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Risk Factors - AGIO
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
We have certain processes for assessing, identifying and managing cybersecurity risks, which are built into our overall information technology function and are designed to help protect our information assets and operations from internal and external cyber threats, and protect employee, collaborator and patient information from unauthorized access or attack, as well as secure our networks and systems. Such processes include physical, procedural and technical safeguards, response plans, regular tests on our systems, incident simulations and routine review of our policies and procedures to identify risks and refine our practices . We engage certain external parties, including consultants, computer security firms and risk management advisors, peer companies, industry groups and governance experts, to enhance our cybersecurity oversight including by gaining valuable insights into the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape . We consider the internal risk oversight programs of third-party service providers before engaging them in order to help protect us from any related vulnerabilities. We do not believe that there are currently any known risks from cybersecurity threats that are reasonably likely to materially affect us or our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. Our Senior Director, Technology Services, referred to herein as the Head of Cybersecurity , leads the operational oversight of company-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards and processes and works across relevant departments to assess and help prepare us and our employees to address cybersecurity risks. Our Head of Cybersecurity has worked in the information technology field for over 30 years at both biotechnology companies and internet service providers, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. We also maintain a team of experienced senior level engineers who design, implement and operate our information technology ecosystem, helping to implement cybersecurity best practices throughout our information technology infrastructure and governance processes. We periodically assess our processes against cybersecurity frameworks, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, Cybersecurity Framework, Center for Internet Security, or CIS, Controls, International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, 27001 and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks and uncertainties we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently deem less significant may also impair our business operations. Please see page 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of some of the forward-looking statements that are qualified by these risk factors. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Related to the Discovery, Development, and Commercialization of our Products and Product Candidates
If we do not successfully commercialize PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ and other products for which we receive approval, our prospects may be substantially harmed.
Our ability to generate meaningful revenue from PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™ will depend heavily on our successful development and commercialization of the product. Our ability to generate revenue from PYRUKYND® will depend heavily on our successful development and commercialization of the product. We generated $54.0 million, $36.5 million and $26.8 million of net product revenues from sales of PYRUKYND® in the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We commercially launched AQVESME™ in the United States in late January 2026. In connection with our regulatory approvals in the EU, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia, we are currently providing access to PYRUKYND® through the Avanzanite Agreement and the NewBridge Agreement, as applicable, and on a for charge and free of charge basis for eligible patients in those jurisdictions and other jurisdictions through a global managed access program. Revenues associated with the NewBridge Agreement, the Avanzanite Agreement and our global managed access program are included in the rest of world product revenue line within Results of Operations. We continue to evaluate other options for the commercialization of PYRUKYND® outside of the United States, including through exploring potential partnership opportunities.
The development and commercialization of PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™ could be unsuccessful if:
•the medical community and third-party payors do not accept PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™ as safe, efficacious and cost-effective in the approved jurisdictions and indications;
•we fail to maintain the necessary financial resources and expertise to manufacture, market and sell PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™;
•we fail to develop, implement and maintain effective marketing, sales and distribution strategies and operations for the development and commercialization of PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™, including PYRUKYND® under the NewBridge Agreement and the Avanzanite Agreement;
•we fail to continue to develop, validate and maintain commercially viable manufacturing processes for PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™ that are compliant with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP;
•we fail to successfully obtain third party reimbursement and generate and sustain commercial demand that results in expected sales of PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™;
•PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™ become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations and third-party reimbursement practices;
•we encounter any third-party patent interference, derivation, inter partes review, post-grant review, reexamination or patent infringement claims with respect to PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™;
•we fail to comply with regulatory and legal requirements applicable to the sale of PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™;
•competing drug products are approved for the same indications or in the same jurisdictions as PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™;
•significant safety, manufacturing and/or quality risks are identified;
•PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™ fail to gain and/or maintain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community;
•a significant number of eligible patients are not prescribed PYRUKYND® or AQVESME™ and, if they are, such patients do not stay on treatment;
•the product does not demonstrate acceptable safety and efficacy in current or future clinical trials, or otherwise does not meet applicable regulatory standards for approval in other indications; or
•the requirements of the AQVESME™ REMS make it more difficult and/or time-consuming for physicians to prescribe AQVESME™ and for patients to subsequently use AQVESME™.
If we experience significant delays or an inability to successfully develop and commercialize PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™, our business would be materially harmed.If we experience significant delays or an inability to successfully develop and commercialize PYRUKYND® our business would be materially harmed.
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We depend heavily on the success of our clinical-stage product candidates, including the potential approval of mitapivat for the treatment of thalassemia in the EU, or SCD in the United States and in other jurisdictions. Clinical trials of our product candidates may not be successful for a number of important reasons. If we or our collaborators are unable to commercialize our product candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.
We have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in the identification of our product candidates and the development of our most advanced clinical programs, including mitapivat and tebapivat.We have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in the identification of our product candidates and development of our most advanced clinical programs. Our ability to generate meaningful product revenue will depend heavily on the successful clinical development and eventual commercialization of our current and any future product candidates, including mitapivat. We cannot be certain that we will obtain marketing approval of mitapivat in jurisdictions with pending or potential future marketing applications for thalassemia, nor can we be certain that we will obtain marketing approval of mitapivat for SCD or for any other indication.
We, and any collaborators, are not permitted to commercialize, market, promote or sell any product candidate in the United States without obtaining marketing approval from the FDA. Foreign regulatory authorities, such as the EMA, impose similar requirements in foreign jurisdictions. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of our product candidates, we must complete preclinical development and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans.
Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is uncertain as to outcome. We cannot guarantee that any clinical trials will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. The clinical development of our product candidates is susceptible to the risk of failure inherent at any stage of product development. Moreover, we, or any collaborators, may experience any of a number of possible unforeseen adverse events in connection with clinical trials, many of which are beyond our control, including:
•we, or our collaborators, may fail to demonstrate efficacy in a clinical trial or across a broad population of patients;
•it is possible that even if one or more of our product candidates has a beneficial effect, that effect will not be detected during clinical evaluation as a result of one or more of a variety of factors, including the size, duration, design, measurements, conduct or analysis of our clinical trials. Conversely, as a result of the same factors, our clinical trials may indicate an apparent positive effect of a product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect, if any. For example, many compounds that initially showed promise in earlier stage testing for treating specific indications have later been found to cause side effects that prevented further development of the compound;
•our product candidates may have undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics or otherwise expose participants to unacceptable health risks, causing us, our collaborators or our investigators, regulators or institutional review boards or the data safety monitoring board for such trial to halt, delay, interrupt, suspend or terminate the trials or cause us, or any collaborators, to abandon or limit development of that product candidate 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;
•if our product candidates have undesirable side effects, it could result in a more restrictive label or the addition of safety warnings, or it could result in the delay or denial of marketing approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. For example, the U.S. Prescribing Information, or USPI, for PYRUKYND® includes a warning regarding the risk of potential hepatocellular injury, and the USPI for AQVESME™ contains a boxed warning regarding the potential for hepatocellular injury. In addition, the FDA has required and might in the future require the development and submission of REMS for our products. For example, to mitigate the risk of hepatocellular injury, AQVESME™ is available only through the REMS approved by the FDA;
•clinical trials of our product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we, or our collaborators, may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials, including testing in more subjects, or abandon product development programs;
•regulators or institutional review boards may not authorize us, our collaborators or our investigators to commence a clinical trial or conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site;
•we or our collaborators may have delays in reaching or failing to reach agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective trial sites;
•the number of patients required for clinical trials of our product candidates may be larger than we anticipate; enrollment in these clinical trials, which may be particularly challenging for some of the orphan diseases we target in our rare disease programs, 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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•third-party contractors used by us or our collaborators may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations in a timely manner, or at all;
•significant preclinical study or clinical trial delays could shorten any periods during which we, or any collaborators, may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors, or the competitors of any collaborators, to bring products to market before we, or any collaborators, do;
•the cost of clinical trials of our product candidates may be greater than anticipated; and
•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.
In December 2016, we withdrew our IND for AG-519, our second PK activator, following verbal notification of a clinical hold from the FDA relating to a previously disclosed case of drug-induced cholestatic hepatitis which occurred in our phase 1 clinical trial of AG-519 in healthy volunteers. Although these decisions and this hepatic adverse event finding do not affect our ongoing clinical trials for mitapivat or tebapivat, we cannot provide any assurances that there will not be other treatment-related severe adverse events in our other clinical trials, or that our other trials will not be placed on clinical hold in the future. Although these decisions and this hepatic adverse event finding do not affect our ongoing clinical trials for PYRUKYND®, our first PKR activator, we cannot provide any assurances that there will not be similar or other treatment-related severe adverse events in our other clinical trials of PYRUKYND®, that our other trials will not be placed on clinical hold in the future, or that patient recruitment for our other trials will not be adversely impacted.
Our failure to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates and obtain regulatory approval to market any of our product candidates could significantly harm our business.
PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any of our product candidates that may receive marketing approval in the future, may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any of our product candidates that may receive marketing approval in the future, may fail to gain and/or maintain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community, which could limit our ability to generate product revenue and impact our ability to become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ and any of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:
•efficacy and potential advantages compared to alternative treatments;
•the prevalence and severity of any side effects;
•the ability to offer our medicines for sale at competitive prices;
•convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;
•the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies;
•ensuring uninterrupted product supply;
•the strength of sales, marketing and distribution support, including under any distribution agreement with third parties;
•sufficient third-party coverage or reimbursement;
•product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA or other regulatory authorities, including any limitations or warnings contained in a product’s approved labeling, such as the USPI for AQVESME™ containing a boxed warning regarding the potential for hepatocellular injury; and
•a requirement to implement a REMS, such as the REMS required for AQVESME™. Failure of physicians, prescribers, pharmacies or patients to enroll in our REMS program or to successfully complete and comply with its requirements may result in regulatory action from the FDA or decreased sales of AQVESME™.
If we are unable to maintain sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates, we may not be successful in commercializing PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any of our product candidates if they are approved.If we are unable to establish and maintain sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates, we may not be successful in commercializing PYRUKYND® or our product candidates if they are approved.
We have limited experience in the sale, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products. To achieve commercial success for approved medicines for which we retain sales and marketing responsibilities, we must either continue to develop our sales and marketing organization or outsource these functions to other third parties. To achieve commercial success for approved medicines for which we retain sales and marketing responsibilities, we must either develop a sales and marketing organization or outsource these functions to other third parties. We have established sales and marketing capabilities to support our commercialization of PYRUKYND® for the treatment of hemolytic anemia in adults with PK deficiency in the United States and have expanded these capabilities to support the commercial launch of AQVESME™ for the treatment of anemia in adults with non-transfusion dependent and transfusion-dependent alpha- or beta-thalassemia in the United States.
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We may need to further build our sales and marketing infrastructure, either directly or with third-party partners to commercialize PYRUKYND® in additional markets outside of the United States, or to commercialize any of our other product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. For example, we have entered into distribution agreements with third parties for the commercialization of PYRUKYND® in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States, including the NewBridge Agreement and the Avanzanite Agreement.
There are risks involved with both establishing our own sales and marketing capabilities and entering into arrangements with third parties to perform these services. For example, recruiting and training a sales force is expensive, time consuming and could delay any product launch. For example, recruiting and training a sales force is expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch. If the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. This may be costly, and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel.
Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our medicines on our own include:
•our inability to recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;
•the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or persuade adequate numbers of physicians to prescribe any future medicines;
•the lack of complementary medicines to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and
•unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization.
If we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing and distribution services, our product revenue or the profitability of product revenue to us are likely to be lower than if we were to market and sell any medicines that we develop ourselves. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into such arrangements with third parties or we may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into arrangements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates or may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. We likely will have little control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our medicines effectively. If we do not establish or maintain sales and marketing capabilities successfully, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. 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 PYRUKYND® or any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval.
We may engage in in-licensing transactions or acquisitions that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders or reduce our financial resources.We may engage in acquisitions that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders or reduce our financial resources.
We may engage in transactions to in-license products, technologies or assets or to acquire other products, technologies, assets or businesses. As part of our strategy, we plan to prioritize in-licensing or acquiring assets for future pipeline growth. For example, in July 2023, we entered into a license agreement with Alnylam for the development and commercialization of products containing or comprised of an siRNA development candidate discovered by Alnylam and targeting the TMPRSS6 gene, and we are developing a product candidate, AG-236, for the potential treatment of patients with PV.
Our ability to successfully in-license or acquire assets and develop product candidates following such transactions is unproven. If we do identify additional suitable candidates or assets for in-licensing transactions or acquisitions, we may not be able to make such transactions on favorable terms, or at all. Such transactions may require us to relinquish rights to develop product candidates in certain indications, limit our ability to pursue certain targets or require us to make significant milestone or royalty payments to third parties upon achievement of certain events. For example, we are responsible for paying up to $130.0 million in potential development and regulatory milestones, in addition to sales milestones as well as tiered royalties on annual net sales, if any, of any licensed products, under our license agreement with Alnylam. Further, any in-licensing transaction or acquisitions we undertake may not strengthen our competitive position, and these transactions may be viewed negatively by customers or investors. We may decide to incur debt in connection with an acquisition or an in-licensing transaction or issue our common stock or other equity securities to the stockholders of the counterparty, which would reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders. We may decide to incur debt in connection with an acquisition or issue our common stock or other equity securities to the stockholders of the acquired company, which would reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders. We could incur losses resulting from undiscovered liabilities of the acquired business, product or technology that are not covered by the indemnification we may obtain from the seller. We could incur losses resulting from undiscovered liabilities of the acquired business that are not covered by the indemnification we may obtain from the seller. In addition, we may not be able to successfully integrate the acquired personnel, technologies and operations into our existing business in an effective, timely and non-disruptive manner. Such transactions may also divert management attention from day-to-day responsibilities, increase our expenses and reduce our cash available for operations and other uses. Acquisitions may also divert management attention from day-to-day responsibilities, increase our expenses and reduce our cash available for operations and other uses. We cannot ensure that following any transaction we would achieve the expected synergies to justify the transactions. We cannot predict the number, timing or size of future transactions or the effect that any such transactions might have on our operating results. We cannot predict the number, timing or size of future acquisitions or the effect that any such transactions might have on our operating results.
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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 or our collaborators may not be able to initiate, continue or complete clinical trials for our product candidates if we or they are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials as required by the FDA or analogous regulatory authorities outside the United States.
Patient enrollment is affected by factors including:
•prevalence and severity of the disease under investigation;
•availability and efficacy of approved medications for the disease under investigation;
•eligibility criteria for the study in question;
•perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study;
•efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;
•patient referral practices of physicians;
•the ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment;
•proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients; and
•the impact of any health epidemics, pandemics or other contagious outbreaks or geopolitical events, such as war.
We generally focus our development activities on genetically or biomarker defined patients most likely to respond to our therapies. As a result, the potential patient populations for our clinical trials are narrowed, and we may experience difficulties in identifying and enrolling a sufficient number of patients in our clinical trials.
In addition, some of our competitors may have ongoing or planned clinical trials for product candidates that would treat the same indications as our product candidates, and patients who would otherwise be eligible for our clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors’ product candidates. Competition for eligible patients may make it particularly difficult for us to enroll a sufficient number of patients to complete our clinical trials for our product candidates in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Ongoing or unanticipated geopolitical events in countries where we may to have clinical trial sites could also negatively impact our ability to initiate, enroll and retain patients in, and conduct clinical trials.
We rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials, and while we have agreements governing their committed activities, we have limited influence over their actual performance. Our or our collaborators’ inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical trials would result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether, or result in increased development costs for our product candidates, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our or our collaborators’ inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical trials would result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether.
Results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be predictive of results of later-stage clinical trials.
The outcome of our preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of our later clinical trials, and positive results of our completed clinical trials do not necessarily predict success in our future clinical trials.The outcome of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of clinical trials do not necessarily predict success in future clinical trials. Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in earlier stages of development, and we could face similar setbacks. The design of a clinical trial can determine whether its results will support approval of a product and flaws in the design of a clinical trial may not become apparent until the clinical trial is well advanced. 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. Many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have 33Table of Contentsnonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval for the product candidates. Even if we or our collaborators believe that the results of clinical trials for our product candidates warrant marketing approval, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree and may not grant marketing approval of our product candidates. Even if we, or any collaborators, believe that the results of clinical trials for our product candidates 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 or efficacy results between different clinical 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, changes in and adherence to the dosing regimen and other clinical trial protocols and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants. If we fail to receive positive results in clinical trials of our product candidates, the development timeline and regulatory approval and commercialization prospects for our most advanced product candidates, and, correspondingly, our business and financial prospects would be negatively impacted.
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Interim and preliminary data from clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data becomes available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
From time to time, we may announce or publish interim or preliminary data from our clinical trials. Interim or preliminary data from clinical trials are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations, and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully evaluate all data. Preliminary or interim data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we have previously published. As a result, interim and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could be material and could significantly harm our reputation and business prospects.
We conduct clinical trials at sites outside the United States. The FDA may not accept data from trials conducted in such locations, and the conduct of trials outside the United States could subject us to additional delays and expense.
We conduct and plan to conduct one or more clinical trials with one or more trial sites that are located outside the United States. The acceptance by the FDA or other regulatory authorities of study data from clinical trials conducted outside their jurisdiction may be subject to certain conditions or may not be accepted at all.
Where the foreign study data are not intended to serve as the sole basis for approval, the FDA will not accept the data as support for an application for marketing approval unless the study is well-designed and well-conducted in accordance with GCP requirements and the FDA is able to validate the data from the study through an onsite inspection if deemed necessary. Many foreign regulatory authorities have similar approval requirements. In addition, such foreign trials would be subject to the applicable local laws of the foreign jurisdictions where the trials are conducted. There can be no assurance that the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States or the applicable jurisdiction. If the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority does not accept such data, it would result in the need for additional trials, which could be costly and time-consuming, and may result in current or future product candidates that we may develop not receiving approval for commercialization in the applicable jurisdiction.
Conducting clinical trials outside the United States also exposes us to additional risks, including risks associated with foreign exchange fluctuations, compliance with foreign manufacturing, customs, shipment and storage requirements, cultural differences in medical practice and clinical research, diminished protection of intellectual property in some countries, and interruptions or delays in our trials resulting from geopolitical events, such as war or terrorism.
We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we focus on research programs and product candidates that we identify for specific indications. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. We are prioritizing investment in advancing our late lead-optimization research, while continuing to progress our registration-enabling clinical programs. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial medicines or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable medicines. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate.
We or others may later discover that PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any of our product candidates that may receive marketing approval in the future, is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, which could compromise our ability, or that of any collaborators, to market the product.Even if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, we or others may later discover that the product is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, which could compromise our ability, or that of any collaborators, to market the product.
It is possible that our clinical trials, or those of any collaborators, may indicate an apparent positive effect of a product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect, if any, or alternatively fail to identify undesirable side effects. If, following approval of a product candidate, including PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™, we, or others, discover that the product is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, any of the following adverse events could occur:
•regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval of the product or seize the product;
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•we, or any collaborators, may be required to recall the product, change the way the product is administered or conduct additional clinical trials;
•additional restrictions may be imposed on the marketing of, or the manufacturing processes for, the particular product;
•we may be subject to fines, injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties;
•regulatory authorities may require the addition of warnings on the product label, require a REMS or or modify an existing REMS;
•we, or any collaborators, may be required to create a Medication Guide outlining the risks of the previously unidentified side effects for distribution to patients;
•we, or any collaborators, could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients;
•the product may become less competitive; and
•our reputation may suffer.
For example, the USPI for PYRUKYND® includes a warning regarding the risk of potential hepatoceullar injury, and the USPI for AQVESME™ contains a boxed warning regarding the potential for hepatocellular injury. In addition, to mitigate the risk of hepatocellular injury, AQVESME™ is available only through the REMS program approved by the FDA. If we are unable to comply with any REMS imposed on any of our products, we may face additional restrictions, limitations or substantial penalties, any of which may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. We cannot predict whether the FDA will request, seek to require or ultimately require modifications to, or impose additional requirements on, the AQVESME™ REMS.
We provide certain development estimates related to the development and regulatory approval of our product candidates, including mitapivat. If we do not achieve our projected development or regulatory approval estimates in the timeframes we announce and expect, the commercialization of our products may be delayed and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
From time to time, we provide estimates related to the development of mitapivat and our other product candidates. We also estimate the timing of the anticipated accomplishment of various scientific, preclinical, clinical, regulatory and other product development goals. These estimates may include the commencement or completion of clinical trials, the timing of completing enrollment, the timing for reporting clinical trial results and the timing of submission of regulatory filings in various jurisdictions. From time to time, we may publicly announce our estimates, including the timing of certain milestones related to our product candidates. All of these estimates are and will be based on numerous assumptions. The actual results and timing of our preclinical studies, clinical trials and regulatory submissions can vary dramatically compared to our estimates, in some cases for reasons beyond our control. If our estimates change or we do not meet the timing of our estimates as publicly announced, or at all, the commercialization of our products may be delayed or never achieved and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do.
We face competition with respect to PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™, mitapivat, tebapivat and our other product candidates, and we will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future.We face competition with respect to PYRUKYND® and our current product candidates, and we and our collaborators will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we or they may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. Potential competitors may include major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. Potential competitors include major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of the indications for which we are developing our product or our product candidates, such as PK deficiency, thalassemia, SCD, LR MDS, PKU, and PV. There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of the disease indications for which we are developing our product or our product candidates, such as PK deficiency, thalassemia, SCD and L-IR MDS. For example, Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, or BMS, are marketing a therapy to treat beta thalassemia and LR MDS, and are conducting clinical trials for alpha thalassemia and LR MDS patients that are erythropoiesis-stimulating agent naïve and non-transfusion dependent; Geron Corporation has an FDA approved treatment for adults with LR MDS with transfusion-dependent anemia; Halia is developing HT-6184 for the treatment of LR-MDS; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, or Takeda, in collaboration with Keros Therapeutics, Inc., are developing a therapy to treat LR-MDS; Novartis International AG is marketing a therapy and has another molecule in clinical trials to treat SCD; Emmaus Life Sciences is marketing a therapy to treat SCD; BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. is marketing and conducting clinical trials for therapies to treat PKU; PTC has an approved treatment for PKU; Pfizer, CSL Behring, and Cellarity, Inc. are conducting clinical trials for therapies in SCD; Novo Nordisk A/S is conducting clinical trials for the treatment of alpha and beta thalassemia and SCD; Sanofi is conducting clinical trials for a therapy in SCD; Genetix Biotherapeutics Inc. (formerly bluebird bio) is marketing a gene therapy to treat transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia and SCD; Vertex, with CRISPR, is marketing a gene therapy targeting SCD and transfusion-
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dependent beta-thalassemia; DISC Medicine, Inc., or DISC, is conducting a clinical trial for a potential treatment for SCD; Fulcrum Therapeutics Inc. is conducting clinical trials for a potential treatment for SCD; BMS is conducting clinical trials for a potential treatment for SCD; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., NGGT Inc., and Maze Therapeutics, Inc. are conducting clinical trials for potential treatments for PKU; PharmaEssentia Corp and Incyte Corporation are marketing therapies to treat PV, and Protagonist Therapeutics in collaboration with Takeda, Ionis in collaboration with Ono/Deciphera, Italfarmaco S.p.A., DISC, Merck, and Silence Therapeutics are developing therapies to treat PV; and a number of other biotechnology companies have product candidates in clinical development in similar indications as ours.
There are a variety of treatment options available, including a number of marketed enzyme replacement therapies, or ERTs, for treating patients with rare diseases. In addition to currently marketed therapies, there are also a number of products that are either ERTs, gene therapies or PK activators in various stages of clinical development to treat rare diseases. In addition to currently marketed therapies, there are also a number of products that are either enzyme replacement therapies, gene therapies or PK activators in various stages of clinical development to treat GDDs. These products in development may provide efficacy, safety, convenience and other benefits that are not provided by currently marketed therapies or for which there are no approved treatments. As a result, they may provide significant competition for any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval.
Our competitors may develop products that are more effective, safer, more convenient or less costly than PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any product candidates that we are developing or that would render PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or our product candidates obsolete or non-competitive. Our competitors may develop products that are more effective, safer, more convenient or less costly than PYRUKYND® or any product candidates that we are developing or that would render PYRUKYND® or our product candidates obsolete or non-competitive. In addition, our competitors may discover biomarkers that more efficiently measure metabolic pathways than our methods, which may give them a competitive advantage in developing potential products. Our competitors may also obtain marketing approval from the FDA or other regulatory authorities for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.
Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and globally marketing approved products 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 clinical stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These companies 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 or in-licensing technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. 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.
If the FDA does not grant our products, if and when approved, appropriate periods of regulatory exclusivity before approving generic or follow-on versions of our products, the sales of our products could be adversely affected.If the FDA does not grant our products, if and when approved, appropriate periods of data exclusivity before approving generic or follow-on versions of our products, the sales of our products could be adversely affected.
With FDA approval of an NDA, the product covered by the application is specified as a “reference-listed drug” in the FDA’s publication, “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” or the Orange Book. Manufacturers may seek approval of generic versions of reference-listed drugs through submission of abbreviated new drug applications, or ANDAs, in the United States.
In support of an ANDA, a generic manufacturer need not conduct clinical trials. Rather, the sponsor generally must show that its product has the same active ingredient(s), dosage form, strength, route of administration and conditions of use or labeling as the reference-listed drug and that the generic version is bioequivalent to the reference-listed drug, meaning it is absorbed in the body at the same rate and to the same extent. Rather, the applicant generally must show that its product has the same active ingredient(s), dosage form, strength, route of administration and conditions of use or labeling as the reference-listed drug and that the generic version is bioequivalent to the reference-listed drug, meaning it is absorbed in the body at the same rate and to the same extent. Generic products may be significantly less costly to bring to market than the reference-listed drug and companies that produce generic products are generally able to offer them at lower prices. Thus, following the introduction of a generic drug, a significant percentage of the sales of any reference-listed drug may be lost to the generic product.
A manufacturer may also submit an NDA under section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, that references the FDA’s prior approval of the innovator product or preclinical studies and/or clinical trials that were not conducted by, or for, the sponsor and for which the sponsor has not obtained a right of reference. A 505(b)(2) NDA product, or follow-on-product, may be for a new or improved version of the original reference listed drug. A 505(b)(2) NDA product, or follow-product, may be for a new or improved version of the original reference listed drug.
The FDA may not approve an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA until any applicable period of regulatory exclusivity for the reference-listed drug has expired, subject to certain exceptions.
In the event that a generic or follow-on manufacturer is somehow able to obtain FDA approval without adherence to the periods of regulatory exclusivity, the competition that our approved products may face from generic and follow-on versions could negatively impact our future revenue, profitability and cash flows and substantially limit our ability to obtain a return on our investments in those product candidates.
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In addition, if there are patents listed for our drug products in the Orange Book, ANDAs and 505(b)(2) NDAs would be required to include a certification as to each listed patent indicating whether the sponsor intends to challenge the patent. We cannot predict which, if any, patents in our current portfolio or patents we may obtain in the future will be eligible for listing in the Orange Book, how any generic or follow-on competitor would address such patents, whether we would sue on any such patents or the outcome of any such suit.
Product liability lawsuits against us or any collaborators could cause us or our collaborators to incur substantial liabilities and could limit commercialization of any medicines that we or they may develop.
We and any collaborators face a risk of product liability exposure related to our product candidates in human clinical trials and face an even greater risk as we or they commercially sell any medicines, including PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™. If we or any collaborators cannot successfully defend ourselves or themselves against claims that our product candidates or medicines caused injuries, we or they could incur substantial costs and liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may also result in, among other things, decreased demand for any product candidates or medicines that we may develop, reputational harm and lost revenue. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may also result in, among other thing, decreased demand for any product candidates or medicines that we may develop, reputational harm and lost revenue.
Although we maintain product liability insurance coverage, it may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur.
Our internal information technology systems, or those of any third parties with which we contract, may fail or suffer security breaches, loss of data or other disruptions which could result in a material disruption of our product development programs, compromise sensitive information related to our business or prevent us from accessing critical information, trigger legal obligations, potentially exposing us to liability, competitive or reputational harm or otherwise adversely affecting our business and financial results.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal information technology systems and those of third parties with which we contract are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, worms and other destructive or disruptive software, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of third parties with which we contract are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, worms and other destructive or disruptive software, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. Such systems are also vulnerable to service interruptions or to security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees, third-party vendors or business partners, or from cyber incidents by malicious third parties. Cybersecurity incidents are increasing in their frequency, sophistication and intensity, and have become increasingly difficult to detect. Cyber incidents are increasing in their frequency, sophistication and intensity, and have become increasingly difficult to detect. Cybersecurity incidents could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, unauthorized access to or deletion of files, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Cyber incidents could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, unauthorized access to or deletion of files, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Cybersecurity incidents also could include phishing attempts or e-mail fraud to cause payments or information to be transmitted to an unintended recipient. Cyber incidents also could include phishing attempts or e-mail fraud to cause payments or information to be transmitted to an unintended recipient. Attackers may use artificial intelligence and machine learning to launch more automated, targeted and coordinated attacks against targets. We could be subject to risks caused by misappropriation, misuse, leakage, falsification or intentional or accidental release or loss of information maintained in the information systems and networks of our company, including personal information of our employees. We may not be able to anticipate all types of security threats, and we may not be able to implement preventive measures effective against all such security threats. The techniques used by cyber criminals change frequently, may not be recognized until launched, and can originate from a wide variety of sources, including outside groups such as external service providers, organized crime affiliates, terrorist organizations or hostile foreign governments or agencies.
System failures, accidents, cybersecurity incidents or security breaches could cause interruptions in our operations, and could result in a material disruption of our clinical and commercialization activities and business operations, whether due to a loss of our trade secrets or other proprietary information or other similar disruptions, in addition to possibly requiring substantial expenditures of resources to remedy.System failures, accidents, cyber incidents or security breaches could cause interruptions in our operations, and could result in a material disruption of our clinical and commercialization activities and business operations, whether due to a loss of our trade secrets or other proprietary information or other similar disruptions, in addition to possibly requiring substantial expenditures of resources to remedy. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or future 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 our product research, development and commercialization efforts could be delayed. In addition, we may not have adequate insurance coverage to provide compensation for any losses associated with such events.
If a material breach of our security or that of our vendors occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed, and, as a result, we could lose business and our reputation and credibility could be damaged.If a material breach of our security or that of our vendors occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed, we could lose business and our reputation and credibility could be damaged. We could be required to expend significant amounts of money and other resources to repair or replace information systems or networks. Although we develop and maintain processes, systems and controls designed to prevent these events from occurring, and we have a process to assess, identify and manage threats, the development and maintenance of these systems, controls and processes is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Although we develop and maintain systems and controls designed to prevent these events from occurring, and we have a process to identify and mitigate threats, the development and maintenance of these systems, controls and processes is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Moreover, despite our efforts, the possibility of these events occurring cannot be
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eliminated entirely. We cannot guarantee that the measures we have taken to date, and actions we may take in the future, will be sufficient to prevent any cyber-attacks or security breaches.
We are subject to stringent privacy laws, information security laws, regulations, policies and contractual obligations related to data privacy and security and changes in such laws, regulations, policies, contractual obligations and failure to comply with such requirements could subject us to significant fines and penalties, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.Compliance with global privacy and data security requirements could result in additional costs and liabilities to us or inhibit our ability to collect and process data globally, and the failure to comply with such requirements could subject us to significant fines and penalties, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We are subject to data privacy and protection laws and regulations that apply to the collection, transmission, storage and use of personally-identifying information, which among other things, impose certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of personal information, including comprehensive regulatory systems in the United States and the EU. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve in jurisdictions worldwide, and we must devote significant resources and funds to understanding and complying with this changing landscape. Our efforts to comply with the evolving data protection rules may be unsuccessful. It is possible that these laws may be interpreted, enforced and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices.
There are numerous U.S. federal and state laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of personal information. In particular, regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, establish privacy and security standards that limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information, or protected health information, and require the implementation of administrative, physical and technological safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information.
The FTC has been particularly focused on the unpermitted processing of health and genetic data through its recent enforcement actions and is expanding the types of privacy violations that it interprets to be “unfair” under Section 5 of the FTC Act of 1914, as well as the types of activities it views to trigger the Health Breach Notification Rule. The FTC is also in the process of developing rules related to commercial surveillance and data security that may impact our business.
A number of states have passed comprehensive privacy laws and other states are strongly considering or in the process of enacting such laws. These laws create obligations related to the processing of personal information, as well as special obligations for the processing of “sensitive” data (which includes health data in some cases). In addition, Congress has also been debating passing a federal privacy law, and there are also states that are specifically regulating health information. These laws may impact our business activities, including our identification of research subjects, relationships with business partners and ultimately the marketing and distribution of our products.
There are also significant privacy and data security laws that apply in Europe and other countries. The collection, use, disclosure, transfer, or other processing of personal data, including personal health data, regarding individuals who are located in the European Economic Area, or EEA, and the processing of personal data that takes place in the EEA, is regulated by the GDPR. For example, the collection, use, disclosure, transfer, or other processing of personal data regarding individuals in the EU, including personal health data, is 37Table of Contentssubject to EU General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, which applies to all member states of the European Economic Area, or EEA. The GDPR imposes onerous accountability obligations requiring data controllers and processors to maintain a record of their data processing and policies. While many other countries outside of the EEA loosely follow GDPR as a model, other laws contain different or conflicting provisions.
Failure to comply with any of these laws and regulations could result in litigation, regulatory investigations or enforcement actions against us, orders to changes our practices, systems or policies, breaches of our contracts, fines, imprisonment of company officials and public censure, civil or criminal penalties, claims for damages by affected individuals, damage to our reputation and loss of goodwill, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. Even if we are not determined to have violated these laws, litigation or government investigations into these issues typically require the expenditure of significant resources and generate negative publicity. Even if we are not determined to have violated these laws, government investigations into these issues typically require the expenditure of significant resources and generate negative publicity, which could harm our reputation and our business.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position
We face challenges as a less diversified company.
The success of our rare disease business is subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the possibility that we may not be able to successfully commercialize PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™, the possibility that mitapivat is not approved for SCD, the possibility that mitapivat is not approved for thalassemia in additional jurisdictions, the possibility of adverse post-approval, clinical and other developments in respect of PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™, mitapivat, tebapivat or our other
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product candidates, and unanticipated changes in applicable laws and regulations that may adversely affect the rare disease business.
We may be more susceptible to changing market conditions, including fluctuations and risks particular to the markets for patients with rare diseases, than a more diversified company, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our results of operations, cash flows, working capital and financing requirements may be subject to increased volatility and our ability to fund capital expenditures and investments or satisfy other financial commitments may be diminished.
Raising additional capital may restrict our operations, require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates or cause dilution to our stockholders.Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue, including from potential future sales of PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™, we expect to finance our cash needs primarily through cash on hand, potential royalty payments with respect to annual U.S. net sales of vorasidenib in excess of $1.0 billion, or the Retained Earn-Out Rights, and, potentially, collaborations, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements and other nondilutive strategic transactions. In addition, we may pursue opportunistic debt offerings, and equity or equity-linked offerings. We do not have any committed external source of funds other than the potential Retained Earn-Out Rights described above and we cannot be certain we will ever receive any payments as a result of the Retained Earn-Out Rights. We do not have any committed external source of funds other than the potential milestone and royalty payments that we are eligible to receive under our purchase agreement with Servier. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Debt financing, if available, may require us to enter into agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, selling or licensing our assets, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. Debt financing, if available, may require us to enter into agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. In addition, securing financing could 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 of our product candidates.
If we raise funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.
If our existing capital is insufficient to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditures, we will need to raise capital, and if we are unable to raise capital when needed, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts.
We expect to incur significant expenses as we continue to advance our ongoing activities. Our estimate as to what extent we expect our existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities to be available to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditures is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our estimate as to how long we expect our existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities to be available to fund our operating plan is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Further, changing circumstances, some of which may be beyond our control, could cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to seek additional funds. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed or on attractive terms, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts, or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
•the amount and timing of future revenue received from commercial sales of PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any of our other product candidates for which we may receive marketing approval;
•the amount of payments, if any, we may receive on account of the Retained Earn-Out Rights;
•the costs and timing of our ongoing and future commercialization activities, including product manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution, for PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™ in the approved jurisdictions and indications and for any product candidate for which we may receive approval;
•the scope, progress, results and costs of preclinical development, laboratory testing and clinical trials for our product candidates;
•the costs associated with in-licensing or acquiring assets for pipeline growth, including the amount and timing of future milestone and royalty payments payable to Alnylam pursuant to the license agreement;
•the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates;
•the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending intellectual property-related claims;
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•our ability to establish and maintain collaborations on favorable terms, if at all;
•our ability to successfully execute on our strategic plans; and
•operational delays, disruptions and/or increased costs associated with public health pandemics, global economic and political developments.
We have historically incurred operating losses.We have a history of incurring operating losses. We expect to incur losses in the future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
We have a history of incurring operating losses. Our net loss for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $412.8 million, our net income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $673.7 million, and our net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $352.1 million. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $561.7 million. The net income we generated in the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily due to our receipt of the Upfront Payment related to the sale of the Vorasidenib Royalty Rights and our receipt of the Vorasidenib Milestone Payment. We are commercializing PYRUKYND® for the treatment of hemolytic anemia in adults with PK deficiency in the United States. Following the receipt of marketing approval in December 2025, we commercially launched AQVESME™ in the United States in late January 2026.
In connection with our regulatory approvals in the EU, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia, we provide access to PYRUKYND® to eligible patients through the Avanzanite Agreement and the NewBridge Agreement, as applicable, and on either a free of charge or for charge basis for eligible patients in those jurisdictions and other jurisdictions through a global managed access program. We continue to evaluate other options for the commercialization of PYRUKYND® outside of the United States, including through exploring potential partnership opportunities.
We expect to finance our operations primarily through cash on hand, potential royalty payments with respect to the Retained Earn-Out Rights, and, potentially, collaborations, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements and other nondilutive strategic transactions. In addition, we may pursue opportunistic debt offerings, and equity or equity-linked offerings. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and net losses until such time as we are able to report profitable results. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. We anticipate that we will incur significant expenses if and as we:
•commercialize PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™ for approved indications in approved jurisdictions;
•continue to establish and maintain a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ and other product candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval;
•initiate and continue clinical trials for our products and product candidates;
•continue our research and preclinical development of our product candidates and seek to identify additional product candidates;
•seek marketing approvals for our product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;
•require the manufacture of larger quantities of product candidates for clinical development and commercialization;
•maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;
•add additional personnel to support our product research and development and planned future commercialization efforts and our operations; and
•acquire or in-license other product candidates, medicines and technologies.
We may never achieve or maintain profitability. To become and remain profitable, we must develop and successfully commercialize medicines with significant market potential.To become and remain profitable, we must develop and successfully commercialize one or more medicines with significant market potential. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including completing preclinical testing and clinical trials of our product candidates, obtaining marketing approval for these product candidates, manufacturing, marketing and selling those medicines for which we may obtain marketing approval and satisfying any post-marketing requirements. 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, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company could also cause our stockholders to lose all or part of their investment.
Changes in tax laws or in their implementation or interpretation may adversely affect our business and financial condition. Changes in tax laws or in their implementation or interpretation may adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Income, sales, use or other tax laws, statutes, rules, or regulations could be enacted or amended at any time, which could affect our business or financial condition, including causing potentially adverse impacts to our effective tax rate, tax liabilities, and
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cash tax obligations. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, was signed into law in August 2022, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, was signed into law in July 2025. The OBBBA contains numerous tax provisions which may affect our business or financial condition. Regulatory guidance under the IRA, the OBBBA, and other tax-related legislation is and continues to be forthcoming, and such guidance could ultimately increase or lessen the impact of these laws on our business and financial condition. Regulatory guidance under the Tax Act, the FFCR Act, the CARES Act, the CAA and the ARPA is and continues to be forthcoming, and such guidance could ultimately increase or lessen impact of these laws on our business and financial condition. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to changes to federal tax legislation. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act, the FFCR Act, the CARES Act, the CAA or the ARPA.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We rely and expect to continue to rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials and some aspects of our research and preclinical testing, and those third parties may not perform satisfactorily, including failing to meet deadlines for the completion of such trials, research or testing.
We do not independently conduct clinical trials of any of our product candidates. We rely and expect to continue to rely on third parties, such as CROs, clinical data management organizations, medical institutions and clinical investigators, to conduct our clinical trials. In addition, we currently rely and expect to continue to rely on third parties to conduct some aspects of our research and preclinical testing. Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us, some in the event of an uncured material breach and some at any time. If any of our relationships with these third parties terminate, we may not be able to enter into similar arrangements with alternative third-parties or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional third parties involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. As a result, delays may occur in our product development activities. Although we seek to carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, we could encounter such challenges or delays that could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Our reliance on third parties for research and development activities reduces our control over these activities but does not relieve us of our responsibilities. For example, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol and legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of our responsibility to comply with any such standards. We and these third parties are required to comply with current good clinical practices, or cGCP, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA, the competent authorities of the member states of the EEA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in clinical development. We and these third parties are required to comply with current good clinical practices, or cGCP, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in clinical development. We cannot be certain that a given regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with cGCP regulations. We cannot assure you a given regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with cGCP regulations. Regulatory authorities enforce these cGCPs through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we or any of these third parties fail to comply with applicable cGCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, the EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We are exposed to risk of fraud or other misconduct by such third parties. We are exposed to risk of fraud or other misconduct by such third parties.
Furthermore, third parties on whom we rely may also have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors. In addition, these third parties are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such third parties, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing clinical, nonclinical, and preclinical programs.
If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, or if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, marketing approvals for our product candidates and will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to successfully commercialize our medicines.
If either we or any third parties on which we rely are adversely impacted by geopolitical events, delays may occur in our product development activities, which delays could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Any performance failure on the part of our distributors could delay clinical development or marketing approval of our product candidates or commercialization of our medicines, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential product revenue.
We contract with third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for preclinical and clinical testing and for commercialization.
We do not have any manufacturing or supply chain-related facilities. We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third-party manufacturers for the materials and manufacture of our product candidates for preclinical and clinical testing and for commercial supply of PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ and any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval.
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Although we have entered into long-term supply agreements for commercial supply of PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™ with third-party manufacturers, we may be unable to establish similar long-term supply agreements with third-party manufacturers with respect to our other product candidates or to do so on acceptable terms. Even if we are able to establish such agreements, reliance on third-party manufacturers entails additional risks, including: reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance, quality assurance, environmental and safety and pharmacovigilance reporting; the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party; and the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us. Even if we are able to establish agreements with third-party manufacturers, reliance on third-party manufacturers entails additional risks, including:•reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance, quality assurance, environmental and safety and pharmacovigilance reporting;42Table of Contents•the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party; and•the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us.
Third-party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMPs, regulations or similar regulatory requirements on a global basis. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with currently applicable regulations, or regulations or specifications to which we become subject in the future, could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of product candidates or medicines, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our medicines and harm our business and results of operations. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of product candidates or medicines, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our medicines and harm our business and results of operations.
In addition, we currently rely on foreign third-party manufacturers and/or CROs, including those in China, and will likely continue to rely on foreign third-party manufacturers and/or CROs in the future. Foreign third-party manufacturers and/or CROs may be subject to U.S. legislation, including sanctions, trade restrictions and other foreign regulatory requirements which could increase the cost or reduce the supply of material or services available to us, delay the procurement or supply of such material or services, or have an adverse effect on our ability to secure significant commitments from governments to purchase our potential therapies.
In December 2025, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2026, President Trump signed into law the BIOSECURE Act, which prohibits, subject to limited exceptions, the direct or indirect use of U.S. federal government contract, grant, and loan funds for purchasing biotechnology equipment and services from certain Chinese biotechnology companies of concern, or BCCs. Under the BIOSECURE Act, U.S. government agencies cannot (i) buy or obtain biotechnology equipment or services provided by a BCC, (ii) enter into, extend, or renew a contract with any entity using biotechnology equipment or services provided by a BCC to perform a government contract, or (iii) expend loan or grant funds for biotechnology equipment or services provided by a BCC. Instead of specifying particular Chinese entities as BCCs, the BIOSECURE Act treats any biotechnology companies that have been identified on the so-called 1260H List by the U.S. Department of Defense as Chinese Military Companies Operating in the United States as BCCs. The legislation allows for other biotechnology companies, possibly including WuXi entities, to be added to the federal funding prohibitions at a later time.
If either we or any third parties on which we rely are adversely impacted by restrictions resulting from the emergence of public health epidemics, by rising global energy costs or energy shortages or rationing and/or geopolitical events, our supply chain may be disrupted, limiting our ability to manufacture our product candidates for our clinical trials and research and development operations and our product for commercialization.
Any performance failure on the part of our existing or future manufacturers could delay preclinical development, clinical development, marketing approval or our commercialization efforts. Due to the volatility of the supply networks globally, we have obtained regulatory approval for redundant supply of raw materials for PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™, and have an ongoing program to monitor supply, including establishing safety stocks. While we maintain a broad safety stock of drug substance and drug product, we do not currently have arrangements in place for redundant supply of drug substance and drug product. If any one of our current contract manufacturers cannot perform as agreed, we may be required to replace that manufacturer. Although we believe that there are several potential alternative manufacturers who could manufacture our product or our product candidates, we may incur added costs and delays in identifying and qualifying any such replacement.
Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of our product candidates or medicines may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to commercialize any medicines that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.
We may depend on collaborations with third parties for the development and commercialization of our product candidates. If those collaborations are not successful, we may not be able to capitalize on the market potential of these product candidates.
We may seek collaborations for the development and commercialization of our product candidates with large and mid-size pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies or with other third parties. We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document. 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
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factors. We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. Collaborators may have rights that restrict us from entering into future agreements on certain terms with potential collaborators.
If we enter into any such arrangements with collaborators, we will likely have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our collaborators dedicate to the development or commercialization of our product candidates. Collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of our product candidates or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborator’s strategic focus or available funding, or external factors such as an acquisition that diverts resources or creates competing priorities. 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, which may result in a need for additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidate. 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 proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation. Disputes may arise between the collaborators and us that result in the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization of our medicines or product candidates or that result in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management attention and resources. Disputes may arise between the collaborators and us that result in the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization 41Table of Contentsof our medicines or product candidates or that result in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management attention and resources. In addition, our ability to enter into arrangements with collaborators in specific regions, such as the Middle East, may be affected by localized geopolitical unrest or military conflict, such as the current armed conflict in the region.
We use a third-party service provider to assist in the administration of the REMS for AQVESME™. If we or a third-party service provider acting on our behalf fail to effectively implement, monitor, report and administer the REMS for our products, we may be required to, among other things, modify such REMS, and we may be subject to FDA enforcement actions, such as seizure of the product, injunction against distribution, or to civil monetary penalties. If the FDA considers the conduct especially egregious, the FDA can refer the matter to the Department of Justice to pursue civil remedies, criminal prosecution or both. Additionally, if the third-party service provider fails to effectively administer the REMS, we could experience a material disruption to our commercial operations.
In addition, we do not have direct experience commercializing products outside of the United States and such efforts may depend on our ability to find a suitable distribution partner. In addition, we do not have experience commercializing products outside of the United States and such efforts may depend on our ability to find a suitable collaborator. For example, we have entered into the NewBridge Agreement and the Avanzanite Agreement for the commercialization of PYRUKYND® in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States. Pursuant to the NewBridge Agreement and the Avanzanite Agreement, we rely on our partners, in the GCC and in the EU and U.K., respectively, to assist with regulatory filings, prepare applications for pricing and reimbursement approval, negotiate with payors, conduct medical affairs activities and import, distribute, promote and commercialize our products in accordance with applicable law. If our distribution partners do not fulfill their obligations under these arrangements, or if they experience a change in strategic focus or available funding, our ability to generate revenue outside of the United States could be adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent or trade secret protection for our medicines and technology, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize medicines and technology similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our medicines and technology 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 medicines and technology. We seek to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel technologies and medicines that are important to our business. We do not yet have issued patents for all our most advanced product candidates in all markets in which we intend to commercialize but we continue to actively pursue patent protection for our assets around the world.
The patent prosecution process is costly and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is also possible that we will fail to identify and/or file patent applications on every aspect of our research and development output that is or may be eligible for patent protection. Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who may have access to patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, CROs, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose such output before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection. Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who may have access to patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract research organizations, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose such output before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection. There is also the possibility that loss or theft of data or records may jeopardize the ability to seek patent protection or impede the progress or drafting of patent applications.
We have licensed patent rights, and in the future may license additional patent rights, from third parties. Such licenses may be accompanied by milestone and/or royalty payment obligations. These licensed patent rights may be valuable to our business,
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and we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering technology or medicines underlying such licenses. We cannot be certain that these patents and applications will be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If any such licensors fail to maintain such patents, or lose rights to those patents, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated and our right to develop and commercialize any of our products that are the subject of such licensed rights could be adversely affected. In addition to the foregoing, the risks associated with patent rights that we license from third parties also apply to patent rights we own.
The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and 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. Our pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued that protect our technology or medicines or that effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and medicines. Our pending and future patent applications may 43Table of Contentsnot result in patents being issued that protect our technology or medicines or that effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and medicines. 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. The laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions.
The United States maintains a first inventor to file system in which, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application will be entitled to the patent. We may be subject to a third-party pre-issuance submission of prior art to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or become involved in opposition, derivation, revocation, reexamination, post-grant and inter partes review or interference proceedings 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 or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize medicines 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 or other third parties from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.
The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of the patent or in one or more patent claims being narrowed or invalidated, 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 medicines. Given the significant amount of time required for the discovery, development, preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory review and approval of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our intellectual property may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours. In such circumstances we would be relying primarily on regulatory or marketing exclusivity to exclude others from commercializing a generic version of our products.
We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors may infringe our patents and other intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive, time consuming and have uncertain outcomes. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming. For example, we may file patent infringement suits against any company that files an ANDA containing a Paragraph IV patent certification for mitapivat. In addition, a court may decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.
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Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we or our collaborators are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product and product candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights and intellectual property of third parties. We have in the past, are and may in the future become party to, or threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our medicines and technology, including opposition, derivation, revocation, reexamination, post-grant and inter partes review or interference proceedings before the USPTO or other patent offices around the world. We have in the past and may in the future become party to, or threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our medicines and technology, including opposition, derivation, revocation, reexamination, post-grant and inter partes review or interference proceedings before the USPTO or other patent offices around the world. For example, two of the European patents in our mitapivat portfolio, neither being the primary compound patent, have been challenged in opposition proceedings. The revocation of either of these European patents could potentially allow additional competitor drugs, if approved, to enter the European marketplace earlier than anticipated. After separate oral proceedings, both European patents were upheld by the European Opposition Division in written decisions in November 2025 and January 2026, respectively. These decisions can be appealed and we expect that appeals will be filed for both of the opposed European patents.
Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future. If we or one of our collaborators are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we or they could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing and marketing our medicines and technology. If we or one of our collaborators are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we or they could be required to 44Table of Contentsobtain a license from such third party to continue developing and marketing our medicines and technology. However, we or our collaborators may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we or our collaborators were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us. We or our collaborators could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing and commercializing the infringing technology or medicine. In addition, we or our collaborators could be found liable for monetary damages. A finding of infringement could prevent us or our collaborators from commercializing our product and product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Claims that we or our collaborators have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.
We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.
Many of our employees, consultants or advisors are currently or 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, consultants and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in 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 defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our organization.
Intellectual property litigation could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.
Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses, and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our confidential information related to our proprietary platforms and technology, our business and competitive position could be harmed.
In addition to seeking patents for some of our technology and medicines, we also rely on maintaining the confidentiality of unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. For example, we consider the confidential information and know-how related to our cellular metabolism technology platform to be our primary intellectual property assets in this space. Unpatented proprietary technical information and know-how can be difficult to protect.
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We seek to protect this proprietary technical information and know-how, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, CROs, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties. We also enter into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with our employees and consultants. Despite these efforts, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information (including through use of generative artificial intelligence technologies), and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Despite these efforts, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated proprietary information is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. If any of our proprietary technical information and know-how were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or information to compete with us. Moreover, we anticipate that with respect to this platform, at least some of this technical information and know-how will, over time, be disseminated within the industry through independent development, the publication of journal articles describing the methodology, and the movement of personnel skilled in the art from academic to industry scientific positions.
Risks Related to Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates and Other Legal Compliance Matters
The marketing approval process is expensive, time-consuming and uncertain, and may prevent us from obtaining approvals for the commercialization of some or all of our product candidates. If we or our collaborators are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals, we or they will not be able to commercialize, or will be delayed in commercializing, our product candidates, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired. If we or our collaborators are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory 45Table of Contentsapprovals, we or they will not be able to commercialize, or will be delayed in commercializing, our product candidates, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
Our product candidates and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, record keeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale and distribution, export and import, are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies in the United States and by the EMA and comparable regulatory authorities in other countries.
Securing marketing approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to the various regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing regulatory approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authority. Our product candidates may not be effective, may be only moderately effective or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that may preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use.
In addition, varying interpretations of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing could delay, limit or prevent marketing approval of a product candidate. Any marketing approval we or our collaborators ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved medicine not commercially viable.
The FDA, EMA and other foreign regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process. Accordingly, it is possible that the FDA or EMA may refuse to accept for substantive review any NDA, sNDA or MAA that we submit for our product candidates, or may conclude after review of our data that our marketing application is insufficient to obtain marketing approval of our product candidates. Accordingly, it is possible that the FDA or EMA may refuse to accept for substantive review any NDA, sNDA or MAA that we submit for our product candidates, or may conclude after review of our data that our marketing application is insufficient to obtain marketing approval of our product candidates, including with respect to the MAA for PYRUKYND® that is currently under review by the EMA. The applicable regulator may require that we conduct additional clinical trials, preclinical studies or manufacturing validation studies and submit that data before reconsidering our applications. Depending on the extent of these or any other FDA- or EMA-required trials or studies, approval of any marketing applications that we submit may be delayed by several years, or may require us to expend more resources than we planned. It is also possible that additional trials or studies, if performed and completed, may not be considered sufficient by the FDA or EMA to approve any marketing applications. For example, to mitigate the risk of hepatocellular injury, AQVESME™ is available only through the REMS program approved by the FDA. The FDA might require the development and submission of additional REMS for our products or modification of existing REMS.
We may not be successful in obtaining FDA or EMA approval of our product candidates on a timely basis, or ever. We may not be successful in obtaining FDA or EMA approval of our product candidates on a timely basis, or ever. We have limited experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain marketing approvals and expect to rely on third-party CROs to assist us in this process. 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, and failure to obtain marketing approval for our product candidates will prevent us from commercializing the product candidate in the applicable jurisdictions.
Moreover, principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us and receive compensation in connection with such services. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected interpretation of the study. The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority may therefore question the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized. This could result in a delay in approval, or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of one or more of our product candidates.
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Further, the process of obtaining marketing approvals, both in the United States and abroad, is expensive, may take many years if additional clinical trials are required, if approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved. Changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations, or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application.
In addition, recent and potential future courts decisions and administrative law cases may result in additional legal challenges to regulations and guidance issued by federal regulatory agencies, including the FDA and CMS, that we have relied on and intend to rely on in the future. Any such challenges, if successful, could have a material impact on our business. In addition to potential changes to regulations and agency guidance as a result of legal challenges, these decisions may result in increased regulatory uncertainty and delays in and other impacts to the agency rulemaking process, any of which could adversely impact our business and operations.
Additionally, our ability to develop and market new drug products may be impacted based on current or future litigation in the federal court system challenging the FDA’s approval of other companies' drugs. Depending on the outcome of this type of litigation, our ability to develop new drug product candidates and to maintain approval of existing drug products could be at risk and our efforts to develop and market new drug products could be delayed, undermined or subject to protracted litigation.
If we or our collaborators experience delays in obtaining approval or if we or they fail to obtain approval of our product candidates, the commercial prospects for our product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
Failure to obtain marketing approval in foreign jurisdictions would prevent our medicines from being marketed in such jurisdictions and any of our medicines that are approved for marketing in such jurisdictions will be subject to risk associated with foreign operations.
In December 2024, we announced that we submitted an MAA to the EMA and a regulatory application to the United Arab Emirates health authorities for PYRUKYND® for the treatment of adult patients with non-transfusion dependent and transfusion-dependent alpha- or beta-thalassemia. In October 2025, we announced that the CHMP of the EMA adopted a positive opinion for the new indication for PYRUKYND® in adults for the treatment of anemia associated with transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion-dependent alpha- or beta-thalassemia. The European Commission is now reviewing the CHMP’s opinion, with the final decision expected by early 2026. In order to market and sell our medicines in the EU and many other foreign jurisdictions, we or our collaborators must obtain separate marketing approvals and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The approval procedure varies among countries and can involve additional testing. The time required to obtain approval may differ substantially from that required to obtain FDA approval. The regulatory approval process outside the United States generally includes all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. In addition, in many foreign countries, a product must be approved for reimbursement before the product can be approved for sale in that country. In addition, in many countries outside the United States, a product must be approved for reimbursement before the product can be approved for sale in that country. We or our collaborators may not obtain approvals from regulatory authorities outside the United States on a timely basis, if at all. Moreover, approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions, and approval by one regulatory authority outside the United States does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions or by the FDA. Although we have received marketing authorization for PYRUKYND® for the treatment of adults with PK deficiency in the EU and Great Britain and for PYRUKYND® for the treatment of adult patients with non-transfusion dependent and transfusion-dependent alpha- or beta-thalassemia in Saudi Arabia, we may not be able to file for additional marketing approvals and may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our medicines in any other foreign market.
In addition, foreign regulatory authorities may change their approval policies and new regulations may be enacted. For instance, in December 2025, the European Parliament and European Council reached a provisional political agreement on the revision of EU pharmaceutical legislation, which is expected to be adopted by mid-2026. If the legislation is finalized in line with the provisional political agreement, it will have a significant impact on the EU pharmaceutical industry, which could impact our business.
We expect that we will be subject to additional risks in commercializing any of our product candidates that receive marketing approval outside the United States, including tariffs and trade barriers; economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets; compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad; foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue; and workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States. In addition, we do not have direct experience commercializing products outside of the United States and such efforts may depend on our ability to find a suitable distribution partner. In addition, we do not have experience commercializing products outside of the United States and such efforts may depend on our ability to find a suitable collaborator. For example, we have entered into the NewBridge Agreement and the Avanzanite Agreement for the commercialization of PYRUKYND® in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States.
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Fast track designation, priority review designation, PRIME designation or other expedited review designations or vouchers may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, nor does it ensure approval of the product candidate.
We may seek fast track designation, priority review designation and/or other expedited review designations or vouchers for our product candidates. The FDA has broad discretion on whether to grant fast track designation, priority review designation and/or other expedited review designations or vouchers for a product candidate, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for such designation or status, the FDA may decide not to grant it. Even if our product candidates receive fast track designation, priority review designation, and/or other expedited designations or vouchers, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval, if at all, compared to conventional FDA procedures. Even if our product candidates receive fast track designation and/or priority review designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval, if at all, compared to conventional FDA procedures. The FDA may withdraw fast track designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program.
In addition, we may seek PRIME designation in the EU for our product candidates. The benefits of a PRIME designation include, among other things, the potential to qualify product for accelerated review. The benefits of a PRIME designation include, among other things, the potential to qualify product for accelerated review, meaning reduction in the review time for an opinion on approvability to be issued earlier in the application process. Even if our product candidates receive PRIME designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional EMA procedures and it does not ensure or increase the likelihood of the EMA’s grant of a marketing authorization.
We, or any collaborators, may not be able to obtain or maintain orphan drug designation or orphan drug exclusivity for our drug candidates and, even if we do, that exclusivity may not prevent the FDA or the EMA from approving competing drugs.
Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and the EU, may designate drugs and biologics for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. Generally, if a product with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the EMA or the FDA from approving another marketing application for the same product for that time period, except in certain limited circumstances. Orphan drug exclusivity may be lost if the FDA or EMA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. Moreover, even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve a different product for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later product is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care.
We do not know if, when, or how the FDA or Congress may reevaluate or change the orphan drug regulations and policies in the future, and it is uncertain how any changes might affect our business or if we will be adversely impacted.
Any product or product candidate for which we or our collaborators obtain marketing approval could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market and we may be subject to substantial penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our medicines, when and if any of them are approved.
Any product or product candidate for which we or our collaborators obtain marketing approval, along with the manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data, labeling, advertising and promotional activities for such medicine, will be subject to continual requirements of and review by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration and listing requirements, cGMP requirements relating to quality control and manufacturing, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, and requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and record keeping. Even if marketing approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the medicine may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the medicine, including the requirement to implement a REMS, such as the required REMS for AQVESME™.
The FDA and other agencies, including the Department of Justice, or DOJ, closely regulate and monitor the post-approval marketing and promotion of products to ensure that they are marketed and distributed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. The FDA and DOJ impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use and if we market our medicines for uses other than their respective approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement actions for off-label marketing. Violations of the FDCA and other statutes, including the False Claims Act, relating to the promotion and advertising of prescription drugs may lead to investigations and enforcement actions alleging violations of federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws, as well as state consumer protection laws, which violations may result in the imposition of significant administrative, civil and criminal penalties. We will need to carefully navigate the FDA’s regulations and this guidance to ensure compliance with the FDA’s provisions governing promotion of our products.
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Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies from funding cuts, personnel losses, regulatory reform, government shutdowns and other developments could hinder our ability to obtain guidance from the FDA regarding our clinical development program and develop and secure approval of our product candidates in a timely manner, which would negatively impact our business.
If oversight and review activities by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities are disrupted due to funding cuts, personnel losses, reductions in force, regulatory reform or government shutdown, then our ability to develop and/or secure timely approval of our product candidates could be impacted in a negative manner. For example, the recent loss of FDA leadership and personnel, including due to significant reduction in force, could lead to disruptions and delays in FDA guidance, review and approval of our product candidates.
Further, while the FDA’s review of marketing applications and other activities for new drugs and biologics is largely funded through the user fee program established under PDUFA, it remains unclear how the administration’s RIF and budget cuts will impact this program and the ability of the FDA to provide guidance and review our product candidates in a timely manner.
There is also substantial uncertainty as to how regulatory reform measures being implemented by the Trump administration across the government will impact the FDA and other federal agencies with jurisdiction over our activities. For example, President Trump has issued a number of executive orders that could have a significant impact on the manner in which the FDA conducts its operations and engages in regulatory and oversight activities. If these or other orders or executive actions impose constraints on the FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively impacted.
Accordingly, if any of the foregoing developments and others impact the ability of the FDA to provide us with guidance or delay the FDA’s review and processing of our regulatory submissions, our business would be negatively impacted.
Our relationships with healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors are subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, which, in the event of a violation, could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished future profits and future earnings.
Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ and any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our future arrangements with healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors may expose us 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 PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ and any other medicines for which we obtain marketing approval. Such laws and regulations include the federal Anti-Kickback Statue; the federal False Claims Act; HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act; the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act; and analogous state and foreign laws and regulations.
Some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government and may require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures.
Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, exclusion of products from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs.
The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians to induce or encourage the prescription, recommendation, endorsement, purchase, supply, order or use of medicinal products is also prohibited in the EU. The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians is governed by the national anti-bribery laws of member states of the EU, or the EU Member States, such as the U. The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians is governed by the national anti-bribery laws of EU Member States, such as the U. K. Bribery Act 2010. Infringement of these laws could result in substantial fines and imprisonment.
Payments made to physicians in certain EU Member States must be publicly disclosed. Moreover, agreements with physicians often must be the subject of prior notification and approval by the physician’s employer, his or her competent professional organization and/or the regulatory authorities of the individual EU Member States. These requirements are provided in the
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national laws, industry codes or professional codes of conduct, applicable in the EU Member States. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in reputational risk, public reprimands, administrative penalties, fines or imprisonment.
PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any product candidate that we commercialize may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations and third-party reimbursement practices, which would harm our business.
We built our commercial infrastructure to support the commercialization of PYRUKYND® in adult PK deficiency in the United States, and have expanded this infrastructure to support the commercial launch of AQVESME™ in thalassemia in the United States. The commercial success of PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or of any of our product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be paid by third-party payors, including government health administration authorities and private health coverage insurers.The commercial success of PYRUKYND® or of any of our product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be paid by third-party payors, including government health administration authorities and private health coverage insurers. If coverage and reimbursement are not available, or reimbursement is available only to limited levels, we, or any collaborators, may not be able to successfully commercialize PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or our product candidates. If coverage and reimbursement is not available, or reimbursement is available only to limited levels, we, or any collaborators, may not be able to successfully commercialize PYRUKYND® or our product candidates. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us, or any future collaborators, to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our or their investments.
In the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors, and coverage and reimbursement for products can differ significantly from payor to payor. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that requires us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. Pricing 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. Some countries require 49Table of Contentsapproval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after the receipt of marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost effectiveness of our product candidates to other available therapies. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our ability to generate revenues and become profitable could be impaired.
As a result, we, or any collaborators, might obtain marketing approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which may negatively impact the revenue we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability or the ability of any collaborators to recoup our or their investment in one or more product candidates, even if our product candidates obtain marketing approval.
Patients who are provided medical treatment for their conditions generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Third-party payors decide which medications they will cover and establish reimbursement levels. The healthcare industry is acutely focused on cost containment, both in the United States and elsewhere. Government authorities and other third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications, which could affect our ability or that of any collaborators to sell PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or our product candidates profitably. These payors may not view our products as cost-effective, and coverage and reimbursement may not be available to our customers, or those of any collaborators, or may not be sufficient to allow our products to be marketed on a competitive basis. These payors may not view our products, if any, as cost-effective, and coverage and reimbursement may not be available to our customers, or those of any collaborators, or may not be sufficient to allow our products, if any, to be marketed on a competitive basis. Cost-control initiatives could cause us, or any collaborators, to decrease the price we, or they, might establish for products, which could result in lower than anticipated product revenue. If the prices for our products decrease or if governmental and other third-party payors do not provide coverage or adequate reimbursement, our prospects for revenue and profitability will suffer. If the prices for our products, if any, decrease or if governmental and other third-party payors do not provide coverage or adequate reimbursement, our prospects for revenue and profitability will suffer.
In addition, 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. We cannot be sure that coverage will be available for PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any product candidate that we, or any collaborator, may commercialize and, if available, that the reimbursement rates will be adequate. We cannot be sure that coverage will be available for PYRUKYND® or any product candidate that we, or any collaborator, may 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 PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any of our product candidates for which we, or any collaborator, may obtain marketing approval could significantly harm our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition. An inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for PYRUKYND® or any of our product candidates for which we, or any collaborator, may obtain marketing approval could significantly harm our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.
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Current and future healthcare reform legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us and any collaborators to commercialize our drug candidates.
In the United States and foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability, or the ability of any collaborators, to profitably sell PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ or any other product candidate for which we, or they, obtain marketing approval. We expect that current laws, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and additional downward pressure on the price that we, or any collaborators, may receive for any approved products. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope, our business could be materially harmed.
In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. This legislation resulted in aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, which will remain in effect for six months into fiscal year 2032. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. This legislation resulted in aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, which will remain in effect through 2031. However, pursuant to the CARES Act and subsequent legislation, these Medicare sequester reductions are suspended through the end of March 2022 and from April 2022 through June 2022, a 1% cut will be in effect, with the full 2% cut resuming thereafter. These laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding and otherwise affect the prices we may obtain for any of our product candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval or the frequency with which any such product candidate is prescribed or used.
Since enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, or collectively, the ACA, there have been, and continue to be, numerous legal challenges and Congressional actions to repeal and replace provisions of the law. President Trump recently revoked numerous executive orders issued by President Biden, including at least two executive orders which where were designed to further implement the ACA. Litigation and legislation over the ACA are likely to continue, with unpredictable and uncertain results.
The prices of prescription pharmaceuticals in the United States and foreign jurisdictions are subject to considerable legislative and executive actions and could impact the prices we obtain for our drug products, if and when approved, and/or the sustainability of those prices.
The prices of prescription pharmaceuticals have also been the subject of considerable discussion in the United States.
We cannot predict with certainty what impact any federal or state health reforms will have on us, but such changes could impose new or more stringent regulatory requirements on our activities or result in reduced reimbursement for our products, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
On April 15, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order which directs HHS to take steps to reduce the prices of pharmaceutical products and repeats many of the proposals advanced during the first Trump administration, including directing the FDA to streamline and improve its existing drug importation program so as to make it easier for states to obtain approval without sacrificing the safety or quality of drug products. Other provisions of the executive order relate to the 340B program. With respect to the IRA’s Medicare drug pricing program, the executive order, among other things, calls for alignment in “the treatment of small molecule prescription drugs with that of biological products, ending the distortion that undermines relative investment in small molecule prescription drugs, coupled with other reforms to prevent any increase in overall costs to Medicare and its beneficiaries.” In May 2025, President Trump issued an additional executive order calling on pharmaceutical manufacturers to voluntarily reduce the prices of medicines in the United States. The executive order directs the Secretary of HHS to communicate MFN price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to bring prices in line with comparably developed nations. The executive order further provides that if such actions do not lower the costs of pharmaceuticals, the Secretary of HHS would pursue other actions, including proposing a rulemaking that imposes MFN pricing in the United States. Subsequently, HHS indicated that the proposed MFN pricing will apply only to brand products without generic or biosimilar competition and the referenced foreign countries will include only those in which the branded product similarly does not have generic or biosimilar competition. HHS also indicated that the MFN target price will be the lowest price in a country that is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development with a gross domestic product per capita of at least 60% of the U.S. gross domestic product per capita. The implications of these actions remain unclear and our business could be negatively impacted.
At the state level, individual states are increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. At the state level, individual states are increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional health care authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other health care programs. These measures could reduce the ultimate demand for our products, once approved, or put pressure on our product pricing. We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform
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measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product or product candidates or additional pricing pressures.
In the EU, similar political, economic and regulatory developments may affect our ability to profitably commercialize our product candidates, if approved. In markets outside of the United States and the EU, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies. In many countries, including those of the EU, the pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is subject to governmental control and access. If pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business could be materially harmed.
We are subject to U.S. and foreign export control, import, sanctions, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws with respect to our operations, and non-compliance with such laws can subject us to criminal and/or civil liability and harm our business.
We are subject to export control and import laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations, various economic and trade sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, and other state and national anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, agents, third-party intermediaries, joint venture partners and collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or benefits to recipients in the public or private sector. We may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or government-affiliated hospitals, universities, and other organizations. In addition, we may engage third party intermediaries to promote our clinical research activities abroad and/or to obtain necessary permits, licenses, and other regulatory approvals. We have entered into distribution agreements with third parties for the commercialization of PYRUKYND® in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of these third-party intermediaries, our employees, representatives, contractors, partners, and agents, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities.
Noncompliance with such laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints, investigations, sanctions, settlements, prosecution, other enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, significant fines, damages, other civil and criminal penalties or injunctions, suspension and/or debarment from contracting with certain persons, the loss of export privileges, reputational harm, adverse media coverage, and other collateral consequences. If any subpoenas, investigations, or other enforcement actions are launched, or governmental or other sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially harmed. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a materially significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and significant defense and compliance costs and other professional fees. In certain cases, enforcement authorities may even cause us to appoint an independent compliance monitor which can result in added costs and administrative burdens.
Changes in and uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Trump administration recently initiated a series of tariff-related actions against U.S. trading partners. On April 2, 2025, the President issued an executive order announcing a “baseline” reciprocal tariff of 10% on all U.S. trading partners effective April 5, 2025, and higher individualized reciprocal tariffs on 57 countries (with certain product exemptions for pharmaceutical-related products, among others). Previously, the administration had imposed a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico for goods not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, and tariffs equaling 20% on China. In response, several countries threatened retaliatory measures, including Canada and China, which then imposed retaliatory tariffs. Prior to when the country-specific reciprocal tariffs were scheduled to take effect, the administration delayed the effective date of such tariffs for all countries except China. Several countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, among others, and the European Union, have reached deals with the U.S. that include reduced tariff rates and other measures. President Trump also issued an executive order detailing new reciprocal tariff rates for individual countries that took effect on August 7, 2025. The new reciprocal rates, which are consistent with the rates reflected in the trade deals already announced, range from 10% to 41%. The new rates do not apply to Canada, China, Mexico and a few other countries.
The U.S. and China reached a tentative agreement that resulted in the suspension of the higher reciprocal tariffs on China until November 10, 2026. For China, the 10% baseline reciprocal tariff announced in April remains in effect, in addition to a minimum of an additional 10%, effective November 10, 2025. For Mexico, the rate remains 25% for goods that are not covered by the USMCA, and for Canada, the rate is 35% for goods that are not covered by the USMCA. Sustained uncertainty about, or the further escalation of, trade and political tensions between the United States and China could result in a
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disadvantageous research and manufacturing environment in China, particularly for U.S. based companies, including retaliatory restrictions that hinder or potentially inhibit our ability to rely on contract development and manufacturing organizations and other service providers that operate in China. Certain countries, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, have reached agreements with the U.S. that cap pharmaceutical tariffs at 15%.
Separately, in April 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 into the impact on U.S. national security of the imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, including finished drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, and key starting materials, and derivative products of those items. In September 2025, via a post on Truth Social, the President announced that, beginning October 1, 2025, all branded or patented drugs imported in the U.S. would face a 100% tariff. The President indicated that the tariffs could be avoided by building pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the U.S. Thereafter, the President delayed the October 1st effective date of the tariffs and announced that the administration had “begun preparing” tariffs on manufacturers that do not build in the U.S. or enter into a most-favored-nation drug pricing agreement with the administration. Certain trading partners, including the European Union, South Korea and Japan, negotiated exemptions from the Section 232 tariffs on pharmaceuticals. A host of other U.S. tariff actions remain possible, including an additional 25% tariff on products from countries that do business with Iran.
As a result of changes in tariffs that have been announced and/or implemented, and the underlying uncertainty currently surrounding international trade, we could experience a negative impact to our costs of materials and production processes, and supply chain disruptions and delays as a result of any new tariff policies or trade restrictions. If we are unable to obtain necessary raw materials or product components in sufficient quantity and in a timely manner due to disruptions in the global supply chain caused by macroeconomic events and conditions, the development, testing and clinical trials of our product candidates may be delayed or infeasible, and regulatory approval or commercial launch of any resulting product may be delayed or not obtained, which could significantly harm our business. We cannot yet predict the effect of the recently imposed U.S. tariffs on imports, or the extent to which other countries will impose quotas, duties, tariffs, taxes or other similar restrictions upon imports or exports in the future, nor can we predict future trade policy or the terms of any renegotiated trade agreements and their impact on our business.
The CREATES Act exposes us to possible litigation and damages by competitors who may claim that we are not providing sufficient quantities of our approved products on commercially reasonable, market-based terms for testing in support of their ANDAs and 505(b)(2) applications.
The Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act of 2019, or the CREATES Act, authorizes sponsors of ANDAs and 505(b)(2) applications to file lawsuits against companies holding NDAs that decline to provide sufficient quantities of an approved reference drug on commercially reasonable, market-based terms, subject to certain exemptions.
If a sponsor were to bring an action under the statute and prevail in litigation, it is entitled to a court order directing the NDA holder to provide, without delay, sufficient quantities of the applicable product on commercially reasonable, market-based terms, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. Additionally, the statutory provisions authorize a federal court to award the sponsor an amount “sufficient to deter” the NDA holder from refusing to provide sufficient product quantities on commercially reasonable, market-based terms if the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the NDA holder did not have a legitimate business justification to delay providing the product or failed to comply with the court’s order.
Although we intend to fully comply with the terms of these statutory provisions, we are still exposed to potential litigation and damages by competitors who may claim that we are not complying. Such litigation would subject us to additional costs, damages and reputational harm, which could lead to lower revenues. The CREATES Act may enable generic competition with PYRUKYND®, AQVESME™ and any of our product candidates, if approved, which could impact our ability to maximize product revenue.
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 the success of 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. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological and radioactive materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury 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.
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Although 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, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us in connection with our storage or disposal of biological, hazardous or radioactive materials. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.
Risks Related to Employee Matters and Managing Growth
Our future success depends on our ability to retain our key executives and scientific leadership and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
We are highly dependent on the principal members of our management and scientific teams, each of whom is employed “at will,” meaning we or they may terminate the employment relationship at any time. We do not maintain “key person” insurance for any of our executives or other employees. The loss of the services of any of these persons could impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives. We cannot predict the likelihood, timing or effect of future transitions among our executive leadership.
Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing, regulatory and sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success. We may not be able to attract and retain these personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and universities and research institutions for similar personnel. Our consultants and advisors who assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy 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. Our consultants and advisors, including our scientific co-founders, who assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy 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. Furthermore, our flexible workplace policy which allows employees to work from home may make it difficult for us to maintain our corporate culture.
In the future we may experience growth in the number of our development, regulatory and sales and marketing personnel. To manage any anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve 52Table of Contentsour managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.
Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees could include intentional failures to comply with FDA regulations or regulations in other jurisdictions, provide accurate information to the FDA or other regulatory authorities, comply with manufacturing standards we have established, comply with federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations, report financial information or data accurately, disclose unauthorized activities to us, or comply with securities laws. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials or interactions with the FDA or other regulatory authorities, including for illegal insider trading activities, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock and Other Matters
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 bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, because our Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any
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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:
•establish a classified board of directors such that not all members of the board are elected at one time;
•allow the authorized number of our directors to be changed only by resolution of our Board of Directors;
•limit the manner in which stockholders can remove directors from our Board of Directors;
•establish advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings and nominations to our Board of Directors;
•require that stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called stockholder meeting and prohibit actions by our stockholders by written consent;
•limit who may call stockholder meetings;
•authorize our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to institute a shareholder rights plan, or so-called “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
•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 bylaws.
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.
The price of our common stock is volatile, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our common stock.
The trading price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. The stock market in general and the market for biopharmaceutical companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. While the full extent of the economic impact of the recent increases in inflation rates (particularly as it relates to clinical- or manufacturing-related costs) may be difficult to assess or predict, such impacts have already caused, and are likely to result in further, significant disruption of global financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital either at all or on favorable terms.
The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:
•our success in launching and commercializing PYRUKYND® and AQVESME™;
•announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, in-licensing arrangements, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, collaborations or capital commitments;
•the timing and results of clinical trials of product candidates, or our competitors’ product candidates;
•regulatory actions with respect to our or our competitors’ products or product candidates;
•commencement or termination of collaborations for our development programs;
•failure or discontinuation of any of our development programs;
•regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;
•developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;
•the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
•the level of expenses related to any of our products, product candidates or development programs;
•the results of our efforts to develop additional product candidates and products;
•actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results or development timelines;
•announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts;
•sales of our common stock by us, our insiders or other stockholders;
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•variations in our financial results or results of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
•changes in estimates, evaluations or recommendations by securities analysts, that cover our stock or the failure by one or more securities analysts to continue to cover our stock;
•changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
•market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;
•general economic, political, industry and market conditions; and
•the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, securities class-action litigation often has been instituted against that company. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could cause us to incur substantial costs to defend such claims and divert managements' attention and resources, which could seriously harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We also cannot guarantee that an active trading market for our shares will be sustained. An inactive trading market for our common stock may impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund our operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.
Our financial condition and operating results also may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, our stockholders should not rely upon the results of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance. Accordingly, you should not rely upon the results of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance.
Our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders maintain the ability to significantly influence all matters submitted to stockholders for approval.
As of December 31, 2025, our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders, in the aggregate, beneficially owned shares representing a significant percentage of our capital stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these persons could significantly influence the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of voting power could delay or prevent an acquisition of our company on terms that other stockholders may desire.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code and corresponding provisions of state law, if a company undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership by certain stockholders over a three-year period, the company’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research tax credits) to offset its post-change taxable income may be limited. Our prior equity offerings and other changes in our stock ownership, some of which are outside of our control, may have resulted or could in the future result in an ownership change. We completed a review of our changes in ownership through December 31, 2025, and determined that we did not have a qualified ownership change since our last review as of December 31, 2024. Future ownership changes under Section 382 may limit the amount of net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards that we could potentially utilize to reduce future tax liabilities.
There is also a risk that due to regulatory changes, such as suspensions on the use of net operating losses, or other unforeseen reasons, our existing net operating losses could expire or otherwise become unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. The Tax Act, as amended by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, includes changes to U.S. federal tax rates and the rules governing net operating loss carryforwards that may significantly impact our ability to utilize our net operating losses to offset taxable income in the future. In addition, state net operating losses generated in one state cannot be used to offset income generated in another state. For these reasons we may be unable to use a material portion of our net operating losses and other tax attributes.
Our effective tax rate may fluctuate, and we may incur obligations in tax jurisdictions in excess of accrued amounts.
We are subject to taxation in numerous U.S. states and territories. As a result, our effective tax rate is derived from a combination of applicable tax rates in the various places that we operate. In preparing our financial statements, we estimate the amount of tax that will become payable in each of such places. Nevertheless, our effective tax rate may be different from previous periods or our current expectations due to numerous factors, including as a result of changes in the mix of our profitability from state to state, the results of examinations and audits of our tax filings, our inability to secure or sustain
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acceptable agreements with tax authorities, changes in accounting for income taxes and changes in tax laws. Any of these factors may result in tax obligations in excess of amounts accrued in our financial statements.
We incur costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.
We have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as a public company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Global Select Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Stockholder activism, the current political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations. Our management and other personnel devote, and will need to continue to devote, a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly.
Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be the sole source of gain for our stockholders.
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 growth and development of our business. 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.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 1C.Item 1A. Cybersecurity
The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors provides direct oversight over cybersecurity risk, and provides updates to the Board of Directors regarding such oversight. The Audit Committee receives periodic updates from management regarding cybersecurity matters, and is notified between such updates regarding significant new cybersecurity threats or incidents.
In an effort to deter and detect cyber threats, we annually provide all employees, including part-time and temporary employees, with a data protection, cybersecurity and incident response and prevention training and compliance program, which covers timely and relevant topics, including social engineering, phishing, password protection, confidential data protection, asset use and mobile security, and educates employees on the importance of reporting all incidents immediately. We also use technology-based tools that are designed to mitigate cybersecurity risks and to bolster our employee-based cybersecurity programs.
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