UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020

or

For the transition period from                  to                 

Commission File Number: 001-36593

 

SOLENO THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

203 Redwood Shores Parkway, Suite 500

Redwood City, California

(Address of principal executive offices)

94065

(Zip Code)

(650) 213-8444

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

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, 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 is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

As of August 7, 2020, there were 79,593,621 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding.

 

 

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SOLENO THERAPEUTICS, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

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PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Soleno Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands except share and per share data)

 

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements

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Soleno Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(unaudited)

(In thousands except share and per share data)

 

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements

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 Soleno Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

For the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020 and 2019

(unaudited)

(In thousands except share data)

 

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements

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Soleno Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(unaudited)

(In thousands)

 

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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Soleno Therapeutics, Inc.

June 30, 2020

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(unaudited)

Note 1. Overview

Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Soleno”) was incorporated in the State of Delaware on August 25, 1999, and is located in Redwood City, California. The Company initially established its operations as Capnia, a diversified healthcare company that developed and commercialized innovative diagnostics, devices and therapeutics addressing unmet medical needs.  During 2017, Soleno received stockholder approval to amend its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to change its name from “Capnia, Inc.” to “Soleno Therapeutics, Inc.” and merged with Essentialis, Inc. After the merger, the Company’s primary focus has been the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases and the Company divested itself of its prior business efforts.

The Company’s lead candidate is Diazoxide Choline Controlled Release tablets, or DCCR,  once-daily oral tablets for the treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome, or PWS. DCCR is currently being evaluated in a Phase III clinical development program. The Phase III study (C601 or DESTINY PWS), a 3-month randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, completed enrollment in January 2020 with 127 patients at 29 sites in the US and UK. Patients who complete treatment in DESTINY PWS are eligible to receive DCCR for up to 36 months in C602, an open-label extension study. Top line results from DESTINY PWS were announced in June 2020. Although the trial did not meet its primary endpoint of change from baseline in hyperphagia, significant improvements were observed in two of three key secondary endpoints and the Company is evaluating the data from the C601 and C602 studies to determine next steps. DCCR has orphan designation for the treatment of PWS in the United States, or U.S., as well as in the European Union, or E.U., and Fast Track designation from the U.S. FDA.

Note 2. Liquidity

The Company had a net loss of $13.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2020 and has an accumulated deficit of $171.0 million at June 30, 2020 resulting from having incurred losses since its inception. The Company had $62.5 million of cash on hand at June 30, 2020 and used $12.2 million of cash in its operating activities during the six months ended June 30, 2020. The Company has financed its operations principally through issuances of equity securities. On June 26, the Company sold 34,848,484 shares of common stock in an underwritten public offering at a price of $1.65 per share for net proceeds of $53.7 million. The Company expects to continue incurring losses for the foreseeable future. However, the Company expects that its current cash and cash equivalents balance are sufficient to enable the Company to meet its obligations for at least the next twelve months from the date of this filing.

Note 3. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

There have been no material changes to the significant accounting policies during the six months ended June 30, 2020 as compared to the significant accounting policies described in Note 3 of the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Below are those policies with current period updates.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial reporting and as required by Regulation S-X, Rule 10-01. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (including those which are normal and recurring) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the interim financial information have been included. When preparing financial statements in conformity with GAAP, the Company must make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosures at the date of the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Additionally, operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any other interim period or for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020. For further information, refer to the financial statements and footnotes included in the Company’s annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, which are included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 4, 2020.

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Use of Estimates

The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and reported amounts of expenses in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Key estimates included in the financial statements include the valuation of deferred income tax assets, the valuation of financial instruments, stock-based compensation, value and life of acquired intangibles, and the valuation of contingent liabilities. The contingent liability represents the fair value of the contingent consideration arising from the Company’s acquisition of Essentialis in 2017. As part of the purchase price, the Company is obligated to make cash earn out payments to Essentialis stockholders up to a maximum of $30 million upon the achievement of certain commercial milestones.

Recent Accounting Standards

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or other standard setting bodies that are adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement”. The ASU modifies the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements by removing, modifying, or adding certain disclosures. The Company has adopted this ASU at the beginning of 2020. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements disclosures.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12: “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes”. The amendments in ASU 2019-12 simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740. The amendments also improve consistent application of and simplify GAAP for other areas of Topic 740 by clarifying and amending existing guidance.  The amendments in this Update are effective for public business entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company has not yet assessed the potential impact of adopting ASU 2019-12 on its condensed consolidated financial statements.

During the six months ended June 30, 2020, other than ASU 2019-12, there have been no new, or existing recently issued, accounting pronouncements that are of significance, or potential significance, that impact the Company’s condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

Note 4. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying value of the Company’s cash, cash equivalents and accounts payable, approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these items.

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs.

The fair value hierarchy defines a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements as follows:

The categorization of a financial instrument within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

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The following table sets forth the Company’s financial instruments that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis by level within the fair value hierarchy (in thousands).

 

 

 

The Company’s estimated fair value of the 2017 PIPE Warrants and the 2018 PIPE Warrants was calculated using a Black-Scholes pricing model. The Black-Scholes pricing model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions including the expected stock price volatility, the expected term, the expected dividend yield and the risk-free interest rate. Through March 31, 2020 the Company had previously used the Monte Carlo simulation of a geometric Brownian motion model to estimate the fair value of the 2017 PIPE Warrants and the 2018 PIPE Warrant as this model allows for determining path-dependent outcomes. The difference in valuation as a result of using the Black-Scholes pricing model compared to the Monte Carlo simulation model is not significant.

 

The fair value of the Essentialis purchase price contingent liability is estimated using scenario-based methods based upon the Company’s analysis of the likelihood of obtaining specified approvals from the Federal Drug Administration as well as reaching cumulative revenue milestones. The Level 3 estimates are based, in part, on subjective assumptions. During the periods presented, the Company has not changed the manner in which it values its Essentialis purchase price contingent liability.

There were no transfers between levels within the hierarchy during the periods presented.

The following table sets forth a summary of the changes in the fair value of the Company’s Level 3 liabilities (dollars in thousands).

 

 

Note 5. Warrant Liabilities

The Company has issued multiple warrant series, of which the 2017 PIPE Warrants and the 2018 PIPE Warrants (the “Warrants”) remain outstanding at June 30, 2020 and are considered liabilities pursuant to the guidance established by ASC 815 Derivatives and Hedging.

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Accounting Treatment

The Company accounts for the Warrants in accordance with the guidance in ASC 815. As indicated below, the Company may be obligated to settle Warrants in cash. The Company classified the Warrants as long-term liabilities at their fair value and will re-measure the warrants at each balance sheet date until they are exercised or expire. Any change in the fair value is recognized as other income (expense) in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Series C Warrants

As of June 30, 2020, the fair value of the Series C Warrants was zero as the warrants had expired. This balance is consistent with the balance as of December 31, 2019.

The Company calculated the fair value of the Series C Warrants as of December 31, 2019 using a Black-Scholes pricing model. The Black-Scholes pricing model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions including the expected stock price volatility. The Company used the following inputs.

 

 

Warrants Issued as Part of the Units in the 2017 PIPE Offering

The 2017 PIPE Warrants were issued on December 15, 2017 in the 2017 PIPE Offering, pursuant to a Warrant Agreement with each of the investors in the 2017 PIPE Offering, and entitle the holder of each of the 8,141,116 units to purchase 0.74 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price equal to $2.00 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing upon issuance of the 2017 PIPE Warrants and terminating on December 15, 2020.

The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the 2017 PIPE Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances, including the event of a stock split, stock dividend, extraordinary dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the exercise price of the 2017 PIPE Warrants will not be reduced below $1.72.

In the event of a change of control of the Company, the holders of unexercised warrants may present their unexercised warrants to the Company, or its successor, to be purchased by the Company, or its successor, in an amount equal to the per share value determined by the Black Scholes methodology.

As of June 30, 2020, the fair value of the 2017 PIPE Warrants was estimated at $4.2 million. The decrease in the fair value of the liability for the 2017 PIPE Warrants of $3.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2020 and the decrease in the fair value of $6.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2020 were recorded as other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. 

The Company has calculated the fair value of the 2017 PIPE Warrants as of June 30, 2020 using a Black-Scholes pricing model, and the fair value as of December 31, 2019 using a Monte Carlo simulation of a geometric Brownian motion model. Both models requires the input of highly subjective assumptions including the expected stock price volatility. The following summarizes certain key assumptions used in estimating the fair values.

 

 

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Warrants Issued as Part of the Units in the 2018 PIPE Offering

The 2018 PIPE Warrants were issued on December 19, 2018 in the 2018 PIPE Offering, pursuant to a Warrant Agreement with each of the investors in the 2018 PIPE Offering, and entitle the holders of each of the 10,272,375 units to purchase 0.05 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price equal to $2.00 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing upon issuance of the 2018 PIPE Warrants and terminating on December 21, 2023.  

The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the 2018 PIPE Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances, including the event of a stock split, stock dividend, extraordinary dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the exercise price of the 2018 PIPE Warrants will not be reduced below $2.00.

In the event of a change of control of the Company, the holders of unexercised warrants may present their unexercised warrants to the Company, or its successor, to be purchased by the Company, or its successor, in an amount equal to the per share value determined by the Black Scholes methodology.

As of June 30, 2020, the fair value of the 2018 PIPE Warrants was estimated at $0.7 million. The $0.4 million decrease in the fair value of the liability for the 2018 PIPE Warrants during the three months ended June 30, 2020 and the decrease in the fair value of $0.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2020 were recorded as other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. 

The Company has calculated the fair value of the 2018 PIPE Warrants as of June 30, 2020 using a Black-Scholes pricing model, and the fair value as of December 31, 2019 using a Monte Carlo simulation of a geometric Brownian motion model. Both models require the input of highly subjective assumptions including the expected stock price volatility. The following summarizes certain key assumptions used in estimating the fair values.

 

 

The Black-Scholes pricing model and the Monte Carlo simulation of a geometric Brownian motion model require the use of highly subjective assumptions to estimate the fair value of stock-based awards. These assumptions include the following estimates.

 

Note 6. Commitments and Contingencies

Facility Leases

The Company’s previous operating lease for its headquarters facility office space in Redwood City, California, terminated in August 2019, along with the related subleases. One of the subleases was with Capnia, of which the Company was a joint owner until September 2019. Sublease income received from Capnia during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 was approximately $25,000 and $49,000, respectively.

In July 2019, the Company executed a non-cancellable lease agreement for 6,368 square feet of new space in Redwood City, California, which began in September 2019 and expires in May 2021. The lease also provides the Company with the right to use office furniture in the space and allows the purchase of this furniture at the end of the lease term for $1. The lease agreement requires monthly lease payments of approximately $29,000 beginning in November of 2019, with an increase to approximately $30,000 per month in September of 2020. The Company has accounted for the new lease as an operating lease for the office space and a finance lease for the office furniture, based on their relative standalone prices.

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The components of lease expense during the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 were as follows (in thousands):

 

Contingencies

In the normal course of business, the Company enters into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties and provide for general indemnifications. The Company’s exposure under these agreements is unknown because it involves claims that may be made against the Company in the future but have not yet been made. The Company accrues a liability for such matters when it is probable that future expenditures will be made, and such expenditures can be reasonably estimated.

Note 7. CoSense Joint Venture Agreement and Discontinued Operations

In December 2017, the Company entered into a joint venture with OptAsia Healthcare Limited, or OAHL, with respect to its CoSense product by agreeing to sell shares of Capnia, its then wholly-owned subsidiary, to OAHL. CoSense was Soleno’s first Sensalyze Technology Platform product to receive 510(k) clearances from the FDA and CE Mark certification. The Company’s entry into the joint venture resulted from a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives for its legacy products and product candidates following its transition to a primarily therapeutic drug product company. The terms of the Joint Venture Agreement provided that OAHL would invest up to a total of $2.2 million in Capnia’s common shares on an incremental quarterly basis commencing in December 2017. OAHL was also responsible for funding a portion of the Capnia operations. The Joint Venture Agreement provided that Capnia would issue shares of common stock to OAHL based on a negotiated price of $1.00 per share when the cumulative investment made by OAHL equaled or exceeded $1.2 million. For financial reporting purposes, Capnia’s assets, liabilities and results of operations had historically been consolidated with those of the Company.

During October 2018, the Company and OAHL determined and agreed that the cumulative investment made by OAHL exceeded $1.2 million during the quarter ended September 30, 2018. Accordingly, on October 16, 2018, Capnia issued 1,690,322 shares of its common stock to OAHL, representing 53% of its outstanding shares. After the share issuance the Company no longer held a controlling interest in Capnia and resulted in the deconsolidation of Capnia’s financial statements from those of the Company. The remaining 47% investment in Capnia was classified as an equity method investment and was presented as a Minority interest investment in former subsidiary in the condensed consolidated balance sheet.   The Company’s share of Capnia’s net losses during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 are recorded in the condensed consolidated statements of operations in the line titled “Loss from minority interest investment”. During September 2019, the Company sold its remaining 47% investment in Capnia. Following the transaction, the Company has no interest remaining in Capnia and the previous joint venture agreement with OAHL has been terminated.

Note 8. Stockholders’ Equity

Equity Incentive Plans

The Company has adopted the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, or the Plan. Under the Plan the Company may grant stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance units or performance shares to employees, directors, advisors, and consultants. Options granted under the Plan may be incentive stock options (“ISOs”) or nonqualified stock options (“NSOs”). ISOs may be granted only to Company employees, including officers and directors.

The Board of Directors has the authority to determine to whom stock options will be granted, the number of options, the term, and the exercise price. Options are to be granted at an exercise price not less than fair value. For individuals holding more than 10% of

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the voting rights of all classes of stock, the exercise price of an option will not be less than 110% of fair value. The vesting period is normally monthly over a period of 4 years from the vesting date. The contractual term of an option is no longer than five years for ISOs for which the grantee owns greater than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock and no longer than ten years for all other options. The terms and conditions governing restricted stock units is at the sole discretion of the Board. As of June 30, 2020, a total of 1,818,603 shares are available for future grant under the Plan.

The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense related to options and restricted stock units granted to employees, directors and consultants. The compensation expense is allocated on a departmental basis, based on the classification of the award holder. No income tax benefits have been recognized in the statements of operations for stock-based compensation arrangements during any of the periods presented.  

Stock-based compensation expense was recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations as follows (in thousands).

 

 

Stock Options

The Company granted options to purchase 452,650 and 114,142 of the Company’s common stock during the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and granted options to purchase 452,650 and 578,142 of the Company’s common stock during the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The fair value of each award was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions.

 

 

The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective assumptions to estimate the fair value of stock-based awards. These assumptions include the following estimates:

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The following table summarizes stock option transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2020 as issued under the 2014 Plan: