Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS) announced that its board of directors has approved a plan to issue one contingent value right (CVR) for each share of common stock, giving shareholders a contractual right to 25% of net proceeds from the monetization of the company's first qualifying rare pediatric disease priority review voucher, subject to a $50 million aggregate payment cap.

The CVRs would be issued to shareholders of record as of a record date to be announced, and shares issued after that date would also carry one CVR per share. The CVRs would not trade separately from Atossa shares, will not be registered, and will not have their own CUSIP number. They expire if no qualifying voucher is awarded by December 31, 2036, unless the board extends that deadline.

Atossa has received two FDA rare pediatric disease designations for its lead compound, (Z)-endoxifen — one for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and one for McCune-Albright syndrome. A priority review voucher would only be awarded if a qualifying marketing application is approved under the applicable program's requirements. No Atossa product candidate has been approved, and no voucher has been awarded to date.

The company noted that disclosed priority review voucher sales in the preceding 18 to 24 months ranged from $100 million to $220 million, but cautioned that past sales do not establish the value of any future voucher it might receive.

Atossa said it expects to file the CVR agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission once executed.