Item 1. Business
Overview
We are an established leader and fully integrated provider of innovative imaging diagnostics, targeted therapeutics, and artificial intelligence solutions to Find, Fight and Follow serious medical conditions. For our imaging diagnostics, we believe that the resulting improved diagnostic information enables healthcare providers to better detect and characterize, or rule out, disease, potentially achieving improved patient outcomes, reducing patient risk and limiting overall costs for payers and the entire healthcare system.
Our commercial products are used by cardiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, oncologists, internal medicine physicians, technologists and sonographers working in a variety of clinical settings. We sell our products to radiopharmacies, PET manufacturing facilities (“PMFs”), integrated delivery networks, hospitals, clinics and group practices.
We sell our products globally and operate our business in two reportable segments, which are further described below:
•U.S. Segment produces and markets our agents and products throughout the U.S. In the U.S., we primarily sell to radiopharmacies, PMFs, integrated delivery networks, hospitals, clinics and group practices.
•International Segment operations consist of direct distribution in Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as third-party distribution relationships in Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and our EXINI business in Sweden.
We are in the process of evaluating our operating and reporting structure. We anticipate this evaluation, which we expect to complete during 2021, may result in a change to our existing operating segment reporting structure.
Progenics Acquisition
On June 19, 2020, we completed the Progenics Acquisition. Progenics is an oncology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative targeted medicines and artificial intelligence to Find, Fight and Follow cancer. Progenics’ portfolio of products and product candidates includes, among other things, therapeutic agents designed to target cancer (AZEDRA, 1095 and PSMA TTC), diagnostic imaging agents designed to target PSMA for prostate cancer (PyL and 1404), RELISTOR for opioid-induced constipation (“OIC”), artificial intelligence (“AI”) imaging technologies and leronlimab being developed for HIV infection and COVID-19 applications. Progenics’ current revenue is generated from two principal sources: first, royalties, development and commercial milestones from strategic partnerships, including royalties from Bausch from sales of RELISTOR; and second, AZEDRA sales.
Lantheus Holdings issued 26,844,877 shares of Lantheus Holdings common stock and 86,630,633 CVRs to former Progenics stockholders in connection with the Progenics Acquisition. Lantheus Holdings also assumed 34,000 in-the-money Progenics stock options and 6,507,342 out-of-the-money Progenics stock options, each converted into Replacement Stock Options at an exchange ratio of 0.31.
As a result of the Progenics Acquisition, we added the following products and product candidates to our portfolio:
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Product / Product Candidate
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Description
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Status
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Market
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Rights
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Ultra-Orphan Therapeutic
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AZEDRA (iobenguane I 131) 555 MBq/mL injection
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Unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma
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Approved
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U.S
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Progenics
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Prostate Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics
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PyL (18F-DCFPyL)
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PSMA-targeted PET/CT imaging agent for prostate cancer
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NDA accepted; PDUFA date of May 28, 2021
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Worldwide (ex. EU, AU & NZ)
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Progenics
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PyL (18F-DCFPyL)
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PSMA-targeted PET/CT imaging agent for prostate cancer
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Late stage development
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Europe
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Curium
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1095 (I 131 1095)
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PSMA-targeted small molecule therapeutic for metastatic prostate cancer
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Phase 2
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Worldwide
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Progenics
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PSMA TTC (BAY 2315497)
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PSMA-targeted antibody conjugate therapeutic for metastatic prostate cancer
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Phase 1
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Worldwide
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Bayer
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1404
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Technetium-99m PSMA-targeted SPECT/CT imaging agent for prostate cancer
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Discussions with European Medicines Agency (EMA)
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Europe
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ROTOP
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Digital Solutions
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PSMA AI
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AI-based imaging analysis technology that assists readers in quantification and standardized reporting of PSMA-targeted PET/CT imaging, providing an objective understanding of disease status
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Investigational Use Only
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Worldwide
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Progenics
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Automated Bone Scan Index (aBSI)
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Automated reading and quantification of bone scans of prostate cancer patients using AI and deep learning
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Approved in the U.S. (510(k) clearance) and in the E.U. (CE marked)
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Worldwide
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Progenics
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Automated Bone Scan Index (BONENAVI)
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Automated reading and quantification of bone scans of prostate cancer patients using AI and deep learning
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Approved in Japan
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Japan
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FUJIFILM
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Other Partnerships
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RELISTOR Subcutaneous Injection (methylnaltrexone bromide)
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OIC in adults with chronic non-cancer pain or advanced-illness adult patients
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Approved
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Worldwide
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Bausch
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RELISTOR Tablets (methylnaltrexone bromide)
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OIC in adults with chronic non-cancer pain
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Approved
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U.S.
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Bausch
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leronlimab (PRO 140)
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HIV Infection, COVID-19
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CytoDyn is working to provide information required by the FDA in order to resubmit a BLA for HIV; CytoDyn has started recruiting for a Phase 2b/3 trial for COVID-19
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U.S.
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CytoDyn
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See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, for information regarding certain risks associated with our Progenics Acquisition.
Our Portfolio of Commercial Products
Our commercial products now include the following:
•DEFINITY is a microbubble ultrasound enhancing agent used in ultrasound exams of the heart, also known as echocardiography exams. DEFINITY contains perflutren-containing lipid microspheres and is indicated in the U.S. for use in patients with suboptimal echocardiograms to assist in imaging the left ventricular chamber and left endocardial border of the heart in ultrasound procedures. In November 2020, the FDA approved our supplemental new drug application (“sNDA”) for DEFINITY RT. DEFINITY RT is a modified formulation of DEFINITY that allows both storage and shipment at room temperature (DEFINITY’s previously approved formulation requires refrigerated storage). We believe we are currently the leading provider of ultrasound microbubble enhancing agents in the world.
•TechneLite is a Technetium (“Tc-99m”) generator that provides the essential nuclear material used by radiopharmacies to radiolabel Cardiolite, Neurolite and other Tc-99m-based radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine procedures. TechneLite uses Mo-99 as its active ingredient.
•NEUROLITE is an injectable, Tc-99m-labeled imaging agent used with SPECT technology to identify the area within the brain where blood flow has been blocked or reduced due to stroke.
•RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide) is a treatment for OIC that decreases the constipating side effects induced by opioid pain medications such as morphine and codeine without diminishing their ability to relieve pain. RELISTOR is approved in two forms: a subcutaneous injection and an oral tablet.
•Xenon-133 (“Xenon”) is a radiopharmaceutical gas that is inhaled and used to assess pulmonary function and also to image cerebral blood flow. Our Xenon is manufactured by a third party as a bi-product of Mo-99 production and is processed and finished by us. We believe we are currently the leading provider of Xenon in the U.S.
•Cardiolite, also known by its generic name sestamibi, is an injectable, Tc-99m-labeled imaging agent used in myocardial perfusion imaging (“MPI”) procedures to assess blood flow to the muscle of the heart using SPECT. Cardiolite was approved by the FDA in 1990 and its market exclusivity expired in July 2008. Included in Cardiolite revenues are branded Cardiolite and generic sestamibi revenues.
•Gallium-67 (“Gallium”) is an injectable radiopharmaceutical imaging agent used to detect certain infections and cancerous tumors, especially lymphoma. We manufacture Gallium using cyclotron technology.
•Thallium-201 (“Thallium”) is an injectable radiopharmaceutical imaging agent used in MPI studies to detect cardiovascular disease. We manufacture Thallium using cyclotron technology.
•AZEDRA (iobenguane I 131) is a radiotherapeutic, approved for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with iobenguane scan positive, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma who require systemic anticancer therapy. AZEDRA is the first and only FDA-approved therapy for this indication.
•QUADRAMET is an injectable radiopharmaceutical used to treat severe bone pain associated with osteoblastic metastatic bone lesions. We serve as the direct manufacturer and supplier of QUADRAMET in the U.S.
•Automated Bone Scan Index (“aBSI”) calculates the disease burden of prostate cancer by quantifying the hotspots on bone scans and automatically calculating the bone scan index value, representing the disease burden of prostate cancer shown on the bone scan. This quantifiable and reproducible calculation of the bone scan index value is intended to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of men with prostate cancer and may have utility in monitoring the course of the disease. The Japanese rights to the stand-alone aBSI have been transferred and sold to FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd. (“FUJIFILM”) under the name BONENAVI®. The cloud based aBSI was made available for clinical use in the U.S. on August 5, 2019. In February 2020, Progenics received CE marking for the standalone workstation model of aBSI, meeting the quality standards set by the European Economic Area. In September 2020, the FDA granted 510(k) clearance for the use of aBSI on a GE Healthcare system.
•Cobalt (Co 57) is a non-pharmaceutical radiochemical used in the manufacture of sources for the calibration and maintenance of SPECT imaging cameras.
Sales of our microbubble ultrasound enhancing agent, DEFINITY, are made in the U.S. and Canada through a DEFINITY direct sales team. In the U.S., our nuclear imaging products, including TechneLite, Xenon, NEUROLITE and Cardiolite, are primarily distributed through commercial radiopharmacies, the majority of which are controlled by or associated with Cardinal, RLS (previously GE Healthcare), UPPI, Jubilant Radiopharma and PharmaLogic. A small portion of our nuclear imaging product sales in the U.S. are made through our direct sales force to hospitals and clinics that maintain their own in-house radiopharmaceutical preparation capabilities. AZEDRA is also sold in the U.S. through an AZEDRA direct sales team. RELISTOR was licensed to Bausch, and we collect quarterly royalties based on those sales.
We also maintain our own direct sales force in Canada for certain of our products. In Europe, Australia, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, we generally rely on third-party distributors to market, sell and distribute our nuclear imaging and ultrasound enhancing agent products, either on a country-by-country basis or on a multi-country regional basis. Our headquarters are located in North Billerica, MA with offices in New York, NY; Somerset, NJ; Montreal, Canada and Lund, Sweden.
Anticipated continued growth of DEFINITY and Expansion of Our Ultrasound Microbubble Franchise
DEFINITY is the leading ultrasound enhancing agent based on revenue and usage in the U.S., and is indicated for use in patients with suboptimal echocardiograms. Numerous patient conditions can decrease the quality of images of the left ventricle, the primary pumping chamber of the heart. The term DEFINITY includes its activated and non-activated forms.
DEFINITY is a clear, colorless, sterile liquid, which, upon activation in a VIALMIX apparatus, a medical device specifically designed for DEFINITY, becomes a homogenous, opaque, milky white injectable suspension of perflutren-containing lipid microspheres. After activation and intravenous injection, DEFINITY opacifies the left ventricular chamber and improves the delineation of the left ventricular endocardial border, or innermost layer of tissue that lines the chamber of the left ventricle. Better visualization of the left ventricle allows clinicians to make more informed decisions about disease status.
There were approximately 31.5 million echocardiograms performed in the U.S. in 2020 according to a third party source. Assuming 20% of echocardiograms produce suboptimal images, as stated in the clinical literature, we estimate that approximately 6.3 million echocardiograms in 2020 produced suboptimal images. In 2019, a year in which the volume of echocardiograms was not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 35.1 million echocardiograms performed in the U.S. according to a third party source. Assuming the same 20% of suboptimal images, we estimate that approximately 7.0 million echocardiograms in 2019 produced suboptimal images.
Since its launch in 2001, DEFINITY has been used in imaging procedures in more than 16.1 million studies throughout the world. We estimate that DEFINITY had over 80% share of the U.S. segment for ultrasound enhancing agents in echocardiography procedures as of December 2020. DEFINITY currently competes with Optison, a GE Healthcare product, Lumason, a Bracco product (known as SonoVue outside the U.S.) as well as echocardiography without ultrasound enhancing agents and non-echocardiography imaging modalities. DEFINITY, Optison and Lumason all carry an FDA-required boxed warning, which has been modified over time, to notify physicians and patients about potentially serious safety concerns or risks posed by the products. See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors-Ultrasound enhancing agents may cause side effects which could limit our ability to sell DEFINITY.”
As we continue to pursue expanding our microbubble franchise, our activities include:
•Patents - We continue to actively pursue additional patents in connection with DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT, both in the U.S. and internationally. In the U.S. for DEFINITY we now own a total of four Orange Book-listed method of use patents, one of which expires in 2035 and three of which expire in 2037, as well as additional manufacturing patents that are not Orange Book-listed expiring in 2021, 2023 and 2037. In the U.S. for DEFINITY RT, we own a total of five Orange Book-listed patents, including a composition of matter patent which expires in 2035. Outside of the U.S., while our original DEFINITY patent protection and regulatory exclusivity have generally expired, we are currently prosecuting additional DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT patents to obtain similar patent protection as in the U.S. The Orange Book-listed patents include a patent on the use of VIALMIX RFID which expires in 2037; additional VIALMIX RFID patent applications have been submitted in major markets throughout the world.
•Hatch-Waxman Act - Even though our longest duration Orange Book-listed DEFINITY patent extends until March 2037, because our Orange Book-listed composition of matter patent expired in June 2019, we may face generic DEFINITY challengers in the near to intermediate term. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, the FDA can approve Abbreviated New Drug Applications (“ANDAs”) for generic versions of drugs if the ANDA applicant demonstrates, among other things, that (i) its generic candidate is the same as the innovator product by establishing bioequivalence and providing relevant chemistry, manufacturing and product data, and (ii) the marketing of that generic candidate does not infringe an Orange Book-listed patent or that an Orange Book-listed patent is invalid. With respect to any Orange Book-listed patent covering the innovator product, the ANDA applicant must give a notice to the innovator (a “Notice”) that the ANDA applicant certifies that its generic candidate will not infringe the innovator’s Orange Book-listed patent or that the Orange Book-listed patent is invalid. The innovator can then challenge the ANDA applicant in court within 45 days of receiving that Notice, and FDA approval to commercialize the generic candidate will be stayed (that is, delayed) for up to 30 months (measured from the date on which a Notice is received) while the patent dispute between the innovator and the ANDA applicant is resolved in court. The 30 month stay could potentially expire sooner if the courts determine that no infringement had occurred or that the challenged Orange Book-listed patent is invalid or if the parties otherwise settle their dispute.
As of the date of filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have not received any Notice from an ANDA applicant. If we were to (i) receive any such Notice in the future, (ii) bring a patent infringement suit against the ANDA applicant within 45 days of receiving that Notice, and (iii) successfully obtain the full 30 month stay, then the ANDA applicant would be
precluded from commercializing a generic version of DEFINITY prior to the expiration of that 30 month stay period and, potentially, thereafter, depending on how the patent dispute is resolved. Solely by way of example and not based on any knowledge we currently have, if we received a Notice from an ANDA applicant in March 2021 and the full 30 month stay was obtained, then the ANDA applicant would be precluded from commercialization until at least September 2023. If we received a Notice some number of months in the future and the full 30 month stay was obtained, the commercialization date would roll forward in the future by the same calculation.
•DEFINITY RT - In November 2020, the FDA approved our sNDA for DEFINITY RT. DEFINITY RT is a modified formulation of DEFINITY that allows both storage and shipment at room temperature (DEFINITY’s previously approved formulation requires refrigerated storage). The modified formulation provides clinicians an additional choice and allows for greater utility of this formulation in broader clinical settings. We believe DEFINITY RT will become commercially available later in 2021, although that timing cannot be assured. Given its physical characteristics, we believe DEFINITY RT is also well-suited for inclusion in kits requiring microbubbles for other indications and applications (including in kits developed by third parties of the type described in the paragraph entitled New Clinical Applications below).
•VIALMIX RFID – In August 2020, we announced the FDA approved our sNDA for our next-generation activation device designed specifically for both DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT. The activation rate and time are controlled by VIALMIX RFID through the use of radio-frequency identification technology (“RFID”) to ensure reproducible activation of DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT. The RFID tag, which is affixed to the vial label, enables the DEFINITY or DEFINITY RT vial to be appropriately activated when utilized with the VIALMIX RFID activation device.
•New Clinical Applications - As we continue to look for other opportunities to expand our microbubble franchise, we are evaluating new indications and clinical applications beyond echocardiography and ultrasound enhancing agent imaging generally.
•In April 2019, we announced a strategic development and commercial collaboration with Cerevast Medical, Inc. (“Cerevast”) in which our microbubbles will be used in connection with Cerevast’s ocular ultrasound device to improve blood flow in occluded retinal veins in the eye. Retinal vein occlusion is one of the most common causes of vision loss worldwide.
•In December 2019, we announced a strategic commercial supply agreement with CarThera for the use of our microbubbles in combination with SonoCloud, a proprietary implantable device in development for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is a lethal and devastating form of brain cancer with median survival of 15 months after diagnosis.
•In October 2020, we announced a strategic collaboration with Insightec Ltd. (“Insightec”) which will use our microbubbles in connection with Insightec’s transcranial guided focused ultrasound device for the treatment of glioblastoma as well as other neurodegenerative conditions.
•In-House Manufacturing - We have completed construction of specialized, in-house manufacturing capabilities at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility for DEFINITY and, potentially, other sterile vial products. We believe the investment in these efforts will allow us to better control DEFINITY manufacturing and inventory, reduce our costs in a potentially more price competitive environment, and provide us with supply chain redundancy. We currently expect to make use of this in-house manufacturing capability in late 2021, although that timing cannot be assured.
•DEFINITY in China - In March 2020 in connection with our Chinese development and distribution arrangement with Double-Crane Pharmaceutical Company (“Double-Crane”), we filed an Import Drug License application with the National Medical Products Administration, or the NMPA, for the use of DEFINITY for the echocardiography indication. We believe this is an important milestone in our efforts to commercialize DEFINITY in China. Double-Crane is also in the process of analyzing the clinical results relating to the liver and kidney indications and will also work with us to prepare an Import Drug License application for those indications.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks associated with DEFINITY and see Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Comparison of the Periods Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019-Revenues” for further information on total revenue contributed by DEFINITY in each of our last three fiscal years.
TechneLite
TechneLite is a self-contained system or generator of Technetium (“Tc-99m”), a radioactive isotope with a six hour half-life, used by radiopharmacies to prepare various nuclear imaging agents. Tc-99m results from the radioactive decay of Mo-99, itself a radioisotope with a 66-hour half-life produced in nuclear research reactors around the world from enriched uranium. The TechneLite generator is a little larger than a coffee can in size, and the self-contained system houses a vertical glass column at its core that contains Mo-99. During our manufacturing process, Mo-99 is added to the column within the generator where it is adsorbed onto alumina powder. The column is sterilized, enclosed in a lead shield and further sealed in a cylindrical plastic container, which is then immediately shipped to our radiopharmacy customers. Because of the short half-lives of Mo-99 and Tc-99m, radiopharmacies typically purchase TechneLite generators on a weekly basis pursuant to standing orders.
The Tc-99m produced by our TechneLite generator is the medical radioisotope that can be attached to a number of imaging agents, including our own Cardiolite products and NEUROLITE, during the radiolabeling process. To radiolabel a Tc-99m-based radiopharmaceutical, a vial of sterile saline and a vacuum vial are each affixed to the top of a TechneLite generator. The sterile saline is pulled through the generator where it attracts Tc-99m resulting from the radioactive decay of Mo-99 within the generator column. The Tc-99m-containing radioactive saline is then pulled into the vacuum vial and subsequently combined by a radiopharmacist with the applicable imaging agent, and individual patient-specific radiolabeled imaging agent doses are then prepared. When administered, the imaging agent binds to specific tissues or organs for a period of time, enabling the Tc-99m to illuminate the functional health of the imaged tissues or organs in a diagnostic image. Our ability to produce and market TechneLite is highly dependent on our supply of Mo-99. See “Raw Materials and Supply Relationships—Molybdenum-99” below.
TechneLite is currently marketed primarily in North America and Latin America, largely to radiopharmacies that prepare unit doses of radiopharmaceutical imaging agents and ship these preparations directly to hospitals for administration to patients. In the U.S., we have supply contracts with the significant radiopharmacy groups, including Cardinal, RLS, UPPI, Jubilant Radiopharma and PharmaLogic. We also supply generators on a purchase order basis to other customers. We estimate that TechneLite had approximately one third of the U.S. generator market as of December 31, 2020, competing primarily with Tc-99m-based generators produced by Curium. Outside of the U.S., we sell generators through supply agreements with radiopharmacy chains, through distributors or to separate customers.
The Mo-99 used in our TechneLite generators can be produced using targets made of either highly-enriched uranium (“HEU”) or low-enriched uranium (“LEU”). LEU consists of uranium that contains less than 20% of the uranium-235 isotope. HEU is considered weapons grade material, with 20% or more of uranium-235. The American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012 encourages the domestic production of LEU Mo-99 and provides for the eventual prohibition of the export of HEU from the U.S. Although Medicare generally does not provide separate payment to hospitals for the use of diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals administered in an outpatient setting, since 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare program, has provided an add-on payment of $10 under the hospital outpatient prospective payment system for every Tc-99m diagnostic dose produced from non-HEU sourced Mo-99, to cover the marginal cost for radioisotopes produced from non-HEU sources. Our LEU TechneLite generator satisfies the reimbursement requirements under the applicable CMS rules.
TechneLite has patent protection in the U.S. and various foreign countries on certain component technology currently expiring in 2029, and we are pursuing additional patent protection in the U.S. and world-wide on other component technology that, if granted, would expire in 2040. In addition, given the significant know-how and trade secrets associated with the methods of manufacturing and assembling the TechneLite generator, we believe we have a substantial amount of valuable and defensible proprietary intellectual property associated with the product. We believe that our substantial capital investments in our highly automated TechneLite production line and our extensive experience in complying with the stringent regulatory requirements for the handling of nuclear materials create significant and sustainable competitive advantages for us in generator manufacturing and distribution.
See Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Comparison of the Periods Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019-Revenues” for further information on total revenue contributed by TechneLite in each of our last three fiscal years.
Our Portfolio of Clinical Development Candidates
In addition to our commercial products, we now have an extensive portfolio of product candidates in clinical development, including:
•PyL (also known as 18F-DCFPyL) is a fluorine 18-based PSMA-targeted PET imaging agent that enables visualization of primary tumors as well as bone and soft tissue metastases, with potential high clinical utility in the detection of recurrent and/or metastatic prostate cancer. Progenics has completed a clinical development program that consisted of two pivotal clinical studies, which were designed to provide robust, prospective, well-controlled, and pathology- or composite truth standard-verified data to establish the safety and diagnostic performance of PyL across the disease continuum of prostate cancer. The
results from these studies provide data in support of the potential of PyL to reliably detect and localize disease, including in patients with low PSA values, and may help enable appropriate disease management, thus supporting the potential use for detection of recurrent or metastatic prostate cancer. We filed the PyL NDA with the FDA in September 2020 and received notice of priority review in December 2020 with a PDUFA date of May 28, 2021.
•flurpiridaz F 18 is a fluorine 18-based PET MPI agent designed to assess blood flow to the heart in patients suspected of coronary artery disease (CAD). In April 2017, we announced entering into a definitive, exclusive Collaboration and License Agreement with GE Healthcare for the agent’s continued Phase 3 development and worldwide commercialization. The second Phase 3 trial is now underway; however, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment in the global clinical development program had been delayed and has now resumed at a slower recruiting pace. GE Healthcare now expects to complete enrollment in the second half of 2021 and, assuming regulatory approval, begin commercialization in early 2023.
•1095 (also known as I-131-1095) is a PSMA-targeted iodine-131 labeled small molecule that is designed to deliver a dose of beta radiation directly to prostate cancer cells with minimal impact on the surrounding healthy tissues. Progenics initiated eleven clinical sites in the U.S. along with the six active sites in Canada to support enrollment in the Company’s multicenter, randomized, controlled, ARROW Phase 2 study in mCRPC. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Progenics new enrollment in the Phase 2 trial was paused to minimize the risk to subjects and healthcare providers during the pandemic. Subjects who were active and had been randomized for the study continued to receive treatment doses and were monitored for safety and efficacy in a manner that is permissible by each clinical site. New enrollment in the ARROW Phase 2 study restarted in October 2020.
•LMI 1195 is a fluorine 18-based PET imaging agent for the norepinephrine pathway. We have designed but not yet commenced two Phase 3 clinical trials for the use of LMI 1195 for the diagnosis and management of neuroendocrine tumors in pediatric and adult populations, respectively. The FDA has granted an Orphan Drug designation for the use of LMI 1195 in the management indication. We have also received notice of eligibility for a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher for a subsequent human drug application so long as LMI 1195 is approved by the FDA for its rare pediatric disease indication. Pursuant to federal legislation passed and signed into law in late 2020, the expiration date of the rare pediatric disease priority review voucher program was extended from September 30, 2022 to September 30, 2026.
•PSMA TTC is a thorium-227 labeled PSMA-targeted antibody therapeutic. PSMA TTC is designed to deliver a dose of alpha radiation directly to prostate cancer cells with minimal impact on the surrounding healthy tissues. Bayer AG (“Bayer”) has exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize products using our PSMA antibody platform in combination with Bayer’s alpha-emitting radionuclides. Bayer is conducting a Phase 1 trial of PSMA TTC in subjects with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (“mCRPC”).
•1404 is a Tc-99m labeled small molecule which binds to PSMA and is used as a SPECT/CT imaging agent to diagnose and detect localized prostate cancer as well as soft tissue and bone metastases. ROTOP has exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize 1404 in Europe.
•PSMA-AI is an AI-based imaging analysis technology that assists readers in quantification and standardized reporting of PSMA-targeted PET/CT imaging, providing an objective understanding of disease status. The technology automatically analyzes the CT image to segment anatomical regions – 51 bones and 12 soft tissue organs. This CT segmentation enables automated localization, detection and quantification of potential PSMA-avid lesions in the PET image, which is incorporated into a standardized report for physicians. In a recent study, the technology demonstrated better consistency in quantitative assessment across multiple readers and high sensitivity (>90%) in detecting potential lesions in PSMA PET/CT. The clinical utility of the device is being investigated in multiple outcome-based studies.
•leronlimab (PRO 140) is an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the CCR5 receptor. CCR5 appears to act as an HIV entry inhibitor and may play a broader role in tumor metastasis and immune-mediated illnesses. It is owned by CytoDyn Inc. (“CytoDyn”) pursuant to our agreement with CytoDyn, as described below. In May 2020, CytoDyn announced it submitted a Biologics License Application (“BLA”) to the FDA for approval of leronlimab in combination therapy for HIV infection. On July 13, 2020, CytoDyn announced that it had received a refusal to file letter from the FDA for the BLA. In August and September 2020, the FDA provided written responses to CytoDyn’s questions and met telephonically with CytoDyn key personnel and its clinical research organization concerning its recent BLA for this HIV combination therapy to expedite the resubmission of its BLA filing for this indication. CytoDyn is working diligently to resubmit the BLA, which it expects to file in the first half of calendar year 2021. Leronlimab is also being evaluated by CytoDyn for patients with mild/moderate COVID-19 indications in a Phase 2 randomized clinical trial that was recently completed. Also, CytoDyn has started recruiting for a Phase 2b/3 trial for 390 severe or critical COVID-19 patients.
For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, we invested $32.8 million, $20.0 million and $17.1 million in research and development (“R&D”), respectively. Our R&D team includes our Medical Affairs and Medical Information functions, which educate physicians on the scientific aspects of our commercial products and the approved indications.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks associated with our clinical development programs.
Strategic Partnerships
In connection with our commercial products and product candidates, we now have a number of strategic partnerships, including:
•Bausch Agreement -- Under its agreement with Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bausch, Progenics received a $40.0 million development milestone upon U.S. marketing approval for subcutaneous RELISTOR in non-cancer pain patients in 2014, a $50.0 million development milestone for the U.S. marketing approval of an oral formulation of RELISTOR in July 2016, and a $10.0 million sales milestone for RELISTOR achieving U.S. net sales in excess of $100.0 million in 2019. We are also eligible to receive additional one-time sales milestone payments upon achievement of specified U.S. net sales targets, including:
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U.S. Net Sales Levels in any Single Calendar Year
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Payment ($)
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(In thousands)
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In excess of $150 million
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15,000
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In excess of $200 million
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20,000
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In excess of $300 million
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30,000
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In excess of $750 million
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50,000
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In excess of $1 billion
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75,000
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Each sales milestone payment is payable one time only, regardless of the number of times the condition is satisfied, and all five remaining payments could be made within the same calendar year. We are also eligible to receive royalties from Bausch and its affiliates based on the following royalty scale: 15% on worldwide net sales up to $100.0 million, 17% on the next $400.0 million in worldwide net sales, and 19% on worldwide net sales over $500.0 million each calendar year, and 60% of any upfront, milestone, reimbursement or other revenue (net of costs of goods sold, as defined, and territory-specific research and development expense reimbursement) Bausch receives from sublicensees outside the U.S.
•GE Healthcare Agreement – Under our April 2017 Collaboration and License Agreement, GE Healthcare will complete the worldwide development of flurpiridaz F 18, pursue worldwide regulatory approvals, and, if successful, lead a worldwide launch and commercialization of the agent, with us collaborating on both development and commercialization through a joint steering committee. We also have the right to co-promote the agent in the U.S. GE Healthcare’s development plan initially focuses on obtaining regulatory approval in the U.S., Japan, Europe and Canada. Under the agreement, we received an upfront cash payment of $5.0 million and are eligible to receive up to $60.0 million in regulatory and sales milestone payments, tiered double-digit royalties on U.S. sales, and mid-single digit royalties on sales outside of the U.S.
•Curium Agreement – Curium has licensed exclusive rights to develop and commercialize PyL in Europe. Under the terms of the collaboration, Curium is responsible for the development, regulatory approvals and commercialization of PyL in Europe, and we are entitled to double-digit royalties on net sales of PyL. Curium is currently in late-stage development in Europe.
•Bayer Agreements – Under Progenics’ April 2016 agreement with a subsidiary of Bayer granting Bayer exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize products using our PSMA antibody platform, in combination with Bayer’s alpha-emitting radionuclides, Progenics received an upfront payment of $4.0 million and milestone payments totaling $5.0 million. We could receive up to an additional $44.0 million in potential clinical and development milestones. We are also entitled to single-digit royalties on net sales, and potential net sales milestone payments up to an aggregate of $130.0 million. In addition, in October 2020, we entered into a PyL Clinical Supply Agreement with Bayer to include PyL in their clinical trial for prostate cancer. PyL will be used by Bayer to assess PSMA expression levels at baseline and during treatment.
•CytoDyn Agreement -- Progenics sold leronlimab to CytoDyn in 2012, which sale included milestone and royalty payment obligations to Progenics. Under the 2012 agreement, CytoDyn is responsible for all development, manufacturing and commercialization efforts. Pursuant to such agreement, Progenics received $5.0 million in upfront and milestone payments, and we have the right to receive an additional $5.0 million upon the first U.S. or E.U. approval for the sale of the drug, and a 5% royalty on the net sales of approved products.
•ROTOP Agreement -- In May 2019, Progenics entered into an exclusive license agreement with ROTOP, a Germany-based developer of radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine diagnostics, to develop, manufacture and commercialize 1404 in Europe. Under the terms of the collaboration, ROTOP is responsible for the development, regulatory approvals and
commercialization of 1404 in Europe while we are entitled to double-digit, tiered royalties on net sales of 1404 in Europe. ROTOP is in discussions with EMA regarding the development path in Europe.
•FUJIFILM Agreement -- In June 2019, EXINI entered into a transfer agreement with FUJIFILM for the rights to the bone scan index product in Japan for use under the name BONENAVI. Under the terms of the transfer agreement, FUJIFILM acquired, by a combination of purchase and license, the Japanese software, source code, supporting data and all Japanese patents associated with the bone scan index product from EXINI for use in Japan. In exchange, EXINI received $4.0 million in an upfront payment and FUJIFILM agreed to pay EXINI support and service fees for bone scan index and other AI products over the next three years in Japan. BONENAVI has been licensed to FUJIFILM for use in Japan since 2011. In February 2021, EXINI entered into a new agreement with FUJIFILM for the heart myocardial perfusion analysis software, cREPO, in Japan.
•Regeneron Agreement – In June 2020, we entered into a PyL Clinical Supply Agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Regeneron”) under which we will supply PyL to Regeneron as an imaging agent to evaluate and follow subjects for a Phase 1/2 clinical study of Regeneron’s PSMA-targeted mCRPC therapeutic candidate.
•POINT Biopharma – In December 2020, we entered into a PyL Clinical Supply Agreement with POINT Biopharma US Inc. (“POINT Biopharma”) under which we will supply PyL to POINT Biopharma as an imaging agent to evaluate and follow subjects for a Phase 3 clinical study of POINT Biopharma’s PSMA-targeted mCRPC therapeutic candidate.
Distribution, Marketing and Sales
The following table sets forth certain key market information for each of our commercial pharmaceutical products:
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Product
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Approved Markets
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DEFINITY
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Australia, Canada, European Union, European Economic Area, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United States
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TechneLite
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Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Panama, South Korea, Taiwan, United States
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NEUROLITE
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Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Philippines, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United States
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RELISTOR (Solution for Injection 12 mg/0.6 mL vial)
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Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Switzerland, Cypress, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States
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RELISTOR (Solution for Injection in pre-filled syringe 8mg and pre-filled syringe 12 mg)
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Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cypress, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States
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RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide) Oral Tablet 140 mg
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United States
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Xenon
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Canada, United States
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Cardiolite
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Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United States
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Gallium
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Australia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Taiwan, United States
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Thallium
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Australia, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Taiwan, United States
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AZEDRA
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United States
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QUADRAMET
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United States
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In the U.S. and Canada, our sales team of approximately 80 employees is split into separate sales teams for each of DEFINITY, AZEDRA and our radiopharmaceutical products. We are also beginning to assemble a sales and commercial team for PyL in anticipation of potential FDA approval and a commercial launch later in 2021.
We sell a majority of our radiopharmaceutical products in the U.S. to five radiopharmacy groups—namely Cardinal, RLS, UPPI, Jubilant Radiopharma and PharmaLogic. Our contractual distribution and other arrangements with these radiopharmacy groups are as follows:
•Cardinal maintains approximately 131 radiopharmacies that are typically located in large, densely populated urban areas in the U.S. We estimate that Cardinal’s radiopharmacies distributed approximately 44% of the aggregate U.S. SPECT doses sold in the first half of 2020. Our supply agreement with Cardinal relating to TechneLite, Xenon, NEUROLITE and other products has been extended until December 31, 2022. The agreement specifies pricing levels and requirements to purchase minimum percentages of certain products during certain periods. The agreement may be terminated upon the occurrence of specified events, including a material breach by the other party and certain force majeure events.
•RLS maintains approximately 31 radiopharmacies in the U.S. that purchase our TechneLite generators. RLS purchased these radiopharmacies from GE Healthcare in the third quarter of 2020. We estimate that RLS distributed approximately 8% of the aggregate U.S. SPECT doses sold in the first half of 2020. We currently have an agreement with RLS for the distribution of TechneLite, Xenon and Gallium. The agreement provides that RLS will purchase a minimum percentage of TechneLite generators as well as certain other products from us. Our agreement, which has been extended until December 31, 2021, may be terminated by either party upon the occurrence of specified events including a material breach by either party, bankruptcy by either party, certain irresolvable regulatory changes or economic circumstances, or force majeure events.
•UPPI is a cooperative purchasing group (roughly analogous to a group purchasing organization) of approximately 52 independently owned or smaller chain radiopharmacies located in the U.S. UPPI’s radiopharmacies are typically broadly dispersed geographically, with some urban presence and a substantial number of radiopharmacies located in suburban and rural areas of the country. We estimate that these independent radiopharmacies, together with approximately 13 unaffiliated, independent radiopharmacies, distributed approximately 19% of the aggregate U.S. SPECT doses sold in the first half of 2020. We currently have an agreement with UPPI for the distribution of TechneLite, Xenon and certain other products to radiopharmacies or families of radiopharmacies within the UPPI cooperative purchasing group. The agreement contains specified pricing levels based upon specified purchase amounts for UPPI. We are entitled to terminate the UPPI agreement upon 60 days written notice. The UPPI agreement has been extended until December 31, 2023.
•Jubilant Radiopharma maintains approximately 48 radiopharmacies in the U.S. that purchase a range of our products. We estimate that Jubilant Radiopharma distributed approximately 13% of the aggregate U.S. SPECT doses sold in the first half of 2020. We currently have an agreement with Jubilant Radiopharma for the distribution of TechneLite, Xenon, NEUROLITE and other products. The agreement specifies pricing levels and volume and percentage purchase requirements. The agreement has been extended until June 30, 2021 and may be terminated upon the occurrence of specified events, including a material breach by the other party.
•PharmaLogic maintains approximately 27 radiopharmacies in the U.S. that purchase a range of our products. We estimate that PharmaLogic distributed approximately 4% of the aggregate U.S. SPECT doses sold in the first half of 2020. Our written supply agreement with PharmaLogic relating to TechneLite, Xenon, Cardiolite and other products has been extended until December 31, 2021. The agreement specifies pricing levels and requirements to purchase minimum percentages of certain products during certain periods. The agreement may be terminated upon the occurrence of specified events, including a material breach by the other party and certain force majeure events.
In addition to the distribution arrangements for our radiopharmaceutical products described above, we also sell certain of our radiopharmaceutical products to independent radiopharmacies and directly to hospitals and clinics that maintain in-house radiopharmaceutical capabilities and operations. In the latter case, this represents a small percentage of overall sales because the majority of hospitals and clinics do not maintain these in-house capabilities.
In Canada, we operate some direct distribution activities and also rely on third party distributors. In Europe, Australia, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, we utilize third party distributor relationships to market, sell and distribute our products, either on a country-by-country basis or on a multi-country regional basis.
In March 2012, we entered into a development and distribution arrangement with Double-Crane for DEFINITY in China, Hong Kong and Macau. With Double-Crane’s support, we are currently pursuing Chinese regulatory approval required to commercialize DEFINITY. In July 2013, we submitted a clinical trial application to the NMPA seeking an Import Drug License. After a very extensive waiting period caused by a large number of drugs seeking NMPA regulatory approval, in February 2016, the NMPA approved our clinical trial application. Double-Crane has conducted on our behalf three confirmatory clinical trials in pursuit of cardiac, liver and kidney imaging indications, as well as one small pharmacokinetic study. In March 2020, we filed an Import Drug License application with the NMPA for the use of DEFINITY for the echocardiography indication. We believe this is an important milestone in our efforts to commercialize DEFINITY in China. Double-Crane is also in the process of analyzing the clinical results relating to the liver and kidney indications and will also work with us to prepare an Import Drug License application for those indications.
Seasonality
For the diagnostic portion of our business, we have some modest seasonality as patients may seek to schedule diagnostic imaging procedures less frequently during the summer vacation months and over the year-end holidays.
Customers
No customer accounted for greater than 10% of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Backlog
Our backlog consists of orders for which a delivery schedule within the next twelve months has been specified. Orders included in backlog may be canceled or rescheduled by customers at any time with the exception of TechneLite orders. For TechneLite, customers must provide us with four weeks advanced notice to cancel an order. We do not believe that our backlog at any particular time is meaningful because it has historically been immaterial relative to our consolidated revenues and is not necessarily indicative of future revenues for any given period.
Competition
We believe that our key product characteristics, such as proven efficacy, reliability and safety, coupled with our core competencies, such as our efficient manufacturing processes, our established distribution network, our experienced field sales organization and our customer service focus, are important factors that distinguish us from our competitors.
The markets for our products are highly competitive and continually evolving. Our principal competitors for our current commercial products and leading clinical development candidates include large, global companies that are more diversified than we are and that have substantial financial, manufacturing, sales and marketing, distribution and other resources:
•For DEFINITY, our competitors currently include GE Healthcare and Bracco.
•For a number of our radiopharmaceutical commercial products, our competitors currently include Curium, GE Healthcare, Bracco and Jubilant Life Sciences, an affiliate of JHS and Jubilant Radiopharma, as well as other competitors, including NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes.
•For PyL, if and when it is approved by the FDA, it will compete with Bracco’s Axumin (fluciclovine F 18). We also may face competition from Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited, which also has a PSMA-targeted prostate cancer PET diagnostic imaging agent currently under review with the FDA.
•For RELISTOR, our principal competitors include Nektar Therapeutics, in collaboration with AstraZeneca PLC; Cubist Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.; Mallinckrodt plc, in collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; and BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.; together with other prescription, as well as over-the-counter, laxatives used as first line therapy for OIC.
•For AZEDRA, there are currently no other FDA approved anticancer treatments in the U.S. for malignant, recurrent, and/or unresectable pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.
•For 1095, our principal competitors in the field of mCRPC for radiopharmaceutical therapeutics may include Novartis AG; Point Biopharma; Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited; and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., each of which have product candidates in development.
We cannot anticipate the actions of our current or future competitors in the same or competing diagnostic modalities, such as significant price reductions on products that are comparable to our own, development of new products that are more cost-effective or have superior performance than our current products or the introduction of generic versions after our proprietary products lose their patent protection. In addition, distributors of our products could attempt to shift end-users to competing diagnostic modalities and
products, or bundle the sale of a portfolio of products, to the detriment of our specific products. Our current or future products could be rendered obsolete or uneconomical as a result of these activities.
Further, the radiopharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry continues to evolve strategically, with several market participants either recently sold or for sale. In addition, the supply-demand dynamics of the industry are complex because of large market positions of some participants, legacy businesses, government subsidies (in particular, relating to the manufacture of radioisotopes), and group purchasing arrangements. We cannot predict what impact new owners and new operators may have on the strategic decision-making of our competitors, customers and suppliers.
Raw Materials and Supply Relationships
We rely on certain raw materials and supplies to produce our products. Due to the specialized nature of our products and the limited, and sometimes intermittent, supply of raw materials available in the market, we have established relationships with several key suppliers. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our largest suppliers of raw materials and supplies were Institute for Radioelements (“IRE”), ANSTO and NTP, which, in the aggregate, accounted for approximately 23% of our total purchases.
Molybdenum-99
Our TechneLite, Cardiolite and NEUROLITE products all rely on Mo-99, the radioisotope which is produced by bombarding uranium with neutrons in research reactors. With a 66-hour half-life, Mo-99 decays into, among other things, Tc-99m, another radioisotope with a half-life of six hours. Tc-99m is the isotope that is attached to radiopharmaceuticals, including our own Cardiolite and NEUROLITE, during the labeling process and is the most common radioisotope used for medical diagnostic imaging purposes.
We currently purchase finished Mo-99 from three of the four main processing sites in the world, namely IRE in Belgium, NTP in South Africa and ANSTO in Australia. These processing sites provide us Mo-99 from five of the six main Mo-99-producing reactors in the world, namely BR2 in Belgium, LVR-15 in the Czech Republic, HFR in The Netherlands, SAFARI in South Africa and OPAL in Australia.
Our agreement with IRE (the “IRE Agreement”) contains minimum percentage volume requirements and unit pricing. The IRE Agreement also requires IRE to provide certain favorable allocations of Mo-99 during periods of supply shortage or failure. The IRE Agreement also provides for an increased supply of Mo-99 derived from LEU targets upon IRE’s completion of its ongoing conversion program to modify its facilities and processes in accordance with Belgian nuclear security commitments. The IRE Agreement allows for termination upon the occurrence of certain events, including failure by IRE to provide our required amount of Mo-99, material breach of any provision by either party, bankruptcy by either party or force majeure events. The IRE Agreement expires on December 31, 2022, and is renewable by LMI on a year-to-year basis thereafter.
Our agreement with NTP (the “NTP Agreement”), with NTP acting for itself and on behalf of its subcontractor ANSTO, specifies LMI’s percentage purchase requirements and unit pricing, and provides for the supply of Mo-99 derived from LEU targets from NTP and ANSTO. The NTP Agreement allows for termination upon the occurrence of certain events, including failure by NTP to provide our required amount of Mo-99, material breach of any provision by either party, bankruptcy by either party or force majeure events. The NTP Agreement expires on December 31, 2021.
Despite our globally diverse Mo-99 suppliers, we still face challenges in our Mo-99 supply chain. The NTP processing facility had periodic outages in 2017, 2018 and 2019. When NTP was not producing, we relied on Mo-99 supply from both IRE and ANSTO to limit the impact of the NTP outages. In 2019 and 2020, ANSTO experienced multiple facility issues that resulted in ANSTO outages and volume limitations, during which time we relied on IRE and NTP to limit the impact of those outages and limitations. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced challenges receiving regularly scheduled orders of Mo-99 from our global suppliers, particularly in the second quarter of 2020. We continue to manage these various supply chain challenges, but depending on reactor and processor schedules and operations, at times we have not been able to fill some or all of the demand for our TechneLite generators on certain manufacturing days. A prolonged disruption of service from one of our three Mo-99 processing sites or one of their main Mo-99-producing reactors could have a substantial negative effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We are also pursuing additional sources of Mo-99 from potential new producers to further augment our current supply. In November 2014, we entered into a strategic arrangement with SHINE for the future supply of Mo-99. Under the terms of the supply agreement, SHINE will provide Mo-99 produced using its proprietary LEU-solution technology for use in our TechneLite generators once SHINE’s facility becomes operational and receives all necessary regulatory approvals, which SHINE now estimates will occur in 2022. However, we cannot assure you that SHINE or any other possible additional sources of Mo-99 will result in commercial quantities of Mo-99 for our business, or that these new suppliers together with our current suppliers will be able to deliver a sufficient quantity of Mo-99 to meet our needs.
Xenon
Xenon is a by-product of the Mo-99 production process. Under a strategic agreement we entered into in 2015, we receive from IRE bulk unprocessed Xenon, which we process and finish for our customers at our North Billerica, Massachusetts manufacturing facility. That contract runs through June 30, 2022, and is subject to further extension. Until we can qualify an additional source of bulk unprocessed Xenon, we will rely on IRE as a sole source provider.
Iodine 131
Iodine 131 is also a by-product of the Mo-99 production process, and it is the active radioisotope ingredient in both AZEDRA and 1095. We receive Iodine 131 from IsoSolutions Marketing & Management Inc., which sources the isotope from IRE in Belgium. We use Iodine 131 at our Somerset facility to manufacture and produce AZEDRA. We also rely on Center for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) for our clinical supply requirements for 1095. CPDC sources Iodine 131 from IRE in Belgium and NTP in South Africa.
Other Materials
We have additional supply arrangements for active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, packaging materials and other materials and components, none of which are exclusive, but a number of which are sole source, and all of which we currently believe are either in good standing or replaceable without any material disruption to our business.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks associated with our raw materials and supply arrangements.
Manufacturing
We maintain manufacturing operations at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility. We manufacture TechneLite on a highly automated production line, Thallium and Gallium and certain radiochemicals using our cyclotron technology, and we process and finish Xenon and QUADRAMET using our hot cell infrastructure. We also operate a manufacturing facility at Somerset, NJ for AZEDRA that may also provide manufacturing support for 1095 in the future. We manufacture, finish and distribute our radiopharmaceutical products on a just-in-time basis, and supply our customers with these products either by next day delivery services or by either ground or air custom logistics. We believe that our substantial capital investments in our highly automated generator production line, our cyclotrons and our other manufacturing assets, and our extensive experience in complying with the stringent regulatory requirements for the handling of nuclear materials and operations in a highly regulated environment, create significant and sustainable competitive advantages for us.
In addition to our in-house manufacturing capabilities, a substantial portion of our products are manufactured by third party contract manufacturing organizations, and in certain instances, we rely on them for sole source manufacturing. To ensure the quality of the products that are manufactured by third parties, the key raw materials used in those products are first sent to our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility, where we test them prior to the third party manufacturing of the final product. After the final products are manufactured, they are sent back to us for final quality control testing, and then we ship them to our customers. We have expertise in the design, development and validation of complex manufacturing systems and processes, and our strong execution and quality control culture supports the just-in-time manufacturing model at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility.
PyL and flurpiridaz F 18 will require the creation of a field-based network of specialized PMFs with radioisotope-producing cyclotrons. The radioisotope used in both PyL and flurpiridaz F 18 is fluorine-18, or F 18, which has a 110 minute half-life, requiring that these products be manufactured and distributed rapidly to end-users. After being made on a cyclotron at a PMF, the F 18 is then combined with certain chemical ingredients in specially designed chemistry synthesis boxes to manufacture either PyL or flurpiridaz F 18. PyL or flurpiridaz F 18 is next transferred to a radiopharmacist who prepares and dispenses patient-specific doses from the final product. Because each of the PMFs manufacturing these products will be deemed by the FDA to be a separate manufacturing site, each will have to be approved by the FDA, and we can give no assurance that the FDA will do this in accordance with the planned roll-out schedule for the products. In our PyL NDA, we included a limited number of PMFs for approval, and we intend to add in a sequenced manner, using FDA site approval processes, additional PMFs to our manufacturing network in the months following FDA product approval with the goal of having broad availability for the U.S. population within six months of product approval.
We are also in the final stages of an extensive, multi-year effort to add specialized manufacturing capabilities at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility. This project should not only deliver efficiencies and supply chain redundancy for our current portfolio but should also afford us increased flexibility as we consider additional external opportunities. We currently expect to make use of this in-house manufacturing capability in late 2021. However, we can give no assurance that we will be successful in these efforts or that we will be able to successfully manufacture any additional commercial products at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility.
Manufacturing and Supply Arrangements
We currently have the following technology transfer and manufacturing and supply agreements in place for some of our major products:
•DEFINITY—In February 2012, we entered into a Manufacturing and Supply Agreement with JHS, for the manufacture of DEFINITY. Under the agreement, JHS manufactured DEFINITY for us for an initial term of five years. In September 2016, we extended the agreement through January 2022. The agreement contains automatic renewals for additional one-year periods thereafter. The agreement allows for termination upon the occurrence of certain events such as a material breach or default by either party, or bankruptcy by either party. The agreement also requires us to place orders for a minimum percentage of our requirements for DEFINITY with JHS. Based on our current projections, we believe that we will have sufficient supply of DEFINITY from JHS to meet expected demand.
On May 3, 2016, we entered into a Manufacturing and Supply Agreement with SBL to perform technology transfer and process development services to manufacture and supply DEFINITY RT. There are no minimum purchase requirements under this agreement, which has an initial term of five years from the date of first commercial sale and is renewable at our option for an additional five years. This agreement allows for termination upon the occurrence of certain events, including material breach or bankruptcy of either party. We believe DEFINITY RT will become commercially available later in 2021, although that timing cannot be assured.
•Cardiolite—In May 2012, we entered into a Manufacturing and Supply Agreement with JHS for the manufacture of Cardiolite products. In the third quarter of 2016, we completed the technology transfer process and received FDA approval to manufacture Cardiolite at JHS. Under the agreement, JHS has agreed to manufacture products for an initial term of five years from the effective date. That agreement has now been extended until December 31, 2021, and can be further extended for two additional one-year periods thereafter so long as the parties, using good faith, reasonable efforts, agree to new pricing for the upcoming additional term. The agreement allows for termination upon the occurrence of specified events, including material breach or bankruptcy by either party. The agreement requires us to place orders for 100% of our requirements for Cardiolite products with JHS during such term. Based on our current projections, we believe that we will have sufficient supply of Cardiolite products from JHS to meet expected demand.
•NEUROLITE—In May 2012, we entered into a Manufacturing and Supply Agreement with JHS for the manufacture of NEUROLITE, and in January 2015, the FDA granted approval to manufacture NEUROLITE at JHS. Under the agreement, JHS agreed to manufacture NEUROLITE for an initial term of five years from the effective date. That agreement has now been extended until December 31, 2021, and can be further extended for two additional one-year periods thereafter so long as the parties, using good faith, reasonable efforts, agree to new pricing for the upcoming additional term. The agreement allows for termination upon the occurrence of specified events, including material breach or bankruptcy by either party. The agreement also requires us to place orders for 100% of our requirements for NEUROLITE during such term. Based on our current projections, we believe that we will have sufficient supply of NEUROLITE from JHS to meet expected demand.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks associated with our manufacturing relationships.
Strategic Activities
In addition to integrating the new assets and programs resulting from the Progenics Acquisition, we continue to seek ways to further expand our portfolio of products and product candidates and how best to optimize the value of our current assets, evaluating a number of different opportunities to collaborate with others or to acquire or in-license additional products, product candidates, businesses and technologies to drive our future growth. As the Progenics Acquisition indicates, we are particularly interested in expanding our presence in oncology, in both radiotherapeutics and diagnostics. In May 2019, we commenced an initiative to build out our Pharma Services capabilities by entering into a strategic collaboration and license agreement with NanoMab Technology Limited (“NanoMab”), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of next generation radiopharmaceuticals for cancer precision medicine. We believe this collaboration will provide the first broadly-available PD-L1 imaging biomarker research tool to pharmaceutical companies and academic centers conducting clinical trials on immuno-oncology treatments, including combination therapies. We have also expanded our Pharma Services offering to include PyL for pharmaceutical companies developing PSMA-targeted therapies and have entered into PyL clinical supply agreements with each of Regeneron, Bayer and POINT BioPharma for use of PyL in drug development programs. We can give no assurance as to when or if any of these Pharma Services collaborations will be successful or accretive to earnings.
In addition, as described above, we continue to expand our microbubble franchise. In October 2020, we announced a strategic collaboration with Insightec which will use our microbubbles in connection with Insightec’s transcranial guided focused ultrasound device for the treatment of glioblastoma as well as other neurodegenerative conditions. Glioblastoma is a lethal and devastating form of brain cancer with median survival of 15 months after diagnosis. Previously, we announced a strategic commercial supply agreement with CarThera for the use of our microbubbles in combination with SonoCloud, a proprietary implantable device in development for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. We also previously announced a strategic development and commercial collaboration with Cerevast in which our microbubbles will be used in connection with Cerevast’s ocular ultrasound device to improve blood flow in occluded retinal veins in the eye. Retinal vein occlusion is one of the most common causes of vision loss worldwide.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks associated with our strategic activities.
Intellectual Property
Patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights, both in the U.S. and foreign countries, are very important to our business. We also rely on trade secrets, manufacturing know-how, technological innovations, licensing agreements and confidentiality agreements to maintain and improve our competitive position. We review third party proprietary rights, including patents and patent applications, as available, in an effort to develop an effective intellectual property strategy, avoid infringement of third party proprietary rights, identify licensing opportunities and monitor the intellectual property owned by others. Our ability to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights may be limited in certain countries outside the U.S., which could make it easier for competitors to capture market position in those countries by utilizing technologies that are similar to those developed or licensed by us. Competitors also may harm our sales by designing products that mirror the capabilities of our products or technology without infringing our intellectual property rights. If we do not obtain sufficient protection for our intellectual property, or if we are unable to effectively enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitiveness could be impaired, which would limit our growth and future revenue.
Trademarks, Service Marks and Trade Names
We own various trademarks, service marks and trade names, including, among others, DEFINITY, DEFINITY RT, TechneLite, Cardiolite, NEUROLITE, VIALMIX, VIALMIX RFID, QUADRAMET, Luminity, PyL, AZEDRA, AZEDRA Service Connection, RELISTOR, Lantheus, Lantheus Medical Imaging, Progenics, Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Molecular Insight, EXINI, PyL Research Access Program and Find, Fight and Follow. We have registered these trademarks, as well as others, in the U.S. and/or numerous foreign jurisdictions.
Patents
We actively seek to protect the proprietary technology that we consider important to our business, including chemical species, compositions and formulations, their methods of use and processes for their manufacture, as new intellectual property is developed. In addition to seeking patent protection in the U.S., we file patent applications in numerous foreign countries in order to further protect the inventions that we consider important to the development of our international business. We also rely upon trade secrets and contracts to protect our proprietary information. As of December 31, 2020, our patent portfolio included a total of 107 issued U.S. patents, 804 issued foreign patents, 49 pending U.S. patent applications and 239 pending foreign applications, owned or exclusively licensed.
We have patent protection on certain of our commercial products and on all of our clinical development candidates. We typically seek patent protection in major markets around the world, including, among others, the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Asia, and Latin America. All patent terms described below are presented without giving effect to any applicable patent term adjustments or regulatory extensions.
DEFINITY - We continue to actively pursue additional patents in connection with DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT, both in the U.S. and internationally. In the U.S. for DEFINITY we own a total of four Orange Book-listed method of use patents, one of which expires in 2035 and three of which expire in 2037, as well as additional manufacturing patents that are not Orange Book-listed expiring in 2021, 2023 and 2037. In the U.S. for DEFINITY RT, we own a total of five Orange Book-listed patents, including a composition of matter patent which expires in 2035. Outside of the U.S., while our original DEFINITY patent protection and regulatory exclusivity have generally expired, we are currently prosecuting additional DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT patents to obtain similar patent protection as in the U.S. The Orange Book-listed patents include a patent on the use of VIALMIX RFID which expires in 2037; additional VIALMIX RFID patent applications have been submitted in major markets throughout the world.
Even though our longest duration Orange Book-listed DEFINITY patent extends until March 2037, because our Orange Book-listed composition of matter patent expired in June 2019, we may face generic DEFINITY challengers in the near to intermediate term. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, the FDA can approve Abbreviated New Drug Applications (“ANDAs”) for generic versions of drugs if the ANDA applicant demonstrates, among other things, that (i) its generic candidate is the same as the innovator product by establishing bioequivalence and providing relevant chemistry, manufacturing and product data, and (ii) the marketing of that generic candidate does not infringe an Orange Book-listed patent or that an Orange Book-listed patent is invalid. With respect to any Orange Book-listed patent covering the innovator product, the ANDA applicant must give a notice to the innovator (a “Notice”) that the ANDA applicant certifies that its generic candidate will not infringe the innovator’s Orange Book-listed patent or that the Orange Book-listed patent is invalid. The innovator can then challenge the ANDA applicant in court within 45 days of receiving that Notice, and FDA approval to commercialize the generic candidate will be stayed (that is, delayed) for up to 30 months (measured from the date on which a Notice is received) while the patent dispute between the innovator and the ANDA applicant is resolved in court. The 30 month stay could potentially expire sooner if the courts determine that no infringement had occurred or that the challenged Orange Book-listed patent is invalid or if the parties otherwise settle their dispute.
As of the date of filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have not received any Notice from an ANDA applicant. If we were to (i) receive any such Notice in the future, (ii) bring a patent infringement suit against the ANDA applicant within 45 days of receiving that Notice, and (iii) successfully obtain the full 30 month stay, then the ANDA applicant would be precluded from commercializing a generic version of DEFINITY prior to the expiration of that 30 month stay period and, potentially, thereafter, depending on how the patent dispute is resolved. Solely by way of example and not based on any knowledge we currently have, if we received a Notice from an ANDA applicant in March 2021 and the full 30 month stay was obtained, then the ANDA applicant would be precluded from commercialization until at least September 2023. If we received a Notice some number of months in the future and the full 30 month stay was obtained, the commercialization date would roll forward in the future by the same calculation.
TechneLite - We currently own patents in the U.S. and various foreign countries on certain component technology expiring in 2029, and we are pursuing additional patent protection in the U.S. and world-wide on other component technology that, if granted, would expire in 2040. In addition, given the significant know-how and trade secrets associated with the methods of manufacturing and assembling the TechneLite generator, we believe we have a substantial amount of valuable and defensible proprietary intellectual property associated with the product.
Other Nuclear Products - Neither Cardiolite nor NEUROLITE is covered any longer by patent protection in either the U.S. or the rest of the world. Xenon, Thallium and Gallium have no patent protection; however, we have patent protection in the U.S. that expires in October 2035 for an improved container for Xenon, and are pursuing similar patent protection outside the U.S.
RELISTOR – Although the composition of matter patent for the active ingredient, methylnaltrexone, has expired, there are additional patents and pending patent applications covering various inventions relating to the product. There are eight Orange Book listed patents that cover the subcutaneous RELISTOR product, which have expiration dates ranging from 2024 to 2030, and there are nine Orange Book listed patents that cover the RELISTOR tablet product, which have expiration dates ranging from 2029 to 2031.
Progenics has entered into three separate settlement agreements that have granted non-exclusive limited licenses with respect to certain RELISTOR subcutaneous injection applications. The non-exclusive limited licenses with two parties are currently effective on January 1, 2028 and the third non-exclusive limited license is currently effective on July 1, 2028, in each case, subject to potential acceleration clauses in those agreements. Four Canadian patents (two expiring in 2024, one in 2027 and one in 2029) have been listed with Health Canada relating to subcutaneous RELISTOR.
AZEDRA - The AZEDRA technology patent family was licensed from the University of Western Ontario (“UWO”). While certain of those patents, and associated license, have already expired, a patent relating to alternative approaches for preparing AZEDRA (not currently implemented) expires worldwide in 2022 and 2024. In addition, we own pending applications worldwide for manufacturing improvements, and the resulting compositions which, if issued, would expire in 2035.
PyL - The PyL patent family was licensed from the Johns Hopkins University (“JHU”). Patent protection for composition of matter patents, radiolabeled forms of the compound, and methods of use in the U.S. expire in 2029 and 2030. Corresponding patents issued or pending worldwide, all expire in 2029. Process improvement patent applications are pending worldwide and, if issued, would expire in 2037.
flurpiridaz F 18 - We own patents and patent applications in numerous jurisdictions covering composition, use, formulation and manufacturing, including in the U.S. a composition of matter patent expiring in 2026, a formulation patent expiring in 2032, a method of use patent expiring in 2028, and manufacturing-related patents expiring in 2031 and 2033, and various patent applications, some of which, if granted, will expire in 2033.
1095 – We own patents relating to 1095 that expire from 2027 to 2031, with the composition of matter as well as radiolabeled forms in the U.S. and Europe expiring in 2027. Additional U.S. patents for stable compositions and radiolabeling processes expire, respectively, in 2030 and 2031.
LMI 1195 - We own patents and patent applications in numerous jurisdictions covering composition, use, and manufacturing, including in the U.S. a composition of matter patent expiring in 2030, a method of use patent expiring in 2027, and manufacturing-related patents expiring in 2031 and 2032, and patent applications which, if granted, will expire in 2027 and in 2031.
1404 - We own patents relating to composition of matter, as well as technetium-99 labeled forms of 1404 expiring in the U.S. from 2029 to 2030, and expiring worldwide in 2029. In-licensed patents relating to reagents for radiolabeling expire in the U.S. in 2022.
aBSI - We own patents relating to automated detection of bone cancer metastases. The patents on this technology expire in the U.S. in 2032 and outside of the U.S. in 2028. Patent applications are pending in the U.S. and worldwide relating to aBSI improvements which, if issued will expire in 2040.
PSMA-AI – U.S. Patents and pending patent applications worldwide relating to automated medical image analysis, have expiration ranges from 2037 to 2040.
PSMA Antibody TTC – We own and in-license composition of matter patents on PSMA antibodies expiring in the U.S. in 2022 and 2023 and outside of the U.S. in 2022.
In addition to patents, we rely, where necessary, upon unpatented trade secrets and know-how, proprietary information and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect our proprietary information, in part, using confidentiality agreements with our collaborators, employees, consultants and other third parties and invention assignment agreements with our employees. These confidentiality agreements may not prevent unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information, and we cannot provide assurances that an employee or an outside party will not make an unauthorized disclosure of our trade secrets, other technical know-how or proprietary information. We may not have adequate monitoring abilities to discover, or adequate remedies for, any unauthorized disclosure. This might happen intentionally or inadvertently. It is possible that a competitor will make use of such information, and that our competitive position will be compromised, in spite of any legal action we might take against persons making such unauthorized disclosures. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that our collaborators, employees and consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.
In addition, we license third party technologies and other intellectual property rights that are incorporated into some elements of our drug discovery and development efforts. Some of these licenses are material to our business – for example, the licenses of the patent rights on RELISTOR from Wyeth LLC and on the PyL patent family from JHU.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks associated with our intellectual property.
Regulatory Matters
Food and Drug Laws
The development, manufacture and commercialization of our agents and products are subject to comprehensive governmental regulation both within and outside the U.S. A number of factors substantially increase the time, difficulty and costs incurred in obtaining and maintaining the approval to market newly developed and existing products. These factors include governmental regulation, such as detailed inspection of and controls over research and laboratory procedures, clinical investigations, manufacturing, marketing, sampling, distribution, import and export, record keeping and storage and disposal practices, together with various post-marketing requirements. Governmental regulatory actions can result in the seizure or recall of products, suspension or revocation of the authority necessary for their production and sale as well as other civil or criminal sanctions.
Our activities related to the development, manufacture, packaging or repackaging of our pharmaceutical and medical device products subject us to a wide variety of laws and regulations. We are required to register for permits and/or licenses with, seek approvals from and comply with operating and security standards of, the FDA, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Health Canada, the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”), the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”), the NMPA and various state and provincial boards of pharmacy, state and provincial controlled substance agencies, state and provincial health departments and/or comparable state and provincial agencies, as well as foreign agencies, and certain accrediting bodies depending upon the type of operations and location of product distribution, manufacturing and sale.
The FDA and various state regulatory authorities regulate the research, testing, manufacture, safety, labeling, storage, recordkeeping, premarket approval, marketing, advertising and promotion, import and export, and sales and distribution of pharmaceutical products in the U.S. Prior to marketing a pharmaceutical product, we must first receive FDA approval. In the U.S., the FDA regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) and implementing regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and compliance with appropriate federal, state, local, and foreign statutes and regulations requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Currently, the process required by the FDA before a drug product may be marketed in the U.S. generally involves the following:
•Completion of preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies according to current Good Laboratory Practices regulations;
•Submission to the FDA of an investigational new drug application (“IND”) which must become effective before human clinical studies may begin, including review and approval by any institutional review board (“IRB”), serving any of the institutions participating in the clinical studies;
•Performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical studies according to current Good Clinical Practices and other requirements, to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug product for its intended use;
•Submission to the FDA of a new drug application (“NDA”) for a new drug;
•Satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the drug product is produced to assess compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMPs”) regulations; and
•FDA review and approval of the NDA.
The testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort, and financial resources, and we cannot be certain that any approvals for our agents in development will be granted on a timely basis, if at all. Once a pharmaceutical agent is identified for development, it enters the preclinical testing stage. Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity, formulation, and stability, as well as animal studies to assess its potential safety and efficacy. This testing culminates in the submission of the IND to the FDA.
Once the IND becomes effective, including review and approval by any IRB, serving any of the institutions participating in the clinical trial, the clinical trial program may begin. Each new clinical trial protocol must be submitted to the FDA before the study may begin. Human clinical studies are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:
•Phase 1. The agent is initially introduced into healthy human subjects and tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion. In the case of some products for severe or life-threatening diseases, especially when the agent may be too inherently toxic to ethically administer to healthy volunteers, the initial human testing is often conducted in patients with those diseases.
•Phase 2. Involves studies in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to evaluate preliminarily the efficacy of the agent for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance and optimal dosage and schedule.
•Phase 3. Clinical studies are undertaken to further evaluate dosage, clinical efficacy and safety in an expanded patient population at geographically dispersed clinical study sites. These studies are intended to collect sufficient safety and efficacy data to support the NDA for FDA approval.
Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical studies must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and the investigators for serious and unexpected adverse events. Submissions must also be made to inform the FDA of certain changes to the clinical trial protocol. Federal law also requires the sponsor to register the trials on public databases when they are initiated, and to disclose the results of the trials on public databases upon completion. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 testing may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. The FDA or the clinical trial sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical study at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, any IRB serving any of the institutions participating in the clinical trial can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical study at a relevant institution if the clinical study is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the agent has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Failure to register a clinical trial or disclose study results within the required time periods could result in penalties, including civil monetary penalties.
Concurrent with clinical studies, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the product and finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the agent and, among other things, the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the agent does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.
The results of product development, preclinical studies and clinical studies, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests conducted on the drug product, proposed labeling, and other relevant information, are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA for a new drug, requesting approval to market the agent. The submission of an NDA is subject to the payment of a substantial user fee. A waiver of that fee may be obtained under certain limited circumstances. The approval process is lengthy and difficult, and the FDA may refuse to approve an NDA if the applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied. The FDA has substantial discretion in the product approval process, and it is impossible to predict whether and when the FDA will grant marketing approval. The FDA may on occasion require the sponsor of an NDA to conduct additional clinical studies or to provide other scientific or technical information about the product, and these additional requirements may lead to unanticipated delay or expense. Even if such data and information are submitted, the FDA may ultimately decide that the NDA does not satisfy the criteria for approval. Data obtained from clinical studies are not always conclusive, and the FDA may interpret data differently than we interpret the same data.
If a product receives regulatory approval, the approval may be significantly limited to specific diseases and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited, which could restrict the commercial value of the product. Further, the FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling. In addition, the FDA may require Phase 4 testing which involves clinical studies designed to further assess a drug product’s safety and effectiveness after NDA approval. The FDA also may impose one or more Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (“REMS”) to ensure that the benefits of a product outweigh its risks. A REMS could add training requirements for healthcare professionals, safety communications efforts and limits on channels of distribution, among other things. The sponsor would be required to evaluate and monitor the various REMS activities and adjust them if need be. Whether a REMS would be imposed on any of our products and any resulting financial impact is uncertain at this time.
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product as an Orphan Drug if it is a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually 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. AZEDRA currently has the Orphan Drug designation in the United States.
In the United States, Orphan Drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers. In addition, if a product that has Orphan Drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to Orphan Drug exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application to market the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority over the product with orphan exclusivity or where the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient product quantity.
Any drug products for which we receive FDA approvals are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse experiences with the product, providing the FDA with updated safety and efficacy information, product sampling and distribution requirements, complying with certain electronic records and signature requirements, and complying with FDA promotion and advertising requirements. The FDA strictly regulates labeling, advertising, promotion and other types of information on drug products that are placed on the market. Drugs may be promoted only for the approved indications and consistent with the provisions of the approved label and promotional claims must be appropriately balanced with important safety information and otherwise be adequately substantiated. Further, manufacturers of drugs must continue to comply with cGMP requirements, which are extensive and require considerable time, resources and ongoing investment to ensure compliance. In addition, changes to the manufacturing process generally require prior FDA approval before being implemented, and other types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications and additional labeling claims, are also subject to further FDA review and approval.
Drug product manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacturing and distribution of approved drugs products are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain other agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws. The cGMP requirements apply to all stages of the manufacturing process, including the production, processing, sterilization, packaging, labeling, storage and shipment of the drug product. Manufacturers must establish validated systems to ensure that products meet specifications and regulatory standards, and test each product batch or lot prior to its release. In addition, manufacturers of commercial PET products, including radiopharmacies, hospitals and academic medical centers, are required to submit either an NDA or ANDA in order to produce PET drugs for clinical use, or produce the drugs under an IND.
The FDA also regulates the preclinical and clinical testing, design, manufacture, safety, efficacy, labeling, storage, record keeping, sales and distribution, post-market adverse event reporting, import/export and advertising and promotion of any medical devices that we distribute pursuant to the FDCA and FDA’s implementing regulations. The Federal Trade Commission shares jurisdiction with the FDA over the promotion and advertising of certain medical devices. The FDA can also impose restrictions on the sale, distribution or use of medical devices at the time of their clearance or approval, or subsequent to marketing. Currently, medical devices comprise only a small portion of our revenues.
The FDA may withdraw marketing authorization for a pharmaceutical or medical device product if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously-unknown problems with a product may result in restrictions on the product or even complete withdrawal of the product from the market. Further, the failure to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements may result in administrative or judicial actions, such as fines, civil monetary penalties, warning letters, holds on clinical studies, product recalls or seizures, product detention or refusal to permit the import or export of pharmaceuticals or medical device products, refusal to approve pending applications or supplements, restrictions on marketing or manufacturing, injunctions, or civil or criminal penalties.
Because our operations include the manufacture and distribution of medical radioisotopes and other medical products, we are subject to regulation by the NRC and the departments of health of each state in which we operate and the applicable state boards of pharmacy. In addition, the FDA is also involved in the regulation of cyclotron facilities where PET products are produced in compliance with cGMP requirements and U.S. Pharmacopeia requirements for PET drug compounding.
Drug laws also are in effect in many of the non-U.S. markets in which we conduct business. These laws range from comprehensive drug approval requirements to requests for product data or certifications. In addition, inspection of and controls over manufacturing, as well as monitoring of adverse events, are components of most of these regulatory systems. Most of our business is subject to varying degrees of governmental regulation in the countries in which we operate, and the general trend is toward increasingly stringent regulation. The exercise of broad regulatory powers by the FDA continues to result in increases in the amount of testing and documentation required for approval or clearance of new drugs and devices, all of which add to the expense of product introduction. Similar trends also are evident in major non-U.S. markets, including Canada, the European Union, Australia and Japan.
To assess and facilitate compliance with applicable FDA, NRC and other state, federal and foreign regulatory requirements, we regularly review our quality systems to assess their effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. As part of our quality review, we perform assessments of our suppliers of the raw materials that are incorporated into products and conduct quality management reviews designed to inform management of key issues that may affect the quality of our products. From time to time, we may determine that products we manufactured or marketed do not meet our specifications, published standards, such as those issued by the International Standards Organization, or regulatory requirements. When a quality or regulatory issue is identified, we investigate the issue and take appropriate corrective action, such as withdrawal of the product from the market, correction of the product at the customer location, notice to the customer of revised labeling and other actions.
Hatch-Waxman Act
The Hatch-Waxman Act added two pathways for FDA drug approval. First, the Hatch-Waxman Act permits the FDA to approve ANDAs for generic versions of drugs if the ANDA applicant demonstrates, among other things, that its product is bioequivalent to the innovator product and provides relevant chemistry, manufacturing and product data. See “Item 1. Business - Patents.” Second, the Hatch-Waxman Act created what is known as a Section 505(b) (2) NDA, which requires the same information as a full NDA (known as a Section 505(b) (1) NDA), including full reports of clinical and preclinical studies but allows some of the information from the reports required for marketing approval to come from studies which the applicant does not own or have a legal right of reference. A Section 505(b) (2) NDA permits a manufacturer to obtain marketing approval for a drug without needing to conduct or obtain a right of reference for all of the required studies. The Hatch-Waxman Act also provides for: (1) restoration of a portion of a product’s patent term that was lost during clinical development and application review by the FDA; and (2) statutory protection, known as exclusivity, against the FDA’s acceptance or approval of certain competitor applications.
Patent term extension can compensate for time lost during product development and the regulatory review process by returning up to five years of patent life for a patent that covers a new product or its use. This period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an IND and the submission date of an NDA, plus the time between the submission date of an NDA and the approval of that application. Patent term extensions, however, are subject to a maximum extension of five years, and the patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years. The application for patent term extension is subject to approval by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in conjunction with the FDA.
The Hatch-Waxman Act also provides for a period of statutory protection for new drugs that receive NDA approval from the FDA. If the FDA approves a Section 505(b) (1) NDA for a new drug that is a new chemical entity, meaning that the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, then the Hatch-Waxman Act prohibits the submission or approval of an ANDA or a Section 505(b) (2) NDA for a period of five years from the date of approval of the NDA, except that the FDA may accept an application for review after four years under certain circumstances, specifically a patent challenge for one or more patents listed by the NDA holder in FDA’s publication, Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (the “Orange Book”), submitted in a “Paragraph IV” Certification. The Hatch-Waxman Act will not prevent the filing or approval of a full NDA, as opposed to an ANDA or Section 505(b) (2) NDA, for any drug, but the competitor would be required to conduct its own clinical trials, and any use of the drug for which marketing approval is sought could not violate another NDA holder’s patent claims. The Hatch-Waxman Act provides for a three-year period of exclusivity for an NDA for a new drug containing an active moiety that was previously approved by the FDA, but also includes new clinical data (other than bioavailability and bioequivalence studies) to support an innovation over the previously-approved drug and those studies were conducted or sponsored by the applicant and were essential to approval of the application. This three-year exclusivity period does not prohibit the FDA from accepting an application from a third party for a drug with that same innovation, but it does prohibit the FDA from approving that application for the three-year period. The three-year exclusivity does not prohibit the FDA, with limited exceptions, from approving generic drugs containing the same active ingredient but without the new innovation.
Healthcare Reform and Other Laws Affecting Payment
We operate in a highly-regulated industry. The U.S. and state governments continue to propose and pass legislation that may affect the availability and cost of healthcare. For example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively, the Healthcare Reform Act, substantially changes the way in which healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers and has a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry. The Healthcare Reform Act contains a number of provisions that affect coverage, reimbursement and/or delivery of drug products and the medical imaging procedures in which our drug products are used. Key provisions that currently affect our business include the following:
•increasing the presumed utilization rate for imaging equipment costing $1.0 million or more in the physician office and free-standing imaging facility setting which reduces the Medicare per procedure medical imaging reimbursement; which rate was further increased by subsequent legislation effective January 1, 2014;
•increasing drug rebates paid to state Medicaid programs under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program for brand name prescription drugs and extending those rebates to Medicaid managed care organizations; and
•imposing a non-deductible annual fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell brand name prescription drugs to specified federal government programs.
The Healthcare Reform Act also amended the federal self-referral laws, requiring referring physicians to inform patients under certain circumstances that the patients may obtain services, including MRI, computed tomography (“CT”), PET and certain other diagnostic imaging services, from a provider other than that physician, another physician in his or her group practice, or another individual under direct supervision of the physician or another physician in the group practice. The referring physician must provide each patient with a written list of other suppliers who furnish those services in the area in which the patient resides. These requirements could have the effect of shifting where certain diagnostic medical imaging procedures are performed.
The Healthcare Reform Act has been subject to political and judicial challenges. For example, tax reform legislation was enacted at the end of 2017 that effectively eliminated the “individual mandate” to maintain health insurance coverage by eliminating the tax penalty for individuals who do not maintain sufficient health insurance coverage beginning in 2019. In December 2018, a federal district court judge, in a challenge brought by a number of state attorneys general, found the Healthcare Reform Act unconstitutional in its entirety because once Congress repealed the “individual mandate” provision, there was no longer a basis to rely on Congressional taxing authority to support enactment of the law. In December 2019, a federal appeals court agreed that the individual mandate provision was unconstitutional, but remanded the case back to the district court to assess more carefully whether any provisions of the Healthcare Reform Act were severable and could survive. In November 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard an appeal of the federal appeals court decision, but has not opined on the constitutionality of the individual mandate or the severability of the remaining aspects of the Healthcare Reform Act. Pending resolution of this case, the Healthcare Reform Act is still operational.
Recently, there has been considerable public and government scrutiny of pharmaceutical pricing and proposals to address the perceived high cost of pharmaceuticals. For example, in May 2018, President Trump and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services released a “blueprint” to lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs. Certain proposals in the blueprint, and related drug pricing measures proposed since the blueprint, could cause significant operational and reimbursement changes for the pharmaceutical industry. As an example, legislation passed in 2019 revised how certain prices reported by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated, a revision that the Congressional Budget Office has estimated will save the federal government approximately $3.0 billion in the next ten years. As another example, in November 2020, CMS issued an interim final rule that announced a new “most favored nation” payment model for certain Medicare Part B drugs, which would reduce the Medicare payment amount for such drugs to the lowest price that drug manufacturers receive in other similar countries. (Multiple federal courts have issued temporary injunctions blocking implementation of this final rule). Efforts by government officials or legislators to implement measures to regulate prices or payment for pharmaceutical products could limit our flexibility in establishing prices for our products or otherwise adversely affect our business if implemented. Changes could occur at the federal level or state level and may be adopted by statute, rule, or sub-regulatory policies. Recent state legislative efforts seek to address drug costs and generally have focused on increasing transparency around drug costs or limiting drug prices. Some of those efforts have been subject to legal challenge.
General legislative cost control measures may also affect reimbursement for our products or services provided with our products. The Budget Control Act, as amended by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, resulted in the imposition of 2% reductions in Medicare (but not Medicaid) payments to providers beginning in 2013 and will remain in effect through fiscal year 2030 unless additional Congressional action is taken. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act suspended the 2% payment adjustment for dates of service from May 1 through December 31, 2020, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 subsequently extended this suspension until March 31, 2021. Any significant spending reductions affecting Medicare, Medicaid or other publicly funded or subsidized health programs that may be implemented and/or any significant taxes or fees that may be imposed on us could have an adverse impact on our business results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Laws
We are subject to various federal, state and local laws targeting fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry, including anti-kickback and false claims laws. Violations of fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by criminal or civil sanctions, including fines and civil monetary penalties, and/or exclusion from federal health care programs (including Medicare and Medicaid). Federal and state authorities are paying increased attention to enforcement of these laws within the pharmaceutical industry, and private individuals have been active in alleging violations of the laws and bringing suits on behalf of the government under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”). Violations of international fraud and abuse laws could result in similar penalties, including exclusion from participation in health programs outside the U.S. If we were subject to allegations concerning, or were convicted of violating, these laws, our business could be harmed.
The federal Anti-Kickback Statute generally prohibits, among other things, a pharmaceutical manufacturer from directly or indirectly soliciting, offering, receiving, or paying any remuneration in cash or in kind where one purpose is either to induce the referral of an individual for, or the purchase or prescription of a particular drug that is payable by a federal health care program, including Medicare or Medicaid. The Healthcare Reform Act clarifies the intent requirements of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, providing that a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or a specific intent to violate the statute. Violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute can result in exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid or other governmental programs as well as civil and criminal fines and penalties of up to $104,330 per violation and three times the amount of the unlawful remuneration. In addition, the Healthcare Reform Act revised the FCA to provide that a claim arising from a violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA. The majority of states also have anti-kickback, false claims, and similar fraud and abuse laws and although the specific provisions of these laws vary, their scope is generally broad, and there may not be regulations, guidance or court decisions that apply the laws to particular industry practices. There is, therefore, a possibility that our practices might be challenged under the anti-kickback statutes or similar laws.
Federal and state false claims laws generally prohibit anyone from knowingly and willfully, among other activities, presenting, or causing to be presented for payment to third party payors (including Medicare and Medicaid) claims for drugs or services that are false or fraudulent (which may include claims for services not provided as claimed or claims for medically unnecessary services). As discussed, a claim arising from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA. False or fraudulent claims for purposes of the FCA carry fines and civil penalties for violations ranging from $11,665 to $23,331 for each false claim, plus up to three times the amount of damages sustained by the federal government and, most critically, may provide the basis for exclusion from federally funded healthcare programs. There is also a criminal FCA statute by which individuals or entities that submit false claims can face criminal penalties. In addition, under the federal Civil Monetary Penalty Law, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has the authority to exclude from participation in federal health care programs or to impose civil penalties against any person who, among other things, knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, certain false or otherwise improper claims. Our activities relating to the sale and marketing of our products may be subject to scrutiny under these laws.
Laws and regulations have also been enacted by the U.S. federal government and various states, as well as by countries outside of the U.S., to regulate the sales and marketing practices of certain entities including pharmaceutical and device manufacturers. The laws and regulations generally limit financial interactions between manufacturers and health care providers; require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the U.S. federal government; and/or require disclosure by pharmaceutical and device manufacturers to the government and/or public of financial interactions or other financial relationships with health care providers and other entities such as teaching hospitals (so-called “sunshine laws”). The Healthcare Reform Act requires manufacturers to submit information to the FDA on the identity and quantity of drug samples requested and distributed by a manufacturer during each year. Many of these laws and regulations contain ambiguous requirements or require administrative guidance for implementation. The laws and regulations include requirements that can be unclear in their scope, nature, and required implementation by regulated entities. If we fail to comply with such laws and regulations, we could be subject to penalties and administrative actions under such laws and regulations.
Data Privacy, Security and Breach Notification
We are subject to data protection laws and regulations that set forth data privacy, security, and breach notification requirements. The legislative and regulatory landscape for data protection continues to evolve, and in recent years there has been an increasing focus on data protection and other data privacy and security issues. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including state data breach notification laws, state health information privacy laws and federal and state consumer protection laws govern the collection, use, disclosure and protection of health-related and other personal information. In addition to establishing restrictions on how personal information may be collected, used, and disclosed, these laws and regulations provide various rights to data subjects with respect to their personal information and establish requirements for how personal information must be secured. In addition, every state in the United States now has a data breach notification law that requires regulated entities to report certain security breaches to affected data subjects, regulators, or other entities. Failure to comply with data protection laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions (which could include civil or criminal penalties and requirements to take corrective actions), private litigation (which may result in the award of damages against us), and/or adverse publicity, and could negatively affect our operating results, business, and reputation. In addition, we may obtain health information from third parties (e.g., healthcare providers who prescribe our products) that are themselves subject to privacy, security, and breach notification requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (collectively, “HIPAA”). While we believe that we are neither a “covered entity” nor “business associate” subject directly to regulation under HIPAA, HIPAA’s criminal provisions can apply to entities other than “covered entities” or “business associates” in certain circumstances. Accordingly, we could be subject to criminal penalties if we knowingly obtain or disclose individually identifiable health information from a HIPAA-covered entity in a manner that is not authorized or permitted.
In addition, a growing number of jurisdictions outside of the United States have enacted robust data protection laws. Certain of these laws have extraterritorial application. For example, the processing of personal data in the European Union is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which came into effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR applies to an entity established in the EU and extraterritorially to an entity outside of the EU that offers goods or services to, or monitors the behavior of, individuals located in the EU. Certain “special categories” of personal data, including data concerning health, are subject to enhanced protections under the GDPR. This regulation imposes several requirements on the controllers and processors of personal data, including the obligation to comply with various rights that individuals have with respect to their personal data and restrictions on the processing of personal data, and to provide notice of data processing obligations to the competent national data protection authorities. The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the European Union to the United States. Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the related national data protection laws of the European Union Member States may result in significant fines and other administrative penalties.
In the United States, several state legislatures are considering enacting new data privacy legislation. One example of such legislation that has already been passed is the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which took effect on January 1, 2020 and
imposes many requirements on certain for-profit businesses that process the personal information of California residents. Many of the CCPA’s requirements are similar to those found in the GDPR, including requiring businesses to provide notice to data subjects regarding the information collected about them and how such information is used and shared, and providing data subjects various rights, such as the right to request access to their personal information and, in certain cases, request the erasure of such personal information. The CCPA also affords California residents the right to opt-out of the “sale” of their personal information. In addition, the CCPA requires regulated businesses to implement reasonable security procedures and practices to protect personal information. The CCPA contains significant penalties for companies that violate its requirements. It also provides California residents a private right of action, including the ability to seek statutory damages, in the event of a breach involving their personal information resulting from a business’s failure to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices. Compliance with the CCPA is a rigorous and time-intensive process that may increase the cost of doing business or require companies to change their business practices to ensure full compliance.
On November 3, 2020, California passed the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) through a ballot initiative. The CPRA amends the CCPA and expands its protections for personal information, including by establishing a new California Privacy Protection Agency to enforce the CPRA and by providing California consumers various rights such as the right to restrict the processing of their “sensitive personal information.” The CPRA’s amendments to the CCPA take effect on January 1, 2023, and generally will apply to personal information collected by regulated businesses on or after January 1, 2022. The California Attorney General will have authority to begin enforcing the CPRA’s amendments to the CCPA beginning on July 1, 2022.
Antitrust and Competition Laws
The federal government and most states have enacted antitrust laws that prohibit specific types of anti-competitive conduct, including price fixing, wage fixing, concerted refusals to deal, price discrimination and tying arrangements, as well as monopolization and acquisitions of competitors that have, or may have, a substantial adverse effect on competition. Violations of federal or state antitrust laws can result in various sanctions, including criminal and civil penalties. We believe we are in compliance with such federal and state laws, but courts or regulatory authorities may reach a determination in the future that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, we are subject to similar antitrust and anti-competition laws in foreign countries. We believe we are in compliance with such laws, however, any violation could create a substantial liability for us and also cause a loss of reputation in both foreign and domestic markets.
Laws Relating to Foreign Trade
We are subject to various federal and foreign laws that govern our international business practices with respect to payments to government officials. Those laws include the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) which prohibits U.S. companies and their representatives from paying, offering to pay, promising, or authorizing the payment of anything of value to any foreign government official, government staff member, political party, or political candidate for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or to otherwise obtain favorable treatment or influence a person working in an official capacity. In many countries, the healthcare professionals we regularly interact with may meet the FCPA’s definition of a foreign government official. The FCPA also requires public companies to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect their transactions and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls.
Those laws also include the U.K. Bribery Act (“Bribery Act”) which proscribes giving and receiving bribes in the public and private sectors, bribing a foreign public official, and failing to have adequate procedures to prevent employees and other agents from giving bribes. U.S. companies that conduct business in the United Kingdom generally will be subject to the Bribery Act. Penalties under the Bribery Act include potentially unlimited fines for companies and criminal sanctions for corporate officers under certain circumstances.
Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. Our operations reach many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree, and in certain circumstances strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance programs, our internal control policies and procedures may not always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents.
We are also subject to trade control regulations and trade sanctions laws that restrict the movement of certain goods, currency, products, materials, services and technology to, and certain operations in, various countries or with certain persons. Our ability to transfer people and products among certain countries may be subjected to these laws and regulations.
Health and Safety Laws
We are also subject to various federal, state and local laws, regulations and recommendations, both in the U.S. and abroad, relating to safe working conditions, laboratory and manufacturing practices and the use, transportation and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks related to regulatory matters.
Environmental Matters
We are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, human health and safety in the U.S. and in other jurisdictions in which we operate. Our operations, like those of other medical product companies, involve the transport, use, handling, storage, exposure to and disposal of materials and wastes regulated under environmental laws, including hazardous and radioactive materials and wastes. If we violate these laws and regulations, we could be fined, criminally charged or otherwise sanctioned by regulators. We believe that our operations currently comply in all material respects with applicable environmental laws and regulations.
Certain environmental laws and regulations assess liability on current or previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of investigation, removal or remediation of hazardous materials or wastes at those formerly owned or operated properties or at third-party properties at which they have disposed of hazardous materials or wastes. In addition to cleanup actions brought by governmental authorities, private parties could bring personal injury, property damage or other claims due to the presence of, or exposure to, hazardous materials or wastes. We currently are not party to any claims or any obligations to investigate or remediate any material contamination at any of our facilities.
We are required to maintain a number of environmental permits and nuclear licenses for our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility, which is our primary manufacturing, packaging and distribution facility. In particular, we must maintain a nuclear byproducts materials license issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This license requires that we provide financial assurance demonstrating our ability to cover the cost of decommissioning and decontaminating (“D&D”) the Billerica site at the end of its use as a nuclear facility. In addition, we have a radioactive production facility in Somerset, NJ where we must also maintain a number of environmental permits and nuclear licenses. We store low level radioactive waste at our facilities until the materials are below regulatory limits, as allowed by our licenses and permits. As of December 31, 2020, we currently estimate the D&D cost of all of our manufacturing sites (including our Puerto Rico radiopharmacy which we sold on January 29, 2021) to be approximately $26.9 million. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we have a liability recorded associated with the fair value of the asset retirement obligations of $14.0 million and $12.9 million, respectively. We currently provide this financial assurance in the form of surety bonds.
We also actively monitor and seek to reduce our solid waste, energy and water usage, waste water discharge and greenhouse gas emissions. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of wastes generated by our operations. In 2020, we developed a stormwater management operations and maintenance plan to minimize stormwater pollution from high impact activities. Improvements we made include (i) the regular inspection and cleaning of catch basins and piping to reduce sediment and debris wash out to adjacent wetlands; (ii) increasing street and parking lot cleaning to reduce pollutant run off; (iii) updating our snow removal plan at our North Billerica site to reduce the impact to adjacent wetlands; and (iv) using salt brine as a pretreatment for winter storms to reduce the amount of salt use and run off.
With respect to sustainability, in 2020, we developed a mechanism to track and monitor our energy use, water use and waste generation. We use an Energy Star Portfolio Manager to track energy and water use that we believe will help us calculate associated greenhouse gas emissions and compare the performance of our North Billerica buildings against a yearly baseline, national medians, and other similar buildings.
Environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have become more stringent over time. While we have budgeted for future capital and operating expenditures to maintain compliance with these laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that our costs of complying with current or future environmental protection, health and safety laws and regulations will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Further, we cannot assure you that we will not be subject to additional environmental claims for personal injury or cleanup in the future based on our past, present or future business activities. While it is not feasible to predict the future costs of ongoing environmental compliance, it is possible that there will be a need for future provisions for environmental costs that, in management’s opinion, are not likely to have a material effect on our financial condition, but could be material to the results of operations in any one accounting period.
See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for information regarding certain risks associated with environmental matters.
Human Capital Management
As of December 31, 2020, we had 595 employees, of which 569 were located in the U.S. and 26 were located internationally. None of our employees are represented by a collective bargaining agreement, and we believe that our relationship with our employees is good.
Diversity, Inclusion, Ethics and Compliance
We believe that supporting our local community and instilling a diverse, inclusive, ethical and compliant culture will make us an employer of choice, maintain good standing with the regulatory authorities and customers and benefit stockholders in the long run.
We have a female CEO, 50% of our Vice Presidents and above are women, and approximately 44% of our employees are women. We continue to strive to improve our diversity and inclusion with a strategic emphasis beyond gender and we require recruiters working with us to present candidates in the spirit of diversity and inclusion.
We are committed to promoting a culture of ethics and compliance. Our Code of Conduct and Ethics reflects the Company’s commitment to corporate integrity and the underlying business practices and principles of behavior that support this commitment. Each year our employees complete mandatory training that includes anti-bribery/anti-corruption rules, insider trading prohibitions, confidentiality obligations, as well as specialized training in healthcare industry marketing practices. We also have a formal Ethics and Compliance Committee that develops, implements and overseas our ethics and compliance programs.
Compensation and Benefits
We seek to provide pay, benefits, and services that are competitive to market and create incentives to attract and retain employees. Our compensation package includes market-competitive pay, cash bonuses and restricted stock and other equity grants to certain levels of employees, health care and retirement benefits, paid time off and family leave, among others. We are focused on pay equity and regularly assess pay among similar roles and responsibilities throughout our organization and in comparison to our peer group.
Communication and Engagement
We believe that our success depends on employees understanding how their work contributes to the Company’s overall strategy. To this end, we utilize a variety of channels to facilitate open and direct communication, including: (i) quarterly town hall meetings with our executive team; (ii) regular ongoing update communications; (iii) employee engagement surveys; and (iv) an externally administered whistleblower hotline and website that is prominently advertised to our employees, and a whistleblower’s anonymity is protected, if so requested. We also established various employee recognition award programs to recognize and reward employees for specific outstanding accomplishments and to foster a positive employee relations climate.
Health, Wellness and Safety
We are committed to the health and safety of our employees, patients and other partners in the healthcare community. We work to promote an environment of awareness and shared responsibility for safety and regulatory compliance throughout the Company, in order to minimize risks of injury, exposure, or business impact.
With respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, we operate a “Pandemic Response Team” to implement and oversee appropriate precautions to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in our teams and communities. We continue to have all non-critical employees and contractors work-remotely and avoid non-essential work-related travel. Further, we established a “Return to Office” team to develop plans for employees to safely return to all our facilities.
Corporate History
Founded in 1956 as New England Nuclear Corporation, our medical imaging diagnostic business was purchased by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (“DuPont”) in 1981. Bristol Myers Squibb (“BMS”) subsequently acquired our diagnostic medical imaging business as part of its acquisition of DuPont Pharmaceuticals in 2001. In January 2008, Avista Capital Partners, L.P., Avista Capital Partners (Offshore), L.P. and ACP-Lantern Co-Invest, LLC (collectively “Avista”) formed Lantheus Holdings and acquired our medical imaging business from BMS. On June 30, 2015, we completed an initial public offering (“IPO”) of our common stock. We completed our acquisition of Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on June 19, 2020. Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “LNTH”.
Available Information
Our global Internet site is www.lantheus.com. We routinely make available important information, including copies of 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) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, free of charge on our website at www.investor.lantheus.com. We recognize our website as a key channel of distribution to reach public investors and as a means of disclosing material non-public information to comply with our disclosure obligations under SEC Regulation FD. Information contained on our website shall not be deemed incorporated into, or to be part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any website references are not intended to be made through active hyperlinks.
Our reports filed with, or furnished to, the SEC are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and for Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, in an Inline Extensible Business Reporting Language (“iXBRL”) format. iXBRL is an electronic coding language used to create interactive financial statement data over the Internet. The information on our website is neither part of nor incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the following risks. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. These risks could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition, cause the trading price of our outstanding common stock to decline materially or cause our actual results to differ materially from those expected or those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and the risks of our businesses described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K.
Risk Factor Summary
Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows, and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully below and include, but are not limited to, risks related to:
Risks Related to Our Portfolio of Commercial Products
•Our ability to continue to grow the appropriate use of DEFINITY in suboptimal echocardiograms in the face of segment competition from other echocardiography ultrasound enhancing agents and potential generic competition as a result of patent and regulatory exclusivity expirations.
•The instability of the global Mo-99 supply, including periodic supply outages and limitations at the NTP Radioisotopes (“NTP”) processing facility in South Africa and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s (“ANSTO”) processing facility in Australia, in each case resulting in our inability to fill some or all of the demand for our TechneLite generators on certain manufacturing days during the outage or limitation periods.
•Our dependence upon third parties for the manufacture and supply of a substantial portion of our products, raw materials and components, including DEFINITY at JHS and DEFINITY RT at SBL.
•Risks related to RELISTOR, commercialized by Bausch, and that the revenues generated for us thereby may not meet expectations.
•Risks related to the commercialization of AZEDRA, including in connection with market acceptance and reimbursement, that may cause the product not to meet revenue or operating income expectations.
•Risks associated with our DEFINITY RT formulation, approved by the FDA in November 2020, including our ability gain post-approval market acceptance and adequate reimbursement.
Risks Related to Our Portfolio of Clinical Development Candidates
•Risks associated with our lead agent in development, PyL, for which an New Drug Application (“NDA”) was accepted by the FDA and granted priority review with an assigned Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”) action date of May 28, 2021, including:
•Our ability to obtain FDA approval of PyL in 2021;
•Our ability to successfully gain post-approval market acceptance and adequate reimbursement for PyL;
•Our dependence upon third parties for the manufacture and supply of PyL and the timing of that manufacturing capacity becoming available; and
•Our ability to compete successfully with other prostate cancer imaging agents, including those that target prostate specific membrane antigen (“PSMA”).
•Risks associated with flurpiridaz F 18, which in 2017 we out-licensed to GE Healthcare, including:
•GE Healthcare’s ability to successfully complete the Phase 3 development program, including delays in enrollment that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic;
•GE Healthcare’s ability to obtain FDA approval; and
•GE Healthcare’s ability to gain post-approval market acceptance and adequate reimbursement.
•Risks related to the development and commercialization of our AI product offerings, including relating to assessment of disease burden targeting PSMA;
•Risks associated with 1095, including delays in enrollment that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and our ability to successfully complete the Phase 2 study in mCRPC.
Risks related to the Integration of the Progenics Acquisition
•The continued integration of the Progenics Acquisition may involve unexpected costs, liabilities or delays, including the ability of our combined business to continue to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and others with whom we or Progenics do business.
•The anticipated benefits of the Progenics Acquisition may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than we expect.
•The contractual contingent value rights (“CVRs”) we issued as part of the Progenics Acquisition may result in substantial future payments and could divert the attention of our management.
Risks Related to Reimbursement and Regulation
•The dependence of certain of our customers upon third-party healthcare payors and the uncertainty of third-party coverage and reimbursement rates.
•Uncertainties regarding the impact of U.S. and state healthcare reform measures and proposals on our business, including measures and proposals related to reimbursement for our current and potential future products, controls over drug pricing, drug pricing transparency and generic drug competition.
•Our being subject to extensive government regulation and oversight, our ability to comply with those regulations and the costs of compliance.
Risks Related to our Business Operations and Financial Results
•The impact of the on-going global COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition or prospects, including: a decline in the volume of procedures and treatments using our products, in particular Xenon because of institutional concerns and professional society guidelines relating to the possible spread of COVID-19 to technicians and other patients given that Xenon is both inhaled and exhaled by the patient; potential delays and disruptions to global supply chains, manufacturing activities, logistics, operations, clinical development programs, employees and contractors, the business activities of our suppliers, distributors, customers and other business partners; and the effects on worldwide economies, financial markets, social institutions, labor markets and healthcare systems.
•Our ability to introduce new products and adapt to an evolving technology and medical practice landscape.
•Risks associated with our investment in, and construction of, additional specialized manufacturing capabilities at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility, including our ability to bring the new capabilities online in 2021.
Risks Related to our Capital Structure
•Risks related to our outstanding indebtedness and our ability to satisfy those obligations.
•Risks related to the ownership of our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Portfolio of Commercial Products
The near-term growth of our business is substantially dependent on our ability to continue to grow the appropriate use of DEFINITY in suboptimal echocardiograms in the face of increased segment competition from other existing echocardiography agents and potential generic competitors.
The growth of our business is substantially dependent on our ability to continue to grow the appropriate use of DEFINITY in suboptimal echocardiograms. There were approximately 31.5 million echocardiograms in 2020 according to a third-party source. Assuming 20% of echocardiograms produce suboptimal images, as stated in the clinical literature, we estimate that approximately 6.3 million echocardiograms in 2020 produced suboptimal images. We estimate that DEFINITY held over 80% of the U.S. market for ultrasound enhancing agents in echocardiography procedures as of December 31, 2020. DEFINITY currently competes with Optison, a GE Healthcare product, Lumason, a Bracco product (known as SonoVue outside the U.S.), as well as echocardiography without ultrasound enhancing agents and other non-echocardiography agents.
We launched DEFINITY in 2001, and we continue to actively pursue additional patents in connection with DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT, both in the U.S. and internationally. In the U.S. for DEFINITY we now own a total of four Orange Book-listed method of use patents, one of which expired in 2035 and three of which expire in 2037, as well as additional manufacturing patents that are not Orange Book-listed expiring in 2021, 2023 and 2037. In the U.S. for DEFINITY RT, we own a total of five Orange Book-listed patents, including a composition of matter patent which expires in 2035. Outside of the U.S., while our original DEFINITY
patent protection and regulatory exclusivity have generally expired, we are currently prosecuting additional DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT patents to obtain similar patent protection as in the U.S. The Orange Book-listed patents include a patent on the use of VIALMIX RFID which expires in 2037; additional VIALMIX RFID patent applications have been submitted in major markets throughout the world.
Because our Orange Book-listed composition of matter patent expired in June 2019, we may face generic DEFINITY challengers in the near to intermediate term. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, the FDA can approve ANDAs for generic versions of drugs before the expiration of an Orange Book-listed patent covering the innovator product if the ANDA applicant demonstrates, among other things, that (i) its generic candidate is the same as the innovator product by establishing bioequivalence and providing relevant chemistry, manufacturing and product data, and (ii) the marketing of that generic candidate does not infringe an Orange Book-listed patent or that an Orange Book-listed patent is invalid. The ANDA applicant must also give Notice to the innovator, which would then enable the innovator to challenge the ANDA applicant in court within 45 days of receiving such Notice. If the innovator challenges the ANDA applicant in court in a timely manner, then FDA approval to commercialize the generic candidate will be stayed (that is, delayed) for up to 30 months while the dispute between the innovator and the ANDA applicant is resolved in court. The 30 month stay can be shortened if the patent infringement suit is resolved in the ANDA applicant’s favor before the 30 month stay expires, and this may involve a successful challenge of the patent’s validity in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, proceedings and appeals process.
As of the date of filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have not received any such Notice from any ANDA applicant but can give no assurance that we will not receive a Notice in the future. If we were to receive any such Notice in the future, we would review the Notice, evaluate the strength of any potential patent infringement claims, and be prepared to challenge the ANDA applicant in a timely fashion, which would thereby trigger the stay of up to 30 months. We can give no assurance that we would have grounds to file a patent infringement suit, that we would obtain the full 30 month stay, that we would be successful on the merits asserting that a generic candidate infringes our Orange Book-listed patent, or that we would be successful defending the validity of our Orange Book-listed patent in court or in a USPTO adversarial proceeding.
As part of our microbubble franchise strategy, (i) we have developed and received FDA approval for DEFINITY RT, a modified formulation of DEFINITY, (ii) we look for other opportunities to expand our microbubble franchise, including new applications beyond echocardiography and ultrasound enhancing agent imaging generally such as our strategic arrangements with Cerevast, CarThera and Insightec, and (iii) we have completed construction of our specialized in-house manufacturing capabilities at our North Billerica facility for DEFINITY and, potentially, other sterile vial products. However, we can give no assurance that our microbubble franchise strategy will be successful or that a modified formulation, new applications or new manufacturing capabilities will grow our microbubble franchise.
We believe DEFINITY RT will become commercially available later in 2021, although that timing cannot be assured.
If we are not able to continue to (i) grow DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT sales, which depend on one or more of the growth of echocardiograms, the growth in the appropriate use of ultrasound enhancing agents in suboptimal echocardiograms, and our ability to sustain and grow our leading position in the U.S. echocardiography ultrasound enhancing agent market, or (ii) be successful with our microbubble franchise strategy, we may not be able to continue to grow the revenue and cash flow of our business, which could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The global supply of Mo-99 is fragile and not stable. Our dependence on a limited number of third party suppliers for Mo-99 could prevent us from delivering some of our products to our customers in the required quantities, within the required timeframe, or at all, which could result in order cancellations and decreased revenues.
A critical ingredient of TechneLite is Mo-99. We currently purchase finished Mo-99 from three of the four main processing sites in the world, namely IRE in Belgium, NTP in South Africa and ANSTO in Australia. These processing sites provide us Mo-99 from five of the six main Mo-99-producing reactors in the world, namely BR2 in Belgium, LVR-15 in the Czech Republic, HFR in The Netherlands, SAFARI in South Africa and OPAL in Australia.
The NTP processing facility had periodic outages in 2017, 2018 and 2019. When NTP was not producing, we relied on Mo-99 supply from both IRE and ANSTO to limit the impact of the NTP outages. In 2019 and 2020, ANSTO experienced multiple facility issues that resulted in ANSTO outages and volume limitations, during which time we relied on IRE and NTP to limit the impact of those outages and limitations. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced challenges receiving regularly scheduled orders of Mo-99 from our global suppliers, particularly in the second quarter of 2020. We continue to manage these various supply chain challenges, but depending on reactor and processor schedules and operations, at times we have not been able to fill some or all of the demand for our TechneLite generators on certain manufacturing days. A prolonged disruption of service from one of our three Mo-99 processing sites or one of their main Mo-99-producing reactors could have a substantial negative effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We are also pursuing additional sources of Mo-99 from potential new producers to further augment our current supply. In November 2014, we entered into a strategic arrangement with SHINE for the future supply of Mo-99. Under the terms of the supply agreement, SHINE will provide Mo-99 produced using its proprietary LEU-solution technology for use in our TechneLite generators once SHINE’s facility becomes operational and receives all necessary regulatory approvals, which SHINE now estimates will occur in 2022. However, we cannot assure you that SHINE or any other possible additional sources of Mo-99 will result in commercial quantities of Mo-99 for our business, or that these new suppliers together with our current suppliers will be able to deliver a sufficient quantity of Mo-99 to meet our needs.
U.S., Canadian and international governments have encouraged the development of a number of alternative Mo-99 production projects with existing reactors and technologies as well as new technologies. However, we cannot say when, or if, the Mo-99 produced from these projects will become available. As a result, there is a limited amount of Mo-99 available which could limit the quantity of TechneLite that we could manufacture, sell and distribute, resulting in a further substantial negative effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Most of the global suppliers of Mo-99 rely on Framatone-CERCA in France to fabricate uranium targets and in some cases fuel for research reactors from which Mo-99 is produced. Absent a new supplier, a supply disruption relating to uranium targets or fuel could have a substantial negative effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
The instability of the global supply of Mo-99, including supply shortages, has resulted in increases in the cost of Mo-99, which has negatively affected our margins, and more restrictive agreements with suppliers, which could further increase our costs.
With the general instability in the global supply of Mo-99, we have faced substantial increases in the cost of Mo-99 in comparison to historical costs. We expect these cost increases to continue in the future as the Mo-99 suppliers move closer to a full cost recovery business model. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) defines full cost recovery as the identification of all of the costs of production and recovering these costs from the market. While we are generally able to pass Mo-99 cost increases on to our customers in our customer contracts, if we are not able to do so in the future, our margins may decline further with respect to our TechneLite generators, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our dependence upon third parties for the manufacture and supply of a substantial portion of our products could prevent us from delivering our products to our customers in the required quantities, within the required timeframes, or at all, which could result in order cancellations and decreased revenues.
We obtain a substantial portion of our products from third party manufacturers and suppliers. We rely on JHS as our sole source manufacturer of DEFINITY, NEUROLITE, Cardiolite and evacuation vials. We rely on SBL as our sole source manufacturer of DEFINITY RT.
Based on our current estimates, we believe that we will have sufficient supply of DEFINITY, NEUROLITE, Cardiolite and evacuation vials from JHS, and sufficient supply of saline from our sole manufacturer, to meet expected demand. However, we can give no assurances that JHS or our other manufacturing partner will be able to manufacture and distribute our products in a high quality and timely manner and in sufficient quantities to allow us to avoid product stock-outs and shortfalls. Currently, regulatory authorities in certain countries have not yet approved JHS as a manufacturer of certain of our products. Accordingly, until those regulatory approvals have been obtained, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows will continue to be adversely affected.
Xenon is captured as a by-product of the Mo-99 production process. We receive bulk unprocessed Xenon from IRE resulting from HEU Mo-99 production, which we process and finish for our customers. We do not yet receive Xenon resulting from LEU Mo-99 production at IRE and can give no assurances as to the timing of the availability of LEU Xenon. We believe we will have a sufficient supply of Xenon to meet our customers’ needs. However, until IRE converts to LEU Xenon production or we can qualify an additional source of bulk unprocessed Xenon, we will rely on IRE as a sole source provider of HEU Xenon.
1095 is currently manufactured only at the CPDC. Until December 2019, the CPDC was subject to an Import Alert by the FDA, which restricted the CPDC’s ability to ship products to the U.S. Although the CPDC has since been cleared by the FDA to ship products to the U.S., there can be no guarantee that the CPDC, or any other third-party manufacturer that we may partner with in the future, will not be subject to similar restrictions in the future.
In addition to the products described above, for reasons of quality assurance or cost-effectiveness, we purchase certain components and raw materials from sole suppliers (including, for example, the lead casing for our TechneLite generators and the lipid blend material used in the processing of DEFINITY). Because we do not control the actual production of many of the products we sell and many of the raw materials and components that make up the products we sell, we may be subject to delays caused by interruption in production based on events and conditions outside of our control. At our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility, we manufacture TechneLite on a highly automated production line, as well as Thallium and Gallium using our older cyclotron technology and Xenon and QUADRAMET using our hot cell infrastructure. As with all manufacturing facilities, equipment and infrastructure age and become subject to increasing maintenance and repair. If we or one of our manufacturing partners experiences an event, including a labor dispute, natural disaster, fire, power outage, machinery breakdown, security problem, failure to meet regulatory requirements, product quality issue, technology transfer issue or other issue, we may be unable to manufacture the relevant products at previous levels or on the forecasted schedule, if at all. Due to the stringent regulations and requirements of the governing regulatory authorities regarding the manufacture of our products, we may not be able to quickly restart manufacturing at a third party or our own facility or establish additional or replacement sources for certain products, components or materials.
In addition to our existing manufacturing relationships, we are also pursuing new manufacturing relationships to establish and secure additional or alternative suppliers for our commercial products. We have also completed construction of our specialized in-house manufacturing capabilities at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility. This project should not only deliver efficiencies and supply chain redundancy for our current portfolio but also should afford us increased flexibility as we consider external opportunities. However, we cannot assure you that these activities or any of our additional supply activities will be successful or that we will be able to avoid or mitigate interim supply shortages before new sources of product are fully functional and qualified. In addition, we cannot assure you that our existing manufacturers or suppliers or any new manufacturers or suppliers can adequately maintain either their financial health, technical capabilities or regulatory compliance to allow continued production and supply. A reduction or interruption in manufacturing, or an inability to secure alternative sources of raw materials or components, could eventually have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We rely on Bausch to develop and commercialize RELISTOR, exposing us to significant risks.
We rely on Bausch to pursue and complete further development and obtain regulatory approvals for RELISTOR worldwide and to effectively commercialize the product and manage pricing, sales and marketing practices and inventory levels in the distribution channel. The revenue derived from royalty and milestone payments from our RELISTOR collaboration with Bausch can fluctuate significantly from period to period, and our past revenue is therefore not necessarily indicative of our future revenue. We are and will be dependent upon Bausch and any other business partners with which we may collaborate in the future to perform and fund development, including clinical testing of RELISTOR, making related regulatory filings and manufacturing and marketing products, including for new indications and in new formulations, in their respective territories. Revenue from the sale of RELISTOR depends entirely upon the efforts of Bausch and its sublicensees, which have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources they apply to sales of RELISTOR. Bausch may not be effective in obtaining approvals for new indications or formulations, marketing existing or future products or arranging for necessary sublicense or distribution relationships. Our business relationships with Bausch and other partners may not be scientifically, clinically or commercially successful. For example, Bausch has a variety of marketed products and its own corporate objectives, which may not be consistent with our best interests, and may change its strategic focus or pursue alternative technologies in a manner that results in reduced or delayed revenue to us. Bausch may also have commercial and financial interests that are not fully aligned with ours in a given territory or territories, which may make it more difficult for us to fully realize the value of RELISTOR. We may have future disagreements with Bausch, which has significantly greater financial and managerial resources which it could draw upon in the event of a dispute. Such disagreements could lead to lengthy and expensive litigation or other dispute-resolution proceedings as well as extensive financial and operational consequences to us and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, independent actions may be taken by Bausch concerning product development, marketing strategies, manufacturing and supply issues, and rights relating to intellectual property.
We are also dependent on Bausch for compliance with regulatory requirements as they apply to RELISTOR.
The RELISTOR commercialization program continues to be subject to risk.
Future developments in the commercialization of RELISTOR may result in Bausch taking independent actions concerning product development, marketing strategies or other matters, including termination of its efforts to develop and commercialize the drug.
Under our license agreement with Bausch, Bausch is responsible for obtaining supplies of RELISTOR, including contracting with contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) for supply of RELISTOR active pharmaceutical ingredient and subcutaneous and oral finished drug product. These arrangements may not be on terms that are advantageous and will subject us to risks that the counterparties may not perform optimally in terms of quality or reliability.
Bausch’s ability to optimally commercialize either oral or subcutaneous RELISTOR in a given jurisdiction may be impacted by applicable labeling and other regulatory requirements. If clinical trials indicate, or regulatory bodies are concerned about, actual or
possible serious problems with the safety or efficacy of RELISTOR, Bausch may stop or significantly slow further development or commercialization of RELISTOR. In such an event, we could be faced with either further developing and commercializing the drug on our own or with one or more substitute collaborators, either of which paths would subject us to the development, commercialization, collaboration and/or financing risks.
There has been growing public concern regarding the use of opioid drugs. Any efforts by the FDA or other governmental authorities to restrict or limit the use of opioids may negatively impact the market for RELISTOR. In addition, there is a substantial risk that the revenue targets for receiving additional RELISTOR milestone payments will not be met. As a result, there is no assurance that we will realize the potential revenue represented by future RELISTOR milestone payments.
Any such significant action adverse to the further development and commercialization of RELISTOR could have an adverse impact on our business.
Our AZEDRA commercialization program is subject to significant risk.
Progenics received FDA approval for AZEDRA in July 2018. Since then, the AZEDRA commercial program has faced numerous challenges, including, among other things:
•limited success in manufacturing patient-ready doses of AZEDRA;
•a small Orphan Drug patient population;
•reluctance by some potential hospital customers to invest in the necessary facility build-out to accommodate the administration of a highly radioactive therapeutic agent (including, among other things, the construction of lead-lined rooms to accommodate inpatients following AZEDRA’s administration); and
•the high cost of the drug and reimbursement.
Because of these issues, we can give no assurance that AZEDRA will become a commercial success. After increased experience administering AZEDRA, clinicians may conclude that the complexity of administration and/or safety concerns with using a highly radioactive therapeutic agent may not justify AZEDRA’s perceived clinical benefits. AZEDRA became eligible for new technology add-on payments (NTAP) under the Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) effective October 1, 2019. As required by statute, NTAP eligibility under the IPPS can continue for a period of at least two years, but not more than three years. Under the fiscal year 2021 IPPS Final Rule, published in September 2020, CMS finalized continuation of AZEDRA’s NTAP for fiscal year 2021—i.e., from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. Although there is potential for AZEDRA to receive an additional year of NTAP coverage, CMS may not decide to renew NTAP coverage for the period of October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. If post-pass-through payment levels impact market acceptance for AZEDRA, the drug may not generate enough revenue to make it economically viable. In addition, the market may react negatively to the high cost of AZEDRA, which could result in negative publicity and potentially reputational harm to us. Further, to the extent new Federal restrictions relating to drug pricing are implemented and apply to AZEDRA, the additional pricing pressure could further limit AZEDRA’s economic viability.
If AZEDRA is determined to be challenging to administer, not economically viable or we are unable to successfully commercialize it, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We may not be able to maintain Orphan Drug exclusivity for AZEDRA and, even if we do, that exclusivity may not prevent the FDA, from approving competing products.
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product as an Orphan Drug if it is a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually 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. AZEDRA currently has the Orphan Drug designation in the United States.
In the United States, Orphan Drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers. In addition, if a product that has Orphan Drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to Orphan Drug exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application to market the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority over the product with orphan exclusivity or where the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient product quantity.
We may not be able to maintain Orphan Drug exclusivity for AZEDRA. In addition, exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be limited if we seek approval for an indication broader than the orphan-designated indication or may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if we are unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. Even after an Orphan Drug is approved, the FDA can
subsequently approve the same drug with the same active moiety for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later drug is safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care. A loss of the Orphan Drug exclusivity for AZEDRA may have an adverse impact on our ability to adequately commercialize AZEDRA.
Our just-in-time manufacturing of radiopharmaceutical products relies on the timely receipt of radioactive raw materials and the timely shipment of finished goods, and any disruption of our supply or distribution networks could have a negative effect on our business.
Because a number of our radiopharmaceutical products, including our TechneLite generators and AZEDRA, rely on radioisotopes with limited half-lives, we must manufacture, finish and distribute these products on a just-in-time basis, because the underlying radioisotope is in a constant state of radio decay. For example, if we receive Mo-99 in the morning of a manufacturing day for TechneLite generators, then we will generally ship finished generators to customers by the end of that same business day. Shipment of generators may be by next day delivery services or by either ground or air custom logistics. Any delay in us receiving radioisotopes from suppliers or being able to have finished products delivered to customers because of weather or other unforeseen transportation issues could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
In the U.S., we are heavily dependent on a few large customers to generate a majority of our revenues for our nuclear medical imaging products. Outside of the U.S., we rely primarily on distributors to generate a substantial portion of our revenue.
In the U.S., we have historically relied on a limited number of radiopharmacy customers, primarily Cardinal, RLS, UPPI, Jubilant Radiopharma and PharmaLogic, to distribute our current largest volume nuclear imaging products. Among the existing radiopharmacies in the U.S., continued consolidations, divestitures and reorganizations may have a negative effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. We generally have distribution arrangements with our major radiopharmacy customers pursuant to multi-year contracts, each of which is subject to renewal. If these contracts are terminated prior to expiration of their term, or are not renewed, or are renewed on terms that are less favorable to us, then such an event could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
For all of our medical imaging products, we continue to experience significant pricing pressures from our competitors, large customers and group purchasing organizations, and any significant, additional pricing pressures could lead to a reduction in revenue which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Outside of the U.S. and Canada, we have no sales force and, consequently, rely on third-party distributors, either on a country-by-country basis or on a multi-country, regional basis, to market, sell and distribute our products. In Canada, we maintain our own direct sales force to sell DEFINITY. In certain circumstances, distributors may also sell competing products to our own or products for competing diagnostic modalities and may have incentives to shift sales towards those competing products. As a result, we cannot assure you that our international distributors will increase or maintain current levels of unit sales or that we will be able to increase or maintain our current unit pricing, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We face significant competition in our business and may not be able to compete effectively.
The markets for our products are highly competitive and continually evolving. Our principal competitors for our current commercial products and leading clinical development candidates include large, global companies that are more diversified than we are and that have substantial financial, manufacturing, sales and marketing, distribution and other resources:
•For DEFINITY, our competitors currently include GE Healthcare and Bracco.
•For a number of our radiopharmaceutical commercial products, our competitors currently include Curium, GE Healthcare, Bracco and Jubilant Life Sciences, an affiliate of JHS and Jubilant Radiopharma, as well as other competitors, including NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes.
•For PyL, if and when approved by the FDA, we will compete with Bracco’s Axumin (fluciclovine F 18). We also may face competition from Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited, which also has a PSMA-targeted prostate cancer PET diagnostic imaging agent currently under review with the FDA.
•For RELISTOR, our principal competitors include Nektar Therapeutics, in collaboration with AstraZeneca PLC; Cubist Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.; Mallinckrodt plc, in collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; and BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.; together with other prescription, as well as over-the-counter, laxatives used as first line therapy for OIC.
•For AZEDRA, there are currently no approved anticancer treatments in the U.S. for malignant, recurrent, and/or unresectable pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.
•For 1095, our principal competitors in the field of radiopharmaceutical therapeutics for mCRPC may include Novartis AG; Point Biopharma; Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited; and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., each of which have product candidates in development.
We cannot anticipate the actions of our current or future competitors in the same or competing diagnostic modalities, such as significant price reductions on products that are comparable to our own, development of new products that are more cost-effective or have superior performance than our current products or the introduction of generic versions after our proprietary products lose their patent protection. In addition, distributors of our products could attempt to shift end-users to competing diagnostic modalities and products, or bundle the sale of a portfolio of products, in either case to the detriment of our specific products. Our current or future products could be rendered obsolete or uneconomical as a result of these activities.
Further, the radiopharmaceutical industry continues to evolve strategically, with several market participants either recently sold or for sale. In addition, the supply-demand dynamics of the industry are complex because of large market positions of some participants, legacy businesses, government subsidies (in particular, relating to the manufacture of radioisotopes), and group purchasing arrangements. We cannot predict what impact new owners and new operators may have on the strategic decision-making of our competitors, customers and suppliers, and such decision-making could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Ultrasound enhancing agents may cause side effects which could limit our ability to sell DEFINITY.
DEFINITY is an ultrasound enhancing agent based on perflutren lipid microspheres. In 2007, the FDA received reports of deaths and serious cardiopulmonary reactions following the administration of ultrasound micro-bubble enhancing agents used in echocardiography. Four of the 11 reported deaths were caused by cardiac arrest occurring either during or within 30 minutes following the administration of the ultrasound enhancing agent; most of the serious but non-fatal reactions also occurred in this time frame. As a result, in October 2007, the FDA requested that we and GE Healthcare, which distributes Optison, a competitor to DEFINITY, add a boxed warning to these products emphasizing the risk for serious cardiopulmonary reactions and that the use of these products was contraindicated in certain patients. In a strong reaction by the cardiology community to the FDA’s new position, a letter was sent to the FDA, signed by 161 doctors, stating that the benefit of these ultrasound enhancing agents outweighed the risks and urging that the boxed warning be removed. In May 2008, the FDA substantially modified the boxed warning. On May 2, 2011, the FDA held an advisory committee meeting to consider the status of ultrasound micro-bubble contrast agents and the boxed warning. In October 2011, we received FDA approval of further modifications to the DEFINITY label, including: further relaxing the boxed warning; eliminating the sentence in the Indication and Use section “The safety and efficacy of DEFINITY with exercise stress or pharmacologic stress testing have not been established” (previously added in October 2007 in connection with the imposition of the box warning); and including summary data from the post-approval CaRES (Contrast echocardiography Registry for Safety Surveillance) safety registry and the post-approval pulmonary hypertension study. Further, in January 2017, the FDA approved an additional modification to the DEFINITY label, removing the contraindication statement related to use in patients with a known or suspected cardiac shunt. Bracco’s ultrasound enhancing agent, Lumason, has substantially similar safety labeling as DEFINITY and Optison. If additional safety issues arise (not only with DEFINITY but also potentially with Optison and Lumason), this may result in unfavorable changes in labeling or result in restrictions on the approval of our product, including removal of the product from the market. Lingering safety concerns about DEFINITY among some healthcare providers or future unanticipated side effects or safety concerns associated with DEFINITY could limit expanded use of DEFINITY and have a material adverse effect on the unit sales of this product and our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to our Portfolio of Clinical Development Candidates
The process of developing new drugs and obtaining regulatory approval is complex, time-consuming and costly, and the outcome is not certain.
We currently have two active clinical development programs in the U.S. – PyL and 1095. We also have a number of strategic partnerships relating to obtaining additional indications for existing commercial products or regulatory approval for clinical development candidates. To obtain regulatory approval for these agents in the indications being pursued, we must conduct extensive human tests, which are referred to as clinical trials, as well as meet other rigorous regulatory requirements, as further described in Part I, Item 1. “Business—Regulatory Matters.” Satisfaction of all regulatory requirements typically takes many years and requires the expenditure of substantial resources. A number of other factors may cause significant delays in the completion of our clinical trials, including unexpected delays in the initiation of clinical sites, slower than projected enrollment, competition with ongoing clinical trials and scheduling conflicts with participating clinicians, regulatory requirements, limits on manufacturing capacity and failure of an agent to meet required standards for administration to humans. In addition, it may take longer than we project to achieve study endpoints and complete data analysis for a clinical trial or we may decide to slow down the enrollment in a trial in order to conserve financial resources.
Our agents in development are also subject to the risks of failure inherent in drug development and testing. The results of preliminary studies do not necessarily predict clinical success, and larger and later stage clinical trials may not produce the same results as earlier stage trials. Sometimes, agents that have shown promising results in early clinical trials have subsequently suffered significant setbacks in later clinical trials. Agents in later stage clinical trials may fail to show desired safety and efficacy traits, despite having progressed through initial clinical testing. In addition, the data collected from clinical trials of our agents in development may not be sufficient to support regulatory approval, or regulators could interpret the data differently and less favorably than we do. Further, the design of a clinical trial can determine whether its results will support approval of a product, and flaws in the design of a clinical trial may not become apparent until the clinical trial is well advanced. Clinical trials of potential products often reveal that it is not practical or feasible to continue development efforts. Regulatory authorities may require us or our partners to conduct additional clinical testing, in which case we would have to expend additional time and resources. The approval process may also be delayed by changes in government regulation, future legislation or administrative action or changes in regulatory policy that occur prior to or during regulatory review. The failure to provide clinical and preclinical data that are adequate to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the regulatory authorities that our agents in development are safe and effective for their proposed use will delay or preclude approval and will prevent us from marketing those products.
We are not permitted to market our agents in development in the U.S. or other countries until we have received requisite regulatory approvals. For example, securing FDA approval for a new drug requires the submission of an NDA to the FDA for our agents in development. The NDA must include extensive nonclinical and clinical data and supporting information to establish the agent’s safety and effectiveness for each indication. The NDA must also include significant information regarding the chemistry, manufacturing and controls for the product. The FDA review process can take many years to complete, and approval is never guaranteed. If a product is approved, the FDA may limit the indications for which the product may be marketed, require extensive warnings on the product labeling, impose restricted distribution programs, require expedited reporting of certain adverse events, or require costly ongoing requirements for post-marketing clinical studies and surveillance or other risk management measures to monitor the safety or efficacy of the agent. Markets outside of the U.S. also have requirements for approval of agents with which we must comply prior to marketing. Obtaining regulatory approval for marketing of an agent in one country does not ensure we will be able to obtain regulatory approval in other countries, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in other countries. Also, any regulatory approval of any of our products or agents in development, once obtained, may be withdrawn. Approvals might not be granted on a timely basis, if at all.
Our lead agent in development, PyL, faces risks relating to regulatory approval.
Our lead agent in development is PyLTM (18F-DCFPyL), our PSMA-targeted PET imaging agent for prostate cancer. We filed an NDA for PyL in September 2020. The NDA was accepted by the FDA in December 2020, granted priority review, and assigned a PDUFA action date of May 28, 2021. The PyL NDA is supported by data from two pivotal studies (OSPREY and CONDOR), designed to establish the safety and diagnostic performance of PyL imaging across the disease continuum of prostate cancer. Results from OSPREY Cohort A demonstrated improvement in specificity and positive predictive value of PyL PET imaging over conventional imaging in men with high risk prostate cancer but did not meet one of the study’s primary endpoints for sensitivity. OSPREY Cohort B and CONDOR studied men with prostate cancer in various disease states, including biochemical recurrent prostate cancer, hormone sensitive prostate cancer, non-metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer, and metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer. OSPREY Cohort B demonstrated sensitivity in detecting metastatic lesions, while CONDOR, in patients with biochemical recurrent prostate cancer and non-informative baseline findings, demonstrated a high correct localization rate and high detection rate, including patients with low PSA values. In the CONDOR study, 63.9% of patients had a change in intended disease management plans due to the PyL imaging results. While we believe the results from these two studies, taken as a whole, demonstrate the ability of PyL to reliably detect and localize disease and could enable more appropriate patient management, if the FDA determines that these study results are not sufficient or convincing, we may not be able to obtain FDA approval to commercialize PyL in the U.S. in 2021 and may have to perform additional clinical studies with PyL. If that were to result, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We can give no assurance that GE Healthcare will be successful with the further clinical development of flurpiridaz F 18.
In May 2015, we announced complete results from the first of two planned Phase 3 clinical trials for flurpiridaz F 18. Although the development candidate appeared to be well-tolerated from a safety perspective and outperformed SPECT in a highly statistically significant manner in the co-primary endpoint of sensitivity and in the secondary endpoints of image quality and diagnostic certainty, flurpiridaz F 18 did not meet its other co-primary endpoint of non-inferiority for identifying subjects without disease. In April 2017, we entered into the License Agreement with GE Healthcare for the continued Phase 3 development and worldwide commercialization of flurpiridaz F 18. Under the License Agreement, GE Healthcare will, among other things, complete the worldwide development of flurpiridaz F 18 by conducting a second Phase 3 trial and pursue worldwide regulatory approvals. We cannot assure any particular outcome from GE Healthcare’s continued Phase 3 development of the agent or from regulatory review of either our or their Phase 3 study of the agent, that any of the data generated in either our or their sponsored Phase 3 study will be sufficient to support an NDA approval, that GE Healthcare will only have to conduct the one additional Phase 3 clinical study prior to filing an NDA, or that flurpiridaz F 18 will ever be approved as a PET MPI imaging agent by the FDA. Any failure or significant delay in completing clinical
trials for our product candidates or in receiving regulatory approval for the sale of our product candidates may harm our business and delay or prevent us from being able to generate additional future revenue from product sales.
Even if clinical development candidates receive regulatory approval, we can give no assurance that they can be successfully commercialized.
Even if our clinical development candidates proceed through their clinical trials and ultimately receive regulatory approval, there is no guarantee that an approved product can be manufactured in commercial quantities at a reasonable cost or that such a product will be successfully marketed or distributed. The manufacturing, marketing and distribution of radiopharmaceuticals is complex. Rather than being manufactured at our own facilities, both PyL and flurpiridaz F 18 will require the creation of a field-based network of specialized PET manufacturing facilities, or PMFs, with radioisotope-producing cyclotrons. The radioisotope used in both PyL and flurpiridaz F 18 is fluorine-18, or F 18, which has a 110 minute half-life, requiring that these products be manufactured and distributed rapidly to end-users. After being made on a cyclotron at a PMF, the F 18 is then combined with certain chemical ingredients in specially designed chemistry synthesis boxes to manufacture either PyL or flurpiridaz F 18. PyL or flurpiridaz F 18 is next transferred to a radiopharmacist who prepares and dispenses patient-specific doses from the final product. Because each of the PMFs manufacturing these products will be deemed by the FDA to be a separate manufacturing site, each will have to be approved by the FDA, and we can give no assurance that the FDA will do this in accordance with the planned roll-out schedule for the products. In our PyL NDA, we included a limited number of PMFs for approval, and we intend to add in a sequenced manner, using FDA site approval processes, additional PMFs to our manufacturing network in the months following FDA product approval with the goal of having broad availability for the U.S. population within six months of product approval. If we are delayed in our PyL commercial launch by FDA approval of our manufacturing sites or other challenges, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.
In addition, in the case of both PyL and flurpiridaz F 18, obtaining adequate reimbursement will be critical, including not only coverage from Medicare, Medicaid, other government payors as well as private payors but also appropriate payment levels which adequately cover the substantially higher manufacturing and distribution costs associated with an F 18-based agent in comparison to a Tc-99m-based agent. We can give no assurance, even if PyL and flurpiridaz F 18 obtain regulatory approval, that adequate reimbursement can be secured to allow the approved agents to become successfully commercialized.
We have been and expect to continue to be dependent on partners for the development of certain product candidates, which expose us to the risk of reliance on these partners.
In connection with our on-going development activities, we currently depend, and expect to continue to depend, on numerous collaborators. For example, in addition to our collaboration with GE Healthcare on flurpiridaz F 18, we have collaborations with Bayer to develop and commercialize products using our PSMA antibody technology, with Curium for the development and commercialization of PyL in Europe, and with ROTOP for the development and commercialization of 1404 in Europe. In addition, certain clinical trials for our product candidates may be conducted by government-sponsored agencies, and consequently will be dependent on governmental participation and funding. These arrangements expose us to the same considerations we face when contracting with third parties for our own trials.
If any of our collaborators breach or terminate its agreement with us or otherwise fail to conduct successfully and in a timely manner the collaborative activities for which they are responsible, the preclinical or clinical development or commercialization of the affected product candidate or research program could be delayed or terminated. We generally do not control the amount and timing of resources that our collaborators devote to our programs or product candidates. We also do not know whether current or future collaboration partners, if any, might pursue alternative technologies or develop alternative products either on their own or in collaboration with others, including our competitors, as a means for developing treatments for the diseases or conditions targeted by our collaborative arrangements. Our collaborators are also subject to similar development, regulatory, manufacturing, cyber-security and competitive risks as us, which may further impede their ability to successfully perform the collaborative activities for which they are responsible. Setbacks of these types to our collaborators could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We depend on licenses from third parties for our rights to develop and commercialize certain product candidates. If we fail to achieve milestone requirements or to satisfy other conditions, we may lose those rights under those license agreements, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Many of our products or product candidates incorporate rights licensed by third parties -- for example, we license patent rights on RELISTOR from Wyeth LLC and on PyL from JHU. We could lose the rights to develop or commercialize these products and product candidates if the related license agreement is terminated due to a breach by us or otherwise. In addition, we are required to make substantial cash payments, achieve milestones and satisfy other conditions, including filing for and obtaining marketing approvals and introducing products, to maintain rights under our license agreements. Due to the nature of these agreements and the uncertainties of development, we may not be able to achieve milestones or satisfy conditions to which we have contractually
committed, and as a result may be unable to maintain our rights under these licenses. If we do not comply with our license agreements, the licensors may terminate them, which could result in our losing our rights to, and therefore being unable to commercialize, related products.
Risks Related to the Integration of the Progenics Acquisition
We may not be able to successfully integrate the Progenics business into our business and realize the anticipated benefits of the Progenics Acquisition.
The ultimate success of the Progenics Acquisition will depend on our ability to successfully combine the business of Progenics with our own and realize the anticipated benefits, including synergies, cost savings, innovation and operational efficiencies and revenue growth from the combination. If we are unable to achieve these objectives within the anticipated time frame, or at all, the anticipated benefits may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected, and the value of our common stock may suffer.
The Progenics Acquisition involves the continued integration of Progenics’ business into our existing business, which has been a complex, costly and time-consuming process. The on-going integration may result in material challenges, including, without limitation:
•The diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business concerns and performance shortfalls at one or both of the companies;
•Managing a larger combined company;
•Maintaining employee morale and attracting, motivating and retaining management personnel and other key employees;
•Unanticipated risks to our integration plan including in connection with timing, talent, and the potential need for additional resources;
•New or previously unidentified manufacturing, regulatory, or research and development issues in the Progenics business;
•Retaining existing business and operational relationships and attracting new business and operational relationships;
•Unanticipated changes in federal or state laws or regulations; and
•Unforeseen expenses or delays associated with the Progenics Acquisition.
Many of these factors are outside of our control and any one of them could result in delays, increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenues and diversion of management’s time and energy, which could materially affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our future results may be adversely impacted if we do not effectively manage our expanded operations following the completion of the Progenics Acquisition.
Our combined business is now significantly larger and more complex than our business was immediately prior to the consummation of the Progenics Acquisition. Our ability to successfully manage this combined business will depend upon our ability to continue to integrate the two separate businesses and manage the combined business with its increased scale and scope, and increased costs and complexity. We may not be successful or may not realize the expected operating efficiencies, cost savings and other benefits previously disclosed.
The CVRs we issued as part of the Progenics Acquisition may result in substantial future payments and could divert the attention of our management.
As part of the consideration for the Progenics Acquisition, we issued CVRs to the stockholders of Progenics and holders of in-the-money Progenics equity awards entitling them to future cash payments of 40% of PyL net sales over $100.0 million in 2022 and over $150.0 million in 2023. These payments could be substantial and could adversely impact our liquidity. In addition, we are obligated to exercise a level of effort, expertise and resources consistent with those normally used in a medical diagnostics business similar to our size and resources with respect to developing, seeking regulatory approval for and commercializing a product of similar market potential at a similar stage in its development or product life to PyL. We are also required to produce net sales statements for PyL that may be reviewed and challenged by CVR holders, with any disagreement to be resolved by an independent accountant. These requirements could divert management time and resources and result in additional costs.
The financial analyses and forecasts considered by us and Progenics and their respective financial advisors in connection with the Progenics Acquisition may not be realized, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock in the future.
In performing their financial analyses and rendering their opinions related to the Progenics Acquisition, each of the respective financial advisors to us and Progenics relied on, among other things, internal stand-alone financial analyses and forecasts as separately provided by us and Progenics. These analyses and forecasts were prepared by, or as directed by, our management or the management of Progenics, as applicable. None of these analyses or forecasts were prepared with a view towards public disclosure or compliance with the published guidelines of the SEC or U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These projections are inherently based on various estimates and assumptions that are subject to the judgment of those preparing them. These projections are also subject to significant economic, competitive, industry and other uncertainties and contingencies, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict and many of which are beyond our control and the control of Progenics. We can give no assurance that our current or future financial condition or results of operations will be consistent with what was set forth in such analyses and forecasts, which could have an adverse impact on the market price of our common stock or our current or future financial position.
We expect to continue to incur substantial expenses related to the integration of the Progenics business with our business.
We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, substantial expenses in connection with the integration of the Progenics business with our own. There are a large number of processes, policies, procedures, operations, technologies and systems that have been, or must be, integrated, including purchasing, accounting and finance, sales, payroll, pricing, revenue management, marketing and benefits. The substantial majority of these costs have been, and will continue to be, non-recurring expenses related to the Progenics Acquisition, facilities and systems consolidation costs. We may also incur additional costs to maintain employee morale and to attract, motivate or retain management personnel or key employees.
Risks Related to Reimbursement and Regulation
Many of our customers are highly dependent on payments from third party payors, including government sponsored programs, particularly Medicare, in the U.S. and other countries in which we operate, and reductions in third party coverage and reimbursement rates for our products (or services provided with our products) could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
A substantial portion of our revenue depends on the extent to which the costs of our products purchased by our customers (or services provided with our products) are reimbursed by third party payors, including Medicare, Medicaid, other U.S. government sponsored programs, non-U.S. governmental payors and private payors. These third party payors exercise significant control over patient access and increasingly use their enhanced bargaining power to secure discounted rates and impose other requirements that may reduce demand for our products. Our potential customers’ ability to obtain adequate reimbursement for products and services from these third party payors affects the selection of products they purchase and the prices they are willing to pay. For example, certain radiopharmaceuticals, when used for non-invasive imaging of the perfusion of the heart for the diagnosis and management of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease, are currently subject to a Medicare National Coverage Determination (“NCD”). The NCD permits the coverage of such radiopharmaceuticals only when certain criteria are met. Our partnered PET pipeline product flurpiridaz F 18, if approved, may become subject to this NCD, and may not be covered at all. If Medicare and other third party payors do not provide adequate reimbursement for the costs of our products (or services provided using our products), deny the coverage of the products (or those services), or reduce current levels of reimbursement, healthcare professionals may not prescribe our products and providers and suppliers may not purchase our products.
In addition, demand for new products may be limited unless we obtain favorable reimbursement (including coverage, coding and payment) from governmental and private third party payors at the time of the product’s introduction, which will depend, in part, on our ability to demonstrate that a new agent has a positive impact on clinical outcomes. Third party payors continually review their coverage policies for existing and new products and procedures and can deny coverage for procedures that include the use of our products or revise payment policies such that payments do not adequately cover the cost of our products. Even if third party payors make coverage and reimbursement available, that reimbursement may not be adequate or these payors’ reimbursement policies may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Over the past several years, Medicare has implemented numerous changes to payment policies for imaging procedures in both the hospital setting and non-hospital settings (which include physician offices and freestanding imaging facilities). Some of these changes have had a negative impact on utilization of imaging services. Examples of these changes include:
•Limiting payments for imaging services in physician offices and free-standing imaging facility settings based upon rates paid to hospital outpatient departments;
•Reducing payments for certain imaging procedures when performed together with other imaging procedures in the same family of procedures on the same patient on the same day in the physician office and free-standing imaging facility setting;
•Making significant revisions to the methodology for determining the practice expense component of the Medicare payment applicable to the physician office and free-standing imaging facility settings which results in a reduction in payment;
•Revising payment policies and reducing payment amounts for imaging procedures performed in the hospital outpatient settings; and
•Reducing prospective payment levels for applicable diagnosis-related groups in the hospital inpatient setting.
In the physician office and free-standing imaging facility setting, services provided using our products are reimbursed under the Medicare physician fee schedule. Payment rates under the Medicare physician fee schedule are regularly subject to updates to effectuate various policy goals. For example, since 2019, fee schedule payments have been adjusted for certain physicians based on their performance under a consolidated measurement system (that measures performance with respect to quality, resource utilization, meaningful use of certified electronic health records technology, and clinical practice improvement activities). From 2019 through payment year 2024, physicians may be eligible for a bonus based on the use of certain alternative payment models designated as “advanced” by CMS. The ongoing and future impact of these changes cannot be determined at this time. Medicare physician schedule payment rates may also be impacted by other Congressional policy priorities (e.g., annual updates ranging from 0% to 0.75% under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, and a 3.75% increase in CY 2021 (intended to offset a portion of the widespread reductions in the Relative Value Units (RVUs) underlying rate calculations)
We believe that Medicare changes to payment policies for imaging procedures applicable to non-hospital settings will continue to result in certain physician practices ceasing to provide these services and a further shifting of where certain medical imaging procedures are performed, from the physician office and free-standing imaging facility settings to the hospital outpatient setting. Changes applicable to Medicare payment in the hospital outpatient setting could also influence the decisions by hospital outpatient physicians to perform procedures that involve our products. Within the hospital outpatient setting, CMS payment policy is such that the use of many of our products are not separately payable by Medicare, although certain new drug products are eligible for separate (incremental) payment for the first three years after approval. Since 2013, although Medicare generally does not provide separate payment to hospitals for the use of diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals administered in an outpatient setting, CMS has had a policy to make a nominal additional payment ($10) to hospitals that utilize products with non-HEU, meaning the product is 95% derived from non-HEU sources. This payment policy continues in 2021. Although some of our TechneLite generators are manufactured using non-HEU, not all of our TechneLite generators currently meet CMS’s definition of non-HEU, and therefore this payment is not available for doses produced by the latter category of TechneLite generators used by our customers. Changes to the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system payment rates, including reductions implemented for certain hospital outpatient sites, could influence the decisions by hospital outpatient physicians to perform procedures that involve our products.
We also believe that all these changes and their resulting pressures may incrementally reduce the overall number of diagnostic medical imaging procedures performed. These changes overall could slow the acceptance and introduction of next-generation imaging equipment into the marketplace, which, in turn, could adversely impact the future market adoption of certain of our imaging agents already in the market or currently in development. We expect that there will continue to be proposals to reduce or limit Medicare and Medicaid payment for diagnostic services.
We also expect increased regulation and oversight of advanced diagnostic testing in which our products are used. Beginning January 1, 2020, a professional who is ordering advanced diagnostic imaging services (which include MRI, CT, nuclear medicine (including PET) and other advanced diagnostic imaging services that the Secretary of HHS may specify, but not currently including echocardiography) must consult a qualified clinical decision support mechanism, as identified by HHS, to determine whether the ordered service adheres to specified appropriate use criteria (“AUC”). Reimbursement penalties will apply in 2022 if this requirement is not met (and documented on the claim). To the extent that these types of changes have the effect of reducing the aggregate number of diagnostic medical imaging procedures performed in the U.S., our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows would be adversely affected.
Reforms to the U.S. healthcare system may adversely affect our business.
A significant portion of our patient volume is derived from U.S. government healthcare programs, principally Medicare, which are highly regulated and subject to frequent and substantial changes. The Healthcare Reform Act substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers. The law contains a number of provisions that affect coverage and reimbursement of drug products and medical imaging procedures in which our drug products are used and/or that could potentially reduce the aggregate number of diagnostic medical imaging procedures performed in the U.S. Subsequently, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 significantly revised the methodology for updating the Medicare physician fee schedule. And more recently, Congress enacted legislation in 2017 that effectively eliminated the Healthcare Reform Act’s “individual mandate” beginning in 2019 Congress continues to consider other healthcare reform legislation. There is no assurance that the Healthcare Reform Act, as currently enacted or as amended in the future, will not adversely affect our business and financial results, and we cannot predict how future federal or state legislative, judicial or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business.
In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Healthcare Reform Act was enacted. The Budget Control Act of 2011 and subsequent Congressional actions includes provisions to reduce the federal deficit. These provisions have resulted in the imposition of 2% reductions in Medicare payments to providers, which went into effect on April 1, 2013 and will remain in effect through fiscal year 2030. The CARES Act temporarily suspended the 2% payment adjustment for dates of service from May 1 through December 31, 2020, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 subsequently extended this suspension until March 31, 2021. Any significant spending reductions affecting Medicare, Medicaid or other publicly funded or subsidized health programs that may be implemented and/or any significant taxes or fees that may be imposed on us, as part of any broader deficit reduction effort or legislative replacement to the Budget Control Act, could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Further, changes in payor mix and reimbursement by private third party payors may also affect our business. Rates paid by some private third party payors are based, in part, on established physician, clinic and hospital charges and are generally higher than Medicare payment rates. Reductions in the amount of reimbursement paid for diagnostic medical imaging procedures and changes in the mix of our patients between non-governmental payors and government sponsored healthcare programs and among different types of non-government payor sources, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
The full impact on our business of healthcare reforms and other new laws, or changes in existing laws, is uncertain. Nor is it clear whether additional legislative changes will be adopted or how those changes would affect our industry in general or our ability to successfully commercialize our products or develop new products.
Our business and industry are subject to complex and costly regulations. If government regulations are interpreted or enforced in a manner adverse to us or our business, we may be subject to enforcement actions, penalties, exclusion and other material limitations on our operations.
Both before and after the approval of our products and agents in development, we, our products, development agents, operations, facilities, suppliers, distributors, contract manufacturers, contract research organizations and contract testing laboratories are subject to extensive and, in certain circumstances, expanding regulation by federal, state and local government agencies in the U.S. as well as non-U.S. and transnational laws and regulations, with regulations differing from country to country, including, among other things, anti-trust and competition laws and regulations and the recently enacted General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (the “EU”). In the U.S., the FDA regulates, among other things, the pre-clinical testing, clinical trials, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, potency, labeling, storage, record keeping, quality systems, advertising, promotion, sale, distribution, and import and export of drug products. We are required to register our business for permits and/or licenses with, and comply with the stringent requirements of the FDA, the NRC, the HHS, Health Canada, the EMA, the MHRA, the NMPA, state and provincial boards of pharmacy, state and provincial health departments and other federal, state and provincial agencies.
Under U.S. law, for example, we are required to report certain adverse events and production problems, if any, to the FDA. We also have similar adverse event and production reporting obligations outside of the U.S., including to the EMA and MHRA. Additionally, we must comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products, including the prohibition on the promotion of our products for indications that have not been approved by the FDA or a so-called “off-label use” or promotion that is inconsistent with the approved labeling. If the FDA determines that our promotional materials constitute unlawful promotion, it could request that we modify our promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions. Also, quality control and manufacturing procedures at our own facility and at third party suppliers must conform to cGMP regulations and other applicable law after approval, and the FDA periodically inspects manufacturing facilities to assess compliance with cGMPs and other applicable law, and, from time to time, makes those cGMPs more stringent. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must expend time, money, and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control. If in the future issues arise at a third party manufacturer, the FDA could take regulatory action which could limit or suspend the ability of that third party to manufacture our products or have any additional products approved at the relevant facility for manufacture until the issues are resolved and remediated. Such a limitation or suspension could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We are also subject to laws and regulations that govern financial and other arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers, including federal and state anti-kickback statutes, federal and state false claims laws and regulations, federal and state “sunshine” laws and regulations and other fraud and abuse laws and regulations.
We must offer discounted pricing or rebates on purchases of pharmaceutical products under various federal and state healthcare programs, such as the Medicaid drug rebate program, the “federal ceiling price” drug pricing program, the 340B drug pricing program and the Medicare Part D Program. We must also report specific prices to government agencies under healthcare programs, such as the Medicaid drug rebate program and Medicare Part B. As a specific example, in 2010, we entered into a Medicaid Drug Rebate Agreement with the federal government for some but not all of our products, and in 2016 entered into a separate Medicaid Drug Rebate Agreement for the balance of our products. These agreements require us to report certain price information to the federal government. Determination of the rebate amount that we pay to state Medicaid programs for our products, of prices charged to government and certain private payors for our products, or of amounts paid for our products under government healthcare programs, depends upon information reported by us to the government. If we provide customers or government officials with inaccurate information about the products’ pricing or eligibility for coverage, or the products fail to satisfy coverage requirements, we could be terminated from the rebate program, be excluded from participation in government healthcare programs, or be subject to potential liability under the False Claims Act or other laws and regulations.
Failure to comply with other requirements and restrictions placed upon us or our third party manufacturers or suppliers by laws and regulations can result in fines, civil and criminal penalties, exclusion from federal healthcare programs and debarment. Possible consequences of those actions could include:
•Substantial modifications to our business practices and operations;
•Significantly reduced demand for our products (if products become ineligible for reimbursement under federal and state healthcare programs);
•A total or partial shutdown of production in one or more of the facilities where our products are produced while the alleged violation is being remediated;
•Delays in or the inability to obtain future pre-market clearances or approvals; and
•Withdrawals or suspensions of our current products from the market.
Regulations are subject to change as a result of legislative, administrative or judicial action, which may also increase our costs or reduce sales. Violation of any of these regulatory schemes, individually or collectively, could disrupt our business and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our marketing and sales practices may contain risks that could result in significant liability, require us to change our business practices and restrict our operations in the future.
We are subject to numerous domestic (federal, state and local) and foreign laws addressing fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry, including the FCA and federal Anti-Kickback Statute, self-referral laws, the FCPA, the Bribery Act, FDA promotional restrictions, the federal disclosure (sunshine) law and state marketing and disclosure (sunshine) laws. Violations of these laws are punishable by criminal or civil sanctions, including substantial fines, imprisonment and exclusion from participation in healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid as well as health programs outside the U.S., and even settlement of alleged violations can result in the imposition of corporate integrity agreements that could subject us to additional compliance and reporting requirements and impact our business practices. These laws and regulations are complex and subject to changing interpretation and application, which could restrict our sales or marketing practices. Even minor and inadvertent irregularities could potentially give rise to a charge that the law has been violated. Although we believe we maintain an appropriate compliance program, we cannot be certain that the program will adequately detect or prevent violations and/or the relevant regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation. Additionally, if there is a change in law, regulation or administrative or judicial interpretations, we may have to change one or more of our business practices to be in compliance with these laws. Required changes could be costly and time consuming.
If our operations are found to be in violation of these laws or any other government regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, or exclusion from state and federal healthcare programs including Medicare and Medicaid, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Starting as of the end of fiscal 2019, we are required to maintain additional procedures and practices related to internal control over financial reporting, and we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the necessary deadline.
Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is required to report upon the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Since we are no longer an “emerging growth company” and are now a “large accelerated filer”, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls on an annual basis, starting with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. The rules governing the standards that must be met for our management and independent registered public accounting firm to assess our internal controls are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation of our existing controls and the incurrence of significant additional expenditures.
Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us or our independent registered public accounting firm conducted in connection with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Internal control deficiencies could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. Internal control deficiencies could also result in a restatement of our financial results in the future. We could become subject to stockholder or other third party litigation, as well as investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources and could result in fines, trading suspensions, payment of damages or other remedies. Further, any delay in compliance with the auditor attestation provisions of Section 404 could subject us to a variety of administrative sanctions, including ineligibility for short-form resale registration, action by the SEC and the suspension or delisting of our common stock, which could reduce the trading price of our common stock and could harm our business.
Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Financial Results
The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and could continue to have, a material impact on our business, results of operation and financial condition, operating results, cash flows and prospects.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan China. Less than four months later, in March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. While the outbreak initially was largely concentrated in China and caused significant disruptions in its economy, the virus has now spread throughout much of the world, including in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Canada and Sweden, where our offices and manufacturing facilities are located.
Towards the end of the first quarter of 2020 we began to experience, and through the date of this filing we are continuing to experience, impacts to our business and operations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of stay-at-home mandates and advisories, and a decline in the volume of procedures using our products. In response to the pandemic, healthcare providers have, and may need to further, reallocate resources, such as physicians, staff and facilities, as they prioritize limited resources and personnel
capacity to focus on the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and implement limitations on access to hospitals and other medical institutions due to concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19 in such settings.
In particular, there has been a reduction in the number of echocardiograms performed in 2020 (approximately 31.5 million) as compared to the number performed in 2019 (approximately 35.1 million), in each case, according to a third party source. There has also been a reduction in pulmonary ventilation studies in which our Xenon is used because of institutional concerns and professional society guidelines relating to the possible spread of COVID-19 to technicians and other patients, given that Xenon is both inhaled and exhaled by the patient. As a result, Xenon sales have decreased. We expect Xenon sales to continue to be at reduced levels so long as COVID-19 precautions remain in place.
These actions have significantly delayed the provision of other medical care including procedures involving our products, having an adverse effect on our revenue. These measures and challenges may continue for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and such duration is uncertain and may significantly reduce our revenue and cash flows while the pandemic continues and thereafter until we and our customers are able to resume normal business operations. We cannot predict the magnitude or duration of the pandemic’s impact on our business.
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, the following risks could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects:
•The delay or cancellation by hospitals and clinics of the procedures in which our products are used as a result of their COVID-19 response efforts and the duration of such effects, thereby reducing sales of our products for an unknown period of time;
•The inability or unwillingness of some patients to visit hospitals or clinics in order to undergo procedures in which our products are used, thereby reducing sales of our products for an unknown period of time;
•The inability of some patients to pay for procedures and/or the co-pay associated with those procedures in which our products are used due to job loss or lack of insurance, thereby reducing sales of our products for an unknown period of time;
•The inability of our distributors, radiopharmacy customers, PET manufacturing partners, hospitals, clinics and other customers to conduct their normal operations, including supplying or conducting procedures in which our products are used, because of their COVID-19 response efforts, or the reduced capacity or productivity of their employees and contractors as a result of possible illness, quarantine or other inability to work, thereby reducing sales of our products for an unknown period of time;
•The financial challenges experienced by certain of our customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in increased pressure from those customers on the pricing of our commercial products;
•The inability of global suppliers of raw materials or components used in the manufacture of our products, or contract manufacturers of our products, to supply and/or transport those raw materials, components and products to us in a timely and cost effective manner due to shutdowns, interruptions or delays, limiting and potentially precluding the production of our finished products, impacting our ability to supply customers, reducing our sales, increasing our costs of goods sold, and reducing our absorption of overhead;
•The partial or complete delay or cancellation of international or domestic flights by our airfreight carriers, resulting in our inability to receive raw materials, components and products from our global suppliers or to ship and deliver our finished products to our domestic and international customers in a timely or cost effective manner, thereby potentially increasing our freight costs as we seek alternate, potentially more expensive, methods to ship raw materials, components or products, and negatively impacting our sales;
•The reduced capacity or productivity of our complex, on-campus operations as a result of possible illness, quarantine or other inability of our employees and contractors to work, despite all of the preventative measures we continue to undertake to protect the health and safety of our workforce;
•The illiquidity or insolvency of our suppliers, contract manufacturers (including our PET manufacturing partners) or freight carriers whose business activities could be shut down, interrupted or delayed;
•The illiquidity or insolvency of our distributors or customers, or their inability to pay our invoices in full or in a timely manner, due to the reduction in their revenues caused by the cancellation or delay of procedures and other factors, which could potentially reduce our cash flow, reduce our liquidity and increase our bad debt reserves;
•A portion of our raw materials or finished product inventory may expire due to reduced demand for our drugs;
•Delays in our ability, and the ability of our contract research organizations and development partners to conduct, enroll and complete clinical development programs such as our ARROW Phase 2 study in mCRPC, the flurpiridaz F 18 Phase 3 clinical
development program currently being conducted by GE Healthcare, or the Phase 1 trial of PSMA TTC being conducted by Bayer AG;
•Delays of regulatory reviews and approvals, including with respect to our product candidates and manufacturing facilities, by the FDA or other health or regulatory authorities;
•Decreased sales of those of our products that are promotionally sensitive, like DEFINITY, due to the reduction of in-person sales and marketing activities and training caused by travel restrictions, quarantines, other similar social distancing measures and more restrictive hospital access policies;
•Our ability to maintain employee morale and motivate and retain management personnel and other key employees as a result of our previous work week and salary reductions;
•A disruption or delay in regulatory approval for, and operation of, our new, on-campus manufacturing facility, which would delay implementation of our supply diversification strategy for certain of our key products and impact our ability to benefit from a lower cost of goods for those products;
•A reduction in revenue with continued incurrence of high fixed costs relating to our already-existing, complex and expensive radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility could adversely affect our cash flows, liquidity and ability to comply with the financial covenants in our 2019 Facility, and there can be no assurance that any required waiver or consent related to any such failure to comply would be granted by our current lenders similar to the waiver of total net leverage ratio in exchange for a consolidated liquidity covenant agreed to in June 2020;
•The increased reliance on our personnel working from home, which may negatively impact productivity, or disrupt, delay or otherwise adversely impact our business;
•A delay in achieving, or inability to achieve, successful integration of Lantheus and Progenics, or the synergies, cost savings, innovation and other anticipated benefits of the acquisition due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations, financial condition and prospects of our Company;
•The instability to worldwide economies, financial markets, social institutions, labor markets and the healthcare systems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could result in an economic downturn that could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as that of our suppliers, distributors, customers or other business partners; and
•A recurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic after social distancing and other similar measures have been relaxed.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business and our results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge in connection with the severity of the virus, the ability to treat and ultimately prevent it with vaccines, its potential recurrence or transformation into new or more contagious or virulent strains, and further actions that federal, state, local, or foreign governments may take to contain its impact.
Our business depends on our ability to successfully introduce new products and adapt to a changing technology and medical practice landscape.
The healthcare industry is characterized by continuous technological development resulting in changing customer preferences and requirements. The success of new product development depends on many factors, including our ability to fund development of new agents or new indications for existing agents, anticipate and satisfy customer needs, obtain regulatory approval on a timely basis based on performance of our agents in development versus their clinical study comparators, develop and manufacture products in a cost-effective and timely manner, maintain advantageous positions with respect to intellectual property and differentiate our products from our competitors. To compete successfully in the marketplace, we must make substantial investments in new product development, whether internally or externally through licensing or acquisitions. Our failure to introduce new and innovative products in a timely manner would have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Even if we are able to develop, manufacture and obtain regulatory approvals for our new products, the success of these products would depend upon market acceptance and adequate reimbursement. Levels of market acceptance for our new products could be affected by a number of factors, including:
•The availability of alternative products from our competitors;
•The breadth of indications in which alternative products from our competitors can be marketed;
•The price of our products relative to those of our competitors;
•The timing of our market entry;
•Our ability to market and distribute our products effectively;
•Market acceptance of our products; and
•Our ability to obtain adequate reimbursement.
The field of diagnostic medical imaging is dynamic, with new products, including hardware, software and agents, continually being developed and existing products continually being refined. Our own diagnostic imaging agents compete not only with other similarly administered imaging agents but also with imaging agents employed in different and often competing diagnostic modalities, and in the case of DEFINITY, echocardiography procedures without ultrasound enhancing agents. New hardware, software or agents in a given diagnostic modality may be developed that provide benefits superior to the then-dominant hardware, software and agents in that modality, resulting in commercial displacement of the agents. Similarly, changing perceptions about comparative efficacy and safety including, among other things, comparative radiation exposure, as well as changing availability of supply may favor one agent over another or one modality over another. In addition, new or revised appropriate use criteria developed by professional societies, to assist physicians and other health care providers in making appropriate imaging decisions for specific clinical conditions, can and have reduced the frequency of and demand for certain imaging modalities and imaging agents. To the extent there is technological obsolescence in any of our products that we manufacture, resulting in lower unit sales or decreased unit sales prices, we will have increased unit overhead allocable to the remaining market share, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our future growth may depend on our ability to identify and acquire or in-license additional products, businesses or technologies, and if we do not successfully do so, or otherwise fail to integrate any new products, lines of business or technologies into our operations, we may have limited growth opportunities and it could result in significant impairment charges or other adverse financial consequences.
Even after giving effect to the Progenics Acquisition, we are continuing to seek to acquire or in-license products, businesses or technologies that we believe are a strategic fit with our business strategy. Future acquisitions or in-licenses, however, may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including:
•A reduction of our current financial resources;
•Incurrence of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of securities to pay for acquisitions;
•Difficulty or inability to secure financing to fund development activities for those acquired or in-licensed technologies;
•Higher than expected acquisition and integration costs;
•Disruption of our business, customer base and diversion of our management’s time and attention to develop acquired products or technologies; and
•Exposure to unknown liabilities.
We may not have sufficient resources to identify and execute the acquisition or in-licensing of third party products, businesses and technologies and integrate them into our current infrastructure. In particular, we may compete with larger pharmaceutical companies and other competitors in our efforts to establish new collaborations and in-licensing opportunities. These competitors likely will have access to greater financial resources than we do and may have greater expertise in identifying and evaluating new opportunities. Furthermore, there may be an overlap between our products or customers and the companies which we acquire that may create conflicts in relationships or other commitments detrimental to the integrated businesses. Additionally, the time between our expenditures to acquire or in-license new products, technologies or businesses and the subsequent generation of revenues from those acquired products, technologies or businesses (or the timing of revenue recognition related to licensing agreements and/or strategic collaborations) could cause fluctuations in our financial performance from period to period. Finally, if we devote resources to potential acquisitions or in-licensing opportunities that are never completed, or if we fail to realize the anticipated benefits of those efforts, we could incur significant impairment charges or other adverse financial consequences.
Challenges with product quality or product performance, including defects, caused by us or our suppliers could result in a decrease in customers and revenues, unexpected expenses and loss of market share.
The manufacture of our products is highly exacting and complex and must meet stringent quality requirements, due in part to strict regulatory requirements, including the FDA’s cGMPs. Problems may be identified or arise during manufacturing quality review, packaging or shipment for a variety of reasons including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, defective raw materials and environmental factors. Additionally, manufacturing flaws, component failures, design defects, off-label uses or inadequate disclosure of product-related information could result in an unsafe condition or the injury or death of a patient. Those events could lead to a recall of, or issuance of a safety alert relating to, our products. We also may undertake voluntarily to recall products or temporarily shut down production lines based on internal safety and quality monitoring and testing data.
Quality, regulatory and recall challenges could cause us to incur significant costs, including costs to replace products, lost revenue, damage to customer relationships, time and expense spent investigating the cause and costs of any possible settlements or judgments related thereto and potentially cause similar losses with respect to other products. These challenges could also divert the attention of our management and employees from operational, commercial or other business efforts. If we deliver products with defects, or if there is a perception that our products or the processes related to our products contain errors or defects, we could incur additional recall and product liability costs, and our credibility and the market acceptance and sales of our products could be materially adversely affected. Due to the strong name recognition of our brands, an adverse event involving one of our products could result in reduced market acceptance and demand for all products within that brand, and could harm our reputation and our ability to market our products in the future. In some circumstances, adverse events arising from or associated with the design, manufacture or marketing of our products could result in the suspension or delay of regulatory reviews of our applications for new product approvals. These challenges could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
In the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to product liability claims and lawsuits, including potential class actions, alleging that our products have resulted or could result in an unsafe condition or injury.
Any product liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could be time consuming and costly to defend and could result in an increase of our insurance premiums. Although we have not had any such claims to date, claims that could be brought against us might not be covered by our insurance policies. Furthermore, although we currently have product liability insurance coverage with policy limits that we believe are customary for pharmaceutical companies in the diagnostic medical imaging industry and adequate to provide us with insurance coverage for foreseeable risks, even where the claim is covered by our insurance, our insurance coverage might be inadequate and we would have to pay the amount of any settlement or judgment that is in excess of our policy limits. We may not be able to obtain insurance on terms acceptable to us or at all, since insurance varies in cost and can be difficult to obtain. Our failure to maintain adequate insurance coverage or successfully defend against product liability claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We use hazardous materials in our business and must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which can be expensive.
Our operations use hazardous materials and produce hazardous wastes, including radioactive, chemical and, in certain circumstances, biological materials and wastes. We are subject to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations as well as non-U.S. laws and regulations relating to the transport, use, handling, storage, exposure to and disposal of these materials and wastes. Environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have generally become more stringent over time. We are required to obtain, maintain and renew various environmental permits and nuclear licenses. Although we believe that our safety procedures for transporting, using, handling, storing and disposing of, and limiting exposure to, these materials and wastes comply in all material respects with the standards prescribed by applicable laws and regulations, the risk of accidental contamination or injury cannot be eliminated. We place a high priority on these safety procedures and seek to limit any inherent risks. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of wastes generated by our operations. Prior to disposal, we store any low level radioactive waste at our facilities to decay until the materials are no longer considered radioactive. Although we believe we have complied in all material respects with all applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that we have been or will be in compliance with all such laws at all times. If we violate these laws, we could be fined, criminally charged or otherwise sanctioned by regulators. We may be required to incur further costs to comply with current or future environmental and safety laws and regulations. In addition, in the event of accidental contamination or injury from these materials, we could be held liable for any damages that result and any such liability could exceed our resources.
We currently lease a small portion of our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility to PerkinElmer for the manufacturing, finishing and packaging of certain radioisotopes, including Strontium-90, which has physical characteristics that make it more challenging to work with and dispose of than our own commercial radioisotopes, including a much longer half-life. We are fully indemnified by PerkinElmer under our lease for any property damage or personal injury resulting from their activities in our facility. If any release or excursion of radioactive materials took place from their leased space that resulted in property damage or personal injury, the indemnification obligations were not honored, and we were forced to cover any related remediation, clean-up or other expenses,
depending on the magnitude, the cost of such remediation, clean-up or other expenses could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
While we have budgeted for current and future capital and operating expenditures to maintain compliance with these laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that our costs of complying with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Further, we cannot assure you that we will not be subject to additional environmental claims for personal injury, investigation or cleanup in the future based on our past, present or future business activities.
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, our competitors could develop and market products with features similar to our products, and demand for our products may decline.
Our commercial success will depend in part on obtaining and maintaining patent and trade secret protection of our commercial products and technologies and agents in development as well as successfully enforcing and defending these patents and trade secrets against third parties and their challenges, both in the U.S. and in foreign countries. We will only be able to protect our intellectual property from unauthorized use by third parties to the extent that we maintain the secrecy of our trade secrets and can enforce our valid patents and trademarks.
The patent positions of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. In addition, changes in either the patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the U.S. or other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property and we may not receive the same degree of protection in every jurisdiction. Accordingly, we cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be allowed or enforced in our patents or in third party patents.
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:
•We might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by each of our pending patent applications and issued patents, and we could lose our patent rights as a result;
•We might not have been the first to file patent applications for these inventions or our patent applications may not have been timely filed, and we could lose our patent rights as a result;
•Others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies;
•It is possible that none of our pending patent applications will result in any further issued patents;
•Our issued patents may not provide a basis for commercially viable drugs, may not provide us with any protection from unauthorized use of our intellectual property by third parties, and may not provide us with any competitive advantages;
•Our patent applications or patents may be subject to interferences, oppositions, post-grant review, ex-parte re-examinations, inter partes review or similar administrative proceedings;
•While we generally apply for patents in those countries where we intend to make, have made, use or sell patented products, we may not be able to accurately predict all of the countries where patent protection will ultimately be desirable and may be precluded from doing so at a later date;
•We may choose not to seek patent protection in certain countries where the actual cost outweighs the perceived benefit at a certain time;
•Patents issued in foreign jurisdictions may have different scopes of coverage than our U.S. patents and so our products may not receive the same degree of protection in foreign countries as they would in the U.S.;
•We may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable; or
•The patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.
Moreover, the issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its validity or enforceability. A third party may challenge the validity or enforceability of a patent even after its issuance by the USPTO or the applicable foreign patent office. It is also uncertain how much protection, if any, will be afforded by our patents if we attempt to enforce them and they are challenged in court or in other proceedings, which may be brought in U.S. or non-U.S. jurisdictions to challenge the validity of a patent.
The initiation, defense and prosecution of intellectual property suits (including Hatch-Waxman related litigation), interferences, oppositions and related legal and administrative proceedings are costly, time consuming to pursue and result in a diversion of resources, including a significant amount of management time. The outcome of these proceedings is uncertain and could significantly harm our business. If we are not able to enforce and defend the patents of our technologies and products, then we will not be able to exclude competitors from marketing products that directly compete with our products, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
For DEFINITY, our highest revenue and highest margin commercial product in 2020, we continue to actively pursue patents in both the U.S. and internationally. In the U.S. for DEFINITY we now own a total of four Orange Book-listed method of use patents, one of which expires in 2035 and three of which expire in 2037, as well as additional manufacturing patents that are not Orange Book-listed expiring in 2021, 2023 and 2037. In the U.S. for DEFINITY RT, we own a total of five Orange Book-listed patents, including a composition of matter patent which expires in 2035. Outside of the U.S., while our original DEFINITY patent protection and regulatory exclusivity have generally expired, we are currently prosecuting additional DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT patents to obtain similar patent protection as in the U.S. The Orange Book-listed patents include a patent on the use of VIALMIX RFID which expires in 2037; additional VIALMIX RFID patent applications have been submitted in major markets throughout the world.
We also rely on trade secrets and other know-how and proprietary information to protect our technology, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, but our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific partners and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors or other third parties. Enforcing a claim that a third party improperly obtained and is using our trade secrets is expensive, time consuming and resource intensive, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the U.S. are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how. We rely on confidentiality agreements with our collaborators, employees, consultants and other third parties and invention assignment agreements with our employees to protect our trade secrets and other know-how and proprietary information concerning our business. These confidentiality agreements may not prevent unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets and other know-how and proprietary information, and there can be no guarantee that an employee or an outside party will not make an unauthorized disclosure of our trade secrets, other technical know-how or proprietary information, or that we can detect such an unauthorized disclosure. We may not have adequate remedies for any unauthorized disclosure. This might happen intentionally or inadvertently. It is possible that a competitor will make use of that information, and that our competitive position will be compromised, in spite of any legal action we might take against persons making those unauthorized disclosures, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We rely on our trademarks, trade names and brand names to distinguish our products from the products of our competitors, and have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks, including, among others, DEFINITY®, TechneLite®, Cardiolite®, NEUROLITE®, VIALMIX®, QUADRAMET®, Luminity®, PyLTM, AZEDRA®, AZEDRA Service Connection®, RELISTOR®, Progenics®, Progenics Pharmaceuticals®, EXINI®, Molecular Insight®, Find, Fight and Follow®, PyL Research Access Program®, and Lantheus Medical Imaging®. We cannot assure you that any pending trademark applications will be approved. Third parties may also oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. If our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to re-brand our products, which could result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our trademarks, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.
Our patents are subject to generic challenge, and the validity, enforceability and commercial value of these patents are highly uncertain.
Our ability to obtain and defend our patents impacts the commercial value of our products and product candidates. Third parties have challenged and are likely to continue challenging the patents that have been issued or licensed to us. Patent protection involves complex legal and factual questions and, therefore, enforceability is uncertain. Our patents may be challenged, invalidated, held to be unenforceable, or circumvented, which could negatively impact their commercial value. For example, Progenics (along with Bausch and Wyeth LLC) received notifications of a Paragraph IV certification for RELISTOR subcutaneous injection and for RELISTOR Tablets, for certain patents that are listed in the FDA Orange Book. The certifications resulted from filings by entities such as Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Actavis LLC and Par Sterile Products, LLC of ANDAs with the FDA, challenging such patents for RELISTOR subcutaneous injection and seeking to obtain approval to market a generic version of RELISTOR subcutaneous injection and filings by Actavis Laboratories FL, Inc. seeking to obtain approval to market a generic version of RELISTOR Tablets before some or all of these patents expire. Furthermore, patent applications filed outside the United States may be challenged by other parties, for example, by filing third-party observations that argue against patentability or an opposition. Such opposition proceedings are increasingly common in the EU and are costly to defend. For example, we received notices of opposition to three European patents relating to RELISTOR.
Pursuant to the RELISTOR license agreement between us and Bausch, Bausch has the first right to enforce the intellectual property rights at issue and is responsible for the costs of such enforcement. At the same time, we may incur substantial further costs
in supporting the effort to uphold the validity of patents or to prevent infringement. Patent disputes are frequent, costly and can preclude, delay or increase the cost of commercialization of products. Progenics has previously been and is currently involved in patent litigation, and we expect to be subject to patent litigation in the future.
We may be subject to claims that we have infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated the patent or other intellectual property rights of a third party. The outcome of any of these claims is uncertain and any unfavorable result could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be subject to claims by third parties that we have infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated their intellectual property rights. We are aware of intellectual property rights held by third parties that relate to products or technologies we are developing. For example, we are aware of other groups investigating PSMA or related compounds and monoclonal antibodies directed at PSMA, PSMA-targeted imaging agents and therapeutics, and methylnaltrexone and other peripheral opioid antagonists, and of patents held, and patent applications filed, by these groups in those areas. While the validity of these issued patents, the patentability of pending patent applications and the applicability of any of them to our products and programs are uncertain, if asserted against us, any related patent or other intellectual property rights could adversely affect our ability to commercialize our products.
We may be subject to litigation over infringement claims regarding the products we manufacture or distribute. This type of litigation can be costly and time consuming and could divert management’s attention and resources, generate significant expenses, damage payments (potentially including treble damages) or restrictions or prohibitions on our use of our technology, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, if we are found to be infringing on proprietary rights of others, we may be required to develop non-infringing technology, obtain a license (which may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all), make substantial one-time or ongoing royalty payments, or cease making, using and/or selling the infringing products, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We may be adversely affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business and other factors beyond our control.
Our ability to attract and retain customers, invest in and grow our business and meet our financial obligations depends on our operating and financial performance, which, in turn, is subject to numerous factors, including the prevailing economic conditions and financial, business and other factors beyond our control, such as the rate of unemployment, the number of uninsured persons in the U.S. and inflationary pressures. We cannot anticipate all the ways in which the current or future economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business. We are exposed to risks associated with reduced profitability and the potential financial instability of our customers, many of which may be adversely affected by volatile conditions in the financial markets. For example, unemployment and underemployment, and the resultant loss of insurance, may decrease the demand for healthcare services and pharmaceuticals. If fewer patients are seeking medical care because they do not have insurance coverage, our customers may experience reductions in revenues, profitability and/or cash flow that could lead them to modify, delay or cancel orders for our products. If customers are not successful in generating sufficient revenue or are precluded from securing financing, they may not be able to pay, or may delay payment of, accounts receivable that are owed to us. This, in turn, could adversely affect our financial condition and liquidity. To the extent prevailing economic conditions result in fewer procedures being performed, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.
Our business is subject to international economic, political and other risks that could negatively affect our results of operations or financial position.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, we derived approximately 13.1% of our revenues from outside the fifty United States. Accordingly, our business is subject to risks associated with doing business internationally, including:
•Less stable political and economic environments and changes in a specific country’s or region’s political or economic conditions;
•Changes in trade policies, regulatory requirements and other barriers, including, for example, U.S. trade sanctions against Iran and those countries and entities doing business with Iran, which could adversely impact international isotope production and, indirectly, our global supply chain;
•Potential global disruptions in air transport due to COVID-19, which could adversely affect our international supply chains for radioisotopes and DEFINITY RT as well as international distribution channels for our commercial products;
•Entering into, renewing or enforcing commercial agreements with international governments or provincial authorities or entities directly or indirectly owned or controlled by such governments or authorities, such as our Belgian, Australian and South African isotope suppliers, IRE, ANSTO and NTP, and our Chinese development and commercialization partner, Double-Crane;
•International customers which are agencies or institutions owned or controlled by foreign governments;
•Local business practices which may be in conflict with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.K. Bribery Act;
•Currency fluctuations;
•Unfavorable labor regulations;
•Greater difficulties in relying on non-U.S. courts to enforce either local or U.S. laws, particularly with respect to intellectual property;
•Greater potential for intellectual property piracy;
•Greater difficulties in managing and staffing non-U.S. operations;
•The need to ensure compliance with the numerous in-country and international regulatory and legal requirements applicable to our business in each of these jurisdictions and to maintain an effective compliance program to ensure compliance with these requirements, including in connection with the GDPR in the EU;
•Changes in public attitudes about the perceived safety of nuclear facilities;
•Civil unrest or other catastrophic events; and
•Longer payment cycles of non-U.S. customers and difficulty collecting receivables in non-U.S. jurisdictions.
These factors are beyond our control. The realization of any of these or other risks associated with operating outside the fifty United States could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. As our international exposure increases and as we execute our strategy of international expansion, these risks may intensify.
We face currency and other risks associated with international sales.
We generate revenue from export sales, as well as from operations conducted outside the fifty United States. Operations outside the U.S. expose us to risks including fluctuations in currency values, trade restrictions, tariff and trade regulations, U.S. export controls, U.S. and non‑U.S. tax laws, shipping delays and economic and political instability. For example, violations of U.S. export controls, including those administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, could result in fines, other civil or criminal penalties and the suspension or loss of export privileges which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial conditions and cash flows.
Many of our customer relationships outside of the U.S. are, either directly or indirectly, with governmental entities, and we could be adversely affected by violations of the FCPA and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws outside the U.S.
The FCPA, the Bribery Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business.
The FCPA prohibits us from providing anything of value to foreign officials for the purposes of obtaining or retaining business or securing any improper business advantage. It also requires us to keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect our transactions. Because of the predominance of government-sponsored healthcare systems around the world, many of our customer relationships outside of the U.S. are, either directly or indirectly, with governmental entities and are therefore subject to the FCPA and similar anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions. In addition, the provisions of the Bribery Act extend beyond bribery of foreign public officials and are more onerous than the FCPA in a number of other respects, including jurisdiction, non-exemption of facilitation payments and penalties.
Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree, and in certain circumstances strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance programs, our internal control policies and procedures may not always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of those violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our business depends on the continued effectiveness and availability of our information technology infrastructure, and failures of this infrastructure could harm our operations.
To remain competitive in our industry, we must employ information technologies to support manufacturing processes, quality processes, distribution, R&D and regulatory applications and that capture, manage and analyze large streams of data in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. We rely extensively on technology, some of which is managed by third-party service providers, to allow the concurrent conduct of work sharing around the world. As with all information technology, our equipment and infrastructure age and become subject to increasing maintenance and repair and our systems generally are vulnerable to potential damage or interruptions from fires, natural disasters, power outages, blackouts, machinery breakdown, telecommunications failures and other unexpected events, as well as to break-ins, sabotage, increasingly sophisticated intentional acts of vandalism or cybersecurity threats which, due to the nature of such attacks, may remain undetected for a period of time. As these threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to enhance our information security measures or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities. Given the extensive reliance of our business on technology, any substantial disruption or resulting loss of data that is not avoided or corrected by our backup measures could harm our business, reputation, operations and financial condition.
A disruption in our computer networks, including those related to cybersecurity, could adversely affect our operations or financial position.
We rely on our computer networks and systems, some of which are managed by third parties, to manage and store electronic information (including sensitive data such as confidential business information and personally identifiable data relating to employees), and to manage or support a variety of critical business processes and activities. We may face threats to our networks from unauthorized access, security breaches and other system disruptions. Despite our security measures, our infrastructure may be vulnerable to external or internal attacks. Any such security breach may compromise information stored on our networks and may result in significant data losses or theft of sensitive or proprietary information. A cybersecurity breach could hurt our reputation by adversely affecting the perception of customers and potential customers of the security of their orders and personal information, as well as the perception of our manufacturing partners of the security of their proprietary information. In addition, a cybersecurity attack could result in other negative consequences, including disruption of our internal operations, increased cybersecurity protection costs, lost revenue, regulatory actions or litigation. Any disruption of internal operations could also have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. To date, we have not experienced any material cybersecurity attacks.
We may be limited in our ability to utilize, or may not be able to utilize, net operating loss carryforwards to reduce our future tax liability.
As of December 31, 2020, we had U.S. federal income tax loss carryforwards of $492.5 million, $354.5 million of which will begin to expire in 2021 and will completely expire in 2037, $138.0 million of which can be carried forward indefinitely, and state income tax loss carryforwards of $18.0, tax-effected. We may be limited in our ability to use these tax loss carryforwards to reduce our future U.S. federal and state income tax liabilities if our future income is not sufficient to absorb the losses, or if we were to experience another “ownership change” as specified in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code including if we were to issue a certain amount of equity securities, certain of our stockholders were to sell shares of our common stock, or we were to enter into certain strategic transactions.
We may not be able to hire or retain the number of qualified personnel, particularly scientific, medical and sales personnel, required for our business, which would harm the development and sales of our products and limit our ability to grow.
Competition in our industry for highly skilled scientific, healthcare and sales personnel is intense. Although we have not had any material difficulty in the past in hiring or retaining qualified personnel, if we are unable to retain our existing personnel, or attract and train additional qualified personnel, either because of competition in our industry for these personnel or because of insufficient financial resources, then our growth may be limited and it could have a material adverse effect on our business.
If we lose the services of our key personnel, our business could be adversely affected.
Our success is substantially dependent upon the performance, contributions and expertise of our chief executive officer, executive leadership and senior management team. Mary Anne Heino, our Chief Executive Officer and President, and other members of our executive leadership and senior management team play a significant role in generating new business and retaining existing customers. We have an employment agreement with Ms. Heino and a limited number of other individuals on our executive leadership team, although we cannot prevent them from terminating their employment with us. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our executive officers. While we have experienced both voluntary and involuntary turnover on our executive leadership team, to date we have been able to attract new, qualified individuals to lead our company and key functional areas. Our inability to retain our existing executive leadership and senior management team, maintain an appropriate internal succession program or attract and retain additional qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are involved in various legal proceedings that are uncertain, costly and time-consuming and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time we are involved in legal proceedings and disputes and may be involved in litigation in the future. These proceedings are complex and extended and occupy the resources of our management and employees. These proceedings are also costly to prosecute and defend and may involve substantial awards or damages payable by us if not found in our favor. We may also be required to pay substantial amounts or grant certain rights on unfavorable terms in order to settle such proceedings. Defending against or settling such claims and any unfavorable legal decisions, settlements or orders could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common stock to decline.
In particular, the pharmaceutical and medical device industries historically have generated substantial litigation concerning the manufacture, use and sale of products and we expect this litigation activity to continue. As a result, we expect that patents related to our products will routinely be challenged, and our patents may not be upheld. In order to protect or enforce patent rights, we may initiate litigation against third parties. If we are not successful in defending an attack on our patents and maintaining exclusive rights to market one or more of our products still under patent protection, we could lose a significant portion of sales in a very short period. We may also become subject to infringement claims by third parties and may have to defend against charges that we violated patents or the proprietary rights of third parties. If we infringe the intellectual property rights of others, we could lose our right to develop, manufacture or sell products, or could be required to pay monetary damages or royalties to license proprietary rights from third parties.
In addition, in the U.S., it has become increasingly common for patent infringement actions to prompt claims that antitrust laws have been violated during the prosecution of the patent or during litigation involving the defense of that patent. Such claims by direct and indirect purchasers and other payers are typically filed as class actions. The relief sought may include treble damages and restitution claims. Similarly, antitrust claims may be brought by government entities or private parties following settlement of patent litigation, alleging that such settlements are anti-competitive and in violation of antitrust laws. In the U.S. and Europe, regulatory authorities have continued to challenge as anti-competitive so-called “reverse payment” settlements between branded and generic drug manufacturers. We may also be subject to other antitrust litigation involving competition claims unrelated to patent infringement and prosecution. A successful antitrust claim by a private party or government entity against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common stock to decline.
Risks Related to Our Capital Structure
We have a substantial amount of indebtedness which may limit our financial and operating activities and may adversely affect our ability to incur additional debt to fund future needs.
As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $185.0 million of total principal indebtedness remaining under our five‑year secured term loan facility, which matures on June 30, 2024 (the “2019 Term Facility” and the loans thereunder, the “2019 Term Loans”) and availability of $200.0 million under our five-year revolving credit facility (the “2019 Revolving Facility” and, together with the 2019 Term Facility, the “2019 Facility”). As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $32.6 million of total principal indebtedness remaining on our royalty-backed loan, which matures on June 30, 2025. Our substantial indebtedness and any future indebtedness we incur could:
•Require us to dedicate a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to the payment of interest on and principal of our indebtedness, thereby reducing the funds available for other purposes;
•Make it more difficult for us to satisfy and comply with our obligations with respect to our outstanding indebtedness, namely the payment of interest and principal;
•Make it more difficult to refinance the outstanding indebtedness;
•Subject us to increased sensitivity to interest rate increases;
•Make us more vulnerable to economic downturns, adverse industry or company conditions or catastrophic external events;
•Limit our ability to withstand competitive pressures;
•Reduce our flexibility in planning for or responding to changing business, industry and economic conditions; and
•Place us at a competitive disadvantage to competitors that have relatively less debt than we have.
In addition, our substantial level of indebtedness could limit our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, or at all, for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. Our liquidity needs could vary significantly and may be affected by general economic conditions, industry trends, performance and many other factors not within our control.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our debt service obligations.
Our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to make scheduled payments on our debt obligations will depend on our future financial performance, which will be affected by a range of economic, competitive and business factors, many of which are outside of our control. If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to satisfy our debt obligations, including interest and principal payments, our credit ratings could be downgraded, and we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling assets, entering into additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements for one or more of our products or agents in development, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. We cannot assure you that any refinancing would be possible, that any assets could be sold, licensed or partnered, or, if sold, licensed or partnered, of the timing of the transactions and the amount of proceeds realized from those transactions, that additional financing could be obtained on acceptable terms, if at all, or that additional financing would be permitted under the terms of our various debt instruments then in effect. Furthermore, our ability to refinance would depend upon the condition of the financial and credit markets. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our obligations on commercially reasonable terms or on a timely basis, would have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Despite our substantial indebtedness, we may incur more debt, which could exacerbate the risks described above.
We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future subject to the limitations contained in the agreements governing our debt, including the 2019 Facility. Although these agreements restrict us and our restricted subsidiaries from incurring additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to important exceptions and qualifications. For example, we are generally permitted to incur certain indebtedness, including indebtedness arising in the ordinary course of business, indebtedness among restricted subsidiaries and us and indebtedness relating to hedging obligations. If we or our subsidiaries incur additional debt, the risks that we and they now face as a result of our leverage could intensify. In addition, 2019 Facility will not prevent us from incurring obligations that do not constitute indebtedness under the agreements.
Our 2019 Facility contains restrictions that will limit our flexibility in operating our business.
Our 2019 Facility contains various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. These covenants limit our and our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things:
•Maintain net leverage above certain specified levels;
•Maintain interest coverage below certain specified levels;
•Incur additional debt;
•Pay dividends or make other distributions;
•Redeem stock;
•Issue stock of subsidiaries;
•Make certain investments;
•Create liens;
•Enter into transactions with affiliates; and
•Merge, consolidate or transfer all or substantially all of our assets.
A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under the 2019 Facility. We may also be unable to take advantage of business opportunities that arise because of the limitations imposed on us by the restrictive covenants under our indebtedness.
If LIBOR is phased out, as anticipated, starting at the beginning of 2022, we will need to agree to a replacement index rate to be used under our 2019 Facility, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
At present LIBOR is expected to be published only on a limited basis after 2021. The 2019 Facility does not specify a particular “hard-wired” replacement index rate (or related margin) when LIBOR becomes unavailable, but relies on the administrative agent and the Company reaching agreement on such a replacement rate (and related margin) that gives due consideration to the then prevailing market convention for determining rates of interest for syndicated loans denominated in U.S. dollars in the United States. We expect to amend our credit facilities to provide a market-based replacement index rate and margin prior to the time when LIBOR is no longer available. Any replacement rate will be based on a negotiation between us and the administrative agent and could result in an increase in our interest expense.
U.S. credit markets may impact our ability to obtain financing or increase the cost of future financing, including interest rate fluctuations based on macroeconomic conditions that are beyond our control.
During periods of volatility and disruption in the U.S., European, or global credit markets, obtaining additional or replacement financing may be more difficult and the cost of issuing new debt or replacing our 2019 Facility could be higher than under our current 2019 Facility. Higher cost of new debt may limit our ability to have cash on hand for working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions on terms that are acceptable to us. Additionally, our 2019 Facility has variable interest rates. By its nature, a variable interest rate will move up or down based on changes in the economy and other factors, all of which are beyond our control. If interest rates increase, our interest expense could increase, affecting earnings and reducing cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions.
Our stock price could fluctuate significantly, which could cause the value of your investment to decline, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above your purchase price.
Securities markets worldwide have experienced, and may continue to experience, significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could reduce the market price of our common stock regardless of our operating performance. The trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile and subject to wide price fluctuations in response to various factors, including:
•Market conditions in the broader stock market;
•Actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results;
•Issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
•Investor perceptions of us and the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries;
•Sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of our stock;
•Acquisitions or introductions of new products or services by us or our competitors;
•Positive or negative results from our clinical development programs;
•Additions or departures of key personnel;
•Regulatory or political developments;
•Loss of intellectual property protections;
•Litigation and governmental investigations; and
•Changing economic conditions.
These and other factors may cause the market price and demand for our common stock to fluctuate substantially, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares of common stock and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock. In addition, in the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our stockholders brought a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could also divert the time and attention of our management from our business, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our stock, 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 will 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. Moreover, 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 also decline.
We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, for the foreseeable future, to repay indebtedness and to fund the development and growth of our business. We do not intend to pay any dividends to holders of our common stock and the agreements governing our senior secured credit facilities limit our ability to pay dividends. As a result, capital appreciation in the price of our common stock, if any, will be your only source of gain on an investment in our common stock.