This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this report that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions or variations intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of our management based on information currently available to management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” included under Part I, Item 1A below. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless the context otherwise requires, references to the “Company,” “Versartis,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Versartis, Inc
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tem 1. Business.
Overview
Versartis, Inc. is an endocrine-focused biopharmaceutical company that has been developing a novel long-acting form of recombinant human growth hormone, somavaratan (VRS-317), for growth hormone deficiency, or GHD, an orphan disease. The current standard of care for GHD is daily subcutaneous injections of rhGH. Despite the demonstrated benefits of rhGH therapy, published studies have shown that a majority of patients on a daily rhGH regimen, which requires up to 365 dosing events per year, are not fully compliant and fail to achieve the optimal treatment outcomes. Lack of compliance may be due to the burden of these frequent dosing events. We believe that a long-acting form of rhGH could address this significant unmet need.
In our Phase 1a clinical trial in adults, somavaratan demonstrated a half-life at least thirty times longer than daily rhGH and tolerability profile consistent with that of marketed daily rhGH products. Somavaratan, which is a new molecular entity, combines the same rhGH amino acid sequence utilized in currently approved rhGH products with a proprietary in-licensed half-life extension technology, XTEN, to enable less frequent administration. The XTEN technology is comprised of novel sequences of hydrophilic amino acids added at the genetic level as part of the manufacturing process.
We conducted a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial in pediatric GHD, and the Phase 2a stage concluded in June 2014. A total monthly dose of 5.0 mg/kg of somavaratan was administered to patients either weekly, twice-monthly or monthly. Over the six months of treatment, somavaratan was found to be safe and well tolerated in these pre-pubertal GHD children. In all three dose groups, somavaratan maintained mean IGF-I increases over baseline and within the lower part of the therapeutic range (which we define as the portion of the therapeutic range with an IGF-I SDS from -1.0 to 0.0) without IGF-I overexposure. Based on the data from the trial, we were able to successfully develop and confirm the PK/PD model that enabled us to increase the dose of somavaratan to 3.5 mg/kg twice-monthly. Upon completion of the Phase 2a stage of the trial, we offered patients the opportunity to participate in our long-term safety study, also known as our VISTA study. All patients received the 3.5 mg/kg twice-monthly dose in the VISTA study
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In early 2015, we initiated a pediatric GHD Phase 3 registration trial, which we refer to as the VELOCITY trial, and completed enrollment in the VELOCITY trial at U.S., Canadian and European sites in August 2016. For the VELOCITY trial, we enrolled 137 patients in a 3:1 randomization comparing 3.5 mg/kg of somavaratan twice-monthly to 34 µg/kg/day of rhGH. The primary endpoint for the study was non-inferiority between the two treatment groups based upon mean Year 1 height velocity results.
In September 2017, we announced that the VELOCITY Phase 3 clinical trial of somavaratan in pediatric GHD did not meet its primary endpoint of non-inferiority. All ongoing clinical trials of somavaratan were concluded as of the end of 2017 and the U.S. Investigational New Drug Application (IND) and all equivalent filings in foreign countries have been withdrawn. Analysis of the trial continues in order
to determine the viability of further development of somavaratan, however the investment and delay in time-to-market that further development would require, significantly impacts the business case for somavaratan, given the potential that one or more long acting growth hormone products may already be commercialized for pediatric growth hormone deficiency during that time.
We have worldwide development and commercialization rights to somavaratan. In August 2016, we entered into an Exclusive License and Supply Agreement with Teijin Limited (Teijin), referred to as the Teijin Agreement, pursuant to which we granted to Teijin an exclusive license to develop, use, sell, offer for sale, import, and otherwise commercialize in Japan, any pharmaceutical product incorporating somavaratan. In January 2018, we received notice from Teijin that it was, pursuant to the agreement’s terms, terminating the Teijin Agreement, effective as of January 31, 2018. The notice of termination followed discussions between us and Teijin regarding the failure of our Phase 3 VELOCITY trial to meet its primary endpoint, and during which it was determined that continuing with the agreement was no longer in the best interests of either party.
We are in the process of evaluating strategic alternatives following the failure of the Phase 3 clinical trial for our only product candidate, somavaratan, to meet its primary endpoint. We have engaged Cowen to assist us in reviewing possible transactions, including strategic combinations and opportunities to diversify our pipeline.
Growth hormone deficiency
GHD is a chronic disease with multiple causes that can affect two distinct patient groups, pediatric patients and adult patients. The disease leads to significant health problems in both pediatric and adult patients, and untreated patients face increased mortality. There are currently seven marketed daily rhGH products in the United States for the treatment of GHD. However, a key limitation of these products is the burden of daily injections, which can limit adherence and lead to suboptimal treatment outcomes. As such, we believe that there is a significant unmet need for an improved therapeutic option for both pediatric and adult GHD patients.
Treatment goals and currently available therapies for GHD
In GHD children, early treatment goals are the establishment of “catch-up” growth to decrease differences in height between the patient and similarly aged peers and preventing the additional deficits from leaving GHD untreated. Long-term treatment goals extend
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to the attainment of heights comparable to family members and national norms and require approximately seven years for these goals to be achieved. Growth prediction models, based on treatment outcomes in large registries of GHD children, may be used t
o individualize treatment goals and rhGH dosing. In adults, the desired treatment outcomes are improvements in body composition parameters, skeletal mineralization to prevent osteopenia, metabolic and inflammatory markers to reduce cardio- and cerebrovascu
lar disease, and quality of life.
Daily subcutaneous administration of rhGH is used as a replacement therapy for the endogenous production of hGH to obtain these treatment goals. Administration of rhGH stimulates the production of IGF-I, which is important for the regulation of normal physiology. Daily rhGH therapy does not mimic the typical endogenous pulsatile release of hGH in normal healthy individuals, but daily injections of rhGH have been demonstrated for over 30 years to be a safe and effective therapy for treatment of GHD. In addition, clinical studies of continuous infusion of rhGH with a pump demonstrate comparable mean height velocity, IGF-I levels and safety to those observed with daily rhGH injections for six months. No other treatment modalities are known to be effective, and there are no known preventative therapies for GHD.
All currently marketed rhGH products in the United States—Norditropin
®
(Novo Nordisk), Humatrope
®
(Eli Lilly), Nutropin-AQ
®
(Roche/Genentech), Genotropin
®
(Pfizer), Saizen
®
(Merck Serono), Zomacton
TM
(Ferring Pharmaceuticals) and Omnitrope (Sandoz GmbH)—are administered by daily subcutaneous injections, and no major pharmacological differences are known to exist between these products with respect to safety or efficacy. The daily rhGH dose for these marketed products for the treatment of pediatric GHD ranges from a low dose of 25 rhGH/kg/day, as approved in Japan to the highest dose used in children of 43 µg rhGH/kg/day, commonly used in the US. The highest FDA labeled dose is 34 µg rhGH/kg/day, which is the dose commonly used in Europe. Despite approvals as early as 2006, biosimilars represented less than 15% of the market in 2014, even with initial price discounts of 20% to 30% relative to branded products. One biosimilar manufacturer has since abandoned its initial discounting strategy in favor of pricing and marketing strategies similar to those used by manufacturers of branded products. Manufacturers of the branded products continue to emphasize novel delivery methods and devices along with complementary services in order to differentiate themselves from each other as well as to minimize the impact of any future biosimilars. Existing rhGH products are available as a lyophilized powder with diluents, or rhGH for injection using vial and syringe, autoinjectors or pen devices.
Attributes of somavaratan
Somavaratan was engineered using XTEN technology to extend the residence time in the bloodstream by reducing the clearance of rhGH from the body by the two primary mechanisms, kidney filtration and receptor mediated clearance. XTEN technology was developed by Amunix Operating, Inc., or Amunix, and involves the use of novel sequences of hydrophilic amino acids that can be genetically fused to a desired protein, such as rhGH in the case of somavaratan. These novel sequences have been shown to be non-immunogenic and to enable the tuning of therapeutic protein properties to obtain the desired pharmacological properties in vivo. In somavaratan, a long N-terminal XTEN sequence, XTEN
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, is added to rhGH as a fusion protein, increasing the hydrodynamic size of the rhGH and thereby reducing glomerular filtration. A C-terminal XTEN sequence, XTEN
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, is also added to potentially reduce receptor mediated clearance by decreasing receptor binding. Somavaratan (119 kDa) has a molecular weight 5.4 times greater than rhGH (22 kDa). The difference in molecular weight is the result of the additional XTEN polypeptide chains, and no changes have been made to the rhGH sequence. In published preclinical studies, somavaratan has been demonstrated to have the same dose dependent biological effects on IGF-I secretion and bone growth as rhGH.
Somavaratan is expressed as a soluble protein in the periplasm of the
E. coli
bacteria that are commonly used in the manufacture of biological molecules, or biologics. After isolation from the cells, somavaratan is purified by a series of column chromatography steps, buffer exchanged and then concentrated to achieve the final bulk drug substance. Somavaratan is a clear aqueous solution manufactured for subcutaneous injection.
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Manufacturing
We do not own or operate facilities for product manufacturing, storage and distribution, or testing nor do we expect to in the future. We historically have relied on Boehringer Ingelheim RCV GmbH & Co KG, or BI, for the manufacture of our drug substance and drug product for preclinical and clinical testing. Additional contract manufacturers are used to label, package and distribute investigational drug product. We have experienced personnel to manage the third-party manufacturers.
Competition
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. While we believe that our technology, knowledge, experience and scientific resources provide us with competitive advantages, we face potential competition from many different sources, including major pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, generic drug companies, academic institutions and governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future.
In the United States, there are a variety of currently marketed rhGH therapies administered by daily subcutaneous injection and used for the treatment of GHD, principally Norditropin® (Novo Nordisk), Humatrope® (Eli Lilly), Nutropin-AQ® (Roche/Genentech), Genotropin® (Pfizer), Saizen® (Merck Serono), ZomactonTM (Ferring Pharmaceuticals), Omnitrope® (Sandoz GmbH) and Valtropin® (LG Life Science). These rhGH drugs, with the exception of Valtropin®, are well-established therapies and are widely accepted by physicians, patients, caregivers, third-party payors and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, as the standard of care for the treatment of GHD.
In addition to the currently approved and marketed daily rhGH therapies, there are a variety of experimental therapies that are in various stages of clinical development by companies both already participating in the rhGH market as well as potential new entrants, principally Althea, Ambrx, Ascendis, Bioton S.A., Critical Pharmaceuticals, Dong-A, GeneScience, Genexine, Hanmi, LG Life Science, OPKO Health, Inc. (in collaboration with Pfizer, Inc.) and all of the existing global and regional rhGH franchises. However, based on publicly available data, these products have limitations. For example, an alternative PEGylation approach of reversible chemical linkage of rhGH to a large circulating PEG, which has not completed studies in GHD children, has reported adult data suggesting that the rhGH exposure and IGF-I response is less than one week. We believe all of the PEGylation and circulating PEG approaches will be more expensive to manufacture than current daily rhGH because they require additional manufacturing steps after the purified rhGH is produced. It is also unclear whether or not chronic administration of PEG will be safe because it was recently reported by one company that their PEGylated rhGH product candidate caused vacuoles to form in the brains of monkeys and published reports have indicated vacuole formation in the kidneys of rats upon chronic dosing of PEGylated proteins. A fusion protein approach is also under investigation using a glycosylated peptide hormone genetically fused to rhGH. Because of the glycosylation, this protein must be produced in mammalian cells, and a six step purification process has been reported. In addition, this fusion protein has been reported to have an rhGH exposure and IGF-I response of less than one week. This fusion protein was studied in adult GHD Phase 3 clinical trial with weekly administration and in a Phase 2 clinical trial in children with weekly administration. Limited safety data is publicly available on this fusion protein.
Intellectual property
Our success depends, in part, upon our ability to protect our core technology. To establish and protect our proprietary rights, we rely on a combination of patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and know-how, license agreements, confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements with third parties, employee disclosure and invention assignment agreements, and other contractual rights.
In December 2008 we entered into a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Amunix, which was amended and restated in December 2010 and subsequently amended in January 2013 and February 2014. The patents in-licensed under this agreement constitute the core of our intellectual property. The terms of this license are summarized below.
As of February 28, 2018, the in-licensed global patent portfolio consists of ten granted U.S. patents, four patents granted by the European Patent Office, two patents granted by the Eurasian Patent Office, four granted patents in Japan, five granted patents in New Zealand, five granted patents in Australia, two granted patents in South Africa, three granted patents in China, one granted patent in Hong Kong, two granted patents in South Korea, three granted patents in Mexico, one granted patent in Canada, one granted patent in the Philippines, one granted patent in Moldova, one granted patent in Singapore, one granted patent in Ukraine, one granted patent in Peru and two granted patents in Chile. In addition, the portfolio includes approximately 41 pending patent applications, five of which are in the United States.
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The in-licensed patent portfolio includes five main patent families, which we believe, if issued in their current form, would provide broad coverage for the XTEN (unstructured recombinant polypeptide, URP) technology, including methods for producing XTEN p
roducts, and various levels of more specific coverage for somavaratan. The portfolio includes composition of matter, method of treatment and use claims.
The U.S. patents that have issued as of February 21, 2018 are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,846,445, 7,855,279, 8,492,530, 8,673,860, 8,680,050, 8,703,717, 8,933,197, 9,168,312, 9,371,369, and 9,849,188. U.S. Patent Nos. 7,855,279 and 8,492,530 cover XTEN (URP) fusion proteins with increased half-life, including dependent claims directed to hGH-XTEN fusions. U.S. Patent No. 7,846,445 covers methods for extending the serum secretion half-life of a protein by producing XTEN fusions, including that of hGH. We estimate that these issued U.S. patents will expire between 2026 and 2027. In addition, U.S. Patent Nos. 8,673,860, 8,703,717, 8,680,050, 8,933,197 9,168,312, 9,371,369, and 9,849,188 were granted in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 covering XTEN fusions of biologically active proteins, including hGH, and pharmaceutical compositions comprising such fusions, as well as methods for treating growth hormone-related conditions, such as GHD and ISS. We estimate that these issued U.S. Patents will expire between 2027 and 2032. Two of the four granted European patents have been opposed by Novo Nordisk A/S. The oppositions resulted in adverse initial decisions by the European Patent Office that are currently under appeal. The patent remains in effect until complete adjudication of the appeal, which typically is a multi-year process. See “Risk factors—Risks related to intellectual property—We may become involved in legal proceedings to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.”
The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term for patents in the countries in which they are granted. In most countries, including the United States, the patent term is generally 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date of a non-provisional patent application in the applicable country. In the United States, a patent’s term may, in certain cases, be lengthened by patent term adjustment, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in examining and granting a patent, or may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over a commonly owned patent or a patent naming a common inventor and having an earlier expiration date. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or the Hatch-Waxman Act, permits a patent term extension of up to five years beyond the expiration date of a U.S. patent as partial compensation for the length of time the drug is under regulatory review.
Government regulation
Government authorities in the United States, at the federal, state and local level, in the European Union and in other countries and jurisdictions extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, including any manufacturing changes, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution, marketing, import and export of pharmaceutical products such as those we are developing. The processes for obtaining regulatory approvals in the United States and in foreign countries and jurisdictions, along with subsequent compliance with applicable statutes and regulations, require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.
U.S. drug approval process
In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, and implementing regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject an applicant to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as the FDA’s refusal to approve pending NDAs, withdrawal of an approval, imposition of a clinical hold, issuance of warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil or criminal penalties.
The process required by the FDA before a drug may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:
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completion of preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies in compliance with the FDA’s current good laboratory practice, or cGLP, regulations;
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submission to the FDA of an IND which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;
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approval by an independent institutional review board, or IRB, at each clinical site before each trial may be initiated;
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performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with current good clinical practices, or cGCP, to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug or biological product for each indication;
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submission to the FDA of an NDA;
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satisfactory completion of an FDA advisory committee review, if applicable;
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satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the m
anufacturing facility or facilities at which the product is produced to assess compliance with cGMP, and to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the drug’s identity, strength, quality and purity; and
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FDA review and approval of the NDA or BLA.
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Preclinical studies
Preclinical studies include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, toxicity and formulation, as well as animal studies to assess its potential safety and efficacy. An IND sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data and any available clinical data or literature, among other things, to the FDA as part of an IND. Some preclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted. An IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions related to one or more proposed clinical trials and places the trial on a clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. As a result, submission of an IND may not result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to commence.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators in accordance with cGCP requirements, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent (assent, if applicable) in writing for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. A protocol for each clinical trial and any subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. In addition, an institutional review board, or IRB, at each institution participating in the clinical trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial before it commences at that institution. Information about certain clinical trials must be submitted within specific timeframes to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, for public dissemination on their ClinicalTrials.gov website.
Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases, which may overlap or be combined:
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Phase 1: The drug is initially introduced into healthy human subjects or patients with the target disease or condition and tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution, excretion and, if possible, to gain an early indication of its effectiveness.
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Phase 2: The drug is administered to a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance and optimal dosage.
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Phase 3: The drug is administered to an expanded patient population, generally at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites, in well-controlled clinical trials to generate enough data to statistically evaluate the efficacy and safety of the product for approval, to establish the overall risk-benefit profile of the product, and to provide adequate information for the labeling of the product.
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Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and more frequently if serious adverse events occur. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, or at all. Furthermore, the FDA or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.
Marketing approval
Assuming successful completion of the required clinical testing, the results of the preclinical and clinical studies, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacture, controls and proposed labeling, among other things, are submitted to the FDA as part of a BLA requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. In most cases, the submission of a BLA is subject to a substantial application user fee. Under the new Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, guidelines that are currently in effect, the FDA has a goal of ten months from the date of the FDA’s acceptance for filing of a standard non-priority BLA to review and act on the submission.
The FDA also may require submission of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, plan to mitigate any identified or suspected serious risks. The REMS plan could include medication guides, physician communication plans, assessment plans and elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries or other risk minimization tools.
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The FDA conducts a preliminary review of all NDAs and BLA
s within the first 60 days after submission, before accepting them for filing, to determine whether they are sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. The FDA may request additional information rather than accept a BLA for filing. In this event,
the application must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application is also subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review. The
FDA reviews a BLA to determine, among other things, whether the drug is safe and effective and the facility in which it is manufactured, processed, packaged or held meets standards designed to assure the product’s continued safety, quality and purity. The
FDA is required to refer an application for a novel drug to an advisory committee or explain why such referral was not made. An advisory committee is a panel of independent experts, including clinicians and other scientific experts, that reviews, evaluates
and provides a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.
Before approving a BLA, the FDA typically will inspect the facility or facilities where the product is manufactured, which is not under the control of the product sponsor. The FDA will not approve an application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving a BLA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with cGCP.
The testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and each may take several years to complete. Data obtained from clinical activities are not always conclusive and may be susceptible to varying interpretations, which could delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. The FDA may not grant approval on a timely basis, or at all.
If the FDA’s evaluation of the BLA and inspection of the manufacturing facilities are favorable, the FDA may issue an approval letter, or, in some cases, a complete response letter. A complete response letter generally contains a statement of specific conditions that must be met in order to secure final approval of the BLA and may require additional clinical or preclinical testing in order for the FDA to reconsider the application. Even with submission of this additional information, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval. If and when those conditions have been met to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA will typically issue an approval letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications.
Even if the FDA approves a product, it may limit the approved indications for use for the product, require that contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling, require that post-approval studies, including Phase 4 clinical trials, be conducted to further assess a drug’s safety after approval, require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the product after commercialization, or impose other conditions, including distribution restrictions or other risk management mechanisms, which can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the product. The FDA may prevent or limit further marketing of a product based on the results of post-marketing studies or surveillance programs. After approval, some types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further testing requirements and FDA review and approval.
Post-approval requirements
Drugs manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, requirements relating to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, advertising and promotion and reporting of adverse experiences with the product. After approval, most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications or other labeling claims are subject to prior FDA review and approval. There also are continuing, annual user fee requirements for any marketed products and the establishments at which such products are manufactured, as well as new application fees for supplemental applications with clinical data.
The FDA may impose a number of post-approval requirements as a condition of approval of a BLA. For example, the FDA may require post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization.
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In addition, drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribut
ion of approved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA, and state agencies and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and these state agencies to determine compliance with cGMP requirements. Changes to the manu
facturing process are strictly regulated and often require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP and impose reporting and documentation requirements upon the spons
or and any third-party manufacturers that the sponsor may decide to use. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend significant time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance.
Once an approval is granted, the FDA may withdraw the approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information; imposition of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:
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restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product recalls;
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fines, warning letters or holds on post-approval clinical trials;
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refusal of the FDA to approve pending BLAs or supplements to approved BLAs, or suspension or revocation of product license approvals;
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product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products; or
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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
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The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Drugs may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label, although doctors may prescribe drugs for off-label purposes. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability.
In addition, the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical products is subject to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or PDMA, which regulates the distribution of drugs and drug samples at the federal level, and sets minimum standards for the registration and regulation of drug distributors by the states.
Hatch-Waxman exclusivity
Market and data exclusivity provisions under the FDCA can delay the submission or the approval of certain applications for competing products. The FDCA provides a five-year period of non-patent data exclusivity within the United States to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity. A drug is a new chemical entity if the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, which is the molecule or ion responsible for the action of the drug substance. During the exclusivity period, the FDA may not accept for review an Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company that references the previously approved drug. However, an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA may be submitted after four years if it contains a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement. The FDCA also provides three years of marketing exclusivity for an NDA, 505(b)(2) NDA or supplement to an existing NDA or 505(b)(2) NDA if new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant, are deemed by the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application, for example, for new indications, dosages, strengths or dosage forms of an existing drug. This three-year exclusivity covers only the conditions of use associated with the new clinical investigations and, as a general matter, does not prohibit the FDA from approving ANDAs or 505(b)(2) NDAs for generic versions of the original, unmodified drug product. Five-year and three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of a full NDA. However, an applicant submitting a full NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness.
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Orphan drug designation and exclusivity
Somavaratan has received orphan drug designation for the treatment of GHD in the European Union at any dosing regimen less frequent than daily, as well as in the United States at once-a-month dosing.
In the United States, the Orphan Drug Act provides incentives for the development of products intended to treat rare diseases or conditions. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biological product intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making a drug or biological product available in the United States for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product. If a sponsor demonstrates that a drug is intended to treat rare diseases or conditions, the FDA will grant orphan designation for that product for the orphan disease indication. Orphan designation must be requested before submitting an NDA or BLA. After the FDA grants orphan product designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan drug designation, however, does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.
Orphan drug designation provides manufacturers with research grants, tax credits, and eligibility for orphan drug exclusivity. If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval of the active moiety for that disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan drug exclusivity, which for seven years prohibits the FDA from approving another product with the same active ingredient for the same indication, except in limited circumstances. If a drug designated as an orphan product receives marketing approval for an indication broader than the orphan indication for which it received the designation, it will not be entitled to orphan drug exclusivity. Orphan exclusivity will not bar approval of another product under certain circumstances, including if a subsequent product with the same active ingredient for the same indication is shown to be clinically superior to the approved product on the basis of greater efficacy or safety, or providing a major contribution to patient care, or if the company with orphan drug exclusivity is not able to meet market demand. Further, the FDA may approve more than one product for the same orphan indication or disease as long as the products contain different active ingredients. Moreover, competitors may receive approval of different products for the indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity or obtain approval for the same product but for a different indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity.
In the European Union, the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, or COMP, grants orphan drug designation to promote the development of products that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than 5 in 10,000 persons in the European Union community. Additionally, designation is granted for products intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives, it is unlikely that sales of the drug in the European Union would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the drug.
In the European Union, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers and ten years of market exclusivity is granted following drug approval. This period may be reduced to six years if the orphan drug designation criteria are no longer met, including where it is shown that the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify maintenance of market exclusivity.
Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an application for marketing approval. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.
New legislation and regulations
From time to time, legislation is drafted, introduced and passed in Congress that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the testing, approval, manufacturing and marketing of products regulated by the FDA. In addition to new legislation, FDA regulations and policies are often revised or interpreted by the agency in ways that may significantly affect our business and our products. It is impossible to predict whether further legislative changes will be enacted or FDA regulations, guidance, policies or interpretations will be changed, or what the impact of such changes, if any, may be.
Foreign regulation
In order to market any product outside of the United States, we would need to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries and jurisdictions regarding quality, safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of our products. The cost of establishing a regulatory compliance system for numerous varying jurisdictions can be very significant. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we would need to obtain the necessary approvals by the comparable foreign regulatory authorities before we can commence clinical trials or marketing of the product in foreign countries and jurisdictions. Although many of the issues discussed above with respect to the United States apply similarly in the context of the European Union and Japan, the approval process varies between countries and
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jurisdictions and can involve additional product testing and additional administrative review periods. The time required to obtain approval in other countries and jurisdictions might differ from and be longer than that required to obtain FDA approval. Re
gulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction may negatively impact the regulatory process in others.
Pursuant to the European Clinical Trials Directive, a system for the approval of clinical trials in the European Union has been implemented through national legislation of the member states. Under this system, we must obtain approval from both the competent national authority of a European Union member state in which the clinical trial is to be conducted, and a favorable opinion from the competent ethics committee. Our clinical trial application must be accompanied by an investigational medicinal product dossier with supporting information prescribed by the European Clinical Trials Directive and corresponding national laws of the member states and further detailed in applicable guidance documents.
To obtain marketing approval of a drug under European Union regulatory systems, we may submit a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, either under a centralized or decentralized procedure. The centralized procedure provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization by the European Commission that is valid for all European Union member states. The centralized procedure is compulsory for specific products, including medicines produced by certain biotechnological processes, products designated as orphan medicinal products, advanced therapy products and products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of certain diseases. For products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of other diseases and products that are highly innovative or for which a centralized process is in the interest of patients, the centralized procedure may be optional. Under the centralized procedure, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or the CHMP, established at the EMA is responsible for conducting the initial assessment of a drug. The CHMP also is responsible for several post-authorization and maintenance activities, such as the assessment of modifications or extensions to an existing marketing authorization. Under the centralized procedure in the European Union, the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of an MAA is 210 days, excluding clock stops, when additional information or written or oral explanation is requested by the CHMP but has not yet been provided. Accelerated evaluation might be granted by the CHMP in exceptional cases, when a medicinal product is of major interest from the point of view of public health and in particular from the viewpoint of therapeutic innovation. In this circumstance, the EMA ensures that the opinion of the CHMP is given within 150 days.
The decentralized procedure is available to applicants who wish to market a product in various European Union member states where such product has not previously received marketing approval in any European Union member state. The decentralized procedure provides for approval by one or more other, or concerned, member states of an assessment of an application performed by one member state designated by the applicant, known as the reference member state. Under this procedure, an applicant submits an application based on identical dossiers and related materials, including a draft summary of product characteristics, and draft labeling and package leaflet, to the reference member state and concerned member states. The reference member state prepares a draft assessment report and drafts of the related materials within 120 days after receipt of a valid application. Within 90 days of receiving the reference member state’s assessment report and related materials, each concerned member state must decide whether to approve the assessment report and related materials.
If a member state cannot approve the assessment report and related materials on the grounds of potential serious risk to public health, the disputed points are subject to a dispute resolution mechanism and may eventually be referred to the European Commission, whose decision is binding on all member states.
In the European Union, new chemical entities qualify for eight years of data exclusivity upon marketing authorization and an additional two years of market exclusivity. This data exclusivity, if granted, prevents regulatory authorities in the European Union from referencing the innovator’s data to assess a generic (abbreviated) application for eight years, after which generic marketing authorization can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but not approved for two years. The overall ten-year period will be extended to a maximum of eleven years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. Even if a compound is considered to be a new chemical entity and the sponsor is able to gain the prescribed period of data exclusivity, another company nevertheless could also market another version of the drug if such company can complete a full MAA with a complete database of pharmaceutical test, preclinical tests and clinical trials and obtain marketing approval of its product.
Pharmaceutical coverage, pricing and reimbursement
Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any drug products for which we may obtain regulatory approval. Sales of any of our product candidates, if approved, will depend, in part, on the extent to which the costs of the products will be covered by third-party payors, including government health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, commercial health insurers and managed care organizations. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a drug product typically is separate from the process for setting the price of a drug product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that a payor will pay for the drug product once coverage is approved. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific drug products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the approved drugs for a particular indication.
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In order to secure coverage and reimbursement for any product that might be approved for sale, we may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of the product, in addition to
the costs required to obtain FDA or other comparable regulatory approvals. Whether or not we conduct such studies, our product candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. A third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a
drug product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Third party reimbursement may not be sufficient to enable us to maintain price levels high enough to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development.
The containment of healthcare costs has become a priority of federal, state and foreign governments, and the prices of drugs have been a focus in this effort. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services, examining the medical necessity and reviewing the cost-effectiveness of drug products and medical services and questioning safety and efficacy. If these third-party payors do not consider our products to be cost-effective compared to other available therapies, they may not cover our products after FDA approval or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow us to sell our products at a profit. The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs to limit the growth of government-paid healthcare costs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products for branded prescription drugs. Adoption of such controls and measures, and tightening of restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could limit payments for pharmaceuticals such as our drug product candidates and could adversely affect our net revenue and results.
Pricing and reimbursement schemes vary widely from country to country. Some countries provide that drug products may be marketed only after a reimbursement price has been agreed. Some countries may require the completion of additional studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. For example, the European Union provides options for its member states to restrict the range of drug products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. European Union member states may approve a specific price for a drug product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the drug product on the market. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for drug products, but monitor and control company profits. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription drugs, has become intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. In addition, in some countries, cross-border imports from low-priced markets exert competitive pressure that may reduce pricing within a country. Any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for drug products may not allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products.
The marketability of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if the government and third-party payors fail to provide adequate coverage and reimbursement. In addition, emphasis on managed care in the United States has increased and we expect will continue to increase the pressure on drug pricing. Coverage policies, third-party reimbursement rates and drug pricing regulation may change at any time. In particular, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which we collectively refer to as the Affordable Care Act or ACA, contains provisions that have the potential to substantially change healthcare financing, including impacting the profitability of drugs. For example, the Affordable Care Act revised the methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers to the state and federal government for covered outpatient drugs under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, extended the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to utilization of prescriptions of individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations and subjected manufacturers to new annual fees and taxes for certain branded prescription drugs. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.
Healthcare law and regulation
Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and prescribing of any product candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval. Our business operations and arrangements with investigators, healthcare professionals, consultants, third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations. These laws may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we research, market, sell and distribute our products that obtain marketing approval. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, include, but are not limited to, the following:
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the federal healthcare Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of, any good, facility, item or service, for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare and Medicaid;
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the federal false claims laws and civil monetary penalties law impose penalties and provide for civil whistleblower or qui tam actions aga
inst individuals or entities for, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment or approval that are false or fraudulent or making a false record or statement to avoid, decrease or conce
al an obligation to pay money to the federal government;
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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, among other things, imposes criminal liability for knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters;
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HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act and its implementing regulations, also imposes certain obligations, including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information without written authorization;
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the federal false statements statute prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services;
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the federal transparency requirements under the Affordable Care Act will require manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals and certain physician ownership and investment interests; and
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analogous state and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, that may apply to our business operations, including our sales or marketing arrangements, and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by governmental third-party payors, and in some instances, also such claims reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers.
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Some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government in addition to requiring drug manufacturers to report information related to payments to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures. State and foreign laws also govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and/or administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If any of the physicians or other providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering or authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations.
Employees
As of February 28, 2018, we had 28 full-time employees, including 12 employees engaged in research and development. None of our employees is represented by a labor union or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good.
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Corporate Information
We were incorporated in Delaware in December 2008 and completed our initial public offering in March 2014. Our principal corporate office is located at 1020 Marsh Rd, Menlo Park, California 94025 and our telephone number is (650) 963-8580.
Available Information
Our website address is www.versartis.com. We file Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and other materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and file or furnish reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Such reports and other information filed by the Company with the SEC are available free of charge on our website at http://ir.versartis.com/financial-information/sec-filings.
The public may also read and copy any materials filed by us with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov
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Item 1A. R
isk Factors.
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the following risks, together with all the other information in this Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. If any of the following risks actually materializes, our operating results, financial condition and liquidity could be materially adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Risks related to the development and commercialization of our product candidate
We are in the process of evaluating strategic alternatives and assessing our clinical programs following the failure of the Phase 3 clinical trial for our only product candidate, somavaratan, to meet its primary endpoint.
We do not have any products that have gained regulatory approval. Our only clinical-stage product candidate is somavaratan, a novel, long-acting recombinant human growth hormone. In September 2017, we announced that the Phase 3 clinical trial of somavaratan failed to meet its primary endpoint. As a result, management is in the process of evaluating the Company’s future direction, including whether we will continue to seek the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of somavaratan in the future, or pursue an alternative course of action. There is no guarantee that we will be successful in any pursuit of strategic alternatives, or that any alternative course of action will lead to the success of our business. If we do continue our efforts to develop and commercialize somavaratan in the future, we may not be successful.
We cannot commercialize somavaratan or any future product candidates in the United States without first obtaining regulatory approval for the product from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, nor can we commercialize somavaratan or any future product candidates outside of the United States without obtaining regulatory approval from comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The FDA review process typically takes years to complete and approval is never guaranteed. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of somavaratan for a target pediatric GHD indication or our future product candidates, we generally must demonstrate with substantial evidence gathered in preclinical and well-controlled clinical studies that the product candidate is safe and effective for use for that target indication and that the manufacturing facilities, processes and controls are adequate. Because our Phase 3 clinical trial failed to meet its primary endpoint, we concluded all active trials of somavaratan by the end of 2017. We would need to conduct additional studies and trials in the future in order to continue to pursue regulatory approval of somavaratan in the United States. Moreover, obtaining regulatory approval for marketing of somavaratan in one country does not ensure we will be able to obtain regulatory approval in other countries, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in other countries.
Even if somavaratan or any of our future product candidates were to successfully obtain approval from the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, any approval might contain significant limitations related to use restrictions for specified age groups, warnings, precautions or contraindications, or may be subject to burdensome post-approval study or risk management requirements. If we do not obtain regulatory approval for somavaratan in one or more jurisdictions, or any approval contains significant limitations, we may not be able to obtain sufficient funding or generate sufficient revenue to continue to fund our operations. Also, any regulatory approval of somavaratan or our future product candidates, once obtained, may be withdrawn. Furthermore, even if we obtain regulatory approval for somavaratan, the commercial success of somavaratan will depend on a number of factors, including the following:
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development of our own commercial organization or establishment of a commercial collaboration with a commercial infrastructure;
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establishment of commercially viable pricing and obtaining approval for adequate reimbursement from third-party and government payors;
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the ability of our third-party manufacturers to manufacture quantities of somavaratan using commercially viable processes at a scale sufficient to meet anticipated demand and reduce our cost of manufacturing, and that are compliant with current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, regulations;
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our success in educating physicians and patients about the benefits, administration and use of somavaratan;
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the availability, perceived advantages, relative cost, relative safety and relative efficacy of alternative and competing treatments;
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the effectiveness of our own or our potential strategic collaborators’ marketing, sales and distribution strategy and operations;
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acceptance of somavaratan as safe and effective by patients, caregivers and the medical community;
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a continued acceptable safety profile of somavaratan following approval; and
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continued compliance with our obligations in our intellectual property licenses with third parties upon favorable terms.
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Many of these factors are beyond our control. If we or our commercialization collaborators are unable to successfully comme
rcialize somavaratan, we may not be able to earn sufficient revenues to continue our business.
Somavaratan is a new molecular entity, and although it contains the same rhGH composition used in currently approved rhGH products, it has been genetically modified to extend its half-life, creating uncertainty about its long-term safety profile.
Somavaratan utilizes the same rhGH amino acid sequence as in currently approved rhGH products, but combined with sequences of hydrophilic amino acids genetically fused to the rhGH protein to extend its half-life. This proprietary in-licensed half-life extension technology, XTEN, has been used in somavaratan to potentially enable less frequent administration of rhGH. We have limited clinical data on product candidates utilizing XTEN technology indicating whether they are safe or effective for long-term treatment in humans. The long term safety and efficacy of the XTEN technology and the extended half-life and exposure profile of somavaratan compared to currently approved rhGH products is unknown, and it is possible it may increase the risk of unforeseen reactions to somavaratan following extended treatment relative to other currently approved rhGH products. Continuously elevated levels of rhGH and insulin-like growth factor-I, or IGF-I, together can lead to acromegaly, a rare disease that occurs when the body produces excess growth hormone, leading to an increase in the size of bones and organs and which can result in disfigurement and other complications, with an associated increased cancer risk. It is unknown whether long-term repeated administration of somavaratan could result in an increased immune response to rhGH, leading to a loss of efficacy or potential safety issues. If clinical trials of somavaratan were conducted and extended treatment with somavaratan results in any concerns about its safety or efficacy, we may be unable to successfully develop or commercialize somavaratan.
We may not be able to continue the development of, obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize somavaratan.
We have expended considerable resources and efforts on the development of somavaratan. The failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint has caused a substantial delay in our ability to commercialize somavaratan. If we continue to develop and commercialize somavaratan, we will need to commence and complete additional clinical trials that satisfy the specified primary endpoint criteria, manage clinical and manufacturing activities, obtain necessary regulatory approvals from the FDA and comparable regulatory authorities elsewhere, and successfully market and commercialize somavaratan. The increased time required to conduct additional clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval may make it more difficult to commercialize somavaratan successfully. If we continue with the development of somavaratan, there is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully complete these steps, and if we do not continue with the development of somavaratan, then we may not be able to continue our business in its current form and will be required to pursue alternative business strategies.
As an organization, we have never completed a successful Phase 3 clinical trial or submitted a BLA before, and may be unsuccessful in doing so for somavaratan.
The conduct of any future Phase 3 clinical trials and other supportive trials of somavaratan and the submission of a successful Biologics License Application, or BLA, is a complicated process. As an organization, we have never completed a successful Phase 3 clinical trial, have limited experience in preparing, submitting and prosecuting regulatory filings, and have not submitted a BLA before. Consequently, we may be unable to successfully and efficiently execute and complete necessary future clinical trials in a way that leads to BLA submission and approval of somavaratan. Failure to complete, or further delays in our clinical trials would prevent us from or delay us in commercializing somavaratan.
Somavaratan has never been manufactured for commercial use, and there are risks associated with scaling up manufacturing and validating the process for production of commercial material. In addition, to successfully commercialize somavaratan, we would also need to design, manufacture, and gain regulatory approval of a delivery device to safely, effectively, and conveniently administer somavaratan in relevant patient types.
Somavaratan has been successfully manufactured for use in clinical studies but there are risks associated with scaling up manufacturing to commercial scale and validating the commercial production process including, among others, cost overruns, potential problems with process scale-up, process reproducibility, stability issues, lot consistency and timely availability of raw materials. Even if we could otherwise obtain regulatory approval for somavaratan, there is no assurance that our manufacturer will be able to manufacture the approved product to specifications acceptable to the FDA or other regulatory authorities, to produce it in sufficient quantities to meet the requirements for the potential launch of the product or to meet potential future demand.
If our manufacturer is unable to produce sufficient quantities of the approved product for commercialization under our supply agreement, our commercialization efforts would be impaired, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.
Somavaratan is a biological molecule, or biologic, rather than a small molecule chemical compound, and as a result we face special uncertainties and risks associated with scaling up manufacturing. The manufacture of biologics involves complex processes, including
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developing cells or cell systems to produce the biologic, growing large quantities of such cells an
d harvesting and purifying the biologic produced by them. As a result, the cost to manufacture biologics is generally far higher than traditional small molecule chemical compounds, and the manufacturing process is less reliable and is difficult to reproduc
e. Somavaratan was previously produced for us by a third-party contract manufacturer using a small-scale process that was too expensive and inefficient to support the dosages necessary for our clinical trials. In October 2012, we entered into an agreement
with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop a more efficient, larger-scale manufacturing process. However, this agreement was terminated in December 2017, following the announcement that our Phase 3 clinical trial failed to meet its primary endpoint. If we recei
ve regulatory approval for somavaratan in the future, in order to successfully commercialize somavaratan, we will need to manufacture quantities of somavaratan using commercially viable processes at a scale sufficient to meet anticipated demand. Even if we
are able to do so, if the therapeutically effective dosage of somavaratan is higher than we anticipate or the obtainable sales price is lower than we anticipate, we may not be able to successfully commercialize somavaratan.
To optimally commercialize somavaratan, we intended to design, manufacture, and gain regulatory approval of two distinct container closure systems, including the vial configuration used in the pivotal clinical trial and a delivery device to safely, effectively and conveniently administer the drug. In May 2016, we entered into a Manufacture and Supply Agreement with Owen Mumford Limited, under which they will manufacture a proprietary disposable autoinjector device for the administration of somavaratan and assemble the final combination product. Manufacturing of a precision medical device like the autoinjector is complex and introducing a novel device requires designing, production of prototypes, extensive testing and modification, and production of custom tools and molds. We terminated our agreement with Owen Mumford following our September 2017 announcement that our Phase 3 clinical trial failed to meet its primary endpoint. If we are unable to develop and validate a suitable manufacturing process for the device, our commercialization efforts could be impaired, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.
Long-acting rhGH products and product candidates no longer in development or marketed have failed to generate commercial success or obtain regulatory approval, and we cannot predict whether somavaratan will achieve success where others have failed.
Many attempts have been made to develop sustained release formulations of rhGH. For example, Nutropin Depot, a long-acting form of rhGH developed by Genentech that uses Alkermes’ ProLease® injectable extended-release drug delivery system, was approved by the FDA in 1999 and withdrawn from the market in 2004 by Genentech and Alkermes due to the significant resources required to continue manufacturing and commercializing the product. Additional attempts at sustained release formulations have not yet led to globally marketed products, due to manufacturing, regulatory, efficacy and/or safety reasons. Our Phase 3 clinical trial for somavaratan failed to meet its primary endpoint, and we do not know whether we will continue to pursue the regulatory approval and commercialization of somavaratan. Even if we obtain all requisite regulatory approvals, no assurance can be given that somavaratan will achieve commercial success or market adoption.
Delays in the enrollment of patients if further clinical studies were conducted could increase our development costs and delay completion of the study.
We may not be able to initiate or resume clinical studies for somavaratan or any future product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these studies as required by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. The failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint may make it more difficult to enroll sufficient numbers of patients if further clinical trials were conducted. Even if we are able to enroll a sufficient number of patients in our clinical studies, if the pace of enrollment is slower than we expect, the development costs for our product candidates may increase and the completion of our studies may be delayed or our studies could become too expensive to complete.
If we continue to seek regulatory approval and commercialization of somavaratan, we will need to conduct additional trials and enroll patients at new clinical sites. Enrollment in our clinical trials is dependent on obtaining clearance from regulatory authorities in each country in which they will be conducted. To date, authorities in several countries have declined clinical trial applications or requested additional data or information prior to authorizing such applications in those countries. If we are unable to provide sufficient responses to the regulatory authorities during the conduct of the studies, they may be delayed.
There may be concurrent competing GHD clinical trials that will inhibit or slow our study enrollment if we conduct further trials. If we experience delays in enrollment, our ability to complete any clinical trial could be impaired and the costs of conducting the trial could increase, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
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If future clinical studies of somavaratan and any future product candidates fai
l to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States or do not otherwise produce results that are acceptable to such agencies, we may incur additional costs, experience delays in co
mpleting or ultimately fail in completing the development and commercialization of somavaratan or our future product candidates.
Before obtaining regulatory approval for the sale of any product candidate, we must conduct extensive clinical studies to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. Clinical studies are expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and are uncertain as to outcome. A failure of one or more of our clinical studies could occur at any stage of testing. Our Phase 3 clinical trial of somavaratan failed to meet its primary endpoint, and we would need to conduct additional clinical trials in order to continue our efforts to obtain approval of somavaratan.
We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical studies that could delay or prevent our ability to receive regulatory approval or commercialize somavaratan or any future product candidates, including the following:
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clinical studies may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical studies or abandon product development programs;
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the number of patients required for clinical studies may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical studies may be insufficient or slower than we anticipate or patients may drop out of these clinical studies at a higher rate than we anticipate;
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the cost of clinical studies or the manufacturing of our product candidates may be greater than we anticipate;
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our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;
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we might have to suspend or terminate clinical studies of our product candidates for various reasons, including a finding that our product candidates have unanticipated serious side effects or other unexpected characteristics or that the patients are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;
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regulators may not approve our proposed clinical development plans;
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regulators or institutional review boards may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical study or conduct a clinical study at a prospective study site;
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regulators or institutional review boards may require that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements; and
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the supply or quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical studies of our product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate.
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If we are unable to successfully complete clinical studies or other testing, if the results of such studies or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we may:
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be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;
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not obtain marketing approval at all;
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obtain approval for indications that are not as broad as intended;
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have the product removed from the market after obtaining marketing approval;
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be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements; or
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be subject to restrictions on how the product is distributed or used.
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Our product development costs will also i
ncrease if we decide to conduct additional clinical studies and experience delays in testing or approvals. We do not know whether any clinical studies will begin as planned, will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, or at all. For exam
ple, in February 2014, the FDA notified us that it would require additional information before allowing us to use a newly manufactured lot of somavaratan produced by our new manufacturer intended for our VISTA study, and the FDA subsequently issued a part
ial clinical hold related to the use of any material produced by this new manufacturer. The FDA ultimately lifted the partial clinical hold in June 2014. And then in early 2015, following initiation of the VELOCITY trial, the FDA requested additional bio
analytical data and placed our Phase 3 clinical trial on partial clinical hold. We provided the requested information to the agency and this second partial clinical hold was lifted in June 2015. There can be no assurance, however, that we will not be subj
ect to similar FDA actions in any future clinical trials that we may conduct, or that such actions will not cause delays in our clinical studies.
Significant clinical study delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which would impair our ability to commercialize our product candidates and harm our business and results of operations.
Somavaratan or our future product candidates may cause serious adverse side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label or result in significant negative consequences following any marketing approval.
Our product candidate, somavaratan, has not completed clinical development, and failed to meet its primary endpoint in our Phase 3 trial. If we continue with clinical development of somavaratan, the risk of failure of clinical development is high. It is impossible to predict when or if somavaratan or any future product candidates will prove safe enough to receive regulatory approval. Undesirable side effects caused by somavaratan or any future product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities.
Safety data have been reported from seven clinical studies of somavaratan in GHD patients. In these studies, adverse events (AEs) associated with somavaratan administration have generally been mild or moderate and transient, have been observed most frequently at or shortly following administration of the first dose, and have been consistent with those typically reported and observed in children starting daily rhGH. Suspected serious adverse drug reactions have been rare. In the Phase 2 extension study in Japan, one potentially related serious AE (seizure) was reported in a child with both a medical history and clinical findings consistent with a preexisting condition. Reference safety information for somavaratan has been established based on frequency of reported events and clinical judgment. Events considered expected for the purposes of regulatory reporting include injection site pain and headache in adults and children with GHD. However, we cannot provide assurance that serious adverse events or clinically meaningful adverse events will not occur at a higher rate in current or future clinical trials or that side effects in general will not prompt the discontinued development of somavaratan or any future product candidates.
In addition, the administration of therapeutic proteins including recombinant hGH occasionally causes an immune response, resulting in the creation of antibodies against the protein. The antibodies may be transient or persistent and can have no effect or can neutralize the activity of the protein or accelerate its clearance. Antibodies, including the rare occurrence of neutralizing antibodies, have been observed in the somavaratan clinical trials and while they had no effect on occurrence of adverse events, their overall clinical relevance must be assessed in our Phase 3 clinical trials. Due to potential safety, efficacy, immunogenicity, or toxicity issues that we may experience in our clinical trials in the future, we may not receive approval to market somavaratan or any future product candidates, which could prevent us from ever generating revenue or achieving profitability. Results of our trials could reveal an unacceptably high severity or prevalence of side effects or antibodies. In such an event, our trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Any drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and future prospects.
Additionally, if somavaratan or any of our future product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such product, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
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we may be forced to suspend the marketing of such product;
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regulatory authorities may withdraw their approvals of such product;
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regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label that could diminish the usage or otherwise limit the commercial success of such products;
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the FDA or other regulatory bodies may issue safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases or other communications containing warnings about such product;
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the FDA may require the establishment or modification o
f Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategies, or REMS, or a foreign regulatory authority may require the establishment or modification of a similar strategy that may, for instance, restrict distribution of our products and impose burdensome implementation requi
rements on us;
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we may be required to change the way the product is administered or conduct additional clinical trials;
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we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to subjects or patients;
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we may be subject to litigation or product liability claims; and
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our reputation may suffer.
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Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular product candidate, if approved.
Even if further clinical trials were conducted that demonstrate acceptable safety and efficacy of somavaratan for growth in pediatric GHD patients based on a twice-monthly dosing regimen, the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States may not approve somavaratan for marketing or may approve it with restrictions on the label, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.
In September 2017, we announced that our Phase 3 clinical trial failed to meet its primary endpoint, and we do not know whether we will conduct future clinical trials to continue our efforts to obtain approval for somavaratan. If we were to conduct future clinical trials, we would anticipate seeking regulatory approval for somavaratan in the United States, Europe and Canada for treatment of pediatric GHD patients. It is possible that the FDA, the EMA, the PMDA or Health Canada may not consider the results of our clinical trials to be sufficient for approval of somavaratan for this indication. In general, the FDA suggests that sponsors complete two adequate and well-controlled clinical studies to demonstrate effectiveness because a conclusion based on two persuasive studies will be more compelling than a conclusion based on a single study. Even if we achieve favorable results in a future Phase 3 clinical trial, and considering that somavaratan is a new molecular entity, the FDA may nonetheless require that we conduct additional clinical studies, possibly using a different clinical study design.
Moreover, even if the FDA or other regulatory authorities approve somavaratan for treatment of pediatric GHD, the approval may include additional restrictions on the label that could make somavaratan less attractive to physicians and patients compared to other products that may be approved for broader indications, which could limit potential sales of somavaratan.
If we fail to obtain FDA or other regulatory approval of somavaratan or if the approval is narrower than what we seek, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.
Even if somavaratan or any future product candidates receive regulatory approval, they may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, caregivers, healthcare payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
If somavaratan or any future product candidates receive regulatory approval, they may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, hospital administrators, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including the following:
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the prevalence and severity of any side effects;
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their efficacy and potential advantages compared to alternative treatments;
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the price we charge for our product candidates;
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the willingness of physicians to change their current treatment practices;
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convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;
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the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies;
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the strength of marketing and distribution support; and
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the availability of third-party coverage or reimbursement.
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For example, a numbe
r of companies offer therapies for treatment of pediatric GHD patients based on a daily regimen, and physicians, patients or their families may not be willing to change their current treatment practices in favor of somavaratan even if it is able to offer l
ess frequent dosing. If somavaratan or any future product candidates, if approved, do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenue and we may not become profitable on a sustained basis or at all.
Our failure to successfully identify, acquire, develop and commercialize additional products or product candidates could impair our ability to grow.
In addition to any possible future efforts to commercialize somavaratan, a key element of our long-term growth strategy is to acquire, develop and/or market additional products and product candidates. We currently have one other potential product candidate that is in the preclinical study stage, but its development is at a preliminary stage and there can be no certainty that we will choose to advance it. Research programs to identify product candidates require substantial technical, financial and human resources, whether or not any product candidates are ultimately identified. Because our internal research capabilities are limited, we may be dependent upon pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic scientists and other researchers to sell or license products or technology to us. The success of this strategy depends partly upon our ability to identify, select and acquire promising pharmaceutical product candidates and products. The process of proposing, negotiating and implementing a license or acquisition of a product candidate or approved product is lengthy and complex. Other companies, including some with substantially greater financial, marketing and sales resources, may compete with us for the license or acquisition of product candidates and approved products. We have limited resources to identify and execute the acquisition or in-licensing of third-party products, businesses and technologies and integrate them into our current infrastructure.
Moreover, we may devote resources to potential strategic transactions, acquisitions or in-licensing opportunities that are never completed, or we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such efforts. Any product candidate that we acquire may require additional development efforts prior to commercial sale, including extensive clinical testing and approval by the FDA and applicable foreign regulatory authorities. All product candidates are prone to risks of failure typical of pharmaceutical product development, including the possibility that a product candidate will not be shown to be sufficiently safe and effective for approval by regulatory authorities. In addition, we cannot provide assurance that any products that we develop or approved products that we acquire will be manufactured profitably or achieve market acceptance.
We currently have no sales or distribution personnel and only limited marketing capabilities. If we are unable to develop a sales and marketing and distribution capability on our own or through collaborations or other marketing partners, we will not be successful in commercializing somavaratan or other future products.
We do not have a significant sales or marketing infrastructure and have no experience in the sale, marketing or distribution of therapeutic products. To achieve commercial success for any approved product, we must either develop a sales and marketing organization or outsource these functions to third parties. If somavaratan is approved, we intend to commercialize it with our own specialty sales force in North America and potentially other geographies.
There are risks involved with both establishing our own sales and marketing capabilities and entering into arrangements with third parties to perform these services. For example, recruiting and training a sales force is expensive and time-consuming and could delay any product launch. If the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. This may be costly, and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel.
We also may not be successful entering into arrangements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates or may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. We likely will have little control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our products effectively and could damage our reputation. If we do not establish sales and marketing capabilities successfully, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing our product candidates.
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We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do.
The development and commercialization of new therapeutic products is highly competitive. We face competition with respect to somavaratan, and will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. There are several large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell rhGH therapies to our target patient group. These companies typically have a greater ability to reduce prices for their competing drugs in an effort to gain or retain market share and undermine the value proposition that we might otherwise be able to offer to payors. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. Many of these competitors are attempting to develop therapeutics for our target indications.
If we continue with the development of somavaratan, we will focus on developing somavaratan for treatment of pediatric and adult GHD patients based on a twice-monthly dosing regimen. The current standard of care for growth therapies for patients in the United States and around the world is a daily subcutaneous injection of rhGH. There are a variety of currently marketed daily rhGH therapies administered by daily subcutaneous injection and used for the treatment of GHD, principally Norditropin
®
(Novo Nordisk), Humatrope
®
(Eli Lilly), Nutropin-AQ
®
(Roche/Genentech), Genotropin
®
(Pfizer), Saizen
®
(Merck Serono), Zomacton
TM
(Ferring Pharmaceuticals), Omnitrope
®
(Sandoz GmbH) and Valtropin
®
(LG Life Science). These rhGH drugs, with the exception of Valtropin
®
, are well-established therapies and are widely accepted by physicians, patients, caregivers, third-party payors and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, as the standard of care for the treatment of GHD. Physicians, patients, third-party payors and PBMs may not accept the addition of somavaratan to their current treatment regimens for a variety of potential reasons, including concerns about incurring potential additional costs related to somavaratan, the perception that the use of somavaratan will be of limited additional benefit to patients, or limited long-term safety data compared to currently available rhGH treatments.
In addition to the currently approved and marketed daily rhGH therapies, there are a variety of experimental therapies that are in various stages of clinical development by companies both already participating in the rhGH market as well as potential new entrants, principally Aileron Therapeutics, Althea, Ambrx, Ascendis, Bioton S.A., Critical Pharmaceuticals, Dong-A, GeneScience, Genexine, Hanmi, LG Life Science, OPKO Health, Inc. (in collaboration with Pfizer, Inc.) and all of the existing global and regional rhGH franchises.
Many of our competitors, including a number of large pharmaceutical companies that compete directly with us, have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical study sites and patient registration for clinical studies, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs.
We may form strategic alliances in the future, and we may not realize the benefits of such alliances.
We have and may continue to form strategic alliances, create joint ventures or collaborations or enter into licensing arrangements with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our existing business. These relationships or those like them may require us to incur non-recurring and other charges, increase our near- and long-term expenditures, issue securities that dilute our existing stockholders or disrupt our management and business. In addition, we face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic partners and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. Moreover, we may not be successful in our efforts to establish a strategic partnership or other alternative arrangements for somavaratan or any future product candidates and programs because our research and development pipeline may be insufficient, our product candidates and programs may be deemed to be at too early of a stage of development for collaborative effort and third parties may not view our product candidates and programs as having the requisite potential to demonstrate safety and efficacy. If we license products or businesses, we may not be able to realize the benefit of such transactions if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. We cannot be certain that, following a strategic transaction or license, we will achieve the revenues or specific net income that justifies such transaction. Any delays in entering into new strategic partnership agreements related to our product candidates could also delay the development and commercialization of our product candidates and reduce their competitiveness even if they reach the market.
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If we are able to commercialize somavaratan or any future product candidates, the p
roducts may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives, thereby harming our business.
The regulations that govern marketing approvals, pricing and reimbursement for new therapeutic products vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a product before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain regulatory approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product and negatively impact the revenue we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates, even if our product candidates obtain regulatory approval.
Our ability to commercialize somavaratan or any future products successfully also will depend in part on the extent to which reimbursement for these products and related treatments becomes available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. Government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which medications they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. A primary trend in the U.S. healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Government authorities and these third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. Increasingly, third-party payors are requiring that companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices and are challenging the prices charged for medical products. We cannot be sure that reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any product for which we obtain marketing approval. Obtaining reimbursement for our products may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated with products administered under the supervision of a physician. If reimbursement is not available or is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any product candidate that we successfully develop.
There may be significant delays in obtaining reimbursement for approved products, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the product is approved by the FDA or regulatory authorities in other countries. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement does not imply that any product will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacturing, sales and distribution. Interim payments for new products, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Payment rates may vary according to the use of the product and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on payments allowed for lower cost products that are already reimbursed and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for products may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of products from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and profitable payment rates from both government funded and private payors for new products that we develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition. In some foreign countries, including major markets in the European Union and Japan, the pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is subject to governmental control. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take nine to twelve months or longer after the receipt of regulatory marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of our product to other available therapies. Our business could be materially harmed if reimbursement of our approved products, if any, is unavailable or limited in scope or amount or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels.
Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.
We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of somavaratan and any future product candidates in human clinical studies and will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any products that we may develop. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that our product candidates or products caused injuries, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
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decreased demand for any product candidates or products that we may develop;
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injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;
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withdrawal of patients from clinical studies or cancellation of studies;
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significant costs to defend the related litigation;
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substantial monetary awards to patients;
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the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop.
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We currently hold $10.0 million in product liability insurance coverage, which may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur. Insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise.
Risks related to our financial condition and need for additional capital
We have a limited operating history and have incurred significant losses since our inception, and we anticipate that we will continue to incur substantial and increasing losses for the foreseeable future. We have only one product candidate and no commercial sales, which, together with our limited operating history, makes it difficult to evaluate our business and assess our future viability.
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. We do not have any products approved for sale, and to date we have focused principally on developing our only product candidate, somavaratan. The Phase 3 clinical trial of somavaratan failed to meet its primary endpoint. Evaluating our performance, viability or future success will be more difficult than if we had a longer operating history or approved products on the market. Although we have taken steps to reduce and control our costs following the failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint, we continue to incur research and development and general and administrative expenses related to our operations. In addition, we are exploring a range of alternatives to enhance stockholder value, including the potential for a strategic transaction, which could impact our cash needs that cannot be determined at this time. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate effect or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. We have incurred significant operating losses in each year since our inception and expect to incur substantial and increasing losses for the foreseeable future. As of December 31, 2017, we had an accumulated deficit of $374.2 million.
To date, we have financed our operations primarily through private placements of our convertible preferred stock, the initial public offering of our common stock in March 2014, and public offerings of our common stock in January 2015, October and November of 2016. We have devoted substantially all of our efforts to research and development, including clinical studies, but have not completed development of any product candidate, and our Phase 3 clinical trial recently failed to meet its primary endpoint. We anticipate that our expenses will increase to the extent we:
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continue the research and development of our only product candidate, somavaratan, and any future product candidates;
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conduct additional clinical studies of somavaratan in the future;
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seek to discover or in-license additional product candidates;
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seek regulatory approvals for somavaratan and any future product candidates that successfully complete clinical studies;
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establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure and scale-up manufacturing capabilities to commercialize somavaratan or other future product candidates if they obtain regulatory approval, including process improvements in order to manufacture somavaratan at commercial scale; and
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enhance operational, financial and information management systems and hire more personnel, including personnel to support development of somavaratan and any future product candidates and, if a product candidate is approved, our commercialization efforts.
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To be profitable in the future, we must succeed in developing and eventually commercializing somavaratan as well as other products with significant market potential. This will require us to be successful in a range of activities, including advancing somavaratan and any future product candidates, completing clinical studies of these product candidates, obtaining regulatory approval for these product candidates and manufacturing, marketing and selling those products for which we may obtain regulatory approval. We are only in the preliminary stages of some of these activities. We may not succeed in these activities and may never generate revenue that is sufficient to be profitable in the future. Even if we are profitable, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to achieve sustained profitability would depress the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our product candidates, market our product candidates, if approved, or continue our operations.
We currently have no source of product revenue and may never become profitable.
To date, we have not generated any revenues from commercial product sales, or otherwise. Even if we are able to successfully achieve regulatory approval for somavaratan or any future product candidates, we do not know when any of these products will
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genera
te revenue from product sales for us. Our ability to generate revenue from product sales and achieve profitability will depend upon our ability, alone or with current and any future collaborators, to successfully commercialize products, including somavarat
an or any product candidates that we may develop, in-license or acquire in the future. Our ability to generate revenue from product sales from somavaratan or any future product candidates also depends on a number of additional factors, including our or any
future collaborators’ ability to:
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complete development activities, including any further safety studies and Phase 3, Phase 2/3, and Phase 2 clinical trials that may be conducted with somavaratan, successfully and on a timely basis;
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demonstrate the safety and efficacy of somavaratan to the satisfaction of the FDA and obtain regulatory approval for somavaratan and future product candidates, if any, for which there is a commercial market;
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complete and submit applications to, and obtain regulatory approval from, foreign regulatory authorities;
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set a commercially viable price for our products;
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establish and maintain supply and manufacturing relationships with reliable third parties, and ensure adequate and legally compliant manufacturing of bulk drug substances and drug products to maintain that supply;
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develop a commercial organization capable of sales, marketing and distribution of any products for which we obtain marketing approval in markets where we intend to commercialize independently;
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find suitable distribution partners to help us market, sell and distribute our approved products in other markets;
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obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors, including government and private payors;
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achieve market acceptance of our products, if any;
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establish, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights and avoid third-party patent interference or patent infringement claims; and
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attract, hire and retain qualified personnel.
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In addition, because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development, including that somavaratan or any future product candidates may not advance through development or achieve the endpoints of applicable clinical trials, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses, or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. In addition, our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we decide to or are required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities to perform studies or trials in addition to those that we currently anticipate. Even if we are able to complete the development and regulatory process for somavaratan or any future product candidates, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing these products.
Even if we are able to generate revenues from the sale of somavaratan or any future product candidates that may be approved, we may not become profitable and may need to obtain additional funding to continue operations. If we fail to become profitable or are unable to sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce or shut down our operations.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or our guidance.
Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly in the future, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. From time to time, we may enter into collaboration agreements with other companies that include development funding and significant upfront and milestone payments and/or royalties, which may become an important source of our revenue. Accordingly, our revenue may depend on development funding and the achievement of development and clinical milestones under any current and potential future collaboration and license agreements and sales of our products, if approved. These upfront and milestone payments may vary significantly from period to period and any such variance could cause a significant fluctuation in our operating results from one period to the next. In addition, we measure compensation cost for stock-based awards made to employees at the grant date of the award, based on the fair value of the award as determined by our board of directors, and recognize the cost as an expense over the employee’s requisite service period. As the variables that we use as a basis for valuing these awards change over time, our underlying stock price and stock price volatility, the magnitude of the expense that we must recognize may vary significantly. Furthermore, our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of other factors, many of which are outside of our control and may be difficult to predict, including the following:
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the timing and cost of, and level of investment in, research and development activities relating to somavaratan and any future product candidates, which will change from time to time;
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our ability to enroll patients in clinical trials and the timing of enrollment;
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the cost of manufacturing somavaratan and any future product candidates, which may vary depending on FDA guidelines and requirements, the quantity of production and the terms of our agreements with manufacturers;
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expenditures that we will or may incur to acquire or develop additional product candidates and technologies;
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the timing and outcomes of clinical studies for somavaratan and any future product candidates or competing product candidates;
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changes in the competitive landscape of our industry, including consolidation among our competitors or partners;
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any delays in regulatory review or approval of somavaratan or any of our future product candidates;
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the level of demand for somavaratan and any future product candidates, should they receive approval, which may fluctuate significantly and be difficult to predict;
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the risk/benefit profile, cost and reimbursement policies with respect to our products candidates, if approved, and existing and potential future drugs that compete with our product candidates;
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competition from existing and potential future drugs that compete with somavaratan or any of our future product candidates;
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our ability to commercialize somavaratan or any future product candidate inside and outside of the United States, either independently or working with third parties;
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our ability to establish and maintain collaborations, licensing or other arrangements;
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our ability to adequately support future growth;
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potential unforeseen business disruptions that increase our costs or expenses;
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future accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies; and
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the changing and volatile global economic environment.
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The cumulative effects of these factors could result in large fluctuations and unpredictability in our quarterly and annual operating results. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. Investors should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance. This variability and unpredictability could also result in our failing to meet the expectations of industry or financial analysts or investors for any period. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of analysts or investors or below any forecasts we may provide to the market, or if the forecasts we provide to the market are below the expectations of analysts or investors, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Such a stock price decline could occur even when we have met any previously publicly stated revenue and/or earnings guidance we may provide.
We will need additional funds to support our operations, and such funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all, which would force us to delay, reduce or suspend our research and development programs and other operations or commercialization efforts. Raising additional capital may subject us to unfavorable terms, cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our product candidates and technologies.
The completion of the development and the potential commercialization of somavaratan and any future product candidates, should they receive approval, will require substantial funds. As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately $81.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, which includes $59.1 million in net proceeds we received from our public offering in October and November 2016. We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, combined with the proceeds of the recent offering, will be sufficient to sustain operations for at least the next 12 months based on our existing business plan. Our future financing requirements will depend on many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the following:
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the rate of progress and cost of our future clinical studies;
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the timing of, and costs involved in, seeking and obtaining approvals from the FDA and other regulatory authorities;
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the cost of preparing to manufacture somavaratan on a larger scale, should we elect to do so;
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the costs of commercialization activities if somavaratan or any future product candidate is approved, including product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution;
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the degree and rate of market acceptance of any products launched by us or future partners;
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the costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights;
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our ability to enter into additional collaboration, licensing, commercialization or other arrangements and the terms and timing of such arrangements;
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the emergence of competing technologies or other adverse market developments; and
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the costs of attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel.
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We do not have any material committed external source of funds or other support for our development efforts, and the failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet
its primary endpoint may make it more difficult to raise funds in the future. Until we can generate a sufficient amount of product revenue to finance our cash requirements, which we may never do, we expect to finance future cash needs through a combinatio
n of public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements and other marketing and distribution arrangements. Additional financing may not be available to us when we need it or it may not be availa
ble on favorable terms. If we raise additional capital through marketing and distribution arrangements or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish certain valuable rights to somavarat
an or potential future product candidates, technologies, future revenue streams or research programs, or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we raise additional capital through public or private equity offerings, the ownership inter
est of our existing stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. If we raise additional capital through debt financing, we may be subject to cov
enants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing when needed, we may have to delay, reduce the scope of
, or suspend one or more of our clinical studies or research and development programs or our commercialization efforts.
Risks related to our reliance on third parties
We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical studies, and those third parties may not perform satisfactorily, including failing to meet deadlines for the completion of such studies.
We do not independently conduct clinical studies of our lead product candidate, somavaratan. We rely on third parties, such as contract research organizations, or CROs, clinical data management organizations, medical institutions and clinical investigators, to perform this function. For example, we relied on ResearchPoint Global to oversee and manage our VISTA study and global Phase 3 pediatric trial of somavaratan, and we may rely on these or similar organizations in the future. Our reliance on these third parties for clinical development activities reduces our control over these activities but does not relieve us of our responsibilities. We remain responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical studies is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for the trial. Moreover, the FDA requires us to comply with standards, commonly referred to as good clinical practices, for conducting, recording and reporting the results of clinical studies to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of patients in clinical studies are protected. Furthermore, these third parties may also have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our clinical studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, we will not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, regulatory approvals for our product candidates and will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize our product candidates.
We also rely on other third parties to store and distribute supplies for our clinical studies. Any performance failure on the part of our existing or future distributors could delay clinical development or regulatory approval of our product candidates or commercialization of our products, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential product revenue.
We rely on third-party contract manufacturing organizations to manufacture and supply somavaratan, including our autoinjector device. If our manufacturers and suppliers fail to perform adequately or fulfill our needs, we may be required to incur significant costs and devote significant efforts to find a new supplier or manufacturer. We may also face delays in the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
We have limited experience in, and we do not own facilities for, clinical-scale manufacturing of our product candidates and we rely upon third-party contract manufacturing organizations to manufacture and supply drug product for our clinical studies of somavaratan. The manufacture of pharmaceutical and medical device products in compliance with the cGMP and Quality System (QS) regulations and guidance from various regulatory authorities requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls. Manufacturers of pharmaceutical products often encounter difficulties in production, including difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the product candidate and quality assurance testing, shortages of qualified personnel, as well as compliance with strictly enforced cGMP/QS requirements, other federal and state regulatory requirements and foreign regulations. If our manufacturers were to encounter any of these difficulties or otherwise fail to comply with their obligations to us or under applicable regulations, our ability to provide study drugs in our clinical studies would be jeopardized. Any delay or interruption in the supply of clinical study materials could delay the completion of our clinical studies, increase the costs associated with maintaining our clinical study programs and, depending upon the period of delay, require us to commence new studies at significant additional expense or terminate the studies completely.
All manufacturers of our product candidates must comply with cGMP and QS requirements enforced by the FDA, EMA, PMDA and similar authorities through their facilities inspection program. These requirements include, among other things, quality control, quality assurance and the maintenance of records and documentation. Manufacturers of our product candidates may be unable to comply with these requirements and with other regulatory authority requirements. Regulatory agencies may also implement new standards at any time, or change their interpretation and enforcement of existing standards for manufacture, packaging or testing of
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products. We have little control over our manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards. A failure to comply with these requirements may result in
fines and civil penalties, suspension of production, suspension or delay in product approval, product seizure or recall or withdrawal of product approval. If the safety of any product supplied is compromised due to our manufacturers’ failure to adhere to
applicable laws or for other reasons, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our products and we may be held liable for any injuries sustained as a result. Any of these factors could cause a delay of clinical stu
dies, regulatory submissions, approvals or commercialization of our product candidates, entail higher costs or impair our reputation.
Our product candidate, somavaratan, is a biologic and therefore requires a complex production process. In October 2012, we transferred production of somavaratan to Boehringer Ingelheim. In connection with the transfer of production, we made certain changes to the manufacturing process in order to increase its scale and efficiency. We cannot assure that the FDA and the EMA will agree to the changes in the manufacturing process to support commercialization. If we and our manufacturer cannot agree to the terms and conditions necessary for our commercial supply needs, or if our manufacturer terminates the agreement in response to a material breach by us or otherwise becomes unable to fulfill its supply obligations, we would not be able to manufacture somavaratan until a qualified alternative manufacturer is identified, which could also delay the development of, and impair our ability to commercialize, somavaratan.
The number of third-party manufacturers with the necessary manufacturing and regulatory expertise and facilities is limited, and it could be expensive and take a significant amount of time to restart and arrange for alternative suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. New manufacturers of any product candidate would be required to qualify under applicable regulatory requirements and would need to have sufficient rights under applicable intellectual property laws to the method of manufacturing the product candidate. Obtaining the necessary FDA approvals or other qualifications under applicable regulatory requirements and ensuring non-infringement of third-party intellectual property rights could result in a significant interruption of supply and could require the new manufacturer to bear significant additional costs that may be passed on to us.
Our current and potential future license or collaboration agreements for somavaratan or any other product candidate may place some or all aspects of the development and commercialization of somavaratan or other product candidates outside our control, may require us to relinquish important rights or may otherwise be on terms unfavorable to us.
We have entered into and may in the future enter into additional license or collaboration agreements with third parties for the development or commercialization of somavaratan or future product candidates. For example, in August 2016, we entered into an Exclusive License and Supply Agreement, or the Teijin License, with Teijin Limited, or Teijin, pursuant to which we granted to Teijin an exclusive license to develop, use, sell, offer for sale, import or otherwise commercialize in Japan any pharmaceutical product incorporating somavaratan. Our likely collaborators for any distribution, marketing, licensing or other collaboration arrangements include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies such as Teijin. Because such collaborators are independent third parties, they may be subject to different risks than we are and may have significant discretion in, and different criteria for, determining the efforts and resources they will apply related to their agreements with us. We may have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our collaborators dedicate to the development or commercialization of our product candidates. Our ability to generate revenue from these arrangements will depend in part on our collaborators’ abilities to successfully perform the functions assigned to them in these arrangements.
Following the failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint, Teijin notified us, pursuant to the agreement’s terms, that it would be terminating the Exclusive License Supply Agreement between us and Teijin. This decision was followed by discussions between us and Teijin regarding the failure of our Phase 3 VELOCITY trial to meet its primary endpoint during which it was determined that continuing with the License Agreement was no longer in the best interests of either party.
Collaborations involving our product candidates are subject to numerous risks, which may include the following:
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Collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to any such collaborations.
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Collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of our product candidates or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical study results, changes in their strategic focus, availability of funding or other external factors, such as a business combination that diverts resources or creates competing priorities.
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Collaborators may assume responsibility for conduct of clinical trials for product candidates in certain geographies and may fail to conduct such trials, may conduct them improperly, or may generate data inconsistent with the data from our clinical trials.
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Collaborators may assume responsibility for seeking or maintaining regulatory approvals, pricing, government reimbursement approval, and public and private formulary placements. Failure to effectively obtain such approvals and clearances will substantially impact the commercial potential for the product candidate.
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Collaborators may delay clinical studies, pro
vide insufficient funding for a clinical study program, stop a clinical study, abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical studies or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing.
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Collaborators may be required to conduct duplicate analytical testing of a product candidate or approved product upon importation to a specific jurisdiction. Collaborators could acquire or independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our products or product candidates.
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A collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more products may not commit sufficient resources to their marketing and distribution.
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The actions of a collaborator may create liability for us as the global manufacturer of a product candidate, either directly or through indemnification obligations defined in license, collaboration or other agreements.
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Collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our intellectual property or proprietary information in a way that gives rise to actual or threatened litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential liability.
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Collaborators may publish or otherwise publicly present or disclose information regarding our product candidates, including laboratory data or the results of preclinical or clinical research.
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Disputes may arise between us and a collaborator that causes the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization of our product candidates or that results in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management attention and resources;
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Collaborations may be terminated and, if terminated, may result in a need for additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates.
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Collaborators may own or co-own intellectual property covering our products that results from our collaborating with them, and in such cases, we would not have the exclusive right to commercialize such intellectual property.
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Risks related to the operation of our business
Our future success depends on our ability to retain our chief executive officer and other key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
We are highly dependent on our chief executive officer and the other principal members of our executive team, some of whom joined our company prior to May 2015, when our current chief executive officer began serving in that role. The loss of the services of any of these people or instability in our executive team, which may be more likely due to our recent failure of the Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint, could impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives.
Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing and sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success. Following the failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint, key employees have left and may leave the Company, and we may not have the resources to hire or choose not to replace additional personnel. We may not be able to attract and retain these personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us.
We have implemented a series of cost-savings measures, and we do not know what the impact of those measures.
Following the failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint, management implemented a number of cost-savings measures, including a significant reduction in force, in order to preserve cash as the Company assesses its alternatives. We do not know what the impact of these measures will be, but the changes could divert management resources, which could adversely impact the Company’s business operations.
We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act, which was enacted in April 2012. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-
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Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy stat
ements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, alth
ough circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) December 31, 2019, (2) the last day of the fiscal year (a) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billi
on or (b) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means, among other things, that the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (3) the date on which we have is
sued more than $1.07 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock l
ess attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may suffer or be more volatile.
Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.
Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.
Our operations could be subject to earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications failures, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics and other natural or manmade disasters or business interruptions. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our operations and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. Our corporate headquarters are located in California and certain clinical sites for our product candidate, operations of our existing and future partners are or will be located in California near major earthquake faults and fire zones. The ultimate impact on us, our significant partners, suppliers and our general infrastructure of being located near major earthquake faults and fire zones and being consolidated in certain geographical areas is unknown, but our operations and financial condition could suffer in the event of a major earthquake, fire or other natural or manmade disaster.
If we obtain approval to commercialize somavaratan outside the United States, we will be subject to additional risks.
If we obtain approval to commercialize any products outside of the United States, a variety of risks associated with international operations could materially adversely affect our business, including:
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different regulatory requirements for drug approvals in foreign countries;
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reduced protection for intellectual property rights;
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unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers and regulatory requirements;
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economic weakness, including inflation or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets;
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compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad;
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foreign taxes, including withholding of payroll taxes;
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foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue, and other obligations incident to doing business in another country;
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workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States;
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production shortages resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad; and
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business interruptions resulting from geopolitical actions, including war and terrorism, or natural disasters including earthquakes, typhoons, floods and fires.
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The United Kingdom’s impending departure from the European Union could adversely affect our business.
The United Kingdom held a referendum on June 23, 2016 in which a majority of voters voted to exit the European Union (“Brexit”). Negotiations are expected to commence to determine the future terms of the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union, including, among other things, the terms of trade between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The effects of Brexit will depend on any agreements the United Kingdom makes to retain access to European Union markets either during a transitional period or more permanently. Brexit could adversely affect European and worldwide economic and market conditions and could contribute to instability in global financial and foreign exchange markets, including volatility in the value of the sterling and euro. In addition, Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the United Kingdom determines which European Union laws to replace or replicate, including laws that could impact our ability to obtain approval of our products or sell our products in the United Kingdom. Any of these effects of Brexit, and others we cannot anticipate, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our internal computer systems, or those of our CROs or other contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our drug development programs.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our CROs and other contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. While we have not experienced any such system failure, accident or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our drug development programs. For example, the loss of clinical study data from completed or ongoing clinical studies for a product candidate could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development of any product candidates could be delayed.
Risks related to intellectual property
If we fail to comply with our obligations in our intellectual property licenses with third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
We are a party to intellectual property license agreements with third parties, including with respect to somavaratan, and expect to enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our existing license agreements impose, and we expect that our future license agreements will impose, various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with these obligations, our licensors may have the right to terminate these agreements, in which event we may not be able to develop and market any product that is covered by these agreements. For example, we license substantially all of the intellectual property relating to somavaratan from Amunix, and the loss of our license agreement with Amunix would therefore materially adversely affect our ability to proceed with any development or potential commercialization of our product candidates as currently planned. Amunix has the right to terminate the license upon 30 days’ written notice with respect to a particular target and the related products if (i) during any consecutive 18 month period our cumulative funding of research, development and commercialization activities in respect of such target is not at least $250,000, in which case we would have the right to extend the applicable 18 month period by paying Amunix $150,000; or (ii) if we do not use commercially reasonable measures to develop and commercialize licensed products based on such target. Termination of this license, or reduction or elimination of our licensed rights under it or any other license, may result in our having to negotiate new or reinstated licenses on less favorable terms or our not having sufficient intellectual property rights to operate our business. The occurrence of such events could materially harm our business and financial condition.
The risks described elsewhere pertaining to our intellectual property rights also apply to the intellectual property rights that we license, and any failure by us or our licensors to obtain, maintain, defend and enforce these rights could have a material adverse effect on our business. In some cases we do not have control over the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of the patents that we license, and may not have sufficient ability to provide input into the patent prosecution, maintenance and defense process with respect to such patents, and our licensors may fail to take the steps that we believe are necessary or desirable in order to obtain, maintain, defend and enforce the licensed patents. We are also required to reimburse Amunix for certain costs incurred in prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing the licensed patents.
Our ability to successfully commercialize our technology and products may be materially adversely affected if we are unable to obtain and maintain effective intellectual property rights for our technologies and product candidates, or if the scope of the intellectual property protection is not sufficiently broad.
Our success depends in large part on our and our licensors’ ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the United States and in other countries with respect to our proprietary technology and products.
We license substantially all of the intellectual property relating to somavaratan from Amunix. We do not presently own any issued patents or pending patent applications, and our license agreement with Amunix provides that inventions relating to somavaratan are
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Amunix. We are therefore dependent on Amunix to apply for, prosecute, maintain, defend and, in some cases, enforce the patent rights necessary to conduct our business. However, we cannot be certain this will be done in a manner consistent with the best in
terests of our business. The process of applying for patents is expensive and time-consuming, and Amunix may not, or may not be able to, file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is als
o possible that we or Amunix will fail to identify patentable aspects of our respective research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. While Amunix has obtained a number of patents relating to the XTEN technology, and ap
plied for a number of other patents relating to the XTEN technology in general, and somavaratan in particular, we cannot assure you that any pending or future applications will result in issued patents, and the existing Amunix patents that we license, and
any future patents they obtain may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from using our technologies or from developing competing products and technologies. Under our license agreement with Amunix, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable effo
rts to develop and commercialize certain products that we license from Amunix and to maintain minimum rates of spending on research, development and commercialization. In exchange, we retain a limited, exclusive license from Amunix to relevant patents and
know-how related to XTEN technology. If we fail to fulfill our obligations under the agreement, Amunix could terminate the agreement.
The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions for which legal principles remain unresolved. In recent years patent rights have been the subject of significant litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of the patent rights we rely on are highly uncertain. Pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued which protect our technology or products or which effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and products. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of the patents we rely on or narrow the scope of our patent protection. The laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed in our licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we or our licensors were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, prior to March 16, 2013, in the United States, the first to make the claimed invention is entitled to the patent, while outside the United States, the first to file a patent application is entitled to the patent.
Even if the patent applications we rely on issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner. The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its scope, validity or enforceability, and the patents we rely on may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, which could limit our ability to stop or prevent us from stopping others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours or otherwise provide us with a competitive advantage.
Finally, certain of Amunix’s activities have been funded, and may in the future be funded, by the U.S. government. When new technologies are developed with U.S. government funding, the government obtains certain rights in any resulting patents, including the right to a nonexclusive license authorizing the government to use the invention. These rights may permit the government to disclose our confidential information to third parties and to exercise “march-in” rights to use or allow third parties to use Amunix’s patented technology. The government can exercise its march-in rights if it determines that action is necessary because we fail to achieve practical application of the U.S. government-funded technology, because action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs, to meet requirements of federal regulations, or to give preference to U.S. industry. In addition, U.S. government-funded inventions must be reported to the government, U.S. government funding must be disclosed in any resulting patent applications, and Amunix’s rights in such inventions may be subject to certain requirements to manufacture products in the United States.
We may become involved in legal proceedings to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors may infringe or otherwise violate the patents we rely on, or our other intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Any claims that we assert against perceived infringers could also provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their intellectual property rights. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent we are asserting is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that the patents we are asserting do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.
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Interference or derivation proceeding
s provoked by third parties or brought by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or any foreign patent authority may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions or other matters of inventorship with respect to patents and patent
applications. We or our licensers may become involved in proceedings, including oppositions, interferences, derivation proceedings inter partes reviews, patent nullification proceedings, or re-examinations, challenging our patent rights or the patent right
s of others, and the outcome of any such proceedings are highly uncertain. For example, Novo Nordisk A/S filed oppositions to two issued European patents relating to the XTEN technology. One of the oppositions resulted in an adverse initial decision by the
European Patent Office that is currently under appeal. The patent remains in effect until complete adjudication of the appeal, which typically is a multi-year process. An adverse final determination in any such proceeding could reduce the scope of, or i
nvalidate, our important patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party
patent rights. Our business also could be harmed if a prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms, if any license is offered at all. Litigation or other proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substanti
al costs and distract our management and other employees. We may also become involved in disputes with others regarding the ownership of intellectual property rights. For example, we hold material service agreements with certain parties, including Amunix,
and disagreements may therefore arise as to the ownership of any intellectual property developed pursuant to these relationships. If we are unable to resolve these disputes, we could lose valuable intellectual property rights.
Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses, and could distract our technical and/or management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of intellectual property litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.
Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.
Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the proprietary rights or intellectual property of third parties. We may become party to, or be threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products and technology. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing or future intellectual property rights. If we are found to infringe a third-party’s intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain a license from such third-party to continue developing and marketing our products and technology. We may also elect to enter into such a license in order to settle pending or threatened litigation. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us, and could require us to pay significant royalties and other fees. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease commercializing the infringing technology or product. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Many of our employees were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or our employees have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s former employer. These and other claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties can have a similar negative impact on our business to the infringement claims discussed above.
Even if we are successful in defending against intellectual property claims, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to such claims may cause us to incur significant expenses, and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce our resources available for development activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of litigation or other intellectual property related proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.
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If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, the
value of our technology could be materially adversely affected, harming our business and competitive position.
In addition to patent protection, we rely upon confidential proprietary information, including trade secrets, unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to develop and maintain our competitive position. Any disclosure to or misappropriation by third parties of our confidential proprietary information could enable competitors to quickly duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in the market. We seek to protect our confidential proprietary information, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees and our collaborators and consultants. We also have agreements with our employees and selected consultants that obligate them to assign their inventions to us. These agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information, however, we cannot be certain that our trade secrets and other confidential information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets, or that technology relevant to our business will not be independently developed by a person that is not a party to such an agreement. Furthermore, if the employees, consultants or collaborators that are parties to these agreements breach or violate the terms of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach or violation, and we could lose our trade secrets through such breaches or violations. Further, our trade secrets could be disclosed, misappropriated or otherwise become known or be independently discovered by our competitors. In addition, intellectual property laws in foreign countries may not protect trade secrets and confidential information to the same extent as the laws of the United States. If we are unable to prevent disclosure of the intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, we may not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which would harm our ability to protect our rights and have a material adverse effect on our business.
We may not be able to protect and/or enforce our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on all of our product candidates throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive to us and to our licensors. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we or our licensors have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection but where enforcement is not as strong as in the United States. These products may compete with our products in jurisdictions where we or our licensors do not have any issued patents and our patent claims or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from so competing. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biopharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial cost to us and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business.
Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.
The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. The following examples are illustrative:
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Others may be able to make products that are similar to our product candidates but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we license;
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Our licensors or collaborators might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by an issued patent or pending patent application;
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Our licensors or collaborators might not have been the first to file patent applications covering an invention;
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Others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our or our licensors’ technologies without infringing our intellectual property rights;
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Pending patent applications may not lead to issued patents;
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Issued patents may not provide us with any competitive advantages, or may be held invalid or unenforceable, as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;
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Our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;
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We may not develop or in-license additional proprietary technologies that are patentable; and
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The patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.
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Should any of these events occur, they could significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.
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Obtaining and maintaining patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our or our licensors’ patent protection
could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.
Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other governmental fees on patents and/or applications will be due to be paid by us and/or our licensors to the USPTO and various governmental patent agencies outside of the United States in several stages over the lifetime of the licensed patents and/or applications. The USPTO and various non-U.S. governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. However, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, our competitors might be able to use our technologies and those technologies licensed to us and this circumstance would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Patent reform legislation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.
In March 2013, under the America Invents Act, or AIA, the United States moved to a first-to-file system and made certain other changes to its patent laws. The effects of these changes are currently unclear as the USPTO must still implement various regulations, the courts have yet to address these provisions and the applicability of the act and new regulations on specific patents discussed herein have not been determined and would need to be reviewed. Accordingly, it is not yet clear what, if any, impact the AIA will have on the operation of our business. However, the AIA and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
If our third party licensors do not obtain a patent term extension in the United States under the Hatch-Waxman Act and in foreign countries under similar legislation, thereby potentially extending the term of our marketing exclusivity for our product candidates, our business may be materially harmed.
Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of FDA marketing approval of our product candidates, if any, one or more of the U.S. patents covering our approved product(s) or the use thereof may be eligible for up to five years of patent term restoration under the Hatch-Waxman Act. The Hatch-Waxman Act allows a maximum of one patent to be extended per FDA approved product. Patent term extension also may be available in certain foreign countries upon regulatory approval of our product candidates. Nevertheless, we or our licensors may not be granted patent term extension either in the United States or in any foreign country in the event, for example, we or our licensors fail to apply within applicable deadlines, fail to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise fail to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the term of extension, as well as the scope of patent protection during any such extension, afforded by the governmental authority could be less than we request.
If we or our licensors are unable to obtain patent term extension or restoration, or the term of any such extension is less than requested, the period during which we will have the right to exclusively market our product will be shortened and our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our revenue could be reduced, possibly materially.
Risks related to government regulation
The regulatory approval process is expensive, time consuming and uncertain and may prevent us or our collaboration partners from obtaining approvals for the commercialization of our product candidates.
The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, selling, import, export, marketing and distribution of drug products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States and other countries, which regulations differ from country to country. Neither we nor our collaboration partners are permitted to market our product candidates in the United States until we receive approval of a BLA from the FDA. Neither we nor our collaboration partners have submitted an application or received marketing approval for somavaratan or any future product candidates. Obtaining approval of a BLA can be a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process. In addition, failure to comply with FDA and other applicable U.S. and foreign regulatory requirements may subject us to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions, including the following:
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civil or criminal penalties and fines;
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suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approval;
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suspension of any ongoing clinical studies;
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voluntary or mandatory product recalls and public
ity requirements;
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refusal to accept or approve applications for marketing approval of new drugs or biologics or supplements to approved applications filed by us;
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restrictions on operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements; or
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seizure or detention of our products or import bans.
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Prior to receiving approval to commercialize any of our product candidates in the United States or abroad, we and our collaboration partners must demonstrate with substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical studies, and to the satisfaction of the FDA and other regulatory authorities abroad, that such product candidates are safe and effective for their intended uses. Results from preclinical studies and clinical studies can be interpreted in different ways. Even if we and our collaboration partners believe the preclinical or clinical data for our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. Administering any of our product candidates to humans may produce undesirable side effects, which could interrupt, delay or cause suspension of clinical studies of our product candidates and result in the FDA or other regulatory authorities denying approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications.
Regulatory approval of a BLA is not guaranteed, and the approval process is expensive and may take several years. The FDA also has substantial discretion in the approval process. Despite the time and expense exerted, failure can occur at any stage, and we could encounter problems that cause us to abandon or repeat clinical studies, or perform additional preclinical studies and clinical studies. The number of preclinical studies and clinical studies that will be required for FDA approval varies depending on the product candidate, the disease or condition that the product candidate is designed to address and the regulations applicable to any particular product candidate. The FDA can delay, limit or deny approval of a product candidate for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:
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a product candidate may not be deemed safe or effective;
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FDA officials may not find the data from preclinical studies and clinical studies sufficient;
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the FDA might not approve our or our third-party manufacturer’s processes or facilities; or
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the FDA may change its approval policies or adopt new regulations.
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In addition, the statutes and regulations that define the time lines and criteria for approval of drugs and biologics are subject to change by Congress and the responsible administrative agencies. For example, the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) authorizes the FDA to collect fees and use them for the review of human drug applications (including BLAs) and defines the review time targets for such applications. The current legislative authority for PDUFA expired in September 2017. New legislation will be required for the FDA to continue collecting prescription drug user fees in future fiscal years and for manufacturers to have clarity regarding the time the FDA will spend reviewing BLAs and similar submissions. If PDUFA reauthorization is not completed, the review time for our BLA for somavaratan could be significantly longer than currently expected, which could delay potential marketing approval and launch.
If somavaratan or any future product candidates fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical studies or do not gain regulatory approval, our business and results of operations will be materially and adversely harmed.
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Even if we receive regulatory approval fo
r a product candidate, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and subject us to penalties if we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements.
Once regulatory approval has been granted, the approved product and its manufacturer are subject to continual review by the FDA and/or non-U.S. regulatory authorities. Any regulatory approval that we or any future collaboration partners receive for somavaratan or any future product candidates may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing follow-up studies to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product. In addition, if the FDA and/or non-U.S. regulatory authorities approve somavaratan or any future product candidates, we will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements by the FDA and other regulatory authorities with regard to the labeling, packaging, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for our products. In addition, manufacturers of our drug products are required to comply with cGMP regulations, which include requirements related to quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation. Further, regulatory authorities must approve these manufacturing facilities before they can be used to manufacture our drug products, and these facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP regulations. If we or a third party discover previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory authority may impose restrictions on that product, the manufacturer or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing. If we, our product candidates or the manufacturing facilities for our product candidates fail to comply with regulatory requirements of the FDA and/or other non-U.S. regulatory authorities, we could be subject to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions, including the following:
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civil or criminal penalties and fines;
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suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approval;
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suspension of any ongoing clinical studies;
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voluntary or mandatory product recalls and publicity requirements;
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refusal to accept or approve applications for marketing approval of new drugs or biologics or supplements to approved applications filed by us;
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restrictions on operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements; or
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seizure or detention of our products or import bans.
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The regulatory requirements and policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted with which we may also be required to comply. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or in other countries. If we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may not be permitted to market our future products and our business may suffer.
Failure to obtain regulatory approvals in foreign jurisdictions will prevent us from marketing our products internationally.
We intend to seek a distribution and marketing partner for somavaratan outside the United States and may market future products in international markets. In order to market our future products in regions such as the European Economic Area, or EEA, Asia Pacific, or APAC, and many other foreign jurisdictions, we must obtain separate regulatory approvals.
For example, in the EEA, medicinal products can only be commercialized after obtaining a Marketing Authorization, or MA. Before granting the MA, the European Medicines Agency or the competent authorities of the member states of the EEA make an assessment of the risk-benefit balance of the product on the basis of scientific criteria concerning its quality, safety and efficacy. In Japan, the PMDA of the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, or MHLW, must approve an application under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act before a new drug product may be marketed in Japan.
We have had limited interactions with foreign regulatory authorities. The approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional clinical testing, and the time required to obtain approval may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. Moreover, clinical studies conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries, and approval by one or more foreign regulatory authorities does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. However, a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in others. The foreign regulatory approval process may include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. We may not obtain foreign regulatory approvals on a timely basis, if at all. We may not be able to file for regulatory approvals and even if we file we may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our products in any market.
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Healthcare reform measures could hinder or prevent our product candidates’ commercial success.
In the United States, there have been and we expect there will continue to be a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system in ways that could affect our future revenue and profitability and the future revenue and profitability of our potential customers. Federal and state lawmakers regularly propose and, at times, enact legislation that would result in significant changes to the healthcare system, some of which are intended to contain or reduce the costs of medical products and services. For example, one of the most significant healthcare reform measures in decades, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, collectively, the ACA, was enacted in 2010. The ACA contains a number of provisions, including those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement changes and fraud and abuse measures, all of which will impact existing government healthcare programs and will result in the development of new programs. The ACA, among other things:
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imposes a non-deductible annual fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell “branded prescription drugs,” effective 2011;
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increases the minimum level of Medicaid rebates payable by manufacturers of brand-name drugs from 15.1% to 23.1%, effective 2011;
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could result in the imposition of injunctions;
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requires collection of rebates for drugs paid by Medicaid managed care organizations;
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requires manufacturers to participate in a coverage gap discount program, under which they must agree to offer 50% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable branded drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D; and
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creates a process for approval of biologic therapies that are similar or identical to approved biologics.
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While the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most elements of the ACA in June 2012, other legal challenges are still pending final adjudication in several jurisdictions. In addition, Congress has also proposed a number of legislative initiatives, including possible repeal of the ACA. At this time, it remains unclear whether there will be any changes made to the ACA, whether to certain provisions or its entirety. We cannot assure you that the ACA, as currently enacted or as amended in the future, will not adversely affect our business and financial results and we cannot predict how future federal or state legislative or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business.
In January 2017, Congress voted to adopt a budget resolution for fiscal year 2017, or the Budget Resolution, that authorizes the implementation of legislation that would repeal portions of the ACA. Although the Budget Resolution is not a law, it is widely viewed as the first step toward the passage of legislation that would repeal certain aspects of the ACA. Further, on January 20, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the ACA to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision of the ACA that would impose a fiscal or regulatory burden on states, individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices. Congress also could consider subsequent legislation to replace elements of the ACA that are repealed. Thus, the full impact of the ACA on our business remains unclear.
In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. For example, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend proposals for spending reductions to Congress. The Joint Select Committee did not achieve a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, which triggered the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs, including aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, starting in 2013. In January 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, or the ATRA, which delayed for another two months the budget cuts mandated by the sequestration provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The ATRA, among other things, also reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. In March 2013, the President signed an executive order implementing sequestration, and in April 2013, the 2% Medicare reductions went into effect. We cannot predict whether any additional legislative changes will affect our business.
There likely will continue to be legislative and regulatory proposals at the federal and state levels directed at containing or lowering the cost of health care. We cannot predict the initiatives that may be adopted in the future or their full impact. The continuing efforts of the government, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of healthcare services to contain or reduce costs of health care may adversely affect:
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our ability to set a price that we believe is fair for our products;
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our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability; and
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the availability of capital.
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Further, changes in regulatory requirements and guidance may occur and we may need to amend clinical study protocols to reflect these changes. Amendments may require us to resubmit our clinical study protocols to Institutional Review Boards f
or reexamination, which may impact the costs, timing or successful completion of a clinical study. In light of widely publicized events concerning the safety risk of certain drug products, regulatory authorities, members of Congress, the Governmental Accou
nting Office, medical professionals and the general public have raised concerns about potential drug safety issues. These events have resulted in the recall and withdrawal of drug products, revisions to drug labeling that further limit use of the drug prod
ucts and establishment of risk management programs that may, for instance, restrict distribution of drug products or require safety surveillance and/or patient education. The increased attention to drug safety issues may result in a more cautious approach
by the FDA to clinical studies and the drug approval process. Data from clinical studies may receive greater scrutiny with respect to safety, which may make the FDA or other regulatory authorities more likely to terminate or suspend clinical studies before
completion, or require longer or additional clinical studies that may result in substantial additional expense and a delay or failure in obtaining approval or approval for a more limited indication than originally sought.
Given the serious public health risks of high profile adverse safety events with certain drug products, the FDA may require, as a condition of approval, costly risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, which may include safety surveillance, restricted distribution and use, patient education, enhanced labeling, special packaging or labeling, expedited reporting of certain adverse events, preapproval of promotional materials and restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising.
If we fail to comply with healthcare regulations, we could face substantial penalties and our business, operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Even though we do not and will not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients’ rights are and will be applicable to our business. We could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse and patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, without limitation:
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the federal healthcare program Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, any person from knowingly and willfully offering, soliciting, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;
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indirectly, to induce either the referral of an individual, for an item or service or the purchasing or ordering of a good or service, for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;
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the federal False Claims Act, which prohibits, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false claims, or knowingly using false statements, to obtain payment from the federal government, and which may apply to entities like us which provide coding and billing advice to customers;
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federal criminal laws that prohibit executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters;
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the federal transparency requirements under the Health Care Reform Law requires manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to report to the Department of Health and Human Services information related to physician payments and other transfers of value and physician ownership and investment interests;
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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which governs the conduct of certain electronic healthcare transactions and protects the security and privacy of protected health information; and
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state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers.
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The ACA, among other things, amends the intent requirement of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and criminal healthcare fraud statutes. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it. In addition, the ACA provides that the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act.
If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Any penalties, damages, fines, curtailment or restructuring of our operations could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. Moreover, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable federal and state privacy, security and fraud laws may prove costly.
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Risks related to ownership of our common stock
Our stock price may be volatile, and investors in our common stock could incur substantial losses.
Our stock price has fluctuated in the past and may be volatile in the future. From January 1, 2015 through February 28, 2018 the reported sale price of our common stock has fluctuated between $1.60 and $23.46 per share. Since the announcement of the failure of our Phase 3 clinical trial to meet its primary endpoint in September 2017, our stock price has declined substantially. The stock market in general and the market for biotechnology companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in our common stock. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including the following:
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the success of competitive products or technologies;
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results of clinical studies of somavaratan or future product candidates or those of our competitors;
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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries, especially changes in laws or regulations applicable to our products;
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introductions and announcements of new products by us, our commercialization partners, or our competitors, and the timing of these introductions or announcements;
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actions taken by regulatory agencies with respect to our products, clinical studies, manufacturing process or sales and marketing terms;
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variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
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the success of our efforts to acquire or in-license additional products or product candidates;
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developments concerning our collaborations, including but not limited to those with our sources of manufacturing supply and our commercialization partners;
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developments concerning our ability to bring our manufacturing processes to scale in a cost-effective manner;
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announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;
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developments or disputes concerning patents or other proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our products;
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our ability or inability to raise additional capital and the terms on which we raise it;
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the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
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changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
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market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;
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actual or anticipated changes in earnings estimates or changes in stock market analyst recommendations regarding our common stock, other comparable companies or our industry generally;
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trading volume of our common stock;
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sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders;
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general economic, industry and market conditions; and
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the other risks described in this “Risk factors” section.
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These broad market and industry factors may seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.
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Our executive officers, direc
tors and principal stockholders will continue to maintain the ability to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to stockholders for approval.
As of February 28, 2018, our executive officers, directors and stockholders who owned more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, in the aggregate, beneficially owned shares representing approximately 18% of our common stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these stockholders, if they choose to act together, will control or significantly influence the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of voting power could delay or prevent an acquisition of our company on terms that other stockholders may desire.
We incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management devotes substantial time to new compliance initiatives.
As a public company, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the other rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the rules and regulations of The NASDAQ Global Select Market, or NASDAQ. Compliance with the various reporting and other requirements applicable to public companies requires considerable time and attention of management. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules of the SEC and national securities exchanges have imposed various requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls. Our management and other personnel are devoting and will continue to need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. These rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. The impact of these events could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified personnel to serve on our board of directors, our board committees, or as executive officers.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, we will be required to have our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting beginning with our annual report on Form 10-K following the date on which we are no longer an emerging growth company. Our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will require that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identify deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by NASDAQ, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.
Our ability to successfully implement our business plan and comply with Section 404 requires us to be able to prepare timely and accurate consolidated financial statements. We expect that we will need to continue to improve existing, and implement new operational and financial systems, procedures and controls to manage our business effectively. Any delay in the implementation of, or disruption in the transition to, new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, may cause our operations to suffer and we may be unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective
and to obtain an unqualified report on internal controls from our auditors as required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This, in turn, could have an adverse impact on trading prices for our common stock, and could adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets.
In connection with our preparations for becoming a public company, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future that may cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements of our condensed consolidated financial statements. If we fail to remediate one or more of our material weaknesses in the future or if we fail to establish and maintain effective control over financial reporting, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results could be adversely affected.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
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Prior to the completion of our initial public offering, we were a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources to address our internal control over financial reporting. During the course of preparing for our initial public offering
, we determined that material adjustments to various accounts were necessary, which required us to restate the financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 and for the period from inception (December 10, 2008) through Decem
ber 31, 2012 that had been previously audited by another independent audit firm. These adjustments leading to a restatement of those financial statements led us to conclude that we had a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2012. The material weakness that we identified was that we did not maintain a sufficient complement of resources with an appropriate level of accounting knowledge, experience and training commensurate with our structure and financial reporting
requirements.
This material weakness contributed to adjustments to previously issued financial statements principally, but not limited to, the following areas: equity accounting in connection with our issuance of Series A and B convertible preferred stock and period-end cutoff for clinical trial related expenses.
While we have been successful in our efforts to remediate this particular material weakness we cannot assure you that we will be able to prevent or remediate any additional weaknesses in the future, which could impair our ability to accurately and timely report our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. If we are unable to successfully prevent or remediate any additional material weaknesses in the future, and if we are unable to produce accurate and timely consolidated financial statements, including our filing of quarterly reports with the SEC on a timely and accurate basis, our stock price may be adversely affected and we may be unable to maintain compliance with applicable NASDAQ listing requirements.
An active trading market for our common stock may not be maintained., or we may fail to satisfy applicable NASDAQ listing requirements.
Our common stock is currently traded on NASDAQ, but we can provide no assurance that we will be able to maintain an active trading market for our shares on NASDAQ or any other exchange in the future. If there is no active market for our common stock, it may be difficult for our stockholders to sell shares without depressing the market price for the shares or at all., our stock price could decline, and we may be unable to maintain compliance with applicable NASDAQ listing requirements.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts may cease to publish research on our company at any time in their discretion. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company, or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline. In addition, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If our operating results fail to meet the forecast of analysts, our stock price would likely decline.
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our corporate charter and our bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors. Because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team. Among others, these provisions include the following:
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our board of directors is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms which may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control;
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our board of directors has the right to elect directors to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;
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our stockholders are not able to act by written consent or call special stockholders’ meetings; as a result, a holder, or holders, controlling a majority of our capital stock are not able to take certain actions other than at annual stockholders’ meetings or special stockholders’ meetings called by the board of directors, the chairman of the board, the chief executive officer or the president;
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our certificate of incorporation prohibits cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
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our stockholders are required to provide advance notice and additional disclosures in order to nominate individuals for election to the board of directors or to propose matters that can be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or dete
r a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquiror’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company; and
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our board of directors are able to issue, without stockholder approval, shares of undesignated preferred stock, which makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to acquire us.
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Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner.
Our employment arrangements with our executive officers may require us to pay severance benefits to any of those persons who are terminated in connection with a change in control of us, which could harm our financial condition or results.
Certain of our executive officers are parties to employment or other agreements or participants under plans that contain change in control and severance provisions providing for aggregate cash payments for severance and other benefits and acceleration of vesting of stock options in the event of a termination of employment in connection with a change in control of us. The accelerated vesting of options could result in dilution to our existing stockholders and harm the market price of our common stock. The payment of these severance benefits could harm our financial condition and results. In addition, these potential severance payments may discourage or prevent third parties from seeking a business combination with us.
Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be our stockholders’ sole source of gain.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. In addition, the terms of existing or any future debt agreements may preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be our stockholders’ sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.