Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Related Party Transactions

v3.19.1
Related Party Transactions
9 Months Ended
Feb. 28, 2019
Related Party Transactions
Note 13 – Related Party Transactions
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, comprised of independent directors, reviews and approves all related party transactions. The below terms and amounts are not necessarily indicative of the terms and amounts that would have been incurred had comparable transactions been entered into with independent parties.
On July 26, 2017, Jordan G. Naydenov, a director with the Company, participated in the private placement of convertible promissory notes, as fully described in Note 4. Mr. Naydenov purchased a convertible promissory note, bearing interest of 7%, for $100,000 in aggregate principal and received a warrant covering 66,666 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.00. The terms and conditions of Mr. Naydenov’s investment were identical to those offered to all other investors in the offering and his investment was approved by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
On July 28, 2017, Alpha Venture Capital Partners, LP (“AVCP”), participated in the private placement of convertible promissory notes, as fully described in Note 4. Carl C. Dockery, the principal of AVCP, is a director of the Company. AVCP purchased a convertible promissory note, bearing interest of 7%, for $50,000 in aggregate principal and received a warrant covering 33,333 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.00. The terms and conditions of the AVCP investment were identical to those offered to all other investors in the offering and his investment was approved by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
On November 8, 2017, in connection with a private equity offering, a limited liability company in which Anthony D. Caracciolo, Executive Chairman of the Company, holds a partial ownership interest purchased $100,000 of common stock and warrants on terms identical to those applicable to the other investors in the private equity offering.
On January 31, 2018 each of Mr. Caracciolo, Mr. Naydenov and AVCP participated with other investors in the offering of common stock and warrants in satisfaction of the payment obligations relating to the convertible promissory notes, as fully described in Note 11 above.
On July 12, 2018, the Company announced certain leadership changes in connection with the strategic expansion and entry into certain cancer and immunologic indications. In connection with such leadership changes and effective July 11, 2018, Denis R. Burger, Ph.D. and A. Bruce Montgomery, M.D., resigned as members the Board of Directors. Dr. Burger also resigned as Chief Science Officer of the Company, which was not an executive officer position. On July 10, 2018, In connection with the resignations of Dr. Burger and Dr. Montgomery, the Board of Directors determined to accelerate the vesting of all outstanding and unvested stock options held by Dr. Burger and Dr. Montgomery. Upon the effectiveness of their resignations, stock options covering
500,000 shares 100,000 shares, held by Dr. Burger and Dr. Montgomery, respectively became fully vested. The stock options retained their exercise period through their respective expiration dates and the terms of the stock options remained otherwise unchanged.
On November 16, 2018, the Company closed its acquisition of ProstaGene, as described in Note 7. In connection with the closing of the acquisition, the Company hired Dr. Pestell as its Chief Medical Officer. As previously disclosed by the Company, Dr. Pestell is the holder of approximately 77.2% of the outstanding equity interests in ProstaGene and consequently holds an indirect interest in approximately (i) 8,611,427 of 13,258,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, currently pending distribution by ProstaGene to its members, and (ii) 4,171,013 of 5,400,000 shares of common stock, currently held in escrow for the benefit of ProstaGene and its members, which are subject to forfeiture to satisfy certain indemnity obligations of ProstaGene and will be released ratably every six months over the eighteen-month period following the closing date. In addition, as specified in a Stock Restriction Agreement with the Company entered into on the closing date, 8,342,000 additional shares of common stock previously distributed to Dr. Pestell in the ProstaGene acquisition are currently subject to transfer restrictions and forfeiture obligations, subject to certain continuing employment obligations of Dr. Pestell, which will vest ratably each year over the three-years period following the closing date.
As specified in a Confidential Information, Inventions and Noncompetition Agreement between the Company and Dr. Pestell, which was entered into on the closing date of the ProstaGene acquisition, the Company may participate in the development and license of certain intellectual property created by Dr. Pestell, in connection with Dr. Pestell’s ongoing research obligations to outside academic institutions. The Company also has the right to work with Dr. Pestell to manage any potential conflict between the Company’s clinical development activities and such ongoing research obligations.
On January 8, 2019, Argonne Trading LLC (“Argonne”), participated in the private placement of convertible promissory notes, as fully described in Note 4. Michael A. Klump, the manager of Argonne, is a director of the Company. Argonne purchased a convertible promissory note, bearing interest of 10% for $500,000 in aggregate principal and received a warrant covering 500,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.30 per share. The terms and conditions of the Argonne investment were identical to those offered to all other investors in the offering and his investment was approved by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
On December 10, 2018, Anthony D. Caracciolo resigned as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, but remained a director and Scott A. Kelly, M.D., was named Chairman of the Board of Directors. On December 19, 2018, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved an amendment to certain compensation arrangements for Anthony D. Caracciolo, pursuant to which his employment with the Company would be extended through April 16, 2019, at a salary reduced from
$16,667 to $5,000 per month, with continuing benefits. In addition, the Compensation Committee approved an extension to 10 years of the expiration terms of certain previously awarded stock options covering an aggregate of 150,000
shares of the Company’s common stock, provided that such stock options were out-of-the-money upon the date of such extension. These arrangements were conditioned upon Mr. Caracciolo’s agreement to resign from the Board of Directors upon identification by the Company of an appropriately qualified candidate to fill the vacancy. Mr. Caracciolo had agreed to the foregoing terms and his resignation was effective January 10, 2019. These arrangements were not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.