clinical practice (“GCP”) and the FDA is able to validate the data from the trial through an on-site inspection, if necessary. A sponsor or applicant who wishes to rely on a non-IND foreign clinical trial to support an IND must submit supporting information to the FDA to demonstrate that the trial conformed to GCP.

Regulatory applications based solely on foreign clinical data meeting these criteria may be approved if the foreign data are applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice, the trials have been performed by clinical investigators of recognized competence, and the data may be considered valid without the need for an on-site inspection by FDA or, if FDA considers such an inspection to be necessary, FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means. Failure of an application to meet any of these criteria may result in the application not being approvable based on the foreign data alone.

New Legislation and Regulations

From time to time, legislation is drafted, introduced, and passed in Congress that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the testing, approval, manufacturing and marketing of products regulated by the FDA. In addition to new legislation, FDA regulations and policies are often revised or interpreted by the agency in ways that may significantly affect our business and our products. It is impossible to predict whether further legislative changes will be enacted or whether FDA regulations, guidance, policies or interpretations will be changed or what the effect of such changes, if any, may be. Further, with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that Congress and FDA may implement new laws, regulations, or policies that may impact our ability to continue development programs as planned.

Other regulatory matters

Manufacturing, sales, promotion and other activities of drug candidates following product approval, where applicable, or commercialization are also subject to regulation by numerous regulatory authorities in the U.S. in addition to the FDA, which may include the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, other divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and state and local governments and governmental agencies.

FDA regulations prohibit the promotion of an investigational product for an unapproved use. The FDA distinguishes impermissible promotion of an investigational product from the permissible exchange of scientific and medical information among healthcare professionals, which may include company-sponsored scientific and educational activities. The FDA has issued Warning Letters and untitled letters to sponsors and clinical investigators who have claimed, directly or indirectly, that an investigational product is safe and effective for its intended use.

Other healthcare laws

Healthcare providers, physicians, and third-party payors will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any products for which we obtain marketing approval. Our business operations and any current or future arrangements with third-party payors, healthcare providers and physicians may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we develop, market, sell and distribute any drug candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. In the U.S., these laws include, without limitation, state and federal anti-kickback, false claims, physician transparency, and patient data privacy and security laws and regulations, including but not limited to those described below.

The scope and enforcement of each of these laws is uncertain and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform, especially in light of the lack of applicable precedent and regulations. Federal and state enforcement bodies have recently increased their scrutiny of interactions between healthcare companies and healthcare providers, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and settlements in the healthcare industry. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other related governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, disgorgement, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, reputational harm, additional oversight and reporting obligations if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar settlement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to similar actions, penalties and sanctions. Ensuring business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws, as well as responding to possible investigations by government authorities, can be time- and resource-consuming, including requiring significant capital allocations, and can divert a company’s attention from its business.

In the U.S., the collection and use of personal data is increasingly subject to various federal and state privacy and data security laws and regulations, including oversight by various regulatory and other governmental bodies. Those laws and regulations continue to evolve and are increasingly being enforced vigorously by both governmental and private causes of action. For example, following the enactment of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), which was subsequently amended by the Consumer Privacy Rights Act of 2020, other states have established a broad range of privacy obligations for businesses, including robust notice and the right to opt-out from the selling or sharing of personal information, access, correction, portability, deletion, and related obligations. While many of these statutes specifically exempt protected health information that is subject to HIPAA and clinical trial regulations, these statutes have marked the beginning of a trend towards a more stringent state privacy legislative regime in the U.S., which could increase our potential liability and adversely affect our business both from a financial and reputational perspective.

Insurance Coverage and Reimbursement

In the U.S. and markets in other countries, patients who are prescribed treatments for their conditions and providers performing the prescribed services generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the associated healthcare costs. Thus, even if a drug candidate is approved, sales of the product will depend, in part, on the extent to which third-party payors, including government health programs in the U.S. such as Medicare and Medicaid, commercial health insurers and managed care organizations, provide coverage, and establish adequate reimbursement levels for, the product. In the U.S., the principal decisions about reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by CMS, an agency within HHS. CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare and private payors tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree. No uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for drug products exists among third-party payors. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a product may be separate from the process for setting the price or reimbursement rate that the payor will pay for the product once coverage is approved. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged, examining the medical necessity, and reviewing the cost-effectiveness of medical products and services and imposing controls to manage costs. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the approved products for a particular indication.

In order to secure coverage and reimbursement for any product that might be approved for sale, a company may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of the product, in addition to the costs required to obtain FDA or other comparable regulatory approvals. Additionally, companies may also need to provide discounts to purchasers, private health plans or government healthcare programs. Nonetheless, drug candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost effective. A decision by a third-party payor not to cover a product could reduce physician utilization once the product is approved and have a material adverse effect on sales, our operations and financial condition. Additionally, a third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Further, one payor’s determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage and reimbursement for the product, and the level of coverage and reimbursement can differ significantly from payor to payor.

The containment of healthcare costs has become a priority of federal, state and foreign governments, and the prices of products have been a focus in this effort. Governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. Adoption of price controls and cost-containment measures, and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could further limit a company’s revenue generated from the sale of any approved products. Coverage policies and third-party payor reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which a company or its collaborators receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, also called the Medicare Modernization Act, or the MMA, established the Medicare Part D program to provide a voluntary prescription drug and biologic benefit to Medicare beneficiaries. Under Part D, Medicare beneficiaries may enroll in prescription drug plans offered by private entities that provide coverage of outpatient prescription drugs and biologics. Unlike Medicare Parts A and B, Part D coverage is not standardized. Part D prescription drug plan sponsors are not required to pay for all covered Part D drugs and biologics, and each drug plan can develop its own formulary that identifies which drugs and biologics it will cover, and at what tier or level. However, Part D prescription drug formularies must include products within each therapeutic category and class of covered Part D drugs, though not necessarily all the drugs and biologics in each category or class. Any formulary used by a Part D prescription drug plan must be developed and reviewed by a pharmacy and therapeutic committee. Government payment for some of the costs of prescription drugs and biologics may increase demand for products for which we obtain marketing approval. Any negotiated prices for any of our products covered by a Part D prescription drug plan will likely be lower than the prices we might otherwise obtain. Moreover, while the MMA applies only to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payors often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own payment rates. Any reduction in payment that results from the MMA may result in a similar reduction in payments from non-governmental payors.

For a drug or biologic product to receive federal reimbursement under the Medicaid or Medicare Part B programs or to be sold directly to U.S. government agencies, the manufacturer must extend discounts to entities eligible to participate in the 340B drug pricing program. The required 340B discount on a given product is calculated based on the average manufacturer price, or AMP, and Medicaid rebate amounts reported by the manufacturer. As 340B drug pricing is determined based on AMP and Medicaid rebate data, the revisions to the Medicaid rebate formula and AMP definition described above could cause the required 340B discount to increase. Changes to these current laws and state and federal healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding and otherwise affect the prices we may obtain for any drug candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval or the frequency with which any such drug candidate is prescribed or used.

These laws, and future state and federal healthcare reform measures may be adopted in the future, any of which may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding and otherwise affect the prices we may obtain for any drug candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval or the frequency with which any such drug candidate is prescribed or used.

Outside the U.S., ensuring coverage and adequate payment for a product also involves challenges, as the pricing of biological products is subject to governmental control in many countries. For example, in the European Union, pricing and reimbursement schemes vary widely from country to country. Some countries provide that products may be marketed only after a reimbursement price has been agreed. Some countries may require the completion of additional studies that compare the cost effectiveness of a particular therapy to currently available therapies or so-called health technology assessments, in order to obtain reimbursement or pricing approval. Other countries may allow companies to fix their own prices for products but monitor and control product volumes and issue guidance to physicians to limit prescriptions. Efforts to control prices and utilization of biological products will likely continue as countries attempt to manage healthcare expenditures.

Current and future healthcare reform legislation

In the U.S. and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and likely will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system directed at broadening the availability of healthcare, improving the quality of healthcare, and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. For example, on May 30, 2018, the Right to Try Act was signed into law. The law, among other things, provides a federal framework for certain patients to access certain investigational new drug products that have completed a Phase I clinical trial and that are undergoing investigation for FDA approval. Under certain circumstances, eligible patients can seek treatment without enrolling in clinical trials and without obtaining FDA permission under the FDA expanded access program. There is no obligation for a drug manufacturer to make its drug products available to eligible patients as a result of the Right to Try Act, but the manufacturer must develop an internal policy and respond to patient requests according to that policy.

Also, in March 2010, the U.S. Congress enacted the ACA, which, among other things, includes changes to the coverage and payment for products under government health care programs. The ACA includes provisions of importance to our potential drug candidates that:

Some of the provisions of the ACA have yet to be implemented, and there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain provisions of the ACA. Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the U.S. since the ACA was enacted.

Moreover, payment methodologies may be subject to changes in healthcare legislation and regulatory initiatives. For example, CMS may develop new payment and delivery models, such as bundled payment models. In addition, recently there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their commercial products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted state and federal legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for pharmaceutical products.

On November 20, 2020, HHS Office of the Inspector General finalized a regulation with the goal of lowering prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs. Specifically, the final rule clarifies and amends the discount safe harbor under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute with the effect that rebates paid from drug manufacturers to Medicare Part D prescription drug plan sponsors, or their pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) are excluded from liability protection under the discount safe harbor. The rule also adds a new safe harbor for point-of-sale reductions in price and another that protects certain fixed-fee service arrangements between PBMs and drug manufacturers.

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, and the 2020 Omnibus Bill, and later regulatory actions, the reductions required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 are suspended from May 1, 2020, through March 31, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, it is possible that the government will take additional steps to address the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, on April 18, 2020, CMS announced that qualified health plan issuers under the ACA may suspend activities related to the collection and reporting of quality data that would have otherwise been reported between May and June 2020 because of the challenges healthcare providers are facing responding to the COVID-19 virus.

Congress has indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare and other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payers. Moreover, at the state level, legislatures are increasingly passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control biopharmaceutical and biologic product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

Regulation Outside of the U.S.

In addition to regulations in the U.S., we will be subject to a variety of regulations of other countries governing, among other things, any clinical trials and commercial sales and distribution of our drug candidates. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval (clinical trial or marketing) for a product, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in countries outside of the U.S., such as the EU and China, prior to the commencement of clinical trials or marketing of the products in those countries. The approval process and requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary greatly from place to place, and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval.

In the EU, before starting a clinical trial, a valid request for authorization must be submitted by the sponsor to the competent authority of the EU Member State(s) in which the sponsor plans to conduct the clinical trial, as well as to an independent national Ethics Committee. A clinical trial may commence only once the relevant Ethics Committee(s) has (have) issued a favorable opinion and the competent authority of the EU Member State(s) concerned has (have) not informed the sponsor of any grounds for non-acceptance. Failure to comply with the EU requirements may subject a company to the rejection of the request and the prohibition to start a clinical trial. Clinical trials conducted in the EU (or used for marketing authorization application in the EU) must be conducted in accordance with applicable GCP and Good Manufacturing Practice (“GMP”) rules, ICH guidelines and be consistent with ethical principles. The new EU Clinical Trial Regulation (Regulation 536/2014) came into application on January 31, 2022, seeks to harmonize the submission, assessment, and supervision processes for clinical trials in the EU and will impact the way clinical trials are conducted in the EU.

As in the U.S., no medicinal product may be placed on the EU market unless a marketing authorization has been issued. In the EU, medicinal products may be authorized either via the mutual recognition and decentralized procedure, the national procedure or the centralized procedure. The centralized procedure, which is compulsory for medicines produced by biotechnology or those medicines intended to treat AIDS, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders or diabetes and is optional for those medicines that are highly innovative, provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization that is valid for all EU Member States. Marketing authorizations granted via the centralized procedure are valid for all EU Member States. Products submitted for approval via the centralized procedure are assessed by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (the “CHMP”), a committee within the EMA. The CHMP assesses, inter alia, whether a medicine meets the necessary quality, safety and efficacy requirements and whether it has a positive risk-benefit balance. The requirements for an application dossier for a biological product contain different aspects than that of a chemical medicinal product.

In the EU, the requirements for pricing, coverage and reimbursement of any drug candidates for which we obtain regulatory approval are provided for by the national laws of EU Member States. Governments influence the price of pharmaceutical products through their pricing and reimbursement rules and control of national health care systems that fund a large part of the cost of those products to consumers.

We may seek orphan designations for our drug candidates. In the EU, as we understand it, a medicinal product may be designated as an orphan medicinal product if the sponsor can establish that it is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition affecting not more than five in 10 thousand persons, or that, for the same purposes, it is unlikely that the marketing of the medicinal product would generate sufficient return; and that there exists no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of the condition in question that has been authorized in the EU or, if such method exists, that the medicinal product will be of significant benefit to those affected by that condition. Sponsors who obtain orphan designation benefit from a type of scientific advice specific for designated orphan medicinal products and protocol assistance from the EMA. Fee reductions are also available depending on the status of the sponsor and the type of service required. Marketing authorization applications for designated orphan medicinal products must be submitted through the centralized procedure.

MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLY

We do not currently own or operate manufacturing facilities for the production of preclinical, clinical or commercial quantities of any of our drug candidates. We currently contract with third party contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) for our preclinical and clinical trial supplies, and we expect to continue to do so to meet the preclinical and any clinical requirements of our drug candidates. We have agreements for the supply of such drug materials with manufacturers or suppliers that we believe have sufficient capacity to meet our demands. In addition, we believe that adequate alternative sources for such supplies exist. However, there is a risk that, if supplies are interrupted, it would materially harm our business. We typically order raw materials and services on a purchase order basis and do not enter into long-term dedicated capacity or minimum supply arrangements.

Manufacturing is subject to extensive regulations that impose various procedural and documentation requirements, which govern record keeping, manufacturing processes and controls, personnel, quality control and quality assurance, among others. Medical product manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drug or biologic products are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws. cGMP is a regulatory standard for the production of pharmaceuticals that will be used in humans which is recognized by FDA and many foreign regulatory authorities. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain GMP compliance. We use CMOs which manufacture our drug candidates under cGMP conditions. In addition, changes to the manufacturing process or facility generally require prior FDA approval before being implemented and other types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications and additional labeling claims, are also subject to further FDA review and approval. The FDA has the authority to take a variety of actions to address violations, including suspending the review of a pending application; refusing to approve or withdrawing approval of a marketing application; placing a study on clinical hold; issuing warning or untitled letters; ordering a product recall; seizing product in distribution; seeking an injunction to stop manufacture and distribution of a product; seeking restitution, disgorgement of profits, and fines; and debarring a company and its executives individually from participation in any capacity in the drug approval process. The U.S. Department of Justice has the authority to criminally prosecute companies and company executives for violations of the FD&C Act and the PHS Act.

SALES AND MARKETING

Our current focus is on the development of our existing portfolio, the completion of clinical trials and, if and where appropriate, the registration of our drug candidates. We currently do not have marketing, sales and distribution capabilities. If we receive marketing and commercialization approval for any of our drug candidates, we intend to market the product either directly or through strategic alliances and distribution agreements with third parties. The ultimate implementation of our strategy for realizing the financial value of our drug candidates is dependent on the results of clinical trials for our drug candidates, the availability of regulatory approvals and the ability to negotiate acceptable commercial terms with third parties.

PRODUCT LIABILITY AND INSURANCE

Our business exposes us to potential product liability risks that are inherent in the testing, manufacturing, and marketing of human therapeutic products. We presently have product liability insurance limited to $10 million per incident, and if we were to be subject to a claim in excess of this coverage or to a claim not covered by our insurance and the claim succeeded, we would be required to pay the claim out of our own limited resources.

COMPETITION

Competition in the discovery and development of new methods for treating and preventing disease is intense. We face, and will continue to face, competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic and research institutions and government agencies both in the U.S. and abroad. We face significant competition from organizations pursuing the same or similar technologies used by us in our drug discovery efforts and from organizations developing pharmaceuticals that are competitive with our drug candidates.

Most of our competitors, either alone or together with their collaborative partners, have substantially greater financial resources and larger research and development staffs than we do. In addition, most of these organizations, either alone or together with their collaborators, have significantly greater experience than we do in developing products, undertaking preclinical testing and clinical trials, obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of products, and manufacturing and marketing products. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry may result in even more resources being concentrated among our competitors. These companies, as well as academic institutions, governmental agencies, and private research organizations, also compete with us in recruiting and retaining highly qualified scientific personnel and consultants. Our ability to compete successfully with other companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology field also depends on the status of our collaborations and on the continuing availability of capital to us.

IMNN-001 Immunotherapy

Studied indications for IMNN-001 currently include stage III/IV ovarian cancer. In evaluating the competitive landscape for this indication, early-stage indications are treated with chemotherapy (docetaxel, doxil and cisplatinum for ovarian cancer), while later stage ovarian cancer is treated with Bevacizumab - Avastin®, an anti-angiogenesis inhibitor. Avastin® is currently also being evaluated for early-stage disease.

IMNN-001 is being studied as an adjuvant to both chemotherapy standard of care regimens, as well as anti-angiogenesis compounds. To support these cases, we have conducted clinical studies in combination with chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, and preclinical studies in combination with both temozolomide and Bevacizumab-Avastin^®.

PLACCINE DNA Vaccine Technology Platform

We face and will continue to encounter competition with an array of existing or development-stage drug approaches targeting diseases we are pursuing. We are aware of various established enterprises, including major pharmaceutical companies, broadly engaged in vaccine/immunotherapy research and development. These include Janssen Pharmaceuticals (part of J&J), Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca. There are also various development-stage biotechnology companies involved in different vaccine and immunotherapy technologies including but not limited to Advaxis, Bavarian Nordic, CureVac, Dynavax, Hookipa, Iovance, Nektar, Translate Bio, Zydus, and Vir Biotechnology. If these companies are successful in developing their technologies, it could materially and adversely affect our business and our future growth prospects.

A large number of companies are actively advancing COVID-19 vaccines through the clinic. Pfizer and BioNtech, Moderna Therapeutics, Janssen (J&J), Novavax, Zydus, and AstraZeneca have received conditional or complete approval for their COVID-19 vaccines from either the U.S., WHO, or European regulatory authorities. Additionally, several companies are currently developing vaccine candidates in Phase 2 or Phase 3 clinical trials.

We also compete more specifically with companies seeking to utilize antigen-encoding DNA delivered with electroporation or other DNA delivery technologies such as viral vectors or lipid vectors to induce in vivo generated antigen production and immune responses to prevent or treat various diseases. These competitive technologies have shown promise, but they each also have their unique obstacles to overcome.

If any of our competitors develop products with efficacy or safety profiles significantly better than our drug candidates, we may not be able to commercialize our products, and sales of any of our commercialized products could be harmed. Some of our competitors and potential competitors have substantially greater product development capabilities and financial, scientific, marketing and human resources than we do. Competitors may develop products earlier, obtain FDA approvals for products more rapidly, or develop products that are more effective than those under development by us. We will seek to expand our technological capabilities to remain competitive; however, research and development by others may render our technologies or products obsolete or noncompetitive or result in treatments or cures superior to ours.

Our competitive position will be affected by the disease indications addressed by our drug candidates and those of our competitors, the timing of market introduction for these products and the stage of development of other technologies to address these disease indications. For us and our competitors, proprietary technologies, the ability to complete clinical trials on a timely basis and with the desired results, and the ability to obtain timely regulatory approvals to market these drug candidates are likely to be significant competitive factors. Other important competitive factors will include efficacy, safety, ease of use, reliability, availability and price of products and the ability to fund operations during the period between technological conception and commercial sales.

The FDA and other regulatory agencies may expand current requirements for public disclosure of DNA-based product development data, which may harm our competitive position with foreign and United States companies developing DNA-based products for similar indications.

ThermoDox^®

Although there are many drugs and devices marketed and under development for the treatment of cancer, the Company is not aware of any other heat activated drug delivery product either being marketed or in human clinical development.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Patents and Proprietary Rights

For the ThermoDox® technology, we either exclusively license with Duke University for its temperature-sensitive liposome technology that covers the ThermoDox® formulation or own U.S. and international patents with claims and methods and compositions of matters that cover various aspects of lysolipid thermally sensitive liposomes technology, with expiration dates ranging from 2018 to 2026. Imunon also has issued patents which pertain specifically to methods of storing stabilized, temperature-sensitive liposomal formulations and will assist in the protection of global rights. These patents will extend the overall term of the ThermoDox® patent portfolio to 2026. The patents in this family, include a pending application in the U.S. issued patents in Europe and additional key commercial geographies in Asia. This extended patent runway to 2026 allows for the evaluation of future development activities for ThermoDox® and Imunon’s heat-sensitive liposome technology platform.

For the TheraPlas technology, we own three U.S. and international patents and related applications with claims and methods and compositions of matters that cover various aspects of TheraPlas and IMNN-001 technologies, with expiration dates ranging from 2025 to 2028.

As mentioned above, the FDA granted orphan drug designation to IMNN-001 for the treatment of ovarian cancer and to ThermoDox® for the treatment of HCC. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process. However, if a product which has an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan drug exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application to market the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity. Orphan drug designation can also provide opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and FDA user-fee benefits.

There can be no assurance that an issued patent will remain valid and enforceable in a court of law through the entire patent term. Should the validity of a patent be challenged, the legal process associated with defending the patent can be costly and time consuming. Issued patents can be subject to oppositions, interferences and other third-party challenges that can result in the revocation of the patent or maintenance of the patent in amended form (and potentially in a form that renders the patent without commercially relevant or broad coverage). Competitors may be able to circumvent our patents. Development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products can be subject to substantial delays and it is possible that at the time of commercialization any patent covering the product has expired or will be in force for only a short period of time following commercialization. We cannot predict with any certainty if any third-party U.S. or foreign patent rights, other proprietary rights, will be deemed infringed by the use of our technology. Nor can we predict with certainty which, if any, of these rights will or may be asserted against us by third parties. Should we need to defend ourselves and our partners against any such claims, substantial costs may be incurred. Furthermore, parties making such claims may be able to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to develop or commercialize some or all of our products in the U.S. and abroad and could result in the award of substantial damages. In the event of a claim of infringement, we or our partners may be required to obtain one or more licenses from a third party. There can be no assurance that we can obtain a license on a reasonable basis should we deem it necessary to obtain rights to an alternative technology that meets our needs. The failure to obtain a license may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition to the rights available to us under completed or pending license agreements, we rely on our proprietary know-how and experience in the development and use of heat for medical therapies, which we seek to protect, in part, through proprietary information agreements with employees, consultants and others. There can be no assurance that these proprietary information agreements will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, or that these agreements, even if fully enforced, will be adequate to prevent third-party use of the Company’s proprietary technology. Please refer to Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors of this Annual Report, including, but not limited to, “We rely on trade secret protection and other unpatented proprietary rights for important proprietary technologies, and any loss of such rights could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.” Similarly, we cannot guarantee that technology rights licensed to us by others will not be successfully challenged or circumvented by third parties, or that the rights granted will provide us with adequate protection. Please refer to Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors of this Annual Report, including, but not limited to, “Our business depends on license agreements with third parties to permit us to use patented technologies. The loss of any of our rights under these agreements could impair our ability to develop and market our products.”

EMPLOYEES

As of March 30, 2023, we employed 31 full-time employees. We also maintain active independent contractor relationships with various individuals, most of whom have month-to-month or annual consulting agreements. None of our employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and we consider our relationship with our employees to be good.

COMPANY INFORMATION

On September 19, 2022, Celsion Corporation announced a corporate name change to Imunon, Inc., reflecting the evolution of the Company’s business focus and its commitment to developing cutting-edge immunotherapies and next-generation vaccines to treat cancer and infectious diseases. The Company’s common stock continues to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the new ticker symbol “IMNN” effective as of the opening of trading on September 21, 2022. The Company filed an amendment to its Articles of Incorporation to effect the new corporate name.

The Company was founded in 1982 and is a Delaware corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 997 Lenox Drive, Suite 100, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Our telephone number is (609) 896-9100. The Company’s website is www.Imunon.com. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not part of, and is not incorporated in, this Annual Report.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We make available free of charge through our website, www.Imunon.com, our Annual Report, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In addition, our website includes other items related to corporate governance matters, including, among other things, our corporate governance principles, charters of various committees of the Board of Directors, and our code of business conduct and ethics applicable to all employees, officers and directors. We intend to disclose on our internet website any amendments to or waivers from our code of business conduct and ethics as well as any amendments to its corporate governance principles or the charters of various committees of the Board of Directors. Copies of these documents may be obtained, free of charge, from our website. The SEC also maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file periodic and other reports electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The address of that site is www.sec.gov. The information available on or through our website is not a part of this Annual Report and should not be relied upon.