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Coherus Biosciences (CHRS)
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Risk Overview Q3, 2024
Risk Distribution
32% Tech & Innovation
18% Finance & Corporate
18% Legal & Regulatory
12% Production
12% Ability to Sell
9% Macro & Political
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.
Risk Change Over Time
S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
Coherus Biosciences Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
Risk Highlights Q3, 2024
Main Risk Category
Tech & Innovation
With 22 Risks
Tech & Innovation
With 22 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
68
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
68
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
2Risks added
0Risks removed
10Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
2Risks added
0Risks removed
10Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
Number of Risk Changed
10
+3
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 3
10
+3
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 3
See the risk highlights of Coherus Biosciences in the last period.
Risk Word Cloud
The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 68
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 22/68 (32%)Above Sector Average
Innovation / R&D7 | 10.3%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
If an improved version of an originator product, such as Neulasta, is developed or if the market for the originator product significantly declines, sales of our biosimilar product may suffer.Changed
Innovation / R&D - Risk 2
Our products or our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could, as applicable, delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if granted.As with most pharmaceutical products, use of our products or our product candidates could be associated with side effects or adverse events, which can vary in severity (from minor reactions to death) and frequency (infrequent or prevalent). Side effects or adverse events associated with the use of our product candidates may be observed at any time, including in clinical trials or when a product is commercialized. Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical studies and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable foreign authorities. Results of our studies could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects such as toxicity or other safety issues and could require us or our collaboration partners to perform additional studies or halt development or sale of these product candidates or expose us to product liability lawsuits, which will harm our business. In such an event, we may be required by regulatory agencies to conduct additional animal or human studies regarding the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, which we have not planned or anticipated or our studies could be suspended or terminated, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny or withdraw approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. There can be no assurance that we will resolve any issues related to any product-related adverse events to the satisfaction of the FDA or any other regulatory agency in a timely manner, if ever, which could harm our business, prospects and financial condition.
Additionally, product quality characteristics have been shown to be sensitive to changes in process conditions, manufacturing techniques, equipment or sites and other such related considerations, hence any manufacturing process changes we implement prior to or after regulatory approval could impact product safety and efficacy.
Drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment for clinical trials, the ability of enrolled patients to complete our studies or result in potential product liability claims. We currently carry product liability insurance and we are required to maintain product liability insurance pursuant to certain of our license agreements. We believe our product liability insurance coverage is sufficient in light of our current clinical programs; however, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could adversely affect our results of operations and business. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in impairment of our business reputation, withdrawal of clinical study participants, costs due to related litigation, distraction of management's attention from our primary business, initiation of investigations by regulators, substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants, the inability to commercialize our product candidates and decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale.
Additionally, 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 but not limited to:
- regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals of such product;- regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label;- we may be required to create a REMS plan, which could include a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients, a communication plan for healthcare providers or other elements to assure safe use;- we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and - our reputation may suffer.
Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular product candidate, if approved, and could significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.
If we receive approval for our product candidates, regulatory agencies including the FDA and foreign regulatory agencies, regulations require that we report certain information about adverse medical events if those products may have caused or contributed to those adverse events. The timing of our obligation to report would be triggered by the date we become aware of the adverse event as well as the nature of the event. We may fail to report adverse events we become aware of within the prescribed timeframe. We may also fail to appreciate that we have become aware of a reportable adverse event, especially if it is not reported to us as an adverse event or if it is an adverse event that is unexpected or removed in time from the use of our products. If we fail to comply with our reporting obligations, the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies could take action including criminal prosecution, the imposition of civil monetary penalties, seizure of our products or extended delay in approval or clearance of future products.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 3
Clinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process and we may encounter substantial delays in our clinical studies or may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities.Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of our product candidates, we or our collaboration partners, or both, as the case may be, must conduct clinical studies to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product candidates in humans.
Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical study process. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical studies of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical studies. Product candidates that have shown promising results in early-stage clinical studies may still suffer significant setbacks in subsequent registration clinical studies. There is a high failure rate for product candidates proceeding through clinical studies, and product candidates in later stages of clinical studies may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical studies. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical studies due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier studies. Nonclinical and clinical data are also often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. We do not know whether any clinical studies we may conduct for our product candidates will demonstrate consistent or adequate efficacy and safety to obtain regulatory approval. Furthermore, biosimilar clinical studies must use originator products as comparators, and such supplies may not be available on a timely basis to support such trials.
We cannot guarantee that any clinical studies will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. A failure of one or more clinical studies can occur at any stage of testing, and our future clinical studies may not be successful. Events that may prevent successful or timely completion of clinical development include but are not limited to:
- inability to generate sufficient preclinical, toxicology or other in vivo or in vitro data to support the initiation of human clinical studies;- delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory agencies on study design;- delays in reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs, and clinical study sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and clinical study sites;- delays in obtaining required institutional review board ("IRB") approval at each clinical study site;- imposition of a clinical hold by regulatory agencies, after review of an IND or amendment or equivalent application or amendment, or an inspection of our clinical study operations or study sites or as a result of adverse events reported during a clinical trial;- delays in recruiting suitable patients to participate in our clinical studies sponsored by us or our partners;- difficulty collaborating with patient groups and investigators;- failure by our CROs, other third parties or us to adhere to clinical study requirements;- failure to perform in accordance with the FDA's good clinical practices requirements or applicable regulatory guidelines in other countries;- delays in patients completing participation in a study or return for post-treatment follow-up, or patients dropping out of a study;- occurrence of adverse events associated with the product candidate that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits;- changes in regulatory requirements and guidance that require amending or submitting new clinical protocols;- the cost of clinical studies of our product candidates being greater than we anticipate;- clinical studies of our product candidates producing negative or inconclusive results, which may result in us deciding or regulators requiring us to conduct additional clinical studies or abandon product development programs; and - delays in manufacturing, testing, releasing, validating, importing, exporting or distributing sufficient stable quantities of our product candidates and originator products for use in clinical studies or the inability to do any of the foregoing.
Any inability to successfully complete nonclinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to us or impair our ability to generate revenue. In addition, if we make manufacturing or formulation changes to our product candidates, we may need to conduct additional studies to bridge our modified product candidates to earlier versions.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 4
If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.Patient enrollment is a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, and the timing of our clinical trials will depend, in part, on the speed at which we can recruit patients to participate in our trials, as well as completion of required follow-up periods. We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials to such trial's conclusion as required by the FDA or other comparable regulatory authorities. Some of the conditions for which we may plan to evaluate our product candidates are rare diseases with limited patient pools from which to draw for clinical trials. The eligibility criteria of our clinical trials, once established, may further limit the pool of available trial participants.
Patient enrollment in clinical trials may be affected by other factors, including:
- size and nature of the targeted patient population;- severity of the disease or condition under investigation;- availability and efficacy of approved therapies for the disease or condition under investigation;- patient eligibility criteria for the trial in question as defined in the protocol;- perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study;- clinicians' and patients' perceptions as to the potential advantages of the product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any products that may be approved for, or any product candidates under investigation for, the indications we are investigating;- efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;- patient referral practices of physicians;- the ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment;- proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients;- continued enrollment of prospective patients by clinical trial sites; and - the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of such trials before completion.
Additionally, other pharmaceutical companies targeting these same diseases are recruiting clinical trial patients from these patient populations, which may make it more difficult to fully enroll any clinical trials. We also rely on, and will continue to rely on, CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and preclinical studies. Though we have entered into agreements governing their services, we will have limited influence over their actual performance. Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical trials would result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether. Enrollment delays in our clinical trials may result in increased development costs for our product candidates and jeopardize our ability to obtain regulatory approval for the sale of our product candidates.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 5
The development, manufacture and commercialization of biosimilar products under various global regulatory pathways pose unique risks.We and our collaboration partners intend to pursue market authorization globally. In the United States, an abbreviated pathway for approval of biosimilar products was established by the BPCIA, enacted on March 23, 2010, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the "ACA"). The BPCIA established this abbreviated pathway under Section 351(k) of the PHSA. Subsequent to the enactment of the BPCIA, the FDA issued guidance documents regarding the demonstration of biosimilarity and interchangeability as well as the submission and review of biosimilar applications. Moreover, market acceptance of biosimilar products in the United States is unclear. Numerous states are considering or have already enacted laws that regulate or restrict the substitution by state pharmacies of biosimilars for originator products already licensed by the FDA. Market success of biosimilar products will depend on demonstrating to patients, physicians, payers and relevant authorities that such products are similar in quality, safety and efficacy as compared to the reference product.
We will continue to analyze and incorporate into our biosimilar development plans any final regulations issued by the FDA, pharmacy substitution policies enacted by state governments and other applicable requirements established by relevant authorities. The costs of development and approval will be dependent upon the application of any laws and regulations issued by the relevant regulatory authorities.
Biosimilar products may also be subject to extensive originator-controlled patent portfolios and patent infringement litigation, which may delay and could prevent the commercial launch of a product. Moreover, the BPCIA prohibits the FDA from accepting an application for a biosimilar candidate to a reference product within four years of the reference product's licensure by the FDA. In addition, the BPCIA provides innovative biologics with 12 years of exclusivity from the date of their licensure, during which time the FDA cannot approve any application for a biosimilar candidate to the reference product.
Under current E.U. regulations, an application for regulatory approval of a biosimilar drug cannot be submitted in the E.U. until expiration of an eight-year data exclusivity period for the reference (originator) product, measured from the date of the reference product's initial marketing authorization. Furthermore, once approved, the biosimilar cannot be marketed until expiration of a ten-year period following the initial marketing authorization of the reference product, such ten-year period being extendible to 11 years if the reference product received approval of an additional therapeutic indication, within the first eight years following its initial marketing authorization, representing a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies.
In Europe, the approval of a biosimilar for marketing is based on an opinion issued by the EMA and a decision issued by the EC. Therefore, the marketing approval will cover the entire EEA. However, substitution of a biosimilar for the originator is a decision that is made at the national level. Additionally, a number of countries do not permit the automatic substitution of biosimilars for the originator product. Therefore, even if we obtain marketing approval for the entire EEA, we may not receive substitution in one or more European nations, thereby restricting our ability to market our products in those jurisdictions.
Other regions, including Canada, Japan and South Korea, also have their own legislation outlining a regulatory pathway for the approval of biosimilars. In some cases, other countries have either adopted European guidance (Singapore and Malaysia) or are following guidance issued by the World Health Organization (Cuba and Brazil). While there is overlap in the regulatory requirements across regions, there are also some areas of non-overlap. Additionally, we cannot predict whether countries that we may wish to market in which do not yet have an established or tested regulatory framework could decide to issue regulations or guidance or adopt a more conservative viewpoint than other regions. Therefore, it is possible that even if we obtain agreement from one health authority to an accelerated or optimized development plan, we will need to defer to the most conservative view to ensure global harmonization of the development plan. Also, for regions where regulatory authorities do not yet have sufficient experience in the review and approval of a biosimilar product, these authorities may rely on the approval from another region (e.g., the United States or the E.U.), which could delay our approval in that region. Finally, it is possible that some countries will not approve a biosimilar without clinical data from their population or may require that the biosimilar product be manufactured within their region, or some countries may require both.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 6
We are heavily dependent on the development, clinical success, regulatory approval and commercial success of our product candidates. We cannot give any assurance that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval, which is necessary before they can be commercialized.We invest substantial efforts and financial resources to identify, acquire and develop our product candidates. Our future success is dependent on our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and then commercialize and obtain adequate third-party coverage and reimbursement for one or more of our product candidates. We currently have two approved products: UDENYCA and LOQTORZI.
Our product candidates are in varying stages of development and will require additional clinical development, management of nonclinical, clinical and manufacturing activities, regulatory approval, adequate manufacturing supplies, commercial organization and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenue from product sales. Other than certain pharmacokinetic bridging studies, we have not initiated phase 3 clinical trials for other product candidates in our pipeline. It may be some time before we file for market approval with the relevant regulatory agencies for these product candidates.
We cannot be certain that any of our product candidates will be successful in clinical trials or receive regulatory approval. Further, our product candidates may not receive regulatory approval even if they are successful in clinical trials. If we and our existing or future collaboration partners do not receive regulatory approvals for our product candidates, we may not be able to continue our operations.
We, together with our collaboration partners, generally plan to seek regulatory approval to commercialize our product candidates in the United States, the E.U., and additional foreign countries where we or our partners have commercial rights. To obtain regulatory approval, we and our collaboration partners must comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of such countries regarding safety, efficacy, chemistry, manufacturing and controls, clinical studies, commercial sales, and pricing and distribution of our product candidates. Even if we and our collaboration partners are successful in obtaining approval in one jurisdiction, we cannot ensure that we will obtain approval in any other jurisdictions. If we and our collaboration partners are unable to obtain approval for our product candidates in multiple jurisdictions, our revenue and results of operations could be negatively affected.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 7
We may not be successful in our efforts to identify, develop or commercialize additional product candidates.Although a substantial amount of our effort will focus on the continued clinical testing, potential approval and commercialization of our existing product candidates, the success of our business also depends upon our ability to identify, develop and commercialize additional product candidates. Research programs to identify new product candidates require substantial technical, financial and human resources. We may focus our efforts and resources on potential programs or product candidates that ultimately prove to be unsuccessful. Our development efforts may fail to yield additional product candidates suitable for clinical development and commercialization for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the following:
- we may not be successful in identifying potential product candidates that pass our strict screening criteria;- we may not be able to overcome technological hurdles to development or a product candidate may not be capable of producing commercial quantities at an acceptable cost or at all;- we may not be able to assemble sufficient resources to acquire or discover additional product candidates;- our product candidates may not succeed in nonclinical or clinical testing; and - competitors may develop alternatives that render our product candidates obsolete or less attractive or the market for a product candidate may change such that a product candidate may not justify further development.
If any of these events occur, we may be forced to abandon our development efforts for a program or programs or we may not be able to identify, develop or commercialize additional product candidates, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and could potentially cause us to cease operations.
Trade Secrets14 | 20.6%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
If we infringe or are alleged to infringe intellectual property rights of third parties, our business could be harmed. Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.Trade Secrets - Risk 2
We may be involved in lawsuits or IPR proceedings to protect or enforce our patents, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.We may discover that competitors are infringing our issued patents. Expensive and time-consuming litigation may be required to abate such infringement. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. If we or one of our collaboration partners were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including but not limited to lack of novelty, obviousness or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could include an allegation that someone involved in the prosecution of the patent withheld relevant or material information related to the patentability of the invention from the USPTO or made a misleading statement during prosecution. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable.
Interference proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us or declared by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if we cannot obtain a license from the prevailing party on commercially reasonable terms. Third parties may request an IPR of our patents in the USPTO. An unfavorable decision may result in the revocation of our patent or a limitation to the scope of the claims of our patents. Our defense of litigation, interference or IPR proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. In addition, the uncertainties associated with litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our clinical trials, continue our research programs, license necessary technology from third parties or enter into development partnerships that would help us bring our product candidates to market.
Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during any litigation we initiate to enforce our patents. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties or that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.We employ individuals, retain independent contractors and consultants and members on our board of directors or scientific advisory board who were previously employed at universities or other pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. For example, our Chief Executive Officer, Dennis M. Lanfear is a former employee of Amgen. Mr. Lanfear was employed at Amgen during periods when Amgen's operations included the development and commercialization of Neulasta. Senior members of our commercial team and medical affairs team who were responsible for the launch of additional presentations of UDENYCA formerly held positions at Amgen. Our board of directors and scientific advisory board include members who were former employees of Amgen and Abbott Laboratories. Although we have procedures in place to try to ensure that our employees, consultants and independent contractors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or our employees or consultants have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of a former employer or other third parties. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel, which could adversely impact our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.
On March 3, 2017, Amgen filed an action against us, KBI Biopharma, our employee Howard S. Weiser and Does 1-20 in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Ventura. The complaint, which was amended, alleged that we engaged in unfair competition and improperly solicited and hired certain former Amgen employees in order to acquire and access trade secrets and other confidential information belonging to Amgen. The complaint, as amended, sought injunctive relief and monetary damages. On May 2, 2019, we and Amgen settled the trade secret action brought by Amgen. The details of the settlement are confidential but we will continue to market UDENYCA and began paying a mid-single digit royalty to Amgen for five years starting on July 1, 2019 until July 1, 2024.
Trade Secrets - Risk 4
If we fail to comply with our obligations in the agreements under which we license intellectual property and other rights from third parties or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.We are a party to certain non-exclusive intellectual property license agreements with certain vendors that are important to our business, and we expect to enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our existing license agreements impose, and we expect that future license agreements will impose, various diligence, milestone payment, royalty and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our obligations under these agreements or we are subject to a bankruptcy, we may be required to make certain payments to the licensor, we may lose the license or the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to develop or market products covered by the license. Additionally, the milestone and other payments associated with these licenses will make it less profitable for us to develop our product candidates.
In the event we breach any of our obligations related to such agreements, we may incur significant liability to our licensing partners. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including but not limited to:
- the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;- the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;- the sublicensing of patents and other rights;- our diligence obligations under the license agreement and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;- the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our collaborators; and - the priority of invention of patented technology.
If disputes over intellectual property and other rights that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates and that could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 5
We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to our products and product candidates through acquisitions and in-licenses.We currently have rights to certain intellectual property, through licenses from third parties and under patent applications that we own, to develop and commercialize our products and product candidates. Because we may find that our programs require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, the growth of our business may depend in part on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these proprietary rights. We may be unable to acquire or in-license compositions, methods of use, processes or other third-party intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for our product candidates. The licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, financial resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. We also may be unable to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment. We may also get into disputes or litigation with third parties from whom we license intellectual property rights necessary for the sale of our products.
If we are unable to successfully obtain required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have, we may have to abandon development of that program and our business and financial condition could suffer.
Trade Secrets - Risk 6
Our ability to market our biosimilar products in the United States may be significantly delayed or prevented by the BPCIA patent dispute resolution mechanism.The BPCIA created an elaborate and complex patent dispute resolution mechanism for biosimilars that, if we choose to implement it, could prevent us from launching our product candidates in the United States or could substantially delay such launches. However, even if we elect not to implement this mechanism, the launch of our products in the United States could still be prevented or substantially delayed by intellectual property disputes with originator companies that market the reference products on which our biosimilar products are based.
The BPCIA establishes a patent disclosure and briefing process between the biosimilar applicant and the originator that is demanding and time-sensitive. While certain aspects of this process are still being tested in the federal courts, the United States Supreme Court, as discussed further below, ruled in 2017 that this process is not mandatory, such that a biosimilar applicant may elect to engage in this process, but is not required to do so. The following is an overview of the patent exchange and patent briefing procedures established by the BPCIA for biosimilar applicants that elect to employ them:
1.Disclosure of the Biosimilar Application. Within 20 days after the FDA publishes a notice that its application has been accepted for review, a Section 351(k) biosimilar applicant may elect to provide a copy of its application to the originator if it chooses to engage in the BPCIA patent exchange mechanism.
2.Identification of Pertinent Patents. Within 60 days of the date of receipt of the application the originator must identify patents owned or controlled by the originator, which it believes could be asserted against the biosimilar applicant.
3.Statement by the Biosimilar Applicant. Following the receipt of the originator's patent list, the biosimilar applicant must state either that it will not market its product until the relevant patents have expired or alternatively provide its arguments that the patents are invalid, unenforceable or would not be infringed by the proposed biosimilar product candidate. The biosimilar applicant may also provide the originator with a list of patents it believes the brand-name firm could assert against the reference product.
4.Statement by the Originator. In the event the biosimilar applicant has asserted that the patents are invalid, unenforceable or would not be infringed by the proposed follow-on product, the originator must provide the biosimilar applicant with a response within 60 days. The response must provide the legal and factual basis of the opinion that such patent will be infringed by the commercial marketing of the proposed biosimilar.
5.Patent Resolution Negotiations. If the originator provides its detailed views that the proposed biosimilar would infringe valid and enforceable patents, then the parties are required to engage in good faith negotiations to identify which of the discussed patents will be the subject of a patent infringement action. If the parties agree on the patents to be litigated, the brand-name firm must bring an action for patent infringement within 30 days.
6.Simultaneous Exchange of Patents. If those negotiations do not result in an agreement within 15 days, then the biosimilar applicant must notify the originator of how many patents (but not the identity of those patents) that it wishes to litigate. Within five days, the parties are then required to exchange lists identifying the patents to be litigated. The number of patents identified by the originator may not exceed the number provided by the biosimilar applicant. However, if the biosimilar applicant previously indicated that no patents should be litigated, then the originator may identify one patent.
7.Commencement of Patent Litigation. The originator must then commence patent infringement litigation within 30 days. That litigation will involve all of the patents on the originator's list and all of the patents on the follow-on applicant's list. The follow-on applicant must then notify the FDA of the litigation. The FDA must then publish a notice of the litigation in the Federal Register.
8.Notice of Commercial Marketing. The BPCIA requires the biosimilar applicant to provide notice to the originator 180 days in advance of its first commercial marketing of its proposed follow-on biologic. The originator is allowed to seek a preliminary injunction blocking such marketing based upon any patents that either party had preliminarily identified but were not subject to the initial phase of patent litigation. The litigants are required to "reasonably cooperate to expedite such further discovery as is needed" with respect to the preliminary injunction motion. The federal courts have not yet settled the issue as to when, or under what circumstances, the biosimilar applicant must provide the 180-day notice of commercial marketing provided in the BPCIA.
On June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Amgen v. Sandoz, holding that (i) the "patent dance" is optional; and (ii) the 180-day pre-marketing notification may be given either before or after receiving FDA approval of the biosimilar product. The Supreme Court declined to rule whether a state injunctive remedy may be available to the originator and remanded that question to the Federal Circuit for further consideration. On December 14, 2017, the Federal Circuit decided that state law claims are preempted by the BPCIA on both field and conflict grounds.
A significant legal risk for a biosimilar applicant that pursues regulatory approval under the Section 351(k) regulatory approval route and also elects to engage in the above-described BPCIA patent exchange mechanism, is that the process could result in the initiation of patent infringement litigation prior to FDA approval of a Section 351(k) application, and such litigation could result in blocking the market entry of the biosimilar product. However, even if biosimilar applicants opt out of the BPCIA patent exchange process, originators will still have the right to assert patent infringement as a basis to enjoin a biosimilar product launch. Thus, whether or not we engage in the BPCIA patent exchange process, there is risk that patent infringement litigation initiated by originators could prevent us indefinitely from launching any biosimilar product.
The legal and strategic considerations weighing for or against a decision to voluntarily engage in the BPCIA patent exchange process are complex and will differ on a product-by-product basis. If we decide to engage in the BPCIA patent exchange process, preparing for and conducting the patent exchange, briefing and negotiation process outlined above will require extraordinarily sophisticated legal counseling and extensive planning, all under extremely tight deadlines. Moreover, it may be difficult for us to secure or retain such legal support if large, well-funded originators have already entered into engagements with highly qualified law firms or if the most highly qualified law firms choose not to represent biosimilar applicants due to their long-standing relationships with originators.
Under the complex, and uncertain rules of the BPCIA patent provisions, coupled with the inherent uncertainty surrounding the legal interpretation of any originator patents that might be asserted against us in this new process, we see substantial risk that the BPCIA process may significantly delay or defeat our ability to market our biosimilar product in the United States, or may result in us incurring substantial legal settlement costs.
Trade Secrets - Risk 7
Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed.Because we rely on third parties to develop and manufacture our product candidates, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with our collaboration partners, advisors, employees and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, such as trade secrets. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor's discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 8
So called "submarine" patents may be granted to our competitors that may significantly alter our launch timing expectations, reduce our projected market size, cause us to modify our product or process or block us from the market altogether.The term "submarine" patent has been used in the pharmaceutical industry and in other industries to denote a patent issuing from an application that was not published, publicly known or available prior to its grant. Submarine patents add substantial risk and uncertainty to our business. Submarine patents may issue to our competitors covering our pipeline candidates and thereby cause significant market entry delay, defeat our ability to market our products or cause us to abandon development or commercialization of a molecule.
Examples of submarine patents include Brockhaus, et al., United States patents 8,063,182 and 8,163,522 (controlled by Amgen), which are directed to the fusion protein in Enbrel. On July 1, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision that affirmed the lower court's decision upholding the validity of these patents. As a result, we discontinued the development of CHS-0214 (our etanercept (Enbrel) biosimilar candidate).
The issuance of one or more submarine patents may harm our business by causing substantial delays in our ability to introduce a biosimilar candidate into the United States market.
Trade Secrets - Risk 9
We may not identify relevant patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products.We cannot guarantee that any of our patent searches or analyses, including but not limited to the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims or the expiration of relevant patents, are complete and thorough, nor can we be certain that we have identified each and every patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of our product candidates in any jurisdiction.
The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent's prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to market our products or pipeline molecules. We may incorrectly determine that our products are not covered by a third-party patent.
Many patents may cover a marketed product, including but not limited to the composition of the product, methods of use, formulations, cell line constructs, vectors, growth media, production processes and purification processes. The identification of all patents and their expiration dates relevant to the production and sale of an originator product is extraordinarily complex and requires sophisticated legal knowledge in the relevant jurisdiction. It may be impossible to identify all patents in all jurisdictions relevant to a marketed product. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our products.
Trade Secrets - Risk 10
Our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our products.If we are unable to obtain and maintain effective patent rights for our product candidates or any future product candidates, we may not be able to prevent competitors from using technologies we consider important in our successful development and commercialization of our product candidates, resulting in loss of any potential competitive advantage our patents may have otherwise afforded us.
While our principal focus in matters relating to intellectual property is to avoid infringing the valid and enforceable rights of third parties, we also rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect our own intellectual property related to our product candidates and development programs. Our ability to enjoy any competitive advantages afforded by our own intellectual property depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patents and other intellectual property protection in the United States and in other countries with respect to various proprietary elements of our product candidates, such as, for example, our product formulations and processes for manufacturing our products and our ability to maintain and control the confidentiality of our trade secrets and confidential information critical to our business.
We have sought to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our products that are important to our business. This process is expensive and time consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. There is no guarantee that any patent application we file will result in an issued patent having claims that protect our products. Additionally, while the basic requirements for patentability are similar across jurisdictions, each jurisdiction has its own specific requirements for patentability. We cannot guarantee that we will obtain identical or similar patent protection covering our products in all jurisdictions where we file patent applications.
The patent positions of biopharmaceutical companies generally are highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. As a result, the patent applications that we own or license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our product candidates in the United States or in other foreign countries for many reasons. There is no assurance that all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found, considered or cited during patent prosecution, which can be used to invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing from a pending patent application. Even if patents do successfully issue, and even if such patents cover our product candidates, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability or scope, which may result in such patent claims being narrowed, found unenforceable or invalidated. Our patents and patent applications, even if they are unchallenged, may not adequately protect our intellectual property, provide exclusivity for our product candidates or prevent others from designing around our claims. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competitors from using the technologies claimed in any patents issued to us, which may have an adverse impact on our business.
In addition, changes to United States patent laws provide additional procedures for third parties to challenge the validity of issued patents based on patent applications filed after March 15, 2013. If the breadth or strength of protection provided by the patents and patent applications we hold or pursue with respect to our current or future product candidates is challenged, then it could threaten our ability to prevent competitive products using our proprietary technology. Further, because patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time, typically for 18 months after filing, we cannot be certain that we were the first to either (i) file any patent application related to our product candidates or (ii) invent any of the inventions claimed in our patents or patent applications. Furthermore, for applications filed before March 16, 2013 or patents issuing from such applications, an interference proceeding can be provoked by a third party or instituted by the USPTO to determine who was the first to invent any of the subject matter covered by the patent claims of our applications and patents. As of March 16, 2013, the United States transitioned to a "first-to-file" system for deciding which party should be granted a patent when two or more patent applications claiming the same invention are filed by different parties. A third party that files a patent application in the USPTO before we do, could therefore be awarded a patent covering an invention of ours even if we had made the invention before it was made by the third party. The change to "first-to-file" from "first-to-invent" is one of the changes to the patent laws of the United States resulting from the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the "Leahy-Smith Act"), signed into law on September 16, 2011. Among some of the other significant changes to the patent laws are changes that limit where a patentee may file a patent infringement suit and provide opportunities for third parties to challenge any issued patent in the USPTO. It is not yet clear what, if any, impact the Leahy-Smith Act will have on the operation of our business. However, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
Patents granted by the European Patent Office may be opposed by any person within nine months from the publication of their grant and, in addition, may be challenged before national courts at any time. If the breadth or strength of protection provided by the patents and patent applications we hold, license or pursue with respect to our product candidates is threatened, it could threaten our ability to prevent third parties from using the same technologies that we use in our product candidates.
In June 2023, the European Unitary Patent system and the European Unified Patent Court ("UPC") were launched. European patent applications now have the option, upon grant of a patent, of becoming a Unitary Patent which is subject to the jurisdiction of the UPC. In addition, conventional European patents, both already granted at the time the new system began and granted thereafter, are subject to the jurisdiction of the UPC, unless actively opted out. This was a significant change in European patent practice, and deciding whether to opt-in or opt-out of Unitary Patent practice entails strategic and cost considerations. The UPC provides third parties with a new forum to centrally revoke our European patents and makes it possible for a third party to obtain pan-European injunctions against us. It will be several years before we will understand the scope of patent rights that will be recognized and the strength of patent remedies that will be provided by the UPC. While we have the right to opt our patents out of the UPC over the first seven years of the court's existence, doing so may preclude us from realizing the benefits of the UPC. Moreover, the decision whether to opt-in or opt-out of Unitary Patent status will require coordinating with co-applicants, if any, adding complexity to any such decision.
We have issued patents and have filed patent applications, which are currently pending, covering various aspects of our product candidates. We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue, the breadth of any such patent or whether any issued patents will be found invalid and unenforceable or will be threatened or infringed by third parties. Any successful actions by third parties to challenge the validity or enforceability of any patents, which may issue to us could deprive us of the ability to prevent others from using the technologies claimed in such issued patents. Further, if we encounter delays in regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market a product candidate under patent protection could be reduced.
While our biosimilar business is based primarily on the timing of our biosimilar product launches to occur after the expiration of relevant patents and on avoiding infringing valid and enforceable rights of third parties, we have filed a number of patent applications seeking patents that cover various proprietary elements of our product candidates when we have believed securing such patents may afford a competitive advantage. Our patent portfolio includes pending patent applications and issued patents, in the United States and globally, covering our biosimilar product and methods of making it. We cannot guarantee that our proprietary technologies will avoid infringement of third-party patents. Moreover, because competitors may be able to develop their own proprietary technologies, it is uncertain whether any of our issued patents or pending patent applications would cover the products of any competitors. The product and patent landscape is highly uncertain and we cannot predict whether our patent filings will afford us a competitive advantage against third parties or if our products will avoid infringement of third-party patents.
We do not consider it necessary for us or our competitors to obtain or maintain a proprietary patent position in order to engage in the business of biosimilar development and commercialization. Hence, while our ability to secure patent coverage on our own proprietary developments may improve our competitive position with respect to the product candidates we intend to commercialize, we do not view our own patent filings as a necessary or essential requirement for conducting our business nor do we rely on our own patent filings or the potential for any commercial advantage they may provide us as a basis for our success.
Trade Secrets - Risk 11
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural requirements, document submissions, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies. Our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other provisions during the patent process. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. However, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, competitors might be able to enter the market earlier than would otherwise have been the case.
Trade Secrets - Risk 12
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.Filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Further, licensing partners may choose not to file patent applications in certain jurisdictions in which we may obtain commercial rights, thereby precluding the possibility of later obtaining patent protection in these countries. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States or importing products made using our inventions into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and may also export infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but the ability to enforce our patents is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Governments of foreign countries may force us to license our patents to third parties on terms that are not commercially reasonable or acceptable to us. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.
Trade Secrets - Risk 13
If we are unable to maintain effective (non-patent) proprietary rights for our product candidates or any future product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.While we have filed patent applications to protect certain aspects of our own proprietary formulation and process developments, we also rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary scientific, business and technical information and know-how that is not or may not be patentable or that we elect not to patent. However, confidential information and trade secrets can be difficult to protect. Moreover, the information embodied in our trade secrets and confidential information may be independently and legitimately developed or discovered by third parties without any improper use of or reference to information or trade secrets. We seek to protect the scientific, technical and business information supporting our operations, as well as the confidential information relating specifically to our product candidates by entering into confidentiality agreements with parties to whom we need to disclose our confidential information, for example, our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, board members, contractors, potential collaborators and investors. However, we cannot be certain that such agreements have been entered into with all relevant parties. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems, but it is possible that these security measures could be breached. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. Our confidential information and trade secrets thus may become known by our competitors in ways we cannot prove or remedy.
Although we expect all of our employees and consultants to assign their inventions to us, and all of our employees, consultants, advisors and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot provide any assurances that all such agreements have been duly executed. We cannot guarantee that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. For example, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure of our trade secrets could impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating the trade secret. We cannot guarantee that our employees, former employees or consultants will not file patent applications claiming our inventions. Because of the "first-to-file" laws in the United States and the EU, such unauthorized patent application filings may defeat our attempts to obtain patents on our own inventions.
Trade Secrets - Risk 14
We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patent filings and other intellectual property.?
Although we are not currently aware of any claims challenging the inventorship of our patent applications or ownership of our intellectual property, we may in the future be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an interest in our patent applications or patents we may be granted or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. For example, we may have inventorship or ownership disputes arise from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved in developing our product candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship or ownership. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of or right to use valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.
Cyber Security1 | 1.5%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
Our information technology systems, or those used by our third-party CROs or other contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches and geopolitical tensions or conflicts, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine or conflicts in the Middle East, may create a heightened risk of cyberattacks.Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 12/68 (18%)Below Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights6 | 8.8%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile, and purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses.Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.As of September 30, 2024, our executive officers, directors, five percent stockholders and their affiliates beneficially owned approximately 32.4% of our voting stock (assuming no exercise of outstanding options or conversion of our outstanding convertible notes). These stockholders have the ability to influence us through their ownership positions, which may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that you may believe are in your best interest as one of our stockholders.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.If our existing stockholders sell or indicate an intention to sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market the market price of our common stock could decline. In addition, we may authorize our sales agent to sell our common stock from time to time as part of the ATM Offering. As of September 30, 2024, there were 115,213,407 million shares of common stock outstanding.
In addition, as of September 30, 2024, approximately 37.6 million shares of common stock that are either subject to outstanding options and restricted stock units or reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans were eligible or may become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting schedules and Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act. Certain of our outstanding options have exercise prices that are above our current stock price. See the tables describing our outstanding stock options in Note 12. Stock-Based Compensation and Employee Benefits to our financial statements included in our Annual Report for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2023. If these additional shares of common stock are sold or if it is perceived that they will be sold in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
Future sales and issuances of our common stock or rights to purchase common stock, including pursuant to our equity incentive plans and convertible notes, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to fall.We have needed and anticipate we will need additional capital in the future to continue our planned operations. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. Similar to prior or ongoing financing transactions like the ATM Offering or the exchange of our shares for shares of outstanding stock of Surface as part of the acquisition of Surface, we may sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. These sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to our existing stockholders. In addition, if we raise additional funds through licensing arrangements, it may be necessary to grant potentially valuable rights to our product candidates or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us.
Pursuant to our Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Award Plan (the "2014 Plan"), our management is authorized to grant stock options and other equity-based awards to our employees, directors and consultants. Any increase in the number of shares available for future grant under the 2014 Plan must be approved by our stockholders. Pursuant to our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP"), eligible employees are able to acquire shares of our common stock at a discount to the prevailing market price, and an aggregate of 320,000 shares are initially available for issuance under the ESPP. The number of shares available for issuance under the ESPP were automatically increased on the first day of each fiscal year beginning in 2015 and ending in 2024, equal to 1% of the shares of common stock outstanding on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year or such smaller number of shares as determined by our board of directors. Pursuant to our 2016 Employment Commencement Incentive Plan (the "2016 Plan"), our management was authorized to grant stock options and other equity-based awards to our new employees, however in connection with the approval of the 2014 Plan in 2024, we agreed that we would not make any new awards under the 2016 Plan after the effective date of the 2014 Plan.
In April 2020, we issued and sold $230.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 1.5% senior convertible notes due April 2026 (the "2026 Convertible Notes"). The holders may convert their 2026 Convertible Notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately before April 15, 2026. Upon conversion of the 2026 Convertible Notes by a holder, the holder will receive shares of our common stock, together, if applicable, with cash in lieu of any fractional share. Since inception, the conversion price has been 51.9224 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the 2026 Convertible Notes, which represents a conversion price of approximately $19.26 per share of common stock.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
Investors' expectations of our performance relating to environmental, social and governance factors may impose additional costs and expose us to new risks.There is an increasing focus from certain investors, employees, regulators and other stakeholders concerning corporate responsibility, specifically related to environmental, social and governance (or "ESG") factors. Some investors and investor advocacy groups may use these factors to guide investment strategies and, in some cases, investors may choose not to invest in our company if they believe our policies relating to corporate responsibility are inadequate. Third-party providers of corporate responsibility ratings and reports on companies have increased to meet growing investor demand for measurement of corporate responsibility performance, and a variety of organizations currently measure the performance of companies on such ESG topics, and the results of these assessments are widely publicized. Investors, particularly institutional investors, use these ratings to benchmark companies against their peers and if we are perceived as lagging with respect to ESG initiatives, certain investors may engage with us to improve ESG disclosures or performance and may also make voting decisions, or take other actions, to hold us and our board of directors accountable. In addition, the criteria by which our corporate responsibility practices are assessed may change, which could result in greater expectations of us and cause us to undertake costly initiatives to satisfy such new criteria. If we elect not to or are unable to satisfy such new criteria, investors may conclude that our policies with respect to corporate responsibility are inadequate. We may face reputational damage in the event that our corporate responsibility procedures or standards do not meet the standards set by various constituencies. We also face significant costs from complying with new ESG regulations, for example, the SEC's proposed climate disclosure rule would result in significant costs of compliance if it is approved as proposed in the future.
We may face reputational damage in the event our corporate responsibility initiatives or objectives do not meet the standards set by our investors, stockholders, lawmakers, listing exchange or other constituencies, or if we are unable to achieve an acceptable ESG or sustainability rating from third-party rating services. A low ESG or sustainability rating by a third-party rating service could also result in the exclusion of our common stock from consideration by certain investors who may elect to invest with our competition instead. Ongoing focus on corporate responsibility matters by investors and other parties as described above may impose additional costs or expose us to new risks. Any failure or perceived failure by us in this regard could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and on our business, share price, financial condition, or results of operations, including the sustainability of our business over time.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders or remove our current management.Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of us or changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws include provisions that:
- authorize "blank check" preferred stock, which could be issued by our board of directors without stockholder approval and may contain voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock;- create a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms;- specify that special meetings of our stockholders can be called only by our corporate secretary pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of our board of directors;- prohibit stockholder action by written consent;- establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder approvals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors;- provide that our directors may be removed only for cause or without cause by the holders of 66 2/3% of the voting power of all then outstanding shares of voting stock;- provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum;- specify that no stockholder is permitted to cumulate votes at any election of directors;- expressly authorize our board of directors to modify, alter or repeal our amended and restated bylaws; and - require holders of 66 2/3% of the voting power of all then outstanding shares of voting stock to amend specified provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation except for the provision making it possible for our board of directors to issue "blank check" preferred stock, and amended and restated bylaws.
These provisions, alone or together, could delay, deter or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management.
In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which limits the ability of stockholders owning in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock to merge or combine with us.
Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
General Risk Factors
Accounting & Financial Operations3 | 4.4%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
Risk Factor SummaryAdded
Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below under the heading "Risk Factors" and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including our financial statements and related notes thereto, before making investment decisions regarding our common stock.
- We have a limited history of profitability, which we have not maintained and may not achieve again, and only two products that have been approved and are being marketed, with multiple products that are not approved and still in development.
- The commercial success of our existing products or any future products will depend upon the degree of market acceptance and adoption by prescribing physicians, healthcare providers and the patients to whom our medicines are prescribed. Additionally, obtaining placement on national or local clinical guidelines/pathways, as well as coverage on third-party payor formularies, can impact our short and long-term financial performance.
- As we have in-licensed development or commercial rights to LOQTORZI, we rely on prior and ongoing preclinical, clinical, regulatory and manufacturing expertise of our collaborators in order to advance this product candidate through regulatory approvals in the United States and other licensed territories.
- Our products and our product candidates, even if approved, will remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.
- Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by funding shortages, government shut-downs or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel, and conduct inspections of manufacturing facilities, or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, or approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.
- Our biosimilar product faces significant competition from the reference product and from other biosimilar products or pharmaceuticals approved for the same indication as the originator product. LOQTORZI faces significant competition from other immuno-oncology biologics. If we fail to compete effectively, we may not achieve significant market penetration and expansion.
- We face intense competition and rapid technological change and the possibility that our competitors may develop therapies that are similar, more advanced or more effective than ours, which may adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates.
- If an improved version of an originator product, such as Neulasta, is developed or if the market for the originator product significantly declines, sales of our biosimilar product may suffer.
- Healthcare reform measures, including the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "IRA"), may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval for and commercialize our products, affect the prices we may set, and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
- We are highly dependent on the services of our key executives and personnel, including our President and Chief Executive Officer, Dennis M. Lanfear, and if we are not able to retain these members of our management or recruit additional management, clinical and scientific personnel, our business will suffer.
- We rely on third parties to conduct our nonclinical and clinical studies and perform other tasks for us. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or comply with regulatory requirements, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.
- We are subject to a multitude of manufacturing risks and the risks of inaccurately forecasting sales of our products. We also need to make a determination of excess or obsolete inventory that requires significant judgment and may result in write-downs of inventory, charges related to firm purchase commitments, or both. Any adverse developments affecting the manufacturing operations of our products and product candidates could substantially increase our costs and limit supply for our products and product candidates.
- The continuation of the war between Russia and Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East may exacerbate certain risks we face.
- Our products or our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could, as applicable, delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if granted.
- If we infringe or are alleged to infringe intellectual property rights of third parties, our business could be harmed. Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.
- We are heavily dependent on the development, clinical success, regulatory approval and commercial success of our product candidates. We cannot give any assurance that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval, which is necessary before they can be commercialized.
Investing in the common stock of a biopharmaceutical company, including one with significant international partnerships and multiple products in development, is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. The risks described below are not the only risks facing us. Risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect any one or more of our businesses, our financial condition, our results of operations or our prospects.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
We have a limited history of profitability, which we have not maintained and may not achieve again, and only two products that have been approved and are being marketed, with multiple products that are not approved and still in development.Changed
With the exception of generating net income of $79.2 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2024, $132.2 million in 2020 and $89.8 million in 2019, we incurred a net loss of $10.8 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2024 and incurred net losses in each year from our inception in September 2010 through December 31, 2023. It is uncertain that we will be profitable in future periods as research and development is expensive and risky. The amount of our future net losses or any future net income will depend, in part, on the amount of our future expenditures offset by the amount of future product sales, including sales of our current products or any other products that may receive regulatory approval. Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk.
For example, as of September 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.5 billion. The losses and accumulated deficit were primarily due to the substantial investments we made to identify, develop or license our product candidates, including conducting, among other things, analytical characterization, process development and manufacturing, formulation and clinical studies and providing general and administrative support for these operations.
We have incurred and anticipate we will continue to incur certain development and commercial expenses for LOQTORZI, the anti-PD-1 antibody we licensed from Junshi Biosciences in 2021, and have agreed to pay up to $90.0 million for the achievement of certain regulatory approvals and up to $290.0 million for the attainment of certain sales thresholds. The recent launch of this product and future work to advance our product candidates through clinical development will be expensive and could result in us continuing to experience future net losses.
For UDENYCA and LOQTORZI which are launched products, and if we obtain regulatory approval to market any other product candidates, our future revenue will depend upon the size of the markets in which our product candidates may receive approval and our ability to achieve sufficient market acceptance, pricing, reimbursement from third-party payers, and adequate market share for our product candidates which include all product candidates for which we obtained commercial rights, in those markets. However, even if additional product candidates in addition to our current products gain regulatory approval and are commercialized, we may not be profitable.
Our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:
- establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any of our product candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval;- make upfront, milestone, royalty or other payments under any license agreements;- continue our nonclinical and clinical development of our product candidates;- initiate additional nonclinical, clinical or other studies for our product candidates;- expand the scope of our current clinical studies for our product candidates;- advance our programs into more expensive clinical studies;- change or add contract manufacturers, clinical research service providers, testing laboratories, device suppliers, legal service providers or other vendors or suppliers;- seek regulatory approvals for our product candidates that successfully complete clinical studies;- seek to identify, assess, acquire or develop other product candidates or products that may be complementary to our products;- seek to create, maintain, protect and expand our intellectual property portfolio;- engage legal counsel and technical experts to help us evaluate and avoid infringing any valid and enforceable intellectual property rights of third parties;- engage in litigation, including patent litigation, and Inter Partes Review ("IPR") proceedings with originator companies or others that may hold patents;- seek to attract and retain skilled personnel;- create additional infrastructure to support our operations as a public company and our product development and planned future commercialization efforts; and - experience any delays or encounter issues with any of the above, including but not limited to failed studies, conflicting results, safety issues, manufacturing delays, litigation or regulatory challenges that may require longer follow-up of existing studies, additional major studies or additional supportive studies or analyses in order to pursue marketing approval.
Further, the net loss or net income we achieve may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year such that a period-to-period comparison of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year due to factors including the timing of clinical trials, any litigation that we may initiate or that may be initiated against us as well as any settlements or judgments from such litigation, the execution of collaboration, licensing or other agreements and the timing of any payments we make or receive thereunder.
Debt & Financing3 | 4.4%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
We continue to be dependent on the ability to raise funds. This additional funding may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development and commercialization efforts or other operations.Debt & Financing - Risk 2
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults, or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties, could adversely affect our business operations, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.Our cash and cash equivalents are deposited or invested with several banks and other financial institutions. Actual events involving reduced or limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. For example, in March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank was closed and taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") and subsequently had all of its customer deposits and other liabilities and substantially all loans and other assets acquired by First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company. We had approximately $97.7 million of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of September 30, 2024 with the majority held by custodians or in money market mutual funds that are not bank deposits. Our bank deposits are primarily held in accounts at three large banks that we believe to be stable at this time. Actual and perceived stability of banks can change from time to time and adverse perceptions by customers or investors about the banks where we deposit money could result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to access necessary cash. Investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources, could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to access funds for our basic operating expenses, financial obligations, payroll or fulfill our other important obligations. Any of these impacts, or any other impacts resulting from the factors described above or other related or similar factors not described above, could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity, business operations, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Debt & Financing - Risk 3
Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition, our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, our ability to operate our business, our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and our ability to pay our debts and could divert our cash flow from operations for debt payments.Our leverage and debt service obligations could adversely impact our business, including by:
- impairing our ability to generate cash sufficient to pay interest or principal, including periodic principal payments;- increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;- increasing our need to meet minimum net sales requirements when our future sales are uncertain;- requiring the dedication of a portion of our cash flow from operations to service our debt, thereby reducing the amount of our cash flow available for other purposes, including funds for clinical development or to pursue future business opportunities;- requiring us to sell debt or equity securities or to sell some of our core assets, possibly on unfavorable terms, to meet payment obligations;- limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industries in which we compete; and - placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with less leveraged competitors and competitors that may have better access to capital resources.
Any of the foregoing factors could have negative consequences on our financial condition and results of operations.
This indebtedness could be due sooner upon the triggering of certain covenants in our debt agreements and or upon the occurrence of an event of default. If and when our indebtedness becomes due, if we do not have sufficient cash or access to capital to pay such indebtedness, we will default on our obligations which will adversely harm our business. We entered into the 2029 Loan Agreement that contains affirmative and negative covenants that restrict our operations, including, among other restrictions, the requirement to maintain certain levels of cash and cash equivalents. Further, the 2029 Loan Agreement includes certain other affirmative covenants and negative covenants, including, covenants and restrictions that among other things, restrict our ability to incur liens, incur additional indebtedness, make investments, engage in certain mergers and acquisitions or asset sales, and declare dividends or redeem or repurchase capital stock. We may need to request waivers from time to time with respect to the 2029 Loan Agreement and if we are unable to obtain a waiver that we need it could materially impact our business and financial results.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 12/68 (18%)Below Sector Average
Regulation8 | 11.8%
Regulation - Risk 1
We incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to compliance initiatives. We may fail to comply with the rules that apply to public companies, including Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which could result in sanctions or other penalties that would harm our business.Regulation - Risk 2
We may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare laws, including fraud and abuse, false claims and physician payment transparency laws. If we are unable to comply or have not fully complied with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.Our operations are directly or indirectly through our customers subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act and physician sunshine laws and regulations. These laws impact, among other things, sales, marketing and education programs. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include:
- the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or in return for the purchase, recommendation, order or furnishing of an item or service reimbursable, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation;- federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the False Claims Act, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting or causing to be presented claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payers that are false or fraudulent and which may apply to entities that provide coding and billing advice to customers. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act;- federal civil monetary penalties laws, which impose civil fines for, among other things, the offering or transfer of remuneration to a Medicare or state healthcare program beneficiary if the person knows or should know it is likely to influence the beneficiary's selection of a particular provider, practitioner, or supplier of services reimbursable by Medicare or a state healthcare program, unless an exception applies;- HIPAA, which created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program and making false statements relating to healthcare matters. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation;- federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers;- the federal physician "sunshine" requirements under the ACA, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services information related to payments and other transfers of value made by such manufacturers to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, chiropractors, and certain non-physician practitioners (physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologist assistants and certified nurse midwives)), and teaching hospitals and ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; and - state and foreign law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws that may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payer, including commercial insurers, 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 or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential referral sources; and state 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 and pricing information.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. In addition, recent health care reform legislation has strengthened these laws.
Efforts to ensure that our operations and business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. If we are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from participation in government health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, imprisonment, additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations. Further, defending against any such actions can be costly, time-consuming and may require significant personnel resources. Therefore, even if we are successful in defending against any such actions that may be brought against us, our business may be impaired.
Regulation - Risk 3
We and our collaboration partners and contract manufacturers are subject to significant regulation with respect to manufacturing our product candidates. The manufacturing facilities on which we rely may not continue to meet regulatory requirements or may not be able to meet supply demands.All entities involved in the preparation of therapeutics for clinical studies or commercial sale, including our existing contract manufacturers for our product candidates, are subject to extensive regulation. Components of a finished therapeutic product approved for commercial sale or used in clinical studies must be manufactured in accordance with cGMP. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures (including record keeping) and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational products and products approved for sale. Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of contaminants or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of our product candidates that may not be detectable in final product testing. We, our collaboration partners, or our contract manufacturers must supply all necessary documentation in support of a Section 351(k) BLA, original BLA, NDA or MAA on a timely basis and must adhere to GLP and cGMP regulations enforced by the FDA and other regulatory agencies through their facilities inspection program. Some of our contract manufacturers may have never produced a commercially approved pharmaceutical product and therefore have not obtained the requisite regulatory authority approvals to do so. The facilities and quality systems of some or all of our collaboration partners and third-party contractors must successfully complete a pre-approval inspection for compliance with the applicable regulations as a condition of regulatory approval of our product candidates or any of our other potential products. In addition, the regulatory authorities may, at any time, audit or inspect a manufacturing facility involved with the preparation of our product candidates or our other potential products or the associated quality systems for compliance with the regulations applicable to the activities being conducted. Although we oversee the contract manufacturers, we cannot control the manufacturing process of, and are completely dependent on, our contract manufacturing partners for compliance with the regulatory requirements. If these facilities do not successfully complete a pre-approval plant inspection, regulatory approval of the products may not be granted or may be substantially delayed until any violations are corrected to the satisfaction of the regulatory authority, if ever.
The regulatory authorities also may, at any time following approval of a product for sale, inspect, audit or initiate an RRA of the manufacturing facilities of our collaboration partners and third-party contractors. If any such inspection, audit or RRA identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations or if a violation of our product specifications or applicable regulations occurs independent of such an inspection, audit or RRA, we or the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly or time consuming for us or a third party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical study or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business.
If we, our collaboration partners or any of our third-party manufacturers fail to maintain regulatory compliance, the FDA or other applicable regulatory authority can impose regulatory sanctions including, among other things, refusal to approve a pending application for a new product candidate, withdrawal of an approval or suspension of production. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially harmed.
Additionally, if a manufacturer cannot meet the supply demand, supply from an alternative manufacturer would require the submission of a BLA/NDA supplement or MAA Variation (or equivalent foreign regulatory filing) which could result in further delay. The regulatory agencies may also require additional studies if a new manufacturer is relied upon for commercial production. Switching manufacturers may involve substantial costs and is likely to result in a delay in our desired clinical and commercial timelines. For example, there is currently a temporary UDENYCA supply interruption. An additional final packaging and labeling CMO has already started production testing and is expected to start manufacturing saleable product by the end of 2024. Commercial supply from that CMO is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025, subject to FDA authorization. The length of the temporary UDENYCA supply interruption will depend on the number of future manufacturing slots scheduled by the CMOs and whether future manufacturing slots are successfully completed on schedule or at all. Although we believe that the steps that we have taken will help to lessen the impact of the temporary UDENYCA supply interruption, this manufacturing depends on third parties and we cannot make any assurances about the timing of the resolution of the issue.
These factors could cause us to incur additional costs and could cause the delay or termination of clinical studies, regulatory submissions, required approvals or commercialization of our product candidates. Furthermore, if our suppliers fail to meet contractual requirements and we are unable to secure one or more replacement suppliers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, our clinical studies may be delayed or we could lose potential revenue.
Regulation - Risk 4
The regulatory approval processes of the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time consuming and inherently unpredictable, and the regulatory approval requirements for biosimilars are evolving. If we and our collaboration partners are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business will be substantially harmed.The research, development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, packaging, approval, promotion, advertising, storage, marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting and export and import of biologic and biosimilar products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States, by the EMA and EEA Competent Authorities in the European Economic Area ("EEA"), and by other regulatory authorities in other countries, where regulations differ from country to country. Neither we nor any existing or future collaboration partners are permitted to market our product candidates in the United States until we and our collaboration partners receive approval from the FDA, or in the EEA until we and our collaboration partners receive EC or EEA Competent Authority approvals.
The time required to develop new products or obtain approval for new products by the FDA and comparable foreign authorities is unpredictable, may take many years following the completion of clinical studies and depends upon numerous factors. Further, applications to the Human Genetic Resources Administration of China (HGRAC) required for any activities, including development activities and data sharing with our partners in China, may result in product development delays. In addition, approval policies, regulations or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate's clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions, which may cause delays in the approval or the decision not to approve an application. Neither we nor any collaboration partner has obtained regulatory approval for any of our products and product candidates, other than UDENYCA, which has received approval from the FDA and EMA, and LOQTORZI, which has received approval from the FDA and is also approved for use in China, and it is possible that none of our other current or future product candidates will ever obtain additional regulatory approvals.
Applications for our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including but not limited to the following:
- the data collected from clinical studies of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission of an original BLA, an NDA, a Section 351(k) BLA, a biosimilar marketing authorization under Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No. 726/2004 or Article 10(4) of Directive 2001/83/EC in the EEA or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States, the EEA or elsewhere;- the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical studies;- the FDA may determine that the population studied in the clinical program may not be sufficiently broad or representative to assure safety and efficacy in the full population for which we seek approval, or that conclusions of clinical trials conducted in a single country or region outside the United States may not be generalizable to the patient population in the United States;- the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from analytical and bioanalytical studies, nonclinical studies or clinical studies;- we may be unable to demonstrate to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that a product candidate's risk-benefit ratio for its proposed indication is acceptable;- the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve the manufacturing processes, test procedures and specifications or facilities of our collaborators or third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and - the approval policies or regulations of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.
This approval process, as well as the unpredictability of the results of clinical studies, may result in our failure to obtain regulatory approval to market any of our product candidates, which would significantly harm our business. Any delays in the commencement or completion of clinical testing could significantly impact our product development costs and could result in the need for additional financing.
Regulation - Risk 5
Failure to obtain regulatory approval in any targeted regulatory jurisdiction would prevent us from marketing our products to a larger patient population and reduce our commercial opportunities.We are marketing LOQTORZI and UDENYCA in the United States, and subject to product approvals and relevant patent and settlement agreement expirations, we intend to market our other products in the United States and outside the United States on our own or with future collaboration partners. We entered into a distribution agreement with our licensee Orox / Laboratorio Gador S.A. for the commercialization of a biosimilar version of pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) in certain Caribbean and Latin American countries. We intend to market our products in the United States and may seek to partner commercially all products outside the United States, such as our Canada License Agreement with Apotex in Canada for LOQTORZI.
In order to market our products in the E.U., the United States and other jurisdictions, we and our collaboration partners must obtain separate regulatory approvals and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The EMA is responsible for the centralized procedure for the regulation and approval of human medicines. This procedure results in a single marketing authorization that is valid in all E.U. countries, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The time required to obtain approval abroad may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. The foreign regulatory approval process may include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval and we may not obtain foreign regulatory approvals on a timely basis, if at all. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries, and approval by one foreign regulatory authority does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. We or our collaboration partners may not be able to file for regulatory approvals and may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our products in any market. Failure to obtain these approvals would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 6
There are risks and uncertainties associated with the CIMERLI TSA and YUSIMRY TSA, one or more of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or stock price.Added
In connection with the CIMERLI Sale, we and Sandoz entered into the CIMERLI TSA pursuant to which we will provide certain business support services to Sandoz for a defined period not expected to extend beyond December 31, 2024. In connection with the YUSIMRY Sale, we and HKF entered into the YUSIMRY TSA pursuant to which we will provide certain business support services to HKF for a defined period not expected to extend beyond December 31, 2024. There are a number of risks and uncertainties associated with the CIMERLI TSA and YUSIMRY TSA, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or stock price, including, among other things:
- the need to expend employee time and attention on the CIMERLI TSA and YUSIMRY TSA that could be spent on other areas of our business;- the need to provide significant support services under the CIMERLI TSA and YUSIMRY TSA on behalf of Sandoz and HKF, respectively, such as logistics, payments, accounting, payroll, commercial, regulatory and manufacturing;- the exposure to the financial status of Sandoz and HKF for any payments due to us under the CIMERLI TSA and YUSIMRY TSA, respectively, which may be significant; and - potential unanticipated costs to us under the CIMERLI TSA and YUSIMRY TSA.
Regulation - Risk 7
We have a limited operating history in an emerging regulatory environment on which to assess our business.We are a biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history in an emerging regulatory environment of biosimilar and immuno-oncology products. Although we have received upfront payments, milestone and other contingent payments or funding for development from some of our collaboration and license agreements, our only approved products are UDENYCA and LOQTORZI which are approved for commercialization in the United States, and we have no products approved in any other territories.
One of the steps necessary for us to generate meaningful revenue is for us, alone or with strategic collaboration partners, to successfully market and sell our products, and to complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commercialize, one or more of our product pipeline candidates, which include:
- CHS-1000;- casdozokitug;- CHS-114; and - toripalimab in non-NPC indications.
We may not be able to continue to generate meaningful revenue from product sales, as this depends heavily on our success in many areas, including but not limited to:
- our ability to continue to successfully commercialize all three UDENYCA product presentations and LOQTORZI;- competing against numerous current and future pegfilgrastim and adalimumab products with significant market share;- healthcare providers, payers, and patients adopting our products and product candidates once approved and launched;- our ability to procure and commercialize our biosimilar product;- obtaining additional regulatory approvals for product candidates for which we complete clinical studies;- obtaining adequate third-party coverage and reimbursements for our products;- obtaining market acceptance of our products and product candidates as viable treatment options;- completing nonclinical and clinical development of our product candidates;- developing and testing of our product formulations;- attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel;- developing a sustainable and scalable manufacturing process for our products and any approved product candidates and establishing and maintaining supply and manufacturing relationships with third parties that can conduct the process and provide adequate (in amount and quality) products to support clinical development and the market demand for our products and product candidates, if approved;- addressing any competing technological and market developments;- identifying, assessing and developing (or acquiring/in-licensing on favorable terms) new product candidates;- negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing or other arrangements into which we may enter;- maintaining, protecting and expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets and know-how; and - defending against any litigation including patent or trade secret infringement lawsuits, which may be filed against us, or achieving successful outcomes of IPR petitions that we have filed, or may in the future file, against third parties.
Even if one or more of the product candidates that we develop is approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs to commercialize any such product. Our expenses could increase beyond our expectations if we are required by the FDA, the European Medical Agency (the "EMA"), other regulatory agencies, domestic or foreign, or by any unfavorable outcomes in intellectual property litigation filed against us, to change our manufacturing processes or assays or to perform clinical, nonclinical or other types of studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate. In cases where we are successful in obtaining additional regulatory approvals to market one or more of our product candidates, our revenue will be dependent, in part, upon the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval, the number of biosimilar or immuno-oncology competitors in such markets, the accepted price for the product, the ability to get reimbursement at any price, the nature and degree of competition from originators and other biosimilar or immuno-oncology companies (including competition from large pharmaceutical companies entering the biosimilar market or possessing large established positions in the immuno-oncology market that may be able to gain advantages in the sale of biosimilar or immuno-oncology products based on brand recognition or existing relationships with customers and payers) and whether we own (or have partnered with companies owning) the commercial rights for that territory. If the market for our products and product candidates (or our share of that market) is not as significant as we expect, the price of our products is not what we project, the indication approved by regulatory authorities is narrower than we expect or the reasonably accepted population for treatment is narrowed by competition, physician choice or treatment guidelines, we may not generate significant revenue from sales of such products, even if approved. If we are unable to successfully complete development and obtain additional regulatory approval for our products, our business may suffer.
Regulation - Risk 8
Our products and our product candidates, even if approved, will remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.Our products and our product candidates, even If approved, will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, sampling, record-keeping, conduct of post-marketing studies and submission of safety, efficacy and other post-market information, including both federal and state requirements in the United States and requirements of comparable foreign regulatory authorities.
Manufacturers and manufacturers' facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authority, requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to current Good Manufacturing Practices ("cGMP") regulations. As such, we and our contract manufacturers will be subject to continual review and inspections to assess compliance with cGMP and adherence to commitments made in any NDA, original BLA submitted under Section 351(a) of the Public Health Service Act ("PHSA"), Section 351(k) BLA or MAA. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to spend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control.
Any regulatory approvals that we or our collaboration partners receive for our product candidates may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval or may contain requirements for potentially costly additional clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. We will be required to report certain adverse events and production problems, if any, to the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Any new legislation addressing drug safety issues could result in delays in product development or commercialization or increased costs to ensure compliance. We will have to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product's approved label. As such, we may not promote our products for indications or uses for which they do not have approval. If our product candidates are approved, we must submit new or supplemental applications and obtain approval for certain changes to the approved products, product labeling or manufacturing process. We or our collaboration partners could also be asked to conduct post-marketing clinical studies to verify the safety and efficacy of our products in general or in specific patient subsets. If original marketing approval is obtained via an accelerated biosimilar approval pathway, we could be required to conduct a successful post-marketing clinical study to confirm clinical benefit for our products. An unsuccessful post-marketing study or failure to complete such a study could result in the withdrawal of marketing approval.
If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured or disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of a product, such regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency or enforcement authority may, among other possibilities:
- issue warning letters;- impose civil or criminal penalties;- suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;- suspend any of our ongoing clinical studies;- refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications submitted by us;- impose restrictions on our operations, including closing our contract manufacturers' facilities; or - seize or detain products or require a product recall.
Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to commercialize and generate revenue from our products. If regulatory sanctions are applied or if regulatory approval is withdrawn, the value of our company and our operating results will be adversely affected.
The FDA's and other regulatory authorities' policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not sustain profitability, which would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
We also cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative or executive action, either in the United States, China or other foreign countries.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities1 | 1.5%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
If we fail to comply with our reporting and payment obligations under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program or other governmental pricing programs in the United States, we could be subject to additional reimbursement requirements, penalties, sanctions and fines which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.Taxation & Government Incentives1 | 1.5%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by funding shortages, government shut-downs or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel, and conduct inspections of manufacturing facilities, or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, or approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.Environmental / Social2 | 2.9%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
We are subject to governmental regulation and other legal obligations related to privacy, data protection and information security. Compliance with these requirements could result in additional costs and liabilities to us or inhibit our ability to collect and process data, and the failure to comply with such requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.Environmental / Social - Risk 2
If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.Our research and development activities and our third-party manufacturers' and suppliers' activities involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, including the components of our product candidates and other hazardous compounds. We and our manufacturers and suppliers are subject to laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. In some cases, these hazardous materials and various wastes resulting from their use are stored at our and our manufacturers' facilities pending their use and disposal. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination, which could cause an interruption of our commercialization efforts, research and development efforts and business operations, environmental damage resulting in costly cleanup and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. Although we believe that the safety procedures utilized by us and our third-party manufacturers for handling and disposing of these materials generally comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that this is the case or eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In such an event, we may be held liable for any resulting damages and such liability could exceed our resources and state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of certain materials or interrupt our business operations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance. We do not currently carry biological or hazardous waste insurance coverage.
ITEM 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
We did not repurchase any of our equity securities during the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. A total of 8,163 shares were surrendered to us in the third quarter of 2024, to satisfy minimum tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting or exercise of stock-based awards.
ITEM 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
Not applicable
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable
ITEM 5. Other Information (a)None.
(b)None.
(c)During the three months ended September 30, 2024, no director or officer of the Company adopted or terminated a "Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement" or "non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement," as each such term is defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K.
Production
Total Risks: 8/68 (12%)Below Sector Average
Manufacturing2 | 2.9%
Manufacturing - Risk 1
The structure of complex proteins used in protein-based therapeutics is inherently variable and highly dependent on the processes and conditions used to manufacture them. If we are unable to develop manufacturing processes that achieve a requisite degree of biosimilarity to the originator drug, and within a range of variability considered acceptable by regulatory authorities, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for any biosimilar product candidate.Changed
Manufacturing - Risk 2
We are subject to a multitude of manufacturing risks and the risks of inaccurately forecasting sales of our products. We also need to make a determination of excess or obsolete inventory that requires significant judgment and may result in write-downs of inventory, charges related to firm purchase commitments, or both. Any adverse developments affecting the manufacturing operations of our products and product candidates could substantially increase our costs and limit supply for our products and product candidates.The process of manufacturing our products and product candidates is complex, highly regulated and subject to several risks, including but not limited to:
- product loss due to contamination, equipment failure or improper installation or operation of equipment or vendor or operator error;- equipment failures, labor shortages, natural disasters, power failures and numerous other factors associated with the manufacturing facilities in which our product candidates are produced, and potentially exacerbated by climate change; and - disruption of supply chains for critical and specialized raw materials, delays in regulatory inspections of manufacturing and testing facilities, and reduced manufacturing capacities created by global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
We have experienced reduced production yields, product defects and other supply disruptions. For example, we have experienced failures with respect to the manufacturing of certain lots of each of our products and product candidates resulting in delays prior to our taking corrective action. Additionally, if microbial, viral or other contaminations are discovered in our products or product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities in which our products or product candidates are made, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination.
Any adverse developments affecting manufacturing operations for our products and product candidates, including due to sudden or long-term changes in weather patterns or conflicts in particular geographic areas, may result in shipment delays, inventory shortages, lot failures, withdrawals or recalls or other interruptions in the supply of our products and product candidates. We also need to make a determination of excess or obsolete inventory that requires significant judgment and includes consideration of many factors, such as estimates of future product demand, current and future market conditions, product expiration information and potential product obsolescence, among others. Although we believe that the assumptions we use in estimating potential inventory write-downs are reasonable, if actual market conditions are less favorable than projected by us, write-downs of inventory, charges related to firm purchase commitments, or both may be required which would be recorded as cost of goods sold in our consolidated statements of operations. Adverse developments affecting our assumptions of the level and timing of demand for our products include those that are outside of our control such as the actions taken by competitors and customers, the direct or indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other factors. We may have to take inventory write-downs and incur other charges and expenses, such as charges related to firm purchase commitments, for products that are manufactured in reliance on a forecast that proves to be inaccurate because we do not sell as many units as forecasted. For example, during the third quarter of 2022, we recorded a $26.0 million write-down of UDENYCA inventory that was at risk of expiration and during the fourth quarter of 2023, we recorded a $47.0 million charge for the write-down of slow moving YUSIMRY inventory and the related partial recognition of certain firm purchase commitments. Although we believe that the assumptions that we use in estimating inventory write-downs are reasonable, additional write-downs of inventory may be required in the future if actual market conditions are less favorable than our projections, which could materially and adversely impact our financial results. In addition to such write-downs, we may also have to incur charges and expenses related to firm purchase commitments or for product candidates that fail to meet specifications, undertake costly remediation efforts or seek costlier manufacturing alternatives.
On September 13, 2024, we announced that our third-party labeling and packaging CMO for UDENYCA delayed production of UDENYCA due to over-commitments and capacity constraints. These delays caused a temporary UDENYCA supply interruption. The CMO recently informed us that production will resume later in the week of November 4, 2024. An additional final packaging and labeling CMO has already started production testing and is expected to start manufacturing saleable product by the end of 2024. Commercial supply from that CMO is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025, subject to FDA authorization. Although we currently believe that our estimates for the timing of UDENYCA commercial supply availability from our two labeling and packaging CMOs are reasonable, any delays from third parties would result in delays to UDENYCA commercial supply availability. The length of the temporary UDENYCA supply interruption will depend on the number of future manufacturing slots scheduled by the CMOs and whether future manufacturing slots are successfully completed on schedule or at all.
Employment / Personnel2 | 2.9%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
We are highly dependent on the services of our key executives and personnel, including our President and Chief Executive Officer, Dennis M. Lanfear, and if we are not able to retain these members of our management or recruit additional management, product development and scientific personnel, our business will suffer.Employment / Personnel - Risk 2
We may need to expand our organization, particularly due to employee turnover, and we may experience difficulties in managing this turnover, which could disrupt our operations.As of September 30, 2024, we had 235 full-time and part-time employees. As our development and commercialization plans and strategies develop and evolve from time to time and as we experience turnover, we may need to hire additional people in the future. Our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these hiring activities. We may not be able to effectively manage during a period of employee turnover, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of our current and potential future product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our turnover, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate or grow revenue could be reduced. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize product candidates and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.
Supply Chain4 | 5.9%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
We rely on third parties to conduct our nonclinical and clinical studies and perform other tasks for us. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or comply with regulatory requirements, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.Supply Chain - Risk 2
We currently engage single suppliers for manufacture, clinical trial services, formulation development and product testing of our product candidates. The loss of any of these suppliers or vendors could materially and adversely affect our business.For our products and our product candidates, we currently engage a distinct vendor or service provider for each of the principal activities supporting our manufacture and development of these products, such as manufacture of the biological substance present in each of the products, manufacture of the final filled and finished presentation of these products, as well as laboratory testing, formulation development and clinical testing of these products. Because we currently have engaged a limited number of back-up suppliers or vendors for these single-sourced services, and although we believe that there are alternate sources that could fulfill these activities, we cannot make any assurances that identifying and establishing relationships with alternate suppliers and vendors would not result in significant delay in the development of our product candidates. Additional delays or cost increases could occur due to the direct or indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative service providers on commercially reasonable terms or at all. A delay in the development of our products and product candidates, or having to enter into a new agreement with a different third party on less favorable terms than we have with our current suppliers, could have a material adverse impact on our business.
For example, on September 13, 2024, we announced that our third-party labeling and packaging CMO for UDENYCA delayed production of UDENYCA due to over-commitments and capacity constraints. These delays caused a temporary UDENYCA supply interruption. The CMO recently informed us that production will resume later in the week of November 4, 2024. An additional final packaging and labeling CMO has already started production testing and is expected to start manufacturing saleable product by the end of 2024. Commercial supply from that CMO is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025, subject to FDA authorization. Although we currently believe that our estimates for the timing of UDENYCA commercial supply availability from our two labeling and packaging CMOs are reasonable, any delays from third parties would result in delays to UDENYCA commercial supply availability. Sales of UDENYCA provided 93.4% of our net revenue in the three months ended September 30, 2024. The UDENYCA supply interruption will have a material adverse impact on our business, reputation and financial results based on the current expected time period until we can restore product availability and if the UDENYCA supply interruption takes longer than currently expected to resolve, the adverse impact is expected to greatly increase.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
If other biosimilars of pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) are determined to be interchangeable and our biosimilar product is not, our business could suffer.Changed
The FDA or other relevant regulatory authorities may determine that a proposed biosimilar product is "interchangeable" with a reference product, meaning that the biosimilar product may be substituted for the reference product without the intervention of the health care provider who prescribed the reference product, if the application includes sufficient information to show that the product is biosimilar to the reference product and that it can be expected to produce the same clinical result as the reference product in any given patient. If the biosimilar product may be administered more than once to a patient, the applicant must demonstrate that the risk in terms of safety or diminished efficacy of alternating or switching between the biosimilar product and the reference product is not greater than the risk of using the reference product without such alternation or switch. To make a final determination of interchangeability, regulatory authorities may require additional confirmatory information beyond what we plan to initially submit in our applications for approval, such as more in-depth analytical characterization, animal testing or further clinical studies. Provision of sufficient information for approval may prove difficult and expensive.
We cannot predict whether any of our biosimilar products and product candidates will meet regulatory authority requirements for approval not only as a biosimilar product but also as an interchangeable product in any jurisdiction. Furthermore, legislation governing interchangeability could differ by jurisdiction on a state or national level worldwide. For example, recent U.S. legislative proposals have sought to reduce or altogether eliminate the statutory and regulatory distinctions between interchangeable products and conventional biosimilars. Such efforts, if successful, could reduce or eliminate any competitive or regulatory advantages currently afforded to interchangeable products.
The labelling of "interchangeability" is important because, in the United States for example, the first biosimilar determined to be interchangeable with a particular reference, or originator, product for any condition of use is eligible for a period of market exclusivity that delays an FDA determination that a second or subsequent biosimilar product is interchangeable with that originator product for any condition of use until the earlier of: (1) one year after the first commercial marketing of the first interchangeable product; (2) 18 months after resolution of a patent infringement suit instituted under 42 U.S.C. § 262(l)(6) against the applicant that submitted the application for the first interchangeable product, based on a final court decision regarding all of the patents in the litigation or dismissal of the litigation with or without prejudice; (3) 42 months after approval of the first interchangeable product, if a patent infringement suit instituted under 42 U.S.C. § 262(l)(6) against the applicant that submitted the application for the first interchangeable product is still ongoing; or (4) 18 months after approval of the first interchangeable product if the applicant that submitted the application for the first interchangeable product has not been sued under 42 U.S.C. § 262(l)(6). Thus, a determination that another company's product is interchangeable with the originator biologic before we obtain approval of our corresponding biosimilar product candidates may delay the potential determination that our products are interchangeable with the originator product, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and delay, prevent or limit our ability to generate revenue.
Supply Chain - Risk 4
We rely on third parties, and in some cases a single third party, to manufacture nonclinical, clinical and commercial drug supplies of our products and product candidates and to store critical components of our products and product candidates for us. Our business could be harmed if those third parties fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of products and product candidates or fail to do so at acceptable quality levels or prices.Changed
We do not currently have the infrastructure or capability internally to manufacture supplies of our product candidates for use in our nonclinical and clinical studies, and we lack the resources and the capability to manufacture any of our product candidates on a clinical or commercial scale. We rely on third-party manufacturers to manufacture and supply us with our product candidates for our preclinical and clinical studies as well as to maintain commercial supplies of our product candidates. Successfully transferring complicated manufacturing techniques to contract manufacturing organizations and scaling up these techniques for commercial quantities is time consuming and we may not be able to achieve such transfer or do so in a timely manner. Moreover, the availability of contract manufacturing services for protein-based therapeutics is highly variable and there are periods of relatively abundant capacity alternating with periods in which there is little available capacity. If our need for contract manufacturing services increases during a period of industry-wide production capacity shortage, we may not be able to produce our product candidates on a timely basis or on commercially viable terms. Although we will plan accordingly and generally do not begin a clinical study unless we believe we have a sufficient supply of a product candidate to complete such study, any significant delay or discontinuation in the supply of a product candidate for an ongoing clinical study due to the need to replace a third-party manufacturer could considerably delay completion of our clinical studies, product testing and potential regulatory approval of our product candidates, which could harm our business and results of operations.
Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails additional risks, including reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance and quality assurance, the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party and the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us. In addition, third-party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMP or similar regulatory requirements outside the United States. Our failure or the failure of our third-party manufacturers to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our product candidates or any other product candidates or products that we may develop. Any failure or refusal to supply the components for our product candidates that we may develop could delay, prevent or impair our clinical development or commercialization efforts. If our contract manufacturers were to breach or terminate their manufacturing arrangements with us, the development or commercialization of the affected products or product candidates could be delayed, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Any change in our manufacturers could be costly because the commercial terms of any new arrangement could be less favorable and because the expenses relating to the transfer of necessary technology and processes could be significant.
On September 13, 2024, we announced that our third-party labeling and packaging CMO for UDENYCA delayed production of UDENYCA due to over-commitments and capacity constraints. These delays caused a temporary UDENYCA supply interruption. The CMO recently informed us that production will resume later in the week of November 4, 2024. An additional final packaging and labeling CMO has already started production testing and is expected to start manufacturing saleable product by the end of 2024. Commercial supply from that CMO is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025, subject to FDA authorization. The length of the temporary UDENYCA supply interruption will depend on the number of future manufacturing slots scheduled by the CMOs and whether future manufacturing slots are successfully completed on schedule or at all. Although we believe that the steps that we have taken will help to lessen the impact of the temporary UDENYCA supply interruption, this manufacturing depends on third parties and we cannot make any assurances about the timing of the resolution of the issue. Similar circumstances could arise in the future that could result in supply disruption to our products and product candidates. Supply disruptions like this will have an adverse impact on our financial statements and reputation.
If any of our product candidates are approved, in order to produce the quantities necessary to meet anticipated market demand, any contract manufacturer that we engage may need to increase manufacturing capacity. If we are unable to build and stock our product candidates in sufficient quantities to meet the requirements for the launch of these candidates or to meet future demand, our revenue and gross margins could be adversely affected. We cannot be certain that we will be able to obtain long-term supply arrangements for our product candidates or materials used to produce them on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to arrange for third-party manufacturing, or to do so on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to complete development of our product candidates or market them.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 8/68 (12%)Above Sector Average
Competition5 | 7.4%
Competition - Risk 1
Our biosimilar product faces significant competition from the reference product and from other biosimilar products or pharmaceuticals approved for the same indication as the originator product. Our product LOQTORZI and product candidate CHS-114, if approved, will face significant competition from other immuno-oncology biologics. If we fail to compete effectively, we may not achieve significant market penetration and expansion.Changed
Competition - Risk 2
Our products and our product candidates, if approved, could face price competition from other products or biosimilars of the same reference products for the same indication. This price competition could exceed our capacity to respond, detrimentally affecting our market share and revenue as well as adversely affecting the overall financial health and attractiveness of the market for the biosimilar.Competitors in the biosimilar market have the ability to compete on price through PBMs, payers and their third-party administrators, IDNs and hospitals who exert downward pricing pressure on our product offerings. It is possible our biosimilar competitors' compliance with price discounting demands in exchange for market share or volume requirements could exceed our capacity to respond in kind and reduce market prices beyond our expectations. There could be similar price competition in the immuno-oncology market that could adversely affect our results in the future. Such practices may limit our ability to increase market share and may also impact profitability.
Competition - Risk 3
We face intense competition and rapid technological change and the possibility that our competitors may develop therapies that are similar, more advanced, less costly, easier to administer or more effective than ours, which may adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates.Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, including larger research and development, marketing and manufacturing organizations. Additionally, mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. As a result, these companies may obtain regulatory approval more rapidly than we are able to and may be more effective in selling and marketing their products. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis, products that are more effective or less costly than any product candidate that we may develop; they may also obtain patent protection that could block our products; and they may obtain regulatory approval, product commercialization and market penetration earlier than we do. Our competitors may have products that are easier to administer than our products, which could adversely affect our results. Biosimilar or immuno-oncology product candidates developed by our competitors may render our potential product candidates uneconomical, less desirable or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing our product candidates against competitors.
Competition - Risk 4
Any product candidates for which we intend to seek approval as original biologic products may face competition sooner than anticipated.Our development of novel biologic product candidates, such as casdozokitug and CHS-114, subjects us to additional risks relating to biosimilar competition. In particular, under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 ("BPCIA"), an application for a biosimilar product may not be submitted to the FDA until four years following the date that the reference product was first licensed by the FDA. In addition, the approval of a biosimilar product may not be made effective by the FDA until 12 years from the date on which the reference product was first licensed. During this 12-year period of exclusivity, another company may still market a competing version of the reference product if the FDA approves a full BLA for the competing product containing the sponsor's own preclinical data and data from adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity and potency of its product.
We believe that LOQTORZI and any of our future product candidates approved under an original BLA should qualify for the 12-year period of exclusivity. However, there is a risk that this exclusivity could be shortened due to Congressional action or otherwise, or that the FDA will not consider our product candidates to be reference products for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for generic competition sooner than anticipated. Moreover, the extent to which a biosimilar, once approved, could be substituted for any one of our reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biological products will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing.
Competition - Risk 5
If other competitors to toripalimab (in indications besides NPC), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114 are approved and successfully commercialized before toripalimab (in indications besides NPC), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114, our business would suffer.Changed
There are a number of companies that currently commercialize PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies or are developing such compounds for commercialization in the United States. If other competitors to toripalimab (in indications besides NPC), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114 are successfully commercialized before toripalimab (in indications besides NPC), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114, we may never achieve meaningful market share for these products, our revenue would be reduced and, as a result, our business, prospects and financial condition could suffer.
Demand1 | 1.5%
Demand - Risk 1
The commercial success of our existing products or any future products will depend upon the degree of market acceptance and adoption by prescribing physicians, healthcare providers and the patients to whom our medicines are prescribed. Additionally, obtaining placement on national or local clinical guidelines/pathways, as well as coverage on third-party payor formularies, can impact our short and long-term financial performance.Changed
Sales & Marketing2 | 2.9%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
We are dependent on Junshi Biosciences and Orox / Laboratorio Gador S.A. for the commercialization of our product candidates in certain markets and we intend to seek additional commercialization partners for major markets, and the failure to commercialize in those markets could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.Changed
Sales & Marketing - Risk 2
The third-party coverage and reimbursement status of our products are uncertain. Failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for new or current products could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.Pricing, coverage and reimbursement of our products, or any of our product candidates, if approved, may not be adequate to support our commercial infrastructure. The prices required to successfully compete may not continue to be sufficient to recover our development and manufacturing costs, and as a result, we may not be profitable in the future. Accordingly, the availability and adequacy of coverage and reimbursement by governmental and commercial payers are essential to enable provider/patient access to our products and our patient support services must be sufficiently scaled to meet the needs of patients receiving our products. Sales will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our products will be paid for by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations or reimbursed by government authorities, private health insurers and other third-party payers. If coverage and reimbursement are not available, or are available only to limited levels, or become unavailable, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our products or any of our product candidates, if approved. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be adequate to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a return on our investment.
There is significant uncertainty related to third-party coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, third-party payers, including private and governmental payers such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs, play an important role in determining the extent to which new drugs and biologics will be covered and reimbursed. The Medicare program covers certain individuals aged 65 or older or those who are disabled or suffering from end-stage renal disease. The Medicaid program, which varies from state to state, covers certain individuals and families who have limited financial means. The Medicare and Medicaid programs increasingly are used as models for how private payers and other governmental payers develop their coverage and reimbursement policies for drugs and biologics. It is difficult to predict what third-party payers will decide with respect to the coverage and reimbursement for any newly approved product. In addition, in the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for biologics exists among third-party payers. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for biologics can differ significantly from payer to payer. As a result, the process for obtaining favorable coverage determinations often is time-consuming and costly and may require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payer separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be obtained.
Effective January 2019, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") assigned a product specific Q-Code to UDENYCA, which is necessary to enable providers to separately bill for UDENYCA to have its own reimbursement rate with Medicare or other third-party payers. However, reimbursement is not guaranteed and rates may vary based on product life cycle, site of care, type of payer, coverage decisions, and provider contracts. Furthermore, while payers have adopted the Q-Code assigned by CMS for UDENYCA, there remains uncertainty as to whether such payers will continue to cover and pay providers for the administration and use of the product with each patient or may favor competing products. If our products or any of our future product candidates, are not covered or adequately reimbursed by third-party payers, including Medicare, then the cost of the relevant product may be absorbed by healthcare providers or charged to patients. If this is the case, our expectations of the pricing we expect to achieve for such product and the related potential revenue may be significantly diminished.
Outside of the United States, pharmaceutical businesses are generally subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations. In many countries, the prices of medical products are subject to varying price control mechanisms as part of national health systems. Other countries allow companies to fix their own prices for medical products but monitor and control company profits. Additional foreign price controls or other changes in pricing regulation could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for our product candidates. Accordingly, in markets outside the United States, the reimbursement for our products may be reduced compared with the United States and may be insufficient to generate commercially reasonable revenue and profits.
Increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payers in the United States and abroad to control healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and the level of reimbursement for new products approved and, as a result, they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our products or any of our product candidates. While cost containment practices generally benefit biosimilars, severe cost containment practices may adversely affect our product sales. Furthermore, the impact of the IRA on our business and the pharmaceutical industry generally is currently unknown. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of our products and any of our product candidates due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative changes.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 6/68 (9%)Above Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment3 | 4.4%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Healthcare reform measures, including the IRA, may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval for and commercialize our products, affect the prices we may set, and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.Economy & Political Environment - Risk 2
We may be negatively impacted by continued inflation.We may be adversely impacted by continued increases in inflation. Current and future inflation may be driven by the following factors: supply chain disruptions, increased costs of transportation, increased input costs such as the cost of fuel, shortages, and governmental stimulus or fiscal policies. Continuing increases in inflation could impact the overall demand for our products, our costs for labor and materials and the size of any margins we are able to realize on our revenues. This would have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Inflation may also result in higher interest rates, which in turn would result in higher interest expense related to our variable rate indebtedness.
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 3
The continuation of the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East may exacerbate certain risks we face.The war between Russia and Ukraine and the global response, including the imposition of sanctions by the United States and other countries, could create or exacerbate risks facing our business. Conflicts in the Middle East may also increase the risks facing our business. We have evaluated our operations and partner contracts, and we currently do not expect either conflict to directly have a significant effect on our financial condition or results of operations. However, if the war between Russia and Ukraine or conflicts in the Middle East escalate or expand, risks that we have identified in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may be materially increased. For example, if our supply arrangements or clinical operations are disrupted due to expanded sanctions or involvement of, and adverse impacts on, countries where we have operations or relationships, our business could be materially disrupted. Further, the use of cyberattacks could expand as part of the ongoing conflicts, which could adversely affect our ability to maintain or enhance our cyber security measures. These and other risks are described more fully in this "Risk Factors" section.
International Operations1 | 1.5%
International Operations - Risk 1
The international aspects of our business expose us to business, regulatory, political, operational, financial and economic risks associated with doing business outside of the United States.Natural and Human Disruptions2 | 2.9%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
We or the third parties upon whom we depend on may be adversely affected by earthquakes or other natural disasters and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans may not adequately protect us from a serious disaster.Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 2
Adverse events involving an originator product, other biosimilars of such originator product or other anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody product may negatively affect our business.Changed
In the event that use of an originator product, other biosimilar for such originator product, or anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody product results in unanticipated side effects or other adverse events, it is likely that our product will be viewed comparably and may become subject to the same scrutiny and regulatory sanctions as the originator product, other biosimilar, or other anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody product, as applicable. Accordingly, we may become subject to regulatory supervisions, clinical holds, product recalls or other regulatory actions for matters outside of our control that affect the originator product, other biosimilar, or other anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody product, as applicable, if and until we are able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of our regulators that our product is not subject to the same issues leading to the regulatory action as the originator product or other biosimilar, or other anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody product, as applicable.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.
FAQ
What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.
They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.
It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
How do companies disclose their risk factors?
Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.
Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.
Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.
According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.
You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.
Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.
A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
What are all the risk factor categories?
TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.
1. Financial & Corporate
- Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
- Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
- Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.
2. Legal & Regulatory
- Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
- Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
- Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
- Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.
3. Production
- Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
- Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
- Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
- Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.
4. Technology & Innovation
- Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
- Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
- Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
- Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.
5. Ability to Sell
- Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
- Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
- Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
- Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.
6. Macro & Political
- Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
- Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
- International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
- Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.