Item 1. Business
References to “Cytori,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. References to “Notes” refer to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included herein (refer to Item 8).
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate and similar expressions or future conditional verbs such as will, should, would, could or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate.
These statements include, without limitation, statements about our anticipated expenditures, including research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses; the potential size of the market for our products; future development and/or expansion of our products and therapies in our markets, our ability to generate product or development revenues and the sources of such revenues; our ability to effectively manage our gross profit margins; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals; expectations as to our future performance; portions of the “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section of this report, including our potential need for additional financing and the availability thereof; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to remain listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market; our ability to repay or refinance some or all of our outstanding indebtedness and our ability to raise capital in the future; and the potential enhancement of our cash position through development, marketing, and licensing arrangements. Our actual results will likely differ, perhaps materially, from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including: the early stage of our product candidates and therapies, the results of our research and development activities, including uncertainties relating to the clinical trials of our product candidates and therapies; our need and ability to raise additional cash, the outcome of our partnering/licensing efforts, risks associated with laws or regulatory requirements applicable to us, market conditions, product performance, potential litigation, and competition within the regenerative medicine field, to name a few. The forward-looking statements included in this report are subject to a number of additional material risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks described under the “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I below, which we encourage you to read carefully.
We encourage you to read the risks described under “Risk Factors” carefully. We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this report. These statements, like all statements in this report, speak only as of the date of this report (unless an earlier date is indicated) and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the statements except as required by law. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.
This Annual report on Form 10-K refers to trademarks such as Cytori Cell Therapy, Habeo Cell Therapy, Celution, StemSource, Celase, Intravase, and
Cytori Nanomedicine
. Solely for convenience, our trademarks and tradenames referred to in this Form 10-K may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate in any way that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights to these trademarks and tradenames.
General
Our objective is to build a profitable and growing specialty therapeutics company. To meet this objective, we have acquired and are developing two technology platforms that hold promise for treating millions of patients and represent significant potential for increasing shareholder value. Our current corporate activities fall substantially into advancing these platforms: Cytori Nanomedicine and Cytori Cell Therapy.
The Cytori Nanomedicine platform features a versatile nanoparticle technology for drug encapsulation and delivery that has thus far provided the foundation to bring two drugs into mid/late stage clinical trials. Nanoparticle encapsulation is a clinically proven technology and has been shown to help improve the pharmacokinetic properties of many drugs, thus potentially enhancing the therapeutic profile and patient benefits. Our lead oncology drug candidate, ATI-0918 is a generic version of Janssen’s Caelyx® pegylated liposomal encapsulated doxorubicin for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancer, multiple myeloma, and Kaposi’s sarcoma. Pegylated liposomal encapsulated doxorubicin is a heavily relied upon chemotherapeutic used in many cancer types on a global basis. We believe that data from a 60-patient European study of ATI-0918 has met the statistical criteria for bioequivalence to Janssen’s Caelyx®, the current reference listed drug in Europe. We intend that these bioequivalence data will serve as a basis for our planned regulatory submission to the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, for ATI-0918. We are currently evaluating our strategic options to bring ATI-0918 to the U.S., China, and other markets. Our second oncology drug candidate is ATI-1123, which is a
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patented, albumin-stabili
zed liposomal encapsulated docetaxel. Docetaxel is a well-accepted and often used chemotherapeutic drug used for many cancers. A Phase I clinical trial of ATI-1123 has been completed and published, and we are investigating possible expansion of this trial
to Phase II, potentially in conjunction with a development partner. We recently received FDA orphan drug designation for ATI-1123 for the treatment of small cell lung cancer. Finally, in connection with our acquisition of the ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 drug ca
ndidates, we have acquired know-how (including proprietary processes and techniques) and a scalable nanoparticle manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas from which we intend to manufacture commercial quantities of our nanoparticle-encapsulated and -deliv
ered drugs.
Cytori Cell Therapy, or CCT, is based on the scientific discovery that the human adipose or fat tissue compartment is a source of a unique mixed population of stem, progenitor and regenerative cells that may hold substantial promise in the treatment of numerous diseases and conditions. To bring this promise to health care providers and patients, we have developed certain novel therapies prepared and administered at the patient’s bedside with proprietary technologies that include therapy-specific reusable, automated, standardized Celution devices, single-use Celution consumable sets, Celase reagent, and Intravase reagent. CCT is in various stages of development in the areas of urology, scleroderma, wounds, and orthopedics. Furthermore, our CCT platform is the subject of investigator-initiated trials conducted by our partners, licensees and other third parties, some of which are supported by us and/or funded by government agencies and other funding sources. In March 2018, we announced
a Japanese investigator-initiated study of ECCI-50 Cell Therapy in men with stress urinary incontinence, or SUI, following prostatic surgery for prostate cancer or benign prostatic hypertrophy, called ADRESU, completed enrollment of 45 patients. Patients will be followed up for one-year post treatment and data from the ADRESU trial is expected in the first half of 2019. In October 2018, Cytori submitted an application to the Evaluation and Licensing Division of the Japan Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) through the SAKIGAKE designation system to potentially obtain a prioritized and shortened review, 6 months instead of 12 months, of the future ECCI-50 registration application. Cytori expects to obtain the result of the designation decision in the first half of 2019. The ADRESU trial costs are substantially supported by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), an independent administrative agency of the Government of Japan, with additional support from Cytori. We entered into an amendment to our agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, BARDA, in May 2017 for the initiation of the RELIEF pilot clinical trial of DCCT-10 in thermal burn injury. The amendment extends the term of the BARDA Agreement and the period of performance of Option 2 of the BARDA Agreement to November 30, 2020. We have initiated the clinical trial and expect to first treat patients in the RELIEF trial in 2019.
In addition, in January 2018
, we announced the investigator-initiated and Cytori-supported SCLERADEC-II clinical trial in France using Habeo Cell Therapy completed its enrollment and six month data is anticipated in the first half of 2019.
Currently, we internally manufacture Celution devices, outsource Celution consumables in the United States and source our Celase and Intravase reagents from a third-party supplier. We have contracted with a third-party manufacturer for the production of the Celution consumables to improve scalability, reduce overhead and product costs of goods sold. We also have obtained regulatory approval to sell some of our CCT products, including our Celution devices and consumables and associated reagents, in certain markets outside the U.S. More specifically, in Japan, in Q4 2018 we received PMDA Class III approval the Celution consumable and enzyme. Further, for countries recognizing a CE Mark, the Celution System CE Certificate has been updated per the direction of our notified body, British Standards Institute. In those markets, we have been able to further develop and improve our core technologies, gain expanded clinical and product experience and data, and generate sales.
Development Pipeline
Cytori Nanomedicine
In February 2017, we completed our acquisition of the assets of Azaya Therapeutics, Inc., or Azaya, pursuant to the terms of an Asset Purchase Agreement, dated January 26, 2017. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we acquired equipment and certain intellectual property, including a portfolio of investigational therapies and related assets, and assumed certain liabilities, from Azaya in exchange for the issuance of 117,325 of shares of our common stock in the amount of $2.3 million, assumption of approximately $1.8 million in Azaya’s payables, and the obligation to pay Azaya future milestones, earn-outs and licensing fees. The acquisition of Azaya brought two additional product candidates, ATI-0918 and ATI-1123, into the Cytori pipeline and we intend to develop and potentially commercialize both, most likely in conjunction with a commercial partner.
ATI-0918 is a complex generic formulation of the widely used oncology drug, Doxil®/Caelyx®, which is a pegylated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin and approved in the U.S. for ovarian cancer, multiple myeloma, and Kaposi’s Sarcoma; and in the European Union for breast cancer, ovarian cancer, multiple myeloma, and Kaposi’s Sarcoma. The current approval pathway for ATI-0918 is to leverage existing bioequivalence data to Caelyx® for approval in the European Union and to demonstrate bioequivalence to Sun Pharma’s Lipodox®, the reference standard, in the U.S. A study to demonstrate ATI-0918’s bioequivalence to Caelyx®, for purposes of EMA approval, has been completed and we intend for these data to serve as the basis for our submission of a marketing authorization application for ATI-0918 to the EMA. In June 2017, Cytori received confirmation of eligibility for submission of an application for a Union Authorization for the medicinal product, ATI-0918, from the EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for
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Human Use (CHMP). In December 2018, Cytori received approval from the EMA CHMP Name Review Group (NRG) for Doxorubicin Hydrochloride Cytori as the (invented) name to replace ATI-0918. We have also develope
d plans to perform a bioequivalence study of ATI-0918 compared against Lipodox® to serve as the basis for submission of an
abbreviated new drug application, or
ANDA, for U.S. FDA approval. We currently anticipate that any U.S. bioequivalence trial for ATI-
0918 would be funded by a development partner or licensee.
ATI-1123 is a novel liposomal formulation of docetaxel. Generic forms of docetaxel are currently FDA approved and marketed for non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, and hormone refractory prostate cancer. Its side effects include hair loss, bone marrow suppression, and allergic reactions. There is currently no form of liposomal docetaxel approved or commercially available in the United States. As an analogue, there is a protein (albumin) bound form of a similar chemotherapeutic drug, paclitaxel known as Abraxane®, which demonstrated some clinical advantages to paclitaxel.
ATI-1123 has shown promising results in preclinical animal models that suggest it may have superior qualities to docetaxel, including actions against some tumor types that are not amenable to treatment by docetaxel.
A Phase I study of ATI-1123 has been completed and published (
Cancer Chemother Pharmacol (2014) 74:1241–1250)
, in late stage refractory patients and has shown some activity in several tumor types (mostly stable disease). We are currently evaluating opportunities to bring ATI-1123 into Phase II studies in several indications, including small cell lung cancer, via potential development partner or licensee. In September 2018, Cytori received a FDA Orphan Drug Designation for ATI-1123 for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.
Cytori Cell Therapy
Cytori has several active cell therapy clinical development programs in its pipeline, most importantly:
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Stress Urinary Incontinence trial - in July 2015, a Japanese investigator-initiated study, called ADRESU, of ECCI-50 Cell Therapy in men with stress urinary incontinence, or SUI, following prostatic surgery for prostate cancer or benign prostatic hypertrophy, received approval to begin enrollment from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, or MHLW.
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ADRESU is based on promising pilot trial data published in the International Journal of Urology in 2014 and presented at the International Continence Society in 2017. In addition, details of the ADRESU trial protocol were published in 2017.
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The ADRESU trial is a 45 patient, investigator-initiated, open-label, multi-center, single arm trial that was approved by the Japanese MHLW in July 2015 and is being led by both Momokazu Gotoh, MD, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Urology and Tokunori Yamamoto, MD, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Urology at University of Nagoya Graduate School of Medicine. The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, or AMED, has provided partial funding for the ADRESU trial.
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The primary endpoint for the ADRESU trial will be the number of patients who experience reduction of urinary leakage volume (as measured by the weight of diaper pads used over 24 hours) 52 weeks after treatment. If the endpoint is successfully achieved, the data will be used to seek approval of Cytori Cell Therapy for this indication. Trial enrollment began in September 2015 and completed in March 2018. Top-line results are anticipated during the first half of 2019. This clinical trial is primarily sponsored and funded by the Japanese government, including a grant provided by AMED.
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In October 2018, Cytori submitted an application to the Evaluation and Licensing Division of the Japan Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) through the SAKIGAKE designation system to potentially obtain a prioritized and shortened review, 6 months instead of 12 months, of the future ECCI-50 registration application. Cytori expects to obtain the result of the designation decision in the first half of 2019.
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Scleroderma - Scleroderma is a rare and chronic connective tissue disease generally classified as an autoimmune rheumatic disorder. An estimated 300,000 Americans have scleroderma, about one-third of whom have the systemic form of the disease, known as systemic sclerosis, or SSc. SSc is further sub-classified as diffuse cutaneous and limited cutaneous SSc. Diffuse subset tends to produce more severe manifestations with significant hand dysfunction and internal organ involvement. Diffuse scleroderma accounts for between one third and one half of all cases of systemic sclerosis. Women are affected four times more frequently than men and the condition is typically detected between the ages of 30 and 50. More than 90% of scleroderma patients are afflicted with hand involvement that is typically progressive and can result in chronic pain, blood flow changes and severe dysfunction. A small number of treatments are occasionally used off-label for hand scleroderma, but they do little to modify disease progression or substantially improve symptoms with some challenging side-effects. Current treatment options are directed at protecting the hands from injury and detrimental environmental conditions as well as the use of vasodilators. When the disease is advanced, prostanoids, Endothelin-1 receptor antagonists, and immunosuppressants may be used but are often accompanied by side effects. If these medications are unsuccessful, health providers may perform a sympathectomy to remove nerves to increase blood flow and decrease long-term pain.
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Some of the first scleroderma patients treated with Cytori Cell Therapy was through SCLERADEC I, a complet
ed, investigator-initiated, 12-patient, open-label, Phase I pilot trial sponsored by Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, or AP-HM, in Marseille, France. The SCLERADEC-I trial received partial support from Cytori. The six-month results were published
in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases in May 2014 and demonstrated approximately a 50 percent improvement at six months across four important and validated endpoints used to assess the clinical status in patients with scleroderma with impaired hand func
tion. Two-year follow up data in the SCLERADEC I trial was presented at the Systemic Sclerosis World Congress in February 2016 and published in the journal
Current Research in Translational Medicine
in November 2016 and demonstrated sustained improvement i
n the following four key endpoints: the Cochin Hand Function Scale, or CHFS,
the Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire
,
Raynaud’s Condition Score
, and hand pain, as assessed by a standard visual analogue scale. Further, on December 5, 2016, we releas
ed topline results for three-year follow-up data showing sustained benefits materially consistent with those shown in two-year data.
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In 2014, Drs. Guy Magalon and Brigitte Granel, under the sponsorship of AP-HM, submitted a study for review for a follow-up randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in France using Cytori Cell Therapy, partially supported by Cytori. The trial, named SCLERADEC II, received approval from the French government in April 2015. Enrollment of this trial commenced in October and the last patient treated was in January 2018. We anticipate data in the first half of 2019. Patients will be followed at six-month post-treatment and compared with placebo treated patients. The SCLERADEC II trial includes an open-label crossover arm in which patients originally randomized to the placebo arm may be eligible to be treated with their cryopreserved cells after the aforementioned six-month data have been analyzed and reviewed by an independent monitoring committee. Eligible patients electing to receive treatment with these cryopreserved cells will be followed for both safety and efficacy for six months.
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Based on the results of SCLERADEC I, we initiated the STAR trial, a 48-week, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled pivotal clinical trial of 88 patients at 19 sites in the U.S. to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Habeo Cell Therapy for scleroderma patients with impaired hand function. The STAR trial used the CHFS, a validated measure of hand function, as the primary endpoint measured at 24 weeks and 48 weeks (approximately 6 and 12 months) after a single administration of Habeo Cell Therapy or placebo. Of the 88 patients enrolled in STAR, 51 had diffuse cutaneous scleroderma while 37 had the limited form of the disease.
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In the U.S., the STAR clinical trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of a single administration of Habeo Cell Therapy for impaired hand function in patients with scleroderma. The first sites for our STAR trial were initiated in July 2015 and final enrollment of 88 patients was completed in June 2016. As noted above, preliminary assessment of unblinded top-line data show that treatment of ADRC’s was safe and while not meeting the primary endpoint for all scleroderma patients, subjects with diffuse scleroderma appeared to exhibit clinically meaningful improvement in several parameters of both hand function and scleroderma-associated functional disability, for Habeo™ treated patients compared to placebo.
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In November 2016, the US FDA Office of Orphan Products Development granted Cytori an orphan drug designation for cryopreserved or centrally processed Habeo for scleroderma. In April 2016, the European Commission, acting on the positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, issued orphan drug designation to a broad range of Cytori Cell Therapy formulations when used for the treatment of systemic sclerosis under Community Register of Orphan Medicinal Products number EU/3/16/1643.
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On July 24, 2017, we announced top-line, preliminary data from the STAR trial. The results from the STAR Trial showed that
that treatment of ADRC’s was safe and
while not meeting the primary endpoint for all SSc patients, subjects with diffuse SSc appeared to exhibit clinically meaningful improvement in several hand parameters of both hand function and scleroderma-associated functional disability, for Habeo™ treated patients compared to placebo. We released a more detailed assessment of STAR Trial data at the World Scleroderma Congress in February 2018. A manuscript with detailed data has been reviewed by the Investigators and submitted for publication. Publication is anticipated in the second half of 2019.
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In Europe, the investigator-initiated and Cytori-supported SCLERADEC-II (Subcutaneous Injection of Autologous Adipose Tissue-derived Stromal Vascular Fraction into the Fingers of Patients with Systemic Sclerosis) clinical trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of a single administration of Habeo Cell Therapy for impaired hand function in patients with scleroderma. The first sites were initiated in October 2015 and final enrollment of 40 patients was completed in January 2018. Data is anticipated in 2019.
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In Japan, Cytori has engaged in an informal consultation meeting with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, or PMDA, to discuss the feasibility of potential Habeo development strategies and clinical trial designs for a single approval trial based on the results from the U.S. STAR clinical t
rial. Based on these discussions Cytori believes that a single arm clinical trial of Habeo Cell Therapy enrolling no more than 20 patients with scleroderma
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may be sufficient to obtain approval. Cytori has begun assessment of end points, sample size, ident
ification of potential clinical trial sites, and estimation of budget needed to execute this trial (referred to as J-STAR).
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Thermal burn and radiation therapy -
We are developing DCCT-10 Cell Therapy for thermal burns under a contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority, or BARDA, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the third quarter of 2012, we were awarded a contract by BARDA valued at up to $106 million to develop a medical countermeasure for thermal burns. The total award under the BARDA contract has been intended to support all clinical, preclinical, regulatory and technology development activities needed to complete the FDA approval process for use of DCCT-10 in thermal burn injury under a device-based pre-market authorization, or PMA, regulatory pathway and to provide preclinical data in burn complicated by radiation exposure.
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Pursuant to this contract, BARDA initially awarded us approximately $4.7 million over the initial two-year base period to fund preclinical research and continued development of our Celution System to improve cell processing. In August 2014, BARDA determined that Cytori had completed the objectives of the initial phase of the contract, and exercised its first contract option in the amount of approximately $12 million. In December 2014 and September 2016, BARDA exercised additional contract options pursuant to which it provided us with $2.0 million and $2.5 million in supplemental funds, respectively. These additional funds supported continuation of our research, regulatory, clinical and other activities required for submission of an IDE request to the FDA for RELIEF, a pilot clinical trial using DCCT-10 for the treatment of thermal burns. In April 2017, we received approval of an IDE from the FDA to conduct a pilot clinical trial of CCT in patients with thermal burn injuries. This trial is referred to as the RELIEF clinical trial. In May 2017, we announced BARDA’s exercise of Option 2 of up to approximately $13.4 million to fund RELIEF. We anticipate that the first patient will be treated in the first half of 2019. There are currently 7 active sites with initiation at additional sites anticipated in 2019.
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In accordance with the terms of the Amendments, BARDA will provide us with reimbursement of costs incurred, plus payment of a fixed fee, in the aggregate amount of up to approximately $13.4 million, or the Funding Amount. We are responsible for further costs in excess of the Funding Amount, if any, to meet the objectives of the Pilot Trial. The Amendments also extend the term of the BARDA Agreement and the period of performance of Option 2 of the BARDA Agreement to November 30, 2020.
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In April 2017, we received approval of an Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, to conduct a pilot clinical trial, RELIEF (Safety and Feasibility of Adipose Derived Regenerative Cells (ADRCs) in the Treatment of Deep Partial Thickness and Full Thickness Thermal Wounds), of DCCT-10 administered intravenously in up to 30 patients with thermal burn injuries at up to 10 U.S. institutions. In May 2017, we announced BARDA’s exercise of Option 2 of up to approximately $13.4 million to fund RELIEF. We initiated RELIEF in 2017, there are currently 7 active sites with initiation at additional sites anticipated in 2019. We anticipate that the first patient will be treated in the first half of 2019.
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In addition to our targeted therapeutic development, we have continued to commercialize our CCT technology under select medical device approvals, clearances and registrations to customers in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Japan and other regions. These customers are a mix of research customers evaluating new therapeutic applications of CCT and commercial customers, including our licensing partners, distributors, and end user hospitals, clinics and physicians, that use our Celution System mostly for treatment of patients in private pay procedures. In Japan, our largest commercial market, we gained increased utilization of our products in the private pay marketplace primarily for breast and knee surgeries due to several factors, including increased clarity around the November 2014 Regenerative Medicine Law (implemented in November 2015 as it relates to regenerative medicine products like CCT) and we project that our sales of Celution consumable sets and market presence in Japan will continue to grow in 2019, especially after Class III approval obtained in the fourth quarter of 2018. The sale of Celution devices and consumable sets, reagents, and ancillary products contribute a margin that partially offsets our operating expenses and will continue to play a role in fostering familiarity within the medical community with our technology. It also provides us with valuable product and customer feedback.
Sales, Marketing and Service
Cytori Nanomedicine™
Our Cytori Nanomedicine pipeline includes both early and late stage nanomedicine product candidates, patented albumin-stabilized liposomal encapsulated docetaxel (ATI-1123) and generic pegylated liposomal encapsulated doxorubicin (ATI-0918), respectively. We are actively seeking regional and global partnerships with either leading pharmaceutical companies or wholesale distributors for both of these product candidates, with priority on ATI-0918 in Europe where a generic form of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin is neither approved nor available.
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Cytori Cell Therapy
We sell Celution cell processing systems, or Celution Systems, StemSource cell and tissue banking systems, or StemSource Systems, and surgical accessories and instrumentation to hospitals, clinics, physicians, researchers and other customers for commercial and research purposes, including performance of investigator-initiated studies. Our proprietary enzymatic reagents, which we market and sell under the brand names Celase and Intravase, are sold as part of our Celution Systems and StemSource Systems (with respect to Celase), or under certain circumstances, are sold separately.
We sell our Celution and StemSource Systems through a combination of a direct sales force, third-party distributors, independent sales representatives, and licensees. Our strategy is to grow and leverage our installed base of Celution and StemSource devices at cell processing facilities, clinics, hospitals and research labs to drive recurring sales of our proprietary consumable sets and gain valuable customer feedback. To increase product familiarity and usage among current customers, we launch product enhancements, expand the approved indications for use, perform clinical and technical training, provide on-site case support, and facilitate facility-level licensing with regional and/or national regulatory bodies.
In Japan, we sell our products through our wholly owned subsidiary, Cytori Therapeutics, K.K., which has a direct sales capability. We currently intend to increase our direct sales personnel in Japan over time. In the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia, we sell our full product portfolio either directly to customers or through numerous third-party distributors. In the U.S., we are limited to selling only research reagents and surgical accessories and instrumentation directly to customers. Bimini Technologies, LLC, through its wholly owned subsidiary Kerastem Technologies, LLC, has a global exclusive license to sell our Celution cell processing systems for hair applications. Lorem Vascular has an exclusive license to sell our full product portfolio in all fields of use, excluding hair applications, in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
Our global marketing team is responsible for market assessments and business plans, competitive intelligence, distribution strategy, product management, social media and websites, forecasting, pricing and reimbursement, customer communication, relationship management, events and trade shows, and service. We create awareness of and demand for our products among physicians and researchers through digital advertising, e-marketing campaigns, webinars, pre-clinical and clinical publications, patient advocacy group partnerships, sales collateral, and industry and medical society meetings.
Our field service team is responsible for providing Celution and StemSource installations, maintenance, training, troubleshooting, and hardware and software update/upgrade services to new and existing customers. This team also initiates and closes sites participating in Cytori-sponsored clinical trials.
For the year ended December 31, 2018, our sales were concentrated with respect to two direct customers, which comprised 60% of our product revenue recognized. Two direct customers accounted for 70% of total outstanding accounts receivable (excluding receivables from BARDA) as of December 31, 2018.
Customers and Partners
In Japan, Europe, Middle East, Americas, and Asia, we offer our Cytori Systems and StemSource Systems through direct sales representatives, distributors and licensing partners, to hospitals, clinics and researchers, including for purposes of performing investigator-initiated and funded studies.
Pursuant to our Sale and Exclusive License/Supply Agreement with Bimini Technologies, LLC in 2013, or Bimini Agreement, we granted Bimini a global exclusive license to our Cytori Cell Therapy devices and consumable products for hair applications only, excluding systemic or intravascular delivery of adipose-derived regenerative cells, or ADRCs. Hair loss affects more than 40 million men and 21 million women in the U.S. alone. The global hair loss treatment market generates more than $7 billion annually and currently has limited options for men (grades I-III) and women (grades I-II) with early stage hair loss. Through Kerastem, its wholly owned subsidiary, Bimini completed a FDA-approved Phase II multi-center, randomized, single-blinded, and controlled clinical trial in the U.S., called STYLE (A Trial of Cell Enriched Adipose For Androgenetic Alopecia), to study the safety and feasibility of Kerastem’s therapy for female and male pattern baldness. The Kerastem therapy is a one-time treatment that utilizes adipose (fat) derived regenerative cells combined with purified fat delivered to the affected area of scalp. In September 2016, Bimini announced completion of its STYLE trial enrollment of 70 patients at four clinical trial sites within the U.S. In December 2017, Bimini announced six-month top-line data from STYLE. The low dose ADRC plus Puregraft fat treatment group achieved a statistically significant increase in mean terminal hair count, when compared to control, in men with early stage hair loss (Norwood Grades I-III). An average increase of 29 terminal hairs per cm
2
of scalp was observed, corresponding to a 17% increase (p < 0.05) from baseline. All treatment arms of STYLE were safe with no serious adverse events reported. Outside of the United States, Bimini is engaged in market development efforts in Europe and Japan for the hair market. The Kerastem Hair Therapy is CE mark approved in the EU for sales to patients with alopecia, or hair loss. Under the Bimini Agreement, Bimini is required, among other things, to pay an eight percent (8%) royalty on its net sales of our products for contemplated hair applications. In addition, pursuant to the Bimini Agreement,
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we sold to Bimini substantially all of the assets (
other than certain retained rights and licenses) of our Puregraft® product line, a series of standalone fat transplantation products that were developed to improve the predictability of outcomes for autologous fat grafting and aesthetic body contouring. Th
e aggregate value of the consideration paid by Bimini at the execution of the agreement was $5.0 million and Bimini is obligated to make certain additional milestone payments to the Company (in an aggregate amount of up to $10.0 million), contingent upon t
he achievement of certain milestones relating to Bimini’s gross profits from sales of the Puregraft products. The Company received $1 million milestone payment in the fourth quarter of 2018 related to the sale of Puregraft products under the Bimini Agreeme
nt.
Pursuant to our Amended and Restated License/Supply Agreement, or Lorem Agreement, with Lorem Vascular Pte. Ltd., or Lorem Vascular, we granted Lorem Vascular an exclusive license in all fields of use (excluding hair applications subject to Bimini’s license) to our Cytori Cell Therapy products for sale into China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. In April 2015, Cytori and Lorem Vascular announced that China Food and Drug Administration had granted regulatory clearance to the Celution System. Under the Lorem Agreement, Lorem Vascular committed to pay up to $500 million in license fees in the form of revenue milestones. In addition, Lorem Vascular is required to pay Cytori 30% of their gross profits in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia for the term of the Lorem Agreement. Lorem Vascular has certain minimum product purchase obligations, including purchase obligations triggered by achievement of applicable regulatory clearance for our products in China, which regulatory clearance was achieved as of April 2015. Lorem Vascular has partially satisfied these related product purchase obligations, and as a result, we are currently in discussions with Lorem Vascular regarding restructuring of its obligations and our rights under the Lorem agreement. We cannot guarantee that our restructuring discussions with Lorem Vascular will be successful. Should we be unable to conclude these negotiations to our satisfaction, a dispute may ensue. See, also, our discussions of the regulatory landscape in China for our products as well as discussions regarding our relationship with Lorem Vascular in the “Risk Factors” section and in the “Competition” and “Governmental Regulation” sections of this “Business” section below.
Refer to Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of geographical concentration of sales.
Manufacturing
Cytori Nanomedicine
We recently completed facility validations at our recently acquired nanoparticle manufacturing facility located in San Antonio, Texas. The facility and processes are designed to comply with cGMP per FDA and EMA regulations to manufacture drug candidates for clinical, research, development and commercial use. Upon approval of our drug candidates, our manufacturing capabilities will include validated manufacturing processes for drug product as well as a quality assurance product release process with the ability to ultimately scale-up the process to meet increasing market demands. We believe our strategic investments in the analytical and manufacturing capabilities, including personnel from drug discovery through drug development, will allow us to advance our product candidates more quickly. Expertise gained in manufacturing ATI-0918 may be applied to other formulations in the future, further leveraging our capabilities. Our San Antonio facility enables us to produce drug substance in a cost-effective manner while retaining control over the process and timing. As needed, the use of a qualified Contract Manufacturing Organization may be utilized to perform various manufacturing processes as we deem appropriate to meet our operational objectives.
Our current principal suppliers for our Cytori Nanomedicine business are Bryllan LLC, which provides sterile filling activities for our drug candidates, LGM Pharma, which supplies our active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API (doxorubicin HC1), as well as Lipoid, LLC and Dishman Netherlands, B.V., which supply us with other raw materials used in the manufacture of our ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 drug candidates
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Each of these suppliers is currently a sole source supplier.
Cytori Cell Therapy
We currently manufacture Celution devices in our headquarters in San Diego, California and outsource a portion of our Celution consumables manufacturing to a third-party in the U.S. As a manufacturer, our products are subject to periodic inspection by regulatory authorities and distribution partners. Manufacturers of devices and products for human use are subject to regulation and inspection from time to time by the FDA for compliance with the FDA’s Quality System Regulation, or QSR, requirements, as well as equivalent requirements and inspections by state and non-U.S. regulatory authorities, such as Notified Bodies in Europe and the California Food and Drug Branch.
Raw materials for the Celution device, Celution consumable kit and other products are sourced from a variety of suppliers. Most of these components are available from multiple vendors either as off-the-shelf items or as custom fabrication. However, we purchase our Celase and Intravase regents exclusively from Roche Diagnostics Corporation, or Roche. On June 8, 2018, we received written notice from Roche terminating its existing supply agreement with the Company due to failure by the Company to meet minimum purchase requirements. Roche has indicated to the Company that it will agree to negotiate in good faith with the Company with respect to a new supply agreement for enzymes with specifications similar to the enzymes that Roche was previously manufacturing
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for the Company. While we have significant inventory of these reagents inhouse, we do not have a second source to provide us with these reagents.
Competition
We compete primarily on the basis of the safety and efficacy of our therapies across a broad range of clinical indications to address significant unmet medical and market needs, supported by our brand name, pricing, products, published clinical data, regulatory approvals, and reimbursement. We believe that our continued success depends on our ability to:
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Develop and innovate our product and technology platforms;
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Initiate new and advance existing clinical development programs;
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Secure and maintain regulatory agency approvals;
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Build and expand our commercial footprint;
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Produce high quality products per our specifications and in line with customer expectations
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Achieve improved economies of scale and scope;
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Generate and protect intellectual property;
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Hire and retain key talent; and
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Successfully execute acquisition, licensing, and partnership activities.
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Cytori Nanomedicine
ATI-0918, our generic pegylated liposomal encapsulated doxorubicin product candidate is expected to face competition from both patented and generic nanomedicine products for the treatment of breast cancer (BC), ovarian cancer (OC), multiple myeloma (MM), and/or Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) in all geographies. New nanoparticle-doxorubicin monotherapies and drug combination therapies represent next generation approaches intended to be safer and more effective than today’s patented and generic pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD).
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U.S.
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Company
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Product
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Formulation
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Stage
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Indications
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JNJ Janssen
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DOXIL
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PLD
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Commercial
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BC, OC, MM, KS
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JNJ Janssen
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Authorized Generic
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PLD
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Commercial
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BC, OC, MM, KS
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Sun
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Lipodox
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PLD
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Commercial
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BC, OC, MM, KS
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Dr. Reddy’s
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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Commercial
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BC, OC, MM, KS
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Ipsen
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Doxorubicin Liposome
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PLD
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ANDA Submitted
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BC, OC, MM, KS
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Fudan Zhangjiang
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Libod
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Tolmar
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Panacea Biotech
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Emcure
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Cadila
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Cipla
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Aurobindo
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Intas
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Mylan
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Ayana
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Celerity
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Watson
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Sun Lipodox
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OC
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Europe
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Company
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Product
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Formulation
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Stage
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Indications
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JNJ Janssen
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CAELYX
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PLD
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Commercial
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BC, OC, KS
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Teva
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Myocet
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Non-PLD
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Commercial
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Breast (with cyclophosphamide)
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Taiwan Liposome Co
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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MAA Submitted
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BC, OC
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Dr. Reddy’s
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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MAA Submitted
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BC, OC
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Sun Pharma
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Lipodox
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PLD
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BE Study vs Janssen CAELYX
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BC, OC
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Teva
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Janssen CAELYX
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BC, OC
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Emcure
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Janssen CAELYX
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BC, OC
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Celerity
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Janssen CAELYX
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BC
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Intas
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Doxorubicin HCl Liposome
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PLD
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BE Study vs Janssen CAELYX
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OC
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Rest of World
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Country
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Company
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Product
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Formulation
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Stage
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Indications
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China
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Fudan Zhangjiang
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Libod
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PLD
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Commercial
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BC, OC, KS
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China
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CSPC
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Duomeisu
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PLD
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Commercial
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BC, OC, KS, MM, lymphoma
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China
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Changzhou Jinyuan
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Lixing
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PLD
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Commercial
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Our ATI-1123 product candidate is expected to face competition from both Sanofi’s Taxotere, which is approved for 11 indications and available in 90 countries with a majority of sales from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and generic docetaxel which is available from major suppliers in the U.S., Europe and Japan including, but not limited to, Accord, Actavis, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, GLS Pharma, Hospira, Sun Pharma, Teva, and Winthrop. Further competition may result from advances made by companies currently developing nanoparticle-docetaxel products including, but not limited to, Adocia, Athenex, Bind Therapeutics, Cerulean, Cristal Therapeutics, Intas, LIDDS, Merrimack, Modra, NanOlogy, Oasmia, and Starpharma.
Cytori Cell Therapy
According to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, there are 906 companies worldwide and 1,028 clinical trials underway within the global regenerative medicine market. Per Allied Market Research, this market is projected to reach $30.2 billion by 2022 and to be dominated by the cell therapy segment.
Today, we compete directly against companies within the autologous adipose-derived cell therapy segment offering manual, semi-automated, or full automated cell processing and/or banking systems used with or without tissue dissociation reagents. Our primary competitors include, but are not limited to, Adisave, Biosafe Group, GID Group, Healeon Medical, Human Med AG, InGeneron, Kaneka, Medikan International, PNC International, SERVA Electrophoresis GmbH, and Tissue Genesis. None of these companies are conducting clinical trials for the treatment of hand dysfunction in scleroderma patients. However, they are engaged in a number of clinical trials around the world.
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Company
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Clinical Trial
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Affiliation
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Location
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Indication
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Adisave
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Sponsor
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Canada
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Wounds and Soft Tissue Defects
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GID Group
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Alopecia
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GID Group
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Erectile Dysfunction
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GID Group
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Knee Osteoarthritis
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Healeon Medical
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Alopecia
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Healeon Medical
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
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Healeon Medical
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Inflammatory Bowel Disease
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Healeon Medical
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Neurological Disorders and Disease
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Healeon Medical
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Systemic Pain Conditions
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Healeon Medical
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Sponsor
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U.S., Honduras
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Multiple Sclerosis
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Human Med AG
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Co-Collaborator
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France
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Knee Osteoarthritis
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InGeneron/Sanford
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Rotator Cuf Tears
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InGeneron/Sanford
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Facet Joint
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InGeneron/Sanford
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Wrist Osteoarthritis
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InGeneron/Sanford
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers
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Tissue Genesis
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Critical Limb Ischemia
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Tissue Genesis
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Collaborator
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U.S.
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Rotator Cuff Tears
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Tissue Genesis
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Sponsor
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U.S.
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Erectile Dysfunction
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A study published in 2016 reported that there were 570 medical clinics in the U.S. advertising and offering stem cell treatments, including those derived from adipose tissue, directly to patients. It is unclear whether the FDA will allow these clinics to continue to
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operate
in this fashion and whether they will pose a threat to our business if and at such time that we obtain PMA approval to commercialize Cytori Cell Therapy in the U.S.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses were $8.6 million and $11.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. These expenses have supported the basic research, product development and clinical activities necessary to bring our products to market.
Our research and development efforts in 2018 focused predominantly on the following areas:
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Performing manufacturing validation, analytical chemistry, and other research activities towards completion of ATI-0918 development;
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Regulatory and planned development activities of the
ATI-1123 chemotherapy drug product candidate;
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Support of ongoing preclinical and other research activities towards BARDA contract milestones;
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Support of the investigator initiated trials ADRESU in Japan, SCLERADEC-II in France, hip osteonecrosis in the U.S.;
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Completion of the STAR trial data analysis and trial close out activities;
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Sustaining activities for current generation Celution Cell Therapy products, including the device, consumables, reagents and accessories;
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Development of new configurations and expanded functionality of our Celution platform to address the current Japanese regulatory approval as a medical device (Japan Class III) and other markets; and
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Conduct presentation and publishing of research efforts related to ADRC characterization and potency to further establish scientific leadership in the field.
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Intellectual Property
Our success depends in large part on our ability to protect our proprietary technology, including the Celution System product platform, and to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of third parties. We rely on a combination of patent, trade secret, copyright and trademark laws, as well as confidentiality agreements, licensing agreements and other agreements, to establish and protect our proprietary rights. Our success also depends, in part, on our ability to avoid infringing patents issued to others. If we were judicially determined to be infringing on any third-party patent, we could be required to pay damages, alter our products or processes, obtain licenses or cease certain activities.
To protect our proprietary medical technologies, including the Celution System and Nanomedicine technologies and other scientific discoveries, we have a portfolio of over 230 issued patents worldwide. We currently have 36 issued U.S. patents and 195 issued patents in countries outside of the United States. Of the 36 issued U.S. patents, two were issued in 2018. Of the 195 issued patents from countries outside of the United States, six were issued in 2018. In addition, we have 19 patent applications worldwide related to our Cytori Cell Therapy and Nanomedicine technologies. We are seeking additional patents on methods and systems for processing adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells, on the use of adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells for a variety of therapeutic indications, including their mechanisms of action, on compositions of matter that include adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells, and on other scientific discoveries. Regarding our Cytori Nanomedicine program, as part of our asset acquisition transaction with Azaya Therapeutics, we acquired Azaya Therapeutics’ patent portfolio consisting of two issued patents, one pending patent application and valuable proprietary liposome manufacturing know-how. Since the Azaya asset acquisition, we have filed one patent application relating to Cytori Nanomedicine, and intend to actively continue to enhance our nanomedicine portfolio.
We cannot assure that any of our pending patent applications will be issued, that we will develop additional proprietary products that are patentable, that any patents issued to us will provide us with competitive advantages or will not be challenged by any third parties or that the patents of others will not prevent the commercialization of products incorporating our technology. Furthermore, we cannot assure that others will not independently develop similar products, duplicate any of our products or design around our patents. U.S. patent applications are not immediately made public, so we might be surprised by the grant to someone else of a patent on a technology we are actively using.
There is a risk that any patent applications that we file and any patents that we hold or later obtain could be challenged by third parties and declared invalid or infringing of third party claims. For many of our pending applications, patent interference proceedings may be instituted with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, when more than one person files a patent application covering the same technology, or if someone wishes to challenge the validity of an issued patent. At the completion of the interference
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proceeding, the USPTO will determine which competing applicant is entitled to the patent, or whether an issued patent is valid. Patent interference proceedings are co
mplex, highly contested legal proceedings, and the USPTO’s decision is subject to appeal. This means that if an interference proceeding arises with respect to any of our patent applications, we may experience significant expenses and delay in obtaining a p
atent, and if the outcome of the proceeding is unfavorable to us, the patent could be issued to a competitor rather than to us. Third parties can file post-grant proceedings in the USPTO, seeking to have issued patent invalidated, within nine months of is
suance. This means that patents undergoing post-grant proceedings may be lost, or some or all claims may require amendment or cancellation, if the outcome of the proceedings is unfavorable to us. Post-grant proceedings are complex and could result in a red
uction or loss of patent rights. The institution of post-grant proceedings against our patents could also result in significant expenses.
Patent law outside the United States is uncertain and in many countries, is currently undergoing review and revisions. The laws of some countries may not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Third parties may attempt to oppose the issuance of patents to us in foreign countries by initiating opposition proceedings. Opposition proceedings against any of our patent filings in a foreign country could have an adverse effect on our corresponding patents that are issued or pending in the United States. It may be necessary or useful for us to participate in proceedings to determine the validity of our patents or our competitors’ patents that have been issued in countries other than the United States. This could result in substantial costs, divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We currently have pending patent applications or issued patents in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia, Australia, Japan, Canada, China, Korea and Singapore, among others.
In addition to patent protection, we rely on unpatented trade secrets and proprietary technological expertise. We cannot assure you that others will not independently develop or otherwise acquire substantially equivalent techniques, somehow gain access to our trade secrets and proprietary technological expertise or disclose such trade secrets, or that we can ultimately protect our rights to such unpatented trade secrets and proprietary technological expertise. We rely, in part, on confidentiality agreements with our marketing partners, employees, advisors, vendors and consultants to protect our trade secrets and proprietary technological expertise. We cannot assure you that these agreements will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach or that our unpatented trade secrets and proprietary technological expertise will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors.
Government Regulation – Nanoparticle Oncology Drugs
Our nanoparticle oncology drug products must receive regulatory approvals from the EMA and the FDA and from other applicable governments prior to their sale.
Our current and future nanoparticle oncology drugs are, or will be, subject to stringent government regulation in the United States by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The FDA regulates the design/development process, clinical testing, manufacture, safety, labeling, sale, distribution, and promotion of oncology drugs. Included among these regulations are drug approval requirements and the current Good Manufacturing Practices, cGMP. Other statutory and regulatory requirements govern, among other things, cGMP inspection, prohibitions against misbranding and adulteration, labeling and post-market reporting. The recent CURES Act legislation regarding drugs in the United States has yet to be implemented and may yield additional regulatory requirements on therapeutic drugs while providing some relief in selected regulatory burdens. The FDA’s interpretation and implementation of the CURES Act has yet to be published.
Our nanoparticle oncology drugs must also comply with the government regulations of each individual country in which the products are to be distributed and sold. These regulations vary in complexity and can be as stringent, and on occasion even more stringent, than FDA regulations in the United States. International government regulations vary from country to country and region to region. For instance, our ATI-0918 drug candidate relies on an expedited approval process referred to as ‘bioequivalence’ or BE approved under an ANDA. ANDA and BE products require a ‘reference drug’, ‘reference standard’, or RS, and/or ‘reference listed drug’, or RLD, to with which to show equivalence. The reference drug may not be the same in all territories or countries, which could require different and unique BE clinical studies for some territories. Furthermore, the level of complexity and stringency is not always precisely understood today for each country, creating greater uncertainty for the international regulatory process. Additionally, government regulations can change with little to no notice and may result in the elimination of the BE regulatory pathway in some regions, creating increased regulatory burden.
The Impact of Brexit.
On June 23, 2016, the electorate in the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the EU (commonly referred to as ‘‘Brexit’’). Thereafter, on March 29, 2017, the country formally notified the EU of its intention to withdraw pursuant to Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU is expected to take effect on March 29, 2019. Since the regulatory framework for pharmaceutical products in the United Kingdom covering quality, safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of pharmaceutical products is derived from EU directives and regulations, immediately following Brexit, it is expected that the United Kingdom’s regulatory regime will remain aligned to EU regulations. It remains to be seen how Brexit will impact regulatory requirements for product candidates and products in the United Kingdom. In the longer term, Brexit could materially impact us in the commercialization of our product candidates in
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the Unite
d Kingdom. In the short term, there is a risk of incremental costs and delays related to the marketing authorization and regulatory processes.
Worldwide, the regulatory process can be lengthy, expensive, and uncertain with no guarantee of approval. Before any new drugs may be introduced to the U.S. market, the manufacturer generally must obtain FDA approval through either ANDA process for generic drugs off patent that allow for bioequivalence to and existing reference listed drug, or the lengthier new drug approval (NDA) process, which typically requires multiple successful Phase III clinical trials to generate clinical data supportive of safety and efficacy along with extensive pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic preclinical testing to demonstrate safety. Approval of an ANDA could take four or more years from the time the development process is initiated due to the requirement for clinical trials. NDA drugs could take significantly longer due to the additional preclinical requirements along with the typical requirement for two successful Phase III clinical trials.
Our lead ATI-0918 drug candidate is eligible for the ANDA regulatory pathway in the U.S., while our ATI-1123 drug candidate may be subject to the significantly lengthier 505(b)(1) or 505(b)(2) NDA process. Changes to the RS and RLD for drugs eligible for the ANDA process can result in significant delays in the regulatory process as BE clinical studies may need to be repeated for regions / countries that no longer recognize the RS or RLD utilized in BE clinical studies. Failure to comply with applicable requirements can result in application integrity proceedings, fines, recalls or seizures of products, injunctions, civil penalties, total or partial suspensions of production, withdrawals of existing product approvals, refusals to approve new applications or notifications, and criminal prosecution.
Drugs are also subject to post-market reporting requirements for deaths or serious injuries when the drug may have caused or contributed to the death or serious injury, or serious adverse events. If safety or effectiveness problems occur after the drug reaches the market, the FDA may take steps to prevent or limit further marketing of the drug. Additionally, the FDA actively enforces regulations prohibiting marketing and promotion of drugs for indications or uses that have not been approved by the FDA.
We must comply with extensive regulations from foreign jurisdictions regarding safety, manufacturing processes and quality. These regulations, including the requirements for marketing and authorization, may differ from the FDA regulatory scheme in the United States.
Government Regulation – Medical Devices
As a specialty therapeutics company, we operate under stringent regulations and our companies and products are subject to a variety of distinct regulations around the world that are subject to modification or change.
Cytori Cell Therapy
Cytori Cell Therapy technology is regulated through a variety or agencies and approaches around the world. Our products must receive regulatory clearances or approvals from regulatory bodies such as the EMA in the European Union, the FDA in the U.S., PMDA and MHLW in Japan, and the National Medical Products Administration in China and from other applicable governments prior to their sale or in some cases prior to clinical trials. This technology platform incorporates multiple elements including devices, reagents and software that in combination yield an autologous cellular product. As a result of the complex nature of our products and differing regulations through the world, there is no single unified global set of regulatory requirements or common approach to regulation and is therefore region specific.
Cytori Cell Therapy technology is, and will be, subject to stringent government regulation in the United States by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The FDA regulates the design/development process, clinical testing, manufacture, safety, labeling, sale, distribution and promotion of medical devices and drugs. Included among these regulations are pre-market clearance and pre-market approval requirements, design control requirements, and the requirements to comply with Quality System Regulations/Good Manufacturing Practices. Other statutory and regulatory requirements govern, among other things, registration and inspection, medical device listing, prohibitions against misbranding and adulteration, labeling and post-market reporting. In the U.S., we must currently obtain FDA clearance or approval through the PMA application process, which requires clinical trials to generate clinical data supportive of safety and efficacy. Approval of a PMA could take four or more years from the time the process is initiated due to the requirement for clinical trials. Failure to comply with applicable requirements can result in application integrity proceedings, fines, recalls or seizures of products, injunctions, civil penalties, total or partial suspensions of production, withdrawals of existing product approvals or clearances, refusals to approve or clear new applications or notifications, and criminal prosecution.
Recently, the U.S. government enacted the 21
st
Century Cures Act, or the CURES Act, in the United States that has many provisions that could be favorable for us. However, the provisions of the CURES Act are broad and lack enough detail currently to determine its effect on our regulatory pathway. Further interpretation and implementation of the CURES Act must occur before any definitive assessments can be made.
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Outside the U.S., the Cytori Cell Therapy family of products must also comply with the government regulations of each individual country in which the products are to be distributed and sold. These regulations vary in complexity and can be as stringent,
and on occasion even more stringent, than FDA regulations in the United States. International government regulations vary from country to country and region to region. For example, regulations in some parts of the world only require product registration w
hile other regions/countries require a complex product approval process. Due to the fact that there are new and emerging cell therapy and cell banking regulations that have recently been drafted and/or implemented in various countries around the world, the
application and subsequent implementation of these new and emerging regulations have little to no precedent. Furthermore, the level of complexity and stringency is not always precisely understood today for each country, creating greater uncertainty for th
e international regulatory process. Furthermore, government regulations can change with little to no notice and may result in up-regulation of our products, thereby, creating a greater regulatory burden for our cell processing and cell banking technology p
roducts.
In Europe, Cytori Cell Therapy is CE Mark approved as the Celution device and consumable product, Celase reagent, and Intravase reagent and is sold for commercial and research use. Expansion of use of Cytori Cell Therapy in Europe will likely require an expansion of our regulatory claims that would likely include disease-specific claims obtained through the completion of clinical trials. It is possible that Cytori Cell Therapy may be regulated as a device, similar to its regulatory pathway in the U.S., or as an advanced tissue medicinal product or ATMP, or some combination of the two in Europe. In addition, as it relates to the impact of Brexit (refer to the section “The Impact of Brexit” above), it remains to be seen how Brexit will impact regulatory requirements for Cytori Cell Therapy family of products in the United Kingdom. In the short term, there is a risk of disrupted import and export processes due to a lack of administrative processing capacity by the respective United Kingdom and EU/Irish customs agencies that may delay time-sensitive shipments and may negatively impact our product supply chain.
Regulations in the Asia-Pacific and Japan regions are currently evolving for cell therapy products. For example, the Japan Diet enacted a regenerative medicine law in November of 2014 following sweeping changes in Japan’s medical device regulations in 2014. In Q4 2018 we received Japanese PMDA Class III approval for the Celution consumable and enzyme. In China, the regulatory landscape for cell therapies such as ours is subject to increasing regulation, and success in this market will depend heavily on a firm understanding of applicable regulations and a commitment to pursuing appropriate regulatory approvals, including any required approvals from the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China, and other governmental entities. These regulatory uncertainties further complicate the regulatory process in the Asia-Pacific region and may lengthen approval timelines and/or market entrance or penetration.
Regulatory Developments
EU Orphan Designation
In April 2015, the European Commission, acting on the positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, granted an orphan drug designation to Assistance Publique Hopitaux du Marseille (France), the sponsor institution for the SCLERADEC I and SCLERADEC II trials using Cytori Cell Therapy, for the treatment of systemic sclerosis.
In April 2016, the European Commission, acting on the positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, granted orphan drug designation to a broad range of Cytori Cell Therapy formulations when used for the treatment of systemic sclerosis under Community Register of Orphan Medicinal Products number EU/3/16/1643.
In November 2016, the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products Development granted Cytori an orphan drug designation for cryopreserved or centrally processed ECCS-50 Habeo for scleroderma.
In September 2018, the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products Development granted Cytori an orphan drug designation
for its ATI-1123 chemotherapy drug product candidate, an albumin-stabilized pegylated liposomal docetaxel, for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.
Employees
As of December 31, 2018, we had 37 full-time employees. Of these full-time employees, two were engaged in manufacturing, 21 were engaged in research and development, seven were engaged in sales and marketing and seven were engaged in management, finance and administration. From time to time, we also employ independent contractors to support our operations. Our employees are not represented by any collective bargaining agreements and we have never experienced an organized work stoppage.
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Corporate
Information and Web Site Access to SEC Filings
We were initially formed as a California general partnership in July 1996, and incorporated in the State of Delaware in May 1997. We were formerly known as MacroPore Biosurgery, Inc., and before that as MacroPore, Inc. Our corporate offices are located at 3020 Callan Road, San Diego, CA 92121. Our telephone number is (858) 458-0900. We maintain a website at www.cytori.com. Through this site, we make available free of charge our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. In addition, we publish on our website all reports filed under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act by our directors, officers and stockholders owning more than 10% of our outstanding common stock. These materials are accessible via the Investor Relations—Reports and Filings section of our website within the “SEC Filings” link. Some of the information is stored directly on our website, while other information can be accessed by selecting the provided link to the section on the SEC website, which contains filings for our company and its insiders.
The public can also obtain any documents that we file with the SEC at
http://www.sec.gov
. The public may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
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tem 1A. Risk Factors
In analyzing our company, you should consider carefully the following risk factors together with all of the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our audited Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations”. If any of the risks described below occur, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected and the value of our common stock could decline.
Risks Related to our Financial Position and Capital Requirements
The statements in this section, as well as statements described elsewhere in this annual report, or in other SEC filings, describe risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, which could also cause the trading price of our equity securities to decline. These risks are not the only risks that we face. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could also be affected by additional factors that are not presently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial to our operations
We have incurred losses since inception, we expect to incur significant net losses in the foreseeable future and we may never become profitable.
We have almost always had negative cash flows from operations and have incurred net operating losses each year since we started business. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we incurred net loss of $12.6 million, our net cash used in operating activities was $12.0 million at December 31, 2018, our accumulated deficit was $414.4 million. We expect to continue to incur net losses and negative cash flow from operating activities for at least the next year. As our focus on development of Cytori Cell Therapy, Cytori Nanomedicine, and the development of therapeutic applications has increased, losses have resulted primarily from expenses associated with research and development and clinical trial-related activities, as well as general and administrative expenses. While we have implemented and continue to implement cost reduction measures where possible, we nonetheless expect to continue operating in a loss position on a consolidated basis and expect that recurring operating expenses will be at even higher levels for at least the next year to perform clinical trial and other development activities for our Cytori Cell Therapy and Cytori Nanomedicine products and product candidates, including additional pre-clinical research, clinical trial-related activities, pre-commercialization activities (including regulatory and reimbursement analysis and market research), and marketing.
Our ability to generate sufficient revenues from any of our products, product candidates or technologies to achieve profitability will depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to:
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our ability to manufacture, test and validate our product candidates in compliance with applicable laws and as required for submission to applicable regulatory bodies, including manufacturing, testing and validation of our ATI-0918 drug candidate;
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our or our partners’ ability to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates;
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our ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals for our product candidates;
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our or our partners’ ability to negotiate and receive favorable reimbursement for our product candidates, i
ncluding for our product candidates that have been granted or may be granted orphan drug status or otherwise command currently anticipated pricing levels;
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our ability to negotiate favorable arrangements with third parties to help finance the development of, and market and distribute, our products and product candidates; and
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the degree to which our approved products are accepted in the marketplace.
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Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with our commercialization and product development efforts, we are unable to predict the extent of our future losses or when or if we will become profitable and it is possible we will never become profitable. If we do not generate significant sales from any of our product candidates that may receive regulatory approval, there would be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects which could result in our inability to continue operations.
We will need substantial additional funding to develop our products and for our future operations. If we are unable to obtain the funds necessary to do so, we may be required to delay, scale back or eliminate our product development activities or may be unable to continue our business.
We have had, and we will continue to have, an ongoing need to raise additional cash from outside sources to continue funding our operations to profitability, including our continuing substantial research and development expenses. We do not currently believe that our cash balance and the revenues from our operations will be sufficient to fund the development and marketing efforts required to reach profitability without raising additional capital from accessible sources of financing in the near future. Although it is difficult to predict future liquidity requirements, we believe that our $5.3 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand as of December 31, 2018 will be sufficient to fund our currently contemplated operations at least through the second quarter of 2019. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
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our ability to raise capital to fund our operations on terms acceptable to us, or at all;
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our perceived capital needs with respect to development of our CCT and Cytori Nanomedicine development programs, and any delays in, adverse events of, and excessive costs of such programs beyond what we currently anticipate;
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our ability to establish and maintain collaborative and other arrangements with third parties to assist in bringing our products to market and the cost of such arrangements at the time;
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costs associated with the integration and operation of our acquired Cytori Nanomedicine business, and costs of validation, requalification and recommencement of the Cytori Nanomedicine manufacturing operations at our San Antonio, Texas facility;
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the cost of manufacturing our product candidates, including compliance with good manufacturing practices, or GMP, applicable to our product candidates;
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expenses related to the establishment of sales and marketing capabilities for product candidates awaiting approval or products that have been approved;
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the level of our sales and marketing expenses;
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competing technological and market developments; and
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our ability to introduce and sell new products.
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We have secured capital historically from grant revenues, collaboration proceeds, and debt and equity offerings. We will need to secure substantial additional capital to fund our future operations. We cannot be certain that additional capital will be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise capital was adversely affected when the FDA put a hold on our ATHENA cardiac trials in mid-2014, which had an adverse impact to stock price performance and our corresponding ability to restructure our debt. Subsequently, a continued downward trend in our stock price resulting from a number of factors, including (i) general economic and industry conditions, (ii) challenges faced by the regenerative medicine industry as a whole, (iii) the market’s unfavorable view of certain of our recent equity financings conducted in 2014, 2015 and 2018 (which financings were priced at a discount to market and included 100% warrant coverage), (iv) market concerns regarding our continued need for capital (and the effects of any future capital raising transactions we may consummate), (v) market perceptions of our ATHENA, ACT-OA, and STAR clinical trial data, and (vi) our recent Nasdaq listing deficiency issues and resultant 1-for-15 reverse stock split in 2016 and 1- for-10 reverse stock split in 2018, made it more difficult to procure additional capital on terms reasonably acceptable to us. Though our acquisition of the Cytori Nanomedicine business from Azaya Therapeutics, including our ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 drug candidates, appear to have been viewed favorably by our investors and the marketplace, we cannot assure you that this acquisition will not ultimately be viewed negatively and thus further hamper our efforts to attract additional capital. If we are unsuccessful in our efforts to raise any such additional capital, we may be required to take actions that could materially and adversely harm our business, including a possible
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significant reduction in our research, development and administrative operations (including reduction of our employee bas
e), surrendering of our rights to some technologies or product opportunities, delaying of our clinical trials or regulatory and reimbursement efforts, or curtailing of or even ceasing operations.
Our financing plans include pursuing additional cash through use of offering programs, strategic corporate partnerships, licensing and sales of equity. In November 2017, we completed a public offering in which we distributed to holders of our common stock, at no charge, non-transferable subscription rights to purchase up to 10,000 units, each consisting of one share of our Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and 1,800 warrants to purchase shares of our common stock (exercisable for an aggregate of 180 shares of common stock), at a subscription price of $1,000 per unit, or the 2017 Rights Offering, raising a total of $10 million in gross proceeds. Each share of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock is convertible into approximately 300 shares of our common stock, subject to adjustment. We sold a total of 10,000 units as part of the 2017 Rights Offering. Additionally, in July 2018, we completed a public offering in which we distributed to holders of our common stock and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, at no charge, non-transferable subscription rights to purchase up to an aggregate of 20,000 units each consisting of one share of Series C Preferred Stock and 1,050 warrants to purchase one share of our common stock at a subscription price of $1,000 per unit, or the 2018 Rights Offering. Each share of Series C Preferred Stock is convertible into 1,253 shares of our common stock subject to adjustment. We sold an aggregate of 6,723 units as part of the 2018 Rights Offering.
In addition, in September 2018, we entered into a purchase agreement, or the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC, or Lincoln Park, pursuant to which we may direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to $5.0 million in shares of our common stock from time to time over the 24-month period following October 15, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. There is no guarantee that adequate funds will be available when needed from additional debt or equity financing, development and commercialization partnerships or from other sources or on terms acceptable to us. In addition, under current SEC regulations, at any time during which the aggregate market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates, or public float, is less than $75.0 million, the amount we can raise through primary public offerings of securities in any twelve-month period using shelf registration statements, including sales under our ATM program, is limited to an aggregate of one-third of our public float. As of December 31, 2018, our public float was 14.8 million shares, the value of which was $4.3 million based upon the closing price of our common stock of $0.29 on such date. The value of one-third of our public float calculated on the same basis was approximately $1.4 million.
Further, the Loan and Security Agreement (defined in below), with Oxford Finance, LCC (“Oxford”), requires maintaining a minimum of $2.0 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on hand to avoid an event of default under the Loan and Security Agreement and requires that the Company achieve one of the following by March 29, 2019: enter into an asset sale agreement with a minimum unrestricted net cash proceeds to the Company of $4.0 million; enter into a binding agreement for the issuance and sale of its equity securities or unsecured convertible subordinated debt which would result in unrestricted gross cash proceeds of not less than $7.5 million; or enter into a merger agreement pursuant to which the obligations under the Loan Agreement would be paid down to a level satisfactory to Oxford. Based on our cash and cash equivalents on hand of approximately $5.3 million at December 31, 2018, we estimate that we will need to raise additional capital and/or obtain a waiver or restructure the Loan and Security Agreement in the near term to avoid defaulting under its $2.0 million minimum cash/cash equivalents covenant. If we are unable to avoid an event of default under the Loan and Security Agreement, our business could be severely harmed.
In addition to the funding sources previously mentioned, we continue to seek additional capital through product revenues and state and federal development programs, including additional funding opportunities though our current BARDA contract.
Our level of indebtedness, and covenant restrictions under such indebtedness, could adversely affect our operations and liquidity.
Under our Loan and Security Agreement with Oxford, as collateral agent and lender, Oxford made a term loan to us in an aggregate principal amount of $17,700,000, or the Term Loan, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Loan and Security Agreement. The outstanding principal balance of the Term Loan is $13.0 million as of December 31, 2018.
The Term Loan accrues interest at a floating rate equal to the three-month LIBOR rate (with a floor of 1.00%) plus 7.95% per annum. However, from January 2017 through August 2017, we were required to make payments of principal (in the amount of $590,000 per month) and accrued interest in equal monthly installments of approximately $725,000. On December 31, 2018, we and Oxford amended the Loan and Security Agreement to extend the interest-only period to March 2019, beginning April 2019, we will be required to make payments of principal (in the amount of approximately $0.9 million per month) and accrued interest in equal monthly installments of approximately $1.0 million to amortize the Term Loan through June 1, 2020, the maturity date.
As security for our obligations under the Loan and Security Agreement, we granted a security interest in substantially all of our existing and after-acquired assets, subject to certain exceptions set forth in the Loan and Security Agreement. If we are unable to discharge these obligations, Oxford could foreclose on these assets, which would, at a minimum, have a severe material adverse effect on our ability to operate our business.
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Our indebtedness to Oxford could adversely affect our operations and liquidity, by, among other things:
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causing us to use a larger portion of our cash flow to fund interest and principal payments, reducing the availability of cash to fund working capital and capital expenditures and other business activities;
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making it more difficult for us to take advantage of significant business opportunities, such as acquisition opportunities, and to react to changes in market or industry conditions; and
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limiting our ability to borrow additional monies in the future to fund working capital and capital expenditures and for other general corporate purposes.
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The Loan and Security Agreement, as amended, requires us to maintain at least $2.0 million in unrestricted cash and/or cash equivalents and includes certain reporting and other covenants, that, among other things, restrict our ability to (i) dispose of assets, (ii) change the business we conduct, (iii) make acquisitions, (iv) engage in mergers or consolidations, (v) incur additional indebtedness, (vi) create liens on assets, (vii) maintain any collateral account, (viii) pay dividends, (ix) make investments, loans or advances, (x) engage in certain transactions with affiliates, and (xi) prepay certain other indebtedness or amend other financing arrangements. If we fail to comply with any of these covenants or restrictions, such failure may result in an event of default, which if not cured or waived, could result in Oxford causing the outstanding loan amount ($13.0 million as of December 31, 2018) to become immediately due and payable. If the maturity of our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not have, or be able to timely procure, sufficient cash resources to satisfy our debt obligations, and such acceleration would adversely affect our business and financial condition.
In addition, our indebtedness under the Loan and Security Agreement is secured by a security interest in substantially all of our existing and after-acquired assets, excluding our intellectual property assets (which are subject to a negative pledge), and therefore, if we are unable to repay such indebtedness, Oxford could foreclose on these assets, which would, at a minimum, have a severe material effect on our ability to operate our business.
The report of our independent registered public accounting firm contains an emphasis paragraph regarding the substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
The audit report of our independent registered public accounting firm covering the December 31, 2018 consolidated financial statements contains an explanatory paragraph that states that our recurring losses from operations, liquidity position, and debt service requirements raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. This going concern opinion could materially limit our ability to raise additional funds through the issuance of new debt or equity securities or otherwise. Future reports on our financial statements may also include an explanatory paragraph with respect to our ability to continue as a going concern. To date, our operating losses have been funded primarily from outside sources of invested capital and gross profits. We have had, and we will likely continue to have, an ongoing need to raise additional cash from outside sources to fund our future operations. However, no assurance can be given that additional capital will be available when required or on terms acceptable to us. If we are unsuccessful in our efforts to raise any such additional capital, we would be required to take actions that could materially and adversely affect our business, including significant reductions in our research, development and administrative operations (including reduction of our employee base), possible surrender or other disposition of our rights to some technologies or product opportunities, delaying of our clinical trials or curtailing or ceasing operations. We also cannot give assurance that we will achieve sufficient revenues in the future to achieve profitability and cash flow positive operations to allow us to continue as a going concern. The perception that we may not be able to continue as a going concern may cause third parties to choose not to deal with us due to concerns about our ability to meet our contractual obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We may not be able to access the full amounts available under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, which could prevent us from accessing the capital we need to continue our operations, which could have an adverse effect on our business.
In September 2018, we entered into the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which we may direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to $5.0 million in shares of our common stock from time to time over the 24-month period following October 15, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Thereafter, on any trading day selected by us, we may sell shares of common stock to Lincoln Park in amounts up to 250,000 shares per regular sale (such purchases, Regular Purchases) up to the aggregate commitment of $5.0 million.
The amount we may sell to Lincoln Park under a single Regular Purchase may increase under certain circumstances as described in the Purchase Agreement but in no event will the amount of a single Regular Purchase exceed $1.0 million. The purchase price of shares of Common Stock related to the Regular Purchases will be based on the prevailing market prices of such shares at the time of sales. The Company may also direct Lincoln Park to purchase other amounts as accelerated purchases or additional accelerated purchases if the closing sale price of the Common Stock is not below the threshold prices as set forth in the Purchase Agreement. The Company’s sales of shares of Common Stock to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement are limited to no more than the number of shares that would result in the beneficial ownership by Lincoln Park and its affiliates, at any single point in time, of more than 4.99% of the then outstanding shares of the Common Stock. There are no trading volume requirements or restrictions under the Purchase Agreement. There is no upper limit on the price per share that Lincoln Park must pay for Common Stock under a Regular
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Purchase or an accelerated purchase and in no event will shares be sold to Lincoln Park on a day the Company’s closing price is less than the floo
r price as set forth in the Purchase Agreement.
Depending on the prevailing market price of our common stock, we may not be able to sell shares to Lincoln Park for the maximum $5.0 million over the term of the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement. For example, under the rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market, in no event may we issue more than 19.99% of our shares outstanding (which is approximately 2,238,533
shares based on
11,192,666
shares outstanding prior to the signing of the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement) under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement unless we obtain stockholder approval or an exception pursuant to the rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market is obtained to issue more than 19.99%. This limitation will not apply if, at any time the exchange cap is reached and at all times thereafter, the average price paid for all shares issued and sold under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement is equal to or greater than $0.434, which was the consolidated closing bid price of our common stock on September 20, 2018. We are not required or permitted to issue any shares of common stock under the Purchase Agreement if such issuance would breach our obligations under the rules or regulations of the Nasdaq Capital Market. In addition, Lincoln Park will not be required to purchase any shares of our common stock if such sale would result in Lincoln Park’s beneficial ownership exceeding 4.99% of the then outstanding shares of our common stock. Our inability to access a portion or the full amount available under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, in the absence of any other financing sources, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
The sale or issuance of our common stock to Lincoln Park may cause dilution and the sale of the shares of common stock acquired by Lincoln Park, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause the price of our common stock to fall.
In September 2018, we entered into the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which we may direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to $5.0 million in shares of our common stock from time to time over the 24-month period following October 15, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The purchase price for the shares that we may sell to Lincoln Park under the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement will fluctuate based on the price of our common stock. Depending on market liquidity at the time, sales of such shares may cause the trading price of our common stock to fall.
We generally have the right to control the timing and amount of any sales of our shares to Lincoln Park. Sales of our common stock, if any, to Lincoln Park will depend upon market conditions and other factors to be determined by us. Lincoln Park may ultimately purchase all or some of the shares of our common stock that may be sold pursuant to the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement and, after it has acquired shares, Lincoln Park may sell all, some or none of those shares. Therefore, sales to Lincoln Park by us could result in substantial dilution to the interests of other holders of our common stock. Additionally, the sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park, or the anticipation of such sales, could make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect sales.
Material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting have occurred in the past and could occur in the future.
We are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting, as well as a statement that our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 2013, which may have adversely affected investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock. While no such material weakness was identified for the years ended December 31, 2018 or December 31, 2017, we cannot assure you that additional material weaknesses will not be identified in the future.
If we are unable to effectively remediate any material weaknesses in a timely manner, or if we identify one or more additional material weaknesses in the future, investors could lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
We may not be able to correctly estimate or control our future operating expenses, which could lead to cash shortfalls.
Our budgeted expense levels are based in part on our expectations concerning future revenues from sales as well our assessment of the future investments needed to expand our commercial organization and support research and development activities. We may be unable to reduce our expenditures in a timely manner to compensate for any unexpected events or a shortfall in revenue. Accordingly, a shortfall in demand for our products or other unexpected events could have an immediate and material impact on our business and financial condition.
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Our operating results have been and will likely continue to be volatile.
Our prospects must be evaluated in light of the risks and difficulties frequently encountered by emerging companies and particularly by such companies in rapidly evolving and technologically advanced biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device fields. From time to time, we have tried to update our investors’ expectations as to our operating results by periodically announcing financial guidance. However, we have in the past been forced to revise or withdraw such guidance due to lack of visibility and predictability of product demand.
Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50% change, by value, in its equity ownership over a three year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes to offset its post-change taxable income and taxes may be limited. We may have experienced, or may in the future experience, “ownership changes” as a result of shifts in stock ownership. Any such ownership changes could limit our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes. Furthermore, under recently enacted U.S. tax legislation, although the treatment of tax losses generated before December 31, 2017 has generally not changed, tax losses generated in calendar year 2018 and beyond may be used to offset only 80% of taxable income. This change may require us to pay federal income taxes in future years despite generating a loss for federal income tax purposes in prior years.
Recent U.S. tax legislation may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Recently enacted U.S. tax legislation has significantly changed the U.S. federal income taxation of U.S. corporations, including by reducing the U.S. corporate income tax rate, and revising the rules governing net operating losses and foreign tax credits (such legislation, the “Tax Act”). Many of these changes became effective immediately, without any transition periods or grandfathering for existing transactions. The legislation is unclear in many respects and could be subject to potential amendments and technical corrections, as well as interpretations and implementing regulations by the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, any of which could lessen or increase certain adverse impacts of the legislation. In addition, it is unclear how these U.S. federal income tax changes will affect state and local taxation, which often uses federal taxable income as a starting point for computing state and local tax liabilities. As of December 31, 2017, the Company remeasured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the rates at which they were expected to reverse in the future (which was generally 21%), by recording a provisional amount of $45.8 million, which was fully offset by valuation allowance. Upon further analysis of certain aspects of the Act and refinement of our calculations during the 12 months ended December 31, 2018, we determined that no adjustment was necessary to our provisional amount.
It is possible that the Tax Act will be subject to further changes either in a technical corrections bill or entirely new legislation. The overall impact of the Tax Act also depends on the future interpretations and regulations that may be issued by U.S. tax authorities. We expect there will be further guidance provided by these authorities potentially having a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations. The impact of broad proposals or of regulatory issuances on the Company’s business can vary substantially depending upon the specific changes or further guidance made and how the changes or guidance are implemented by the tax authorities
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Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our future success is in large part dependent upon our ability to successfully integrate and develop our Cytori Nanomedicine platform and commercialize our newly acquired ATI-0918 drug candidate, and any failure to do so could significantly harm our business and prospects.
In February 2017, we acquired substantially all of the assets of Azaya Therapeutics Inc, or Azaya, including Azaya’s two drug candidates, ATI-0918 and ATI-1123, and related manufacturing equipment and inventory. Our ability to successfully integrate, develop and commercialize these assets is subject to a number of risks, including the following:
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We do not have substantive drug development, manufacturing, and commercialization experience, and thus we may be required to hire and rely on significant numbers of scientific, quality, regulatory and other technical personnel with the experience and expertise necessary to develop, manufacture, and commercialize our Cytori Nanomedicine drug candidates. We may be unable to identify, hire and retain personnel with the requisite experience to conduct the operations necessary to obtain regulatory approval and commercialize our ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 product candidates, in which case our business would be materially harmed;
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ATI-0918, a complex generic pegylated liposomal formulation of doxorubicin, is very difficult to manufacture, and we can offer no assurances that we will (i) be able to manufacture this drug in accordance with all applicable laws and
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regulations; or
(ii) demonstrate bioequivalence to Lipodox® (Sun Pharma) in the United States; or Caelyx® (Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson company) in Europe as required to obtain regulatory approvals within our currently anticipated timeframes, or at all;
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We intend to find a commercialization partner to share or assume responsibility for marketing, sales, and distribution activities and related costs and expenses for our ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 drug candidates. We do not currently have the financial resources to perform an ATI-0918 bioequivalence study against Lipodox required to submit an ANDA to FDA or develop our ATI-1123 drug candidate internally, nor do we currently have the financial or human resources to market, sell, and distribute ATI-0918 or ATI-1123 if and when approved by regulatory agencies, so if we are unable to find a suitable partner to share in these activities and costs, we may be forced to delay or suspend our development and commercialization activities, or procure additional capital to continue development of these drug candidates ourselves. There can be no assurance that we would obtain sufficient capital to fund the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of our Cytori Nanomedicine program ourselves, or if we do obtain such capital, that our development, manufacturing, and commercialization efforts would be successful;
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Conduct of this acquired business will require significant capital, and to the extent that we incur unanticipated expenses or revenue downturns in our business, are unable to timely obtain sufficient additional capital on terms acceptable to us (or at all) to fund this business, our ability to commercialize our ATI-0918 drug candidate could be materially and adversely impacted;
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New competitive products become commercially available before we launch ATI-0918;
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It is possible that the EMA could change the reference drug for ATI-0918 in Europe from Caelyx. Though we deem this possibility to be unlikely, if the EMA were to change the reference drug, we could be required to conduct a bioequivalence trial to establish bioequivalence with the new reference drug, which would adversely affect our business and operations; and
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We are not experienced in acquiring and integrating new businesses.
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If we are unable to successfully partner with other companies to commercialize our product candidates, our business could materially suffer.
A key part of our business strategy is to leverage strategic partnerships/collaborations to commercialize our product candidates. We do not have the financial, human or other resources necessary to develop, commercialize, launch or sell our therapeutic offerings in all of the geographies that we are targeting, and thus it is important that we identify and partner with third parties who possess the necessary resources to bring our products to market. We expect that any such partners will provide regulatory and reimbursement/pricing expertise, sales and marketing resources, and other expertise and resources vital to the success of our product offerings in their territories. We further expect, but cannot guarantee, that any such partnering arrangements will include upfront cash payments to us in return for the rights to develop, manufacture, and/or sell our products in specified territories, as well as downstream revenues in the form of milestone payments and royalties.
We are currently prioritizing our efforts to find a strategic partner for our cell therapy assets. For various reasons, including the data from our STAR clinical trial and the novelty of our cellular therapeutic approach, the regulatory and reimbursement environments for Habeo in certain markets, including Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, are complex and uncertain. There can be no assurance that regulatory agencies or authorities in the U.S., Eu
rope, the Asia-Pacific region or elsewhere will grant conditional or full regulatory approval for Habeo nor can we guarantee that government or commercial payers will grant us favorable reimbursement for use of Habeo, if approved
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, we recently received feedback from a FDA pre-submission meeting, indicating that a clinical trial focused on more severely affected diffuse systemic sclerosis patients could be an appropriate next step given the results of the STAR clinical trial. At this time, we do not have, and are not prepared to commit, the financial and other resources required in order to conduct an additional clinical trial of Habeo, and will instead look to partnering or out-licensing opportunities as a basis for any continued development. Further, even if we receive regulatory approval and favorable reimbursement, there is no guarantee that a market will develop for Habeo at our intended price points, or at all. These commercialization risks could affect prospective partners’ or collaborators’ willingness to enter into partnering arrangements on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Prospective partners may be unwilling to enter into Habeo collaboration/partnering agreements with us in light of our STAR clinical trial data. We anticipate that it will be difficult to find a commercialization partner for Habeo on favorable terms, if at all. Further, if data from the recently enrolled French investigator-initiated and Cytori-supported SCLERADEC-II trial are not positive, the regulatory and commercial hurdles for Habeo will further increase, especially in the EU.
We may also solicit partnering interest in our ECCO-50 Cell Therapy for use in knee osteoarthritis, but we anticipate that our partnering efforts with respect to this indication will be subordinate to our Habeo Cell Therapy and ATI-0918 partnering efforts. Further, while consistent trends were observed in most secondary endpoints relative to the placebo group in our ACT-OA knee osteoarthritis trial, the 12-week endpoint of single pain on walking question did not achieve statistical significance, so there can be no assurance that our partnering efforts for our ECCO-50 therapeutics will be successful.
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In addition, we may seek development and/or commercial partners for the other therapeutic
indications set forth in our clinical pipeline, including use of ECCI-50 Cell Therapy in stress urinary incontinence, or SUI, in men following surgical removal of the prostate gland (this therapeutic indication is currently the subject of an investigator-i
nitiated trial in Japan, called ADRESU).
There can be no assurance that this male SUI pipeline indication will be attractive to prospective partners. The male SUI market is relatively small (approximately $45.0 million) in Japan. We anticipate that the failure to achieve the primary and secondary endpoints in our STAR trial could materially hamper our efforts to identify prospective cell therapy partners or to negotiate cell therapy partnering transactions on terms favorable to us, or at all.
We are also prioritizing our efforts to find a strategic partner to help commercialize and sell our ATI-0918 drug candidate, initially in Europe, the U.S., and China, and to fund development and commercialization of our ATI-1123 product candidate. We do not currently have the commercial resources to market and sell either ATI-0918 or ATI-1123. There can be no assurance that we will enter into partnering agreements for either ATI-0918 or ATI-1123 with suitable partners on terms acceptable to us, or at all. At present, we do not intend to expend significant resources on development of ATI-1123. However, regardless of whether we enter into a partnering agreement for ATI-0918, we may still incur significant costs and expenses related to manufacturing, testing validation, and regulatory and clinical work necessary to support a generic drug application submission to EMA. If we cannot find a suitable partner for our ATI-0918 product candidate, our business could be significantly harmed.
Even if we succeed in securing partners for our lead or other product candidates, our partners may fail to develop or effectively commercialize our product candidates. Partnerships and collaborations involving our products and product candidates pose a number of risks, including the following:
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partners may not have sufficient resources or may decide not to devote the necessary resources due to internal constraints such as budget limitations, lack of human resources, or a change in strategic focus;
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partners may believe our intellectual property is not valid or is unenforceable or unprotectable, or the product or product candidate infringes on the intellectual property rights of others;
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partners may dispute their responsibility to conduct development and commercialization activities pursuant to the applicable collaboration, including the payment of related costs or the division of any revenues;
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partners may decide to pursue a competitive product developed outside of the partnering arrangement;
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partners may not be able to obtain, or believe they cannot obtain, the necessary regulatory approvals or reimbursement rates for the product candidates; and
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partners may decide to terminate or not to renew their agreement with us for these reasons or other reasons.
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As a result, partnering agreements may not lead to development or commercialization of our lead product candidates or other product candidates in the most efficient manner or at all.
Our current business strategy is high-risk.
Our current business strategy is to aggressively develop and commercialize our Cytori Cell Therapy and Cytori Nanomedicine platforms, while simultaneously controlling expenses and preserving and growing our existing contract and commercial product revenues. We also believe that there are synergies between our existing cellular therapeutic technologies and our oncology drug assets that we can exploit and commercialize in the long-term with significant investment.
Our current business strategy is a high-risk strategy for a number of reasons including the following:
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current and anticipated clinical trials using Cytori Cell Therapy, including the investigator-initiated and Cytori-supported SCLERADEC II and ADRESU trials, and Cytori-sponsored J-STAR trial, may not yield positive results;
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research and development and commercialization of our cellular therapeutics and our oncology drug assets will require significant amounts of additional capital, and we cannot assure you that we will have access to sufficient capital, or find partners to provide capital, necessary to develop and bring our products to market;
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our Cell Therapy business model may be challenging for prospective business partners, as our therapeutic approach involves:
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multiple procedures performed by multiple physician specialties - liposuction followed by preparation and same-day administration of the autologous cellular therapeutic
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obtaining new reimbursement codes (or which reimbursement codes and payment levels may not be deemed adequate by prospective partners); and
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navigating evolving regulatory agency requirements for cell therapy products.
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our current installed base of Celution devices may pose potential risks to us if the operators of these devices (i) harm a patient during the course of treating the patient with Cytori Cell Therapy; or (ii) treat patients “off label” in a manner that is competitive with us, creates channel conflict with us, or otherwise negatively impacts our business;
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our Celution platform is a novel technology that may never receive marketing authorization for our intended therapeutic indications;
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we may incur material costs and expenses in executing our business strategy that are not currently contemplated and that could cause our operating expenses to materially increase beyond current projections;
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our Celution technology is potentially subject to different regulatory regimes in different territories, and we are not experienced in obtaining regulatory approvals for therapeutic indications, of our Cytori Cell Therapy products;
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we do not have an operating history as a drug company, or prior experience with obtaining regulatory, reimbursement or other approvals for product candidates such as ATI-0918 and ATI-1123;
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our ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 drug candidates, if commercialized, will compete against established competitive drugs that are marketed and sold by large companies with significant human, technical and financial resources;
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we are not experienced in acquiring and integrating new assets, such as those acquired from Azaya;
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an intense and rapidly evolving competitive landscape for our Cytori Nanomedicine product candidates, including chemotherapies, targeted therapies and immuno-oncology therapies, and as such key assumptions regarding market entry, pricing, and revenue/unit share may not be realized;
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our product candidates may never become commercially viable;
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we may not be able to prevent other companies from depriving us of market share and profit margins by selling products based on our intellectual property and developments; and
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the regenerative medicine industry is very risky and this has adversely affected our ability to attract investment capital and collaborators for our Cytori Cell Therapy.
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Our business is sensitive to general economic, business and industry conditions.
We are exposed to general economic, business and industry conditions, both in the United States and globally. Adverse global economic and financial conditions are difficult to predict and mitigate against, and therefore the potential impact is difficult to estimate. Negative trends in the economy, including trends resulting from an actual or perceived recession, tightening credit markets, such as significant reductions in available capital and liquidity from banks and other credit providers, substantial volatility in equity and currency values worldwide, prolonged recessionary or slow growth periods, increased cost of commodities, including oil, actual or threatened military action by the United States, and threats of terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad, could cause a reduction of investment in and available funding for companies in certain industries, including ours and those of our customers. Thus, our business operations and ability to raise capital has been, and may in the future, be adversely affected by downturns in current credit conditions, financial markets and the global economy.
We face intense competition, and if our competitors market and/or develop products that are marketed more effectively, approved more quickly than our product candidates or demonstrated to be safer or more effective than our products, our commercial opportunities could be reduced or eliminated
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The life science industry is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary therapeutics. We face competition from a number of sources, some of which may target the same indications as our products or product candidates, including small and large, domestic and multinational, medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, government agencies and private and public research institutions, many of which have greater financial resources, sales and marketing capabilities, including larger, well-established sales forces, manufacturing capabilities, experience in obtaining regulatory approvals for product candidates and other resources than we do.
We expect that product candidates in our pipeline, if approved, to compete on the basis of, among other things, product efficacy and safety, time to market, price, coverage and reimbursement by third-party payers, extent of adverse side effects and convenience of treatment procedures. One or more of our competitors may develop other products that compete with ours, obtain necessary approvals for such products from the FDA, EMA, MHLW or other
agencies, if required, more rapidly than we do or develop alternative products or therapies that are safer, more effective and/or more cost effective than any products developed by us.
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The competition that we encounter with respect to any of our product ca
ndidates that receive the requisite regulatory approval and classification and are marketed may have an effect on our product prices, market share and results of operations. We may not be able to differentiate any products that we are able to market from t
hose of our competitors, successfully develop or introduce new products that are less costly or offer better results than those of our competitors, or offer purchasers of our products payment and other commercial terms as favorable as those offered by our
competitors. In addition, competitors may seek to develop alternative formulations of or technological approaches to our product candidates and/or alternative cell therapy or drug delivery technologies that address our targeted indications.
Cytori Cell Therapy:
Cytori Cell Therapy may face competition from cell therapies derived from autologous or allogeneic tissue sources such as adipose tissue, bone marrow and cord blood, and processed using alternative approaches, methods and technologies such as cryopreserved, cultured, expanded, manual, non-enzymatic, selectively isolated cell therapies, and other therapeutic approaches including those administered using oral, subcutaneous, topical and intravenous routes.
Our Cytori Cell Therapy may also face competition from lower priced, alternative therapies, including manually processed, or “home brewed” ADRCs or fat grafts that are harvested and used to treat patients for a wide range of indications. There are hundreds of stromal vascular fraction clinics within the United States alone that purport to offer cell therapy treatments for ailments ranging from facial rejuvenation to stroke. Though the FDA has indicated that it intends to regulate this “home brew” industry, if it fails to do so, then companies without FDA approvals may continue to offer cell therapy treatments on an “off-label,” unapproved basis at substantially lower prices then we intend to command. Similar clinics exist in every other market in which we currently or intend to compete.
Cytori Nanomedicine:
We may face competition for our ATI-0918 asset (which is intended for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancers, multiple myeloma, and Kaposi’s sarcoma) from multiple drug classes including antiretrovirals, chemotherapies, corticosteroids, histone deacetaylase inhibitors, hormone therapies, immunotherapies, and targeted therapies, as well as companies seeking approvals in Europe or the United States for their pegylated liposomal doxorubicin products. In particular, if a competitor is first to the European market with an EMA-approved generic pegylated liposomal doxorubicin that is bioequivalent to Caelyx, our projections and market assumptions for our ATI-0918 would have to be materially altered and our business could be harmed. Dr Reddy’s and Natco Pharma together reported that they filed for registration in Europein August of 2018 for their generic version of Caelyx, which is ahead of our schedule for submitting our MAA to EMA for ATI-0918. Further, Sun Pharma, Teva, Intas, Emcure, and Celerity are performing bioequivalence studies against Caelyx, data from which they may use to support EMA MAAs as well. In the United States, we may face competition for ATI-0918 from multiple generic formulations of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin. Sun Pharma’s Lipodox, Dr. Reddy’s DOXOrubicin HCl Liposome, and Janssen’s authorized generic products are currently approved in the United States. Further, Watson, Tolmar, Panacea Biotec, Emcure, Cadila, Cipla, Aurobindo, Intas, Mylan, Ayana, and Celerity are performing bioequivalence studies against Lipodox, data from which they may to use to support FDA ANDAs.
Companies that are developing or have commercialized nanoparticle-docetaxel products, including both oral and intravenous formulations, and may be future competitors for our ATI-1123 asset include Adocia, Athenex, Bind Therapeutics, Cerulean, Cristal Therapeutics, Intas, LIDDS, Merrimack, Modra, NanOlogy, Oasmia, and Starpharma.
Competitors may have greater experience in developing drugs or devices, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory clearances or approvals, manufacturing and commercialization. It is possible that competitors may obtain patent protection, approval, or clearance from the FDA or achieve commercialization earlier than we can, any of which could have a substantial negative effect on our business.
Compared to us, many of our potential competitors have substantially greater:
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research and development resources and experience, including personnel and experience;
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product development, clinical trial and regulatory resources and experience;
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sales and marketing resources and experience;
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manufacturing and distribution resources and experience;
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name, brand and product recognition; and
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resources, experience and expertise in prosecution and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
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As a result of these factors, our competitors may obtain regulatory approval of their products more quickly than we are able to or may obtain patent protection or other intellectual property
rights that limit or block us from developing or commercializing our product candidates. Our competitors may also develop products that are more effective, more useful, better tolerated, subject to fewer or less severe side effects, more widely prescribed or accepted or less costly than ours and may also be more successful than we are in
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manufacturing and marketing their products. If we are unable to compete effectively with the marketed therapeutics of our competitors or if such competitors are successful
in developing products that compete with any of our product candidates that are approved, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects may be materially adversely affected.
Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate acceptable levels of safety and efficacy for Habeo Cell Therapy or any of our other product candidates, which could prevent or significantly delay their regulatory approval and commercialization,
which would have a material and adverse impact on our business.
Clinical testing of our products is a long, expensive and uncertain process, and the failure or delay of a clinical trial can occur at any stage. Many factors, currently known and unknown, can adversely affect clinical trials and the ability to evaluate a product candidate’s efficacy. During the course of treatment, patients can die or suffer other adverse events for reasons that may or may not be related to the proposed product being tested. Even if initial results of preclinical and nonclinical studies or clinical trial results are promising, we may obtain different results in subsequent trials or studies that fail to show the desired levels of safety and efficacy, or we may not obtain applicable regulatory approval for a variety of other reasons. For instance, the investigator-initiated 12-patient, open-label SCLERADEC I trial investigating use of Habeo Cell Therapy for hand complications of scleroderma, sponsored by the Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, or AP-HM, located in Marseille, France, has reported strong clinical data suggesting safety and efficacy of a single treatment of Habeo Cell Therapyout to three years after treatment. However, the six and 12 month results of the STAR trial failed to demonstrate statistical significance of the primary and secondary endpoints. Therefore, there can be no assurances that AP-HM’s current SCLERADEC II clinical trial will be successful. This trial is testing broader human use of Habeo Cell Therapy in blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial settings, as opposed to SCLERADEC I’s open-label, single arm, uncontrolled, unblinded format. In addition, we released a more detailed assessment of STAR Trial data at the World Scleroderma Congress in February 2018, and recently received feedback from a FDA pre-submission meeting, indicating that a clinical trial focused on more severely affected diffuse systemic sclerosis patients could be an appropriate next step given the results of the STAR clinical trial. We finalized meeting minutes and, at this time, we do not have, and are not prepared to commit, the financial and other resources required in order to conduct an additional clinical trial of Habeo, and will instead look to partnering or out-licensing opportunities as a basis for any continued development.
Further, with respect to the conduct and results of clinical trials generally, in the United States, Europe, Japan and other jurisdictions, the conduct and results of clinical trials can be delayed, limited suspended, or otherwise adversely affected for many reasons, including, among others:
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clinical results may not meet prescribed endpoints for the studies or otherwise provide sufficient data to support the efficacy of our product candidates;
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clinical and nonclinical test results may reveal side effects, adverse events or unexpected safety issues associated with the use of our product candidates;
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lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial, including the incurrence of unforeseen costs due to enrollment delays, requirements to conduct additional trials and studies and increased expenses associated with the services of our contract research organizations, or CROs, and other third parties;
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inability to design appropriate clinical trial protocols;
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slower than expected rates of subject recruitment and enrollment rates in clinical trials;
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regulatory review may not find a product safe or effective enough to merit either continued testing or final approval;
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regulatory review may not find that the data from preclinical testing and clinical trials justifies approval;
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regulatory authorities may require that we change our studies or conduct additional studies which may significantly delay or make continued pursuit of approval commercially unattractive;
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a regulatory agency may reject our trial data or disagree with our interpretations of either clinical trial data or applicable regulations;
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the cost of clinical trials required for product approval may be greater than what we originally anticipate, and we may decide to not pursue regulatory approval for such a product;
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a regulatory agency may identify problems or other deficiencies in our existing manufacturing processes or facilities or the existing processes or facilities of our collaborators, our contract manufacturers or our raw material suppliers;
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a regulatory agency may change its formal or informal approval requirements and policies, act contrary to previous guidance, adopt new regulations or raise new issues or concerns late in the approval process;
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a product candidate may be approved only for indications that ar
e narrow or under conditions that place the product at a competitive disadvantage, which may limit the sales and marketing activities for such products or otherwise adversely impact the commercial potential of a product; and
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a regulatory agency may ask us to put a clinical study on hold pending additional safety data; (and there can be no assurance that we will be able to satisfy the regulator agencies’ requests in a timely manner, which can lead to significant uncertainty in the completion of a clinical study).
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In addition, Cytori Cell Therapy is currently the subject of a number of investigator-initiated trials, including the SCLERADEC II clinical trial in France and the ADRESU clinical trial in Japan. While these investigator-initiated trials are useful to help enhance awareness and use of our cell therapy technologies and products, and to identify potential therapeutic targets, there are also associated risks. We do not control the design and conduct of these trials, thus any data integrity issues or patient safety arising out of any of these trials would be beyond our control, yet could adversely affect our reputation and damage the clinical and commercial prospects for our Cytori Cell Therapy product candidates.
We also face clinical trial-related risks with regard to our reliance on other third parties in the performance of many of the clinical trial functions, including CROs, that help execute our clinical trials, the hospitals and clinics at which our trials are conducted, the clinical investigators at the trial sites, and other third-party service providers. Failure of any third-party service provider to adhere to applicable trial protocols, laws and regulations in the conduct of one of our clinical trials could adversely affect the conduct and results of such trial (including possible data integrity issues), which could seriously harm our business.
Our success depends in substantial part on our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for our Cell Therapy products and ATI-0918. However, we cannot be certain that we will receive regulatory approval for these product candidates or our other product candidates.
We have only a limited number of product candidates in development, and our business depends substantially on their successful development and commercialization. Our product candidates will require development, regulatory review and approval in multiple jurisdictions, substantial investment, access to sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity and significant marketing efforts before we can generate any revenues from sales of our product candidates. The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, sale, 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, whose regulations differ from country to country.
We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the United States until we receive approval from the FDA, or in any foreign countries until we receive the requisite approval from the regulatory authorities of such countries (including centralized marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency), and we may never receive such regulatory approvals. Obtaining regulatory approval for a product candidate is a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process, and may not be obtained. Any failure to obtain regulatory approval of any of our product candidates would limit our ability to generate future revenues (and any failure to obtain such approval for all of the indications and labeling claims we deem desirable could reduce our potential revenue), would potentially harm the development prospects of our product candidates and would have a material and adverse impact on our business.
Even if we successfully obtain regulatory approvals to market our product candidates, our revenues will be dependent, in part, on our ability to commercialize such products as well as the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval. If the markets for our product candidates are not as significant as we estimate, our business and prospects will be harmed
Regarding our current lead commercialization candidate, ATI-0918:
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The reference drugs for ATI-0918, which are currently Lipodox® in the United States and Caelyx® in Europe, may change and we could be required to conduct a bioequivalence trial to establish bioequivalence with the new reference drugs, which would adversely affect our business and operations.
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Though Azaya previously completed a European ATI-0918 60-patient bioequivalence trial, the EMA has not confirmed the adequacy of the trial for purposes of determining bioequivalence of ATI-0918 to Caelyx®. It is possible that the EMA could require us to conduct another bioequivalency trial for ATI-0918, which would cause us to incur significant delays and additional costs and expense and would materially and adversely affect our business.
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Though it is our intent to expeditiously pursue regulatory review of ATI-0918 in Europe through submission of a marketing authorization application, or MAA, to the EMA, prior to submission of this application we must first conduct and complete certain activities, including chemistry, manufacturing and controls, or CMC, activities, for inclusion in the application, and we cannot guarantee that we will successfully complete these activities.
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We may decide to seek scientific advice from the EMA regarding required elements of the MAA before we submit the MAA, and if the EMA’s scientific advice requires us to conduct substantive additional work (including possible
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provision of substantial additional data or information), our submission of the MAA could be materially delayed, which in turn would materially push back our anticipated launch date for ATI-0918 in Europe.
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If we are unable to satisfy the EMA’s requirements to issuance of the marketing authorization for ATI-0918, we will not be able to launch ATI-0918 in Europe, and our business would be materially harmed.
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If a product candidate is not approved in a timely fashion on commercially viable terms, or if development of any product candidate is terminated due to difficulties or delays encountered in the regulatory approval process, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, and we may become more dependent on the development of other proprietary products and/or our ability to successfully acquire other products and technologies. There can be no assurance that any product candidate will receive regulatory approval in a timely manner, or at all.
If our products candidate and technologies receive regulatory approval but do not achieve broad market acceptance, especially by physicians, the revenues that we generate will be limited.
The commercial success of any of our approved products or technologies will depend upon the acceptance of these products and technologies by physicians, patients and the medical community. The degree of market acceptance of these products and technologies will depend on a number of factors, including, among others:
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acceptance by physicians and patients of the product as a safe and effective treatment;
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any negative publicity or political action related to our or our competitors’ products or technologies;
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the relative convenience and ease of administration;
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the prevalence and severity of adverse side effects;
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demonstration to authorities of the pharmacoeconomic benefits;
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demonstration to authorities of the improvement in burden of illness;
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limitations or warnings contained in a product’s approved labeling;
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payers’ level of restrictions and/or barriers to coverage;
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the clinical indications for which a product is approved;
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availability and perceived advantages of alternative treatments;
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the effectiveness of our or any current or future collaborators’ sales, marketing and distribution strategies; and
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pricing and cost effectiveness.
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Our Celution technology and products compete against cell-based therapies derived from alternate sources, such as bone marrow, umbilical cord blood and, potentially, embryos. Some of our competitors with products based on these other cell-based therapies have substantially greater financial, human and technical resources than we do. In addition, some of them have approved products with therapeutic claims, established revenues and broad market recognition. Physicians historically are slow to adopt new technologies like ours regardless of the perceived merits when older technologies, as the current standard of care, continue to be supported by established providers. Overcoming such inertia often requires significant marketing expenditures or definitive product performance and/or pricing superiority.
We face similar competitive pressures with our Cytori Nanomedicine product candidates. As a generic pegylated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, ATI-0918, if approved and launched commercially, will potentially compete against Caelyx in Europe and Doxil, Lipodox®, and DOXOrubicin HCl Liposome in the United States. These existing competitive liposomal doxorubicin products have been on the market for many years, have gained widespread physician acceptance and are marketed by competitors with substantially greater resources than we have. Further, our ATI-1123 product candidate, if developed and commercialized, would compete against a number of established docetaxel drugs, including Taxotere® (Sanofi S.A.) and numerous existing generic docetaxel products, as well as other potential liposomal docetaxel products being developed and commercialized by competitors.
We expect physicians’ inertia and skepticism to also be a significant barrier as we attempt to gain market penetration with our future products. We believe we will continue to need to finance lengthy time-consuming clinical studies to provide evidence of the medical benefit of our products and resulting therapies in order to overcome this inertia and skepticism.
Overall, our efforts to educate the medical community on the benefits of any of our products or technologies for which we obtain marketing approval from the FDA or other regulatory authorities and gain broad market acceptance may require significant
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resources and may never be successful. If our products and technologies do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, pharmacists and patients, we may not generate sufficient revenue from these produc
ts to become or remain profitable.
Many potential applications of our product candidates are pre-commercial, which subjects us to development and marketing risks.
Our products candidates are at various stages of development. Successful development and market acceptance of our products is subject to developmental risks, including risk of negative clinical data from current and anticipated trials, failure of inventive imagination, ineffectiveness, lack of safety, unreliability, manufacturing hurdles, failure to receive necessary regulatory clearances or approvals, high commercial cost, preclusion or obsolescence resulting from third parties’ proprietary rights or superior or equivalent products, competition from copycat products and general economic conditions affecting purchasing patterns. There can be no assurance that we or our partners will successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates, or that our competitors will not develop competing technologies that are less expensive or superior. Failure to successfully develop and market our product candidates would have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Regarding our cell therapy products, we believe that our long-term viability and growth will depend in large part on our ability to establish the safety and efficacy of our cell therapies through clinical trials and studies. Though we generate revenues from commercial sales of our Celution products, there is no proven path for commercializing Cytori Cell Therapy in a way to earn a durable profit commensurate with the medical benefit. We have been engaged for a number of years in commercial sales of our Celution devices and consumable kits in Japan, Europe, and certain Asia Pacific markets, and our cell banking products in Japan, but we have not achieved significant growth due in significant part to our inability thus far to obtain therapeutic, on-label use that is reimbursed by payers. Thus, we do not expect the market for our products to appreciably increase until we have positive clinical data from a validated, Phase III, controlled, randomized trial that reports safety and efficacy of our cellular therapeutic in a discrete disease state or condition. However, there can be no assurance that one or more clinical trials of our cell therapy product candidates will yield positive results.
Regarding our Cytori Nanomedicine program, our ATI-0918 generic drug candidate is pre-commercial. Our ATI-0918 bioequivalence trial results and accompanying manufacturing and other data are subject to review and feedback by the EMA prior to our submission of our marketing authorization application, or MAA, to the EMA. There can be no assurances that the EMA will view the results of the bioequivalence trial favorably. Further, we are required to complete certain manufacturing, drug stability and other activities before we submit our MAA to the EMA. There can be no assurance that the EMA will deem our MAA sufficient grant us marketing authorization within the timelines we currently project, or at all. Should we wish to commercialize ATI-0918 in the United States, we believe we will need to conduct a clinical trial to demonstrate bioequivalence to the then-current reference drug in the United States (currently Lipodox®). Any such bioequivalency trial would be time and resource intensive and could ultimately fail to demonstrate ATI-0918’s bioequivalence to the reference drug.
Our ATI-1123 drug candidate is in early clinical stages and is subject to all of the attendant risks of an early-stage drug. Also, we intend to find a partner to develop our ATI-1123 drug candidate, but and if we are unsuccessful in doing so, our ATI-1123 development program could be delayed or suspended.
If we or any party to a key collaboration, licensing, development, acquisition or similar arrangement fails to perform material obligations under such arrangement, or any arrangement is terminated for any reason, there could be an adverse effect on our business
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We are currently party to certain licensing, collaboration and acquisition agreements under which we may make or receive future payments in the form of milestone payments, maintenance fees, royalties and/or minimum product purchases. We are dependent on our collaborators to commercialize Cytori Cell Therapy in certain countries and in certain indications for us to realize any financial benefits from these collaborations. Our collaborators may not devote the attention and resources to such efforts to be successful. In addition, in the event that a party fails to perform under a key collaboration agreement, or if a key collaboration agreement is terminated, the reduction in anticipated revenues could delay or suspend our commercialization efforts in certain countries. Specifically, the termination of a key collaboration agreement by one of our collaborators could materially impact our ability to enter into additional collaboration agreements with new collaborators on favorable terms.
Risks relating to our current material collaborations (excluding our BARDA partnership, which is discussed below in these “Risk Factors”) include the following:
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Under our asset purchase agreement with Azaya, we are required to use commercial reasonable efforts to develop our ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 drug candidates, and we have future milestone, earn-out and other payments to Azaya tied to our commercialization and sale activities for these drug candidates. If we are unsuccessful in our efforts to develop our
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ATI-0918 and ATI-1223 drug assets, or if Azaya and we were to enter into a dispute over the terms of our agreement, then our business could be seriously harmed.
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Lorem Vascular, is our exclusive licensee for our Cytori Cell Therapy products in all fields of use in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia under the terms of the Lorem Agreement. Lorem Vascular is responsible for commercializing our Cytori Cell Therapy products in these territories. Lorem Vascular is relatively new company with limited operating history, and has yet to generate meaningful revenues in its licensed territories. There can be no assurance that Lorem Vascular will be able to generate meaningful revenues in its licensed territories in the future. We are in ongoing discussions with Lorem Vascular regarding the terms of our collaboration, including the structure of the Lorem Agreement. If we are unable to agree with Lorem Vascular on revised terms to our collaboration, our relationship with them could suffer. A dispute may arise between us and Lorem Vascular that could lead to arbitration or other adversarial proceedings. Any such proceedings could cause significant diversion of management time and attention, cause us significant expense, and could potentially result in an outcome adverse to us. Further, any such dispute could negatively affect our ability to realize any sales or royalty revenues from Lorem Vascular’s commercial activities in the territories under its exclusive license. Even if we successfully restructure or otherwise revise our agreement with Lorem Vascular, there can be no assurance that Lorem Vascular will be able to successfully commercialize our Celution products in China or in the other territories subject to its license. Further, if Lorem Vascular fails to comply with any regulations applicable to its development, marketing and sale of our products, there can be no assurance that regulators would not try to hold us responsible for such activities.
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Pursuant to the Bimini Agreement, we have, among other things, granted Bimini an exclusive, worldwide license to use and sell our Cytori Cell Therapy products in the alopecia (hair loss) field. Cytori and Bimini granted certain licenses to each other, and have certain license, royalty and other payment obligations under the Bimini agreement, as well as certain supply, development and non-competition obligations. If we and Bimini were to enter into a dispute regarding the terms of our agreement, our business could be harmed.
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If we or our distributors or collaborators fail to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to the development, manufacturing, and marketing of our products, regulatory agencies may take action against us or them, which could significantly harm our business.
Our products and product candidates, along with the clinical development process, the manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data, labeling, advertising and promotional activities for these products, are subject to continual requirements and review by the FDA and state and foreign regulatory bodies. Regulatory authorities subject a marketed product, its manufacturer and the manufacturing facilities to continual review and periodic inspections. We, our distributors and collaborators, and our and their respective contractors, suppliers and vendors, will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements, including complying with regulations and laws regarding advertising, promotion and sales of products, required submissions of safety and other post-market information and reports, registration requirements, Clinical Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) regulations (including requirements relating to quality control and quality assurance, as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation), and the requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping requirements. Regulatory agencies may change existing requirements or adopt new requirements or policies. We, our distributors and collaborators, and our and their respective contractors, suppliers and vendors, may be slow to adapt or may not be able to adapt to these changes or new requirements.
Failure to comply with regulatory requirements may result in any of the following:
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restrictions on our products or manufacturing processes;
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withdrawal of the products from the market;
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voluntary or mandatory recall;
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suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals;
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suspension or termination of any of our ongoing clinical trials;
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refusal to permit the import or export of our products;
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refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;
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imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
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To the extent any of our customers fail to use our products in compliance with applicable regulations, regulators could try to hold us responsible if they believe we facilitated or were otherwise somehow responsible for our customer's non-compliance.
We currently sell our Celution-based Cell Therapy products in numerous markets outside of the United States for research and commercial use. These markets have different, and in some cases, less burdensome, regulatory schemes applicable to our products than in the United States. To the extent any of our customers, whether inside or outside the United States, use or further market our products in their home market or in other markets in a way that does not comply with applicable local regulations, regulators could try to hold us responsible if they believe we facilitated or were otherwise responsible for the customer’s actions. While we take measures in an effort to protect us against these types of risks, we cannot ensure you that such measures would prevent us from becoming subject to any such claims.
We and our products are subject to extensive regulation, and the requirements to obtain regulatory approvals in the United States and other jurisdictions can be costly, time-consuming and unpredictable. If we or our partners are unable to obtain timely regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business may be substantially harmed.
Cytori Cell Therapy
: Our Celution system family of products and components of the Stemsource cell banks, must receive regulatory clearances or approvals from the FDA and from foreign regulatory bodies prior to commercial sale in those jurisdictions. Our Cytori Cell Therapy platform, including the Celution device, Celase and Intravase reagents, and consumable kits, is subject to stringent government regulation in the United States by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and by the EMA and other regulatory agencies outside of the United States under their respective regulatory regimes.
The regulatory process for our cell therapy products can be lengthy, expensive, and uncertain. Before any new medical device may be introduced to the U.S. market, the manufacturer generally must obtain FDA clearance or approval through either the 510(k) pre-market notification process or the lengthier pre-market approval, or PMA, process. It generally takes from three to 12 months from submission to obtain 510(k) pre-market clearance, although it may take longer. Approval of a PMA could take four or more years from the time the process is initiated. The 510(k) and PMA processes can be expensive, uncertain, and lengthy, and there can be no assurance of ultimate clearance or approval. Our Celution
products under development today and in the foreseeable future will be subject to the lengthier PMA process. Securing FDA clearances and approvals may require the submission of extensive clinical data and supporting information to the FDA. Failure to comply with applicable requirements can result in application integrity proceedings, fines, recalls or seizures of products, injunctions, civil penalties, total or partial suspensions of production, withdrawals of existing product approvals or clearances, refusals to approve or clear new applications or notifications, and criminal prosecution.
For us to market our products in Europe, Canada, Japan and certain other non-U.S. jurisdictions, we need to obtain and maintain required regulatory approvals or clearances and must comply with extensive regulations regarding safety, manufacturing processes and quality. These regulations, including the requirements for approvals or clearances to market, may differ from the FDA regulatory scheme. International sales also may be limited or disrupted by political instability, price controls, trade restrictions and changes in tariffs. Additionally, fluctuations in currency exchange rates may adversely affect demand for our products by increasing the price of our products in the currency of the countries in which the products are sold.
Medical devices are also subject to post-market reporting requirements for deaths or serious injuries when the device may have caused or contributed to the death or serious injury, as well as for certain device malfunctions that would be likely to cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if the malfunction were to recur. If safety or effectiveness problems occur after the product reaches the market, the FDA may take steps to prevent or limit further marketing of the product. Additionally, the FDA actively enforces regulations prohibiting marketing and promotion of devices for indications or uses that have not been cleared or approved by the FDA. While we believe that our current activities are in compliance with FDA regulations relating to marketing and promotion, if regulators were to determine that our commercialization efforts, or those of our distributors, collaborators or customers, involve improper marketing and promotion of our products in violation of FDA regulations, our business could be substantially negatively affected.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain the necessary 510(k) clearances or PMA approvals to market and manufacture our other products in the United States for their intended use on a timely basis, if at all. Delays in receipt of or failure to receive such clearances or approvals, the loss of previously received clearances or approvals or failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements could have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will obtain regulatory approvals or clearances in all of the other countries where we intend to market our products, or that we will not incur significant costs in obtaining or maintaining foreign regulatory approvals or clearances, or that we will be able to successfully commercialize current or future products in various foreign markets. Delays in receipt of approvals or clearances to market our products in foreign countries, failure to receive such approvals or clearances or the future loss of previously received approvals or clearances could have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
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Cytori Nanomedicine:
The worldwide regulatory process for our Cytori Nanomedicine drug candidates can be lengthy and expensive, with
no guarantee of approval.
Before any new drugs may be introduced to the U.S. market, the manufacturer generally must obtain FDA approval through either an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, process for generic drugs off patent that allow for bioequivalence to an existing reference listed drug, or RLD, or the lengthier new drug approval, or NDA, process, which typically requires multiple successful and successive clinical trials to generate clinical data supportive of safety and efficacy along with extensive pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic preclinical testing to demonstrate safety. Our lead drug product under development (ATI-0918) is eligible ANDA process, while our ATI-1123 drug candidate is subject to the significantly lengthier NDA process. Approval of an ANDA could take four or more years from the time the process is initiated due to the requirement for clinical trials. NDA drugs could take significantly longer due to the additional preclinical requirements along with the typical requirement for two successful Phase III clinical studies.
In Europe, as in the United States, there are two regulatory steps to complete before a drug candidate is approved to be marketed in the European Union. These two steps are clinical trial application and marketing authorization application. Clinical trial applications are approved at the member state level, whereas marketing authorization applications are approved at both the member state and centralized levels. Both ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 may follow the centralized procedure for EMA regulatory approval. The centralized procedure allows the applicant to obtain a marketing authorization that is valid throughout the EU. Similar to the FDA process, the EMA centralized process requires bioequivalence data for generic drug candidates such as ATI-0918, and robust clinical data for non-generic drug candidates like ATI-1123 similar to clinical data required for NDA drug candidates.
There are numerous risks arising out of the regulation of our ATI-0918 and ATI-1123 drug candidates include the following:
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We can provide no assurances that our current and future oncology drugs will meet all of the stringent government regulation in the United States, by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and/or in international markets such as Europe, by the EMA under its Medicinal Products Directive.
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We intend to seek regulatory of our ATI-0918 drug candidate via abbreviated approval processes referred to as bioequivalence or BE, approved under an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA. There are no assurances that these abbreviated processes are or will be available in markets outside of the United States, or where available, that we will successfully obtain regulatory approvals via such abbreviated processes.
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It is required for ANDA and BE drug candidates that there is a RLD, with which the drug candidate must demonstrate equivalence. There are no assurances that the reference drug for ATI-0918 will be the same in all territories or countries, which could require different and unique BE clinical studies for some territories where we currently intend to commercialize ATI-0918. Changes in the RLD may result in the nullification of BE clinical studies and can result in significant delays in the regulatory process as BE clinical studies may need to be repeated for jurisdictions that no longer recognize the reference drug utilized in BE clinical studies.
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Our Cytori Nanomedicine drug candidates, if approved, will still be subject to post-market reporting requirements for deaths or serious injuries when the drug may have caused or contributed to the death or serious injury, or serious adverse events. There are no assurances that our drug products will not have safety or effectiveness problems occurring after the drugs reach the market. There are no assurances that regulatory authorities will not take steps to prevent or limit further marketing of the drug due to safety concerns.
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It is possible that the new legislation in our priority markets, such as the newly enacted CURES Act in the United States, will yield additional regulatory requirements for therapeutic drugs for our Cytori Nanomedicine drug candidates (the FDA’s interpretation and implementation of the CURES Act has yet to be published).
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Changing, new and/or emerging government regulations may adversely affect us.
Cytori Cell Therapy
: Government regulations can change without notice. Given the fact that we operate in various international markets, our access to such markets could change with little to no warning due to a change in government regulations that suddenly up-regulate our product(s) and create greater regulatory burden for our cell therapy and cell banking technology products.
Our ability to receive regulatory approvals for our Cytori Cell Therapy products and to sell into foreign markets is complex, due in part to by the nature of our Celution platform and manufacturing process. The platform consists of our Celution device that processes the patient’s own adipose (fat) tissue to create a heterogeneous mixture of regenerative cells. In the United States, this heterogeneous mixture of cells is subject to classification as a drug, but the FDA has made the determination that our Cytori Cell Therapy will be regulated as a Class III PMA medical device. However, foreign regulatory bodies must assess our particular platform and manufacturing process to make their own determination whether our Cytori Cell Therapy product candidates should receive medical device or drug classifications. For example, the European Commission has granted orphan drug designation for the use of Cytori Cell Therapy (currently branded as Habeo Cell Therapy) in treatment of system sclerosis. The EMA has not made a determination whether it would classify Habeo Cell Therapy as an ATMP or a medical device. Though we believe that Habeo Cell
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Therapy will be classified by the EMA as an ATMP, we cannot guarantee that the EMA will not arrive at a different determination at such time that we ask a determination to be made. Regardless of the EMA’s
ultimate determination, we will also be required to comply with the particular regulatory requirements of each of the member states of the European Economic Area (comprised of 28 European Union, or EU, member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway)
with respect to our cell therapy offerings, a process which we anticipate will require considerable time, effort and expense. We expect that regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions will engage in similar analyses of our Cytori Cell Therapy, and we canno
t predict then outcomes of these analyses.
In Japan,
the Japanese Diet passed the Act regarding Ensuring of Safety of Regenerative Medicine, or the Regenerative Medicine Law, and the revisions to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law as applied to drugs, medical devices and regenerative medicine. The Regenerative Medicine Law initially caused some confusion for regenerative companies operating in Japan, but we believe that this law, as currently implemented, benefits Cytori and its customers by allowing an expedited path for our customers in Japan to obtain licenses under the Regenerative Medicine Law to treat patients with Cytori Cell Therapy. However, we cannot be certain that the Regenerative Medicine Law will not be repealed or that current interpretations and implementation of the Regenerative Medicine Law will not change in a manner adverse to our business.
Further, for most of 2018 and prior, we imported and sold our products in Japan under a Class I notifications that we obtained several years ago. However, in late 2018, at the request of Japanese regulators, we received PMDA Class III approval for our consumable kits and enzymes.
Any regulatory review committees and advisory groups and any contemplated new guidelines may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As we advance our product candidates, we may be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups, and comply with applicable guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of our product candidates. Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a product candidate to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient revenue to maintain our business. Divergence in regulatory criteria for different regulatory agencies around the globe could result in the repeat of clinical studies and/or preclinical studies to satisfy local territory requirements, resulting in the repeating of studies and/or delays in the regulatory process. Some territories may require clinical data in their indigenous population, resulting in the repeat of clinical studies in whole or in part. Some territories may object to the formulation ingredients in the final finished product and may require reformulation to modify or remove objectionable components; resulting in delays in regulatory approvals. Such objectionable reformulations include, but are not limited to, human or animal components, BSE/TSE risks, banned packaging components, prohibited chemicals, banned substances, etc. There can be no assurances that FDA or foreign regulatory authorities will accept our pre-clinical and/or clinical data.
Due to the fact that there are new and emerging cell therapy and cell banking regulations that have recently been drafted and/or implemented in various countries around the world, the application and subsequent implementation of these new and emerging regulations have little to no precedence. Therefore, the level of complexity and stringency is not known and may vary from country to country, creating greater uncertainty for the international regulatory process.
Anticipated or unanticipated changes in the way or manner in which the FDA or other regulators regulate products or classes/groups of products can delay, further burden, or alleviate regulatory pathways that were once available to other products. There are no guarantees that such changes in the FDA’s or other regulators’ approach to the regulatory process will not deleteriously affect some or all of our products or product applications.
Cytori Nanomedicine:
Our nanoparticle technology is also subject to government regulations that are subject to change. Our lead drug product, ATI-0918 is regulated under bioequivalence rules that rely on a reference listed drug, or RLD, for equivalence in the United States and other jurisdictions. Government agencies can change the reference listed drug or reference drug without notice. These changes in the RLD could invalidate clinical studies and require the initiation of new clinical studies for determining equivalence to a newly assigned RLD. Furthermore, bioequivalence studies may need to be repeated in certain foreign entities as some governments may require additional confirmatory studies in their patient populations. These additional requirements could result in additional clinical studies or delays in the regulatory process. Other risks with the RLD criteria are in the criteria for demonstrating bioequivalence. Bioequivalence criteria may not be identical in all geographical regions, resulting in the requirement for new bioequivalence studies to demonstrate equivalence to a more stringent standard. Additionally, bioequivalence criteria rely on the products being “off patent” in the territory. Patent expiration dates may vary in different regions which may result in bioequivalence regulatory pathways being delayed in some territories. Current regulatory pathways such as the abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, pathway, of we are currently relying on, are subject to change and may cease to be viable regulatory pathways in the future.
Our pipeline oncology products, such as ATI-1123, are being developed under existing government criteria, which are subject to change in the future. Clinical and/or pre-clinical criteria in addition to cGMP manufacturing requirements may change and impose additional regulatory burdens. Clinical requirements are subject to change which may result in delays in completing the regulatory process. Divergence in regulatory criteria for different regulatory agencies around the globe could result in the repeat of clinical studies and/or preclinical studies to satisfy local jurisdictional requirements, which would significantly lengthen the regulatory process and increase uncertainty of outcome. Some jurisdictions may require clinical data in their indigenous population, resulting in
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the repeat of clinical studies in whole or in part. Some jurisdictions may object to the formulation ingredients in the final finished pro
duct and may require reformulation to modify or remove objectionable components; resulting in delays in regulatory approvals. Such objectionable reformulations include, but are not limited to, human or animal components, bovine spongiform encephalopathy/
transmissible spongiform encephalopathy risks, banned packaging components, prohibited chemicals, banned substances, etc. There can be no assurance that the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities will accept our pre-clinical and/or clinical data.
We may have difficulty obtaining appropriate and sufficient pricing and reimbursement for our cell therapy products.
New and emerging cell therapy and cell banking technologies, such as those provided by the Cytori Cell Therapy family of products, may have difficulty or encounter significant delays in obtaining health care reimbursement in some or all countries around the world due to the novelty of our cell therapy and cell banking technology and subsequent lack of existing reimbursement schemes/pathways. Therefore, the creation of new reimbursement pathways may be complex and lengthy with no assurances that such reimbursements will be successful. The lack of health insurance reimbursement or reduced or minimal reimbursement pricing may have a significant impact on our ability to successfully sell our cell therapy and cell banking technology products into a county or region at pricing that is profitable and that adequately compensates Cytori for its development costs, which would negatively impact our operating results.
Our European managed access program for Habeo Cell Therapy may not be successful, which in turn could adversely affect our Habeo Cell Therapy commercialization efforts.
Our managed access program, or MAP (also known as early access program or named patient program), is intended to provide access in select countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America to our Habeo Cell Therapy for patients with impaired hand function due to scleroderma in advance of anticipated commercialization of Habeo Cell Therapy. Our MAP has faced and may continue to face numerous challenges, including the following:
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In most countries, patient access to Habeo Cell therapy will be provided on an ‘individual’ patient basis where physicians will make an application to their competent authority in each country on a patient-by-patient basis. This imposes a significant administrative burden on participating physicians, and requires them to navigate a process with which they are oftentimes unfamiliar.
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In certain countries, hospitals and/or patients will be required to pay a portion of our procedure fees under our MAP. This payment obligation may limit the number of hospitals and patients who can afford to participate in our MAP.
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Because Cytori is targeting an orphan indication in scleroderma where there is an established need for effective therapies, regulators in Europe have been willing to allow an approval trial based on limited data from the 12-patient, investigator initiated SCLERADEC I pilot trial. The lack of robust Phase 2/3 clinical data has also proven to be a hurdle to MAP acceptance. We believe that positive results from future clinical trials will help drive interest in our MAP, but there is no guarantee that these trials will achieve positive results.
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Orphan drug designation may not ensure that we will enjoy market exclusivity in a particular market, and if we fail to obtain or maintain orphan drug designation or other regulatory exclusivity for some of our product candidates, our competitive position would be harmed.
A product candidate that receives orphan drug designation can benefit from potential commercial benefits following approval. Under the U.S. Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product candidate as an orphan drug if it is intended to treat a rare disease or condition, defined as affecting a patient population of fewer than 200,000 in the United States, or a patient population greater than 200,000 in the United States where there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the drug will be recovered from sales in the United States. In the European Union, or EU, 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 a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition affecting not more than 10,000 persons in the EU. Currently, this designation provides market exclusivity in the U.S. and the European Union for seven years and ten years, respectively, if a product is the first such product approved for such orphan indication. This market exclusivity does not, however, pertain to indications other than those for which the drug was specifically designated in the approval, nor does it prevent other types of drugs from receiving orphan designations or approvals in these same indications. Further, even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve a drug with similar chemical structure for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the new drug is clinically superior to the orphan product or a market shortage occurs. In the EU, orphan exclusivity may be reduced to six years if the drug no longer satisfies the original designation criteria or can be lost altogether if the marketing authorization holder consents to a second orphan drug application or cannot supply enough drug, or when a second applicant demonstrates its drug is “clinically superior” to the original orphan drug.
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In April 2016, the European Commission, acting on the positive recommendation from the COMP, issued orphan drug designation to a broad range of Cytori Cell Therapy formulations when used for the treatment
of systemic sclerosis.
In November 2016, the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products Development granted us an orphan drug designation for cryopreserved or centrally processed ECCS-50 (Habeo) for scleroderma.
In September 2018, Cytori received a FDA Orphan Dr
ug Designation for ATI-1123 for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.
These
orphan drug designations may fail to result in or maintain orphan drug exclusivity upon approval, which would harm our competitive position.
We generate 77% of our sales revenues from Japan, with 60% of those revenues generated by sales to two customers. This concentration of sales in one territory, and to one small group of customers in Japan, makes us vulnerable to the loss of our key customers and to adverse changes in the Japanese market.
In 2018, we generated approximately $2.1 million in sales revenues in Japan, representing 77% of our overall global sales revenues. 60% of the Japan sales revenues were from two key customers.
We expect a relatively small number of customers to account for a majority of our revenues for the foreseeable future.
This concentration of sales in one country, and in a small subset of customers within such country, represents a risk to our business. Our existing business in Japan, and our prospects for further growth of product sales in Japan, are subject to a number of risks, including the following:
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Existing laws and regulations pertaining to our business, including the Act regarding Ensuring of Safety of Regenerative Medicine, or the Regenerative Medicine Law, passed in 2013, may be repealed, or implemented, amended or superseded, in a manner that is adverse to our business;
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Macroeconomic conditions in Japan may deteriorate, thus weakening demand for our cell therapy products, which are used in self-pay procedures in Japan;
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Japanese regulatory authorities may take unexpected actions with respect to our cell therapy products, including with respect to required regulatory clearances and approvals in Japan, that could cause us to suspend or curtail our cell therapy sales operations in Japan;
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Quality issues could arise, requiring product recalls or other actions that could cause us reputational damage and lost sales;
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One or more of our key customers in Japan may decide to acquire competitive products, adopt other technological or therapeutics approaches to the conditions they treat, or otherwise reduce or cease their purchases of our products;
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Our Cytori Cell Therapy product trials may not achieve statistical significance and thus could diminish the perceived value and efficacy of our technology; and
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Our relatively small team in Japan may not be able to manage the needs of a growing business, and we may not able to hire and retain existing or new employees necessary to maintain and expand our business in Japan.
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Further, a loss of one or more of our key customers, a dispute or disagreement with one of these key customers, a significant deterioration in the financial condition of one of these key customers, or a significant reduction in the amount of our products ordered by any key customer could adversely affect our revenue, results of operations and cash flows.
If we experience an interruption in supply from a material sole source supplier, our business may be harmed
We acquire some our components and other raw materials from sole source suppliers. If there is an interruption in supply of our raw materials from a sole source supplier, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain adequate quantities of the raw materials within a reasonable time or at commercially reasonable prices. Interruptions in supplies due to pricing, timing, availability or other issues with our sole source suppliers could have a negative impact on our ability to manufacture products and product candidates, which in turn could adversely affect the development and commercialization of our Cytori Nanomedicine and Cytori Cell Therapy product candidates and products and cause us to potentially breach our supply or other obligations under our agreements with certain other counterparties.
On June 8, 2018, we received written notice from Roche terminating its supply agreement with the Company due to failure by the Company to meet minimum purchase requirements. Roche has indicated to the Company that it will agree to negotiate in good faith with the Company with respect to a new supply agreement for enzymes with specifications similar to the enzymes that Roche was previously manufacturing for the Company. While we have significant inventory of these reagents inhouse, we do not have a second source to provide us with these reagents, and we estimate that it would take approximately two years to qualify another manufacturing source for our reagents. We are currently in negotiations with Roche to enter into a new supply agreement to procure these enzymes. If our negotiations with Roche do not result in a resolution or if we are unable to find a second source of the reagents to meet our customer demand, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
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We are dependent on s
ole source suppliers to manufacture the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) and certain other components of our Cytori Nanomedicine drug candidates. There are no assurances that these sole source suppliers will enter into supply agreements with us to p
rovide contractual assurance to us around supply and pricing. Regardless whether a sole source supplier enters into a written supply arrangement with us, such supplier could still delay, suspend or terminate supply of raw materials to us for a number of re
asons, including manufacturing or quality issues, payment disputes with us, bankruptcy or insolvency, or other occurrences.
If a sole source supplier ceases supply of raw materials necessary there is no guarantee that we will find an alternative supplier for the necessary raw materials on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Further the qualification process for a new vendor could take months or even years, and any such day in qualification could significantly harm our business.
We may engage in strategic transactions that could impact our liquidity, increase our expenses and present significant distractions to our management.
From time to time we may consider strategic transactions, such as acquisitions of companies, asset purchases and out-licensing or in-licensing of products, product candidates or technologies. For example, in February 2017, we acquired intellectual property and a portfolio of investigational oncology therapies from Azaya Therapeutics. This acquisition materially impacted our liquidity and will materially increase our expenses (including a substantial increase in employee headcount). Further, growth of the Cytori Nanomedicine business will require significant management time and attention. Additional potential transactions that we may consider include a variety of different business arrangements, including spin-offs, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, divestitures, business combinations and investments. Any such transaction may require us to incur non-recurring or other charges, may increase our near and long-term expenditures and may pose significant integration challenges or disrupt our management or business, which could adversely affect our operations and financial results. For example, these transactions may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including:
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exposure to unknown liabilities;
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disruption of our business and diversion of our management’s time and attention in order to develop acquired products, product candidates or technologies;
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incurrence of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of equity securities to pay for acquisitions;
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higher than expected acquisition and integration costs;
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write-downs of assets or goodwill or impairment charges;
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increased amortization expenses;
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difficulty and cost in combining the operations and personnel of any acquired businesses with our operations and personnel;
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impairment of relationships with key suppliers or customers of any acquired businesses due to changes in management and ownership; and
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inability to retain key employees of any acquired businesses.
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Accordingly, although there can be no assurance that we will undertake or successfully complete any additional transactions of the nature described above, any additional transactions that we do complete could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
We are exposed to risks related to our international operations, and failure to manage these risks may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We have operations in several regions around the world, including the United States, Japan, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. Our global operations may be subject to risks that limit our ability to operate our business. We sell our products globally, which exposes us to a number of risks that can arise from international trade transactions, local business practices and cultural considerations, including, among others:
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political unrest, terrorism and economic or financial instability;
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unexpected changes and uncertainty in regulatory requirements;
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nationalization programs that may be implemented by foreign governments;
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import-export regulations;
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difficulties in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables;
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difficulties in ens
uring compliance with the laws and regulations of multiple jurisdictions;
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changes in labor practices, including wage inflation, labor unrest and unionization policies;
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longer payment cycles by international customers;
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currency exchange fluctuations;
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disruptions of service from utilities or telecommunications providers, including electricity shortages;
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difficulties in staffing foreign branches and subsidiaries and in managing an expatriate workforce, and differing employment practices and labor issues; and
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potentially adverse tax consequences.
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We also face risks associated with currency exchange and convertibility, inflation and repatriation of earnings as a result of our foreign operations. We are also vulnerable to appreciation or depreciation of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar. Although we have significant operations in Asia, a substantial portion of transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars. As appreciation against the U.S. dollar increases, it will result in an increase in the cost of our business expenses abroad. Conversely, downward fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar may make our products less price competitive than local solutions. From time to time, we may engage in currency hedging activities, but such activities may not be able to limit the risks of currency fluctuations.
We must maintain quality assurance certification and manufacturing approvals.
The manufacture of our products is, and the manufacture of any future drug and/or cell-related therapeutic products would be, subject to periodic inspection by regulatory authorities and distribution partners. The manufacture of drugs and devices products for human use is subject to regulation and inspection from time to time by the FDA for compliance with the FDA’s cGMP (current good manufacturing practices), Quality System Regulation, or QSR requirements, as well as equivalent requirements and inspections by state and non-U.S. regulatory authorities. There can be no assurance that the FDA or other authorities will not, during the course of an inspection of existing or new facilities, identify what they consider to be deficiencies in our compliance with QSRs or other requirements and request, or seek remedial action.
Failure to comply with such regulations or a potential delay in attaining compliance may adversely affect our manufacturing activities and could result in, among other things, injunctions, civil penalties, FDA refusal to grant pre-market approvals or clearances of future or pending product submissions, fines, recalls or seizures of products, total or partial suspensions of production and criminal prosecution. There can be no assurance that after such occurrences that we will be able to obtain additional necessary regulatory approvals or clearances on a timely basis, if at all. Delays in receipt of or failure to receive such approvals or clearances, or the loss of previously received approvals or clearances could have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
BARDA may terminate or suspend its agreement with us, or suspend, delay or reduce its funding of our development hereunder, which could delay and/or adversely affect our business and our ability to further develop DCCT-10.
In September 2012, we were awarded a contract, or the BARDA Agreement, with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The objective of the BARDA Agreement is to develop our cell therapy technology for use as a new countermeasure for a combined injury involving thermal burn and radiation exposure that would be employed following a mass-casualty event. The original total value of the cost-plus-fixed-fee BARDA Agreement was up to an aggregate of $106 million, which aggregate potential value has decreased somewhat as we and BARDA have gained more insight into anticipated and actual budgets for different phases of our development work.
We have received over $23.5 million in cost-plus-fixed-fee funding from BARDA to fund our preclinical research, development, and clinical research to conduct a pilot clinical trial, referred to as RELIEF clinical trial, of Cytori Cell Therapy for thermal burn, or DCCT-10, and to fund development of our Celution cell processing system. There are additional contract options under the BARDA Agreement to provide over $60 million in additional funds to:
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conduct a pivotal clinical trial, and related clinical, regulatory, and other activities, with the objective of obtaining FDA approval for intravenous use of DCCT-10 in thermal burn injury; and
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conduct of clinical, regulatory and other tasks required to develop and obtain FDA clearance for other characteristics suitable for use in thermal burn injury following a mass casualty event.
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In April 2017, we received approval of an Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, from the FDA to conduct a pilot clinical trial of CCT in patients with thermal burn injuries. In May 2017, we announced BARDA’s exercise of Option 2 of up to approximately $13.4
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million to fund RELIEF. We initiated RELIEF in 2017 and expect to enroll first patients into this trial in 2019.
But there can be no assurance that BARDA will agree to fund the entire cost of the trial. If BARDA declines to fu
nd the full costs of the trial, we may be required to terminate our DCCT-10 development program.
BARDA may suspend or terminate the BARDA Agreement, or decline to enter into a new agreement upon termination of the BARDA Agreement, for a number of reasons, including our failure to achieve key objectives or milestones or failure to comply with the operating procedures and processes approved by BARDA and its audit agency, the Defense Contract Audit Agency. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with BARDA’s operating procedures and processes, achieve the necessary clinical milestones or whether we will be able to successfully develop our DCCT-10 product candidate under the contract.
The BARDA contract has certain contracting requirements that allow the U.S. Government to unilaterally control its contracts. If the U.S. Government suspends, cancels, or otherwise terminates our contract with them, we could experience significant revenue shortfalls, and our financial condition and business may be adversely affected.
Contracts with U.S. Government agencies typically contain termination provisions unfavorable to the other party, and are subject to audit and modification by the U.S. Government at its sole discretion, which will subject us to additional risks. These risks include the ability of the U.S. Government to unilaterally:
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audit or object to our contract-related costs and fees, and require us to reimburse all such costs and fees;
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suspend or prevent us for a set period of time from receiving new contracts or extending our existing contracts based on violations or suspected violations of laws or regulations;
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cancel, terminate or suspend our contracts based on violations or suspected violations of laws or regulations;
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terminate our contracts if in the Government’s best interest, including if funds become unavailable to the applicable governmental agency;
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reduce the scope and value of our contracts; and
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change certain terms and conditions in our contracts.
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BARDA is able to terminate its contracts with us, either for its best interests or if we default by failing to perform in accordance with or to achieve the milestones set forth in the contract schedules and terms. Termination-for-convenience provisions generally enable us to recover only our costs incurred or committed and settlement expenses on the work completed prior to termination. Changes to, or an unexpected termination of, this contract could result in significant revenue shortfalls. If revenue shortfalls occur and are not offset by corresponding reductions in expenses, our business could be adversely affected. We cannot anticipate if, when or to what extent BARDA might revise, alter or terminate its contract with us in the future.
Under our contract with BARDA, our operations, and those of our contractors, are subject to audit by the U.S. Government, a negative outcome to which could adversely affect our financial conditions and business operations.
U.S. Government agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, or DHHS, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency, or the DCAA, routinely audit and investigate government contractors and recipients of federal grants. These agencies evaluate a contractor’s performance under its contracts, cost structure and compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards.
The DHHS and the DCAA also review the adequacy of, and a contractor’s compliance with, its internal control systems and policies, including the contractor’s purchasing, property, estimating, compensation and management information systems. Any costs found to be improperly allocated to a contract will not be reimbursed, while such costs already reimbursed must generally be repaid. If an audit identifies improper or illegal activities, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including, but not limited to:
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termination of contracts;
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suspension of payments;
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suspension or prohibition from conducting business with the U.S. Government.
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If we are unable to identify, hire and/or retain key personnel, we may not be able to sustain or grow our business.
Our ability to operate successfully and manage our potential future growth depends significantly upon our ability to attract, retain, and motivate highly skilled and qualified research, technical, clinical, regulatory, sales, marketing, managerial and financial
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personnel. We compete for talent with numerous companies, as well as universities and non-profit research organizations. In the near
term, we intend to hire a significant number of scientists, quality and regulatory personnel, and other technical staff with the requisite expertise to support and expand our Cytori Nanomedicine business. The manufacturing of these oncology drug assets is
a highly complex process that requires significant experience and know-how. If we are unable to attract personnel with the necessary skills and experience to reestablish and expand our Cytori Nanomedicine business, which is currently conducted out of our S
an Antonio, Texas facility, our business could be harmed.
Our future success also depends on the personal efforts and abilities of the principal members of our senior management and scientific staff to provide strategic direction, manage our operations, and maintain a cohesive and stable environment. In particular,
we are highly dependent on our executive officers, especially Marc Hedrick, M.D., our Chief Executive Officer, and Tiago Girão, our Chief Financial Officer. Given their leadership, extensive technical, scientific and financial expertise and management and operational experience, these individuals would be difficult to replace. Consequently, the loss of services of one or more of these named individuals could result in product development delays or the failure of our collaborations with current and future collaborators, which, in turn, may hurt our ability to develop and commercialize products and generate revenues.
We have not entered into any employment agreements with our executive officers or key personnel, nor do we maintain key man life insurance on the lives of any of the members of our senior management. Although we have a stock option plan pursuant to which we provide our executive officers with various economic incentives to remain employed with us, these incentives may not be sufficient to retain them. The loss of key personnel for any reason or our inability to hire, retain, and motivate additional qualified personnel in the future could prevent us from sustaining or growing our business.
Our restructuring activities may not be successful, and our restructuring activities may cause uncertainty regarding the future of our business and may adversely impact employee hiring and retention, our stock price and our results of operations and financial condition.
On September 1, 2017, we announced a corporate restructuring intended to significantly reduce expenses. The restructuring reduced our workforce by approximately 50%. The restructuring plan also includes renegotiating certain of our material contracts, such as the termination of a lease to move our headquarters announced on February 23, 2018, and reassessing certain other obligations.
Our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits, including the anticipated cost savings, of our restructuring activities within expected timeframes is subject to many estimates, assumptions and uncertainties. Additional restructuring or reorganization activities may also be required in the future, which could further increase the risks associated with these activities. There is no assurance that we will successfully implement, or fully realize the anticipated impact of, our restructuring or execute successfully on our restructuring plan, in the timeframes we desire or at all. If we fail to realize the anticipated benefits from these measures, or if we incur charges or costs in amounts that are greater than anticipated, our financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected. Additionally,
our restructuring efforts, including a significant reduction in our employee headcount, may disrupt our staff and our business, and we may not be successful, or as successful, in advancing our existing Cytori Cell Therapy and Cytori Nanomedicine candidates, or in discovering or developing new Cytori Cell Therapy and Cytori Nanomedicine candidates as a result of lower staffing levels and potential reductions in our spending on these programs due to the restructuring.
The changes and potential changes to our operations and the workforce reduction measures as a result of the restructuring, may introduce uncertainty regarding our prospects and may result in disruption of our business. As a result of these actions, we incurred significant expenses and charges, including the approximately $570,000 charge incurred as a result of restructuring and cancelation of our San Diego headquarters lease announced on February 2018, and we may incur additional expenses and charges related to these actions. In addition, these changes and measures could distract our employees, decrease employee morale and make it more difficult to retain and hire new talent, and harm our reputation. These changes and activities caused our stock price to decline, and may cause it to further decline in the future. As a result of these or other similar risks, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We face potential product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability if our insurance coverage for those claims is inadequate.
The commercial use of our products and clinical use of our products and product candidates expose us to the risk of product liability claims. This risk exists even if a product or product candidate is approved for commercial sale by applicable regulatory authorities and manufactured in facilities regulated by such authorities. Our products and product candidates are designed to affect important bodily functions and processes. Any side effects, manufacturing defects, misuse or abuse associated with our products or our product candidates could result in injury to a patient or even death. For example, ATI-0918 is cytotoxic, or toxic to living cells, and, if incorrectly or defectively manufactured or labeled, or incorrectly dosed or otherwise used in a manner not contemplated by its label, could result in patient harm and even death. In addition, a liability claim may be brought against us even if our products or product candidates merely appear to have caused an injury.
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Product li
ability claims may be brought against us by consumers, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products or product candidates, if approved, among others. If we cannot successfully defend o
urselves against product liability claims, we will incur substantial liabilities. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:
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the inability to commercialize our product candidates;
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decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved;
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impairment of our business reputation;
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product recall or withdrawal from the market;
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withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
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costs of related litigation;
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distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;
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substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants; or
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We have obtained product liability insurance coverage for commercial product sales and clinical trials with a $10 million per occurrence and annual aggregate coverage limit. Our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all of our product liability related expenses or losses and may not cover us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive, and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost, in sufficient amounts or upon adequate terms to protect us against losses due to product liability. If we determine that it is prudent to increase our product liability coverage, we may be unable to obtain this increased product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Large judgments have been awarded in class action or individual lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated side effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Our employees, principal investigators, consultants and collaboration partners may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with laws and regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading.
We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees could include failures to comply with FDA regulations, to provide accurate information to the FDA, to comply with manufacturing standards we have established, to comply with federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations, to report financial information or data accurately or to disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations restrict or prohibit a wide range of activity relating to pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commissions, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation, or, given we are a listed company the United States, breach of insider trading laws. It is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.
Our operations are subject to anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the United Kingdom Bribery Act, and other anticorruption laws that apply in countries where we do business.
Anti-corruption laws generally prohibit us and our employees and intermediaries from bribing, being bribed or making other prohibited payments to government officials or other persons to obtain or retain business or gain some other business advantage. We participate in collaborations and relationships with third parties whose actions could potentially subject us to liability under these anti-corruption laws. In addition, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our international operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.
There is no assurance that we will be completely effective in ensuring our compliance with all applicable anti-corruption laws or other laws including trade related laws. If we are not in compliance with these laws, we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement and other sanctions and remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could have an adverse impact on our
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business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Likewise, any investigation of
any potential violations of these laws by respective government bodies could also have an adverse impact on our reputation, our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A failure to adequately protect private health information could result in severe harm to our reputation and subject us to significant liabilities, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Throughout the clinical trial process, we may obtain the private health information of our trial subjects. There are a number of state, federal and international laws protecting the privacy and security of health information and personal data. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009, or ARRA, Congress amended the privacy and security provisions of the Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. HIPAA imposes limitations on the use and disclosure of an individual’s healthcare information by healthcare providers conducting certain electronic transactions, healthcare clearinghouses, and health insurance plans, collectively referred to as covered entities. The HIPAA amendments also impose compliance obligations and corresponding penalties for non-compliance on certain individuals and entities that provide services to or perform certain functions on behalf of healthcare providers and other covered entities involving the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information, collectively referred to as business associates. ARRA also made significant increases in the penalties for improper use or disclosure of an individual’s health information under HIPAA and extended enforcement authority to state attorneys general. The amendments also create notification requirements to federal regulators, and in some cases local and national media, for individuals whose health information has been inappropriately accessed or disclosed. Notification is not required under HIPAA if the health information that is improperly used or disclosed is deemed secured in accordance with certain encryption or other standards developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. Most states have laws requiring notification of affected individuals and state regulators in the event of a breach of personal information, which is a broader class of information than the health information protected by HIPAA. Many state laws impose significant data security requirements, such as encryption or mandatory contractual terms to ensure ongoing protection of personal information. Activities outside of the U.S. implicate local and national data protection standards, impose additional compliance requirements and generate additional risks of enforcement for non-compliance. The EU’s Data Protection Directive, Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and other data protection, privacy and similar national, state/provincial and local laws may also restrict the access, use and disclosure of patient health information abroad. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable privacy and data security laws, to protect against security breaches and hackers or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches.
We and our collaborators must comply with environmental laws and regulations, including those pertaining to use of hazardous and biological materials in our business, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could expose us to significant liabilities.
We and our collaborators are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws, rules and regulations, including those relating to discharge of materials into the air, water and ground, those relating to manufacturing, storage, use, transportation and disposal of hazardous and biological materials, and those relating to the health and safety of employees with respect to laboratory activities required for the development of our products and activities. In particular, our Cytori Nanomedicine products and processes involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of certain cytotoxic, or toxic to living cells, materials. Even if we and these suppliers and collaborators comply with the standards prescribed by law and regulation, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from hazardous materials, or other violations of applicable environmental laws, rules or regulations cannot be completely eliminated. In the event of any violation of such laws, rules or regulations, we could be held liable for any damages that result, and any liability could exceed the limits or fall outside the coverage of any insurance we may obtain and could exceed our financial resources. We may not be able to maintain insurance on acceptable terms, or at all. We may incur significant costs in complying with environmental laws, rules and regulations.
Increased information technology security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime could pose a risk to our systems, networks, and products.
Increased global information technology security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data and communications. While we attempt to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including employee refreshers, monitoring of our networks and systems, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, our systems, networks and products remain potentially vulnerable to advanced persistent threats. Depending on their nature and scope, such threats could potentially lead to the compromising of confidential information and communications, improper use of our systems and networks, manipulation and destruction of data, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which in turn could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations.
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The results of the United Kingdom’s referendum on withdrawal from the European Union may have a negative effect on global economic conditions, financial markets
and our business.
In June 2016, a majority of voters in the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the European Union in a national referendum. The referendum was advisory, and the terms of any withdrawal are subject to a negotiation period that has not concluded, however the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union is expected to take effect on March 29, 2019. Nevertheless, the referendum has created significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, including with respect to the laws and regulations that will apply as the United Kingdom determines which European Union laws to replace or replicate in the event of a withdrawal. The referendum has also given rise to calls for the governments of other European Union member states to consider withdrawal. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, have had and may continue to have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly reduce global market liquidity and restrict the ability of key market participants to operate in certain financial markets. Any of these factors could depress economic activity and restrict our access to capital, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and reduce the price of our securities.
Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property
Our success depends in part on our ability to protect our intellectual property. It is difficult and costly to protect our proprietary rights and technology, and we may not be able to ensure their protection.
Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent, trademark and trade secret protection of our platform technology and current product candidates, including but not limited to our Cytori Cell Therapy and Cytori Nanomedicine products and product candidates, including Habeo Cell Therapy, ATI-0918 and ATI-1123, as well as successfully defending our intellectual property against third-party challenges. Our ability to stop unauthorized third parties from making using selling, offering to sell or importing our platform technology and/or our product candidates is dependent upon the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities.
The degree of future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain because legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep our competitive advantage. For example:
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we, or Azaya Therapeutics, as the case may be, might not have been the first to file patent applications for the covered inventions;
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it is possible that our pending patent applications will not result in issued patents;
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it is possible that there are dominating patents to our products of which we are not aware;
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it is possible that there are prior public disclosures that could invalidate our patents, of which we are not aware;
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it is possible that others may circumvent our patents;
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it is possible that there are unpublished applications or patent applications maintained in secrecy that may later issue with claims covering our products or technology similar to ours;
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the claims of our patents or patent applications, if and when issued, may not cover our system or products, or our system or product candidates;
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our owned or in-licensed issued patents may not provide us with any competitive advantages, or may be narrowed in scope, be held invalid or unenforceable as a result of legal administrative challenges by third parties;
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others may be able to make or use compounds that are the same or similar to the ATI-1123 product but that are not covered by the claims of our patents;
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we may not be able to detect infringement against our patents, which may be especially difficult for manufacturing processes or formulation patents, such as the patents/applications related to ATI-1123;
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the API in ATI-0918 is commercially available in generic drug products;
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we may not develop additional proprietary technologies for which we can obtain patent protection; or
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the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.
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The patent positions of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical device companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in patents in these fields has emerged to date in the United States. There have been recent changes regarding how patent laws are interpreted, and both the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or PTO, and Congress have recently made significant changes to the patent system. There have been three U.S. Supreme Court decisions that now show a trend of the Supreme
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Court which is distinctly negative on patents. The trend of these decisions along with resulting changes in patentability requirements being implemented by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could make it in
creasingly difficult for us to obtain and maintain patents on our products. We cannot accurately predict future changes in the interpretation of patent laws or changes to patent laws which might be enacted into law. Those changes may materially affect our
patents, our ability to obtain patents and/or the patents and applications of our collaborators and licensors. The patent situation in these fields outside the United States is even more uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or in interpretations of
patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection. Accordingly, we cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be allowed or enforced in the patents we o
wn or to which we have a license or third-party patents.
Intellectual property law outside the United States is uncertain and in many countries is currently undergoing review and revisions. The laws of some countries do not protect our patent and other intellectual property rights to the same extent as United States laws. Third parties may attempt to oppose the issuance of patents to us in foreign countries by initiating opposition proceedings. Opposition proceedings against any of our patent filings in a foreign country could have an adverse effect on our corresponding patents that are issued or pending in the United States. It may be necessary or useful for us to participate in proceedings to determine the validity of our patents or our competitors’ patents that have been issued in countries other than the United States. This could result in substantial costs, divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We currently have pending patent applications in Europe, Australia, Japan, Canada, China, South Korea, Brazil, South Africa, among other jurisdictions.
Our intellectual property related to Cytori Nanomedicine was acquired from Azaya. As ATI-0918 is a generic drug, we did not acquire any patents related to ATI-0918. We acquired two issued patents and one patent application related to ATI-1123 from Azaya, and intend to file additional patent applications around our ATI-1123 drug candidate. There is no guaranty that any patent applications we file on ATI-1123 will issue, or if issued, that we will be to use and enforce these patents as an effective component of our intellectual property strategy.
Failure to obtain or maintain patent protection or protect trade secrets, for any reason (or third-party claims against our patents, trade secrets, or proprietary rights, or our involvement in disputes over our patents, trade secrets, or proprietary rights, including involvement in litigation), could have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We may not be able to protect our trade secrets.
We may rely on trade secrets to protect our technology, especially with respect to the Cytori Nanomedicine products, as well as in areas where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. Trade secrets are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our collaborators and suppliers. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our information to competitors. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained and is using any of our trade secrets is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, state laws in the Unites States vary, and their courts as well as courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how. If our confidential or proprietary information is divulged to or acquired by third parties, including our competitors, our competitive position in the marketplace will be harmed and our ability to successfully penetrate our target markets could be severely compromised.
We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.
As is common in the device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other device, biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although no claims against us are currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these employees or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management, which would adversely affect our financial condition.
We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights, and we may be unable to protect our rights to our products and technology.
Litigation may be necessary to enforce or confirm the ownership of any patents issued or licensed to us, or to determine the scope and validity of third-party proprietary rights, which would result in substantial costs to us and diversion of effort on our part. If our competitors claim technology also claimed by us and prepare and file patent applications in the United States, we may have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the USPTO or a foreign patent office to determine priority of invention, which could result in substantial costs to and diversion of effort, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. Any such litigation or interference proceeding, regardless of outcome, could be expensive and time-consuming.
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Successful challenges to our patents through oppositions, reexamination proceedings or interference proceedings could result in a loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. If we are unsuccessful in actions we bring against the patents of other parties, and it is determined that we infringe the patents of third-parties, we may be subject to litigation, prevented from commercializing potential products in the relevant jurisdiction and/or may be required to obtain licenses to those patents or develop or obtain alternative technologies, any of which could harm our business. Furthermore, if such challenges to our patent rights are not resolved in our favor, we could be delayed or prevented from entering into new collaborations or from commercializing certain products, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Competitors or third parties may infringe on or upon our patents. We may be required to file patent infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is not valid or is unenforceable or that the third party’s technology does not in fact infringe upon our patents. An adverse determination of any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our related pending patent applications at risk of not issuing. Litigation may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our management. We may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our proprietary rights, particularly in countries outside the United States where patent rights may be more difficult to enforce. Further, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential or sensitive information could be compromised by disclosure in the event of litigation. In addition, during the course of litigation there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. 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.
Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, it will be costly and time consuming, and an unfavorable outcome in that litigation would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our commercial success will also depend, in part, on our ability to avoid infringing on patents issued by others. T
here may be issued patents of third parties of which we are currently unaware, that are infringed or are alleged to be infringed by our product candidate or proprietary technologies. Because some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until eighteen months after filing, and publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our owned and in-licensed issued patents or our pending applications, or that we or, if applicable, a licensor were the first to invent the technology. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering our product candidates or technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications or patents, which could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies.
We may be exposed to, or threatened with, future litigation by third parties having patent or other intellectual property rights alleging that our product candidates and/or proprietary technologies infringe their intellectual property rights. These lawsuits are costly and could adversely affect our results of operations and divert the attention of managerial and technical personnel. There is a risk that a court would decide that we or our commercialization partners are infringing the third party's patents and would order us or our partners to stop the activities covered by the patents. In addition, there is a risk that a court will order us or our partners to pay the other party damages for having violated the other party's patents.
If a third-party's patent was found to cover our products, proprietary technologies or their uses, we could be enjoined by a court and required to pay damages and could be unable to commercialize our product candidates or use our proprietary technologies unless we or they obtained a license to the patent. A license may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, during litigation, the patent holder could obtain a preliminary injunction or other equitable relief which could prohibit us from making, using or selling our products, technologies or methods pending a trial on the merits, which could be years away.
Risks Relating to the Securities Markets and an Investment in Our Stock
The market price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate significantly, which could result in substantial losses for stockholders.
The market price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, subject to significant fluctuations. Among the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate are the risks described in this “Risk Factors” section and other factors, including:
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fluctuations in our operating results or the operating results of our competitors;
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the outcome of clinical trials involving the use of our products, including our sponsored trials;
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changes in estimates of our financial results or recommendations by securities analysts;
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variance in our financial performance from the expectations of securities analysts;
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changes in the estimates of the future size and growth rate of our markets;
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changes in accounting principles or changes in interpretations of existing principles, which could affect our financial results;
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conditions and trends in the markets we currently serve or which we intend to target with our product candidates;
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changes in general economic, industry and market conditions;
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success of competitive products and services;
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changes in market valuations or earnings of our competitors;
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announcements of significant new products, contracts, acquisitions or strategic alliances by us or our competitors;
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our continuing ability to list our securities on an established market or exchange;
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the timing and outcome of regulatory reviews and approvals of our products;
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the commencement or outcome of litigation involving our company, our general industry or both;
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changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt;
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actual or expected sales of our common stock by the holders of our common stock; and
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the trading volume of our common stock.
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In addition, the stock market in general, the Nasdaq markets and the market for cell therapy development companies in particular may experience a loss of investor confidence. A loss of investor confidence may result in extreme price and volume fluctuations in our common stock that are unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of our business, our financial condition or results of operations, which may materially harm the market price of our common stock and result in substantial losses for stockholders.
Future sales of our common stock may depress our share price.
As of December 31, 2018, we had 14,830,414 shares of our common stock outstanding. Sales of a number of shares of common stock in the public market, including pursuant to the Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement, or our ATM program, or the expectation of such sales, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. We may also sell additional common stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock in subsequent public or private offerings or other transactions, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We have granted demand registration rights for the resale of certain shares of our common stock to each of Astellas Pharma Inc. and Green Hospital Supply, Inc. pursuant to common stock purchase agreements previously entered into with each of these stockholders. An aggregate of approximately 30,000 shares of our common stock are subject to these demand registration rights. If we receive a written request from any of these stockholders to file a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, covering its shares of unregistered common stock, we are required to use reasonable efforts to prepare and file with the SEC within 30 business days of such request a registration statement covering the resale of the shares for an offering to be made on a continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act.
Our stockholders may experience substantial dilution in the value of their investment if we issue additional shares of our capital stock.
Our charter allows us to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of our common stock and to issue and designate the rights of, without stockholder approval, up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock. To raise additional capital, we may in the future sell additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock at prices that are lower than the prices paid by existing stockholders, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders, which could result in substantial dilution to the interests of existing stockholders.
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We could be delisted from Nasdaq, which could seriously harm the liquidity of our stock and our ability to raise capital.
Following notice from Nasdaq staff in June 2015 and December 2015, we had a hearing in January 2016 relating to our noncompliance with the $1.00 minimum bid price per share requirement. The Nasdaq Hearing Panel granted us until May 31, 2016 to come into compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, including requirements relating to obtaining stockholders approval of a reverse stock split that would bring our stock price above $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days. We transferred the listing of our common stock from the Nasdaq Global Market to the Nasdaq Capital Market in February 2016. In May 2016, we consummated a 1-for-15 reverse stock split pursuant to which the minimum bid price per share of our common stock rose above $1.00. Pursuant to a letter dated May 26, 2016, the Nasdaq staff delivered notice to us that we had regained compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price rule.
On September 5, 2017, we received a written notice from Nasdaq staff indicating that, based upon the closing bid price of our common stock for the prior 30 consecutive business days, we no longer met the requirement to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were provided a period of 180 calendar days, or until March 5, 2018, in which to regain compliance. We were granted an additional compliance period of 180 calendar days, or until September 4, 2018, in which to regain compliance after meeting the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for the Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and providing notice to Nasdaq staff of our intent to cure the deficiency during this second compliance period, by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. In May 2018, we consummated a 1-for-10 reverse stock split pursuant to which the minimum bid price of our common stock rose above $1.00. On June 8, 2018, we received written notice from Nasdaq that we had regained compliance with the Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rule 5500(a)(2) concerning our minimum bid price per share of our common stock.
On August 28, 2018, we received a written notice from Nasdaq staff indicating that, based upon the closing bid price of our common stock for the prior 30 consecutive business days, we no longer meet the requirement to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were provided an initial period of 180 calendar days, or until February 25, 2019, in which to regain compliance. We were also granted an additional compliance period of 180 calendar days, or until August 26, 2019, in which to regain compliance after meeting the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for the Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and providing notice to Nasdaq staff of our intent to cure the deficiency during this second compliance period, by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. In order to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, the closing bid price of our common stock must have been at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days during the 180-day period.
If we cease to be eligible to trade on Nasdaq:
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We may have to pursue trading on a less recognized or accepted market, such as the OTC Bulletin Board or the “pink sheets.”
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Shares of our common stock could be less liquid and marketable, thereby reducing the ability of stockholders to purchase or sell our shares as quickly and as inexpensively as they have done historically. If our stock is traded as a “penny stock,” transactions in our stock would be more difficult and cumbersome.
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We may be unable to access capital on favorable terms or at all, as companies trading on alternative markets may be viewed as less attractive investments with higher associated risks, such that existing or prospective institutional investors may be less interested in, or prohibited from, investing in our common stock. This may also cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
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We may be or become the target of securities litigation, which is costly and time-consuming to defend.
In the past, following periods of market volatility in the price of a company’s securities, the reporting of unfavorable news or continued decline in a company’s stock price, security holders have often instituted class action litigation. The market value of our securities has steadily declined over the past several years for a variety of reasons, including the announcement of the results of our STAR clinical trial in July 2017, and for other reasons discussed elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, which heightens our litigation risk. If we face such litigation, we could incur substantial legal costs and our management’s attention could be diverted from the operation of our business, causing our business to suffer. Any adverse determination in any such litigation or any amounts paid to settle any such actual or threatened litigation could require that we make significant payments.
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We may issue debt and equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, any of which may be senior to our common stock as to distributions and in liquid
ation, which could negatively affect the value of our common stock.
In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by entering into debt or debt-like financing that is unsecured or secured by up to all of our assets, or by issuing additional debt or equity securities, which could include issuances of secured or unsecured commercial paper, medium-term notes, senior notes, subordinated notes, guarantees, preferred stock, hybrid securities, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity securities. In the event of our liquidation, our lenders and holders of our debt and preferred securities would receive distributions of our available assets before distributions to the holders of our common stock. Because our decision to incur debt and issue securities in future offerings may be influenced by market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings or debt financings. Further, market conditions could require us to accept less favorable terms for the issuance of our securities in the future.
If you hold warrants issued pursuant to our rights offerings, you may be limited in your ability to engage in certain hedging transactions that could provide you with financial benefits.
In November 2017, we closed our 2017 rights offering to subscribe for units at a subscription price of $1,000 per unit, or the 2017 Rights Offering. Pursuant to the 2017 Rights Offering, we sold to our stockholders of record (as of October 27, 2017) an aggregate of 10,000 units consisting of 10,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred stock and 18,000,000 warrants, or 2017 Offering Warrants, with every 10 2017 Offering Warrants exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $3.333 per share.
In July 2018
, we closed our 2018
rights offering to subscribe for units at a subscription price of $1,000 per unit, or the 2018
Rights Offering (together with the 2017
Rights Offering, the Rights Offerings). Pursuant to the 2018
Rights Offering, we sold to our stockholders of record (as of June 26
, 2018
) an aggregate of 6,723
units consisting of 6,723
shares of Series C
Convertible Preferred stock and 7,059,150
warrants, or 2018 Offering
Warrants (together with the 2017 Offering
Warrants,
the Warrants), with each 2018 Offering
Warrant exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $0.7986
per share.
Holders of the 2017 Offering Warrants were required to represent to us that they will not enter into any short s
ale or similar transaction with respect to our common stock for so long as they continue to hold 2017 Offering Warrants. These requirements prevent our Warrant holders from pursuing certain investment strategies that could provide them greater financial benefits than they might have realized had they not been required to make this representation
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Absence of a public trading market for the CYTXW Warrants may limit the ability to resell the CYTXW Warrants.
The CYTXW Warrants are listed for trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “CYTXW,” but there can be no assurance that a robust market will exist for the CYTXW Warrants. Even if a market for the CYTXW Warrants does develop, the price of the CYTXW Warrants may fluctuate and liquidity may be limited. If the CYTXW Warrants cease to be eligible for continued listing on Nasdaq, or if the market for the CYTXW Warrants does not fully develop (or subsequently weakens), then purchasers of the CYTXW Warrants may be unable to resell the CYTXW Warrants or sell them only at an unfavorable price for an extended period of time, if at all. Future trading prices of the CYTXW Warrants will depend on many factors, including:
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our operating performance and financial condition;
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our ability to continue the effectiveness of the registration statement covering the CYTXW Warrants and the common stock issuable upon exercise of the CYTXW Warrants;
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the interest of securities dealers in making and maintaining a market; and
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the market for similar securities.
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Absence of a public trading market for the CYTXS Warrants may limit your ability to resell the Warrants.
There is no established trading market for the CYTXS Warrants issued pursuant to this 2017 Rights Offering, and the CYTXS Warrants may not be widely distributed. We have applied to list the CYTXS Warrants for trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “CYTXS,” but there can be no assurance that the CYTXS Warrants will meet minimum listing criteria to be accepted for listing on Nasdaq or that a market will develop for the CYTXS Warrants. Even if a market for the CYTXS Warrants does develop, the price of the CYTXS Warrants may fluctuate and liquidity may be limited. If the CYTXS Warrants are not accepted for listing on Nasdaq or if a market for the CYTXS Warrants does not develop, then purchasers of these warrants may be unable to resell them or sell them only at an unfavorable price for an extended period of time, if at all. Future trading prices of the CYTXS Warrants will depend on many factors, including:
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our operating performance and financial condition;
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our ability to continue the effectiveness of the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, covering the CYTXS Warrants and the common stock issuable upon exercise of the CYT
XS Warrants;
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the interest of securities dealers in making a market; and
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the market for similar securities.
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The market price of our common stock may fall below or never exceed the exercise price of the Warrants issued in connection with the Rights Offerings.
The 2017 Offering
Warrants became exercisable on May 18, 2018
and will expire thirty (30) months thereafter. The 2018 Offering Warrants became exercisable upon issuance and will expire thirty (30) months from the date of issuance.
The market p
rice of our common stock may remain below the exercise price of the Warrants prior to their date of expiration and before holders have exercised the Warrants. Any Warrants not exercised by their date of expiration will expire worthless and we will be under no further obligation to the Warrant holder.
The Warrants contain features that may reduce Warrant holders’ economic benefit from owning them.
The Warrants contain features that allow us to redeem the Warrants and that prohibit Warrant holders from engagi
ng in certain investment strategies. We may redeem the 2017 Offering
Warrants for $0.01 per 2017 Offering
Warrant once the closing price of our common stock has equaled or exceeded $8.33
per share, subject to adjustment, for ten consecutive trading days, and
only upon not less than thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of redemption. We may redeem the 2018 Offering
Warrants for $0.01 per 2018 Offering
Warrant once the closing price of our common stock has equaled or exceeded $3.63 per share, subject to ad
justment, for 20
consecutive trading days, provided that we may not do so prior to the first anniversary of closing of the 2018 Rights Offering, and only upon not less than thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of redemption. If we give notice of redemption, applicable Warrant holders will be forced to sell or exercise their Warrants or accept the redemption price. The notice of redemption could come at a time when it is not advisable or possible for Warrant holders to exercise the Warrants. As a result, Warrant holders may be unable to benefit from owning the Warrants being redeemed. In addition, for so long as Warrant holders continue to hold Warrants, they will not be permitted to enter into any short sale or similar transaction with respect to our common stock. This could prevent Warrant holders from pursuing investment strategies that could provide them greater financial benefits from owning the Warrants.
Since the Warrants are executory contracts, they may have no value in a bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding.
In the event a bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is commenced by or against us, a bankruptcy court may hold that any unexercised Warrants are executory contracts that are subject to rejection by us with the approval of the bankruptcy court. As a result, holders of the Warrants may, even if we have sufficient funds, not be entitled to receive any consideration for their Warrants or may receive an amount less than they would be entitled to if they had exercised their Warrants prior to the commencement of any such bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding.
Our charter documents contain anti-takeover provisions.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change of control that stockholders may consider favorable. These provisions could also prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove members of our Board of Directors. Stockholders who wish to participate in these transactions may not have the opportunity to do so. These provisions:
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authorize our Board of Directors to issue without stockholder approval up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, the rights of which will be determined at the discretion of the Board of Directors;
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require that stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called stockholder meeting and cannot be taken by written consent;
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establish advance notice requirements for stockholder nominations to our Board of Directors or for stockholder proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings; and
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limit who may call stockholder meetings.
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We are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may, unless certain criteria are met, prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of the voting rights on our common stock, from merging or combining with us for a prescribed period of time.
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We presently do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock.
We have never paid cash dividends in the past, and we currently anticipate that no cash dividends will be paid on the common stock in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, our Loan and Security Agreement with Oxford currently prohibits our issuance of cash dividends. This could make an investment in our common stock inappropriate for some investors, and may serve to narrow our potential sources of additional capital. While our dividend policy will be based on the operating results and capital needs of the business, it is anticipated that all earnings, if any, will be retained to finance the future expansion of our business.
If securities and/or industry analysts fail to continue publishing research about our business, if they change their recommendations adversely, or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock may be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. In addition, it is likely that in some future period our operating results will be below the expectations of securities analysts or investors. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock, or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.
There is currently a limited market for our securities, and any trading market that exists in our securities may be highly illiquid and may not reflect the underlying value of our net assets or business prospects.
Although our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market, there is currently a limited market for our common stock and an active market may never develop. Investors are cautioned not to rely on the possibility that an active trading market may develop.