On December 18, 2018, the USPTO granted US Patent No. 10,155,016 which covers compositions
containing B-VEC, formulated for alternate routes of administration.
On January 16, 2018, we announced
that the USPTO had granted US Patent No. 9,877,990, which covers compositions comprising HSV vectors encoding certain effectors and methods of using the same for providing prophylactic, palliative or therapeutic relief of a wound, disorder or
disease of the skin. A corresponding international patent application has been filed in accordance with the Paris Cooperation Treaty, which has entered into the national phase in more than ten foreign jurisdictions.
We believe that the granting of these patents, which are entirely owned by the Company, protects our core STAR-D
viral platform and products based thereupon, and affords us freedom to use this platform for the development of novel therapeutics for multiple applications. We continue to advance our IP portfolio actively through the filing of new patent
applications, divisionals, and continuations relating to our technologies as we deem appropriate.
In addition to our patents, we rely on trade
secrets and know-how to develop and maintain our competitive position. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, and obtain and maintain
ownership of certain technologies, in part, through confidentiality agreements and intellectual property assignment agreements with our employees, consultants and commercial partners. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our
data, trade secrets, and know-how, including by implementing measures intended to maintain the physical and electronic security of our research and manufacturing facilities, as well as our information
technology systems.
Other
We commenced
operations in April 2016. In March 2017, we converted from a California limited liability company to a Delaware C-corporation, and changed our name from Krystal Biotech, LLC to Krystal Biotech, Inc. On
June 19, 2018, we incorporated Krystal Australia Pty Ltd, an Australian proprietary limited company, for the purposes of undertaking preclinical and clinical studies in Australia. On April 24, 2019, we incorporated Jeune, Inc. in Delaware,
a wholly-owned subsidiary, for the purposes of undertaking preclinical studies for aesthetic skin conditions. To date, our operations have been focused on organizing and staffing our company, developing our proprietary platform, identifying
potential product candidates, undertaking preclinical studies and clinical trials, and developing an in-house cGMP facility.
In December 2019, a new strain of coronavirus, or COVID-19, was first reported in Wuhan, China. In March 2020,
the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and certain governments, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where the Companys primary offices, laboratory and manufacturing spaces are
located, enacted stay-at-home orders, and sweeping restrictions to travel were initiated by corporations and governments. To protect the health of its employees, and
their families and communities, the Company has restricted access to its offices to personnel who must perform critical activities that must be completed on-site, limited the number of such personnel that can
be present at our facilities at any one time, and requested that many of our employees work remotely. The extent of COVID-19s effect on the Companys clinical, operational and financial performance
will depend on future developments, including the duration, spread and intensity of the pandemic, and additional protective measures implemented by the governmental authorities or the Company to protect its employees, all of which are uncertain and
difficult to predict considering the rapidly evolving landscape. As a result, it is not currently possible to ascertain the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Companys business. However, if the pandemic
continues to evolve into a severe