HUTCHMED (HCM) Risk Factors

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a drug as an orphan drug if it is intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally defined as affecting fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States. We have obtained orphan drug designation from the FDA for surufatinib for the treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Generally, if a drug with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the drug may be entitled to a seven-year period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the FDA from approving another marketing application for the same molecule for the same indication for that time period. We can provide no assurance that another drug will not receive marketing approval prior to our product candidates. Orphan drug exclusivity may be lost if the FDA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. In addition, even after a drug is granted orphan exclusivity and approved, the FDA can subsequently approve another drug for the same condition before the expiration of the seven-year exclusivity period if the FDA concludes that the later drug is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care.

Our success depends, in part, on our, our joint venture partners' and our collaboration partners' ability to protect our and our joint ventures' and our collaboration partners' products and drug candidates from competition by establishing, maintaining and enforcing our or their intellectual property rights. We, our joint ventures and our collaboration partners seek to protect the products and technology that we and they consider commercially important by filing PRC and international patent applications, relying on trade secrets or pharmaceutical regulatory protection or employing a combination of these methods. As of December 31, 2019, we had 208 issued patents, including 22 Chinese patents, 21 U.S. patents and 11 European patents, 137 patent applications pending in the above major market jurisdictions, and five pending Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, patent applications relating to the drug candidates of our Innovation Platform. Our collaboration partner AstraZeneca is responsible for maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights in relation to savolitinib. Additionally, our joint ventures collectively had 127 issued patents and 36 patent applications in China and other jurisdictions relating to our Commercial Platform's products as of December 31, 2019. For more details, see Item 4.B. "Business Overview-Patents and Other Intellectual Property." Patents may become invalid and patent applications may not be granted for a number of reasons, including known or unknown prior art, deficiencies in the patent application or the lack of originality of the technology. In addition, the PRC and the United States have adopted the "first-to-file" system under which whoever first files an invention patent application will be awarded the patent. Under the first-to-file system, third parties may be granted a patent relating to a technology which we invented. Furthermore, the terms of patents are finite. The patents we hold and patents to be issued from our currently pending patent applications generally have a twenty-year protection period starting from the date of application. We, our joint ventures and/or our collaboration partners may become involved in patent litigation against third parties to enforce our or their patent rights, to invalidate patents held by such third parties, or to defend against such claims. A court may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our or our joint ventures' patents do not cover the third-party technology in question. Further, such third parties could counterclaim that we or our joint ventures infringe their intellectual property or that a patent we, our joint ventures or our collaboration partners have asserted against them is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation, defendant counterclaims challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of asserted patents are commonplace. In addition, third parties may initiate legal proceedings against us or our intellectual property to assert such challenges to our intellectual property rights. The outcome of any such proceeding is generally unpredictable. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness or non-enablement. Patents may be unenforceable if someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information or made a misleading statement during prosecution. It is possible that prior art of which we, our joint ventures or our collaboration partners and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution exists, which could render our or their patents invalid. Moreover, it is also possible that prior art may exist that we, our joint ventures or our collaboration partners are aware of but do not believe is relevant to our or their current or future patents, but that could nevertheless be determined to render our patents invalid. The cost to us or our joint ventures of any patent litigation or similar proceeding could be substantial, and it may consume significant management time. We and our joint ventures do not maintain insurance to cover intellectual property infringement. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our or our joint ventures' patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability of our patents covering one of our or our joint ventures' products or our drug candidates, we could lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection covering such product or drug candidate. Competing drugs may also be sold in other countries in which our or our joint ventures' patent coverage might not exist or be as strong. If we lose a foreign patent lawsuit, alleging our or our joint ventures' infringement of a competitor's patents, we could be prevented from marketing our drugs in one or more foreign countries. Any of these outcomes would have a materially adverse effect on our business. Intellectual property and confidentiality legal regimes in China may not afford protection to the same extent as in the United States or other countries. Implementation and enforcement of PRC intellectual property laws may be deficient and ineffective. Policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult and expensive, and we or our joint ventures may need to resort to litigation to enforce or defend patents issued to us or them or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of others. The experience and capabilities of PRC courts in handling intellectual property litigation varies, and outcomes are unpredictable. Further, such litigation may require a significant expenditure of cash and may divert management's attention from our or our joint ventures' operations, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. An adverse determination in any such litigation could materially impair our or our joint ventures' intellectual property rights and may harm our business, prospects and reputation.

In February 2012, the SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly Listed Companies. Based on this regulation, PRC residents who are granted shares or share options by a company listed on an overseas stock market under its employee share option or share incentive plan are required to register with the SAFE or its local counterparts by following certain procedures. We and our employees who are PRC residents and individual beneficial owners who have been granted shares or share options have been subject to these rules due to our listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. We have registered the option schemes and the share incentive plan and will continue to assist our employees to register their share options or shares. However, any failure of our PRC individual beneficial owners and holders of share options or shares to comply with the SAFE registration requirements in the future may subject them to fines and legal sanctions and may, in rare instances, limit the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to distribute dividends to us. In addition, the SAT has issued circulars concerning employee share options or restricted shares. Under these circulars, employees working in the PRC who exercise share options, or whose restricted shares vest, will be subject to PRC individual income tax, or IIT. The PRC subsidiaries of an overseas listed company have obligations to file documents related to employee share options or restricted shares with relevant tax authorities and to withhold IIT of those employees related to their share options or restricted shares. Although the PRC subsidiaries currently withhold IIT from the PRC employees in connection with their exercise of share options, if they fail to report and pay the tax withheld according to relevant laws, rules and regulations, the PRC subsidiaries may face sanctions imposed by the tax authorities or other PRC government authorities.

We may become subject, from time to time, to legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to governmental or regulatory enforcement activity. Any litigation or proceeding to which we become a party might result in substantial costs and divert management's attention and resources. Furthermore, any litigation, legal disputes, claims or administrative proceedings which are initially not of material importance may escalate and become important to us due to a variety of factors, such as changes in the facts and circumstances of the cases, the likelihood of loss, the monetary amount at stake and the parties involved. Our insurance might not cover claims brought against us, provide sufficient payments to financially cover all of the costs to resolve such claims or continue to be available on terms acceptable to us.

Certain of our PRC subsidiaries and joint ventures have been granted High and New Technology Enterprise, or HNTE, status by the relevant PRC authorities. This status allows the relevant enterprise to enjoy a reduced Enterprise Income Tax, or EIT, rate at 15% on its taxable profits. For the duration of its HNTE grant, the relevant PRC enterprise must continue to meet the relevant HNTE criteria or else the 25% standard EIT rate will be applied from the beginning of the calendar year when the enterprise fails to meet the relevant criteria. We are in the process of renewing for HNTE status which expired at the end of 2019 for certain of our PRC subsidiaries and joint ventures. It is unclear whether the HNTE status and tax incentives under the current policy will continue to be granted after their expiration dates. If the rules for such incentives are amended or the status is not renewed, higher EIT rates may apply resulting in increased tax burden which will impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our Commercial Platform's Prescription Drugs business competes in the pharmaceutical industry in China, which is characterized by a number of established, large pharmaceutical companies, as well as some smaller emerging pharmaceutical companies. Our Prescription Drugs business competes with pharmaceutical companies engaged in the development, production, marketing or sales of prescription drugs, in particular cardiovascular drugs. The identities of the key competitors with respect to our Prescription Drugs business vary by product and, in certain cases, competitors have greater financial resources than us and may elect to focus these resources on developing, importing or in-licensing and marketing products in the PRC that are substitutes for our products and may have broader sales and marketing infrastructure with which to do so. Our Commercial Platform's Consumer Health business also competes in a highly fragmented market in Asia. The products sold through our Commercial Platform, which may include our drug candidates if they receive regulatory approval, may compete against products that have lower prices, superior performance, greater ease of administration or other advantages compared to our products. In some circumstances, price competition may drive our competitors to conduct illegal manufacturing processes to lower their manufacturing costs. Increased competition may result in price reductions, reduced margins and loss of market share, whether achieved by either legal or illegal means, any of which could materially and adversely affect our profit margins. We and our joint ventures may not be able to compete effectively against current and future competitors.

Periodically, we make estimates regarding the incidence and prevalence of target patient populations for particular diseases based on various third-party sources and internally generated analysis and use such estimates in making decisions regarding our drug development strategy, including determining indications on which to focus in pre-clinical or clinical trials. These estimates may be inaccurate or based on imprecise data. For example, the total addressable market opportunity will depend on, among other things, their acceptance by the medical community and patient access, drug pricing and reimbursement. The number of patients in the addressable markets may turn out to be lower than expected, patients may not be otherwise amenable to treatment with our drugs, or new patients may become increasingly difficult to identify or gain access to, all of which would adversely affect our results of operations and our business.

The regulations that govern pricing and reimbursement for pharmaceuticals vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after regulatory approval is granted. In some foreign markets, pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. Furthermore, once marketed and sold, government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which medications they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. Adverse pricing reimbursement levels may hinder market acceptance of products sold by our Commercial Platform or drug candidates. In China, for example, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the PRC or provincial or local human resources and social security authorities, together with other government authorities, review the inclusion or removal of drugs from the Medicines Catalogue for the National Basic Medical Insurance, Labor Injury Insurance and Childbirth System in China, or the National Reimbursement Drug List, or provincial or local medical insurance catalogues for the National Medical Insurance Program, and the category under which a drug will be classified, both of which affect the amounts reimbursable to program participants for their purchases of those medicines. These determinations are made based on a number of factors, including price and efficacy. Depending on the category under which a drug is classified in the provincial medicine catalogue, a National Medical Insurance Program participant residing in that province can be reimbursed for the full cost of Category A medicine and for the majority of the cost of a Category B medicine. In some instances, if the price range designated by the local or provincial government decreases, it may adversely affect our business and could reduce our total revenue, and if our revenue falls below production costs, we may stop manufacturing certain products. In November 2019, fruquintinib was added to China's National Reimbursement Drug List as a Category B medicine. In addition, in order to access certain local or provincial-level markets, our joint ventures are periodically required to enter into competitive bidding processes for She Xiang Bao Xin pills (the best-selling product of our Shanghai Hutchison Pharmaceuticals joint venture), Fu Fang Dan Shen tablets (one of the best-selling products of our Hutchison Baiyunshan joint venture) and other products with a pre-defined price range. The competitive bidding in effect sets price ceilings for those products, thereby limiting our profitability. In the United States, there have been and continue to be a number of legislative initiatives to contain healthcare costs which may affect reimbursement rates of our drug candidates if approved. For example, in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or the Affordable Care Act, was passed, which substantially changes the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers. The Affordable Care Act, among other things, establishes a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which, effective 2019, manufacturers must agree to offer 70% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period as a condition for the manufacturer's outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D. In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. Modifications to or repeal of all or certain provisions of the Healthcare Reform Act had been expected based on statements made by President Donald Trump and certain members of Congress. However, we cannot predict the ultimate content, timing or effect of any changes to the Healthcare Reform Act or other federal and state reform efforts. There is no assurance that federal or state health care reform will not adversely affect our future business and financial results. We expect that additional U.S. state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our drug candidates or additional pricing pressures. We expect that the pharmaceutical industry will experience pricing pressures due to the increasing influence of managed care (and related implementation of managed care strategies to control utilization), additional federal and state legislative and regulatory proposals to regulate pricing of drugs, limit coverage of drugs or reduce reimbursement for drugs, public scrutiny and the Trump administration's agenda to control the price of pharmaceuticals through government negotiations of drug prices in Medicare Part D and importation of cheaper products from abroad. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement in the United States does not imply that any drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Interim U.S. reimbursement levels for new drugs, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by U.S. government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. Third-party payors in the United States often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and profitable payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved drugs that we develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize drugs and our overall financial condition.

Our Commercial Platform's products are subject to competition from counterfeit products, especially counterfeit pharmaceuticals which are manufactured without proper licenses or approvals and are fraudulently mislabeled with respect to their content and/or manufacturer. Counterfeiters may illegally manufacture and market products under our or our joint venture's brand names, the brand names of the third-party products we or they sell, or those of our or their competitors. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are generally sold at lower prices than the authentic products due to their low production costs, and in some cases are very similar in appearance to the authentic products. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals may or may not have the same chemical content as their authentic counterparts. If counterfeit pharmaceuticals illegally sold under our or our joint ventures' brand names or the brand names of third-party products we or they sell result in adverse side effects to consumers, we or our joint ventures may be associated with any negative publicity resulting from such incidents. In addition, consumers may buy counterfeit pharmaceuticals that are in direct competition with the products sold through our Commercial Platform, which could have an adverse impact on our revenue, business and results of operations. The proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in China and globally may grow in the future. Any such increase in the sales and production of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in China, or the technological capabilities of the counterfeiters, could negatively impact our revenue, brand reputation, business and results of operations.

In early 2018, we opened our first office in the United States. While we have been involved in clinical and non-clinical development in North America and Europe for over a decade, the activities conducted by our new U.S. office will significantly broaden and scale our non-Asian clinical development and international operations. We intend to significantly expand our U.S. clinical team to support our increasing clinical activities in the United States and Europe. Conducting our business in multiple countries subjects us to a variety of risks and complexities that may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects, including, among other things: - the increased complexity and costs inherent in managing international operations;- diverse regulatory, financial and legal requirements, and any future changes to such requirements, in one or more countries where we are located or do business;- country-specific tax, labor and employment laws and regulations;- applicable trade laws, tariffs, export quotas, custom duties or other trade restrictions and any changes to them;- challenges inherent in efficiently managing employees in diverse geographies, including the need to adapt systems, policies, benefits and compliance programs to differing labor and other regulations;- changes in currency rates; and - regulations relating to data security and the unauthorized use of, or access to, commercial and personal information. As a result of our growth, our business and corporate structure has become more complex. There can be no assurance that we will effectively manage the increased complexity without experiencing operating inefficiencies or control deficiencies. Significant management time and effort is required to effectively manage the increased complexity of our company, and our failure to successfully do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our share price is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in pence sterling, while the ADSs will trade on Nasdaq in U.S. dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the pound sterling may result in temporary differences between the value of the ADSs and the value of our ordinary shares, which may result in heavy trading by investors seeking to exploit such differences. In addition, as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the pound sterling, the U.S. dollar equivalent of the proceeds that a holder of the ADSs would receive upon the sale in the United Kingdom of any shares withdrawn from the depositary and the U.S. dollar equivalent of any cash dividends paid in pound sterling on our shares represented by the ADSs could also decline.

The key raw materials used in the manufacturing process of certain of our Commercial Platform's principal products are medicinal herbs whose properties are related to the regions and climatic conditions in which they are grown. Access to quality raw materials and products necessary for the manufacture of our Commercial Platform products is not guaranteed. We rely on a combination of materials grown by our or our joint ventures' entities and materials sourced from third-party growers and suppliers. The availability, quality and prices of these raw materials are dependent on and closely affected by weather conditions and other seasonal factors which have an impact on the yields of the harvests each year. The quality, in some instances, also depends on the operations of third-party growers or suppliers. There is a risk that such growers or suppliers sell or attempt to sell us or our joint ventures raw materials which are not authentic. If there is any supply interruption for an indeterminate period of time, our joint ventures may not be able to identify and obtain alternative supplies that comply with our quality standards in a timely manner. Any supply disruption could adversely affect our ability to satisfy demand for our products, and materially and adversely affect our product sales and operating results. Moreover, any use by us or our joint ventures of unauthentic materials illegally sold to us by third-party growers or suppliers in our or our joint ventures' products may result in adverse side effects to the consumers, negative publicity, or product liability claims against us or our joint ventures, any of which may materially and adversely affect our operating results. The prices of necessary raw materials and products may be subject to price fluctuations according to market conditions, and any sudden increases in demand in the case of a widespread illness such as Covid-19, SARS, MERS or avian flu may impact the costs of production. For example, the market price of Sanqi, one of the main natural raw materials in Hutchison Baiyunshan's Fu Fang Dan Shen tablets, fluctuated significantly between 2009 and 2019. Our Commercial Platform sources Sanqi and other necessary raw materials on a purchase order basis and does not have long-term supply contracts in place so that it can manage inventory levels to reduce its risk to price fluctuations; however, we cannot guarantee that we or our joint ventures will be successful in doing so. Raw material price fluctuations could increase the cost to manufacture our Commercial Platform's products and adversely affect our operating results.