ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS
Our business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Any of the risks and uncertainties described below, either alone or taken together, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects for growth, and the value of an investment in our common stock. In addition, these risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-Q (please read the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements appearing at the beginning of Management’s Discussion & Analysis in this Form 10-Q).
Risks Related to the Commercialization and Continued Approval of ARIKAYCE
Our prospects are highly dependent on the success of our only approved product, ARIKAYCE, which was approved in the United States (US) under the LPAD and accelerated approval pathways. If we are unable to successfully commercialize or maintain approval for ARIKAYCE, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of
our common stock will be materially adversely affected.
Our long-term viability and growth depend on the successful commercialization of ARIKAYCE, our only approved product, which has been approved in the US for the treatment of patients with MAC lung disease as part of a combination antibacterial drug regimen for adult patients with limited or no alternative treatment options. We have invested and continue to invest significant efforts and financial resources in the launch of ARIKAYCE, and our ability to generate revenue from ARIKAYCE will depend heavily on successfully commercializing and obtaining full regulatory approval for ARIKAYCE by conducting an appropriate confirmatory post-marketing study. ARIKAYCE is our first commercial launch, and its successful commercialization and our receipt of full regulatory approval for ARIKAYCE in the US are subject to many risks.
The commercial success of ARIKAYCE will depend on the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payers and others in the health care community.
Despite receiving US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of ARIKAYCE, the product may not gain market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payers or others in the health care community. ARIKAYCE was the first product approved via the Limited Population Pathway for Antibacterial and Antifungal Drugs (LPAD) pathway, and there is limited information on how this approval may impact market acceptance of the product. If ARIKAYCE does not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, it is likely that we will not generate material revenue or become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of ARIKAYCE, which we launched in the US early in the fourth quarter of 2018, is also dependent on a number of additional factors, including the following:
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The willingness of the target patient population to use, and of physicians to prescribe, ARIKAYCE;
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The efficacy and potential advantages of ARIKAYCE over alternative treatments;
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The risk and safety profile of ARIKAYCE, including physician and patient concern regarding the boxed warning and other safety precautions resulting from its association with an increased risk of respiratory adverse reactions;
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Relative convenience and ease of administration;
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The ability of the patient to tolerate ARIKAYCE;
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The pricing of ARIKAYCE;
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The ability and willingness of the patient to pay out of pocket costs for ARIKAYCE, for example, co-payments;
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Sufficient third-party insurance coverage and reimbursement;
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The strength of marketing and distribution support and timing of market introduction of competitive products and treatments; and
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Publicity concerning ARIKAYCE or any potential competitive products and treatments.
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Our efforts to educate physicians, patients, third-party payers and others in the health care community on the benefits of ARIKAYCE will require significant resources, which may be greater than those required to commercialize more established technologies and may never be successful.
We obtained regulatory approval of ARIKAYCE in the US through an accelerated approval process, and full approval will be contingent on successful completion of a confirmatory post-marketing study. Failure to obtain full approval or otherwise meet our post-marketing requirements and commitments would have a material adverse effect on our business.
The FDA approved ARIKAYCE under the LPAD and accelerated approval pathways, and full approval will be based on results from a post-approval confirmatory clinical trial. Accelerated approval allows drugs that (i) are being developed to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and (ii) provide a meaningful therapeutic benefit over existing treatments to be approved substantially based on an intermediate endpoint or a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, rather than a clinical endpoint such as survival or irreversible morbidity. Accelerated approval of ARIKAYCE was supported by preliminary data from the Phase 3 CONVERT study, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of ARIKAYCE in adult patients with refractory MAC lung disease, using achievement of sputum culture conversion (defined as three consecutive negative monthly sputum cultures) by Month 6 as the primary endpoint.
The required confirmatory trial, which is currently under discussion with FDA, is proposed to be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess and describe the clinical benefit of ARIKAYCE in patients with MAC lung disease. The trial will evaluate the effect of ARIKAYCE on a clinically meaningful endpoint, as compared to an appropriate control in the intended patient population of patients with MAC lung disease. Pursuant to the timetable agreed upon with the FDA, the study protocol is scheduled to be finalized in 2019, with trial results to be reported by 2024. There is little precedent for clinical development and regulatory expectations for agents to treat MAC lung disease. As a result, we may encounter challenges designing this trial, including developing and reaching agreement with FDA on the appropriate clinical endpoints. We may encounter substantial delays in enrolling and conducting the trial, and we may not be able to enroll and
conduct the trial in a manner satisfactory to the FDA or within the time period required by the FDA. If the confirmatory trial is not successful, the FDA could, among other things, withdraw its approval of ARIKAYCE. Separate from the confirmatory trial, additional results from ongoing studies, including the CONVERT study and the 312 study, may not be consistent with the positive data generated from those trials to date, which may affect FDA’s benefit-risk analysis for the product. Additionally, ARIKAYCE is subject to post-marketing commitments consisting of implementation of a healthcare provider communication plan, conducting a drug utilization assessment, and conducting further studies to identify an optimal quality control in vitro drug release method. Failure to meet post-marketing commitments may raise additional regulatory challenges.
We remain subject to substantial, ongoing regulatory requirements in the US related to ARIKAYCE, and failure to comply with these requirements could lead to enforcement action or otherwise materially harm our business.
ARIKAYCE is subject to a variety of manufacturing, packaging, storage, labeling, advertising, promotion, and record-keeping requirements, including requirements to:
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Conduct sales, marketing and promotion, scientific exchange, speaker programs, charitable donations and educational grant programs in compliance with federal and state laws;
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Disclose clinical trial results on publicly available databases;
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Monitor and report complaints, adverse events and instances of failure to meet product specifications; and
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Comply with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) and certain quality systems requirements for device components.
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Failure to comply with these ongoing regulatory obligations could have significant negative consequences, including:
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Issuance of warning letters or untitled letters by FDA asserting that we are in violation of the law;
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Imposition of injunctions or civil monetary penalties or pursuit by regulators of civil or criminal prosecutions and fines against us or our responsible officers;
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Suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approval;
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Suspension or termination of ongoing clinical trials or refusal by regulators to approve pending marketing applications or supplements to approved applications;
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Seizure of products, required product recalls or refusal to allow us to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts, or to import or export products;
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Suspension of, or imposition of restrictions on, our operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements with respect to ARIKAYCE; and
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Negative publicity, including communications issued by regulatory authorities, which could negatively impact the perception of us or ARIKAYCE by patients, physicians, third party payers or the health care community.
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Any of these events could reduce market acceptance of ARIKAYCE, substantially reduce our revenue, increase the costs of operating our business, and cause us significant reputational damage. If we ultimately receive approval for ARIKAYCE in other jurisdictions, we expect to be subject to similar ongoing regulatory oversight by the relevant foreign regulatory authorities.
If we are unable to obtain adequate reimbursement from government or third-party payers for ARIKAYCE or if we are unable to obtain acceptable prices for ARIKAYCE, our prospects for generating revenue and achieving profitability will be materially adversely affected.
Our prospects for generating revenue and achieving profitability depend heavily upon the availability of adequate reimbursement for the use of ARIKAYCE from governmental and other third-party payers, both in the US and in other markets. We expect a substantial majority of ARIKAYCE revenue will come from Medicare reimbursement. Reimbursement by a third-party payer depends upon a number of factors, including the third-party payer’s determination that use of a product is:
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A covered benefit under its health plan;
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Safe, effective and medically necessary;
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Appropriate for the specific patient;
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Neither experimental nor investigational.
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The addition of ARIKAYCE to the guidelines of the American Thoracic Society and Infection Diseases Society of America may also be a factor in this determination. Obtaining a determination of coverage and reimbursement for a product from each government or other third-party payer is a time-consuming and costly process that could require us to provide
supporting scientific, clinical and cost-effectiveness data for the use of our products to each payer. We expect that, during the first six to twelve months that we commercialize ARIKAYCE, the payers will evaluate it for inclusion on formularies, during which time patients will need to rely primarily on the medical exception process to secure coverage. For sales after that time, we may not be able to provide data sufficient to gain a positive coverage and reimbursement determination or we might need to conduct post-marketing studies in order to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of ARIKAYCE to such payers’ satisfaction. Such studies might require us to commit a significant amount of management time and financial and other resources. Even when a payer determines that a product is eligible for reimbursement, the payer may impose coverage limitations that preclude payment for some uses that are approved by the FDA or non-US regulatory authorities. Subsequent approvals of competitive products could result in a detrimental change to the reimbursement of our products.
There is a significant focus in the US healthcare industry and elsewhere on drug prices and value, and public and private payers are taking increasingly aggressive steps to control their expenditures for pharmaceuticals by negotiating manufacturer discounts and placing restrictions on reimbursement, and patient access to, medications. These pressures could negatively affect our business. We expect changes in the Medicare program and state Medicaid programs, as well as managed care organizations and other third-party payers, to continue to put pressure on pharmaceutical product pricing. For instance, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) expanded Medicare outpatient prescription drug coverage for the elderly through Part D prescription drug plans sponsored by private entities and authorized such plans to use formularies where they can limit the number of drugs that will be covered in any therapeutic class. The plans generally negotiate significant price concessions as a condition of formulary placement. The MMA also introduced a new reimbursement methodology based on average sales prices for physician-administered drugs, which is generally believed to have resulted in lower Medicare reimbursement for physician-administered drugs. These cost reduction initiatives and other provisions of this legislation provide additional pressure to contain and reduce drug prices and could decrease the coverage and price that we receive for any approved products and could seriously harm our business. Although the MMA applies only to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payers often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations when setting their own reimbursement rates, and any reimbursement reduction resulting from the MMA may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payers. Additionally, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) revised the definition of “average manufacturer price” for reporting purposes and increased the minimum percentage for Medicaid drug rebates to states, and has imposed a significant annual fee on companies that manufacture or import branded prescription drug products. We believe it is likely that the ACA, or any legislation enacted to amend or replace it, will continue the pressure on pharmaceutical pricing, especially under the Medicare program, and also may increase our regulatory burdens and operating costs. Such changes may have a significant impact on our ability to set a product price we believe is fair and may adversely affect our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability. We expect further federal and state proposals and health care reforms to continue to be proposed by legislators and/or the US President, which could limit the prices that can be charged for the products we develop and may limit our commercial opportunity. In addition, in connection with various government programs, we are required to report certain pricing information to the government, and the failure to do so may subject us to penalties.
Moreover, in markets outside the US, including countries in the European Union (EU), Japan and Canada, pricing of pharmaceutical products is subject to governmental control. Evaluation criteria used by many EU government agencies for the purposes of pricing and reimbursement typically focus on a product’s degree of innovation and its ability to meet a clinical need unfulfilled by currently available therapies. The ACA created a similar entity, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, designed to review the effectiveness of treatments and medications in federally-funded health care programs. An adverse result could lead to a treatment or product being removed from Medicare or Medicare coverage. The decisions of such governmental agencies could affect our ability to sell our products profitably.
We have had discussions with third-party payers regarding our price for ARIKAYCE, but our pricing may meet resistance from them and the public generally. If we are unable to obtain adequate reimbursement of ARIKAYCE, the adoption of ARIKAYCE by physicians and patients may be limited. This, in turn, could affect our ability to successfully commercialize ARIKAYCE and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
ARIKAYCE could develop unexpected safety or efficacy concerns, which would likely have a material adverse effect on us.
ARIKAYCE was granted accelerated approval from the FDA based on Month 6 data from the CONVERT study. In the US, ARIKAYCE will be used for longer periods of time by larger numbers of patients, and we and others (including regulatory agencies and private payers) will collect extensive information on the efficacy and safety of ARIKAYCE by monitoring its use in the marketplace. In addition, we will conduct a confirmatory trial to assess and describe the clinical benefit of ARIKAYCE in patients with MAC lung disease and may conduct additional trials in connection with lifecycle management programs for ARIKAYCE. New safety or efficacy data from both market surveillance and these clinical trials, which may not be consistent with existing safety and efficacy data from the CONVERT and 312 studies, may result in negative
consequences including the following:
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Modification to product labeling or promotional statements, such as additional boxed or other warnings or contraindications, or the issuance of additional “Dear Doctor Letters” or similar communications to healthcare professionals;
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Required changes in the administration of ARIKAYCE;
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Imposition of additional post-marketing surveillance, post-marketing clinical trial requirements, distribution restrictions or other risk management measures, such as a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) or a REMS with elements to assure safe use (ETASU);
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Suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approval;
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Suspension or termination of ongoing clinical trials or refusal by regulators to approve pending marketing applications or supplements to approved applications;
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Suspension of, or imposition of restrictions on, our operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements with respect to ARIKAYCE; and
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Voluntary or mandatory product recalls or withdrawals from the market and costly product liability claims.
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Any of these circumstances could reduce ARIKAYCE’s market acceptance and would be likely to materially adversely affect our business.
If estimates of the size of the potential markets for ARIKAYCE are overstated, our ability to earn revenue to support our business could be materially adversely affected.
We have relied on currently available information from external sources, including market research funded by us and third parties, and internal analyses and calculations to estimate the potential market opportunities for MAC lung disease in 2018 in the US, where ARIKAYCE has obtained regulatory approval, as well as future jurisdiction in which we may seek approval, including the EU5 (comprised of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and Japan. The externally sourced information used to develop these estimates has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but we have not verified the data from such sources, and their accuracy and completeness cannot be assured. Similarly, our internal analyses and calculations are based upon management’s understanding and assessment of numerous inputs and market conditions, including, but not limited to, the projected increase in prevalence of MAC lung disease, Medicare patient population growth and ongoing population shifts to geographies with increased rates of MAC lung disease. These understandings and assessments necessarily require assumptions subject to significant judgment and may prove to be inaccurate. As a result, our estimates of the size of these potential markets for ARIKAYCE could prove to be overstated, perhaps materially.
In addition, we are relying on third party data to identify the physicians who treat the majority of MAC lung disease patients in the US and to determine how to deploy our resources to market to those physicians; however, we may not be marketing to the appropriate physicians and may therefore be limiting our market opportunity.
We may develop estimates with respect to market opportunities for product candidates in the future, and such estimates would be subject to similar risks. In addition, a potential market opportunity could be reduced if a regulator limits the proposed treatment population for one of our product candidates, similar to the limited population for which ARIKAYCE was approved. In either circumstance, even if we obtain regulatory approval, we may be unable to commercialize the product on a scale sufficient to generate material revenue, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
We currently are building our marketing and sales organization, and we have limited experience as a company in marketing drug products. If we are unable to successfully market and sell ARIKAYCE, our ability to generate revenue will be adversely affected.
In order to commercialize ARIKAYCE, we must develop marketing, market access, sales and distribution capabilities on our own or make arrangements with third parties for its marketing, sale and distribution. We have commenced commercialization of ARIKAYCE in the US, but we may not be successful in these efforts. The establishment and development of our own sales force is and will continue to be expensive and time-consuming. As a result, we may seek one or more partners to handle some or all of the sales and marketing of ARIKAYCE in certain markets outside the US following approval by the relevant regulatory authority in those markets. However, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with third parties to sell ARIKAYCE on favorable terms or at all. In the event that either our own marketing, market access, and sales force or third-party marketing, market access, and sales organizations are not effective, we would not be able to successfully commercialize ARIKAYCE, which would adversely affect our ability to generate revenue and materially harm us.
ARIKAYCE was approved for treatment in a limited population of patients with MAC lung disease, and additional clinical studies and regulatory applications will be required to expand its indication. We may not be successful in these trials or in obtaining such regulatory approval, which may materially adversely affect our prospects and the value of our common stock.
The FDA granted accelerated approval of ARIKAYCE for the treatment of MAC lung disease as part of a combination antibacterial drug regimen for adult patients with limited or no alternative treatment options. Our CONVERT study and 312 study have focused on this refractory population, and we do not anticipate obtaining an indication for a broader population of patients with MAC lung disease or any other illnesses or infections without additional clinical data. Additional clinical trials will require additional time and expense. We expect to conduct our confirmatory clinical trial for full approval of ARIKAYCE in the broader population of patients with MAC lung disease, but this trial, along with any other clinical trials of ARIKAYCE may not be successful. Additional results from ongoing studies, including the CONVERT study and the 312 study, may not be consistent with the positive data generated from those trials to date, which may affect FDA’s benefit-risk analysis for the product. If we are unable to expand the indication for use of ARIKAYCE, our prospects and the value of our common stock may be materially adversely affected.
Risks Related to the Development and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates Generally
Pharmaceutical research and development is very costly and highly uncertain, and we may not succeed in developing product candidates in the future.
Product development in the pharmaceutical industry is an expensive, high-risk, lengthy, complicated, resource intensive process. In order to develop a product successfully, we must, among other things:
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Identify potential product candidates;
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Submit for and receive regulatory approval to perform clinical trials;
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Design and conduct appropriate preclinical and clinical trials, including confirmatory clinical trials, according to good laboratory practices and good clinical practices and disease-specific expectations of the FDA and other regulatory bodies;
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Select and recruit clinical investigators and subjects for our clinical trials;
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Obtain and correctly interpret data establishing adequate safety of our product candidates and demonstrating with statistical significance that our product candidates are effective for their proposed indications, as indicated by satisfaction of pre-established endpoints;
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Submit for and receive regulatory approvals for marketing; and
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Manufacture the product candidates and device components according to cGMP and other applicable standards and regulations.
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There is a high rate of failure inherent in this process, and potential products that appear promising at early stages of development may fail for a number of reasons. Importantly, positive results from preclinical studies of a product candidate may not be predictive of similar results in human clinical trials, and promising results from earlier clinical trials of a product candidate may not be replicated in later clinical trials. Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in late‑stage clinical trials even after achieving positive results in earlier stages of development and have abandoned development efforts or sought partnerships in order to continue development. For example, the Month 6 data from the CONVERT study and interim durability data from the CONVERT study and interim efficacy data from the 312 study have thus far been positive. However, this data may not be predictive of the efficacy or safety results from the remainder of either the CONVERT study or the 312 study, or future trials related to ARIKAYCE.
In addition, there are many other difficulties and uncertainties inherent in pharmaceutical research and development that could significantly delay or otherwise materially impair our ability to develop future product candidates, including the following:
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Conditions imposed by regulators, ethics committees or institutional review boards for preclinical testing and clinical trials relating to the scope or design of our clinical trials, including selection of endpoints and number of required patients or clinical sites;
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Challenges in designing our clinical trials to support potential claims of superiority over current standard of care or future competitive therapies;
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Restrictions placed upon, or other difficulties with respect to, clinical trials and clinical trial sites, including with respect to potential clinical holds or suspension or termination of clinical trials due to, among other things, potential safety or ethical concerns or noncompliance with regulatory requirements;
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Delayed or reduced enrollment in clinical trials, or high discontinuation rates;
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Failure by third-party contractors, contract research organizations (CROs), clinical investigators, clinical laboratories, or suppliers to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations in a timely manner;
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Greater than anticipated cost of our clinical trials; and
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Insufficient product supply or inadequate product quality.
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Failure to successfully develop future product candidates for any of these reasons may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
We may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals for ARIKAYCE outside of the US or for our product candidates in the US, Europe, Japan or other markets. Any such failure to obtain regulatory approvals may materially adversely affect us.
We are required to obtain various regulatory approvals prior to studying our products in humans and then again before we market and distribute our products, and the failure to obtain such approvals will prevent us from commercializing our products, which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock. While we have obtained accelerated approval for ARIKAYCE in the US, seeking approval for ARIKAYCE in other jurisdictions as well as approval for our product candidates in the US and foreign markets presents significant obstacles. Approval processes in the US, Europe and Japan require the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data, manufacturing and quality information regarding the process and facility, scientific data characterizing our product and other supporting data in order to establish safety and effectiveness. These processes are complex, lengthy, expensive, resource intensive and uncertain. Regulators will also conduct a rigorous review of any trade name we intend to use for our products. Even after they approve a trade name, these regulators may request that we adopt an alternative name for the product if adverse event reports indicate a potential for confusion with other trade names and medication error. If we are required to adopt an alternative name, potential commercialization of ARIKAYCE or our product candidates could be delayed or interrupted. We have limited experience in submitting and pursuing applications necessary to obtain these regulatory approvals.
Data submitted to regulators are subject to varying interpretations that could delay, limit or prevent regulatory agency approval. Even if we believe our clinical trial results are promising, regulators may disagree with our interpretation of data, study design or execution and may refuse to accept our application for review or decline to grant approval. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2014, we filed a marketing authorization application (MAA) with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for ARIKAYCE as a treatment for, among other things, MAC lung disease in adult patients. The filing was based in part on data from our phase 2 study in patients with MAC lung disease. We subsequently withdrew our MAA after the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use concluded that the data submitted did not provide enough evidence to support an approval.
In addition, the grant of a designation by the FDA or approval by the FDA does not ensure a similar decision by the regulatory authorities of other countries, and a decision by one foreign regulatory authority does not ensure regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or the FDA will agree with the decision. For instance, although ARIKAYCE received orphan drug designation in the US, ARIKAYCE did not qualify for orphan drug designation in Japan due to the estimated number of NTM patients in Japan exceeding 50,000. Similarly, clinical studies conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries. Approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional product testing, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, and administrative review periods. The time required to obtain approval in these other territories might differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. We may never obtain approval for ARIKAYCE outside of the US or for our product candidates in the US or other jurisdictions, which would limit our market opportunities and materially adversely affect our business. Even if a product candidate is approved, regulators may limit the indications for which the product may be marketed, require extensive warnings on the product labeling or require expensive and time-consuming additional clinical trials or reporting as conditions of approval.
We are currently assessing regulatory strategies which could expedite the development and regulatory review of INS1007 in the US and the EU, but we may be unsuccessful in pursuing such strategies. The FDA has denied our request for orphan drug designation for INS1007 in on-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis. In addition, although we believe that INS1009 could be eligible for approval under Section 505(b)(2), and thus could rely at least in part on studies not conducted by or for us and for which we do not have a right of reference, we may not obtain approval from the FDA to use this pathway.
We may also encounter delays or rejections based on changes in regulatory agency policies during the period in which we develop a product and the period required for review of any application for regulatory agency approval of a particular product. Resolving such delays could force us or third parties to incur significant costs, limit our allowed activities or the allowed activities of third parties, diminish any competitive advantages that we or our third parties may attain or adversely affect our ability to receive royalties, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of
operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
For ARIKAYCE to be commercialized in a given market, in addition to regulatory approvals required for ARIKAYCE, the Lamira Nebulizer System must satisfy certain regulatory requirements and its use as a delivery system for ARIKAYCE must be approved or cleared by regulators.
ARIKAYCE is administered using the Lamira Nebulizer System, and the Lamira Nebulizer System must receive regulatory approval or clearance on its own or in conjunction with ARIKAYCE as a combination product in order for us to develop and commercialize ARIKAYCE in a given market. The FDA granted accelerated approval of the Lamira Nebulizer System with ARIKAYCE as part of approval of the drug/device combination product, and the Lamira Nebulizer System is CE marked by PARI in the EU. However, outside the US and EU, the Lamira Nebulizer System is labeled as investigational for use in our clinical trials, including in Japan, Canada and Australia, and is not approved for commercial use in Japan, Canada or certain other markets in which we may seek to commercialize ARIKAYCE in the future.
If we seek regulatory approval in markets in which the Lamira Nebulizer System is not approved and we and PARI are not successful in obtaining approval for the Lamira Nebulizer System, our ability to commercialize ARIKAYCE in those markets would be materially impaired. In addition, failure to maintain regulatory approval or clearance of the Lamira Nebulizer System could result in increased development costs, withdrawal of regulatory approval, and delays in ARIKAYCE reaching the market. Failure to obtain or maintain regulatory approval or clearance of the Lamira Nebulizer System could result in potential loss of regulatory approval or otherwise materially harm our business.
We have limited experience conducting and managing the preclinical development activities and clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approvals, and we may not succeed in doing so in the future.
ARIKAYCE is our first approved product candidate since our merger with Transave, and we have limited experience in conducting and managing the preclinical development activities and clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approvals, including approval by the FDA, EMA, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), which might prevent us from successfully designing, implementing, or completing the clinical trials required to support regulatory approval of our product candidates. The application processes for the FDA, MHLW, PMDA, EMA and other regulatory agencies are complex and difficult and vary by regulatory agency, and we might not be able to demonstrate that our product candidates meet the appropriate standards for regulatory approval or commercialize our product candidates in the US or elsewhere, or commercialize ARIKAYCE in jurisdictions outside of the US, or we might be significantly delayed in doing so. In such circumstances, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock may be materially adversely affected.
If our clinical studies do not produce positive results or our clinical trials are delayed, or if serious side effects are identified during drug development, we may experience delays, incur additional costs and ultimately be unable to commercialize our product candidates in the US, Europe, Japan or other markets.
Before obtaining regulatory approval for the sale of our product candidates, we must conduct, at our own expense, extensive preclinical tests to demonstrate the safety of our product candidates in animals, and clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. If we experience delays in our clinical trials or other testing or the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive, including with respect to safety, we may:
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Experience increased product development costs;
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Be delayed in obtaining, or be unable to obtain, regulatory approval for one or more of our product candidates;
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Obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or entirely different than those indications for which we sought approval or with labeling with boxed warnings or other warnings or contraindications;
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Need to change the way the product is administered;
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Be required to perform additional clinical trials to support approval or be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements;
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Have regulatory authorities withdraw, or suspend, their approval of the product or impose risk mitigation strategies such as restrictions on distribution or other REMS;
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Face a shortened patent protection period during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our products;
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Have competitors that are able to bring similar products to market before us;
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Be sued for alleged injuries caused to patients using our products; or
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Suffer reputational damage.
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Such circumstances would impair our ability to commercialize our products and harm our business and results of operations.
We may not be able to enroll enough patients to complete our clinical trials or retain a sufficient number of patients in our clinical trials to generate the data necessary for regulatory approval of our product candidates.
The completion rate of our clinical trials is dependent on, among other factors, the patient enrollment rate. Patient enrollment is a function of many factors, including:
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Investigator identification and recruitment;
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Regulatory approvals to initiate study sites;
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Patient population size;
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The nature of the protocol to be used in the trial;
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Patient proximity to clinical sites;
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Eligibility criteria for the trial;
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Patient willingness to participate in the trial;
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Discontinuation rates; and
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Competition from other companies’ potential clinical trials for the same patient population.
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Delays in patient enrollment for our clinical trials, including in the confirmatory clinical trial for ARIKAYCE and the WILLOW study, our global phase 2 study of INS1007 in non-CF bronchiectasis that currently is enrolling patients, like those we encountered in enrolling the CONVERT study, could increase costs and delay commercialization and sales, if any, of our products. Once enrolled, patients may elect to discontinue participation in a clinical trial at any time. If patients elect to discontinue participation in our clinical trials at a higher rate than expected, we may be unable to generate the data required by regulators for approval of our product candidates.
Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties
We rely on third parties including collaborators, CROs, clinical and analytical laboratories, contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and other providers for many services that are critical to our business. If we are unable to form and sustain these relationships, or if any third-party arrangements that we may enter into are unsuccessful, including due to non-compliance by such third parties with our agreements or applicable law, our ability to develop and commercialize our products may be materially adversely affected.
We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties for significant research, analytical services, preclinical development, clinical development and manufacturing of our product candidates and commercial scale manufacturing of ARIKAYCE. For example, we do not own facilities for clinical-scale or commercial manufacturing of our product candidates, and we currently rely on Therapure Biopharma Inc. (Therapure) and Ajinimoto Althea, Inc. (Althea) to provide our clinical and commercial supply of ARIKAYCE. Additionally, almost all of our clinical trial work is done by CROs, such as SynteractHCR, Inc., our CRO for both the CONVERT and 312 studies, and clinical laboratories. Reliance on these third parties poses a number of risks, including the following:
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The diversion of management time and cost of third-party advisers associated with the negotiation, documentation and implementation of agreements with third parties in the pharmaceutical industry;
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The inability to control whether third parties devote sufficient resources to our programs or products, including with respect to meeting contractual deadlines;
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The inability to control the regulatory and contractual compliance of third parties, including their quality systems, processes and procedures, systems utilized to collect and analyze data, and equipment used to test drug product and/or clinical supplies;
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The inability to establish and implement collaborations or other alternative arrangements on favorable terms;
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Disputes with third parties, including CROs, leading to loss of intellectual property rights, delay or termination of research, development, or commercialization of product candidates or litigation or arbitration;
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Contracts with our collaborators fail to provide sufficient protection of our intellectual property; and
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Difficulty enforcing our contractual rights if one of these third parties fails to perform.
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We also rely on third parties to select and enter into agreements with clinical investigators to conduct clinical trials to support approval of our product candidates, and the failure of these third parties to appropriately carry out such evaluation and
selection can adversely affect the quality of the data from these studies and, potentially, the approval of our products. In particular, as part of future drug approval submissions to the FDA, we must disclose certain financial interests of investigators who participated in any of the clinical studies being submitted in support of approval, or must certify to the absence of such financial interests. The FDA evaluates the information contained in such disclosures to determine whether disclosed interests may have an impact on the reliability of a study. If the FDA determines that financial interests of any clinical investigator raise serious questions of data integrity, the FDA can institute a data audit, request that we submit further data analyses, conduct additional independent studies to confirm the results of the questioned study, or refuse to use the data from the questioned study as a basis for approval. A finding by the FDA that a financial relationship of an investigator raises serious questions of data integrity could delay or otherwise adversely affect approval of our products.
These risks could materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
We may not have, or may be unable to obtain, sufficient quantities of ARIKAYCE or our product candidates to meet our required supply for commercialization or clinical studies, which would materially harm our business.
We do not have any in-house manufacturing capability other than for small-scale pre-clinical development programs and depend completely on a small number of third-party manufacturers and suppliers for the manufacture of our product candidates on a clinical or commercial scale. For instance, we are and expect to remain dependent upon Therapure, Althea and eventually Patheon to supply ARIKAYCE both for our clinical trials and commercial sale. Althea currently manufactures ARIKAYCE at a relatively small scale. We also funded a manufacturing expansion at Therapure, which operates at a larger scale than Althea. ARIKAYCE currently has a limited shelf life, and we may not be able to maintain adequate quantities to meet future demand. As additional supporting data becomes available, we believe the current approved shelf life for product manufactured at our CMOs will increase. If we encounter delays or difficulties in the manufacturing process that disrupt our ability to supply our distributors with ARIKAYCE, we may experience a product stock-out, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business and reputation. In addition, we have entered into certain agreements with Patheon related to increasing our long-term production capacity for ARIKAYCE commercial inventory, although Patheon’s supply obligations will commence only after certain technology transfer and construction services are completed. Any delay in the commencement of Patheon’s supply obligations, whether due to delays in technology transfer and construction or from adding Patheon to our New Drug Application (NDA) as a CMO, would increase the risks associated with either Therapure or Althea being unable to provide us with an adequate supply of ARIKAYCE.
We are also dependent upon PARI being able to provide an adequate supply of nebulizers both for commercial sale of ARIKAYCE and any ongoing clinical trials, as PARI is the sole manufacturer of the Lamira Nebulizer System. We have no alternative supplier for the nebulizer, and because significant effort and time were expended in the optimization of the nebulizer for use with ARIKAYCE, we do not intend to seek an alternative or secondary supplier. In the event PARI cannot provide us with sufficient quantities of the nebulizer, replication of the optimized device by another party would likely require considerable time and additional regulatory approval. In the case of certain specified supply failures, we have the right under our commercialization agreement with PARI to make the nebulizer and have it made by certain third parties, but not those deemed under the commercialization agreement to compete with PARI.
We do not have long-term commercial agreements with all of our suppliers and if any of our suppliers are unable or unwilling to perform for any reason, we may not be able to locate suppliers or enter into favorable agreements with them.
An inadequate supply of ARIKAYCE or the Lamira Nebulizer System could harm our commercial efforts or delay or impair clinical trials of ARIKAYCE or our product candidates and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
The manufacturing facilities of our third-party manufacturers are subject to significant government regulations and approvals, which are often costly and could result in adverse consequences to our business if we and our manufacturing partners fail to comply with the regulations or maintain the approvals.
Manufacturers of ARIKAYCE and our product candidates are subject to cGMP and similar standards, and while we have policies and procedures in place to select manufacturers that adhere, and monitor their adherence to, such standards, they may nonetheless fail to do so. These manufacturers and their facilities will be subject to periodic review and inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities following regulatory approval of our products, as with ARIKAYCE. For instance, to monitor compliance with applicable regulations, the FDA routinely conducts inspections of facilities and may identify potential deficiencies. The FDA issues what are referred to as “FDA Form 483s” that set forth observations and concerns identified during its inspections. Failure to satisfactorily address the concerns or potential deficiencies identified in a Form 483 could
result in the issuance of a warning letter, which is a notice of the issues that the FDA believes to be significant regulatory violations requiring prompt corrective actions. Failure to respond adequately to a warning letter, or to otherwise fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could result in enforcement, remedial and/or punitive actions by the FDA or other regulatory authorities.
If one of our manufacturers fails to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements or experiences supply problems, including in the scale-up of commercial production, the production of ARIKAYCE and our product candidates could be interrupted, resulting in delays, additional costs or restrictions on the marketing or sale of our products. An alternative manufacturer would need to be qualified, through regulatory filings, which could result in further delay. The regulatory authorities may also require additional testing if a new manufacturer is relied upon for commercial production. In addition, with respect to our product candidates, our manufacturers and their facilities are subject to pre-approval cGMP inspection by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and the findings of the cGMP inspection could result in a failure to obtain, or a delay in obtaining, regulatory approval for future product candidates.
Risks Related to the Operation of our Business
We are dependent upon retaining and attracting key personnel, the loss of whose services could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
We depend heavily on our management team and our principal clinical and commercial personnel, the loss of whose services might significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our research, development or commercialization objectives. Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract and retain qualified management, clinical and commercial personnel, and on our ability to develop and maintain important relationships with commercial partners, leading research institutions and key distributors.
Competition for skilled personnel in our industry and market is intense because of the numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that seek similar personnel. These companies may have greater financial and other resources, offer a greater opportunity for career advancement and have a longer history in the industry than we do. We also experience competition for the hiring of our clinical and commercial personnel from universities, research institutions, and other third parties. We cannot assure that we will attract and retain such persons or maintain such relationships. Our inability to retain and attract qualified employees would materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
We expect to expand our development, regulatory and sales and marketing capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.
In connection with our commercial launch of ARIKAYCE and international expansion, we expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of drug development, regulatory affairs, quality, commercial compliance, medical affairs, and sales and marketing. For example, we plan to hire additional personnel in connection with our commercial launch of ARIKAYCE and preparation for potential regulatory filings for ARIKAYCE in other markets. To manage our 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. Due to the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with this anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The physical expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.
Any acquisitions we make, or collaborative relationships we enter into, may not be clinically or commercially successful, and may require financing or a significant amount of our available cash, which could adversely affect our business.
As part of our business strategy, we may effect acquisitions to obtain additional businesses, products, technologies, capabilities and personnel. Acquisitions involve a number of operational risks, including:
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Failure to achieve expected synergies;
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Difficulty and expense of assimilating the operations, technology and personnel of any acquired business;
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The inability to retain the management, key personnel and other employees of any acquired business;
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The inability to maintain any acquired company’s relationship with key third parties, such as alliance partners;
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Exposure to legal claims for activities of any acquired business prior to acquisition;
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Diversion of our management’s attention from our core business; and
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Potential impairment of intangible assets, adversely affecting our reported results of operations and financial condition.
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We also may enter into collaborative relationships that would involve our collaborators conducting proprietary development programs. Disagreements with collaborators may develop over the rights to our intellectual property, and any conflict with our collaborators could limit our ability to obtain future collaboration agreements and negatively influence our relationship with existing collaborators.
If we make one or more significant acquisitions or enter into a significant collaboration in which the consideration includes cash, we may be required to use a substantial portion of our available cash and/or need to raise additional capital, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
We may be subject to product liability claims, and we have only limited product liability insurance.
The manufacture and sale of human therapeutic products involve an inherent risk of product liability claims, particularly as we now commercialize ARIKAYCE in the US. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
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decreased demand for ARIKAYCE and any other products that we may commercialize, and a corresponding loss of revenue;
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substantial monetary awards to patients or trial participants;
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significant time and costs to defend the related litigation;
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withdrawal or reduced enrollment of clinical trial participants; and
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reputational harm and significant negative media attention.
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We currently have only limited product liability insurance for our products. We do not know if we will be able to maintain existing, or obtain additional, product liability insurance on acceptable terms or with adequate coverage against potential liabilities. This type of insurance is expensive and may not be available on acceptable terms. If we are unable to obtain or maintain sufficient insurance coverage on reasonable terms or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, we may be unable to commercialize our products. A successful product liability claim brought against us in excess of our insurance coverage, if any, may require us to pay substantial amounts and may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
Our business and operations, including our drug development programs, could be materially disrupted in the event of system failures, security breaches, violations of data protection laws or data loss or damage by us or our CROs or other contractors or consultants.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our CROs and other contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, including a material disruption of our drug development and commercialization programs. Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential patient or employee data, including personally identifiable information, whether through breach of computer systems, systems failure, employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, or otherwise, or unauthorized access to or through our information systems and networks, whether by our employees or third parties, could result in negative publicity, legal liability and damage to our reputation. Unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information could also expose us to sanctions for violations of data privacy laws and regulations around the world. To the extent that any disruption or security breach resulted in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed. For example, the loss of or damage to clinical trial data, such as from completed or ongoing clinical trials, for any of our product candidates could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data.
Although we have general liability insurance coverage, including coverage for errors and omissions, our insurance may not cover all claims, continue to be available on reasonable terms or be sufficient in amount to cover one or more large claims; additionally, the insurer may disclaim coverage as to any claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed or are not covered by our insurance coverage or changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
We have limited experience operating internationally, are subject to a number of risks associated with our international activities and operations and may not be successful in our efforts to expand internationally.
We currently have limited operations outside of the US. As of September 30, 2018, we had 27 employees located in Europe and 5 employees located in Japan, although we have clinical trial sites and suppliers located around the world. In order to meet our long-term goals, we expect to grow our international operations over the next several years, including in Europe and Japan, and continue to source material used in the manufacture of our product candidates from abroad. Consequently, we are and will continue to be subject to risks related to operating in foreign countries, including:
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Limited experience with international regulatory requirements;
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An inability to achieve optimal pricing and reimbursement for ARIKAYCE, if approved in another jurisdiction, or subsequent changes in reimbursement, pricing and other regulatory requirements;
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Any implementation of, or changes to, tariffs, trade barriers and other import-export regulations in the US or other countries in which we, or our third-party partners, operate;
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Unexpected adverse events related to ARIKAYCE or our product candidates occurring in foreign markets that we have not experienced in the US;
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Economic and political conditions, including geopolitical events, such as war and terrorism, foreign currency fluctuations and inflation, which could result in reduced revenue, increased or unpredictable operating expenses and other obligations incident to doing business in, or with a company located in, another country;
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Changes resulting from the UK's vote to exit the EU, including: (i) the uncertainty and instability in economic and market conditions; (ii) the uncertainty regarding the UK’s access to the EU Single Market and the impact on the wider trading, legal, regulatory and labor environments; and (iii) the uncertainty in the European regulatory framework, including the relocation of the EMA from the UK to the Netherlands, and the subsequent potential disruption and delay of EMA regulatory actions; and
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Compliance with foreign or US laws, rules and regulations, including data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, anti-competition regulations, import, export and trade restrictions, anti-bribery/anti-corruption laws, regulations or rules, which could lead to actions by us or our licensees, distributors, manufacturers, other third parties who act on our behalf or with whom we do business in foreign countries or our employees who are working abroad that could subject us to investigation or prosecution under such foreign or US laws.
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These and other risks associated with our international operations may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
We operate in a highly competitive and changing environment, and if we are unable to adapt to our environment, we may be unable to compete successfully.
Biotechnology and related pharmaceutical technology have undergone and are likely to continue to experience rapid and significant change. Our future success will depend in large part on our ability to maintain a competitive position with respect to these technologies and to obtain and maintain protection for our intellectual property. Compounds, products or processes that we develop may become obsolete before we recover any expenses incurred in connection with their development. We face substantial competition from pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other companies, universities and research institutions with respect to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung disease, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Relative to us, most of these entities have substantially greater capital resources, research and development staffs, facilities and experience in conducting clinical studies, obtaining regulatory approvals, and manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products. Many of our competitors may achieve product commercialization or obtain patent protection earlier than us. Furthermore, we believe that our competitors have used, and may continue to use, litigation to gain a competitive advantage. Our competitors may also use different technologies or approaches to develop products similar to ARIKAYCE and our product candidates.
We expect that competing successfully will depend, among other things, on the relative speed with which we can develop products, complete the clinical testing and regulatory approval processes and supply commercial quantities of the product to the market, as well as product efficacy, safety, reliability, availability, timing and scope of regulatory approval and price. We expect competition to increase as technological advances are made and commercial applications broaden. There are potential competitive products, both approved and in development, which include oral, systemic, or inhaled antibiotic products to treat chronic respiratory infections. For instance, certain entities have expressed interest in studying their products for NTM lung disease and are seeking to advance studies in NTM lung disease caused by mycobacterial species other than MAC; however, we are not aware of any entities currently conducting clinical trials for the treatment of refractory MAC lung disease or of any other approved inhaled therapies specifically indicated for NTM lung disease in North America, Japan or Europe. If any of our competitors develops a product that is more effective, safe, tolerable or, convenient or less expensive than
ARIKAYCE or our product candidates, it would likely materially adversely affect our ability to generate revenue. We also may face lower priced generic competitors if third-party payers encourage use of generic or lower-priced versions of our product or if competing products are imported into the US or other countries where we may sell ARIKAYCE.
In addition, there are other amikacin products that have been approved by the FDA, MHLW and other regulatory agencies for use in other indications, and physicians may elect to prescribe those products rather than ARIKAYCE to treat the indications for which ARIKAYCE has received approval, which is commonly referred to as off-label use. Although regulations prohibit a drug company from promoting off-label use of its product, the FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate the practice of medicine and cannot direct physicians as to what product to prescribe to their patients. As a result, we would have limited ability to prevent any off-label use of a competitor’s product to treat diseases for which we have received FDA or other regulatory agency approval, even if this use violates our patents or any statutory exclusivities that FDA may grant for the use of amikacin to treat such diseases. If we are unable to compete successfully, it will materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights adequately, the value of ARIKAYCE and our product candidates could be materially diminished.
The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain and involves complex legal, technical, scientific and factual questions, and our success depends in large part on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and to obtain and maintain patent protection for our products, prevent third parties from infringing our patents, both domestically and internationally. We have sought to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the US and abroad related to our novel technologies and products that are important to our business. This process is expensive 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 patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Our existing patents and any future patents we obtain may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from using our technologies or from developing competing products and technologies.
Even if our owned and licensed patent applications issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Any conclusions we may reach regarding non-infringement, inapplicability or invalidity of a third party’s intellectual property vis-à-vis our proprietary rights, or those of a licensor, are based in significant part on a review of publicly available databases and other information. There may be information not available to us or otherwise not reviewed by us that could render these conclusions inaccurate. Our competitors may also be able to circumvent our owned or licensed patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.
Additionally, patents issued to us or our licensors may be challenged, narrowed, invalidated, held to be unenforceable or circumvented through litigation, which could limit our ability to stop competitors from marketing similar products or reduce the term of patent protection for amikacin liposome inhalation suspension or our product candidates. US patents and patent applications may also be subject to interference or derivation proceedings, and US patents may be subject to re-examination proceedings, reissue, post-grant review and/or
inter partes
review in the US Patent and Trademark Office. Foreign patents may be subject to opposition or comparable proceedings in the corresponding foreign patent office, which could result in either loss of the patent or denial of the patent application or loss or reduction in the scope of one or more of the claims of the patent or patent application. See
Intellectual Property - ARIKAYCE Patents and Trade Secrets
in Item 1 of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (2017 Annual Report) for more information on our European patent that was previously opposed, the decision of which is now under appeal by Generics (UK) Ltd. Another of our European patents has been opposed by Generics (UK) Ltd. and was revoked in November 2017. We intend to appeal that decision, and the patent remains enforceable during the appeal. These European patents have statutory expiration dates in 2026 and 2023, respectively, not including additional term that might be added via a Supplementary Protection Certificate.
Changes in either patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the US and other countries may also diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection, including making it easier for competitors to challenge our patents. For example, the America Invents Act included a number of changes to established practices, including the transition to a first-inventor-to-file system and new procedures for challenging patents and implementation of different methods for invalidating patents.
If we are not able to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information, the value of
ARIKAYCE and our product candidates could be materially diminished.
We rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technologies, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, advisors, collaborators, and other third parties and partners to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information or may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, third parties may independently develop or discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. Regulators also may disclose information we consider to be proprietary to third parties under certain circumstances, including in response to third-party requests for such disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or comparable laws. Additionally, the FDA, as part of its Transparency Initiative, continues to consider whether to make additional information publicly available on a routine basis, including information that we may consider to be trade secrets or other proprietary information, and it is not clear at the present time whether and how the FDA’s disclosure policies may change in the future.
We may not be able to enforce our intellectual property rights throughout the world, which could harm our business.
The legal systems of some foreign countries, particularly developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, especially those relating to life sciences. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in such foreign jurisdictions. For example, certain foreign countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be required to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against third parties, including government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, patents may provide limited or no benefit. This legal environment could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or in-licensed patents or the misappropriation of our other intellectual property rights. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, and our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate.
The drug research and development industry has a history of intellectual property litigation, and we could become involved in costly intellectual property disputes, which could delay or impair our product development efforts or prevent us from, or increase the cost of, commercializing ARIKAYCE or any other approved product candidate.
Third parties may claim that we have infringed upon or misappropriated their proprietary rights. Any existing third-party patents, or patents that may later issue to third parties, could negatively affect our commercialization of ARIKAYCE, INS1007, INS1009 or any other product candidate that receives regulatory approval. For instance, PAH is a competitive indication with established products, including other formulations of treprostinil. Our supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient for INS1009 is dependent upon a single supplier. The supplier owns patents on its manufacturing process, and we have filed patent applications for INS1009; however, a competitor in the PAH indication may claim that we or our supplier have infringed upon or misappropriated its proprietary rights. Moreover, in the event that we pursue approval of INS1009, or any other product candidate, via the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we will be required to file a certification against any unexpired patents listed in the Orange Book for the third-party drug we rely upon as part of our regulatory submission. This certification process may lead to litigation and could also delay launch of a product candidate, if approved by regulators.
In the event of successful litigation or settlement of claims against us for infringement or misappropriation of a third party’s proprietary rights, as in 2007 with respect to IPLEX, we may be required to take actions including but not limited to the following:
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Paying damages, including up to treble damages, royalties, and the other party’s attorneys’ fees, which may be substantial;
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Ceasing development, manufacture, marketing and sale of products or use of processes that infringe the proprietary rights of others;
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Expending significant resources to redesign our products or our processes so that they do not infringe the proprietary rights of others, which may not be possible, or may result in significant regulatory delays associated with conducting additional clinical trials or other steps to obtain regulatory approval; and/or
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Acquiring one or more licenses from third parties, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
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We may also have to undertake costly litigation or engage in other proceedings, such as interference or
inter partes
review, to enforce or defend the validity of any patents issued or licensed to us, to confirm the scope and validity of our or a licensor’s proprietary rights or to defend against allegations that we have infringed a third party’s intellectual property rights.
Any proceedings regarding our intellectual property rights are likely to be time consuming and may divert management
attention from operation of our business, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
Certain of our existing license agreements include, and our future license agreements also may include, restrictions on our ability to freely develop or commercialize the product candidates that are subject to those agreements. If we fail to comply with our obligations under these agreements, or if these license agreements are terminated for other reasons, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
We are a party to licensing agreements with PARI and AstraZeneca, which we view as material to our business. For additional information regarding the terms of these agreements, see
Business - License and Other Agreements
in Item 1 of Part I of our 2017 Annual Report. Under our license agreement with AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca retains a right of first negotiation pursuant to which it may exclusively negotiate with us before we can negotiate with a third party regarding any transaction to develop or commercialize INS1007, subject to certain exceptions. While this right of first negotiation is not triggered by a change of control, it may impede or delay our ability to consummate certain other transactions involving INS1007.
Additionally, if we fail to comply with our obligations under the agreements with PARI and AstraZeneca, our counterparty may have the right to take action against us, up to and including termination of the relevant license. For instance, under our licensing agreement with PARI, with respect to NTM lung disease, CF and bronchiectasis, we have specific obligations to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve certain developmental and regulatory milestones by set deadlines. Additionally, for NTM lung disease, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve certain commercial milestones in Europe. The consequences of our failing to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve certain commercial milestones are context-specific, but include ending PARI’s non-compete obligation, making the license non-exclusive and terminating the license, in each case with respect to the applicable indication. Similarly, under our license agreement with AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca may terminate our license to INS1007 if we fail to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize a product based on INS1007, or we are subject to a bankruptcy or insolvency. Reduction or elimination of our licensed rights may result in our having to negotiate new or reinstated licenses with less favorable terms and may materially harm our business.
Finally, if we do not proceed with the development of our ARIKAYCE program in the NTM lung disease or CF indications, certain of our contract counterparties may elect to proceed with the development of these indications.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
Government health care reform could materially increase our costs, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
Our industry is highly regulated and changes in or revisions to laws and regulations that make gaining regulatory approval, reimbursement and pricing more difficult or subject to different criteria and standards may adversely impact our business, operations or financial results.
The Administration and the majority party in both Houses of Congress have indicated their ongoing desire to repeal the ACA and, in December 2017, repealed the ACA's individual mandate, i.e., the penalty imposed on individuals who do not obtain health care coverage. It is unclear what the effect of this partial repeal will be and whether, when and how repeal of other sections of the law may be effectuated and what the effect on the healthcare sector will be. In addition, there is currently litigation challenging the constitutionality of the entire ACA. It is unclear what the outcome of this litigation, and the effect of that outcome on the healthcare sector, will be. The US President has indicated an interest in having the federal government negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers. Changes to the ACA, to the Medicare or Medicaid programs, or to the ability of the federal government to negotiate drug prices, or other federal legislation regarding healthcare access, financing or legislation in individual states, could affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock. It remains unclear how any new legislation or regulation might affect the prices we may obtain for ARIKAYCE or any of our product candidates for which regulatory approval is obtained.
If we are found in violation of federal or state “fraud and abuse” laws, we may be required to pay a penalty or may be suspended from participation in federal or state health care programs, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
In the US, we are subject to various federal and state health care “fraud and abuse” laws, including anti‑kickback laws, false claims laws and other laws intended to reduce fraud and abuse in federal and state health care programs. Although we seek to structure our business arrangements in compliance with all applicable requirements, these laws are broadly written, and
it is often difficult to determine precisely how the law will be applied in specific circumstances. Accordingly, it is possible that our practices may be challenged under these laws. Violations of fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by criminal and/or civil sanctions, including fines or exclusion or suspension from federal and state health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and debarment from contracting with the US government, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock may be adversely affected. Our reputation could also suffer. In addition, private individuals have the ability to bring actions on behalf of the government under the federal False Claims Act as well as under the false claims laws of several states.
Under the ACA, we are required to report information on payments or transfers of value to US physicians and teaching hospitals as well as investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members, which is posted in searchable form on a public website. Failure to submit required information may result in civil monetary penalties.
Several states also impose other marketing restrictions or require pharmaceutical companies to make marketing or price disclosures to the state. In addition to the federal government, some states, as well as other countries, including France, require the disclosure of certain payments to health care professionals. Health record privacy laws may limit access to information identifying those individuals who may be prospective users. There are ambiguities as to what is required to comply with these state requirements, and we could be subject to penalties if a state determines that we have failed to comply with an applicable state law requirement.
We are subject to anti-corruption laws and trade control laws, as well as other laws governing our operations. If we fail to comply with these laws, we could be subject to negative publicity, civil or criminal penalties, other remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
Our operations are subject to anti-corruption laws, including the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act and other anti-corruption laws that apply in countries where we do business. The FCPA, UK Bribery Act and these other laws generally prohibit us, our employees and our intermediaries from making prohibited payments to government officials or other persons to obtain or retain business or gain some other business advantage. The CONVERT study includes more than 125 sites in 18 countries, and we are conducting the 312 study and plan to conduct the WILLOW study, our global phase 2 study of INS1007 in non-CF bronchiectasis, at a broad range of trial sites around the world. Certain of these jurisdictions pose a risk of potential FCPA violations, and we have relationships with third parties whose actions could potentially subject us to liability under the FCPA or local anti-corruption laws. In addition, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our international operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.
We are also subject to other laws and regulations governing our international operations, including regulations administered by the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and various non-US government entities, including applicable export control regulations, economic sanctions on countries and persons, customs requirements, currency exchange regulations and transfer pricing regulations (collectively, Trade Control laws).
We may not be effective in ensuring our compliance with all applicable anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA or other legal requirements, including Trade Control laws. If we are not in compliance with the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws or Trade Control laws, we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement and other sanctions and remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock. Likewise, even an investigation by US or foreign authorities of potential violations of the FCPA other anti-corruption laws or Trade Control laws could have an adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our common stock.
If another party obtains orphan drug exclusivity for a product that is essentially the same as a product we are developing for a particular indication, we may be precluded or delayed from commercializing the product in that indication.
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan drug designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition. The company that obtains the first regulatory approval from the FDA for a designated orphan drug for a rare disease generally receives marketing exclusivity for use of that drug for the designated condition for a period of seven years. Similar laws exist in the EU with a term of ten years. See
Business - Government Regulation - Orphan Drugs
in Item 1 of Part I of our 2017 Annual Report for additional information. If a competitor obtains approval of the same drug for the same indication or disease before us, and the FDA grants such orphan drug exclusivity, we would be prohibited from obtaining approval for our product for seven or more years, unless our product can be shown to be clinically superior. In addition, even if we obtain
orphan exclusivity, the FDA may approve another product during our orphan exclusivity period for the same indication under certain circumstances.
Our research, development and manufacturing activities used in the production of ARIKAYCE and our product candidates involve the use of hazardous materials, which could expose us to damages, fines, penalties and sanctions and materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
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 research and development program and manufacturing activities for ARIKAYCE and our product candidates involve the controlled use of hazardous materials and chemicals. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. Although we strive to comply with all pertinent regulations, the risk of environmental contamination, damage to facilities or injury to personnel from the accidental or improper use or control of these materials remains. In addition to any liability we could have for any misuse by us of hazardous materials and chemicals, we could also potentially be liable for activities of our CMOs or other third parties. Any such liability, or even allegations of such liability, could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. We also could incur significant costs as a result of civil or criminal fines and penalties.
In addition, we may incur substantial costs 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 Our Financial Condition and Need for Additional Capital
We have a history of operating losses, expect to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
We have incurred losses each previous year of our operation, except in 2009, when we sold our manufacturing facility and certain other assets to Merck, and we did not generate material revenue during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 or the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 or 2015. As of September 30, 2018, our accumulated deficit was $1.2 billion. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, our consolidated net loss was $232.7 million, $192.6 million and $176.3 million, respectively. Our ability to generate revenue will depend on the success of commercial sales of ARIKAYCE; however, we do not anticipate our revenue from the sale of ARIKAYCE will be sufficient for us to become profitable without reductions in our operating expenses. Despite our recent launch of ARIKAYCE in the US, we expect to continue to incur substantial operating expenses, and resulting operating losses, for the foreseeable future as we:
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initiate or continue clinical studies of our product candidates;
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initiate a post-marketing clinical trial of ARIKAYCE, as required by the FDA;
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seek to discover or in-license additional product candidates;
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seek regulatory approvals for ARIKAYCE in foreign markets;
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scale-up manufacturing capabilities for future ARIKAYCE production, including the build-out of production capacity at Patheon and process improvements in order to manufacture at a commercial scale; and
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enhance operational, compliance, financial, quality and information management systems and hire more personnel, including personnel to support our commercialization efforts and development of our product candidates.
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Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.
We may need to raise additional funds to continue our operations, but we face uncertainties with respect to our ability to access capital.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since our inception. We expect to expend substantial financial resources to commercialize ARIKAYCE, including expenditures on product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution, fund the confirmatory post-marketing study and continue research and development of and, where applicable, seek regulatory approval for ARIKAYCE and our product candidates. We may need to raise additional capital to fund these activities, including due to changes in our product development plans or misjudgment of expected costs, to fund corporate development, to maintain our intellectual property portfolio or to resolve litigation. As of September 30, 2018, we had $567.6 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand. Our operating expenses, capital expenditures and long-term investments have been significantly higher in 2018 than in comparable periods of 2017, reflecting our investment in the build-out of our
commercial organization to support global expansion activities for ARIKAYCE, including the launch of ARIKAYCE in the US in the fourth quarter of 2018, the build-up of third-party manufacturing capacity and manufacture of commercial inventory, which includes capital and long-term investments, and continued investment in research and development as well as general and administrative expenses. We do not know whether additional financing will be available when needed, or, if available, whether the terms will be favorable. If adequate funds are not available to us when needed, we may be forced to delay, restrict or eliminate all or a portion of our development programs or commercialization efforts.
We have outstanding indebtedness in the form of convertible senior notes, and may incur additional indebtedness in the future, which could adversely affect our financial position, prevent us from implementing our strategy, and dilute the ownership interest of our existing shareholders.
In January 2018, we completed an underwritten public offering of 1.75% convertible senior notes due 2025 (the Convertible Notes). The Convertible Notes may be convertible into common stock at an initial conversion rate of 25.5384 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes. We sold $450.0 million aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Notes, including the exercise in full of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional Convertible Notes, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $435.8 million. Holders of the Convertible Notes may convert their Convertible Notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding October 15, 2024 only under certain circumstances. On or after October 15, 2024 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert their Convertible Notes at any time. Upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, we may deliver cash, shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, at our election.
The degree to which we are leveraged could have negative consequences, such as the following:
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we may be more vulnerable to economic downturns, less able to withstand competitive pressures, and less flexible in responding to changing economic conditions;
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our ability to obtain financing in the future may be limited;
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a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations in the future may be required for the payment of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes when they or any additional indebtedness become due;
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we may elect to make cash payments upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, which would reduce our available cash.
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Our ability to pay principal or interest on or, if desired, to refinance our indebtedness, including the Convertible Notes, depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. Our business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to satisfy any obligations under the Convertible Notes to make cash payments to noteholders or our obligations under any future indebtedness we may incur. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to delay, restrict or eliminate all or a portion of our development programs or commercialization efforts or refinance or obtain additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. If we do not meet our debt obligations, it could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and the value of our common stock.
The conversion of some or all of the Convertible Notes will dilute the ownership interests of our existing shareholders to the extent we deliver shares upon their conversion. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the Convertible Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the Convertible Notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the Convertible Notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.
The accounting method for the Convertible Notes may have an adverse effect on our reported financial results.
Accounting guidance requires that we separately account for the liability and equity components of the Convertible Notes because they may be settled entirely or partially in cash upon conversion in a manner that reflects our economic interest cost. As a result, the equity component of the Convertible Notes is required to be included in the additional paid-in capital section of shareholders’ equity on our consolidated balance sheet, and the value of the equity component is treated as original issue discount for purposes of accounting for the debt component of the Convertible Notes. We may report greater net loss (or lower net income) in our financial results because this guidance requires interest to include both the current period’s amortization of the debt discount and the instrument’s coupon interest, which could adversely affect our reported or future financial results, the market price of our common stock and the trading price of the Convertible Notes.
Holders may convert their Convertible Notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding October 15, 2024 only under certain circumstances. For example, holders may convert their Convertible Notes at their option during any quarter commencing after the quarter ending March 31, 2018 (and only during such quarter) if the last reported sale price of our common stock for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding quarter is greater than or equal to 130% of the conversion price on each applicable trading day. If the Convertible Notes become convertible prior to October 15, 2024, we may be required to reclassify our Convertible Notes and the related debt issuance costs as current liabilities and certain portions of our equity outside of equity to mezzanine equity, which would have an adverse impact on our reported financial results for such quarter, and could have an adverse impact on the market price of our common stock and the trading price of the Convertible Notes.
Intangible assets comprised approximately 9% of our total assets as of September 30, 2018. A reduction in the value of our intangible assets could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and the value of our common stock.
As a result of the merger with Transave in 2010, we recorded an intangible in-process research and development (IPRD) asset of $77.9 million and goodwill of $6.3 million on our balance sheet. As a result of the clinical hold on ARIKAYCE announced in late 2011, we recorded a charge of $26.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 that reduced the value of IPRD to $58.2 million and reduced goodwill to zero. In addition, in September 2018 we recorded an additional $1.7 million in intangible assets related to a milestone due to PARI as a result of FDA approval of ARIKAYCE. Future activities or events could result in additional write-downs of these intangible assets, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and the value of our common stock.
We may be unable to use certain of our net operating losses and other tax assets.
We have substantial tax loss carry forwards for US federal income tax and state income tax purposes, and beginning in 2015, we had tax loss carry forwards in Ireland as well. In general, our net operating losses and tax credits have been fully offset by a valuation allowance due to uncertainties surrounding our ability to realize these tax benefits. In particular, our ability to fully use certain US tax loss carry forwards and general business tax credit carry forwards recorded prior to December 2010 to offset future income or tax liability is limited under section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). Changes in the ownership of our stock, including those resulting from the issuance of shares of our common stock offerings or upon exercise of outstanding options, may limit or eliminate our ability to use certain net operating losses and tax credit carry forwards in the future.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The market price of our stock has been and may continue to be highly volatile, which could lead to shareholder litigation against us.
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “INSM”. The market price of our stock has been and may continue to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in price in response to various factors, including those discussed herein, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, the stock market has from time to time experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, which have particularly affected the market prices for emerging biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies like us, and which have often been unrelated to their operating performance.
Historically, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, shareholders are more likely to institute securities and derivative class action litigation against the issuer of such stock. We previously faced a shareholder suit following a decline in our stock price. If any of our shareholders bring a lawsuit against us in the future, it could have a material adverse effect on our business. We have insurance policies related to some of the risks associated with our business, including directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies; however, our insurance coverage may not be sufficient and our insurance carriers may not cover all claims in a given litigation. If we are not successful in our defense of claims asserted in shareholder litigation, those claims are not covered by insurance or they exceed our insurance coverage, we may have to pay damage awards, indemnify our executive officers, directors and third parties from damage awards that may be entered against them and pay our and their costs and expenses incurred in defense of, or in any settlement of, such claims. In addition, such shareholder suits could divert the time and attention of management from our business.
Certain provisions of Virginia law, our articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and arrangements between us and our employees could hamper a third party’s acquisition of, or discourage a third party from attempting to
acquire control of us.
Certain provisions of Virginia law, our articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and arrangements with our employees could hamper a third party’s acquisition of, or discourage a third party from attempting to acquire control of, us or limit the price that investors might be willing to pay for shares of our common stock. These provisions or arrangements include:
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The ability to issue preferred stock with rights senior to those of our common stock without any further vote or action by the holders of our common stock. The issuance of preferred stock could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to the holders of our common stock or could adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of the holders of our common stock. In certain circumstances, such issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock.
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The existence of a staggered board of directors in which there are three classes of directors serving staggered three-year terms, thus expanding the time required to change the composition of a majority of directors.
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The requirement that shareholders provide advance notice when nominating director candidates to serve on our Board of Directors.
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The inability of shareholders to convene a shareholders’ meeting without the chairman of the board, the president or a majority of the board of directors first calling the meeting.
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The prohibition against entering into a business combination with the beneficial owner of 10% or more of our outstanding voting stock for a period of three years after the 10% or greater owner first reached that level of stock ownership, unless certain criteria are met.
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In addition to severance agreements with our officers and provisions in our incentive plans that permit acceleration of equity awards upon a change in control, a severance plan for eligible full-time employees that provides such employees with severance equal to six months of their then-current base salaries in connection with a termination of employment without cause upon, or within 18 months following, a change in control.
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We previously had a shareholder rights plan, or “poison pill,” which expired in May 2011. Under Virginia law, our Board of Directors may implement a new shareholders’ rights plan without shareholder approval. Our Board of Directors intends to regularly consider this matter, even in the absence of specific circumstances or takeover proposals, to facilitate its future ability to quickly and effectively protect shareholder value.