Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 5 – Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

The Company is not a party to any leases for office space or equipment.

License Agreements

The Company has undertaken to make contingent milestone payments to the licensors of its portfolio of product candidates. In addition, the Company would pay royalties to such licensors based on a percentage of net sales of each product candidate following regulatory marketing approval (See Note 3).

Litigation

The Company recognizes a liability for a contingency when it is probable that liability has been incurred and when the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. When a range of probable loss can be estimated, the Company accrues the most likely amount of such loss, and if such amount is not determinable, then the Company accrues the minimum of the range of probable loss. The Company expenses legal costs as they are incurred.

The Company and certain of its executive officers have been named as defendants in a consolidated putative stockholder class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”). The action is styled Moore v. Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc., et al., No. 1:24-cv-02613-PAE (the “Securities Class Action”). The Complaint in the Securities Class Action (the “Complaint”), which was filed on April 5, 2024, alleges that defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by making false and misleading statements and omissions, and the Complaint alleges that the executive officers named as defendants are control persons under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The Complaint was filed on behalf of stockholders who purchased shares of the Company’s common stock between March 10, 2021 and December 15, 2023, and the Complaint seeks, among other things, monetary damages on behalf of the purported class. On June 21, 2024, the Court appointed a lead plaintiff for the putative class and approved his choice of lead counsel. The deadline for lead plaintiff to file his consolidated amended complaint is August 23, 2024, and the deadline for defendants to move to dismiss, answer, or otherwise respond to the consolidated amended complaint is October 23, 2024.

The Company has been named as a nominal defendant and certain of its current and former directors and executive officers have been named as defendants in a derivative lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action is styled Geary v. Oliviero, et al., No. 1:24-cv-03471 (the “Derivative Action”). The Complaint in the Derivative Action, which was filed on May 6, 2024, asserts claims against all defendants under Delaware law for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, claims against all defendants under Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act, and claims for contribution under the federal securities laws against certain of the defendants. On June 20, 2024, the Derivative Action was stayed pending final resolution of the anticipated motion to dismiss in the Securities Class Action, including any appeals therefrom.

The Company has not yet formally responded to the Complaint in the Securities Class Action or in the Derivative Action but believes that both allegations are without merit and intends to defend itself and its directors and executive officers vigorously. There is no assurance, however, that the Company or the other defendants will be successful in their defense of either of these allegations or that the Company’s insurance policy coverage will be available or adequate to fund any settlement or judgment or the litigation costs of these actions. Moreover, the Company is unable to predict the outcome or reasonably estimate a range of possible losses at this time.