Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business faces many risks. We caution you that the following important factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC, press releases, communications with investors and oral statements. The risks described below may not be the only risks we face. Additional risks we do not yet know of, or which we currently believe are immaterial, may also impair our business operations. If any of the events or circumstances described in the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, and the trading price of our common stock could decline.
Risks Relating to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital
We have incurred significant losses since inception, expect to incur losses for at least the next several years and may never achieve or sustain profitability.
We have incurred annual net operating losses in every year since our inception. Our net loss was $50.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, $114.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, and $77.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. As of September 30, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $512.6 million. Prior to September 30, 2018, we had not generated any product revenues. We have financed our operations primarily through the public offering and private placements of our equity securities, debt financings and revenue from U.S. government grants and contract awards. In the third quarter of 2018, we received marketing approval in the United Stated and in Europe for Xerava for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections, or cIAI. Prior to the marketing approval of Xerava we had devoted substantially all of our financial resources and efforts to research and development, including preclinical and clinical development. With approval of Xerava for cIAI, we believe that we will devote a substantial portion of our financial resources and efforts to supporting the ongoing commercialization of Xerava.
We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for at least the next several years. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter. Net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.
We expect that our expenses will decrease in 2018 compared with 2017, as the lower costs associated with the completion of the IGNITE clinical program will offset increased
sales, marketing, distributio
n and outsourced manufacturing expenses related to the launch of Xerava. Our expenses may also increase if and as we:
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maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio; and
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in-license or acquire other products and technologies.
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Our ability to become and remain profitable depends on our ability to generate revenue. Notwithstanding marketing approval of Xerava in the United States and Europe, we do not expect to generate significant revenue from Xerava sales in the near future. The successful commercialization of Xerava will require us to be effective in a range of challenging activities, including:
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establishing and maintaining sales, pricing, marketing and distribution capabilities to effectively market, sell and be reimbursed for Xerava;
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contracting for the manufacture of commercial quantities of Xerava;
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protecting and maintaining our rights to our intellectual property portfolio related to Xerava; and
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Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development and commercialization, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to achieve profitabilit
y. Our expenses could increase if there are any delays in the development of any of our products or product candidates or delays in the manufacture of any of our products or product candidates, particularly
Xerava
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We may be unable to commercialize Xerava or develop and commercialize any additional product candidates and, even if we do, may never achieve profitability. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company could cause our stockholders to lose all or part of their investment in us.
We expect that we will need additional funding. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts.
Developing pharmaceutical products, including conducting preclinical studies, clinical trials and manufacturing activities, is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete.
We expect that our expenses will decrease in 2018 compared with 2017, as the lower costs associated with the completion of the IGNITE clinical program will offset increased costs associated with
sales, marketing, distribution and outsourced manufacturing expenses for the launch of Xerava.
We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, including our debt financing through Solar Capital completed November 2, 2018, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditures into the second quarter of 2020. However, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources to fund our expenses after that time.
This estimate is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Changing circumstances could cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to spend more money than currently expected because of circumstances beyond our control.
Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy.
Our future funding requirements, both short-term and long-term, will depend on many factors, including:
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revenue received from commercial sales of Xerava;
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the costs of commercialization activities for Xerava and additional product candidates if such additional product candidates receive marketing approval, including the timing and costs of establishing product sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities;
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the timing and costs of manufacturing activities in connection with the commercialization of Xerava;
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the timing and costs of our ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates;
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the amount of funding that we receive under our subcontracts awarded to us by our collaborator CUBRC, Inc., or CUBRC, under its government contracts with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and with the National Institutes of Health’s, or NIH’s, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, and under our subaward from CUBRC under its grant from NIAID, and our award from the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, or CARB-X, and the activities funded under these contracts;
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the number and characteristics of product candidates that we pursue;
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the terms and timing of any future collaborations, partnerships, licensing, marketing, distribution or other arrangements that we may establish;
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the amount and timing of any payments we may be required to make, or that we may receive, in connection with the licensing, filing, prosecution, defense and enforcement of any patents or other intellectual property rights, including milestone and royalty payments and patent prosecution fees that we are obligated to pay to Harvard University, or Harvard, pursuant to our license agreement;
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the costs of maintaining
and protecting our intellectual property rights and defending against intellectual property related claims; and
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the extent to which we in-license or acquire other products and technologies.
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We have a limited operating history and no history of commercializing pharmaceutical products, which may make it difficult to evaluate the prospects for our future viability.
We began operations in the third quarter of 2006. Our operations to date have been limited to financing and staffing our company, developing our technology and developing Xerava and other product candidates. We obtained marketing approval for Xerava in the United States and Europe in the third quarter of 2018. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Consequently, predictions about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products.
Our level of indebtedness and debt service obligations could adversely affect our financial condition and may make it more difficult for us to fund our operations.
On November 2, 2018, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement, or the Loan Agreement, with Solar Capital Ltd., as collateral agent and lender, and the other lenders named therein. We refer to Solar Capital Ltd. and the other lenders collectively, as the lenders. The lenders have agreed to make available to the us term loans in an aggregate principal amount of up to $75.0 million under the Loan Agreement. The Loan Agreement provides a term loan commitment of $50.0 million in two potential tranches: (i)
a $30.0 million Term A loan facility funded on November 2, 2018 and (ii) a $20.0 million Term B loan facility to be funded at the request of the Company, subject to certain conditions being met, no later than October 31, 2020. Both of these term loans have
a maturity date of May
2, 2023. The Loan Agreement also provides access to an additional Term C loan facility in the amount of $25.0 million, to be funded at the Lenders’ sole discretion.
All obligations under the Loan Agreement are secured by substantially all of our existing property and assets. This indebtedness may create additional financing risk for us, particularly if our business or prevailing financial market conditions are not conducive to paying off or refinancing our outstanding debt obligations at maturity. This indebtedness could also have important negative consequences, including:
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the need to repay our indebtedness by making payment of interest only initially and then interest and principal, which will reduce the amount of funds available to finance our operations, our research and development efforts and our general corporate activities; and
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our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants in the Loan Agreement could result in an event of default that, if not cured or waived, would accelerate our obligation to repay this indebtedness, and the lenders could seek to enforce its security interest in the assets securing such indebtedness.
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To the extent additional debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks described above could increase.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
Currently, our only external source of funds is funding under subcontracts awarded to us by CUBRC pursuant to government contracts from BARDA and NIAID, and an award from CARB-X. Although the BARDA contract and our subcontract with CUBRC under the BARDA contract have terms which currently expire on December 31, 2018, BARDA is entitled to terminate the project for convenience at any time and is not obligated to provide continued funding beyond current-year amounts from congressionally approved annual appropriations. To the extent that BARDA ceases to provide funding of the program to CUBRC, CUBRC has the right to cease providing funding to us. Committed funding from CUBRC under our BARDA subcontract is for up to approximately $41.8
million from the initial contract date through December 31, 2018, of which $39.5
million had been received through September 30, 2018.
Similarly, although the NIAID contract and our subcontract with CUBRC under the NIAID contract have terms which currently expire on March 31, 2019, NIAID is entitled to terminate the project for convenience at any time and is not obligated to provide continued funding beyond March 31, 2019. To the extent NIAID ceases to provide funding of the programs to CUBRC, CUBRC has the right to cease providing funding to us. Committed funding from CUBRC under our subcontract with respect to the NIAID contract is for up to $16.9 million, of which $15.1
million had been received through September 30, 2018.
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Similarly, although the CARB-X Award has a term which currently expires on December 31, 2018, CARB-X is entitled to terminate the proje
ct for convenience at any time. Committed funding from the CARB-X Award is for up to $4.0 million from the initial award date through December 31, 2018, of which $0.
8
million had been received through September
30, 2018.
As a result, unless and until we can generate a substantial amount of revenue from Xerava or any other additional product candidates, we expect to finance our future cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings or collaborations and licensing arrangements. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans.
To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders may be materially diluted, and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect their rights. In addition, debt financing, if available, would result in increased fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific corporate actions, such as incurring additional debt, merging with or acquiring another entity, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. In addition, securing additional financing would require a substantial amount of time and attention from our management and may divert a disproportionate amount of their attention away from day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our management’s ability to oversee the development and commercialization of our products and product candidates.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, products or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.
We may not have cash available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to make interest or principal payments on our indebtedness when due.
We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under our Loan Agreement or otherwise in an amount sufficient to enable us to repay our indebtedness or fund our other liquidity needs. We may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness, on or before its maturity. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, on a timely basis or at all. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations.
Failure to satisfy our current and future debt obligations could result in an event of default and, as a result, the lenders could accelerate all of the amounts due. In the event of an acceleration of amounts due under the Loan Agreement as a result of an event of default, we may not have sufficient funds or may be unable to arrange for additional financing to repay our indebtedness. In addition, the lenders could seek to enforce their security interests in the assets securing such indebtedness.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our debt obligations depends on our financial condition and operating performance and the condition of the debt and capital markets, which are subject to prevailing economic, industry and competitive conditions, as well as certain financial, business, legislative, political, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems, be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, strategic acquisitions, investments and partnerships, dispose of material assets or operations, seek additional debt or equity capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure you that any such actions, if necessary, could be effected on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or on terms that would be advantageous to our stockholders or on terms that would not require us to breach the terms and conditions of our existing or future debt agreements, and our financial position and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We are subject to certain restrictive covenants that may restrict our ability to pursue our business strategies, and the failure to comply with such restrictions could materially adversely affect our business.
The Loan Agreement imposes operating and other restrictions on us. Such restrictions will affect, and in many respects limit or prohibit, our ability and the ability of any future subsidiary to, among other things:
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invest in our subsidiaries and make other investments;
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dispose of certain assets;
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change our lines of business;
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engage in mergers or consolidations;
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incur additional indebtedness;
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create liens on assets;
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pay dividends and make distributions or repurchase our capital stock
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amend our material agreements;
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permit our qualified cash subject to a control account in favor of the lenders to be below $10 million plus the amount (if any) of accounts payable aged over 90 days; and
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engage in certain transactions with affiliates.
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The restrictions contained in the Loan Agreement could limit our ability to plan for or react to market conditions, meet capital needs or make acquisitions or could otherwise restrict our business and growth strategies, which cold materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We may not be able to comply with the minimum liquidity covenant.
If we fail to comply with the covenants under the Loan Agreement, we will be in default and, as a result, the lenders could accelerate all of the amounts due.
Risks Related to Product Development and Commercialization
We are dependent on the success of Xerava, and our ability to successfully commercialize Xerava. If we are unable to successfully commercialize Xerava or experience significant delays in doing so, our business could be materially harmed.
We have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in the development of Xerava for use as a first-line empiric monotherapy for the treatment of multidrug-resistant infections. We obtained marketing approval for Xerava in the United States and in Europe in the third quarter of 2018. Our prospects are substantially dependent on our ability to successfully commercialize Xerava for the treatment of cIAI. The success of Xerava will depend on several factors, including the following:
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successful commercial launch of Xerava;
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acceptance of Xerava by the medical community, patients and third-party payors;
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obtainment and maintenance of patent and trade secret protection and regulatory exclusivity;
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protection of our rights in our intellectual property portfolio;
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successful manufacturing of Xerava;
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favorable results of any additional clinical trials involving Xerava that we may conduct;
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competition with other therapies; and
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a continued acceptable safety profile of Xerava.
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If we are unable to successfully commercialize Xerava for the treatment of cIAI our business could be materially harmed.
Xerava or any additional product candidate that we develop and commercialize may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success and the market opportunity for Xerava or any additional product candidates may be smaller than we estimate.
Prior to Xerava, we had never commercialized a product candidate for any indication. Efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of Xerava or any additional product candidate may require significant resources and may not be successful. If Xerava or any additional product candidate that we develop does not achieve an adequate level of market acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenues and, therefore, we may not become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of Xerava, or any other product candidate that is approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to:
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the efficacy and safety of the product;
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the potential advantages of the product compared to alternative treatments, including convenience and ease of administration;
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the prevalence and severity of any side effects;
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the clinical indications for which the product is approved;
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limitations or warnings, including distribution or use restrictions, contained in the product’s approved labeling or an approved risk evaluation and mitigation strategy;
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our ability to offer the product for sale at competitive prices;
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the willingness of the target patient population to try, and of physicians to prescribe, the product;
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whether the product is designated under physician treatment guidelines as a first-line therapy or as a second- or third-line therapy for particular infections;
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the strength of marketing and distribution support;
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the approval of other new products for the same indications;
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the timing of market introduction of our approved products as well as competitive products;
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the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;
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availability and level of coverage and amount of reimbursement from government payors, managed care plans and other third-party payors;
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the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts;
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adverse publicity about the product or favorable publicity about competitive products; and
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the development of resistance by bacterial strains to the product.
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In addition, the potential market opportunity for Xerava is difficult to estimate. Our estimates of the potential market opportunity are predicated on several key assumptions such as industry knowledge, third-party research reports and other surveys. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, these assumptions involve the exercise of significant judgment on the part of our management, are inherently uncertain and the reasonableness of these assumptions has not been assessed by an independent source. If any of the assumptions proves to be inaccurate, then the actual market for Xerava could be smaller than our estimates of the potential market opportunity. If the actual market for Xerava is smaller than we expect, or if the product fails to achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, health care payors and patients, our product revenue may be limited, and it may be more difficult for us to achieve or maintain profitability.
If we are unable to successfully establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into sales, marketing and distribution agreements with third parties, we may not be successful in commercializing Xerava or other product candidates that we develop.
To achieve commercial success for any approved product, we must successfully develop a sales and marketing organization or outsource these functions to third parties. We have built a commercial organization in the United States and recruited experienced sales, marketing and distribution professionals. If we are unable to successfully maintain the sales force and marketing and distribution capabilities, our operating results may be adversely affected.
Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize Xerava or any additional product candidates that we develop and commercialize on our own include:
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our inability to recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;
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the ability of our sales personnel to obtain access to or persuade adequate numbers of physicians to prescribe any products;
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the lack of complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and
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unforeseen costs and expenses associated with maintaining an independent sales and marketing organization.
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We plan to commercialize Xerava outside the United States and in certain European countries with the assistance of collaborators. As a result of entering into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing and distribution services, our product revenues or the profitability of Xerava revenues to us may be lower than if we were to directly market and sell Xerava in those markets. As an example, if Everest Medicines Limited, or Everest Medicines, our collaboration partner for Xerava in certain Asian territories, is unsuccessful in developing and commercializing Xerava in the Chinese market, we may not receive any future milestone or royalty payments. Furthermore, we may be unsuccessful in entering into the necessary arrangements with third parties or may be
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unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, we
likely will have little control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our products effectively.
If we do not establish sales and marketing capabilities successfully, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing Xerava.
We face substantial competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and our operating results may suffer if we fail to compete effectively.
The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. We face competition from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide with respect to Xerava and to any additional product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products, or are pursuing the development of product candidates, for the treatment of MDR infections. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing technologies and drug products that are more effective or less costly than Xerava or any product candidates that we are currently developing or that we may develop, which could render our products and product candidates obsolete or noncompetitive.
There are a variety of available therapies that are generic or marketed for the treatment of cIAI that we would expect would compete with Xerava. The generic agents include piperacillin/tazobactam imipenem/cilastatin and meropenem. The marketed products include Zerbaxa and Invanz which are marketed by Merck & Co., Inc., Avycaz which is marketed by Allergan, Inc, and Tygacil which is marketed by Pfizer, Inc. Many of the available therapies are well established and widely accepted by physicians, patients and third-party payors. Insurers and other third-party payors may also encourage the use of generic products.
There are also a number of products currently in phase 3 development by third parties to treat MDR infections, including imipenem/relebactam, which is being developed by Merck & Co., Inc.; and cefiderocol, which is being developed by Shionogi. If these products are approved, they may also compete with Xerava.
Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approvals than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller and other early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs.
In July 2012, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act was passed, which included the GAIN Act. The GAIN Act is intended to provide incentives for the development of new, qualified infectious disease products. These incentives may result in more competition in the market for new antibiotics and may cause pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with more resources than we have to shift their efforts towards the development of products that could be competitive with Xerava and our product candidates.
Even if we are able to commercialize Xerava or any other product candidate that we develop, the product may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party payor coverage and reimbursement policies or healthcare reform initiatives that could harm our business.
Marketing approvals, pricing, coverage and reimbursement for new drug products vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which may negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates, even if our product candidates obtain marketing approval.
Our ability to commercialize Xerava or any other product candidate will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from government authorities, private health insurers, health maintenance organizations and other third-party payors. The healthcare industry is acutely focused on cost containment, both in the
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United States and elsewhere. As a result, gove
rnment authorities and third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications, which could affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably.
There may also be delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the indications for which the drug is approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Increasingly, third-party payors are requiring higher levels of evidence of the benefits and clinical outcomes of new technologies and are challenging the prices charged. Moreover, obtaining coverage does not imply that any drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Reimbursement rates may vary, by way of example, according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used. Reimbursement rates may also be based in part on existing reimbursement amounts for lower cost drugs or may be bundled into the payments for other services.
We cannot be sure that coverage will be available for Xerava or any other product candidate that we commercialize and, if available, that the reimbursement rates will be adequate. Further, the net reimbursement for drug products may be subject to additional reductions if there are changes to laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. An inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved products that we develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.
If clinical trials of any product candidate that we advance to clinical trials fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities or do not otherwise produce favorable results, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of any product candidate.
We are not permitted to commercialize, market, promote, or sell any product candidate in the United States without obtaining marketing approval from the FDA or in other countries without obtaining approvals from comparable foreign regulatory authorities, such as the EMA, and we may never receive such approvals. We must complete extensive preclinical development and clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans before we will be able to obtain these approvals. Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is inherently uncertain as to outcome.
The clinical development of our product candidates is susceptible to the risk of failure inherent at any stage of drug development, including failure to achieve efficacy in a trial or across a broad population of patients, the occurrence of severe adverse events, failure to comply with protocols or applicable regulatory requirements, and determination by the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority that a drug product is not approvable. The outcome of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. For example, in the first quarter of 2018 we reported top-line data for our IGNITE3 phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of eravacycline with intravenous, or IV, administration for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections. IGNITE3 failed to meet the co-primary efficacy endpoints of responder rate (a combination of clinical cure and microbiological success) in the microbiological intent-to-treat population at the end-of-IV treatment visit and at the test-of-cure visit, which were evaluated using a 10% non-inferiority margin. We may fail to achieve success in any future clinical trial of any product candidate.
In addition, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. Many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval for the product candidates. Even if we believe that the results of our clinical trials warrant marketing approval, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree and may not grant marketing approval of our product candidates.
In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety and/or efficacy results between different trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, adherence to the dosing regimen and other trial protocols and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants. In addition, in the case of our clinical trials, results may differ on the basis of the type of bacteria with which patients are infected. We cannot be certain that other clinical trials that we may conduct will demonstrate consistent or adequate efficacy and safety to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates.
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We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent us from obtaining regulatory ap
proval for any of our product candidates, including:
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clinical trials of our product candidates may produce unfavorable or inconclusive results;
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we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon product development programs;
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the number of patients required for clinical trials of our product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate, or participants may drop out of these clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate;
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our third-party contractors, including those manufacturing our product candidates or conducting clinical trials on our behalf, may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;
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regulators or institutional review boards may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial or conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site;
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we may have to suspend or terminate clinical trials of our product candidates for various reasons, including a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks, undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics of the product candidate;
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regulators or institutional review boards may require that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks, undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics of the product candidate;
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the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we enter into agreement for clinical and commercial supplies;
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the supply or quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate; and
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the approval policies or regulations of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.
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If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of any product candidate that we develop beyond the trials and testing that we contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates or other testing,; if the results of these trials or tests are unfavorable or are only modestly favorable or if there are safety concerns associated with our product candidates, we may:
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be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;
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not obtain marketing approval at all;
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obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;
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obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings;
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be subject to additional post-marketing testing or other requirements; or
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remove the product from the market after obtaining marketing approval.
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Our product development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or marketing approvals and we may be required to obtain additional funds to complete clinical trials. We cannot be certain that our clinical trials will begin as planned or be completed on schedule, if at all, or that we will not need to restructure our trials after they have begun. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, which may harm our business and results of operations. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, clinical trial delays may ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of any product candidate.
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If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials, our receipt
of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented.
We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for any other product candidate that we develop if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in clinical trials for such other product candidate as required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, such as the EMA. Patient enrollment is a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, and is affected by many factors, including:
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the size and nature of the patient population;
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the severity of the disease under investigation;
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the proximity of patients to clinical sites;
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the eligibility criteria for the trial;
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the design of the clinical trial; and
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competing clinical trials and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages and risks of the drug being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs that may be approved for the indications we are investigating.
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Serious adverse events or undesirable side effects or other unexpected properties of Xerava or any other product candidate may be identified during development or after approval, if obtained, that could delay, prevent or cause the withdrawal of the product candidates’ regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if obtained.
Serious adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by, or other unexpected properties of, our product candidates could cause us, an institutional review board, or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt our clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label, the imposition of distribution or use restrictions or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. If any of our product candidates are associated with serious adverse events or undesirable side effects or have properties that are unexpected, we may need to abandon their development or limit development to certain uses or subpopulations in which the undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Many compounds that initially showed promise in clinical or earlier stage testing have later been found to cause undesirable or unexpected side effects that prevented further development of the compound. In our clinical trials of Xerava, some treatment-related adverse events have been reported. The most common treatment-related adverse events observed in clinical trials of Xerava have been nausea and emesis. Additional adverse events, undesirable side effects or other unexpected properties of any of our other product candidates could arise or become known either during clinical development or, if approved, after the approved product has been marketed. If such an event occurs during development, our trials could be suspended or terminated, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of, or deny approval of, our other product candidates. If such an event occurs with respect to Xerava or after an additional product candidate is approved, a number of potentially significant negative consequences may result, including:
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regulatory authorities may withdraw the approval of such product;
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regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label or impose distribution or use restrictions;
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regulatory authorities may require one or more postmarketing studies;
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we may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients;
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we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and
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our reputation may suffer.
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Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product or product candidate, if approved, or could substantially increase commercialization costs and expenses, which could delay or prevent us from generating revenues from the sale of our products and harm our business and results of operations.
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Product
liability lawsuits against us could divert our resources, cause us to incur substantial liabilities and limit commercialization of
Xerava
or of any other products that we may develop.
We face an inherent risk of product liability claims as a result of the clinical testing of our product candidates despite obtaining appropriate informed consents from our clinical trial participants. We face an even greater risk with respect to Xerava or any other product that we sell. For example, we may be sued if any product we develop allegedly causes injury or is found to be otherwise unsuitable during clinical testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our product candidates. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
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reduced resources of our management to pursue our business strategy;
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decreased demand for our product candidates or products that we may develop;
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injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;
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withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
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initiation of investigations by regulators;
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product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;
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significant costs to defend resulting litigation;
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substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;
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the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop.
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Although we maintain general liability insurance of $6 million in the aggregate and clinical trial liability insurance of $6 million in the aggregate for all product candidates, this insurance may not fully cover potential liabilities that we may incur. The cost of any product liability litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. We intend to increase our general liability insurance coverage to $10 million effective January 1, 2019 as a result of the commercialization of Xerava. In addition, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive. If we are unable to obtain or maintain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, it could prevent or inhibit the development and commercial production and sale of Xerava and our product candidates, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and prospects.
If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. From time to time, and in the future, our operations may involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials, and may also produce hazardous waste products. Even if we contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties for failure to comply with such laws and regulations.
We maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials, but this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. However, we do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us.
In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Current or future environmental laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. In addition, failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.
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Our research and development efforts may not result in additional product candidates being discovered on anticipated
timelines, which could limit our ability to generate revenues.
Some of our research and development programs are at preclinical stages. Additional product candidates that we may develop or acquire will require significant commitment of resources. We cannot predict whether our research will lead to the discovery and development of any additional product candidates that could generate revenues for us.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We expect to depend on collaborations with third parties for the development and commercialization of some of our products and product candidates. Our prospects with respect to those products and product candidates will depend in part on the success of those collaborations.
Although we are commercializing Xerava ourselves in the United States and certain European countries, we intend to seek to commercialize Xerava outside the United States through collaboration arrangements. For instance, in February 2018, we entered into a license agreement with Everest Medicines under which we granted Everest Medicines an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Xerava for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections and other indications, in mainland China and several other Asian territories and countries. In addition, we may seek third-party collaborators for development and commercialization of other product candidates. Our likely collaborators for any marketing, distribution, development, licensing or broader collaboration arrangements include large and mid-size pharmaceutical companies, regional and national pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies. We are not currently party to any such arrangements other than that with Everest Medicines.
We may derive revenue from research and development fees, license fees, milestone payments and royalties under any collaborative arrangement into which we enter. Our ability to generate revenues from these arrangements will depend on our collaborators’ abilities to successfully perform the functions assigned to them in these arrangements. In addition, our collaborators may have the right to abandon research or development projects and terminate applicable agreements, including funding obligations, prior to or upon the expiration of the agreed upon terms. As a result, we can expect to relinquish some or all of the control over the future success of a product or product candidate that we license to a third party.
Collaborations involving our products and product candidates, such as our license arrangement with Everest Medicines, may pose a number of risks, including the following:
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collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations;
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collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected or in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements;
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collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of our products and product candidates or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding, or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities;
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collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;
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product candidates discovered in collaboration with us may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to cease to devote resources to the commercialization of our product candidates;
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collaborators with marketing and distribution rights to one or more products may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such product or products;
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disagreements with collaborators, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation or the preferred course of development, might cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of products and product candidates, might lead to additional responsibilities for us with respect to products and product candidates, or might result in litigation or arbitration, any of which would be time-consuming and expensive;
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collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation;
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collaborators may infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability; and
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collaborations may be terminated and, if terminated, may result in a need for additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates.
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Collaboration agreements may not lead to development or commercialization of products or product candidates in the most efficient manner or at all. If a collaborator of ours is involved in a business combination, it could decide to delay, diminish or terminate the development or commercialization of any product or product candidate licensed to it by us.
We contract with third parties for the manufacture of Xerava for clinical trials and expect to continue to do so in connection with the commercialization of Xerava and for clinical trials and commercialization of any additional product candidates that we develop and commercialize. This reliance on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product or product candidates or such quantities at an acceptable cost, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.
We do not currently have nor do we plan to build the internal infrastructure or capability to manufacture Xerava or our other product candidates for use in the conduct of our clinical trials or for commercial supply. We currently rely on and expect to continue to rely on third-party contract manufacturers to manufacture clinical supplies of our product candidates, and we have relied and expect to continue to rely on third-party contract manufacturers to manufacture registration batches and commercial quantities of any product candidate that we commercialize following approval for marketing by applicable regulatory authorities. Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks, including:
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delays in the manufacture of our clinical drug supply, registration and validation batches and commercial supply if our third-party manufacturers give greater priority to the supply of other products over our products and product candidates or otherwise do not satisfactorily perform according to the terms of the agreement between us;
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equipment malfunctions, power outages or other general disruptions experienced by our third-party manufacturers to their respective operations and other general problems with a multi-step manufacturing process;
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the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third-party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us;
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the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third-party;
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the failure of the third-party manufacturer to comply with applicable regulatory requirements; and
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the possible misappropriation of our proprietary information, including our trade secrets and know-how.
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We currently rely on a small number of third-party contract manufacturers for all of our required raw materials, drug substance and finished product for our preclinical research and clinical trials. We do not have long-term agreements with any of these third parties. We also do not have any current contractual relationships for the manufacture of commercial supplies of any of our other product candidates. If any of our existing manufacturers should become unavailable to us for any reason, we may incur some delay in identifying or qualifying replacements.
We have entered into agreements with third-party contract manufacturers for the commercial production of Xerava and intend to do the same for any additional product candidate that is approved by any regulatory agency, we intend to enter into agreements with third-party contract manufacturers for the commercial production of those products. This process is difficult and time consuming and we may face competition for access to manufacturing facilities, as there are a limited number of contract manufacturers operating under cGMPs that are capable of manufacturing our product candidates. Consequently, we may not be able to reach agreement with third-party manufacturers on satisfactory terms, which could delay our commercialization.
Third-party manufacturers are required to comply with cGMPs and similar regulatory requirements outside the United States. Facilities used by our third-party manufacturers must be inspected by the FDA after we submit an NDA and before potential approval of the product candidate. Similar regulations apply to manufacturers of our product candidates for use or sale in foreign countries. We do not control the manufacturing process and are completely dependent on our third-party manufacturers for compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements for the manufacture of our product candidates. If our manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA and any applicable foreign regulatory authority, they will not be able to secure the applicable approval for their manufacturing facilities. If these facilities are not approved for commercial manufacture, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which could result in delays in obtaining approval for the applicable product candidate as alternative qualified manufacturing facilities may not be available on a timely basis or at all. In addition, our manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and corresponding state and foreign
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agencies for compliance with cGMPs and similar regulatory
requirements. Failure by any of our manufacturers to comply with applicable cGMPs or other regulatory requirements could result in sanctions being imposed on us or the contract manufacturer, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension
s or withdrawals of approvals, operating restrictions, interruptions in supply and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our product candidates and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial
condition and results of operations.
Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of Xerava and any other product candidate that we develop may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to commercialize any products that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.
We may have to alter our development and commercialization plans if we are not able to establish collaborations.
We will require additional funds to complete the development and potential commercialization of any additional product candidates. For some of our product candidates, we may decide to collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the development and potential commercialization of those product candidates. For example, we utilize a variety of types of collaboration arrangements for commercialization of Xerava outside the United States and certain European countries. We may not be able to enter into similar arrangements for any additional product candidates.
We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include:
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the likelihood of approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities;
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the potential market for the subject product or product candidate;
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the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product or product candidate to patients;
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the potential for competing products;
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our patent position protecting the product or product candidate, including any uncertainty with respect to our ownership of our technology or our licensor’s ownership of technology we license from them, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge;
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the need to seek licenses or sub-licenses to third-party intellectual property; and
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general industry and market conditions.
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A collaborator may also consider alternative products, product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available for collaboration and whether such collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product or product candidate. We may also be restricted under future license agreements from entering into agreements on certain terms with potential collaborators. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of potential future collaborators.
If we are unable to reach agreements with suitable collaborators on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all, we may have to curtail the development of a product or product candidate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to fund and undertake development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional expertise and additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we fail to enter into collaborations and do not have sufficient funds or expertise to undertake the necessary development and commercialization activities, we may not be able to further develop our product or product candidates or bring them to market and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials. If they do not perform satisfactorily, our business may be materially harmed.
We do not independently conduct clinical trials of our product candidates. We rely on third parties, such as contract research organizations, clinical data management organizations, medical institutions and clinical investigators, to conduct our clinical trials. Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us at any time. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it would delay our product development activities.
Our reliance on these third parties for clinical development activities limits our control over these activities but we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and
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scientific standards. F
or example, notwithstanding the obligations of a contract research organization for a trial of one of our product candidates, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational pl
an and protocols for the trial. Moreover, the FDA requires us to comply with standards, commonly referred to as current Good Clinical Practices, or cGCPs, for conducting, recording and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and report
ed results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of trial participants are protected. The FDA enforces these cGCPs through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators, clinical trial sites and inst
itutional review boards. If we or our third-party contractors fail to comply with applicable cGCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approvin
g our product candidates, which would delay the regulatory approval process. We cannot be certain that, upon inspection, the FDA will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with cGCPs. We are also required to register clinical trials and post the
results of completed clinical trials on a government-sponsored database, ClinicalTrials.gov, within certain timeframes. Failure to do so can result in fines, adverse publicity and civil and criminal sanctions.
Furthermore, the third parties conducting clinical trials on our behalf are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such contractors, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing development programs. These contractors may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other drug development activities, which could impede their ability to devote appropriate time to our clinical programs. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, we may not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, marketing approvals for our product candidates. If that occurs, we will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize our product candidates. In such an event, our financial results and the commercial prospects for any additional product candidate that we seek to develop could be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed, impaired or foreclosed.
We also rely on other third parties to store and distribute drug supplies for our clinical trials. Any performance failure on the part of our distributors could delay clinical development or marketing approval of our product candidates or commercialization of any resulting products, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential product revenue.
If we fail to comply with our obligations in the agreements under which we in-license or acquire development or commercialization rights to products or technology from third parties, we could lose commercial rights that are important to our business.
We are a party to a license agreement with Harvard that imposes, and we may enter into additional agreements, including license agreements, with other parties in the future that impose, diligence, development and commercialization timelines, milestone payment, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us. For example, under our license agreement with Harvard, we are obligated to satisfy diligence requirements, including using commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize licensed compounds and to implement a specified development plan, meeting specified development milestones and providing an update on progress on an annual basis. If we fail to comply with these obligations, our counterparties may have the right to terminate these agreements, in which event we might not be able to develop, manufacture or market any product that is covered by these agreements, which could materially adversely affect the value of the product candidate being developed under any such agreement. Termination of these agreements or reduction or elimination of our rights under these agreements may result in our having to negotiate new or reinstated agreements with less favorable terms, or cause us to lose our rights under these agreements, including our rights to important intellectual property or technology.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we are unable to obtain and maintain sufficient patent protection for our technology, products or our product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our technology, products and product candidates may be adversely affected.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our proprietary chemistry technology, products and product candidates. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, competitors may be able to use our technologies and erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could harm our business and ability to achieve profitability. To protect our proprietary position, we file patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel technologies, products and product candidates that are important to our business. The patent application and approval process is expensive and time consuming. We may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. We may also fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development before it is too late to obtain patent protection.
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Und
er our license agreement with Harvard, Harvard retains the right to prosecute and maintain specified Harvard patents and patent applications in the field of tetracycline chemistry, which are exclusively licensed to us under the agreement. Moreover, if we l
icense technology or product candidates from third parties in the future, those licensors may retain the right to prosecute, maintain and enforce the patent rights that they license to us with or without our involvement. Because control of prosecution and
maintenance rests with Harvard, and prosecution, maintenance and enforcement could rest with future licensors, we cannot be certain that these in-licensed patents and applications will be prosecuted, maintained and enforced in a manner consistent with the
best interests of our business. If Harvard fails to prosecute or maintain, or future licensors fail to prosecute, maintain or enforce, those patents necessary for any of our products or product candidates, our ability to develop and commercialize those pro
ducts
or product
candidates may be adversely affected and we may not be able to prevent competitors from making and selling competing products.
The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents has emerged to date in the United States or in many foreign jurisdictions. In addition, the determination of patent rights with respect to pharmaceutical compounds and technologies commonly involves complex legal and factual questions, which has in recent years been the subject of much litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain. Furthermore, recent changes in patent laws in the United States, including the America Invents Act of 2011, may affect the scope, strength and enforceability of our patent rights or the nature of proceedings which may be brought by us related to our patent rights.
Our pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued that protect our technology, products or product candidates, in whole or in part, or that effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and products. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection.
As a result of the America Invents Act of 2011, the United States transitioned to a first-inventor-to-file system in March 2013, under which, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application is entitled to the patent. However, as a result of the lag in the publication of patent applications following filing in the United States, we are not notified and therefore are not able to be certain upon filing that we are the first to file for patent protection for any invention. Moreover, we may be subject to a third-party pre-issuance submission of prior art to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or become involved in opposition, derivation, reexamination
, inter partes
review or interference proceedings, in the United States or elsewhere, challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope of or invalidate our patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology, products or product candidates and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party patent rights.
Even if our patent applications issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors may be able to circumvent our owned or licensed patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner. Our competitors may seek to market generic versions of any approved products by submitting Abbreviated New Drug Applications to the FDA in which they claim that patents owned or licensed by us are invalid, unenforceable and/or not infringed. Alternatively, our competitors may seek approval to market their own products similar to or otherwise competitive with our products. In these circumstances, we may need to defend and/or assert our patents, including by filing lawsuits alleging patent infringement. In any of these types of proceedings, a court or other agency with jurisdiction may find our patents invalid and/or unenforceable. Even if we have valid and enforceable patents, these patents still may not provide protection against competing products or processes sufficient to achieve our business objectives.
The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our owned and licensed patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized.
We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors may infringe our patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property, or those of our licensors. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. Any claims we assert against perceived
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infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us allegi
ng that we infringe their patents. In addition, in a patent infringement proceeding, there is a risk that a court will decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and that we do not have the right to stop the other party
from using the invention at issue. There is also a risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will construe the patent’s claims narrowly or decide that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at i
ssue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the invention. An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against those parties or other competitors, and may curtail or preclude ou
r ability to exclude third parties from making and selling similar or competitive products. Any of these occurrences could adversely affect our competitive business position, business prospects and financial condition. Similarly, if we assert trademark inf
ringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be
forced to cease use of such trademarks.
In any infringement litigation, any award of monetary damages we receive may not be commercially valuable. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which typically last for years before they are concluded. Even if we ultimately prevail in such claims, the monetary cost of such litigation and the diversion of the attention of our management and scientific personnel could outweigh any benefit we receive as a result of the proceedings.
If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, such litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent or delay us from developing or commercializing our products and product candidates.
Our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our products and product candidates and use our proprietary chemistry technology without infringing the intellectual property and other proprietary rights of third parties. Numerous third-party U.S. and non-U.S. issued patents and pending applications exist in the area of antibacterial treatment, including compounds, formulations, treatment methods and synthetic processes that may be applied towards the synthesis of antibiotics. If any of their patents or patent applications cover our product candidates or technologies, we may not be free to manufacture or market our product candidates as planned. We are aware of a third-party U.S. patent claiming pharmaceutical compositions of tetracyclines. The third-party U.S. patent could be asserted against us with respect to Xerava
. We believe we
have defenses in the event that the third-party seeks to assert such patent against us, including the invalidity of the relevant claims of such patent
. However, we may not be successful in asserting these defenses, including proving invalidity, and could be found to infringe the third-party’s patent, which would have a material adverse effect on us.
There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our technology, products or product candidates, including patent infringement litigation with respect to the third-party U.S. patent referred to above, and Xerava. Other possible adversarial proceedings include interference proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing or future intellectual property rights. The outcome of intellectual property litigation is subject to uncertainties that cannot be adequately quantified in advance. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have produced a significant number of patents, and it may not always be clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates, products or methods either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that the patent claims are invalid, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity is difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in pursuing these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion.
If we are found to infringe a third-party’s intellectual property rights, such as the third-party U.S. patent referred to abov
e, we could be ordered by a court, to cease developing,
manufacturing, using, selling or offering for sale the infringing product. Alternatively, we may conclude that we need to obtain a license from such third-party in order to use the infringing technolo
gy and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing product or product candidate. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A
finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.
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We may be subject to claims that we or our employees have misappropriated the intellectual property of a third-party, or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellect
ual property.
Many of our employees were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the intellectual property and other proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed such intellectual property or other proprietary information. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.
In addition, while we typically require our employees, consultants and contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. Moreover, because we have licensed intellectual property from Harvard, we must rely on Harvard’s practices with regard to the assignment of intellectual property to it. To the extent we or Harvard has failed to obtain such assignments, or such assignments are breached, we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in prosecuting or defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our management and scientific personnel.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, the value of our technology could be materially adversely affected, and our business would be harmed.
In addition to seeking patents for some of our technology, products and product candidates, we also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, in seeking to develop and maintain a competitive position. We seek to protect these trade secrets, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our consultants, independent contractors, advisors, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract manufacturers, suppliers and other third parties. We, as well as our licensors, also enter into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with employees and certain consultants. Any party with whom we or Harvard has executed such an agreement may breach that agreement and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, if any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent such third party, or those to whom they communicate such technology or information, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our business and competitive position could be harmed.
We have not yet completed registration of our trademarks. Failure to secure those registrations could adversely affect our business.
Trademark applications for TETRAPHASE PHARMACEUTICALS, our logo, and combinations of those are filed and approved for publication in the United States. These applications may be opposed. TETRAPHASE PHARMACEUTICALS is either registered or pending in twelve other jurisdictions and we have applied to register the logo in the same twelve jurisdictions. If we do not secure registrations for our trademarks, we may encounter more difficulty in enforcing them against third parties than we otherwise would, which could adversely affect our business.
We own a pending trademark application in the United States for Xerava, the proprietary name for the eravacycline product. A third party has threatened to oppose our application to register this mark and alleges that our use of the Xerava trademark may create a likelihood of confusion and infringe the third party’s trademark. We believe we have defenses in the event that the third party opposes our trademark application or seeks to assert its trademark against us.
We own applications to register the Xerava trademark in three jurisdictions outside the United States and the availability of the proposed names for registration and use in foreign jurisdictions is not known. In addition, in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in comparable agencies in many foreign jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings. We have also obtained registration for our design mark in two jurisdictions, and applications remain pending for those design marks in the United States and one other jurisdiction.
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Risks Related to Regulatory Approval and Other Legal Compliance Matters
If we are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals, we will not be able to commercialize any future product candidate that we develop in addition to Xerava, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
Our future product candidates in addition to Xerava and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, recordkeeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, marketing, export, sale and distribution, are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies in the United States and by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, with regulations differing from country to country. Failure to obtain marketing approval for any such future product candidate will prevent us from commercializing such product candidate. Even after obtaining regulatory approval for Xerava, we have limited experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain marketing approvals and expect to rely on third-party contract research organizations to assist us in this process.
We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the United States until we receive approval of an NDA from the FDA. An NDA must include extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy for each desired indication. The NDA must also include significant information regarding the chemistry, manufacturing and controls for the product candidate. Obtaining approval of an NDA is a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process. The FDA review process typically takes years to complete. The FDA has substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept for filing any application or may decide that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical, clinical or other studies or additional information regarding chemistry, manufacturing and controls for the product candidate. Foreign regulatory authorities have differing requirements for approval of drug candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing. Obtaining marketing approval for marketing of a product candidate in one country does not ensure that we will be able to obtain marketing approval in other countries, but the failure to obtain marketing approval in one jurisdiction could negatively impact our ability to obtain marketing approval in other jurisdictions. Delays in approvals or rejections of marketing applications in the United States or foreign countries may be based upon many factors, including regulatory requests for additional analyses, reports, data and studies, regulatory questions regarding, or different interpretations of, data and results, changes in regulatory policy during the period of product development and the emergence of new information regarding product candidates or related products. The FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory authorities may determine that Xerava or any other product candidate that we develop is not effective, or is only moderately effective, or has undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities, safety profile or other characteristics that preclude marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use. The FDA may also find during its pre-approval inspection that the facilities identified in our NDA fail to comply with cGMP requirements, thereby delaying or preventing approval. In addition, any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable. If we experience delays in obtaining approval or if we fail to obtain approval of any product candidate that we develop, the commercial prospects for such product candidate may be harmed and our ability to generate revenues will be materially impaired.
A fast track designation by the FDA does not guarantee approval and may not actually lead to a faster development, regulatory review or approval process.
If a product is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and the product demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for that condition, the treatment sponsor may apply for FDA fast track designation. The FDA granted Xerava fast track designation as a qualified infectious disease product in April 2014, granted fast track designation as a qualified infectious disease product for the IV formulation of TP-271 in September 2015, and granted fast track designation as a qualified infectious disease product for the oral formulation of TP-271 in February 2017. Fast track designation does not ensure approval or a faster development, regulatory review or approval process compared to conventional FDA procedures. Additionally, the FDA may withdraw fast track designation, if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program.
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We are subject to ongoing obligations and continuing regulatory review following the marketing approval of
Xerava
, which may result in significant additional expense.
Xerava
could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to penalties, if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with
Xerava
or our other product candidates, when and if appro
ved.
Xerava is subject, and any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval, will also be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for labeling, manufacturing, packaging, storage, distribution, advertising, promotion, record-keeping and submission of safety and other post-market information. For example, approved products, manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to cGMPs. As such, we and our contract manufacturers will be subject to continual review and periodic inspections to assess compliance with cGMPs. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control. We are also required to report certain adverse reactions and production problems, if any, to the FDA and to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products.
In addition, even if marketing approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed, may be subject to significant conditions of approval or may impose requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product. The FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs to ensure drugs are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling and regulatory requirements. The FDA also imposes stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use and if we do not restrict the marketing of our products only to their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing.
If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, or disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of a product, it may impose restrictions on that product or us. In addition, if any product fails to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:
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issue warning or untitled letters;
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mandate modifications to promotional materials or require provision of corrective information to healthcare practitioners and patients;
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impose restrictions on the product or its manufacturers or manufacturing processes;
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impose restrictions on the labeling or marketing of the product;
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impose restrictions on product distribution or use;
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require post-marketing clinical trials;
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require withdrawal of the product from the market;
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refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;
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require recall of the product;
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require entry into a consent decree, which can include imposition of various fines (including restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenue), reimbursements for inspection costs, required due dates for specific actions and penalties for noncompliance;
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suspend, vary, modify or withdraw marketing approvals;
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refuse to permit the import or export of the product;
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seize or detain supplies of the product; or
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issue injunctions, levy fines or impose other civil and/or criminal penalties.
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Our relationships with customers and third-party payors will be subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expos
e us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits and future earnings.
Our future arrangements with third-party payors, healthcare professionals and customers who purchase, recommend or prescribe our products and product candidates will be subject to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell and distribute any products for which we obtain marketing approval. These laws and regulations include, for example, the false claims and anti-kickback statutes and regulations. At such time as we market, sell and distribute any products for which we obtain marketing approval, it is possible that our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of these laws and regulations. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations include the following:
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the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, among other things, prohibits persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service, for which payment may be made under federally funded healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid;
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the federal False Claims Act imposes criminal and civil penalties, which can be enforced by private citizens through civil whistleblower and qui tam actions, against individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government;
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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, imposes criminal and civil liability for executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program and creates federal criminal laws that prohibit knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services;
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the federal transparency requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively, the ACA, requires manufacturers of covered drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to report to the Department of Health and Human Services information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals and physician ownership and investment interests; and
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analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws that may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to implement compliance programs, comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or track and report gifts, compensation and other remuneration provided to physicians and other health care providers; and state and foreign laws that govern the privacy and security of health information in specified circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, which complicates compliance efforts.
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We will be required to spend substantial time and money to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations. Even then, governmental authorities may conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. Recent healthcare reform legislation has strengthened these federal and state healthcare laws. For example, the ACA amends the intent requirement of the federal anti-kickback and criminal healthcare fraud statutes. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of these statutes or a specific intent to violate them. In addition, the ACA provides that the government may assert that a claim that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the federal anti-kickback statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act. If governmental authorities find that our operations violate any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and we may be required to curtail or restructure our operations. Moreover, we expect that there will continue to be federal and state laws and regulations, proposed and implemented, that could impact our operations and business. The extent to which future legislation or regulations, if any, relating to healthcare fraud and abuse laws or enforcement, may be enacted or what effect such legislation or regulation would have on our business remains uncertain.
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If we successfully commercialize
Xerava
or one of our product candidates, failure to comply with our reporting and payment obligations under U.S. governmental pricing programs could have a material adverse effect on our business, fin
ancial condition and results of operations.
If we participate in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program once we successfully commercialize a drug, we will be required to report certain pricing information for our products to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that administers the Medicaid and Medicare programs. We may also be required to report pricing information to the Department of Veterans Affairs. If we become subject to these reporting requirements, we will be liable for errors associated with our submission of pricing data, for failure to report pricing data in a timely manner, and for overcharging government payers, which can result in civil monetary penalties under the Medicaid statute, the federal civil False Claims Act, and other laws and regulations.
Risks Related to Employee Matters
Our future success depends on our ability to retain our chief executive officer and other key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
Our industry has experienced a high rate of turnover of management personnel in recent years. We are highly dependent on the research and development, regulatory, commercialization and business development expertise of our executive management team, as well as the other principal members of our management, scientific and clinical team. Although we have formal employment agreements with our executive officers, these agreements do not prevent them from terminating their employment with us at any time. For instance, in December 2017, our former chief medical officer
terminated his employment with us and in March 2018, our former chief financial officer terminated her employment with us.
We do not have formal employment agreements with any of our other employees. If we lose one or more of our executive officers or key employees, our ability to implement our business strategy successfully could be seriously harmed. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize products successfully. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these additional key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to develop and commercialize product candidates will be limited.
The business that we conduct outside the United States may be adversely affected by international risk and uncertainties.
Although our operations are based in the United States, we conduct business outside the United States and expect to continue to do so in the future. For instance, many of the sites at which our clinical trials are or may be conducted are outside the United States. In addition, we plan to seek approvals to sell our products in foreign countries. Any business that we conduct outside the United States will be subject to additional risks that may materially adversely affect our ability to conduct business in international markets, including:
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potentially reduced protection for intellectual property rights;
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the potential for so-called parallel importing, which is what happens when a local seller, faced with high or higher local prices, opts to import goods from a foreign market (with low or lower prices) rather than buying them locally;
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unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers and regulatory requirements;
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economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets;
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workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States;
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production shortages resulting from any events affecting a product candidate and/or finished drug product supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad;
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business interruptions resulting from geo-political actions, including war and terrorism, or natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, floods and fires; and
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failure to comply with Office of Foreign Asset Control rules and regulations and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
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Our internal computer systems, or those of any collaborators, contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our product development programs or overall business operations.
Our internal computer infrastructure and those of any collaborators, contractors or consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. While we have not experienced any such material system failure, accident or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our development programs and our business operations, whether due to a loss of our trade secrets or other proprietary information or other similar disruptions. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability, our competitive position could be harmed and the further development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed or halted.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our common stock.
Our stock price may be volatile. The stock market in general and the market for smaller pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. For example, our stock traded within a range of a high price of $52.90 per share and a low price of $2.01 per share for the period beginning March 20, 2013, our first day of trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market,
through November 7, 2018
. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell their common stock at or above the prices they paid for it. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:
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revenues related to Xerava;
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the filing and approval of marketing applications for our product candidates;
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the timing of clinical trials of our product candidates;
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results of clinical trials of our product candidates;
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regulatory actions by the FDA or equivalent authorities in foreign jurisdictions with respect to Xerava and any other product candidate;
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failure or discontinuation of any of our development programs;
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the success of existing or new competitive products or technologies;
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results of clinical trials of product candidates of our competitors;
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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;
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developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;
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the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
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the level of expenses related to any of our product candidates or clinical development programs;
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the results of our efforts to develop, in-license or acquire additional product candidates or products;
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actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts;
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announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts or licensing or other strategic transactions;
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sales of our common stock by us, our insiders or other stockholders;
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variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
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changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, that cover our stock;
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changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
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market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;
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general economic, industry and market conditions; and
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the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
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We have been, currently are and may again be subject to class action litigation and have been and may again be subject to shareholder derivative litigation, which could distract our management and could result in substantial costs or large judgments against us.
The stock market frequently experiences extreme price and volume fluctuations. We have experienced significant declines in our stock price following our announcements that our phase 3 clinical trials for eravacycline for the treatment of patients with cUTI did not meet the primary endpoints of those trials. In addition, the market prices of securities of companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry have been extremely volatile and have experienced fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These fluctuations could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against companies following periods of volatility in the market prices of their securities. For instance, in January 2016 and March 2016, two class action lawsuits were filed against us, our chief executive officer and certain former executives in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. These cases were subsequently consolidated. In November 2017 plaintiffs withdrew a pending appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
In addition, in May 2016, a shareholder derivative action was filed against our chief executive officer, certain former executive officers, all the members of our current board of directors, a former board member, and against us as nominal defendant, in Massachusetts Superior Court (Suffolk County). This case was subsequently dismissed by the court without prejudice due to the plaintiff’s failure to properly perfect service of process.
Furthermore, in July 2018 a class action lawsuit was filed against us, or chief executive officer, our chief scientific officer and other third parties in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with the failure of IGNITE3 to meet its co-primary endpoints. Due to the volatility in our stock price, we may be the target of similar litigation in the future.
In connection with our current litigation and any such future litigation, we could incur substantial costs and such costs and any related settlements or judgments may not be covered by insurance. We could also suffer an adverse impact on our reputation and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could cause serious harm to our business, operating results and financial condition.
An active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained.
Although we have listed our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, an active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained. In the absence of an active trading market for our common stock, investors may not be able to sell their common stock at or above the price at which they acquired the common stock or at the times that they would like to sell. An inactive trading market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will depend on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. There can be no assurance that analysts will cover us, or provide favorable coverage. If one or more analysts downgrade our stock or change their opinion of our stock, our share price would likely decline. In addition, if one or more analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
We have broad discretion in the use of our cash reserves and may not use them effectively.
Our management has broad discretion to use our cash reserves and could spend these reserves in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common stock. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, cause the price of our common stock to decline and delay the development of our products and product candidates. Pending their use, we may invest our cash reserves in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.
Failure to maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the future could have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce accurate financial statements and on our stock price.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us, on an annual basis, to review and evaluate our internal controls. To maintain compliance with Section 404, we are required to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting,
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which has been bot
h costly and challenging. We will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, continue to engage outside consultants and follow a detailed work plan to continue to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue
to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. There is a risk that in the futur
e neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm will be able to conclude within the prescribed timeframe that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. If we identify one or more material weak
nesses, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.
We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future; accordingly, stockholders must rely on capital appreciation, if any, for any return on their investment.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the operation, development and growth of our business. The terms of the Loan Agreement precluded us from paying dividends, and any future debt agreements may also preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be the sole source of gain for our stockholders for the foreseeable future.
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our corporate charter and our by-laws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors. Among other things, these provisions:
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establish a classified board of directors such that all members of the board are not elected at one time;
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allow the authorized number of our directors to be changed only by resolution of our board of directors;
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limit the manner in which stockholders can remove directors from the board;
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establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted on at stockholder meetings;
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require that stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called stockholder meeting and prohibit actions by our stockholders by written consent;
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limit who may call a special meeting of stockholder meetings;
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authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to institute a “poison pill” that would work to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer, effectively preventing acquisitions that have not been approved by our board of directors; and
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require the approval of the holders of at least 75% of the votes that all our stockholders would be entitled to cast to amend or repeal certain provisions of our charter or by-laws.
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Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner. This could discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us, whether or not it is desired by, or beneficial to, our stockholders.