Equity |
Shareholder Rights Agreement On May 3, 2024, the Company entered into a Stockholder Rights Agreement with Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, as rights agent (the Rights Agreement). Pursuant to the Rights Agreement, the board of directors declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (each a Right) for each outstanding share of Company common stock to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 20, 2024. Each Right entitles its holder, subject to the terms of the Rights Agreement, to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company at an exercise price of $1.50 per Right, subject to adjustment. Rights will attach to any shares of common stock that become outstanding after May 20, 2024 and prior to the earlier of the Distribution Time, as defined in the Rights Agreement, and the redemption or expiration of the Rights, and in certain other circumstances described in the Rights Agreement. In February 2023, the Company completed a registered direct offering, which resulted in the issuance and sale of 14,320,000 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to 14,320,000 shares of common stock at a combined offering price of $2.095 per share and accompanying warrant and received net proceeds of $27.6 million after deducting placement agent fees and offering expenses. The warrants are equity-classified, have an exercise price of $1.97 per share of common stock, are exercisable immediately following their issuance, and will expire five years from the date of issuance. In the event the Company’s board of directors approves a fundamental transaction (defined as a merger, sale of substantially all assets, tender offer or share exchange), warrant holders may elect to exercise their warrants and receive cash consideration equal to a Black-Scholes option value, as defined in the warrant agreement, in lieu of other consideration received by the common shareholders. Warrants to purchase up to 13,300,000 shares of common stock remain unexercised as of September 30, 2024. In December 2020, the Company entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement (the Sales Agreement) with Jefferies LLC (Jefferies) as sales agent, pursuant to which it could, from time to time, issue and sell common stock with an aggregate value of up to $50.0 million in (ATM) offerings under the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-251061) filed with the SEC on December 1, 2020. Sales of common stock pursuant to the Sales Agreement were made in sales deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a) of the Securities Act, including sales made directly through the Nasdaq Global Market or on any other existing trading market for the Company’s common stock. The Company was required to pay Jefferies a commission equal to three percent of the gross sales proceeds and provided Jefferies with customary indemnification rights. The S-3 expired on December 1, 2023, and therefore no further sales are available under the Sales Agreement. In November 2012, the Company adopted the Galera Therapeutics, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan (the Prior Plan). The Prior Plan provided for the grant of incentive stock options, nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards, and stock appreciation rights. In connection with the adoption of the 2019 Plan (as defined below), the Company ceased issuing awards under the Prior Plan. As a result, no shares remain available for issuance under the Prior Plan; however, the Prior Plan continues to govern awards that are outstanding under it. The total number of shares subject to outstanding awards under the Prior Plan as of September 30, 2024 was 1,504,215. 2019 Incentive Award Plan In connection with the Company’s Initial Public Offering, or IPO, in November 2019, the Company’s board of directors adopted and the Company’s stockholders approved the Galera Therapeutics, Inc. 2019 Incentive Award Plan (the 2019 Plan), which became effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement on Form S-1 for the IPO. Upon effectiveness of the 2019 Plan, the Company ceased granting new awards under the Prior Plan. The 2019 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights and other stock-based awards. The number of shares of common stock initially available for issuance under the 2019 Plan was 1,948,970 shares of common stock plus the number of shares subject to awards outstanding under the Prior Plan that expire, terminate or are otherwise surrendered, cancelled, forfeited or repurchased by the Company on or after the effective date of the 2019 Plan. In addition, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2019 Plan is subject to an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020 and ending on and including January 1, 2029 equal to the lesser of (i) 4% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) such smaller number of shares of common stock as determined by the Company’s board of directors. As of September 30, 2024, there were 5,104,307 shares available for future issuance under the 2019 Plan, including 2,175,686 shares added pursuant to this provision effective January 1, 2024. The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2019 Plan upon the exercise of incentive stock options is 14,130,029. In November 2019, the Company’s board of directors adopted and the Company’s stockholders approved the Galera Therapeutics, Inc. 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ESPP). The ESPP allows employees to buy Company stock through after-tax payroll deductions at a discount from market value. The number of shares of common stock initially available for issuance under the ESPP was 243,621 shares of common stock. In addition, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the ESPP is subject to an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020 and ending on and including January 1, 2029 equal to the lesser of (i) 1% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) such smaller number of shares of common stock as determined by the Company’s board of directors, provided that not more than 3,288,886 shares of common stock may be issued under the ESPP. As of September 30, 2024, there were 1,835,105 shares available for issuance under the ESPP, including 543,921 shares added pursuant to this provision effective January 1, 2024. 2023 Employment Inducement Award Plan On April 28, 2023, the Board of Directors adopted the Galera Therapeutics, Inc. 2023 Employment Inducement Award Plan (Inducement Plan), which became effective on such date without stockholder approval pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC listing rules (Rule 5635(c)(4)). The Inducement Plan provides for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and other stock-based awards. In accordance with Rule 5635(c)(4), awards under the Inducement Plan may only be granted to persons who (a) were not previously an employee or director of the Company, or (b) are commencing employment with the Company following a bona fide period of non-employment, in either case as an inducement material to the individual’s entering into employment with the Company. A total of 1,500,000 shares of common stock was reserved for issuance under the Inducement Plan. Any shares subject to awards previously granted under the Inducement Plan that expire, terminate or are otherwise surrendered, canceled, or forfeited, in a manner that results in the Company (i) acquiring the shares covered by the award at a price not greater than the price (as adjusted to reflect any equity restructuring) paid by the participant for such shares or (ii) not issuing any shares covered by the award, the unused shares covered by such awards will again be available for award grants under the Inducement Plan. As of September 30, 2024, there were 1,500,000 shares available for issuance under the Inducement Plan. Share-based compensation expense was as follows for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (in tho us ands):
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Research and development |
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$ |
190 |
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$ |
415 |
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$ |
652 |
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$ |
1,315 |
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General and administrative |
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361 |
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975 |
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1,497 |
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3,058 |
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$ |
551 |
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$ |
1,390 |
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$ |
2,149 |
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$ |
4,373 |
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| The following table summarizes the activity related to stock option grants for the nine months ended September 30, 2024:
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Outstanding at January 1, 2024 |
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5,739,488 |
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$ |
5.85 |
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6.6 |
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Forfeited |
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(393,578 |
) |
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4.09 |
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Outstanding at September 30, 2024 |
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5,345,910 |
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$ |
5.98 |
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5.4 |
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Vested and exercisable at September 30, 2024 |
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4,434,256 |
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$ |
6.67 |
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4.8 |
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Vested and expected to vest at September 30, 2024 |
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5,345,910 |
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$ |
5.98 |
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5.4 |
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| The Company’s stock option awards vest based on the terms in the governing agreements and generally vest over four years and have a term of 10 years. As of September 30, 2024, the unrecognized compensation cost was $1.8 million and will be recognized over an estimated weighted-average amortization period of 1.6 years. The aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding and of options exercisable as of September 30, 2024 were zero. Options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 had weighted-average grant-date fair values of $1.66 per share. There were no options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2024. The fair value of options is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which takes into account inputs such as the exercise price, the estimated fair value of the underlying common stock at the grant date, expected term, expected stock price volatility, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The fair value of stock options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was determined using the methods and assumptions discussed below.
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The expected term of employee stock options with service-based vesting is determined using the “simplified” method, as prescribed in SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 107, whereby the expected life equals the arithmetic average of the vesting term and the original contractual term of the option due to the Company’s lack of sufficient historical data. The expected term of nonemployee options is equal to the contractual term. |
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The expected stock price volatility is based on historical volatilities of comparable public entities within the Company’s industry which were commensurate with the expected term assumption as described in SAB No. 107. |
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The risk-free interest rate is based on the interest rate payable on U.S. Treasury securities in effect at the time of grant for a period that is commensurate with the expected term. |
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The expected dividend yield is 0% because the Company has not historically paid, and does not expect for the foreseeable future to pay, a dividend on its common stock. |
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The Company’s board of directors has determined the per share value of the Company’s common stock based on the closing price as reported by the Nasdaq Global Market on the date of the grant. | The grant date fair value of each option grant was estimated throughout the nine months ended September 30, 2023 using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using the following weighted-average assumptions. There were no options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2024.
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Expected term (in years) |
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6.2 |
|
Expected stock price volatility |
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95.3 |
% |
Risk-free interest rate |
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4.05 |
% |
Expected dividend yield |
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0 |
% |
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