An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. We operate in a dynamic and rapidly changing industry that involves numerous risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Other risks and uncertainties, including those that we do not currently consider material, may impair our business. If any of the risks discussed below actually occur, our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows could be materially adversely affected. This could cause the value of our securities to decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
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We have marked with an asterisk (*) those risk factors below that include a substantive change from or update to the risk factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 201
5
, which was fi
led with the SEC on
February 29, 2016
.
Risks Related to Our Business
If we fail to obtain regulatory approval to commercially market and sell our drugs, or if approval is delayed, we will be unable to generate revenue from the sale of these products, our potential for generating positive cash flow will be diminished, and the capital necessary to fund our operations will be increased.
We must obtain and maintain regulatory approval to market and sell our drug products in the U.S. and in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. In the U.S., we must obtain FDA approval for each drug that we intend to commercialize. The FDA approval process is typically lengthy and expensive, and approval is never certain. For example, in January 2016, the FDA issued a complete response letter to our New Drug Application for Kyndrisa for the treatment of DMD amenable to exon 51 skipping in which the FDA concluded that the standard of substantial evidence of Kyndrisa’s effectiveness had not been met. Products distributed abroad are also subject to government regulation by international regulatory authorities. The approval process in the EU and other countries can also be lengthy and expensive and regulatory approval is also never certain. A marketing authorization application (MAA) for Kyndrisa for the treatment of DMD amenable to exon 51 skipping remains under review in the EU. We anticipate that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the EMA will provide an opinion for our MAA for Kyndrisa in the second quarter of 2016. If the CHMP opinion is positive, the MAA will be referred to the EC. The EC is expected to render a final decision for Kyndrisa in the second half of 2016. If the MAA is not approved by the EC, we will not receive marketing authorization for Kyndrisa in the EU and will be unable to sell Kyndrisa in the EU or roll out our international registration strategy for Kyndrisa using the EU approval as the basis of multiple international applications.
Although the FDA and the EMA have programs to facilitate accelerated approval processes, the timelines agreed under legislative goals or mandated by regulations are subject to the possibility of substantial delays. In addition, the FDA, the EMA and other international regulatory authorities have substantial discretion over the approval process for pharmaceutical products. These regulatory agencies may not agree that we have demonstrated the requisite level of product safety and efficacy to grant approval and may require additional data. If we fail to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, we will be unable to market and sell those drug products. Because of the risks and uncertainties in pharmaceutical development, our product candidates could take a significantly longer time to gain regulatory approval than we expect or may never gain approval. We also rely on independent third-party contract research organizations (CROs) to file some of our foreign marketing applications and important aspects of the services performed for us by the CROs are out of our direct control. If we fail to adequately manage our CROs, if the CRO elects to prioritize work on our projects below other projects or if there is any dispute or disruption in our relationship with our CROs, the filing of our applications may be delayed.
In addition, some of our product candidates, including cerliponase alfa, are intended to be used in combination with a delivery device, such as an injector or other delivery system. Medical products containing a combination of new drugs, biological products or medical devices may be regulated as “combination products” in the U.S. A combination product generally is defined as a product consisting of components from two or more regulatory categories (e.g., drug/device, device/biologic, drug/biologic). Each component of a combination product is subject to the requirements established by the FDA for that type of component, whether a new drug, biologic or device. In order to facilitate pre-market review of combination products, the FDA designates one of its centers to have primary jurisdiction for the pre-market review and regulation of the overall product based upon a determination by the FDA of the primary mode of action of the combination product. The determination whether a product is a combination product or two separate products is made by the FDA on a case-by-case basis. Our product candidates intended for use with such devices, or expanded indications that we may seek for our products used with such devices, may not be approved or may be substantially delayed in receiving approval if the devices do not gain and/or maintain their own regulatory approvals or clearances. Where approval of the drug or biologic product and device is sought under a single application, the increased complexity of the review process may delay approval. The FDA review process and criteria is not a well-established area, which could also lead to delays in the approval process. In addition, because these delivery devices are provided by unaffiliated third-party companies, we are dependent on the sustained cooperation and effort of those third-party companies both to obtain regulatory approval and to maintain their own regulatory compliance. Failure of third-party companies to assist in the approval process or to maintain their own regulatory compliance could delay or prevent approval of our product candidates, or limit our ability to sell a product once it is approved.
From time to time during the regulatory approval process for our products and our product candidates, we engage in discussions with the FDA and comparable international regulatory authorities regarding the regulatory requirements for our development programs. To the extent appropriate, we accommodate the requests of the regulatory authorities. However, we are often unable to determine the outcome of such deliberations until they are final. If we are unable to effectively and efficiently resolve and comply with the inquiries and requests of the FDA and other non-U.S. regulatory authorities, the approval of our product candidates may be delayed and their value may be reduced.
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Any product for
which we have obtained regulatory approval, or for which we obtain approval in the future, is subject to, or will be subject to, extensive ongoing regulatory requirements by the FDA, the EMA and other comparable international regulatory authorities, and if
we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our approved products, we may be subject to penalties, we will be unable to generate revenue from the sale of such products, our potential for generating positi
ve cash flow will be diminished, and the capital necessary to fund our operations will be increased.
Naglazyme, Aldurazyme, Kuvan and Vimizim have received regulatory approval to be commercially marketed and sold in the U.S., the EU and other countries. Firdapse has received regulatory approval to be commercially marketed only in the EU. Any product for which we have obtained regulatory approval, or for which we obtain regulatory approval in the future, along with the manufacturing processes and practices, post-approval clinical research, product labeling, advertising and promotional activities for such product, are subject to continual requirements of, and review by, the FDA, the EMA and other comparable international regulatory authorities. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration and listing requirements, current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) requirements relating to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians, import and export requirements and recordkeeping.
Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs, including biologics, are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product's approved labeling. Thus, we will not be able to promote any products we develop for indications or uses for which they are not approved. We also are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA to monitor and ensure compliance with cGMP and other regulations.
In addition, the FDA often requires post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the effects of approved products. The FDA, the EMA and other comparable international regulatory agencies may condition approval of our product candidates on the completion of such post-marketing clinical studies. These post-marketing studies may suggest that a product causes undesirable side effects or may present a risk to the patient. Discovery after approval of previously unknown problems with any such products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in actions such as:
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restrictions on our ability to conduct clinical trials, including full or partial clinical holds on ongoing or planned trials;
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restrictions on product manufacturing processes;
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restrictions on the marketing of a product;
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restrictions on product distribution;
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requirements to conduct post-marketing clinical trials;
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untitled or warning letters or other adverse publicity;
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withdrawal of the products from the market;
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refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;
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refusal to permit the import or export of our products;
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fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenue;
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imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
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If such regulatory actions are taken, the value of our company and our operating results will be adversely affected. Additionally, if the FDA, the EMA or any other comparable international regulatory agency withdraws its approval of a product, we will be unable to generate revenue from the sale of that product in the relevant jurisdiction, our potential for generating positive cash flow will be diminished and the capital necessary to fund our operations will be increased. Accordingly, we continue to expend significant time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, product surveillance, post-marketing studies and quality control.
If we fail to obtain or maintain orphan drug exclusivity for some of our products, our competitors may obtain approval to sell the same drugs to treat the same conditions and our revenues will be reduced.
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As part of our business strategy, we have developed and may in the future develop some drugs that may be eligible for FDA and EU
orphan drug designation. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product as an orphan drug if it is intended to treat a rare disease or condition, defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 in the U.S. In the EU, orphan drug designat
ion is granted to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition, defined as having a prevalence of no more than five in 10,000 people in the EU, which is equivalent to around 250,000 people or fewer. The company that first obtains FDA approval for a
designated orphan drug for a given rare disease receives marketing exclusivity for use of that drug for the stated condition for a period of seven years. Orphan drug exclusive marketing rights may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for de
signation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the drug. Similar regulations are available in the EU with a ten-year period of market exclusivity.
Because the extent and scope of patent protection for some of our drug products is limited, orphan drug designation is especially important for our products that are eligible for orphan drug designation. For eligible drugs, we plan to rely on the exclusivity period under the Orphan Drug Act to maintain a competitive position. If we do not obtain orphan drug exclusivity for our drug products that do not have broad patent protection, our competitors may then sell the same drug to treat the same condition and our revenues will be reduced.
Even though we have obtained orphan drug designation for certain of our product candidates and even if we obtain orphan drug designation for our future product candidates, due to the uncertainties associated with developing biopharmaceutical products, we may not be the first to obtain marketing approval for any particular orphan indication, which means that we may not obtain orphan drug exclusivity and could also potentially be blocked from approval of certain product candidates until the competitor product’s orphan drug exclusivity period expires. Further, even if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a product, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition because different drugs can be approved for the same condition and the same drug can be approved for different conditions and potentially used off-label in the orphan indication. Even after an orphan drug is approved and granted orphan drug exclusivity, the FDA can subsequently approve the same drug for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later drug is safer or more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care. Orphan drug designation neither shortens the development time or regulatory review time of a drug, nor gives the drug any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process.
We may face competition from biological products approved through an abbreviated regulatory pathway.
Our Naglazyme, Aldurazyme and Vimizim products are regulated by the FDA as biologics under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FDC Act) and the Public Health Service Act (the PHS Act). Biologics require the submission of a biologics license application (BLA) and approval by the FDA prior to being marketed in the U.S. Historically, a biologic product approved under a BLA was not subject to the generic drug review and approval provisions of the FDC Act. However, the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA) created a regulatory pathway under the PHS Act for the abbreviated approval of biological products that are demonstrated to be “biosimilar” or “interchangeable” with an FDA-approved biological product. In order to meet the standard of interchangeability, a sponsor must demonstrate that the biosimilar product can be expected to produce the same clinical result as the reference product, and for a product that is administered more than once, that the risk of switching between the reference product and biosimilar product is not greater than the risk of maintaining the patient on the reference product. Such biosimilars would reference biological products approved in the U.S. The BPCIA establishes a period of 12 years of data exclusivity for reference products, which protects the data in the original BLA by prohibiting sponsors of biosimilars from gaining FDA approval based in part on reference to data in the original BLA. Aldurazyme’s data exclusivity under the BPCIA expired in 2015, Naglazyme’s data exclusivity under the BPCIA expires in 2017, and Vimizim’s data exclusivity under the BPCIA expires in 2026. Our products approved under BLAs, as well as products in development that may be approved under BLAs in the future, could be reference products for biosimilar marketing applications.
To obtain regulatory approval to market our products, preclinical studies and costly and lengthy clinical trials are required and the results of the studies and trials are highly uncertain.
As part of the regulatory approval process we must conduct, at our own expense, preclinical studies in the laboratory and clinical trials on humans for each product candidate. We expect the number of preclinical studies and clinical trials that the regulatory authorities will require will vary depending on the product candidate, the disease or condition the drug is being developed to address and regulations applicable to the particular drug. Generally, the number and size of clinical trials required for approval increase based on the expected patient population that may be treated with a drug. We may need to perform multiple preclinical studies using various doses and formulations before we can begin clinical trials, which could result in delays in our ability to market any of our product candidates. Furthermore, even if we obtain favorable results in preclinical studies, the results in humans may be significantly different. After we have conducted preclinical studies, we must demonstrate that our drug products are safe and efficacious for use in the targeted human patients in order to receive regulatory approval for commercial sale. 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 trial process. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials, and favorable data from interim analyses do not ensure the final results of a trial will be favorable. Product candidates may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials, or despite having favorable data in connection with an interim analysis. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered
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significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to lack of e
fficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. Our future clinical trial results for any of our product candidates may not be successful.
Adverse or inconclusive clinical results would stop us from filing for regulatory approval of our product candidates. Additional factors that can cause delay or termination of our clinical trials include:
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slow or insufficient patient enrollment;
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slow recruitment of, and completion of necessary institutional approvals at, clinical sites;
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longer treatment time required to demonstrate efficacy;
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lack of sufficient supplies of the product candidate;
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adverse medical events or side effects in treated patients;
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lack of effectiveness of the product candidate being tested; and
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regulatory requests for additional clinical trials or pre-clinical studies.
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Typically, if a drug product is intended to treat a chronic disease, as is the case with some of our product candidates, safety and efficacy data must be gathered over an extended period of time, which can range from nine months to three years or more. We also rely on independent third-party CROs to perform most of our clinical studies and many important aspects of the services performed for us by the CROs are out of our direct control. If we fail to adequately manage our CROs, or if there is any dispute or disruption in our relationship with our CROs, our clinical trials may be delayed. Moreover, in our regulatory submissions, we rely on the quality and validity of the clinical work performed by third-party CROs. If any of our CROs’ processes, methodologies or results were determined to be not conducted in accordance with current good clinical practices, invalid or inadequate, our own clinical data and results and related regulatory approvals could adversely be impacted.
If we continue to incur operating losses and experience net cash outflows for a period longer than anticipated, we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce our operations.
Since we began operations in March 1997, we have been engaged in substantial research and development and capital investments, and we have operated at a net loss for each year since our inception, with the exception of 2008 and 2010. Based upon our current plan for investments in research and development for existing and new programs, as well as capital investments in our facilities and working capital such as inventory, we expect to operate at a net loss and experience net cash outflows for at least the next 12 months. Our future profitability and cash flows depend on our marketing and selling of Vimizim, Naglazyme, Kuvan and Firdapse, the successful continued commercialization of Aldurazyme by Genzyme, the receipt of regulatory approval of our product candidates, our ability to successfully manufacture and market any approved drugs, either by ourselves or jointly with others, our spending on our development programs, the impact of any possible future business development transactions and other risks set forth in this Risk Factors section. The extent of our future losses and the timing of profitability and positive cash flows are highly uncertain. If we fail to become profitable and cash flow positive or are unable to sustain profitability and positive cash flows on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce our operations.
*If we fail to obtain the capital necessary to fund our operations, our financial results and financial condition will be adversely affected and we will have to delay or terminate some or all of our product development programs.
As of March 31, 2016, we had cash, cash equivalents and short and long-term investments totaling $771.3 million and long-term debt obligations of $779.8 million (undiscounted). In January 2016 we terminated our License and Commercialization Agreement with Ares Trading, S.A. (
Merck Serono
). Pursuant to the Termination and Transition Agreement related to Kuvan and the Termination Agreement related to pegvaliase, we made cash payments on this transaction totaling $374.2 million, in December 2015, and may pay
Merck Serono
up to a maximum of €60 million, in cash, if future sales milestones are met with respect to Kuvan and up to a maximum of €125 million, in cash, if future development milestones are met with respect to pegvaliase. In January 2015, we paid $620.7 million for approximately 35 million ordinary shares (the Prosensa Shares) of Prosensa, representing approximately 96.8% of all outstanding Prosensa Shares, and $38.6 million for the options that vested pursuant to the definitive purchase agreement. In February 2015, we completed the Prosensa asset transfer and paid $20.8 million to the remaining Prosensa shareholders. We (through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries) funded the acquisition with our available cash balances. We expect to pay up to an additional $80.0 million if certain development milestones are attained. In October 2013, we completed an offering of senior subordinated convertible notes and received net proceeds of approximately $696.4 million, after deducting commissions, estimated offering expenses payable by us and the purchase of the related capped calls. We will need cash to not only repay the principal amount of our 0.75% senior subordinated convertible notes due 2018 (the 2018 Notes) and 1.50% senior subordinated convertible notes due in 2020 (the 2020 Notes and, together with the 2018 Notes, the Notes) but also the ongoing interest due on the Notes during their term. We will require additional financing to fund the repayment of our Notes, future milestone payments and our future operations, including the commercialization of our approved drugs and drug product candidates currently under development, preclinical studies and clinical trials, and potential
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licenses and acquisitions. We may be unable to raise additional financing due to a variety of factors, including our financial condition, the status of our product programs, and the general condition of the financial markets. If
we fail to raise any necessary additional financing we may have to delay or terminate some or all of our product development programs and our financial condition and operating results will be adversely affected.
We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts of capital for our operations for the foreseeable future. The amount of capital we will need depends on many factors, including:
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our ability to successfully market and sell Vimizim, Naglazyme, Kuvan and Firdapse;
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Genzyme
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the progress and success of our preclinical studies and clinical trials (including studies and the manufacture of materials);
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the timing, number, size and scope of our preclinical studies and clinical trials;
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the time and cost necessary to obtain regulatory approvals and the costs of post-marketing studies which may be required by regulatory authorities;
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the time and cost necessary to develop commercial manufacturing processes, including quality systems, and to build or acquire manufacturing capabilities;
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the progress of research programs carried out by us;
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our possible achievement of milestones identified in our purchase agreements with the former stockholders of LEAD Therapeutics, Inc., ZyStor Therapeutics, Inc., Huxley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Zacharon Pharmaceuticals Inc., under the non-transferable CVRs issued in connection with the acquisition of Prosensa that trigger related milestone payments and under the termination agreements with
Merck Serono
related to Kuvan and pegvaliase milestones;
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any changes made to, or new developments in, our existing collaborative, licensing and other commercial relationships or any new collaborative, licensing and other commercial relationships that we may establish; and
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whether our convertible debt is converted to common stock in the future.
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Moreover, our fixed expenses such as rent, license payments, interest expense and other contractual commitments are substantial and may increase in the future. These fixed expenses may increase because we may enter into:
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additional licenses and collaborative agreements;
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additional contracts for product manufacturing; and
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additional financing facilities or arrangements.
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In March 2014, we completed an offering of 1,500,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $78.45 per share and received net proceeds of $117.5 million. In January 2015, we completed an offering of 9,775,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $93.25 per share and received net proceeds of approximately $888.3 million. We will need to raise additional funds from equity or debt securities, loans or collaborative agreements if we are unable to satisfy our liquidity requirements. The sale of additional securities will result in additional dilution to our stockholders. Furthermore, additional financing may not be available in amounts or on terms satisfactory to us or at all. This could result in the delay, reduction or termination of our research, which could harm our business.
*We have incurred substantial indebtedness that may decrease our business flexibility, access to capital, and/or increase our borrowing costs, which may adversely affect our operations and financial results.
As of March 31, 2016, we had $779.8 million (undiscounted) principal amount of indebtedness, including $375.0 million (undiscounted) of indebtedness under the 2018 Notes and $375.0 million (undiscounted) principal amount of indebtedness under the 2020 Notes. Our indebtedness may:
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limit our ability to borrow additional funds for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general business purposes;
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limit our ability to use our cash flow or obtain additional financing for future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general business purposes;
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require us to use a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make debt service payments;
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limit our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business and industry;
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place us at a competitive disadvantage compared
to our less leveraged competitors; and
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increase our vulnerability to the impact of adverse economic and industry conditions.
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In addition, our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time.
Our indebtedness consists primarily of Notes, which, if not converted, will be required to be repaid in cash at maturity in 2018 and 2020. In addition, in the event the conditional conversion feature of the Notes is triggered, holders of Notes will be entitled to convert the Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. We intend to settle the principal amount of our conversion obligation in cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. Even if holders do not elect to convert their Notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital. Moreover, if we are unable to refinance the Notes, we must repay the Notes. While we could seek to obtain third-party financing to pay for any amounts due in cash upon such events, we cannot be sure that such third-party financing will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Furthermore, if we are required to share settle any conversions of Notes, due to lack of requisite liquidity or otherwise, we may cease to be eligible to account for the Notes using the treasury stock method, which may adversely impact our diluted earnings per share.
If we fail to comply with manufacturing regulations, our financial results and financial condition will be adversely affected.
Before we can begin commercial manufacture of our products, regulatory authorities must approve marketing applications that identify manufacturing facilities operated by us or our contract manufacturers that have passed regulatory inspection and manufacturing processes that are acceptable to the regulatory authorities. In addition, our pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are continuously subject to inspection by the FDA and international regulatory authorities, before and after product approval. Our manufacturing facility in the U.S. has been approved by the FDA, the European Commission (the EC), and health agencies in other countries for the manufacture of Aldurazyme, Naglazyme and Vimizim. Our manufacturing facility in Shanbally, Cork, Ireland has been approved by the FDA, the EC, and health agencies in other countries for the manufacture of Vimizim. In addition, our third-party manufacturers’ facilities involved with the manufacture of Vimizim, Naglazyme, Kuvan, Aldurazyme and Firdapse have also been inspected and approved by various regulatory authorities. Although we are not involved in the day-to-day operations of our contract manufacturers, we are ultimately responsible for ensuring that our products are manufactured in accordance with cGMP regulations.
Due to the complexity of the processes used to manufacture our products and product candidates, we may be unable to continue to pass or initially pass federal or international regulatory inspections in a cost-effective manner. For the same reason, any potential third-party manufacturer of Vimizim, Naglazyme, Kuvan, Aldurazyme and Firdapse or our product candidates may be unable to comply with cGMP regulations in a cost-effective manner and may be unable to initially or continue to pass a federal or international regulatory inspection.
If we, or third-party manufacturers with whom we contract, are unable to comply with manufacturing regulations, we may be subject to delay of approval of our product candidates, warning or untitled letters, fines, unanticipated compliance expenses, recall or seizure of our products, total or partial suspension of production and/or enforcement actions, including injunctions, and criminal or civil prosecution. These possible sanctions would adversely affect our financial results and financial condition.
If we are unable to successfully develop and maintain manufacturing processes for our drug products to produce sufficient quantities at acceptable costs, we may be unable to meet demand for our products and lose potential revenue, have reduced margins or be forced to terminate a program.
Due to the complexity of manufacturing our products, we may not be able to manufacture drug products successfully with a commercially viable process or at a scale large enough to support their respective commercial markets or at acceptable margins.
The development of commercially viable manufacturing processes typically is very difficult to achieve and is often very expensive and may require extended periods of time. Changes in manufacturing processes (including manufacturing cell lines), equipment or facilities may require us to complete clinical trials to receive regulatory approval of any manufacturing improvements.
Also, we may be required to demonstrate product comparability between a biological product made after a manufacturing change and the product made before implementation of the change through additional types of analytical and functional testing or may have to complete additional clinical studies. If we contract for manufacturing services with an unproven process, our contractor is subject to the same uncertainties, high standards and regulatory controls, and may therefore experience difficulty if further process development is necessary.
Even a developed manufacturing process can encounter difficulties. Problems may arise during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including human error, mechanical breakdowns, problems with raw materials and cell banks, malfunctions of internal information technology systems, and other events that cannot always be prevented or anticipated. Many of the processes include biological systems, which add significant complexity, as compared to chemical synthesis. We expect that, from time to time, consistent with biotechnology industry expectations, certain production lots will fail to produce product that meets our quality control
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ease acceptance criteria. To date, our historical failure rates for all of our product programs, including Naglazyme, Aldurazyme and Vimizim, have been within our expectations, which are based on industry norms. If the failure rate increased substantially,
we could experience increased costs, lost revenue, damage to customer relations, time and expense investigating the cause and, depending upon the cause, similar losses with respect to other lots or products. If problems are not discovered before the produ
ct is released to the market, recall and product liability costs may also be incurred.
In order to produce product within our time and cost parameters, we must continue to produce product within our expected success rate and yield expectations. Because of the complexity of our manufacturing processes, it may be difficult or impossible for us to determine the cause of any particular lot failure and we must effectively take corrective action in response to any failure in a timely manner.
Although we have entered into contractual relationships with third-party manufacturers to produce the active ingredient in Kuvan, Firdapse and Kyndrisa, if those manufacturers are unwilling or unable to fulfill their contractual obligations, we may be unable to meet demand for Kuvan and Firdapse or sell these products at all, we may lose potential revenue, and we may be forced to terminate a program. We have contracts for the production of final product for Kuvan, Firdapse and Kyndrisa. We also rely on third-parties for portions of the manufacture of Naglazyme, Aldurazyme and Vimizim. If those manufacturers are unwilling or unable to fulfill their contractual obligations or satisfy demand outside of or in excess of the contractual obligations, we may be unable to meet demand for these products or sell these products at all and we may lose potential revenue. Further, the availability of suitable contract manufacturing capacity at scheduled or optimum times is not certain.
In addition, our manufacturing processes subject us to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes resulting from their use. We may incur significant costs in complying with these laws and regulations.
If we are unable to effectively address manufacturing issues, we may be unable to meet demand for our products and lose potential revenue, have reduced margins, or be forced to terminate a program.
We manufacture Naglazyme, Aldurazyme and a portion of Vimizim in a manufacturing facility located near known earthquake fault zones, and the occurrence of an earthquake or other catastrophic disaster could cause damage to our facility and equipment, or that of our third-party manufacturers or single-source suppliers, which could materially impair our ability to manufacture Naglazyme, Aldurazyme and Vimizim or our third-party manufacturers’ ability to manufacture Kuvan or Firdapse.
Our Galli Drive facility located in Novato, California is currently our only manufacturing facility for Naglazyme and Aldurazyme and is one of two manufacturing facilities for Vimizim. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area near known earthquake fault zones and is vulnerable to significant damage from earthquakes. We, the third-party manufacturers with whom we contract and our single-source suppliers of raw materials, which include many of our critical raw materials, are also vulnerable to damage from other types of disasters, including fires, floods, power loss and similar events. If any disaster were to occur, or any terrorist or criminal activity caused significant damage to our facilities or the facilities of our third-party manufacturers and suppliers, our ability to manufacture Naglazyme, Aldurazyme and Vimizim, or to have Kuvan or Firdapse manufactured, could be seriously, or potentially completely, impaired, and our commercialization efforts and revenue could be seriously impaired. The insurance that we carry, the inventory that we maintain and our risk mitigation plans may not be adequate to cover our losses resulting from disasters or other business interruptions.
Supply interruptions may disrupt our inventory levels and the availability of our products and product candidates and cause delays in obtaining regulatory approval for our product candidates, or harm our business by reducing our revenues.
We depend on single-source suppliers for critical raw materials and a limited number of manufacturing facilities to manufacture our finished products and product candidates. Numerous factors could cause interruptions in the supply or manufacture of our products and product candidates, including:
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timing, scheduling and prioritization of production by our contract manufacturers or a breach of our agreements by our contract manufacturers;
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changes in our sources for manufacturing;
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the timing and delivery of shipments;
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our failure to locate and obtain replacement suppliers and manufacturers as needed on a timely basis; and
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conditions affecting the cost and availability of raw materials.
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If one of our suppliers or manufacturers fails or refuses to supply us with necessary raw materials or finished products or product candidates on a timely basis or at all, it would take a significant amount of time and expense to qualify a new supplier or
47
manufacturer. We may not be able to obtain active
ingredients or finished products from new suppliers or manufacturers on acceptable terms and at reasonable prices, or at all.
Any interruption in the supply of finished products could hinder our ability to distribute finished products to meet commercial demand.
With respect to our product candidates, production of product is necessary to perform clinical trials and successful registration batches are necessary to file for approval to commercially market and sell product candidates. Delays in obtaining clinical material or registration batches could adversely impact our clinical trials and delay regulatory approval for our product candidates.
Because the target patient populations for our products are small, we must achieve significant market share and maintain high per-patient prices for our products to achieve profitability.
All of our products target diseases with small patient populations. As a result, our per-patient prices must be relatively high in order to recover our development and manufacturing costs and achieve profitability. For Naglazyme and Vimizim in particular we must market worldwide to achieve significant market penetration of the product. In addition, because the number of potential patients in each disease population is small, it is not only important to find patients who begin therapy to achieve significant market penetration of the product, but we also need to be able to maintain these patients on therapy for an extended period of time. Due to the expected costs of treatment for our products for genetic diseases, we may be unable to maintain or obtain sufficient market share at a price high enough to justify our product development efforts and manufacturing expenses.
If we fail to obtain an adequate level of coverage and reimbursement for our drug products by third-party payers, the sales of our drugs would be adversely affected or there may be no commercially viable markets for our products.
The course of treatment for patients using our products is expensive. We expect patients to need treatment for extended periods, and for some products throughout the lifetimes of the patients. We expect that most families of patients will not be capable of paying for this treatment themselves. There will be no commercially viable market for our products without coverage and reimbursement from third-party payers. Additionally, even if there is a commercially viable market, if the level of reimbursement is below our expectations, our revenue and gross margins will be adversely affected.
Third-party payers, such as government or private health care insurers, carefully review and increasingly challenge the prices charged for drugs. Reimbursement rates from private companies vary depending on the third-party payer, the insurance plan and other factors. Reimbursement systems in international markets vary significantly by country and by region, and reimbursement approvals must be obtained on a country-by-country basis.
Government authorities and other third-party payers are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs, such as by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. Increasingly, third-party payers are requiring that drug companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices as a condition of coverage, are using restrictive formularies and preferred drug lists to leverage greater discounts in competitive classes, and are challenging the prices charged for medical products. Further, no uniform policy requirement for coverage and reimbursement for drug products exists among third-party payers in the U.S. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for drug products can differ significantly from payer to payer. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will 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 applied consistently or obtained in the first instance.
We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize or will continue to be available for any product that we have commercialized and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Coverage and reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval. If coverage and reimbursement are not available or reimbursement is available only to limited levels, we may not successfully commercialize any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval or continue to market any product that has already been commercialized.
Reimbursement in the EU and many other territories must be negotiated on a country-by-country basis and in many countries the product cannot be commercially launched until reimbursement is approved. The timing to complete the negotiation process in each country is highly uncertain, and in some countries we expect that it may exceed 12 months. Even after a price is negotiated, countries frequently request or require adjustments to the price and other concessions over time.
For our future products, we will not know what the reimbursement rates will be until we are ready to market the product and we actually negotiate the rates. If we are unable to obtain sufficiently high reimbursement rates for our products, they may not be commercially viable or our future revenues and gross margins may be adversely affected.
A significant portion of our international sales are made based on special access programs, and changes to these programs could adversely affect our product sales and revenue in these countries.
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We make a significant portion of our international sales of Naglazyme and Vimizim through special acces
s or
“
named patient
”
programs, which do not require full product approval. The specifics of the programs vary from country to country. Generally, special approval must be obtained for each patient. The approval normally requires an application or a lawsuit accompanied by evid
ence of medical need. Generally, the approvals for each patient must be renewed from time to time.
These programs are not well defined in some countries and are subject to changes in requirements and funding levels. Any change to these programs could adversely affect our ability to sell our products in those countries and delay sales. If the programs are not funded by the respective government, there could be insufficient funds to pay for all patients. Further, governments have in the past undertaken and may in the future undertake unofficial measures to limit purchases of our products, including initially denying coverage for purchasers, delaying orders and denying or taking excessively long to approve customs clearance. Any such actions could materially delay or reduce our revenues from such countries.
Without the special access programs, we would need to seek full product approval to commercially market and sell our products. This can be an expensive and time-consuming process and may subject our products to additional price controls. Because the number of patients is so small in some countries, it may not be economically feasible to seek and maintain a full product approval, and therefore the sales in such country would be permanently reduced or eliminated. For all of these reasons, if the special access programs that we are currently using are eliminated or restricted, our revenues could be adversely affected.
If we fail to compete successfully with respect to product sales, we may be unable to generate sufficient sales to recover our expenses related to the development of a product program or to justify continued marketing of a product and our revenue could be adversely affected.
Our competitors may develop, manufacture and market products that are more effective or less expensive than ours. They may also obtain regulatory approvals for their products faster than we can obtain them (including those products with orphan drug designation) or commercialize their products before we do. If we do not compete successfully, our revenue would be adversely affected, and we may be unable to generate sufficient sales to recover our expenses related to the development of a product program or to justify continued marketing of a product.
Government price controls or other changes in pricing regulation could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for our current and future products, which would adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.
We expect that coverage and reimbursement may be increasingly restricted both in the U.S. and internationally. The escalating cost of health care has led to increased pressure on the health care industry to reduce costs. In particular, drug pricing by pharmaceutical companies has recently come under increased scrutiny and continues to be subject to intense political and public debate in the U.S. and abroad. Governmental and private third-party payers have proposed health care reforms and cost reductions. A number of federal and state proposals to control the cost of health care, including the cost of drug treatments, have been made in the U.S. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed bills designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. In some international markets, the government controls the pricing, which can affect the profitability of drugs. Current government regulations and possible future legislation regarding health care may affect coverage and reimbursement for medical treatment by third-party payers, which may render our products not commercially viable or may adversely affect our future revenues and gross margins.
International operations are also generally subject to extensive price and market regulations, and there are many proposals for additional cost-containment measures, including proposals that would directly or indirectly impose additional price controls or mandatory price cuts or reduce the value of our intellectual property portfolio. As part of these cost containment measures, some countries have imposed or threatened to impose revenue caps limiting the annual volume of sales of Naglazyme. To the extent that these caps are significantly below actual demand, our future revenues and gross margins may be adversely affected.
We cannot predict the extent to which our business may be affected by these or other potential future legislative or regulatory developments. However, future price controls or other changes in pricing regulation or negative publicity related to our drug pricing or the pricing of pharmaceutical drugs generally could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for our current and future products or our sales volume, which would adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.
Government health care reform could increase our costs, and would adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.
Our industry is highly regulated and changes in law may adversely impact our business, operations or financial results. The PPACA is a sweeping measure intended to, among other things, expand healthcare coverage within the U.S., primarily through the imposition of health insurance mandates on employers and individuals and expansion of the Medicaid program.
Several provisions of the law have affected us and increased certain of our costs. For example, the Medicaid rebate rate was increased and the volume of rebated drugs has been expanded to include beneficiaries in Medicaid managed care organizations. Among other things, the PPACA also expanded the 340B drug discount program (excluding orphan drugs), including the creation of
49
new penalties for non-compliance, included a 50% disc
ount on brand name drugs for Medicare Part D participants in the coverage gap, or
“
donut hole,
”
and imposed a new fee on certain manufacturers and importers of branded prescription drugs (excluding orphan drugs under certain conditions). The law also revis
ed the definition of
“
average manufacturer price
”
for reporting purposes, which could increase the amount of the Medicaid drug rebates paid to states, and created a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee clinical effectiveness research
.
In addition, other legislative changes have been adopted since the PPACA was enacted. These changes include aggregate reductions in Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect on April 1, 2013 and, following passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, will remain in effect through 2025 unless additional Congressional action is taken. In January 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. These new laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, which could have a material adverse effect on our customers and, accordingly, our financial operations.
We anticipate that the PPACA, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and an additional downward pressure on the reimbursement our customers may receive for our products. Further, there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the PPACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the PPACA in the future. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare and other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payers. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize our products.
We face credit risks from customers outside of the U.S. that may adversely affect our results of operations.
Our product sales to government-owned or supported customers in various countries outside of the U.S. are subject to significant payment delays due to government funding and reimbursement practices. This has resulted and may continue to result in an increase in days sales outstanding due to the average length of time that we have accounts receivable outstanding. If significant changes were to occur in the reimbursement practices of these governments or if government funding becomes unavailable, we may not be able to collect on amounts due to us from these customers and our results of operations would be adversely affected.
If we are found in violation of federal or state health care laws, we may be required to pay a penalty or be suspended from participation in federal or state health care programs, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.
We are subject to various federal and state health care laws and regulations, including anti-kickback laws, false claims laws, data privacy and security laws, and laws related to ensuring compliance. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute makes it illegal for any person or entity, including a pharmaceutical company, to knowingly and willfully offer, solicit, pay or receive any remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce the referral of business, including the purchase, order or prescription of a particular drug, for which payment may be made under federal health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Under federal government regulations, certain arrangements, or safe harbors, are deemed not to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. However, the exemptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly, and practices that involve remuneration not intended to induce prescribing, purchases or recommendations may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exemption or safe harbor. Our practices may not in all cases meet all of the criteria for safe harbor protection from Anti-Kickback liability, although we seek to comply with these safe harbors. Many states have adopted laws similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, some of which apply to referral of patients for health care services reimbursed by any source, not just governmental payers.
Federal and state false claims laws, including the civil False Claims Act, prohibit any person from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government, or knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement to have a false claim paid. In addition, certain marketing practices, including off-label promotion, may also violate false claims laws. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), we also are prohibited from knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any health care benefit program, including private payers, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items or services.
HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act and its implementing regulations, also imposes obligations, including mandatory contractual terms, on certain types of individuals and entities, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Many state and foreign laws also govern the privacy and security of health information. They often differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Substantial new provisions affecting compliance have also been adopted, which may require us to modify our business practices with health care practitioners. The PPACA, through the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, requires drug manufacturers to collect and report to CMS information on payments or transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals, as well as investment and
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ownership interests held
by physicians and their immediate family members during the preceding calendar year. Failure to submit required information may result in civil monetary penalties.
In addition, there has been a recent trend of increased state regulation of payments made to physicians. Certain states mandate implementation of compliance programs, compliance with the Office of Inspector General Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, and/or the tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation and other remuneration to physicians. The shifting compliance environment and the need to implement systems to comply with multiple jurisdictions with different compliance and/or reporting requirements increases the possibility that a pharmaceutical manufacturer may violate one or more of the requirements.
Due to the breadth of these laws, the narrowness of available statutory and regulatory exceptions and the increased focus by law enforcement agencies in enforcing such laws, 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. For example, the PPACA, among other things, amends the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and criminal healthcare fraud statutes. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of these statutes or specific intent to violate them in order to commit a violation. Moreover, the PPACA provides that 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. If we are found in violation of one of these laws, we may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, curtailment of our operations, debarment, suspension or exclusion from participation in federal or state health care programs, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.
We conduct a significant amount of our sales and operations outside of the U.S., which subjects us to additional business risks that could adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.
A significant portion of the sales of Aldurazyme, Naglazyme and Vimizim, and all of the sales of Firdapse are generated from countries other than the U.S. We have operations in Canada and in several European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Latin American countries. We expect that we will continue to expand our international operations in the future. International operations inherently subject us to a number of risks and uncertainties, including:
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the increased complexity and costs inherent in managing international operations;
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diverse regulatory and compliance requirements, and changes in those requirements that could restrict our ability to manufacture, market and sell our products;
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political and economic instability;
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diminished protection of intellectual property in some countries outside of the U.S.;
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trade protection measures and import or export licensing requirements;
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difficulty in staffing and managing international operations;
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differing labor regulations and business practices;
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potentially negative consequences from changes in or interpretations of tax laws;
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changes in international medical reimbursement policies and programs;
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financial risks such as longer payment cycles, difficulty collecting accounts receivable and exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
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regulatory and compliance risks that relate to maintaining accurate information and control over sales and distributors
’
and service providers
’
activities that may fall within the purview of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the FCPA); and
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regulations relating to data security and the unauthorized use of, or access to, commercial and personal information.
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Any of these factors may, individually or as a group, have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
As we continue to expand our existing international operations, we may encounter new risks. For example, as we focus on building our international sales and distribution networks in new geographic regions, we must continue to develop relationships with qualified local distributors and trading companies. If we are not successful in developing and maintaining these relationships, we may not be able to grow sales in these geographic regions. These or other similar risks could adversely affect our revenue and profitability.
Our international operations pose currency risks, which may adversely affect our operating results and net income.
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A significant and growing portion of our revenues and earnings, as well as our sub
stantial international net assets, are exposed to changes in foreign exchange rates. As we operate in multiple foreign currencies, including the euro, the Brazilian real, the U.K. pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swiss Franc, the Japanese yen and several ot
her currencies, changes in those currencies relative to the U.S. dollar will impact our revenues and expenses. If the U.S. dollar were to weaken against another currency, assuming all other variables remained constant, our revenues would increase, having a
positive impact on earnings, and our overall expenses would increase, having a negative impact on earnings. Conversely, if the U.S. dollar were to strengthen against another currency, assuming all other variables remained constant, our revenues would decr
ease, having a negative impact on earnings, and our overall expenses would decrease, having a positive impact on earnings. In addition, because our financial statements are reported in U.S. dollars, changes in currency exchange rates between the U.S. dolla
r and other currencies have had, and will continue to have, an impact on our results of operations. Therefore, significant changes in foreign exchange rates can impact our results and our financial guidance.
From time to time, we may implement currency hedges intended to reduce our exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. However, our hedging strategies may not be successful, and any of our unhedged foreign exchange exposures will continue to be subject to market fluctuations. These risks could cause a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common stock to decline.
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, we may not be able to compete effectively.
Where appropriate, we seek patent protection for certain aspects of our technology. Patent protection may not be available for some of the products we are developing. If we must spend significant time and money protecting or enforcing our patents, designing around patents held by others or licensing, potentially for large fees, patents or other proprietary rights held by others, our business and financial prospects may be harmed.
The patent positions of biopharmaceutical products are complex and uncertain. The scope and extent of patent protection for some of our products and product candidates are particularly uncertain because key information on some of our product candidates has existed in the public domain for many years. The composition and genetic sequences of animal and/or human versions of Naglazyme, Aldurazyme and many of our product candidates have been published and are believed to be in the public domain. The chemical structure of 6R-BH4 (the active ingredient in Kuvan) and 3,4-DAP (the active ingredient in Firdapse) have also been published. Publication of this information may prevent us from obtaining or enforcing patents relating to our products and product candidates, including without limitation composition-of-matter patents, which are generally believed to offer the strongest patent protection.
We own or have licensed patents and patent applications related to Vimizim, Naglazyme, Kuvan, Aldurazyme and Firdapse. However, these patents and patent applications do not ensure the protection of our intellectual property for a number of reasons, including without limitation the following:
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With respect to pending patent applications, unless and until actually issued, the protective value of these applications is impossible to determine. We do not know whether our patent applications will result in issued patents.
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Competitors may interfere with our patent process in a variety of ways. Competitors may claim that they invented the claimed invention prior to us or that they filed their application for a patent on a claimed invention before we did. Competitors may also claim that we are infringing on their patents and therefore we cannot practice our technology. Competitors may also contest our patents by showing the patent examiner or a court that the invention was not original, was not novel or was obvious, for example. In litigation, a competitor could claim that our issued patents are not valid or are unenforceable for a number of reasons. If a court agrees, we would not be able to enforce that patent. We have no meaningful experience with competitors interfering with or challenging the validity or enforceability of our patents or patent applications.
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Generic manufacturers may use litigation and regulatory means to obtain approval for generic versions of our products.
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Enforcing patents is expensive and may absorb significant time of our management. Management would spend less time and resources on developing products, which could increase our operating expenses and delay product programs. We may not have the financial ability to sustain a patent infringement action, or it may not be financially reasonable to do so.
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Receipt of a patent may not provide much, if any, practical protection. For example, if we receive a patent with a narrow scope, then it will be easier for competitors to design products that do not infringe on our patent.
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The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011, which reformed certain patent laws in the U.S., may create additional uncertainty. Among the significant changes are switching from a
“
first-to-invent
”
system to a
“
first-to-file
”
system, and the implementation of new procedures that permit competitors to challenge our patents in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after grant.
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It is also unclear whether our trade secrets are adequately protected. Our current and former employees, consultants or contractors may unintentionally or willfully disclose trade secrets to competitors. Enforcing a claim that someone else illegally obtained and is using our trade secrets, as with patent litigation, is expensive and time consuming, requires significant resources and
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has an unpredictable outcome. In addition, courts outside of the U.S. are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Fur
thermore, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how, in which case we would not be able to enforce our trade secret rights against such competitors.
Moreover, there is an increasing trend in the EU requiring public disclosure of development data, in particular clinical trial data. These data were traditionally regarded as confidential commercial information; however, under policies recently adopted in the EU, data submitted to the EMA in MAAs may be subject to public disclosure. Exactly how the new disclosure policy will be implemented is unclear; however, it could result in the EMA’s public disclosure of certain of our clinical study reports, including pre-clinical data, and patient level data. The move toward public disclosure of development data could adversely affect our business in many ways, including, for example, resulting in the disclosure of our confidential methodologies for pre-clinical and clinical development of our products, preventing us from obtaining intellectual property right protection for innovations, requiring us to allocate significant resources to prevent other companies from violating our intellectual property rights, adding even more complexity to processing health data from clinical trials consistent with applicable data privacy regulations, and enabling competitors to use our data to gain approvals for their own products.
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, third parties could develop competing products, which could adversely affect our revenue and financial results generally.
Competitors and other third parties may have developed intellectual property that could limit our ability to market and commercialize our products and product candidates, if approved.
Similar to us, competitors continually seek intellectual property protection for their technology. Several of our development programs, such as Kyndrisa and other antisense oligonucleotides, reveglucosidase alfa and BMN 270, focus on therapeutic areas that have been the subject of extensive research and development by third parties for many years. Due to the amount of intellectual property in our field of technology, we cannot be certain that we do not infringe intellectual property rights of competitors or that we will not infringe intellectual property rights of competitors granted or created in the future. For example, if a patent holder believes our product infringes its patent, the patent holder may sue us even if we have received patent protection for our technology. If someone else claims we infringe its intellectual property, we would face a number of issues, including the following:
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Defending a lawsuit takes significant executive resources and can be very expensive.
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If a court decides that our product infringes a competitor
’
s intellectual property, we may have to pay substantial damages.
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With respect to patents, in addition to requiring us to pay substantial damages, a court may prohibit us from making, selling, offering to sell, importing or using our product unless the patent holder licenses the patent to us. The patent holder is not required to grant us a license. If a license is available, it may not be available on commercially reasonable terms. For example, we may have to pay substantial royalties or grant cross licenses to our patents and patent applications.
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We may need to redesign our product so it does not infringe the intellectual property rights of others.
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Redesigning our product so it does not infringe the intellectual property rights of competitors may not be possible or could require substantial funds and time.
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We may also support and collaborate in research conducted by government organizations, hospitals, universities or other educational institutions. These research partners may be unwilling to grant us any exclusive rights to technology or products derived from these collaborations.
If we do not obtain required licenses or rights, we could encounter delays in our product development efforts while we attempt to design around other patents or may be prohibited from making, using, importing, offering to sell or selling products requiring these licenses or rights. There is also a risk that disputes may arise as to the rights to technology or products developed in collaboration with other parties. If we are not able to resolve such disputes and obtain the licenses or rights we need, we may not be able to develop or market our products.
If our Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales Agreement with Genzyme were terminated, we could be prevented from continuing to commercialize Aldurazyme or our ability to successfully commercialize Aldurazyme would be delayed or diminished.
Either party may terminate the Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales Agreement (the MMS Agreement) between Genzyme and us related to Aldurazyme for specified reasons, including if the other party is in material breach of the MMS Agreement, has experienced a change of control, as such term is defined in the MMS Agreement, or has declared bankruptcy and also is in breach of the MMS Agreement. Although we are not currently in breach of the MMS Agreement, there is a risk that either party could breach the MMS Agreement in the future. Either party may also terminate the MMS Agreement upon one year prior written notice for any reason.
If the MMS Agreement is terminated for breach, the breaching party will transfer its interest in the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC to the non-breaching party, and the non-breaching party will pay a specified buyout amount for the breaching party’s interest in
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Aldurazyme and in the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC. If we are the breaching party, we would lose our rights to Aldurazyme and the related intellectual property and regulato
ry approvals. If the MMS Agreement is terminated without cause, the non-terminating party would have the option, exercisable for one year, to buy out the terminating party
’
s interest in Aldurazyme and in the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC at a specified buyout amoun
t. If such option is not exercised, all rights to Aldurazyme will be sold and the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC will be dissolved. In the event of termination of the buyout option without exercise by the non-terminating party as described above, all right and title
to Aldurazyme is to be sold to the highest bidder, with the proceeds to be split between Genzyme and us in accordance with our percentage interest in the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC.
If the MMS Agreement is terminated by either party because the other party declared bankruptcy, the terminating party would be obligated to buy out the other party and would obtain all rights to Aldurazyme exclusively. If the MMS Agreement is terminated by a party because the other party experienced a change of control, the terminating party shall notify the other party, the offeree, of its intent to buy out the offeree’s interest in Aldurazyme and the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC for a stated amount set by the terminating party at its discretion. The offeree must then either accept this offer or agree to buy the terminating party’s interest in Aldurazyme and the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC on those same terms. The party who buys out the other party would then have exclusive worldwide rights to Aldurazyme. The Amended and Restated Collaboration Agreement between us and Genzyme will automatically terminate upon the effective date of the termination of the MMS Agreement and may not be terminated independently from the MMS Agreement.
If we were obligated or given the option to buy out Genzyme’s interest in Aldurazyme and the BioMarin/Genzyme LLC, and thereby gain exclusive rights to Aldurazyme, we may not have sufficient funds to do so and we may not be able to obtain the financing to do so. If we fail to buy out Genzyme’s interest, we may be held in breach of the agreement and may lose any claim to the rights to Aldurazyme and the related intellectual property and regulatory approvals. We would then effectively be prohibited from developing and commercializing Aldurazyme. If this happened, not only would our product revenues decrease, but our share price would also decline.
If we fail to develop new products and product candidates or compete successfully with respect to acquisitions, joint ventures, licenses or other collaboration opportunities, our ability to continue to expand our product pipeline and our growth and development would be impaired.
Our future growth and development depends in part on our ability to successfully develop new products from our research and development activities. The development of biopharmaceutical products is very expensive and time intensive and involves a great degree of risk. The outcomes of research and development programs, especially for innovative biopharmaceuticals, are inherently uncertain and may not result in the commercialization of any products.
Furthermore, our competitors compete with us to attract organizations for acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing arrangements or other collaborations. To date, several of our former and current product programs have been acquired through acquisitions, for example, reveglucosidase alfa and talazoparib (sold to Medivation in October 2015), and several of our former and current product programs have been developed through licensing or collaborative arrangements, such as Naglazyme, Aldurazyme, Kuvan and Firdapse. These collaborations include licensing proprietary technology from, and other relationships with, academic research institutions. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to identify additional opportunities and to successfully enter into partnering or acquisition agreements for those opportunities. If our competitors successfully enter into partnering arrangements or license agreements with academic research institutions, we will then be precluded from pursuing those specific opportunities. Because each of these opportunities is unique, we may not be able to find a substitute. Several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have already established themselves in the field of genetic diseases. These companies have already begun many drug development programs, some of which may target diseases that we are also targeting, and have already entered into partnering and licensing arrangements with academic research institutions, reducing the pool of available opportunities.
Universities and public and private research institutions also compete with us. While these organizations primarily have educational or basic research objectives, they may develop proprietary technology and acquire patents that we may need for the development of our product candidates. We will attempt to license this proprietary technology, if available. These licenses may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to compete successfully with respect to acquisitions, joint venture and other collaboration opportunities, we may be limited in our ability to develop new products and to continue to expand our product pipeline.
If generic manufacturers use litigation and regulatory means to obtain approval for generic versions of Kuvan, our revenue and results of operations would be adversely affected.
The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, permits the FDA to approve ANDAs for generic versions of branded drugs. We refer to this process as the ANDA process. The ANDA process permits competitor companies to obtain marketing approval for a drug with the same active ingredient as a branded drug, but does not generally require the conduct and submission of clinical efficacy studies for the generic product. In place of such clinical studies, an ANDA applicant usually needs only to submit data demonstrating that its product is bioequivalent to the branded product. Pursuant to
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the Hatch-Waxman Act, companies were permitted to file ANDA applications for proposed generic versions of Kuvan
at any time after December
2011.
We own several patents that cover Kuvan, and we have listed those patents in conjunction with that product in the FDA
’
s Orange Book. The Hatch-Waxman Act requires an ANDA applicant seeking FDA approval of its proposed generic product prior to the expiration of our Orange Book-listed patents to certify that the applicant believes that our patents are invalid or will not be infringed by the manufacture, use or sale of the drug for which the application has been submitted (a paragraph IV certification) and notify us of such certification (a paragraph IV notice). Upon receipt of a paragraph IV notice, the Hatch-Waxman Act allows us, with proper basis, to bring an action for patent infringement against the ANDA filer, asking that the proposed generic product not be approved until after our patents expire. If we commence a lawsuit within 45 days from receipt of the paragraph IV notice, the Hatch-Waxman Act provides a 30-month stay, during which time the FDA cannot finally approve the generic
’
s application. If the litigation is resolved in favor of the ANDA applicant during the 30-month stay period, the stay is lifted and the FDA may approve the ANDA if it is otherwise ready for approval. The discovery, trial and appeals process in such a lawsuit is costly, time consuming, and may result in generic competition if the ANDA applicant prevails. In addition to our patent protection, we have received three-year Hatch-Waxman exclusivity for a New Patient Population for Kuvan that expires in October 2017, including pediatric exclusivity. Thus, depending on the proposed labeling of a generic product, generic versions of Kuvan may be prohibited until October 2017, though it is possible that an ANDA applicant could propose to carve out information in the Kuvan labeling protected by the New Patient Population exclusivity and obtain approval earlier.
We received a paragraph IV notice letter, dated October 3, 2014, from DRL, notifying us that DRL had filed an ANDA seeking approval of a proposed generic version of Kuvan 100 mg oral tablets prior to the expiration of our patents listed in the Orange Book. Additionally, we received a paragraph IV notice letter, dated January 22, 2015, from Par, notifying us that Par has filed an ANDA seeking approval of a proposed generic version of Kuvan 100 mg oral tablets prior to the expiration of our patents listed in the FDA
’
s Orange Book. Together with Merck & Cie, on March 6, 2015 we filed lawsuits against both DRL and Par in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey alleging infringement of our patents relating to Kuvan tablets and seeking an injunction to prevent Par from introducing a generic version of Kuvan tablets that would infringe our patents prior to their expiration. The filing of that lawsuit triggered the automatic 30-month stay on the approval of each ANDA in accordance with the Hatch-Waxman Act, which expires in July 2017. In response, DRL and Par alleged,
inter alia
, that the asserted patents are not infringed and/or are invalid.
In September 2015, we entered into a settlement agreement with DRL that resolved the patent litigation with DRL in the U.S. related to Kuvan 100 mg oral tablets. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, we have granted DRL a non-exclusive license to our Kuvan-related patents to allow DRL to market a generic version of sapropterin dihydrochloride 100 mg tablets in the U.S. for the indications approved for Kuvan beginning at a confidential date in the future, but which is more than five years from the settlement date, or earlier under certain circumstances.
The settlement with DRL does not affect the case against Par, and the litigation against Par is still pending. The Court has set a claim construction hearing for May 5, 2016. The Court has not yet set a date for trial in the litigation against Par.
We also received a paragraph IV notice letter, dated January 14, 2016, from Par, notifying us that Par has filed a separate ANDA seeking approval of a proposed generic version of Kuvan 100 mg oral powder prior to the expiration of our patents listed in the FDA's Orange Book. On February 22, 2016, we filed a lawsuit against Par in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey alleging infringement of our patents relating to Kuvan powder and seeking an injunction to prevent Par from introducing a generic version of Kuvan powder that would infringe our patents prior to their expiration. The filing of that lawsuit triggered the automatic 30-month stay on the approval of Par’s ANDA in accordance with the Hatch-Waxman Act, which expires in July 2018. In response, Par alleged, inter alia, that the asserted patents are not infringed and/or are invalid. The Court has set a scheduling conference for May 4, 2016.
The filing of DRL’s and Par’s purported ANDAs in respect to Kuvan could have an adverse impact on our stock price, and litigation to enforce our patents has, and is likely to continue to, cost a substantial amount and require significant management attention. If the patents covering Kuvan and its use are not upheld in litigation, or if Par is found to not infringe our asserted patents, the resulting generic competition following the expiration of regulatory exclusivity would have a material adverse effect on our revenue and results of operations. Moreover, generic competition from DRL following the settlement described above could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and results of operations.
If we do not achieve our projected development goals in the timeframes we announce and expect, the commercialization of our product candidates may be delayed and the credibility of our management may be adversely affected and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
For planning purposes, we estimate the timing of the accomplishment of various scientific, clinical, regulatory and other product development goals, which we sometimes refer to as milestones. These milestones may include the commencement or completion of scientific studies and clinical trials and the submission of regulatory filings. From time to time, we publicly announce the expected timing of some of these milestones. All of these milestones are based on a variety of assumptions. The actual timing of these milestones can vary dramatically compared to our estimates, in many cases for reasons beyond our control. If we do not meet these
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milestones as publicly announced, the commercialization of our products may be delayed and the credibility of our management may be adversely affected and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
We depend upon our key personnel and our ability to attract and retain employees.
Our future growth and success will depend in large part on our continued ability to attract, retain, manage and motivate our employees. The loss of the services of any member of our senior management or the inability to hire or retain experienced management personnel could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan and harm our operating results.
Because of the specialized scientific and managerial nature of our business, we rely heavily on our ability to attract and retain qualified scientific, technical and managerial personnel. In particular, the loss of one or more of our senior executive officers could be detrimental to us if we do not have an adequate succession plan or if we cannot recruit suitable replacements in a timely manner. While our senior executive officers are parties to employment agreements with us, these agreements do not guarantee that they will remain employed with us in the future. In addition, in many cases, these agreements do not restrict our senior executive officers’ ability to compete with us after their employment is terminated. The competition for qualified personnel in the pharmaceutical field is intense, and there is a limited pool of qualified potential employees to recruit. Due to this intense competition, we may be unable to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel necessary for the development of our business or to recruit suitable replacement personnel. If we are unsuccessful in our recruitment and retention efforts, our business may be harmed.
Our success depends on our ability to manage our growth.
Product candidates that we are currently developing or may acquire in the future may be intended for patient populations that are significantly larger than any of MPS I, MPS VI, PKU or LEMS. In order to continue development and marketing of these products, if approved, we will need to significantly expand our operations. To manage expansion effectively, we need to continue to develop and improve our research and development capabilities, manufacturing and quality capacities, sales and marketing capabilities, financial and administrative systems and standard processes for global operations. Our staff, financial resources, systems, procedures or controls may be inadequate to support our operations and may increase our exposure to regulatory and corruption risks and our management may be unable to manage successfully future market opportunities or our relationships with customers and other third-parties.
Changes in methods of treatment of disease could reduce demand for our products and adversely affect revenues.
Even if our drug products are approved, if doctors elect a course of treatment which does not include our drug products, this decision would reduce demand for our drug products and adversely affect revenues. For example, if gene therapy becomes widely used as a treatment of genetic diseases, the use of enzyme replacement therapy, such as Naglazyme, Vimizim, and Aldurazyme in MPS diseases, could be greatly reduced. Changes in treatment method can be caused by the introduction of other companies’ products or the development of new technologies or surgical procedures which may not directly compete with ours, but which have the effect of changing how doctors decide to treat a disease.
If product liability lawsuits are successfully brought against us, we may incur substantial liabilities.
We are exposed to the potential product liability risks inherent in the testing, manufacturing and marketing of human pharmaceuticals. We currently maintain insurance against product liability lawsuits for the commercial sale of our products and for the clinical trials of our product candidates. Pharmaceutical companies must balance the cost of insurance with the level of coverage based on estimates of potential liability. Historically, the potential liability associated with product liability lawsuits for pharmaceutical products has been unpredictable. Although we believe that our current insurance is a reasonable estimate of our potential liability and represents a commercially reasonable balancing of the level of coverage as compared to the cost of the insurance, we may be subject to claims in connection with our clinical trials and commercial use of our products and product candidates for which our insurance coverage may not be adequate and we may be unable to avoid significant liability if any product liability lawsuit is brought against us. If we are the subject of a successful product liability claim that exceeds the limits of any insurance coverage we obtain, we may incur substantial charges that would adversely affect our earnings and require the commitment of capital resources that might otherwise be available for the development and commercialization of our product programs.
We rely significantly on information technology and any failure, inadequacy, interruption or security lapse of that technology, including any cybersecurity incidents, could harm our ability to operate our business effectively.
We rely significantly on our information technology and manufacturing infrastructure to effectively manage and maintain our inventory and internal reports, to manufacture and ship products to customers and to timely invoice them. Any failure, inadequacy or interruption of that infrastructure or security lapse of that technology, including cybersecurity incidents, could harm our ability to operate our business effectively. Our ability to manage and maintain our inventory and internal reports, to manufacture and ship our products to customers and timely invoice them depends significantly on our enterprise resource planning, production management and other information systems. Cybersecurity attacks in particular are evolving and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in systems, misappropriation of our confidential or otherwise protected information and corruption of data. Cybersecurity incidents resulting in
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the
failure of our enterprise resource planning system, production management or other systems to operate effectively or to integrate with other systems, or a breach in security or other unauthorized access of these systems, may affect our ability to manage a
nd maintain our inventory and internal reports, and result in delays in product fulfillment and reduced efficiency of our operations. A breach in security, unauthorized access resulting in misappropriation, theft, or sabotage with respect to our proprietar
y and confidential information, including research or clinical data, could require significant capital investments to remediate and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
*Our business is affected by macroeconomic conditions.
Various macroeconomic factors could adversely affect our business and the results of our operations and financial condition, including changes in inflation, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates and overall economic conditions and uncertainties, including those resulting from the current and future conditions in the global financial markets. For instance, if inflation or other factors were to significantly increase our business costs, it may not be feasible to pass price increases on to our customers due to the process by which health care providers are reimbursed for our products by the government. Interest rates, the liquidity of the credit markets and the volatility of the capital markets could also affect the value of our investments and our ability to liquidate our investments in order to fund our operations. We purchase or enter into a variety of financial instruments and transactions, including investments in commercial paper, the extension of credit to corporations, institutions and governments and hedging contracts. If any of the issuers or counter parties to these instruments were to default on their obligations, it could materially reduce the value of the transaction and adversely affect our cash flows.
For the three months ended March 31, 2016, 8% of our net product revenues were from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Russia. Approximately 14% of our total accounts receivable as of March 31, 2016, are related to these countries. If the financial conditions of these countries continues to decline, a substantial portion of the receivables may be uncollectable, which would mean we would have to provide for additional allowances for doubtful accounts or cease selling products in these countries, either of which could adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if one or more of these countries were unable to purchase our products, our revenue would be adversely affected. We also sell our products in other countries that face economic crises and local currency devaluation. Although we have historically collected receivables from customers in those countries, sustained weakness or further deterioration of the local economies and currencies may cause our customers in those countries to be unable to pay for our products with the same negative effect on our operations.
Interest rates and the ability to access credit markets could also adversely affect the ability of our customers/distributors to purchase, pay for and effectively distribute our products. Similarly, these macroeconomic factors could affect the ability of our contract manufacturers, sole-source or single-source suppliers to remain in business or otherwise manufacture or supply product. Failure by any of them to remain a going concern could affect our ability to manufacture products.
Recent and future regulatory actions and other events may adversely affect the trading price and liquidity of our senior subordinated convertible notes.
We expect that many investors in, and potential purchasers of, the Notes will employ, or seek to employ, a convertible arbitrage strategy with respect to the Notes. Investors would typically implement such a strategy by selling short the common stock underlying the Notes and dynamically adjusting their short position while continuing to hold the Notes. Investors may also implement this type of strategy by entering into swaps on our common stock in lieu of or in addition to short selling the common stock.
The SEC and other regulatory and self-regulatory authorities have implemented various rules and taken certain actions, and may in the future adopt additional rules and take other actions, that may impact those engaging in short selling activity involving equity securities (including our common stock). Such rules and actions include Rule 201 of SEC Regulation SHO, the adoption by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. of a “Limit Up-Limit Down” program, the imposition of market-wide circuit breakers that halt trading of securities for certain periods following specific market declines, and the implementation of certain regulatory reforms required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Any governmental or regulatory action that restricts the ability of investors in, or potential purchasers of, the Notes to effect short sales of our common stock or enter into swaps on our common stock could adversely affect the trading price and the liquidity of the Notes.
In addition, if investors and potential purchasers seeking to employ a convertible arbitrage strategy are unable to borrow or enter into swaps on our common stock, in each case on commercially reasonable terms, the trading price and liquidity of the Notes may be adversely affected.
Risks Related to our Acquisition of Rights to Kuvan and Pegvaliase (the PKU Franchise)
from Merck Serono
If we are unable to successfully integrate the expanded PKU franchise we acquired from Merck Serono into our existing business operations, our business could be adversely affected.
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We will need to successfully integrate the PKU franchise rights we acquired from
Merck
Serono
with our other business operations. Before the transaction with
Merck
Serono
, we had exclusive rights to Kuvan in the U.S. and Canada and to pegvaliase in the U.S
. and Japan. After the closing of the transaction with
Merck
Serono
, we now have exclusive worldwide rights to Kuvan and pegvaliase, with the exception of Kuvan in Japan. Integrating the expanded PKU business with our existing business will be a complex an
d time-consuming process. There may be substantial difficulties, costs and delays involved in any integration of the expanded PKU business with that of our existing operations. These may include:
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distracting management from day-to-day operations;
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an inability to achieve synergies as planned;
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costs and delays in transitioning activities from
Merck Serono
, particularly with respect to the transfer of the Kuvan marketing authorizations;
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impact of unforeseen country level regulatory changes, delays and actions;
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difficulties in establishing distribution arrangements for Kuvan in all territories;
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reliance on
Merck Serono
to provide critical transition services for sales and distribution of Kuvan until marketing authorizations can be transferred in all countries;
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difficulties with respect to the timing and results of ongoing and future clinical trials of pegvaliase;
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an inability to manufacture both Kuvan and pegvaliase (pending regulatory approval) in the quantity and configuration required for each jurisdiction and intended use; and
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increased challenges in managing our business due to the global expansion of the PKU franchise, including, for example, generic competition to Kuvan.
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Many of these risks may be accentuated because the acquired rights relate to activities outside of the U.S. Any one or all of these factors may increase operating costs or lower anticipated financial performance. Many of these factors are also outside of our control. Achieving anticipated synergies and the potential benefits underlying our reasons for the acquisition will depend on successful integration of the PKU franchise rights. The failure to integrate the expanded PKU business successfully would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The actual impact of the acquisition of the PKU franchise rights on our financial results may be worse than the assumptions we have used.
Even if the integration of the PKU franchise rights is successful, we have made certain assumptions relating to the impact on our financial results in respect of the acquisition. These assumptions relate to numerous matters, including:
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the amount of intangible assets that will result from the acquisition;
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the impact of fair value adjustments to contingent acquisition consideration payable as a result of changes in estimated probability and timing of achieving the milestones;
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acquisition costs, including transaction and integration costs;
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the impact of impairment and other charges if the commercialization of Pegvaliase is unsuccessful; and
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other financial and strategic risks of the acquisition.
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Irrespective of our assumptions, we may incur higher than expected operating, transaction and integration costs, and we may encounter general economic and business conditions that adversely affect us following the acquisition. If one or more of these assumptions are incorrect, it could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results, and the perceived benefits from the acquisition may not be realized.
Risks Related to our Acquisition of Prosensa Holding N.V.
The actual impact of the acquisition of Prosensa on our capital structure and financial results may be worse than the assumptions we have used.
We have made certain assumptions relating to the impact on our capital structure and financial results in respect of the acquisition. These assumptions relate to numerous matters, including:
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our expected capital structure after the acquisition;
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the amount of goodwill and intangibles that will result from the acquisition;
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the impact of fair value adjustments to contingent acquisition consideration payable as a result of changes in estimated probability and timing of achieving the milestones;
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the impact of additional impairment and other charges if the commercialization of Kyndrisa is unsuccessful;
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acquisition costs, including restructuring charges and transaction costs; and
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other financial and strategic risks of the acquisition.
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Irrespective of our assumptions, we may incur higher than expected operating, transaction and integration costs, and we may encounter general economic and business conditions that adversely affect the combined company following the acquisition. If one or more of these assumptions are incorrect, it could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results, and the perceived benefits from the acquisition may not be realized.
We may have exposure to additional tax liabilities as a result of the acquisition of Prosensa.
As a multinational corporation, we are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. Changes in tax laws or tax rulings may have a significantly adverse impact on our effective tax rate. Proposals by the current U.S. administration for fundamental U.S. international tax reform, including without limitation provisions that would limit the ability of U.S. multinationals to defer U.S. taxes on foreign income, if enacted, could have a significant adverse impact on our effective tax rate following the acquisition.
We are subject to a variety of additional risks as a result of the acquisition of Prosensa that may negatively impact our operations.
As a result of the acquisition, we are subject to new and additional risks associated with the business and operations of Prosensa and its global operations. The additional risks we may be exposed to include but are not limited to the following:
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tariffs and trade barriers;
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regulations related to customs and import/export matters (including sanctions);
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tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the jurisdictions in which we already operate;
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operating under regulations in new jurisdictions related to obtaining eligibility for government or private payer reimbursement for our products at the wholesale/retail level;
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cultural and language differences in the new jurisdictions in which we operate;
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complying with additional employment regulations in the new jurisdictions in which we operate; and
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risks related to crimes, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks and wars in new geographical locations.
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We cannot assure you that we will be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we are unable to do so, our operations might suffer.
Additionally, although prior to the acquisition we had international operations, as a result of the acquisition, we operate on an expanded global basis with additional offices or activities in Europe. We will face increased exposure to risks inherent in conducting business internationally, including compliance with international laws and regulations and laws and regulations of the U.S. and various other countries that apply to our international operations. Compliance with these laws and regulations may increase our cost of doing business in foreign jurisdictions. These laws and regulations include laws relating to the pharmaceutical industry, data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, anti-competition regulations, import and trade restrictions, export requirements, U.S. laws such as the FCPA, other U.S. federal statutes and regulations, including those established by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and local laws which prohibit payments to governmental officials. Given the high level of complexity of these laws, however, there is a risk that some provisions may be inadvertently breached by us, for example through fraudulent or negligent behavior of individual employees, our failure to comply with certain formal documentation requirements, or otherwise. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our employees, requirements to obtain export licenses, cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries, implementation of compliance programs, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Any such violations could include prohibitions on our ability to offer our products in one or more countries and could materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our
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business and our operating results. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate these risks and manage these challenges. These factors or any combination of these factors may adversely affect our revenue
or our overall financial performance.
If we are unable to commercialize Kyndrisa or experience significant delays in doing so, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially adversely affected.
Our ability to generate product revenues from our acquisition of Prosensa will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of Kyndrisa, if approved.
In September 2013, Prosensa announced that the Phase 3 clinical trial of Kyndrisa did not meet its primary endpoint. Although we believe that the collective data from Prosensa
’
s various Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials of Kyndrisa, including retrospective and subgroup analyses, provide strong support for concluding that Kyndrisa showed clinically meaningful improvements over placebo in these trials, we cannot be sure that Prosensa
’
s data will be sufficient to obtain regulatory approval in any jurisdiction.
In January 2016 the FDA issued a complete response letter to our NDA for Kyndrisa for the treatment of DMD amenable to exon 51 skipping. The FDA issues complete response letters to indicate that the review cycle for an application is complete and that the application is not ready for approval in its present form. The FDA concluded that the standard of substantial evidence of effectiveness for Kyndrisa had not been met. An MAA for Kyndrisa for the treatment of DMD amenable to exon 51 skipping remains under review in the EU. We anticipate that the CHMP of the EMA will provide an opinion for our MAA for Kyndrisa in the second quarter of 2016. If the CHMP opinion is positive, the MAA will be referred to the EC. The EC is expected to render a final decision for Kyndrisa in the second half of 2016. If the MAA is not approved by the EC, we will not receive marketing authorization for Kyndrisa in the EU and will be unable to sell Kyndrisa in the EU or roll out our international registration strategy for Kyndrisa using the EU approval as the basis of multiple international applications. If our current applications for marketing approval are denied, we may need to conduct additional clinical trials at significant delay and cost or abandon development of Kyndrisa altogether. If we are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval to commercially market and sell Kyndrisa, we may need to write-off all or a significant portion of the costs associated with our acquisition of Prosensa in addition to the impairment charge we recorded in 2015.
Even if we receive regulatory approval for and are able to commercialize Kyndrisa, our success will be subject to the following risks:
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we may not achieve market acceptance of Kyndrisa by physicians, patients and third-party payers;
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Kyndrisa may not have an acceptable safety profile following approval;
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we may not be able to manufacture Kyndrisa in compliance with requirements of the EMA, the FDA and similar regulatory agencies in commercial quantities sufficient to meet market demand;
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we may not achieve sufficient pricing for Kyndrisa to compensate for future development and commercialization costs and to recoup our cost to acquire Prosensa;
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we may not compete successfully with any alternative therapies for DMD; and
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we may not successfully enforce and defend our intellectual property rights and claims.
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The occurrence of any of these events could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our conclusions regarding the efficacy of Kyndrisa are based on retrospective analyses of the results of Prosensa’s clinical trials, and these analyses may be considered less reliable indicators of efficacy than pre-specified analyses.
After determining that it did not achieve the primary efficacy endpoint in the completed Phase 3 clinical trial of Kyndrisa, Prosensa performed retrospective and subgroup analyses of the Phase 3 clinical trial and prior Phase 2 clinical trials of Kyndrisa that we believe provide strong support for concluding that Kyndrisa showed clinically meaningful improvements over placebo in these trials. Although Prosensa believed that these additional analyses were warranted, a retrospective analysis performed after unblinding trial results can result in the introduction of bias if the analysis is inappropriately tailored or influenced by knowledge of the data and actual results. Because of these limitations, regulatory authorities typically give greatest weight to results from pre-specified analyses and less weight to results from post-hoc, retrospective analyses. Thus, this increases the likelihood that we will have to conduct additional clinical trials of Kyndrisa or may need to abandon development of Kyndrisa altogether if our current applications for marketing approval are denied.
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Because Pro
sensa was developing product candidates for the treatment of diseases in which there is little clinical experience and, in some cases, using new endpoints or methodologies, there is more risk that the outcome of clinical trials for Prosensa’s product candi
dates will not be favorable.
There is currently no approved disease-modifying therapy for DMD. In addition, there has been limited historical clinical trial experience generally for the development of drugs to treat the underlying cause of DMD. As a result, the design and conduct of clinical trials for this disease, particularly for drugs to address the underlying cause of this disease, are subject to increased risks. In particular, regulatory authorities in the U.S. and the EU have not issued definitive guidance as to how to measure and achieve efficacy.
In the last several years, the six-minute walk test (6MWT) has been used in several trials of product candidates for patients with DMD, and is accepted by U.S. and European regulators to be an appropriate primary outcome measure for DMD trials. Because of the limited clinical experience in this indication however, regulators have not yet established what difference in the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) is required to be demonstrated in a clinical trial of a DMD therapy in order to signify a clinically meaningful result and/or obtain regulatory approvals. As a result, it is not clear what is required in terms of 6MWD or other end points to obtain regulatory approval for Kyndrisa and our other product candidates acquired from Prosensa. If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials of Kyndrisa, the design of such trials could be subject to such uncertainties.
We could also face similar challenges in designing clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval for future product candidates, including any that we may develop for myotonic dystrophy or Huntington
’
s disease because there is also limited historical clinical trial experience for the development of drugs to treat these diseases.
Our stock price may be volatile, and an investment in our stock could suffer a decline in value.
Our valuation and stock price have no meaningful relationship to current or historical earnings, asset values, book value or many other criteria based on conventional measures of stock value. The market price of our common stock will fluctuate due to factors including:
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product sales and profitability of Vimizim, Naglazyme, Kuvan, Aldurazyme and Firdapse;
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manufacturing, supply or distribution of Vimizim, Naglazyme, Kuvan, Aldurazyme and Firdapse;
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progress of our integration of the PKU franchise rights acquired from
Merck Serono
;
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progress of our product candidates through the regulatory process and our ability to successfully commercialize any such products that receive regulatory approval;
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results of clinical trials, announcements of technological innovations or new products by us or our competitors;
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results relating to our lawsuits against Par to protect our patents relating to Kuvan and generic competition to Kuvan relating to our settlement with DRL;
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government regulatory action affecting our product candidates or our competitors
’
drug products in both the U.S. and non-U.S. countries;
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developments or disputes concerning patent or proprietary rights;
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general market conditions and fluctuations for the emerging growth and pharmaceutical market sectors;
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economic conditions in the U.S. or abroad;
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broad market fluctuations in the U.S., the EU or in other parts of the world;
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actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
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changes in company assessments or financial estimates by securities analysts; and
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sales of our shares of stock by us, our significant shareholders, or members of our management or Board of Directors.
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In the past, following periods of large price declines in the public market price of a company
’
s securities, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against that company. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of management
’
s attention and resources, which would hurt our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities. In addition, our stock price can be materially adversely affected by factors beyond our control, such as
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disruptions in global financial markets or negative trends in the biotechnology sector of the economy, even if our business is o
perating well.
Conversion of the Notes will dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders, including holders who had previously converted their Notes, or may otherwise depress the price of our common stock.
The conversion of some or all of the Notes will dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of any of the Notes.
The Notes may become in the future convertible at the option of their holders prior to their scheduled terms under certain circumstances. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the Notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the Notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.
The capped call transactions may affect the value of the Notes and our common stock.
In connection with the issuance of the 2018 Notes and 2020 Notes, we entered into capped call transactions with respect to 50% of the principal amount of the 2018 Notes and 50% of the principal amount of the 2020 Notes with certain hedge counterparties. The capped call transactions will cover, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments, the aggregate number of shares of common stock underlying 50% of the principal amount of the relevant Notes and are expected generally to reduce potential dilution to the common stock upon conversion of the relevant Notes in excess of the principal amount of such converted Notes. In connection with establishing their initial hedges of the capped call transactions, the hedge counterparties (or their affiliates) entered into various derivative transactions with respect to the common stock concurrently with, and/or purchased the common stock shortly after, the pricing of the relevant notes. The hedge counterparties (or their affiliates) are likely to modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivative transactions with respect to the common stock and/or by purchasing or selling the common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the relevant Notes (and are likely to do so during the settlement averaging period under the relevant capped call transactions, which precedes the maturity date of the relevant Notes, and on or around any earlier conversion date related to a conversion of the relevant Notes).
The effect, if any, of any of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock or the Notes will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time, but any of these activities could adversely affect the value of our common stock, which could affect the value of the Notes and the value of our common stock, if any, that Note holders receive upon any conversion of the Notes.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law may make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult.
We are incorporated in Delaware. Certain anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law and our charter documents as currently in effect may make a change in control of our company more difficult, even if a change in control would be beneficial to the stockholders. Our anti-takeover provisions include provisions in our certificate of incorporation providing that stockholders
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meetings may only be called by our Board of Directors and provisions in our bylaws providing that the stockholders may not take action by written consent and requiring that stockholders that desire to nominate any person for election to our Board of Directors or to make any proposal with respect to business to be conducted at a meeting of our stockholders be submitted in appropriate form to our Secretary within a specified period of time in advance of any such meeting. Additionally, our Board of Directors has the authority to issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the terms of those shares of stock without any further action by our stockholders. The rights of holders of our common stock are subject to the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued. The issuance of preferred stock could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock. Delaware law also prohibits corporations from engaging in a business combination with any holders of 15% or more of their capital stock until the holder has held the stock for three years unless, among other possibilities, our Board of Directors approves the transaction. Our Board of Directors may use these provisions to prevent changes in the management and control of our company. Also, under applicable Delaware law, our Board of Directors may adopt additional anti-takeover measures in the future.
The fundamental change repurchase feature of the Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial attempt to take over our company.
The terms of the Notes require us to repurchase the Notes in the event of a fundamental change. A takeover of our company would trigger options by the respective holders of the applicable Notes to require us to repurchase such Notes. This may have the effect of delaying or preventing a takeover of our company that would otherwise be beneficial to our stockholders or investors in the Notes
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