Ocean Biomedical Inc. filed SEC Form 8-K: Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: (listings currently suspended)
| Common Stock, $0.0001 par value | OCEA | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
| Warrants, each warrant exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 | OCEAW | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
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Item 1.02 Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement
On June 9, 2025, Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (the “Company”) received notice from Elkurt, Inc. of termination of the following licenses:
Brown University Technologies. Four license agreements licensing technology developed in the Elias laboratory (“Elias Agreements”) were entered into between Elkurt and Ocean, originally effective July 31, 2020. Each of the aforementioned licenses were the subject numerous license amendments. Reference is hereby made to the most recent of such amendments, the Seventh Amendment to Exclusive License Agreements entered into by and between Elkurt and Ocean effective as of November 1, 2023 (the “Seventh Amendment”). The Seventh Amendment precisely defines each of the aforementioned Elias Agreements and defines each of the six amendments preceding the Seventh Amendment. An additional license agreement was entered effective September 13, 2022, for technology developed in the Kurtis laboratory at Brown. That license between Elkurt and Ocean has never been amended.
RIH Technologies. A license agreement between Ocean and Elkurt for technology licensed by Elkurt from RIH was entered effective February 1, 2020. That license has been subject to numerous amendments, the most recent of such amendments, the Sixth Amendment was effective December 1, 2023.
The letter states the following alleged as material breaches with the list being nonexhaustive:
Failure to meet payment obligations under Article 4 of each Ocean License in the amount of $612,581.16. In addition, the letter states that Ocean is in default of its obligation to pay patent costs. Ocean is in receipt of the relevant invoices documenting these amounts.
Failure to meet diligent development obligations. Article 3 of the Ocean Licenses requires Ocean use commercially reasonable efforts to develop products that utilize the licensed patents. The letter states that Elkurt is not aware of any substantive product development efforts under any of the Ocean Licenses.
Failure to achieve milestones. The letter states that Article 3 of the Ocean Licenses requires Ocean to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve the Development and Commercialization Milestones. One Ocean License Milestone required Ocean to file an IND by June 30, 2024. Three Ocean License Milestones require Ocean to file an IND by June 30, 2025.
The letter further states that Section 10.2.2.1 of each of the Ocean Licenses provides that if Ocean breaches its obligations and fails to cure that breach within thirty days after receiving written notice, Elkurt may terminate each such Ocean License immediately upon written notice which was accomplished by sending the above referenced letter. Furthermore, the letter references a copy of the Brown notice to Elkurt that Brown is terminating the licenses from Brown to Elkurt, effective 30 days from May 31, 2025. If the Brown licenses are not cured within that period, a termination of the Brown to Elkurt license will effectively terminate the Elkurt license to Ocean.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: June 13, 2025
| OCEAN BIOMEDICAL, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Chirinjeev Kathuria | |
| Chirinjeev Kathuria | ||
| Chairman | ||