Biggest changeThe market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including: results from, and any delays in, our clinical trial for Olvi-Vec, our preclinical studies and any other future clinical development programs, including any delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic; actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts; commencement or termination of collaboration, licensing or similar arrangements for our development programs; announcements by our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, collaborations or capital commitments; failure or discontinuation of any of our development programs; our ability to commercialize Olvi-Vec and our other product candidates, if approved, inside and outside of the United States, either independently or working with third parties; our partners and collaborators ability to successfully commercialize their licensed product candidates; developments or setbacks related to drugs that are co-administered with any of our product candidates, such as cellular and targeted therapies; regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries; developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights; the recruitment or departure of key personnel; the level of expenses related to the development of Olvi-Vec and any other product candidate we may develop; changes in the competitive landscape in our industry, including results of clinical trials of existing and potential future products that compete with Olvi-Vec and our other product candidates; our ability to adequately support future growth; variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us; future accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies; announcements or expectations of additional financing efforts by us; sales of our common stock by us, our insiders or other stockholders; expiration of market stand-off or lock-up agreements; recommendations and changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, that cover our stock; changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems; market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors; 126 Table of Contents general economic, political, and market conditions and overall fluctuations in the financial markets in the United States and abroad, including the COVID-19 pandemic and bank failures; and investors general perception of us and our business.
Biggest changeNo assurance can be given that an active market in our common shares will develop or be sustained. 105 The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including: ● results from, and any delays in, our clinical trial for Olvi-Vec, our preclinical studies and any other future clinical development programs; ● actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts; ● commencement or termination of collaboration, licensing or similar arrangements for our development programs; ● announcements by our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, collaborations or capital commitments; ● failure or discontinuation of any of our development programs; ● our ability to commercialize Olvi-Vec and our other product candidates, if approved, inside and outside of the United States, either independently or working with third parties; ● our partners’ and collaborators’ ability to successfully commercialize their licensed product candidates; ● developments or setbacks related to drugs that are co-administered with any of our product candidates, such as cellular and targeted therapies; ● regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries; ● developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights; ● the recruitment or departure of key personnel; ● the level of expenses related to the development of Olvi-Vec and any other product candidate we may develop; ● changes in the competitive landscape in our industry, including results of clinical trials of existing and potential future products that compete with Olvi-Vec and our other product candidates; ● our ability to adequately support future growth; ● variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us; ● future accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies; ● announcements or expectations of additional financing efforts by us; ● sales of our common stock by us, our insiders or other stockholders; ● recommendations and changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, that cover our stock; ● changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems; ● market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors; ● general economic, political, and market conditions and overall fluctuations in the financial markets in the United States and abroad, including bank failures, global pandemics, the Russia/Ukraine conflict or the war in the Middle East; and ● investors’ general perception of us and our business. 106 These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for our common stock to fluctuate rapidly and substantially, including any stock price run-up, regardless of our actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects, which may limit, prevent or make it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our common stock or to sell their shares at or above the price paid for the shares and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock.
Item 1A. Risk Factors. Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk.
Item 1A. Risk Factors. Risk Factors Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk.
In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, changes in and adherence to the clinical trial protocols, variations in conducting clinical trial at different sites, changes in medical practice, FDA requirements based on agency guidelines or precedence which may be more strict for a Phase 3 clinical trial, the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants and changes in the manufacturing process.
In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, changes in and adherence to the clinical trial protocols, variations in conducting clinical trials at different sites, changes in medical practice, FDA requirements based on agency guidelines or precedence which may be more strict for a Phase 3 clinical trial, the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants and changes in the manufacturing process.
We may also make further changes to our manufacturing facilities and processes at various points during development or commercialization, for a number of reasons, such as controlling costs, achieving scale,decreasing processing time, increasing manufacturing success rate or other reasons. The manufacturing changes could require changes in raw materials, components and services that are obtained from third-party suppliers.
We may also make further changes to our manufacturing facilities and processes at various points during development or commercialization, for a number of reasons, such as controlling costs, achieving scale, decreasing processing time, increasing manufacturing success rate or for other reasons. The manufacturing changes could require changes in raw materials, components and services that are obtained from third-party suppliers.
Any failure or refusal to supply our product candidates or components for our product candidates that we may develop could delay, prevent or impair our clinical development or commercialization efforts. In addition, we do not have any long-term commitments or guaranteed prices from our suppliers of raw materials, manufacturing equipment components or devices or combination products.
Any failure or refusal to supply our product candidates, raw materials or components for our product candidates that we may develop could delay, prevent or impair our clinical development or commercialization efforts. In addition, we do not have any long-term commitments or guaranteed prices from our suppliers of raw materials, manufacturing equipment components or devices or combination products.
If we elect to fund and undertake development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional expertise and additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.
If we elect to fund and undertake development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional expertise and additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.
V2ACT has one pending U.S. patent application and two pending non-U.S. patent applications. Any future provisional patent applications are not eligible to become issued patents until, among other things, we file a non-provisional patent application within 12 months of filing of one or more of our related provisional patent applications.
V2ACT has one issued U.S. patent, one pending U.S. patent application and two pending non-U.S. patent applications. Any future provisional patent applications are not eligible to become issued patents until, among other things, we file a non-provisional patent application within 12 months of filing of one or more of our related provisional patent applications.
We are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, rules, contractual obligations, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security.
We are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, and rules, contractual obligations, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security.
Recruiting and retaining qualified employees, consultants and advisors for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, also will be critical to our success. We conduct our operations at our facilities in Southern California, a region that is home to many other biopharmaceutical companies and many academic and research institutions.
Recruiting and retaining qualified employees, consultants and advisors for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will also be critical to our success. We conduct our operations at our facilities in Southern California, a region that is home to many other biopharmaceutical companies and many academic and research institutions.
If we, or our collaboration partners, are successful in obtaining marketing approval from applicable regulatory authorities for Olvi-Vec or any other product candidate, our ability to generate revenues from any such products will depend on our success in: launching commercial sales of such products, whether alone or in collaboration with others; receiving approved labels with claims that are necessary or desirable for successful marketing, and that do not contain safety or other limitations that would impede our ability to market such products; creating market demand for such products through marketing, sales and promotion activities; hiring, training, and deploying a sales force or contracting with third parties to commercialize such products in the United States; creating partnerships with, or offering licenses to, third parties to promote and sell such products in foreign markets where we receive marketing approval; manufacturing such products in sufficient quantities and at acceptable quality and cost to meet commercial demand at launch and thereafter; establishing and maintaining agreements with wholesalers, distributors, and group purchasing organizations on commercially reasonable terms; maintaining patent and trade secret protection and regulatory exclusivity for such products; achieving market acceptance of such products by patients, the medical community, and third-party payors; achieving coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors for such products; achieving patients willingness to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of such coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors; competing effectively with other therapies; and maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of such products following launch.
If we, or our collaboration partners, are successful in obtaining marketing approval from applicable regulatory authorities for Olvi-Vec or any other product candidate, our ability to generate revenues from any such products will depend on our success in: ● launching commercial sales of such products, whether alone or in collaboration with others; ● receiving approved labels with claims that are necessary or desirable for successful marketing, and that do not contain safety or other limitations that would impede our ability to market such products; ● creating market demand for such products through marketing, sales and promotion activities; ● hiring, training, and deploying a sales force or contracting with third parties to commercialize such products in the United States; ● creating partnerships with, or offering licenses to, third parties to promote and sell such products in foreign markets where we receive marketing approval; ● manufacturing such products in sufficient quantities and at acceptable quality and cost to meet commercial demand at launch and thereafter; ● establishing and maintaining agreements with wholesalers, distributors, and group purchasing organizations on commercially reasonable terms; ● maintaining patent and trade secret protection and regulatory exclusivity for such products; ● achieving market acceptance of such products by patients, the medical community, and third-party payors; ● achieving coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors for such products; ● achieving patients’ willingness to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of such coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors; ● competing effectively with other therapies; and ● maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of such products following launch.
Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our product candidates include: the inability to recruit, train, manage, and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel; the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or educate adequate numbers of physicians on the benefits of prescribing our product candidates; our inability to effectively oversee a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team; the costs associated with training personnel, including sales and marketing personnel, on compliance matters and monitoring their actions; an inability to secure coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government and private health plans; the unwillingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors; the clinical indications for which the products are approved and the claims that we may make for the products; limitations or warnings, including distribution or use restrictions, contained in the products approved labeling; any distribution and use restrictions imposed by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities or to which we agree as part of a mandatory REMS or voluntary risk management plan; liability for our personnel, including sales or marketing personnel, who fail to comply with applicable law; the lack of complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization or engaging a contract sales organization.
Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our product candidates include: ● the inability to recruit, train, manage, and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel; ● the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or educate adequate numbers of physicians on the benefits of prescribing our product candidates; ● our inability to effectively oversee a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team; ● the costs associated with training personnel, including sales and marketing personnel, on compliance matters and monitoring their actions; ● an inability to secure coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government and private health plans; ● the unwillingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors; ● the clinical indications for which the products are approved and the claims that we may make for the products; ● limitations or warnings, including distribution or use restrictions, contained in the products’ approved labeling; ● any distribution and use restrictions imposed by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities or to which we agree as part of a mandatory REMS or voluntary risk management plan; ● liability for our personnel, including sales or marketing personnel, who fail to comply with applicable law; ● the lack of complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and ● unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization or engaging a contract sales organization.
If the FDA, state or a comparable foreign regulatory authority does not approve our manufacturing facility for the manufacture of our product candidates or if it withdraws any such approval in the future, or our current facility is unable to meet our volume requirements, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved.
If the FDA, state or a comparable foreign regulatory authority does not approve our manufacturing facility for the manufacture of our product candidates or if it withdraws any such approval in the future, or our current facility is unable to meet our volume requirements, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which may significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved.
In this instance, we may not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the preclinical studies required to support future IND submissions, the clinical trials required for approval, and commercial supply of Olvi-Vec or any other product candidate and would thereby have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
In this instance, we may not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the preclinical studies required to support future IND submissions, the clinical trials required for approval, and commercial supply of Olvi-Vec or any other product candidate, which would thereby have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
In addition, even where the foreign study data are not intended to serve as the sole basis for approval, the FDA will not accept the data as support for an application for marketing approval unless the study is well-designed and well-conducted in accordance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) requirements and the FDA is able to validate the data from the study through an onsite inspection if deemed necessary.
In addition, even where the foreign study data are not intended to serve as the sole basis for approval, the FDA will not accept the data as support for an application for marketing approval unless the study is well-designed and well-conducted in accordance with ICH, and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) requirements and the FDA is able to validate the data from the study through an onsite inspection if deemed necessary.
In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business.
In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. 67 Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business.
This could delay completion of clinical trials, require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or studies, require the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of our product candidates and/or jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. We may rely on CMOs to conduct large-scale manufacture of Olvi-Vec in the future.
This could delay completion of clinical trials, require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or studies, require the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of our product candidates and/or jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. 60 We may rely on CMOs to conduct large-scale manufacture of Olvi-Vec in the future.
Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. Parties making claims against us may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources.
Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. 78 Parties making claims against us may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources.
Significant delays relating to any preclinical studies or clinical trials also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations.
Significant delays relating to any preclinical studies or clinical trials also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which would impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations.
In addition, we may be contractually subject to data privacy and security obligations, including industry standards adopted by industry groups and may become subject to new data privacy and security obligations in the future. For example, certain privacy laws, such as the EU GDPR and the CCPA, require companies to impose specific contractual restrictions on their service providers.
In addition, we may be contractually subject to data privacy and security obligations, including industry standards adopted by industry groups and may become subject to new data privacy and security obligations in the future. For example, certain privacy laws, such as the EU GDPR, UK GDPR, and the CCPA, require companies to impose specific contractual restrictions on their service providers.
If we are not able to generate revenue from the sale of any approved products, we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability. Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
If we are not able to generate revenue from the sale of any approved products, we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability. 35 Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
Olvi-Vec may not perform as we expect in clinical trials, particularly in our open-label, randomized, and controlled Phase 3 registration clinical trial, may ultimately have a different or no impact on tumors, may have a different mechanism of action than we expect and may not ultimately prove to be safe and effective.
Olvi-Vec may not perform as we expect in clinical trials, particularly in our open-label, randomized, and controlled Phase 3 registration clinical trial, in which Olvi-Vec may ultimately have a different or no impact on tumors, may have a different mechanism of action than we expect and may not ultimately prove to be safe and effective.
If any of these occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed. Moreover, the development of product candidates for use in combination with another product or product candidate may present challenges that are not faced for single agent product candidates.
If any of these occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed. 50 Moreover, the development of product candidates for use in combination with another product or product candidate may present challenges that are not faced for single agent product candidates.
Our current collaborations with TVAX, Newsoara and ELIAS, and potential future collaborations we might enter into for Olvi-Vec or our other product candidates, may pose a number of risks, including the following: collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected; collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators strategic focus or available funding, or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities; collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing; collaborators could fail to make timely regulatory submissions for a product candidate; collaborators may not comply with all applicable regulatory requirements or may fail to report safety data in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, which could subject them or us to regulatory enforcement actions; collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our products or product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours; product candidates discovered in collaboration with us may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to cease to devote resources to the commercialization of our product candidates; a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such product candidate or product; disagreements with collaborators, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation or the preferred course of development, might cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of product candidates, might lead to additional responsibilities for us with respect to product candidates, or might result in litigation or arbitration, any of which would be time consuming and expensive; collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation; and 90 Table of Contents collaborators may infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability.
Our current collaborations with TVAX and Newsoara, and potential future collaborations we might enter into for Olvi-Vec or our other product candidates, may pose a number of risks, including the following: ● collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected; ● collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding, or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities; ● collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing; ● collaborators could fail to make timely regulatory submissions for a product candidate; ● collaborators may not comply with all applicable regulatory requirements or may fail to report safety data in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, which could subject them or us to regulatory enforcement actions; ● collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our products or product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours; ● product candidates discovered in collaboration with us may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to cease to devote resources to the commercialization of our product candidates; ● a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such product candidate or product; ● disagreements with collaborators, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation or the preferred course of development, might cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of product candidates, might lead to additional responsibilities for us with respect to product candidates, or might result in litigation or arbitration, any of which would be time consuming and expensive; ● collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation; and ● collaborators may infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability.
Any such restrictions could limit sales of the product. We and any of our suppliers or collaborators, including our contract manufacturers, could be subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA to monitor and ensure compliance with cGMPs and other FDA regulatory requirements.
Any such restrictions could limit sales of the product. We and any of our suppliers or collaborators, including our contract manufacturers, could be subject to periodic announced and unannounced inspections by the FDA to monitor and ensure compliance with cGMPs and other FDA regulatory requirements.
Our ability to monitor these third parties information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences.
Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences.
We may need to devote significant time and resources to compliance with these requirements. Preclinical and clinical development involve a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome and stringent regulations, and delays can occur for a variety of reasons.
We may need to devote significant time and resources to compliance with these requirements. 39 Preclinical and clinical development involve a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome and stringent regulations, and delays can occur for a variety of reasons.
Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. In particular, the EEA and the UK have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it believes are inadequate.
Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. In particular, the EEA and the UK have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it believes are generally inadequate.
Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability depends heavily on our success in achieving a number of goals, including: completing research regarding, and preclinical and clinical development of, product candidates and programs, including Olvi-Vec, and identifying and developing new product candidates; obtaining marketing approvals for any product candidates for which we complete clinical trials; obtaining regulatory approval to use and sell products generated by our existing or future manufacturing processes for Olvi-Vec and future product candidates, including at our existing manufacturing facility and/or by establishing and maintaining supply and manufacturing relationships with third parties; launching and commercializing product candidates for which we obtain marketing approvals, either directly by establishing a sales force and marketing, medical affairs and distribution infrastructure or, alternatively, with a collaborator or distributor; establishing and maintaining healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement for our future products, if any; obtaining market acceptance of product candidates that we develop as viable treatment options; addressing any competing technological and market developments; 65 Table of Contents identifying, assessing, acquiring and developing new product candidates; negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing, or other arrangements into which we may enter and performing our obligations in such collaborations; maintaining, protecting, and expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, and know-how; and attracting, hiring, and retaining qualified personnel.
Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability depends heavily on our success in achieving a number of goals, including: ● completing research regarding, and preclinical and clinical development of, product candidates and programs, including Olvi-Vec, and identifying and developing new product candidates; 34 ● obtaining marketing approvals for any product candidates for which we complete clinical trials; ● obtaining regulatory approval to use and sell products generated by our existing or future manufacturing processes for Olvi-Vec and future product candidates, including at our existing manufacturing facility and/or by establishing and maintaining supply and manufacturing relationships with third parties; ● launching and commercializing product candidates for which we obtain marketing approvals, either directly by establishing a sales force and marketing, medical affairs and distribution infrastructure or, alternatively, with a collaborator or distributor; ● establishing and maintaining healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement for our future products, if any; ● obtaining market acceptance of product candidates that we develop as viable treatment options; ● addressing any competing technological and market developments; ● identifying, assessing, acquiring and developing new product candidates; ● negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing, or other arrangements into which we may enter and performing our obligations in such collaborations; ● maintaining, protecting, and expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, and know-how; and ● attracting, hiring, and retaining qualified personnel.
The applicable federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to: The federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, individuals and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of, any good, facility, item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including, without limitation, the civil FCA, and the federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which prohibit individuals or entities from, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false or fraudulent claims for payment of federal funds, and knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. HIPAA, which prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme or artifice to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private), willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense, and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by any trick or device a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statements in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services relating to healthcare matters. The U.S.
The applicable federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to: ● The federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, individuals and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of, any good, facility, item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. ● The federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including, without limitation, the civil FCA, and the federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which prohibit individuals or entities from, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false or fraudulent claims for payment of federal funds, and knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. ● The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme or artifice to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private), willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense, and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by any trick or device a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statements in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services relating to healthcare matters. ● The U.S.
Moreover, it is possible for a whistleblower to pursue a FCA case against us even if the government considers the claim unmeritorious and/or declines to intervene, which could require us to incur costs defending against such a claim.
Moreover, it is possible for a whistleblower to pursue an FCA case against us even if the government considers the claim unmeritorious and/or declines to intervene, which could require us to incur costs defending against such a claim.
The degree of market acceptance of any product for which we receive marketing approval will depend on a number of factors, including: the efficacy of our product, including in combination with other cancer therapies; the commercial success of any cancer therapies with which our product may be co-administered; the prevalence and severity of adverse events associated with our product or those products with which it is co-administered; the clinical indications for which our product is approved and the approved claims that we may make with respect to the product; limitations or warnings contained in the FDA-approved labeling of the product or the labeling approved by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including potential limitations or warnings for our product that may be more restrictive than other competitive products; changes in the standard of care for the targeted indications for our product, which could reduce the marketing impact of any claims that we could make following FDA approval or approval by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, if obtained; the relative convenience and ease of administration of our product and any products with which it is co-administered; the cost of treatment compared with the economic and clinical benefit of alternative treatments or therapies; the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, such as private insurance companies and government healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid; the ability to have our product placed on approved formularies; patients willingness to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of such coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors; the price concessions required by third-party payors to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement; the extent and strength of our marketing and distribution of our product; the safety, efficacy, and other potential advantages over, and availability of, alternative treatments already used or that may later be approved; distribution and use restrictions imposed by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities with respect to our product or to which we agree as part of a REMS or voluntary risk management plan; the timing of market introduction of our product, as well as competitive products; our ability to offer our product for sale at competitive prices; the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies; the extent and strength of our raw material supplier and service provider support; the actions of companies that market any products with which our product is co-administered; the approval of other new products; adverse publicity about our product or any products with which it is co-administered, or favorable publicity about competitive products; and potential product liability claims. 96 Table of Contents The size of the potential market for our product candidates is difficult to estimate and, if any of our assumptions are inaccurate, the actual markets for our product candidates may be smaller than our estimates.
The degree of market acceptance of any product for which we receive marketing approval will depend on a number of factors, including: ● the efficacy of our product, including in combination with other cancer therapies; ● the commercial success of any cancer therapies with which our product may be co-administered; ● the prevalence and severity of adverse events associated with our product or those products with which it is co-administered; ● the clinical indications for which our product is approved and the approved claims that we may make with respect to the product; ● limitations or warnings contained in the FDA-approved labeling of the product or the labeling approved by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including potential limitations or warnings for our product that may be more restrictive than other competitive products; ● changes in the standard of care for the targeted indications for our product, which could reduce the marketing impact of any claims that we could make following FDA approval or approval by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, if obtained; ● the relative convenience and ease of administration of our product and any products with which it is co-administered; ● the cost of treatment compared with the economic and clinical benefit of alternative treatments or therapies; ● the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, such as private insurance companies and government healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid; ● the ability to have our product placed on approved formularies; ● patients’ willingness to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of such coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors; ● the price concessions required by third-party payors to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement; ● the extent and strength of our marketing and distribution of our product; ● the safety, efficacy, and other potential advantages over, and availability of, alternative treatments already used or that may later be approved; ● distribution and use restrictions imposed by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities with respect to our product or to which we agree as part of a REMS or voluntary risk management plan; ● the timing of market introduction of our product, as well as competitive products; ● our ability to offer our product for sale at competitive prices; ● the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies; ● the extent and strength of our raw material supplier and service provider support; ● the actions of companies that market any products with which our product is co-administered; ● the approval of other new products; ● adverse publicity about our product or any products with which it is co-administered, or favorable publicity about competitive products; and ● potential product liability claims. 73 The size of the potential market for our product candidates is difficult to estimate and, if any of our assumptions are inaccurate, the actual markets for our product candidates may be smaller than our estimates.
In addition, if one or more of our product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including: regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals of such product; regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label; we may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients; we may be forced to suspend marketing of that product, or decide to remove the product form the marketplace; we may be required to change the way the product is administered; we could be subject to fines, injunctions, or the imposition of criminal or civil penalties; we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and the product may become less competitive, and our reputation may suffer.
In addition, if one or more of our product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including: ● regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals of such product; 49 ● regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label; ● we may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients; ● we may be forced to suspend marketing of that product, or decide to remove the product from the marketplace; ● we may be required to change the way the product is administered; ● we could be subject to fines, injunctions, or the imposition of criminal or civil penalties; ● we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and ● the product may become less competitive, and our reputation may suffer.
If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the EEA, the UK or other jurisdictions to the United States, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, which could limit our ability to conduct clinical trial activities in the EEA, the UK or elsewhere, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal data necessary to operate our business.
If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the EEA, the UK or other jurisdictions to the United States, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions (such as Europe) at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, which could limit our ability to conduct clinical trial activities in the EEA, the UK or elsewhere, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal data necessary to operate our business.
If the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities become aware of new safety information after approval of any of our product candidates, they may withdraw approval, issue public safety alerts, require labeling changes or establishment of a REMS or similar strategy, impose significant restrictions on a products indicated uses or marketing, or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies or post-market surveillance.
If the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities become aware of new safety information after approval of any of our product candidates, they may withdraw approval, issue public safety alerts, require labeling changes or establishment of a REMS or similar strategy, impose significant restrictions on a product’s indicated uses or marketing, or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies or post-market surveillance.
If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology or for Olvi-Vec, V-VET1, V2ACT Immunotherapy or our other product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficient, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or superior to ours in a non-infringing manner, and our ability to successfully commercialize Olvi-Vec, V-VET1, V2ACT Immunotherapy or our other product candidates and future technologies may be adversely affected.
If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology or for Olvi-Vec, V2ACT Immunotherapy or our other product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficient, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or superior to ours in a non-infringing manner, and our ability to successfully commercialize Olvi-Vec, V2ACT Immunotherapy or our other product candidates and future technologies may be adversely affected.
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits, among other things, the adulteration or misbranding of drugs, biological products and medical devices. The federal physician payment transparency requirements, sometimes referred to as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, created under the ACA and its implementing regulations, which require certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biological products and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members. Analogous state and foreign anti-kickback and false claims laws that may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, or that apply regardless of payor; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industrys voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government; state and local laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures; state laws that require the reporting of information related to drug pricing; and state and local laws requiring the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives. 108 Table of Contents If we or our operations are found to be in violation of any federal or state healthcare law, or any other governmental laws or regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including significant civil, criminal, and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, suspension and debarment from government contracts, and refusal of orders under existing government contracts, exclusion from participation in U.S. federal or state health care programs, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight if we become subject to corporate integrity agreements or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could materially adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits, among other things, the adulteration or misbranding of drugs, biological products and medical devices. ● The federal physician payment transparency requirements, sometimes referred to as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, created under the ACA and its implementing regulations, which require certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biological products and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members. ● Analogous state and foreign anti-kickback and false claims laws that may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, or that apply regardless of payor; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government; state and local laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures; state laws that require the reporting of information related to drug pricing; and state and local laws requiring the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives. 86 If we or our operations are found to be in violation of any federal or state healthcare law, or any other governmental laws or regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including significant civil, criminal, and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, suspension and debarment from government contracts, and refusal of orders under existing government contracts, exclusion from participation in U.S. federal or state health care programs, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight if we become subject to corporate integrity agreements or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could materially adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
A failure to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements, including periodic regulatory inspections, may result in regulatory enforcement actions against us or our raw material and component suppliers (including fines and civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment) suspension or restrictions of production, injunctions, delay or denial of product approval or supplements to approved products, clinical holds or 86 Table of Contents termination of clinical trials, warning or untitled letters, regulatory authority communications warning the public about safety issues with the product candidate, refusal to permit the import or export of the products, product seizure, detention, or recall, operating restrictions, consent decrees, withdrawal of product approval, environmental or safety incidents and other liabilities.
A failure to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements, including periodic regulatory inspections, may result in regulatory enforcement actions against us or our raw material and component suppliers (including fines and civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment), suspension or restrictions of production, injunctions, delay or denial of product approval or supplements to approved products, clinical holds or termination of clinical trials, warning or untitled letters, regulatory authority communications warning the public about safety issues with the product candidate, refusal to permit the import or export of the products, product seizure, detention, or recall, operating restrictions, consent decrees, withdrawal of product approval, environmental or safety incidents and other liabilities.
Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in: loss of revenue from decreased demand for our products and/or product candidates; impairment of our business reputation or financial stability; costs of related litigation; substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants; diversion of management attention; 121 Table of Contents withdrawal of clinical trial participants and potential termination of clinical trial sites or entire clinical programs; the inability to commercialize our product candidates; significant negative media attention; decreases in our stock price; initiation of investigations and enforcement actions by regulators; and product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions, including withdrawal of marketing approval.
Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in: ● loss of revenue from decreased demand for our products and/or product candidates; ● impairment of our business reputation or financial stability; ● costs of related litigation; ● substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants; ● diversion of management attention; ● withdrawal of clinical trial participants and potential termination of clinical trial sites or entire clinical programs; ● the inability to commercialize our product candidates; ● significant negative media attention; ● decreases in our stock price; ● initiation of investigations and enforcement actions by regulators; and ● product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions, including withdrawal of marketing approval.
Even if our product candidates are approved, they may: be subject to limitations on the indicated uses or patient populations for which they may be marketed, distribution restrictions, or other conditions of approval; contain significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings; contain significant contraindications, and precautions which could reduce the size of the patient population; not be approved with label statements necessary or desirable for successful commercialization; contain requirements for costly post-market testing and surveillance, or other requirements, including the submission of a REMS to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products; or be withdrawn from the market because of a serious safety issue becomes know after approval is granted.
Even if our product candidates are approved, they may: ● be subject to limitations on the indicated uses or patient populations for which they may be marketed, distribution restrictions, or other conditions of approval; 52 ● contain significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings; ● contain significant contraindications, and precautions which could reduce the size of the patient population; ● not be approved with label statements necessary or desirable for successful commercialization; ● contain requirements for costly post-market testing and surveillance, or other requirements, including the submission of a REMS to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products; or ● be withdrawn from the market because a serious safety issue becomes known after approval is granted.
Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize Olvi-Vec, V-VET1, V2ACT Immunotherapy and any other product candidates we develop will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth, and our management may also have to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from day-to-day activities in order to devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities.
Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize Olvi-Vec, V2ACT Immunotherapy and any other product candidates we develop will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth, and our management may also have to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from day-to-day activities in order to devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities.
We also could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing, and commercializing Olvi-Vec or our other product candidates. In addition, in any such proceeding or litigation, we could be found liable for significant monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent or other intellectual property right.
We also could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing, and commercializing Olvi-Vec or our other product candidates. In addition, in any such proceeding or litigation, we could be found liable for significant monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent or other intellectual property right.
As of December 31, 2022, we also had federal and state R&D credit carryforwards of $2.6 million and $2.0 million, respectively. Our U.S. federal R&D credit carryforwards can be carried forward 20 taxable years. If not utilized in that period, these R&D credit carryforwards could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities.
As of December 31, 2023, we also had federal and state R&D credit carryforwards of $2.6 million and $2.0 million, respectively. Our U.S. federal R&D credit carryforwards can be carried forward 20 taxable years. If not utilized in that period, these R&D credit carryforwards could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities.
Although we intend to timely file non-provisional patent applications relating to our provisional patent applications, we cannot predict whether any of our future patent applications will result in the issuance of patents that effectively protect our technology or Olvi-Vec, V-VET1, V2ACT Immunotherapy or our other product candidates, or if any of our future issued patents will effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive products.
Although we intend to timely file non-provisional patent applications relating to our provisional patent applications, we cannot predict whether any of our future patent applications will result in the issuance of patents that effectively protect our technology or Olvi-Vec, V2ACT Immunotherapy or our other product candidates, or if any of our future issued patents will effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive products.
Such mechanisms include re-examination, inter partes review, post-grant review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions, such as opposition proceedings. Such proceedings could result in revocation, cancellation or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover and protect Olvi-Vec, V-VET1, V2ACT Immunotherapy and our other product candidates.
Such mechanisms include re-examination, inter partes review, post-grant review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions, such as opposition proceedings. Such proceedings could result in revocation, cancellation or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover and protect Olvi-Vec, V2ACT Immunotherapy and our other product candidates.
Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders deficit and working capital. We expect that it will be several years, if ever, before we have a commercialized product. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.
Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ deficit and working capital. We expect that it will be several years, if ever, before we have a commercialized product. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.
Potential disruptions might include but are not limited to: delays or difficulties in enrolling patients in our clinical trials; 118 Table of Contents delays or difficulties in initiating or expanding clinical trials, including delays or difficulties with clinical site initiation and recruiting clinical site investigators and clinical site staff; increased rates of patients withdrawing from our clinical trials following enrollment as a result of contracting COVID-19 or other health conditions or being forced to quarantine; interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site data monitoring and efficacy, safety and translational data collection, processing and analyses, due to limitations on travel imposed or recommended by federal, state or local governments, employers and others or interruption of clinical trial subject visits, which may impact the collection and integrity of subject data and clinical study endpoints; diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials; delays or disruptions in preclinical experiments and studies due to restrictions of on-site staff and unforeseen circumstances at CROs and vendors; interruption or delays in the operations of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies; interruption of, or delays in receiving, supplies of our product candidates from third-party providers due to staffing shortages, production slowdowns or stoppages and disruptions in delivery systems; limitations on employee or other resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of our clinical trials and preclinical work, including because of sickness of employees or their families, the desire of employees to avoid travel or contact with large groups of people, an increased reliance on working from home, school closures or mass transit disruptions; changes in regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 pandemic which may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or to discontinue the clinical trials altogether; and delays in necessary interactions with regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government or contractor personnel.
Potential disruptions might include but are not limited to: ● delays or difficulties in enrolling patients in our clinical trials; ● delays or difficulties in initiating or expanding clinical trials, including delays or difficulties with clinical site initiation and recruiting clinical site investigators and clinical site staff; ● increased rates of patients withdrawing from our clinical trials following enrollment as a result of contracting health conditions or being forced to quarantine; ● interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site data monitoring and efficacy, safety and translational data collection, processing and analyses, due to limitations on travel imposed or recommended by federal, state or local governments, employers and others or interruption of clinical trial subject visits, which may impact the collection and integrity of subject data and clinical study endpoints; ● diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials; ● delays or disruptions in preclinical experiments and studies due to restrictions of on-site staff and unforeseen circumstances at CROs and vendors; ● interruption or delays in the operations of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies; ● interruption of, or delays in receiving, supplies of our product candidates from third-party providers due to staffing shortages, production slowdowns or stoppages and disruptions in delivery systems; ● limitations on employee or other resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of our clinical trials and preclinical work, including because of sickness of employees or their families, the desire of employees to avoid travel or contact with large groups of people, an increased reliance on working from home, school closures or mass transit disruptions; ● changes in regulations which may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or to discontinue the clinical trials altogether; and ● delays in necessary interactions with regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government or contractor personnel.
We also may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, any ongoing or future clinical trials that we could conduct that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize Olvi-Vec or any future product candidates, including: delays or failures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may result in clinical site closures, delays to patient enrollment, patients withdrawing prior to receiving treatment (e.g., catheter implantation failure), patients discontinuing their treatment or follow up visits or changes to trial protocols; regulators or institutional review boards (IRBs), may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial, conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site, or amend trial protocols, or may require that we modify or amend our clinical trial protocols; we may experience delays in reaching, or fail to reach, agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective trial sites and/or contract research organizations (CROs); clinical trials of our product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, or our studies may fail to reach the necessary level of statistical significance, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon product development programs; the unsuccessful implantation of catheters used to deliver Olvi-Vec; the number of patients required for clinical trials of our product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate, or participants may drop out of these clinical trials or be lost to follow-up at a higher rate than we anticipate, or may elect to participate in alternative clinical trials sponsored by our competitors with product candidates that treat the same indications as our product candidates; third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or the clinical trial protocol, or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all, or we may be required to engage in additional clinical trial site monitoring; manufacturing delays; we, regulators, or IRBs may require that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks, undesirable side effects, emergent drug- drug interactions between Olvi-Vec and any of the other therapeutic agents given to the clinical trial subjects or other unexpected characteristics of the product candidate, or due to findings of undesirable effects caused by a biologically, chemically or mechanistically similar therapeutic or therapeutic candidate; changes could be adopted in marketing approval policies during the development period, rendering our data insufficient to obtain marketing approval; statutes or regulations could be amended, or new ones could be adopted; changes could be adopted in the regulatory review process for submitted product applications; the cost of clinical trials of our product candidates may be greater than we anticipate, or we may have insufficient funds for a clinical trial or product manufacture or to pay the substantial user fees required by the FDA upon the submission of a BLA or equivalent authorizations from comparable foreign regulatory authorities; the supply or quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate; the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; 71 Table of Contents we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct or gather, as applicable, additional clinical trials, analyses, reports, data, or preclinical trials, or we may abandon product development programs; we may fail to reach an agreement with regulators or IRBs regarding the scope, design, or implementation of our clinical trials, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require changes to our study designs that make further study impractical or not financially prudent; regulators may ultimately disagree with the design or our conduct of our preclinical studies or clinical trials, finding that they do not support product candidate approval; we may have delays in adding new investigators or clinical trial sites, or we may experience a withdrawal of clinical trial sites; patients that enroll in our studies may misrepresent their eligibility or may otherwise not comply with the clinical trial protocol, resulting in the need to drop the patients from the study or clinical trial, increase the needed enrollment size for the clinical trial or extend its duration; there may be regulatory questions or disagreements regarding interpretations of data and results, or new information may emerge regarding our product candidates; the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our trial design, including endpoints, or our interpretation of data from preclinical studies and clinical trials or find that a product candidates benefits do not outweigh its safety risks; the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data from studies with clinical trial sites in foreign countries; the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our intended indications; the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve or subsequently find fault with the manufacturing processes or our manufacturing facilities for clinical and future commercial supplies; the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to support the submission of a BLA or other comparable submission in foreign jurisdictions or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere; the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may take longer than we anticipate to make a decision on our product candidates; and we may not be able to demonstrate that a product candidate provides an advantage over current standards of care or current or future competitive therapies in development, including, for example due to a longer-and/or-higher-than-expected response rate determination in the active comparator group or a shorter-and/or-lower-than-expected response rate determination in the experimental drug group.
We also may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, any ongoing or future clinical trials that we could conduct that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize Olvi-Vec or any future product candidates, including: ● delays or failures, which may result in clinical site closures, delays to patient enrollment, patients withdrawing prior to receiving treatment (e.g., catheter implantation failure), patients discontinuing their treatment or follow-up visits or changes to trial protocols; ● regulators or institutional review boards (IRBs), may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial, conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site, or amend trial protocols, or may require that we modify or amend our clinical trial protocols; ● we may experience delays in reaching, or fail to reach, agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective trial sites and/or CROs; ● clinical trials of our product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, or our studies may fail to reach the necessary level of statistical significance, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon product development programs; ● the unsuccessful implantation of catheters used to deliver Olvi-Vec; ● the number of patients required for clinical trials of our product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate, or participants may drop out of these clinical trials or be lost to follow-up at a higher rate than we anticipate, or may elect to participate in alternative clinical trials sponsored by our competitors with product candidates that treat the same indications as our product candidates; 41 ● third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or the clinical trial protocol, or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all, or we may be required to engage in additional clinical trial site monitoring; ● manufacturing delays; ● we, regulators, or IRBs may require that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks, undesirable side effects, emergent drug-drug interactions between Olvi-Vec and any of the other therapeutic agents given to the clinical trial subjects or other unexpected characteristics of the product candidate, or due to findings of undesirable effects caused by a biologically, chemically or mechanistically similar therapeutic or therapeutic candidate, or flaws in the design of the trial; ● changes could be adopted in marketing approval policies during the development period, rendering our data insufficient to obtain marketing approval; ● statutes or regulations could be amended, or new ones could be adopted; ● changes could be adopted in the regulatory review process for submitted product applications; ● the cost of clinical trials of our product candidates may be greater than we anticipate, or we may have insufficient funds for a clinical trial or product manufacture or to pay the substantial user fees required by the FDA upon the submission of a BLA or equivalent authorizations from comparable foreign regulatory authorities; ● the supply or quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate; 42 ● the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve the existing or future manufacturing processes or facilities of our company or of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; ● we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct or gather, as applicable, additional clinical trials, analyses, reports, data, or preclinical trials, or we may abandon product development programs; ● we may fail to reach an agreement with regulators or IRBs regarding the scope, design, or implementation of our clinical trials, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require changes to our study designs that make further study impractical or not financially prudent; ● regulators may ultimately disagree with the design or our conduct of our preclinical studies or clinical trials, finding that they do not support product candidate approval; ● we may have delays in adding new investigators or clinical trial sites, or we may experience a withdrawal of clinical trial sites; ● patients that enroll in our studies may misrepresent their eligibility or may otherwise not comply with the clinical trial protocol, resulting in the need to drop the patients from the study or clinical trial, increase the needed enrollment size for the clinical trial or extend its duration; ● there may be regulatory questions or disagreements regarding interpretations of data and results, or new information may emerge regarding our product candidates; ● the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our trial design, including endpoints, or our interpretation of data from preclinical studies and clinical trials or find that a product candidate’s benefits do not outweigh its safety risks; ● the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data from studies with clinical trial sites in foreign countries; ● the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our intended indications; ● the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve or subsequently find fault with the manufacturing processes or our manufacturing facilities for clinical and future commercial supplies; ● the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to support the submission of a BLA or other comparable submission in foreign jurisdictions or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere; ● the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may take longer than we anticipate to make a decision on our product candidates; and ● we may not be able to demonstrate that a product candidate provides an advantage over current standards of care or current or future competitive therapies in development, including, for example, due to a longer-and/or-higher-than-expected response rate determination in the active comparator group or a shorter-and/or-lower-than-expected response rate determination in the experimental drug group.
The commencement and rate of completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials for a product candidate may be delayed by many factors, including, for example: inability to generate sufficient preclinical or other in vivo or in vitro data to support the initiation of clinical trials; unexpected toxicities observed in preclinical IND-enabling studies precluding the identification of a safe dose to move forward in human clinical trials; delays in obtaining regulatory approval for, and production or manufacturing of, clinical supply; delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory agencies on study or trial design; and regulatory authorities not allowing us to rely on previous findings of safety and efficacy for other similar but approved products and published scientific literature. 70 Table of Contents We may experience delays in initiating or completing clinical trials.
The commencement and rate of completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials for a product candidate may be delayed by many factors, including, for example: ● inability to generate sufficient preclinical or other in vivo or in vitro data to support the initiation of clinical trials; ● unexpected toxicities observed in preclinical IND-enabling studies precluding the identification of a safe dose to move forward in human clinical trials; ● delays in obtaining regulatory approval for, and production or manufacturing of, clinical supply; ● delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory agencies on study or trial design; and ● regulatory authorities not allowing us to rely on previous findings of safety and efficacy for other similar but approved products and published scientific literature. 40 We may experience delays in initiating or completing clinical trials.
Even if our product candidates initially show promise in early clinical trials, the side effects of therapies are frequently only detectable after they are tested in large, Phase 3 clinical trials or, in some cases, after they are made available to patients on a commercial scale after approval.
Even if our product candidates initially show promise in early clinical trials, the side effects of therapies are frequently only detectable after the drug is tested in large, Phase 3 clinical trials or, in some cases, after they are made available to patients on a commercial scale after approval.
We believe that clinical data generated in China and the United States will be accepted by the FDA and its foreign equivalents outside of China, which would enable us to commence Phase 3 and possibly registration clinical trials in the United States without the need for us to conduct additional Phase 2 clinical trials in the United States.
We believe that clinical data generated in China and the United States will be accepted by the FDA and its comparable foreign regulatory equivalents outside of China, which would enable us to commence Phase 3 and possibly registration clinical trials in the United States without the need for us to conduct additional Phase 2 clinical trials in the United States.
For example, with respect to the validity of our licensed patents or any patents we obtain in the future, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art of which we, our patent counsel or our licensing partners patent counsel(s), and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution.
For example, with respect to the validity of our licensed patents or any patents we obtain in the future, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art of which we, our patent counsel or our licensing partner’s patent counsel(s), and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution.
The report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 included an explanatory paragraph indicating that there was substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
The report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 included an explanatory paragraph indicating that there was substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
If we are found to infringe a third partys intellectual property rights, and we are unsuccessful in demonstrating that such intellectual property rights are invalid or unenforceable, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing, manufacturing and commercializing Olvi-Vec and our other product candidates.
If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, and we are unsuccessful in demonstrating that such intellectual property rights are invalid or unenforceable, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing, manufacturing and commercializing Olvi-Vec and our other product candidates.
For example, legislation enacted in 2017, informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Tax Act), includes a provision repealing, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the individual mandate. On June 17, 2021 the U.S.
For example, legislation enacted in 2017, informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Tax Act), includes a provision repealing, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate.” On June 17, 2021, the U.S.
Patient enrollment, a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, is affected by many factors including the size and nature of the patient population, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial, the design of the clinical trial, competing clinical trials, and clinicians and patients perceptions as to the potential advantages of the product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs that may be approved for the indications we are investigating.
Patient enrollment, a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, is affected by many factors including the size and nature of the patient population, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial, the design of the clinical trial, competing clinical trials, and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs that may be approved for the indications we are investigating.
As we continue our development of Olvi-Vec and initiate clinical trials of any future product candidates, serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or unexpected characteristics may emerge or be reported, causing us to abandon 75 Table of Contents these product candidates or limit their development to more narrow uses or subpopulations in which the serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective.
As we continue our development of Olvi-Vec and initiate clinical trials of any future product candidates, serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or unexpected characteristics may emerge or be reported, causing us to abandon these product candidates or limit their development to more narrow uses or subpopulations in which the serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective.
If the safety of any quantities supplied is compromised due to our failure or our raw material and component suppliers failure to adhere to applicable laws or for other reasons, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates.
If the safety of any quantities supplied is compromised due to our failure or our raw material and component suppliers’ failure to adhere to applicable laws or for other reasons, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates.
We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our trials complies with the applicable regulatory requirements. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product candidates that were produced under cGMP regulations.
We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our trials comply with the applicable regulatory requirements. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product candidates that were produced under cGMP regulations.
We are aware of a number of companies developing competing therapies for the treatment of cancer which generally fall into the following treatment groups: Oncolytic viral immunotherapies, including Amgens IMLYGIC (talimogene laherparepvec), the only FDA-approved oncolytic immunotherapy, which is approved for the local treatment of unresectable cutaneous, subcutaneous, and nodal lesions in patients with melanoma recurrent after initial surgery and is in development for several other indications, and other oncolytic viruses in development by companies such as AstraZeneca PLC, Boehringer Ingelheim, CG Oncology, Inc., Candel Therapeutics, Inc., Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, DNAtrix Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc.
We are aware of a number of companies developing competing therapies for the treatment of cancer which generally fall into the following treatment groups: ● Oncolytic viral immunotherapies, including Amgen’s IMLYGIC (talimogene laherparepvec), the only FDA-approved oncolytic immunotherapy, which is approved for the local treatment of unresectable cutaneous, subcutaneous, and nodal lesions in patients with melanoma recurrent after initial surgery and is in development for several other indications, and other oncolytic viruses in development by companies such as AstraZeneca PLC (AstraZeneca), Boehringer Ingelheim, CG Oncology, Inc., Candel Therapeutics, Inc., Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, DNAtrix Inc., Imugene Limited, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc.
For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various public company reporting requirements, including being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations disclosure in this Annual Report, not being required to have our internal control over financial reporting audited by our independent registered public accounting firm under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this Annual Report and our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various public company reporting requirements, including being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure in this Annual Report, not being required to have our internal control over financial reporting audited by our independent registered public accounting firm under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this Annual Report and our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our technology, including our oncolytic VACV platform, and Olvi-Vec, V-VET1, V2ACT Immunotherapy and our other product candidates.
Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our technology, including our oncolytic VACV platform, and Olvi-Vec, V2ACT Immunotherapy and our other product candidates.
Our competitors also may obtain FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.
Our competitors also may obtain FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities’ approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.
If a third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on Olvi-Vec, V-VET1, V2ACT Immunotherapy and our other product candidates.
If a third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on Olvi-Vec, V2ACT Immunotherapy and our other product candidates.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; and any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: ● any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; ● any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; ● any action asserting a claim against us arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; and ● any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use, claim as theirs, or misappropriate the intellectual property, proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used, claimed as theirs, misappropriated or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individuals current or former employer.
Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use, claim as theirs, or misappropriate the intellectual property, proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used, claimed as theirs, misappropriated or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer.
If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; loss of customers or sales; and other adverse consequences.
If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation and mass arbitration demands; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; loss of customers or sales; and other adverse consequences.
Further, manufacturers have product investigation, quarantine, disposition, and notification responsibilities related to counterfeit, diverted, stolen, and intentionally adulterated products that would result in serious adverse health consequences of death to humans, as well as products that are the subject of fraudulent transactions or which are otherwise unfit for distribution such that they would be reasonably likely to result in serious health consequences or death. 111 Table of Contents Compliance with the federal track and trace requirements may increase our operational expenses and impose significant administrative burdens.
Further, manufacturers have product investigation, quarantine, disposition, and notification responsibilities related to counterfeit, diverted, stolen, and intentionally adulterated products that would result in serious adverse health consequences of death to humans, as well as products that are the subject of fraudulent transactions or which are otherwise unfit for distribution such that they would be reasonably likely to result in serious health consequences or death. 89 Compliance with the federal track and trace requirements may increase our operational expenses and impose significant administrative burdens.
Because regulatory authorities in the United States generally do not restrict or regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatment within the practice of medicine, physicians may in their independent medical judgment choose to prescribe products for uses that are not described in the products labeling and for uses that differ from those tested in clinical trials and approved by the regulatory authorities.
Because regulatory authorities in the United States generally do not restrict or regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatment within the practice of medicine, physicians may in their independent medical judgment choose to prescribe products for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and for uses that differ from those tested in clinical trials and approved by the regulatory authorities.
Even if we succeed in developing our product candidates, our product candidates may not have a therapeutic effect in a broad patient population. 97 Table of Contents Future negative developments in the field of immuno-oncology or the biopharmaceutical industry could also result in greater governmental regulation, stricter labeling requirements and potential regulatory delays in the testing or approvals of our products.
Even if we succeed in developing our product candidates, our product candidates may not have a therapeutic effect in a broad patient population. Future negative developments in the field of immuno-oncology or the biopharmaceutical industry could also result in greater governmental regulation, stricter labeling requirements and potential regulatory delays in the testing or approvals of our products.
The abbreviated regulatory pathway establishes legal authority for the FDA to review and approve biosimilar biological products, including the possible designation of a biosimilar as interchangeable based on its similarity to an existing brand product.
The abbreviated regulatory pathway establishes legal authority for the FDA to review and approve biosimilar biological products, including the possible designation of a biosimilar as “interchangeable” based on its similarity to an existing brand product.
Any potential acquisition or strategic partnership may entail numerous risks, including: increased operating expenses and cash requirements; the assumption of additional indebtedness or contingent liabilities; the issuance of our equity securities; assimilation of operations, intellectual property and products of an acquired company, including difficulties associated with integrating new personnel; the diversion of our managements attention from our existing product programs and initiatives in pursuing such a strategic merger or acquisition; retention of key employees, the loss of key personnel, and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships; 117 Table of Contents risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party, their regulatory compliance status, and their existing products or product candidates and marketing approvals; and our inability to generate revenue from acquired technology and/or products sufficient to meet our objectives in undertaking the acquisition or even to offset the associated acquisition and maintenance costs.
Any potential acquisition or strategic partnership may entail numerous risks, including: ● increased operating expenses and cash requirements; ● the assumption of additional indebtedness or contingent liabilities; ● the issuance of our equity securities; ● assimilation of operations, intellectual property and products of an acquired company, including difficulties associated with integrating new personnel; ● the diversion of our management’s attention from our existing product programs and initiatives in pursuing such a strategic merger or acquisition; ● retention of key employees, the loss of key personnel, and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships; ● risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party, their regulatory compliance status, and their existing products or product candidates and marketing approvals; and ● our inability to generate revenue from acquired technology and/or products sufficient to meet our objectives in undertaking the acquisition or even to offset the associated acquisition and maintenance costs.
An inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors for any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition. 110 Table of Contents We are subject to new legislation, regulatory proposals and third-party payor initiatives that may increase our costs of compliance, and adversely affect our ability to market our products, obtain collaborators, and raise capital.
An inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors for any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition. 88 We are subject to new legislation, regulatory proposals and third-party payor initiatives that may increase our costs of compliance, and adversely affect our ability to market our products, obtain collaborators, and raise capital.
Future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities systems and technologies.
Future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies.
The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may also require, or we may voluntarily develop strategies for managing adverse events during clinical development, which could include restrictions on our enrollment criteria, the use of stopping criteria, adjustments to a studys design, or the monitoring of safety data by a data monitoring committee, among other strategies.
The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may also require, or we may voluntarily develop strategies for managing adverse events during clinical development, which could include restrictions on our enrollment criteria, the use of stopping criteria, adjustments to a study’s design, or the monitoring of safety data by a data monitoring committee, among other strategies.
In the United States, the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 permits a patent term extension of up to five years beyond the normal expiration of the patent, but no longer than 14 years from the products approval date, which is limited to the approved indication (or any additional indications approved during the period of extension).
In the United States, the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 permits a patent term extension of up to five years beyond the normal expiration of the patent, but no longer than 14 years from the product’s approval date, which is limited to the approved indication (or any additional indications approved during the period of extension).
In response to Bidens executive order, on September 9, 2021, HHS released a Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices that outlines principles for drug pricing reform and sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue as well as potential administrative actions HHS can take to advance these principles.
In response to Biden’s executive order, on September 9, 2021, HHS released a Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices that outlines principles for drug pricing reform and sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue as well as potential administrative actions HHS can take to advance these principles.
These consequences may include, but are not limited to, government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-related claims); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; bans on processing personal data; orders to destroy or not use personal data; and imprisonment of company officials.
These consequences may include, but are not limited to, government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-related claims) and mass arbitration demands; additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; bans on processing personal data; orders to destroy or not use personal data; and imprisonment of company officials.
For example, the Tax Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to such legislation may affect us, and certain aspects thereof could be repealed or modified in future legislation.
For example, the Tax Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and the IRA enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to such legislation may affect us, and certain aspects thereof could be repealed or modified in future legislation.
To the extent we are not able to do any of the foregoing, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects will be materially harmed. 92 Table of Contents We face significant competition from other biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, government agencies, and other research organizations, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products more quickly or marketing them more successfully than us.
To the extent we are not able to do any of the foregoing, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects will be materially harmed. 68 We face significant competition from other biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, government agencies, and other research organizations, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products more quickly or marketing them more successfully than us.
Some of these events could be the basis for FDA or other regulatory authority action, including injunction, recall, seizure or total or partial suspension of product manufacture. 87 Table of Contents We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct, supervise, and monitor our preclinical studies and clinical trials.
Some of these events could be the basis for FDA or other regulatory authority action, including injunction, recall, seizure or total or partial suspension of product manufacture. We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct, supervise, and monitor our preclinical studies and clinical trials.