Risk Factors Dashboard
Once a year, publicly traded companies issue a comprehensive report of their business, called a 10-K. A component mandated in the 10-K is the ‘Risk Factors’ section, where companies disclose any major potential risks that they may face. This dashboard highlights all major changes and additions in new 10K reports, allowing investors to quickly identify new potential risks and opportunities.
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Risk Factors - ENZ
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Business Risks
Our operating results may vary from period to period.
Our operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter and from year to year, depending on a variety of factors, including:
| ● | customer demand for our products due to changes in purchasing requirements and research needs; |
| ● | the introduction of new products by us or our competitors; |
| ● | the timing of our research and development, sales and marketing expenses; |
| ● | general worldwide economic conditions affecting funding of research; |
| ● | expenses associated with defending our intellectual property portfolio; |
| ● | foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; |
| ● | changes in tax laws, the results of tax audits or the measurement of tax uncertainties; and |
| ● | the success of identifying, acquiring and integrating businesses that complement our product offerings, add new technology or add presence in a market. |
Consequently, results for any interim or full year period may not necessarily be indicative of results in subsequent periods.
A significant proportion of our Products revenues are from academic centers, funded by government grants in our major markets globally.
Governments around the world have been reviewing long term public funding of life science research in response to the problems arising from global financial pressures. As a result, the available funds for discretionary purchases from market to market have been capped or reduced based on available national budgets. Reduced grants for researchers could impact our business, in the amount, price and type of products bought and used by customers.
A significant proportion of our Products revenues are from customers in pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
Globally, pharmaceutical companies are challenging internal budgets and the return of investment from their R&D spend. This could impact our business, in the amount, price and type of products bought and used by customers.
Our future success will depend in part upon our ability to enhance existing products, develop and introduce new products and realize commercial acceptance of those products, in a rapidly changing technological environment.
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and new product introductions, which may make our existing products obsolete. Our future success will depend in part upon our ability to enhance existing products, develop and introduce new products, and realize commercial acceptance of those products.
The development of new or enhanced products is a complex and uncertain process requiring the accurate anticipation of technological and market trends, as well as precise technological execution. In addition, the successful development of new products will depend on the development of new technologies. We will be required to undertake time-consuming and costly development activities and may need to seek regulatory approval for these new products. We may experience difficulties that could delay or prevent the successful development, introduction and marketing of these new products. Regulatory clearance or approval of any new products may not be granted by the FDA, state-wide agency or foreign regulatory authorities on a timely basis, or at all, and the new products may not be successfully commercialized.
Our inability to carry out certain of our marketing and sales plans may make it difficult for us to grow or maintain our business.
Our marketing program is designed to more directly service its end users, while simultaneously promoting the Enzo Life Sciences brand, with reference to our acquired brands. We will continue to reach out to our customers using our direct field sales force, in-house business team, the on-going enhancement of our interactive websites, continued attendance at top industry trade meetings, and publications to customers and in leading scientific journals. In addition to our direct sales, we operate worldwide through wholly-owned subsidiaries in the U.S., Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and the UK, a branch office in France and a network of third-party distributors in most other significant markets. If we are unable to successfully continue these programs, we may be unable to grow and our business could suffer.
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We face significant competition, which could cause us to decrease the prices for our products or render our products uneconomical or obsolete, any of which could reduce our revenues and limit our growth.
Our competitors in the biotechnology industry in the United States and abroad are numerous and include major pharmaceutical, energy, food and chemical companies, as well as specialized genetic engineering firms. Many of our large competitors have substantially greater resources than us and have the capability of developing products which compete directly with our products. Many of these companies are performing research in the same areas as we are. The markets for our products are also subject to competitive risks because markets are highly price competitive. Our competitors have competed in the past by lowering prices on certain products.
These competitive conditions could, among other things:
| ● | require us to reduce our prices to retain market share; |
| ● | require us to increase our marketing efforts, which could reduce our profit margins; |
| ● | increase our cost of labor to attract qualified personnel; |