In the ordinary course of business, the Company may provide indemnification of varying scope and terms to vendors, lessors, business partners and other parties with respect to certain matters including, but not limited to, losses arising out of breach of such agreements or from intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties. In addition, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with members of its executive management team and its board of directors that will require the Company, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is, in many cases, unlimited. To date, the Company has not incurred any material costs as a result of such indemnifications. The Company is not aware of any claims under indemnification arrangements, and therefore it has not accrued any liabilities related to such obligations in its consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2024 or March 31, 2024.
Legal proceedings
The Company is not a party to any litigation and does not have contingency reserves established for any litigation liabilities.
15Income taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements or in the Company's tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the differences between the consolidated financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded in the provision for income taxes. The Company assesses the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and, to the extent it believes, based upon the weight of available evidence, that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is established through a charge to income tax expense. Potential for recovery of deferred tax assets is evaluated by estimating the future taxable profits expected and considering prudent and feasible tax planning strategies.
The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in the consolidated financial statements by applying a two-step process to determine the amount of tax benefit to be recognized. First, the tax position must be evaluated to determine the likelihood that it will be sustained upon external examination by the taxing authorities. If the tax position is deemed more-likely-than-not to be sustained, the tax position is then assessed to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the consolidated financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of any resulting tax reserves, or unrecognized tax benefits, that are considered appropriate as well as the related net interest and penalties.
16Geographic information
The Company operates in two geographic regions: the United States (Massachusetts) and the United Kingdom (Oxfordshire). Information about the Company’s long-lived assets held in different geographic regions is presented in the tables below:
Item 2. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations.
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, or this Quarterly Report, and with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended March 31, 2024, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.
In addition to historical information, some of the statements contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. The following information and any forward-looking statements should be considered in light of factors discussed elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, particularly including those risks identified in Part II, Item 1A “Risk Factors” and our other filings with the Securities Exchange Commission, or SEC.
We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report. Statements made herein are as of the date of the filing of this Quarterly Report with the SEC and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods. We disclaim any obligation, except as specifically required by law and the rules of the SEC, to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Overview
General
We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to applying our leading expertise in the field of oncolytic immunotherapy to transform the lives of cancer patients through our novel oncolytic immunotherapies. Our proprietary oncolytic immunotherapy product candidates are intended to maximally activate the immune system against cancer.
Oncolytic immunotherapy is an emerging drug class, which we intend to establish as the second cornerstone of immune-based cancer treatments, alongside checkpoint blockade. Oncolytic immunotherapy exploits the ability of certain viruses to selectively replicate in and directly kill tumors, as well as induce a potent, patient-specific, anti-tumor immune response. Our product candidates incorporate multiple mechanisms of action into a practical “off-the-shelf” approach that is intended to maximize the immune response against a patient’s cancer and to offer significant advantages over other approaches to inducing anti-tumor immunity, including personalized vaccine approaches. We believe that the bundling of multiple approaches for the treatment of cancer into single therapies will increase clinical efficacy and simplify the development path of our product candidates, while also improving patient outcomes.
Our proprietary RPx platform is based on a novel, engineered strain of herpes simplex virus 1, or HSV-1, backbone with payloads added to maximize immunogenic cell death and the induction of a systemic anti-tumor immune response. The RPx platform is intended to have unique dual local and systemic activity consisting of direct selective virus-mediated killing of the tumor resulting in the release of tumor-derived antigens and altering of the tumor microenvironment to ignite a strong and durable systemic response. Our product candidates are expected to be synergistic with most established and experimental cancer treatment modalities, and, with an attractive safety profile the RPx platform is expected to have the versatility to be developed alone or combined with a variety of other treatment options. We currently have three RPx product candidates in our development pipeline, RP1 (vusolimogene oderparepvec), our lead product candidate, RP2 and RP3. Although our fiscal year ends March 31st, our programs and program updates are reported on a calendar year basis.
We are conducting a number of clinical trials of RP1, both as a monotherapy and in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy, with a focus on establishing a major skin cancer franchise.
Our leading clinical trial of RP1 is our IGNYTE trial, a multi-cohort Phase 1/2 clinical trial being conducted in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Company, or BMS, under which BMS has granted us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to, and is supplying at no cost, its anti-PD-1 therapy, nivolumab, for use in combination with RP1. The leading tumor
specific cohort in the IGNYTE trial is our registration directed Phase 2 expansion cohort enrolling patients with anti-PD-1 failed cutaneous melanoma who are being treated with RP1 in combination with nivolumab. The anti-PD1 failed melanoma cohort from the IGNYTE clinical trial includes 140 patients who received RP1 plus nivolumab after confirmed progression while being treated with at least 8 weeks of prior anti-PD1 therapy (+/- anti-CTLA-4). The primary analysis by independent central review was triggered once all patients had been followed for at least 12 months. The topline results showed the overall response rate, or ORR, was 33.6% by modified RECIST 1.1 criteria, the primary endpoint as defined in the protocol, and 32.9% by RECIST 1.1 criteria, an additional analysis requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. Responses from baseline were highly durable with 85% of responses lasting more than 12 months. The median duration of response from baseline was 27.6 months and the median duration of response from treatment initiation was 21.6 months. RP1 combined with nivolumab continues to be well-tolerated, with mainly Grade 1-2 “on target” side effects, observed. In September 2024, we presented the independently reviewed data from the IGNYTE clinical trial, including key secondary endpoints and subgroup analyses as a late-breaking abstract during an oral session at the European Society for Medical Oncology, or ESMO. Data presented at ESMO showed activity across all subgroups, including patients who had prior anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA-4 treatment had an ORR of 27.7% and patients who had primary resistance to anti-PD1 had an ORR of 35.9% by modified RECIST v1.1.
Following a Type C meeting with the FDA, a confirmatory study design concept consisting of a 2-arm randomized trial with physician’s choice of treatment as a comparator arm in anti-PD1 failed melanoma patients, or the IGNYTE-3 trial, was agreed. The FDA requested that the Phase 3 confirmatory IGNYTE-3 trial be underway at the time of a BLA submission under the accelerated approval pathway. In May 2024, we reported completing a successful Type C meeting with the FDA that confirmed alignment on our Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls, or CMC, plans to support an IGNYTE anti-PD1 failed melanoma BLA submission. In August 2024, we announced the dosing of the first patient in our IGNYTE-3 trial and in September 2024, we announced completion of a successful pre-BLA meeting with the FDA that supports our plans to submit a BLA for RP1 for the treatment of anti-PD1 failed melanoma under the accelerated approval pathway before the end of the year.
In our non-melanoma skin cancer, or NMSC, cohort of the IGNYTE clinical trial, we provided a data update in December 2023 from the first 30 patients with at least 6 months of follow up including patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, or CSCC, Merkel cell carcinoma, or MCC, basal cell carcinoma, and angiosarcoma in this cohort. The data showed that treatment with RP1 in combination with nivolumab led to an ORR of 30% which is consistent with data from the anti-PD1 failed melanoma cohort with approximately one-third of patients responding and 60% demonstrating clinical benefit. The combination of RP1 and nivolumab was well tolerated in this patient population with a safety profile consistent with the overall experience seen with this treatment regimen to date. Enrollment remains open in this cohort.
Furthering development of our RP1 clinical candidate, we have open for enrollment a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of single agent RP1 in solid organ transplant recipients with skin cancers, including CSCC, which is referred to herein as ARTACUS or the ARTACUS trial, which we believe to be potentially registrational (in its own right or, subject to discussion with regulatory authorities, following enrollment of additional patients, including as a potential label expansion after an initial approval of RP1 in a different indication). We are currently enrolling up to 65 patients in the ARTACUS trial to assess the safety and efficacy of RP1 in liver, kidney, heart, lung, and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients with skin cancers. In November 2023 we presented initial data from the ARTACUS clinical trial of RP1 monotherapy in solid organ transplant recipients with skin cancers at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 38th Annual Meeting. The data included 23 evaluable patients with CSCC (n=20) and Merkel cell carcinoma (n=3), demonstrating an overall response rate, or ORR of 34.5% and a complete response, or CR of 21%. RP1 monotherapy was well tolerated in these patients and the safety profile was similar to that observed in our other RP1 clinical trials in patients who are not immune suppressed. No immune-mediated adverse events or evidence of allograft rejection were observed. This data was also presented during oral presentation at the American Association of Cancer Research 2024 Annual Meeting in April 2024. We continue to enroll patients into this trial.
As previously reported, the CERPASS clinical trial of RP1 in patients with CSCC continues as planned to assess duration of response, or DOR, progression free survival and overall survival with greater maturity.
We are also developing or have been developing additional product candidates, RP2 and RP3, that have been further engineered to enhance anti-tumor immune responses and are intended to address additional tumor types, including traditionally less immune responsive tumor types. In addition to the expression of GALV-GP R(-) and human GM-CSF as in RP1, RP2 has been engineered to express an antibody-like molecule intended to block the activity of CTLA-4, a protein that inhibits the full activation of an immune response, including to tumors. RP3 has been engineered with the intent to further stimulate an anti-tumor immune response through activation of immune co-stimulatory pathways through the additional expression of the ligands for CD40 and 4-1BBL, as well as anti-CTLA-4 and GALV-GP R(-), but without the expression of GM-CSF.
We continue the development of our clinical candidate RP2 with a focus on establishing a rare cancer franchise. Notably, as previously reported, from our Phase-1 clinical trial of RP2 alone and in combination with nivolumab, we have seen durable responses from a monotherapy cohort in a variety of difficult to treat tumors as well as in combination with anti-PD1 and in particular in patients with uveal melanoma. In November 2023, we presented updated data from a cohort of metastatic uveal melanoma patients during a Plenary Session at the 20th Annual International Society for Melanoma Research Congress.
The updated data showed RP2 led to an ORR of 29.4% (5 of 17 patients; one of the responding patients was treated with RP2 monotherapy and four of the responding patients were treated with RP2 combined with nivolumab), including responses in patients with liver, lung, and bone metastases. The median DOR at the data cutoff was 11.47 months (range of 2.78 to 21.22 with responses ongoing). Nearly all patients (15 of 17, or 88.2%) in the study had progressed on or after immunotherapy with 12 of 17 patients (70.6%) having previously received both anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA-4 therapies, including four of the responding patients. RP2 was generally well tolerated both as monotherapy and in combination with nivolumab with no additive adverse events observed. The most common grade 1 or 2 treatment related adverse events, or TRAEs, overall in both cohorts were pyrexia, chills, fatigue, hypotension and pruritis. Six patients had grade 3 TRAEs, including two cases of hypotension. There were no grade 4 or 5 TRAEs. In June 2024, we presented that the disease control rate for this cohort of patients was 58.8%. We are initiating our registration-directed study of RP2 in metastatic uveal melanoma in patients who are immune checkpoints inhibitor-naïve. The study is a randomized trial of RP2 in combination with nivolumab vs. ipilimumab and nivolumab, or nivolumab for those ineligible for ipilimumab and we anticipate dosing initiation in the first quarter of 2025.
The Company continues its signal finding trial of RP2 in combination with atezolizumab and bevacizumab in the 2L setting of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in collaboration with Roche. This Phase 2 clinical trial is currently open for enrollment and is actively screening patients.
RP1, RP2 and RP3 are administered by direct injection into solid tumors, guided either visually or by ultrasound, computerized tomography or other imaging methods. We believe that direct injection maximizes virus-mediated tumor cell death, provides the most efficient delivery of virus-encoded immune activating proteins into the tumor with the goal of activating systemic immunity, and limits the systemic toxicities that could be associated with intravenous administration. Activation of systemic immunity through local administration is intended to lead to the induction of anti-tumor immune responses leading to clinical response of tumors that have not themselves been injected.
Financial
Since our inception, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to developing our proprietary RPx platform, building our intellectual property portfolio, conducting research and development of our product candidates, business planning, raising capital and providing general and administrative support for our operations. To date, we have incurred significant operating losses and we have financed our operations primarily with proceeds from the sale of equity securities and to a lesser extent, the proceeds from the issuance of debt securities. Our ability to generate product revenue sufficient to achieve profitability will depend on the successful development and eventual commercialization of one or more of our product candidates. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales.
We expense research and development costs as incurred. We recognize external development costs based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information provided to us by our service providers. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual agreements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected in our consolidated financial statements as prepaid or accrued research and development expenses.
Our direct external research and development expenses are tracked on a program-by-program basis and consist of costs, such as fees paid to consultants, contractors, CMOs, and CROs in connection with our preclinical and clinical development activities. We do not allocate personnel costs, costs associated with our discovery efforts, laboratory supplies or other indirect costs, to specific product development programs because these costs are deployed across multiple product development programs and, as such, are not separately classified. Non-employee costs associated with our manufacturing facility including depreciation, amortization and facility costs are appropriately allocated to development programs based on the percentage of time spent per program.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect that our research and development expenses will continue to increase for the foreseeable future as we continue enrollment and initiate additional clinical trials and continue to discover and develop additional product candidates. The successful development and commercialization of our product candidates is highly uncertain. This is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development and commercialization, including the following:
•the scope, rate of progress, expense and results of our ongoing clinical trials, as well as future clinical trials or other product candidates and other research and development activities that we may conduct;
•the number and scope of preclinical and clinical programs we decide to pursue;
•our ability to maintain our current research and development programs and to establish new ones;
•uncertainties in clinical trial design;
•the rate of enrollment in clinical trials;
•the successful completion of clinical trials with safety, tolerability, and efficacy profiles that are satisfactory to the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority;
•the receipt of regulatory approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;
•our success in operating our manufacturing facility, or securing manufacturing supply through relationships with third parties;
•our ability to obtain and maintain patents, trade secret protection, and regulatory exclusivity, both in the United States and internationally;
•our ability to maintain, expand, protect and defend our rights in our intellectual property portfolio;
•the commercialization of our product candidates, if and when approved;
•the acceptance of our product candidates, if approved, by patients, the medical community, and third-party payors;
•our ability to successfully develop our product candidates for use in combination with third-party products or product candidates;
•negative developments in the field of immuno-oncology;
•competition with other products; and
•significant and changing government regulation and regulatory guidance.
A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of a product candidate could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of that product candidate. For example, if the FDA or another regulatory authority were to require us to conduct clinical trials beyond those that we anticipate will be required for the completion of clinical development of a product candidate, or if we experience significant trial delays due to patient enrollment or other reasons, we could be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development. We may never succeed in obtaining regulatory approval for any of our product candidates.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel in our executive, finance, corporate, commercial and business development and administrative functions. Selling, general and administrative expenses also include professional fees for legal, patent, accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services, pre-commercial planning, travel expenses, and facility-related expenses, which include direct depreciation costs and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities and other operating costs.
We expect that our selling, general and administrative expenses will continue to increase in the future as we increase our selling, general and administrative headcount to support our continued research and development and pre-launch activities to prepare for potential commercialization of our product candidates. We also expect to continue to incur increased expenses, including accounting, audit, legal, regulatory and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with exchange listing and SEC requirements; director and officer insurance costs; and investor and public relations costs.
Other income (expense), net
Research and development incentives
Research and development incentives consists of reimbursements of research and development expenditures. We participate, through our subsidiary in the United Kingdom, in the research and development program provided by the United Kingdom tax relief program, such that a percentage of up to 14.5% of our qualifying research and development expenditures are reimbursed by the United Kingdom government, and such incentives are reflected as other income.
Investment income
Investment income consists of income earned on our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments.
Interest expense on debt obligations
Interest expense on debt obligations consists of the amortization of debt discount and cash paid for interest under the loan agreement with Hercules.
Interest expense on finance lease liability
Interest expense on finance lease liability consists of amortization of finance charges under our financing lease.
Other income (expense), net consists primarily of realized and unrealized foreign currency transaction gains and losses.
Income taxes
During the three and six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded no income tax benefits for the net operating losses incurred in the United Kingdom in each period due to its uncertainty of realizing a benefit from those items.
The Company’s tax provision and the resulting effective tax rate for interim periods is determined based upon its estimated annual effective tax rate (“AETR”), adjusted for the effect of discrete items arising in that quarter. The impact of such inclusions could result in a higher or lower effective tax rate during a particular quarter, based upon the mix and timing of actual earnings or losses versus annual projections. In each quarter, the Company updates its estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and if the estimated annual tax rate changes, a cumulative adjustment is made in that quarter. For the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company excluded the United Kingdom from the calculation of the AETR as the Company anticipates an ordinary loss in this jurisdiction for which no tax benefit can be recognized.
The Company has evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon its ability to realize its deferred tax assets both in the United States and United Kingdom, which primarily consist of net operating loss carryforwards. The Company has considered its history of cumulative net losses, estimated future taxable income and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies and has concluded that it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize the benefits of its deferred tax assets. As a result, as of September 30, 2024 and March 31, 2024, the Company has recorded a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets.
Results of operations
Comparison of the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
The following chart summarizes our results of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023:
Three Months Ended
September 30,
2024
2023
Change
(Amounts in thousands)
Operating expenses:
Research and development
$
43,448
$
49,101
$
(5,653)
Selling, general and administrative
15,468
14,730
738
Total operating expenses
58,916
63,831
(4,915)
Loss from operations
(58,916)
(63,831)
4,915
Other income (expense):
Research and development incentives
408
443
(35)
Investment income
5,394
6,049
(655)
Interest expense on finance lease liability
(531)
(542)
11
Interest expense on debt obligations
(1,438)
(955)
(483)
Other income (expense)
2,028
(1,409)
3,437
Total other income (expense), net
5,861
3,586
2,275
Loss before income taxes
$
(53,055)
$
(60,245)
$
7,190
Income tax provision
$
—
$
(201)
$
201
Net loss
$
(53,055)
$
(60,044)
$
6,989
Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2024 were $43.4 million, compared to $49.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023. The following table summarizes our research and development expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023:
Direct research and development expenses by program:
RP1
11,351
16,623
(5,272)
RP2
1,829
2,895
(1,066)
RP3
1,118
4,156
(3,038)
Unallocated research and development expenses:
—
Personnel related (including stock-based compensation)
20,817
20,677
140
Other
8,333
4,750
3,583
Total research and development expenses
$
43,448
$
49,101
$
(5,653)
The overall decrease of $5.7 million in total research and development expenses was driven by a decrease of $9.4 million in direct research costs as a result of the wind down of the CERPASS and IGNYTE phase II studies, as well as the Company's reprioritization spending during the first half of the fiscal year. More specifically, the decrease of $5.3 million in costs related to RP1 is the result of decreased enrollment as patients come off the CERPASS and IGNYTE phase II studies, whereas the Company has not yet ramped up costs for IGNYTE phase III. The decrease of $3.0 million in costs related to RP3 is a reflection of the deprioritization of development efforts on this product candidate, which the Company began to taper in the second half of the prior fiscal year. Spending for RP2 decreased by approximately $1.1 million primarily as a result of allocated costs which were focused on both RP1 and RP2 in the prior year that are not allocated directly to trials in the current year, as the manufacturing team was focused on pre-approval inspections and BLA preparedness.
Moreover, the increase of approximately $3.7 million in our unallocated expenses is driven by a $3.6 million increase in other costs attributable to increased facility costs, consultants and medical affairs, some of which were previously allocated to RP1 and RP2. As noted above, during the second quarter, these costs were not allocated directly to trials, as the manufacturing team was focused on pre-approval inspections and BLA preparedness.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $15.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $14.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023. The increase of $0.7 million is primarily the result of an increase of $0.5 million in personnel related costs, including an increase of $0.6 million in payroll and fringe benefits, slightly offset by a $0.1 million decrease in stock compensation. The increase in personnel related costs during the quarter was driven by additional hiring in our selling, general and administrative functions, focusing on additional pre-launch planning and initial build of the Company's commercial infrastructure.
Total other income (expense), net
Other income (expense), net was $5.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to a net income of $3.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023. The net change of $2.3 million is primarily attributable to a decrease in expense of $3.4 million in the current quarter compared to the prior year due to exchange rate fluctuations related to the changes in foreign exchange rates of the British Pound Sterling to the United States Dollar, specifically on intercompany and other non-functional currency transactions. This is somewhat offset by a decrease in investment income of approximately $0.7 million as a result of a lower investment balance year over year.
Income tax provision
The income tax provision for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023, was $0.0 million and $(0.2) million, respectively. There was no income tax provision booked during the three months ended September 30, 2024 as a result of a forecasted U.S. loss for the year. The income tax provision booked for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to forecasted U.S. taxable income for the year that was not fully offset by available net operating loss carryforwards.
Comparison of the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
The following chart summarizes our results of operations for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023:
Research and development expenses for the six months ended September 30, 2024 were $86,420, compared to $89.5 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023. The following table summarizes our research and development expenses for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023:
Six Months Ended September 30,
2024
2023
Change
Direct research and development expenses by program:
RP1
23,010
28,919
(5,909)
RP2
3,913
4,181
(268)
RP3
2,422
8,096
(5,674)
Unallocated research and development expenses:
—
Personnel related (including stock-based compensation)
42,603
38,704
3,899
Other
14,472
9,638
4,834
Total research and development expenses
$
86,420
$
89,538
$
(3,118)
The total decrease of $3.1 million in research and development expenses was driven by a decrease of approximately $11.9 million in our direct research and development costs as a result of a decrease of $5.9 million in RP1 as a result of the wind down of the CERPASS and IGNYTE phase II studies, as a result of declining enrollment in the CERPASS and IGNYTE phase II studies as these studies wind down, whereas the Company has not yet ramped up costs for the IGNYTE phase III study. In addition, in the first half of the prior year, the Company incurred costs related to manufacturing batches for RP1, as well as significant costs in the areas of CROs, investigators and imaging costs in preparation of the primary data release and potential BLA filing, which did not recur in the current year. The decrease of $5.7 million in RP3 is a reflection of the deprioritization of development efforts on this product candidate, which the Company began to taper in the second half of the prior fiscal year.
The increase in unallocated expenses is $8.7 million, including $4.8 million in other costs and $3.9 million in other personnel-related costs. The increase in other costs is driven primarily by an increase in consulting costs, facility costs and medical affairs, combined with additional allocated expenses which were focused on both RP1 and RP2 in the prior year that are not allocated directly to trials in the current year as a result of manufacturing's focus on BLA preparedness and pre-approval inspections. The increase in personnel-related costs is attributable to a $3.3 million increase in payroll and fringe benefits and a stock-based compensation increase of $0.6 million. The increase in personnel-related costs largely reflected the hiring of additional personnel in our research and development functions as we expand the development plan in multiple indications.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $29.9 million for the six months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $29.9 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023. Sales, general and administrative costs are relatively flat year over year with an overall decrease of $0.1 million. This overall decrease includes an increase of $1.8 million in sales and marketing and consulting costs, offset by a decrease of $1.4 million in facility, recruitment and other variable costs and a decrease of $0.3 million in personnel related costs, driven by lower stock prices decreasing stock-based compensation on a year over year basis.
Total other income (expense), net
Other income (expense), net was $9.5 million for the six months ended September 30, 2024, compared to a net income of $9.9 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023. The net change of $0.4 million is primarily attributable to a decrease in expense of $2.5 million in the current year compared to the prior year due to exchange rate fluctuations related to the changes in foreign exchange rates of the British Pound Sterling to the United States Dollar, specifically on intercompany and other non-functional currency transactions, offset by a decrease in investment income of $2.1 million as a result of a lower investment balance year over year, and an increase in interest expense on debt obligations in the amount of $0.8 million as a result of a higher debt balance during the current year vs. the first half of the prior year as the additional draw down occurred during the third quarter of the prior year.
Liquidity and capital resources
Since our inception, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from our operations. We have not yet commercialized any of our product candidates, which are in various phases of preclinical and clinical development, and we do not expect to generate revenue from sales of any products for the foreseeable future, if at all.
Sources of liquidity
To date, we have financed our operations primarily with proceeds from the sale of equity securities and, to a lesser extent, proceeds from borrowing under a secured loan facility. Through September 30, 2024, we had received net proceeds of $945.7 million through the sale of shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants exercisable for common stock in public offerings, a private investment in a public entity, and at-the-market offerings, as well as net $42.8 million from our incurrence of debt under the term loan agreement with Hercules. As of September 30, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $432.1 million.
Cash flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for each of the periods presented:
Six Months Ended September 30,
2024
2023
(Amounts in thousands)
Net cash used in operating activities
$
(87,806)
$
(92,178)
Net cash provided by investing activities
30,224
20,044
Net cash provided by financing activities
96,598
1,543
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
26
(3)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
$
39,042
$
(70,594)
Operating activities
During the six months ended September 30, 2024, net cash used in operating activities was $87.8 million, primarily resulting from our net loss of $106.8 million partially offset by non-cash charges of $12.9 million, which primarily consist of stock-based compensation expense of $18.1 million, somewhat offset by net amortization of premiums and discounts on short-term investments of $5.2 million, and an increase in cash of $6.1 million related to changes in our operating assets and
liabilities. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities for the six months ended September 30, 2024 consisted primarily of a $5.8 million increase in accounts payable, a $2.8 million decrease in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, a $2.2 million decrease in research and development incentives receivable from the United Kingdom government due to the timing and amount of our qualifying expenditures, and a net $1.2 million change in operating and financing right-of-use assets and lease liabilities.
During the six months ended September 30, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $92.2 million, primarily resulting from our net loss of $109.6 million, partially offset by non-cash charges of $13.3 million, which primarily consist of stock-based compensation expense of $18.0 million, somewhat offset by net amortization of premiums and discounts on short-term investments of $6.5 million, and an increase in cash of $4.1 million related to changes in our operating assets and liabilities. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities for the six months ended September 30, 2023 consisted primarily of a $7.0 million increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, a $2.2 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets, a net $1.2 million change in operating and financing right-of-use assets and lease liabilities, a $1.0 million decrease in accounts payable, and a $0.8 million increase in research and development incentives receivable from the United Kingdom government due to the timing and amount of our qualifying expenditures.
Investing activities
During the six months ended September 30, 2024, net cash provided by investing activities was $30.2 million, consisting of $228.9 million in proceeds from sales and maturities of short-term investments, partially offset by $194.9 million in purchases of available for sale securities, and $3.8 million in purchases of property, plant and equipment and capitalized software.
During the six months ended September 30, 2023, net cash provided by investing activities was $20.0 million, consisting of $303.5 million in proceeds from sales and maturities of short-term investments, partially offset by $281.2 million in purchases of available for sale securities, and $2.2 million in purchases of property, plant and equipment and capitalized software.
Financing Activities
During the six months ended September 30, 2024, net cash provided by financing activities was $96.6 million, consisting primarily of $96.7 million in proceeds from the Company's private investment in a public entity in June 2024.
During the six months ended September 30, 2023, net cash provided by financing activities was $1.5 million, consisting primarily of $1.8 million in proceeds from the exercise of stock options.
Funding requirements
Our plan of operation is to continue implementing our business strategy, continue research and development of RP1 and our other product candidates and continue to expand our research pipeline and our internal research and development capabilities. We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance the preclinical activities and clinical trials of our product candidates and if and as we:
•conduct our current and future clinical trials with RP1, RP2 and RP3;
•further preclinical development of our RPx platform;
•operate, qualify and maintain our in-house manufacturing facility and qualify and maintain our product candidates made therein for use in our clinical trials;
•seek to identify and develop additional product candidates;
•seek marketing approvals for any of our product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials, if any;
•establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we may obtain marketing approval;
•until our planned manufacturing facility is fully validated, continued limited manufacturing by third parties for clinical development.
•maintain, expand, protect and defend our intellectual property portfolio;
•hire and retain additional clinical, quality control, scientific and general and administration personnel;
•acquire or in-license other drugs, technologies or third-party intellectual property; and
•add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our research and development programs, any future commercialization efforts and operations as a public company.
As of September 30, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $432.1 million. Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of September 30, 2024, will enable us to fund operations into the second half of 2026 which includes scale up for the commercialization of RP1 in skin cancers and for working capital and general corporate purposes. We have based these estimates on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we expect.
Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development of RP1 and other product candidates and programs, and because the extent to which we may enter into collaborations with third parties for development of our product candidates is unknown, we are unable to estimate the timing and amounts of increased capital outlays and operating expenses associated with completing the research and development of our product candidates. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including those described in this section and above under “—Operating expenses—Research and development expenses.”
Developing novel biopharmaceutical products, including conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain marketing approval for any product candidates or generate revenue from the sale of any products for which we may obtain marketing approval. In addition, our product candidates, if approved, may not achieve commercial success. Our commercial revenues, if any, will be derived from sales of therapies that we do not expect to be commercially available for many years, if ever. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funds to achieve our business objectives.
Adequate additional funds may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. We do not currently have any committed external source of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of our equity or convertible debt securities, our shareholders’ interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect the rights of our common stockholder. Additional debt or preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring debt adversely impact our ability to conduct our business, and may require the issuance of warrants, which could potentially dilute your ownership interest.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technology, future revenue streams, research programs, or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce and/or terminate our product development programs or any future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
Contractual obligations and commitments
During the six months ended September 30, 2024, there were no material changes to our contractual obligations and commitments from those described under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Contractual Obligations and Commitments” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2024, which was filed with the SEC on May 16, 2024.
Collaborations
BMS
In February 2018, we entered into a Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement with BMS. Pursuant to the agreement, BMS is providing to us, at no cost, nivolumab, its anti-PD-1 therapy, for use in combination with RP1 in our ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial. Under the agreement, we will sponsor, fund and conduct the clinical trial in accordance with an
agreed-upon protocol. BMS granted us a non-exclusive, non-transferrable, royalty-free license (with a right to sublicense) under its intellectual property to use nivolumab in the clinical trial and has agreed to supply nivolumab, at no cost to us, for use in the clinical trial. Both parties will own the study data produced in the clinical trial, other than study data related solely to nivolumab, which will belong solely to BMS, or study data related solely to RP1, which will belong solely to us. In January 2020, this agreement was expanded to cover an additional cohort of 125 patients with anti-PD-1 failed melanoma.
Unless earlier terminated, the agreement will remain in effect until (i) the completion of the clinical trial, (ii) all related clinical trial data have been delivered to both parties and (iii) the completion of any statistical analyses and bioanalyses contemplated by the clinical trial protocol or any analysis otherwise agreed upon by the parties. The agreement may be terminated by either party (x) in the event of an uncured material breach by the other party, (y) in the event the other party is insolvent or in bankruptcy proceedings or (z) for safety reasons. Upon termination, the licenses granted to us to use nivolumab in the clinical trial will terminate. The agreement contains representations, warranties, undertakings and indemnities customary for a transaction of this nature.
In April 2019, we entered into a separate agreement with BMS on terms similar to the terms set forth in the agreement described above, pursuant to which BMS will provide, at no cost to us, nivolumab for use in our Phase 1 clinical trial of RP2 in combination with nivolumab.
Regeneron
In May 2018, we entered into a Master Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement with Regeneron. Pursuant to the agreement we agreed to undertake one or more clinical trials with Regeneron for the administration of our product candidates in combination with cemiplimab, an anti-PD-1 therapy developed by Regeneron, across multiple solid tumor types, the first of which, agreed in June 2018, is our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial testing RP1 in combination with cemiplimab versus cemiplimab alone in patients with CSCC. Each clinical trial will be conducted pursuant to an agreed study plan which, among other things, will identify the name of the sponsor and which party will manage the particular study, and include the protocol, the budget and a schedule of clinical obligations. The first study plan related to the Phase 2 clinical trial in CSCC has been agreed.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, each party granted the other party a non-exclusive license of their respective intellectual property and agreed to contribute the necessary resources needed to fulfill their respective obligations, in each case, under the terms of agreed study plans. Development costs of an agreed study plan will be split equally. In July 2022, Regeneron informed the Company that the costs of the study have reached the initial budget for the initial study plan of June 2018 and that Regeneron's reimbursement of CERPASS study costs to the Company have completed in the period ending June 30, 2022 in relation to the initial study budget. As a result of this notice from, and the ongoing communications with, Regeneron, we have not recorded any cost-sharing reimbursements from Regeneron in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheet or as an offset to research and development expense within the consolidated statement of operations since Regeneron informed us that Regeneron’s reimbursement of CERPASS study costs have completed. The Company does not expect any further reimbursements from Regeneron related to the initial study plan of June 2018. The agreement contains representations, warranties, undertakings and indemnities customary for a transaction of this nature. The agreement also contains certain time-based covenants that restrict us from entering into a third-party arrangement with respect to the use of our product candidates in combination with an anti-PD-1 therapy and that restrict Regeneron from entering into a third-party arrangement with respect to the use of cemiplimab in combination with an HSV-1 virus, in each case, for the treatment of a tumor type that is the subject of a clinical trial to which the covenants apply. Unless otherwise mutually agreed in a future study plan, these covenants are only applicable to our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial in CSCC.
The agreement may be terminated by either party if (i) there is no active study plan for which a final study report has not been completed and the parties have not entered into a study plan for an additional clinical trial within a period of time after the delivery of the most recent final study report or (ii) in the event of a material breach.
Roche
In December 2022, we announced entering into a Master Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement with Roche in relation to our RP2 and RP3 programs in colorectal cancer, or CRC, and hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC. Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate in two 30 patient cohort signal finding studies in third-line, or 3L, CRC and in two 15 patient cohort signal finding studies in second-line, or 2L, HCC. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will share costs and Roche will supply its currently approved drugs, atezolizumab and bevacizumab for 2L HCC and 3L CRC combined with RP3. Roche will also supply atezolizumab and bevacizumab for 2L HCC and 3L CRC combined with RP2. We have retained the responsibility of operating the clinical trials as well as retaining all the rights to the development and
commercialization of our product candidates. The agreement may be terminated by either party upon sixty (60) days prior written notice to the other party. We are in discussions with Roche about revising these agreements following our changes to our RP2 and RP3 development plans.
Incyte
In July 2023, we entered into a Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement with Incyte Corporation, or Incyte. Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate in a signal finding study in which Incyte will initiate and sponsor a clinical trial of INCB99280 (oral PD-L1 inhibitor) and RP1 in approximately 40 patients with unresectable, high risk CSCC in the neoadjuvant setting. Under the terms of the agreement, we will supply Incyte with RP1 for the study and share costs of the study equally with Incyte. The agreement may be terminated by either party upon (i) a material breach not reasonably cured within thirty (30) days; (ii) the discontinuation of development of its clinical drug candidate; (iii) the unethical or illegal business practices of the other party; or (iv) if the parties have not agreed on the protocol or budget within ninety (90) days of the effective date of the agreement. In addition, the Company may terminate the agreement upon the inappropriate or unsafe use of the RP1 product candidate. On July 30, 2024, Incyte announced it has discontinued further development of its oral small molecule PD-L1 inhibitor, which was the intended study drug in the Company's planned collaboration with Incyte. On August 1, 2024, the Company received notice of termination of the Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement from Incyte.
Critical accounting policies and estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, costs and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While our significant accounting policies are described in greater detail in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, we believe that the following accounting policies are those most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Accrued research and development expenses
As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our accrued research and development expenses. This process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with our personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual costs. The majority of our service providers invoice us in arrears for services performed, on a pre-determined schedule or when contractual milestones are met; however, some require advanced payments. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date in the consolidated financial statements based on facts and circumstances known to us at that time. Examples of estimated accrued research and development expenses include fees paid to:
•CROs in connection with performing research activities and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials on our behalf;
•CMOs in connection with the production of preclinical and clinical trial materials;
•investigative sites or other service providers in connection with clinical trials;
•vendors in connection with preclinical and clinical development activities; and
•vendors related to product manufacturing and development and distribution of preclinical and clinical supplies.
We base our expenses related to preclinical studies and clinical trials on our estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to quotes and contracts with multiple CMOs and CROs that supply, conduct and manage preclinical studies and clinical trials on our behalf. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to
contract and may result in uneven payment flows. There may be instances in which payments made to our vendors will exceed the level of services provided and result in a prepayment of the expense. Payments under some of these contracts depend on factors such as the successful enrollment of patients and the completion of clinical trial milestones. In accruing service fees, we estimate the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort to be expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from the estimate, we adjust the accrual or the amount of prepaid expenses accordingly. Although we do not expect our estimates to be materially different from amounts actually incurred, our understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing of services performed may vary and may result in reporting amounts that are too high or too low in any particular period. To date, there have not been any material adjustments to our prior estimates of accrued research and development expenses.
Stock-based compensation
We issue stock-based awards to employees, directors, consultants and non-employees in the form of stock options and restricted stock units. We measure such stock-based awards in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation, which requires all stock-based awards to be recognized in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on their fair value on the date of the grant and the related compensation expense for those awards is recognized over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award. We have, to date, only issued stock-based awards with service-based vesting conditions and record the expense for these awards using the straight-line method. The fair value of each stock option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which requires inputs based on certain subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility, the expected term of the option, the risk-free interest rate for a period that approximates the expected term of the option, and our expected dividend yield. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report for more information. Forfeitures are accounted for as they occur. The fair value of each stock-based award is estimated on the date of grant based on the fair value of our common stock on that same date.
We classify stock-based compensation expense in our consolidated statements of operations in the same manner in which the award recipient’s payroll costs are classified or in which the award recipient’s service payments are classified.
Recently issued accounting pronouncements
A description of recently issued accounting pronouncements that may potentially impact our financial position and results of operations is disclosed in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risks.
Not applicable.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, refers to controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to a company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2024. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level as of September 30, 2024.
In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Additionally, in designing disclosure controls and procedures, our
management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible disclosure controls and procedures. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Changes in internal control over financial reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting for the three months ended September 30, 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
We are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Management’s discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition.” If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business.
Summary of risk factors
Material risks that may affect our business, operating results and financial condition include, but are not necessarily limited to, those relating to:
•the timing, progress, and results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials for our product candidates, and the timing, scope or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals for any of our product candidates;
•our ability to develop and advance any future product candidates based on our novel proprietary RPx platform and successfully complete clinical trials and prepare for and successfully complete inspections and submissions of licensing applications;
•our ability to develop our product candidates for use in combination with other checkpoint blockade therapies, including anti-PD-1;
•our ability to successfully commercialize any product candidate for which we receive regulatory approval and our expectations regarding the size of the patient populations or the market acceptance of our product candidates if approved for commercial use;
•our ability to compete with other biopharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and other third parties and risks associated with such third parties developing or commercializing products more quickly or marketing them more successfully than us;
•negative developments in the field of immuno-oncology including clinical or commercial developments that may be attributed to our product candidates;
•our history of losses, the likelihood that we will continue to incur substantial and increasing net losses in the future, and the likelihood that we will require additional financing to achieve our goals;
•our intellectual property position, including the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering RP1 and our other product candidates, claims others may make regarding rights in our intellectual property, and any potential infringement, misappropriation or other violation or alleged violation of any third-party intellectual property rights;
•our ability to successfully complete transfer of our product manufacturing to our in-house manufacturing facility from our contract manufacturers including comparability analysis and to qualify, obtain approval for, and maintain successful operation, approval and qualification of our in-house manufacturing operations;
•our ability to obtain and maintain sufficient quantities of raw material supplies to build or maintain our product candidate supplies or otherwise operate our in-house manufacturing facility;
•our ability to obtain and maintain sufficient quantities of materials and supplies to conduct our clinical trials, such as comparative, control and/or standard of care therapies including chemotherapeutic agents that are currently in short supply in the industry;
•the costs of operating our in-house manufacturing facility and our reliance on third-party collaborators and clinical trial service providers, which may be single or of limited source;
•our compliance with domestic and foreign laws, rules and regulations and the consequences in the event that we fail to comply with such laws, rules and regulations;
•our ability to retain the continued service of our key professionals and to identify, hire and retain additional qualified professionals;
•our competitive position, and developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry;
•the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus, or COVID-19, as a global pandemic and related public health issues, including potential material supplies and supply chain disruptions, hiring and retaining talent, and global or national economic impacts such as inflation; and
•the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian and Israel-Hamas military conflicts, and their impact on the global economy and related governmental imposed sanctions and potential material supplies and supply chain disruptions and global or national economic impacts such as inflation.
Risks related to product development
Our product candidates are in the early stages of development, are not approved for commercial sale and might never receive regulatory approval or become commercially viable. We have never generated any revenue from product sales and may never be profitable.
All of our product candidates are in research or development. We have not generated any revenues from the sale of products and do not expect to do so for at least the next several years. Our lead product candidate, RP1, and any other product candidates will require extensive preclinical and/or clinical testing and regulatory review prior to approval and commercial use. Our research and development efforts may not be successful. Even if our clinical development efforts result in positive data, our product candidates may not receive regulatory approval or be successfully introduced and marketed at prices that would permit us to operate profitably.
We will not be able to commercialize our product candidates if our preclinical studies do not produce successful results and/or our clinical trials do not demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates.
Our product candidates are susceptible to the risks of failure inherent at any stage of product development, including the occurrence of unexpected or unacceptable adverse events or the failure to demonstrate efficacy in clinical trials. Clinical development is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain.
The results of preclinical studies, preliminary study results, and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later stage clinical trials. Our product candidates may not perform as we expect, may ultimately have a different or no impact on tumors, may have a different mechanism of action than we expect in humans, and may not ultimately prove to be safe and effective.
Preliminary and final results from preclinical studies and early stage trials, and trials in compounds that we believe are similar to ours, may not be representative of results that are found in larger, controlled, blinded, and longer-term studies. Product candidates may fail at any stage of preclinical or clinical development. Product candidates may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits even if they have progressed through preclinical studies or initial clinical trials. Preclinical studies and clinical trials may also reveal unfavorable product candidate characteristics, including safety concerns. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in clinical trials, notwithstanding promising results in earlier preclinical studies or clinical trials or promising mechanisms of action. In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, changes in and adherence to the clinical trial protocols and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants. Moreover, should there
be an issue with the design of a clinical trial, our results may be impacted. We may not discover such a flaw until the clinical trial is at an advanced stage.
We may also experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates, including:
•the number of patients required for clinical trials of our product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate or participants may drop out of these clinical trials or be lost to follow-up at a higher rate than we anticipate, or may elect to participate in alternative clinical trials sponsored by our competitors with product candidates that treat the same indications as our product candidates;
•regulators or institutional review boards, or IRBs, may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial, conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site, or amend trial protocols, or may require that we modify or amend our clinical trial protocols;
•we may experience delays in reaching, or fail to reach, agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective trial sites and/or contract research organizations, or CROs;
•clinical trials of our product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, or our studies may fail to reach the necessary level of statistical significance, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon product development programs;
•our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or the clinical trial protocol, or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all, or we may be required to engage in additional clinical trial site monitoring;
•we, regulators, or IRBs may require that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks, undesirable side effects, or other unexpected characteristics of the product candidate, or due to findings of undesirable effects caused by a chemically or mechanistically similar therapeutic or therapeutic candidate;
•changes in manufacturing facilities or the manufacturing process for our product candidates may impact how our product candidates perform in clinical trials;
•changes could be adopted in marketing approval policies during the development period, rendering our data insufficient to obtain marketing approval;
•statutes or regulations could be amended or new ones could be adopted;
•changes could be adopted in the regulatory review process for submitted product applications;
•the cost of clinical trials of our product candidates may be greater than we anticipate or we may have insufficient funds for a clinical trial or to pay the substantial user fees required by the FDA upon the filing of a Biologics License Application, or BLA, or equivalent authorizations from comparable foreign regulatory authorities;
•the supply or quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate or we may not be able to obtain them on favorable terms due to reasons such as international trade policies and supply chain disruptions;
•we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct or gather, as applicable, additional clinical trials, analyses, reports, data, or preclinical trials, or we may abandon product development programs. By example, the FDA may determine that larger trials, Phase 3 trials, randomized and controlled clinical trials, or clinical trials designed to replicate results found in our registrational or pivotal trials are required before we may file a BLA or before the FDA will approve a marketing application;
•we may fail to reach an agreement with regulators or IRBs regarding the scope, design, or implementation of our clinical trials, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require changes to our study designs or study data analysis that may make further study impractical or not financially prudent;
•regulators may ultimately disagree with the design or our conduct of our preclinical studies or clinical trials, finding that they do not support product candidate approval;
•we may have delays in adding new investigators or clinical trial sites, or we may experience a withdrawal of clinical trial sites;
•patients that enroll in our studies may misrepresent their eligibility or may otherwise not comply with the clinical trial protocol, resulting in the need to drop the patients from the study or clinical trial, increase the needed enrollment size for the clinical trial or extend its duration;
•there may be regulatory questions or disagreements regarding interpretations of data and results;
•the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our study design, including endpoints, or our interpretation of data from preclinical studies and clinical trials or find that a product candidate’s benefits do not outweigh its safety risks;
•the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data from studies with clinical trial sites in foreign countries;
•the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our intended indications;
•the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve or subsequently find fault with the manufacturing, testing, comparability or quality processes or our manufacturing facilities for clinical and future commercial supplies and may delay approval, refuse to approve or rescind approval of a product candidate;
•the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates, including our registration directed or registration intended trials, may not be sufficient to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to support the submission of a BLA or other comparable submission in foreign jurisdictions or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere;
•the FDA may decide that our intended pathways, including accelerated approval, are not appropriate for our product candidates, requiring that we conduct additional studies. By example, in recent years the accelerated approval pathway has come under significant FDA and public scrutiny. Accordingly, depending on the results of our studies, the FDA may be more conservative in granting accelerated approval or, if granted, may be more apt to withdrawal approval if clinical benefit is not confirmed. Even if accelerated approval is granted, payors, including governmental payors, may be less welling to provide sufficient reimbursement for products approved via accelerated approval;
•the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may take longer than we anticipate to make a decision on our product candidates or necessary inspections before an approval can be issued may be delayed;
•we may not be able to demonstrate that a product candidate provides an advantage over current standards of care or current or future competitive therapies in development; and
•we, the third parties on which we rely, and the FDA may have delays in the conduct of our respective operations as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could result in delays or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates.
Our development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or approvals, and we may not have sufficient funding to complete the testing and approval process for any of our product candidates. We may be required to obtain additional funds to complete clinical trials and prepare for possible commercialization of our product candidates. We do not know whether any preclinical tests or clinical trials beyond what we currently have planned will be required, will begin as planned, will need to be restructured, or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant delays relating to any preclinical or clinical trials also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully
commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, delays in clinical trials may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of any of our product candidates. If any of these occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed.
Topline data may not accurately reflect the complete results of a particular study or trial.
We may publicly disclose topline or interim data from time to time, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available efficacy and safety data which are based on preliminary analysis of key efficacy and safety data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the topline results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Topline data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, topline data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Further, others, including regulatory agencies, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimations, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may request different calculations or analysis than conducted and may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular drug candidate or drug and our company in general. In addition, the information we may publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and you or others may not agree with what we determine is the material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure, and any information we determine not to disclose may ultimately be deemed significant with respect to future decisions, conclusions, views, activities or otherwise regarding a particular drug, drug candidate or our business. If the topline data that we report differ from a future analysis of results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for and commercialize our product candidates, our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition may be harmed.
We anticipate that our product candidates will be used in combination with third-party drugs, some of which are still in development, and we have limited or no control over the supply, regulatory status, or regulatory approval of such drugs.
Our product candidates may be administered in combination with checkpoint blockade drugs, a class of drugs that are intended to stop tumor cells from “switching off” an immune system attack against themselves. We have entered into agreements with BMS for the supply of nivolumab, its anti-PD-1 therapy, for use in connection with our ongoing IGNYTE Phase 1/2 trials with RP1, our Phase 1/2 clinical trial with RP2 and our Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials with RP3 where we decide to use nivolumab. We have also entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with Regeneron, which includes the supply of cemiplimab, its anti-PD-1 therapy, for clinical trials conducted thereunder. We are using cemiplimab in the CERPASS trial, our first planned clinical trial under the Regeneron agreement. We may enter into additional agreements for the supply of anti-PD-1 products for use in combination with and for the continued development of one or more of our product candidates. Although we have entered into such collaboration and supply agreements, and may continue to do so, our partners may remain in control of the supply and other decisions relating to their products or product candidates and we rely on their adherence to the terms of such agreements for the proper execution of their obligations. Our ability to develop and ultimately commercialize our product candidates used in combination with nivolumab, cemiplimab or any other checkpoint blockade therapy will depend on our ability to access such drugs on commercially reasonable terms for the clinical trials and their availability for use with the commercialized product, if approved. We cannot be certain that current or potential future commercial relationships will provide us with a steady supply of such drugs on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
Any failure to maintain or enter into new successful commercial relationships, or the expense of purchasing checkpoint blockade therapies in the market, may delay our development timelines, increase our costs and jeopardize our ability to develop our product candidates as commercially viable therapies. If any of these occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed.
Moreover, the development of our product candidates for use in combination with another product or product candidate may present challenges that are not faced for single agent product candidates. While we have opened a clinical trial for use of RP1 as a monotherapy, we are generally developing RP1 and our other product candidates for use in combination with anti-PD-1 or potentially anti-PD(L)-1 therapies, and may develop RP1 or our other product candidates for use with other therapies. Although we intend our IGNYTE anti-PD-1 failed melanoma cohort and our CERPASS trial to be registration directed, the FDA may require us to use more complex clinical trial designs in order to evaluate the contribution of each product and product candidate to any observed effects. It is possible that the results of these trials could show that any positive previous trial results are attributable to the therapy with which our products were combined and not our product candidates. Moreover, following product approval, the FDA may require that products used in conjunction with each other be cross-labeled for combined use. To the extent that we do not have rights to the other product, this may require us to work with a third party to satisfy such a requirement. Moreover, developments related to the other product may impact our clinical trials for the combination as well as our commercial prospects should we receive marketing approval. Such developments may include changes to the other product’s safety or efficacy profile, changes to the availability of the approved product, and changes to the standard of care.
In the event that BMS, Regeneron or any future collaborator or supplier cannot continue to supply their products on commercially reasonable terms or at all, we would need to identify alternatives for accessing an anti-PD-1 therapy. Additionally, should the supply of products from BMS, Regeneron or any future collaborator or supplier be interrupted, delayed or otherwise be unavailable to us, our clinical trials may be delayed, interrupted or halted. In the event we are unable to source a supply of an acceptable alternative anti-PD-1 therapy, or are unable to do so on commercially reasonable terms, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed.
An underlying problem with our proprietary RPx platform would adversely affect our business and may require us to discontinue development of product candidates based on the same or similar therapeutic approaches.
We have invested, and we expect to continue to invest, significant efforts and financial resources in the development of product candidates based on our RPx platform. Our ability to generate any revenues from the sale of our product candidates will depend heavily on the successful development, regulatory approval and commercialization of one or more of these product candidates using our RPx platform. Since all of the product candidates in our current pipeline are based on our proprietary RPx platform, if any of our product candidates fail in development as a result of any underlying problem with our proprietary RPx platform, then we may be required to discontinue development of all product candidates that are based on our therapeutic approach. If we were required to discontinue development of our product candidates that are based on our therapeutics approach, or if any of them were to fail to receive regulatory approval or achieve sufficient market acceptance, we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability. We can provide no assurance that we would be successful at developing other product candidates based on an alternative therapeutic approach.
If we fail to develop additional product candidates, our commercial opportunity could be limited.
Our lead product candidate is RP1. A key part of our strategy is to pursue clinical development of RP1 and additional product candidates, including RP2 and, when appropriate RP3. Developing, obtaining marketing approval for, and commercializing additional product candidates will require substantial additional funding and will be subject to the risks of failure inherent in medical product development. We cannot assure our shareholders that we will be able to successfully advance any of these additional product candidates through the development process.
Even if we obtain approval from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to market additional product candidates for the treatment of solid tumors, we cannot assure our shareholders that any such product candidates will be successfully commercialized, widely accepted in the marketplace, or more effective than other commercially available alternatives. If we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize additional product candidates, our commercial opportunity may be limited and our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed.
Risks related to regulatory approval
Even if our development efforts are successful, we may not obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates in the United States or other jurisdictions, which would prevent us from commercializing our product candidates. Even if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, any such approval may be subject to limitations, including with respect to the approved indications or patient populations, which could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates.
We are not permitted to market or promote or sell any of our product candidates before we receive regulatory approval from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, and we may never receive such regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. Securing marketing approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy for that indication. Securing marketing approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities and clinical trial sites by, the regulatory authorities. If we do not receive approval from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for any of our product candidates, we will not be able to commercialize such product candidates in the United States or in other jurisdictions. If significant delays in obtaining approval for and commercializing our product candidates occur in any jurisdictions, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects will be materially harmed. Even if our product candidates are approved, they may:
•be subject to limitations on the indicated uses or patient populations for which they may be marketed, distribution restrictions, or other conditions of approval;
•contain significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings, contraindications, and precautions;
•not be approved with label statements necessary or desirable for successful commercialization; or
•contain requirements for costly post-market testing and surveillance, or other requirements, including the submission of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products.
We have not previously submitted a BLA to the FDA, or a similar marketing application to comparable foreign regulatory authorities, for any product candidate, and we can provide no assurance that we will ultimately be successful in obtaining regulatory approval for claims that are necessary or desirable for successful marketing, or at all.
The regulatory approval processes of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time consuming and inherently unpredictable. If we are not able to obtain, or experience delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals, we will not be able to commercialize our product candidates as expected, and our ability to generate revenue may be materially impaired.
The time required to obtain approval by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. In addition, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions and there may be varying interpretations of data obtained from preclinical studies or clinical trials, any of which may cause delays or limitations in the approval or a decision not to approve an application. These regulatory requirements may require us to amend our clinical trial protocols, conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials that may require regulatory or IRB approval, require additional or different analysis of clinical data or otherwise cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. Any delay in obtaining or failure to obtain required approvals could materially adversely affect our ability to generate revenue from the particular product candidate, which may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
If we experience delays in obtaining approval, if we fail to obtain approval of a product candidate or if the label for a product candidate does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate, the commercial prospects for such product candidate may be harmed and our ability to generate revenues from that product candidate may be materially impaired.
The FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority may determine that our product candidates have undesirable side effects that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or commercialization.
There can be no assurance that undesirable side effects or serious adverse events will not be caused by or associated with RP1 or our other product candidates as they continue through or enter clinical development. Serious adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us, IRBs, and other reviewing entities or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay, or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. For example, if concerns are raised regarding the safety of a new therapeutic as a result of undesirable side effects identified during clinical or preclinical testing, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority may order us to cease further development, decline to approve the product candidate or
issue a letter requesting additional data or information prior to making a final decision regarding whether or not to approve the product candidate. The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, or IRBs and other reviewing entities, may also require, or we may voluntarily develop, strategies for managing adverse events during clinical development, which could include restrictions on our enrollment criteria, the use of stopping criteria, adjustments to a study’s design, or the monitoring of safety data by a data monitoring committee, among other strategies. The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority requests for additional data or information could also result in substantial delays in the approval of our product candidates.
Undesirable side effects caused by any of our product candidates could also result in denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications or the inclusion of unfavorable information in our product labeling, such as limitations on the indicated uses for which the products may be marketed or distributed, a label with significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings, contraindications, and precautions, a label without statements necessary or desirable for successful commercialization, or may result in requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance, or other requirements, including REMS, to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products, and in turn prevent us from commercializing and generating revenues from the sale of our product candidates. Undesirable side effects may limit the potential market for any approved products or could result in the discontinuation of the sales and marketing of the product, or withdrawal of product approvals. Later discovered undesirable side effects may further result in the imposition of a REMS, label revisions, post approval study requirements, or other testing and surveillance.
If any of our product candidates is associated with serious adverse events or undesirable side effects or have properties that are unexpected, we may need to abandon development or limit development of that product candidate to certain uses or subpopulations in which the undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk/benefit perspective. The therapeutic-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Changes in product candidate manufacturing or formulation may result in additional costs or delay.
As product candidates are developed through preclinical studies to later stage clinical trials towards approval and commercialization, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods, facilities, equipment and formulation, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. Any of these changes could cause our product candidates to perform differently and affect the results of planned clinical trials or other future clinical trials conducted with the altered materials. Such changes may also require additional testing, or notification to, or approval by the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority. This could delay completion of clinical trials, require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or studies, require the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of our product candidates and/or jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue.
Regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities is limited to those specific indications and conditions for which approval has been granted, and we may be subject to substantial fines, criminal penalties, injunctions, or other enforcement actions if we are determined to be promoting the use of our products for unapproved or “off label” uses, resulting in damage to our reputation and business.
We must comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Promotional communications with respect to therapeutics are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and continuing review by the FDA, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, state attorneys general, members of Congress, and the public. When the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities issue regulatory approval for a product candidate, the regulatory approval is limited to those specific uses and indications for which a product is approved. If we are not able to obtain FDA approval for desired uses or indications for our product candidates, we may not market or promote them for those indications and uses, referred to as off label uses, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed. We also must sufficiently substantiate any claims that we make for our products, including claims comparing our products to other companies’ products, and must abide by the FDA’s strict requirements regarding the content of promotion and advertising.
While physicians may choose to prescribe products for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and for uses that differ from those tested in clinical trials and approved by the regulatory authorities, we are prohibited from marketing and promoting the products for indications and uses that are not specifically approved by the FDA. These off label uses are common across medical specialties and may constitute an appropriate treatment for some patients in varied circumstances. Regulatory authorities in the United States generally do not restrict or regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatment within the practice of medicine. Regulatory authorities do, however, restrict communications by biopharmaceutical companies concerning off label use.
If we are found to have impermissibly promoted any of our product candidates, we may become subject to significant liability and government fines. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations regarding product promotion, particularly those prohibiting the promotion of off label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted a product may be subject to significant sanctions. The federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion and has enjoined several companies from engaging in off label promotion. The FDA has also requested that companies enter into consent decrees or permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct is changed or curtailed.
In the United States, engaging in the impermissible promotion of our products, following approval, for off label uses can also subject us to false claims and other litigation under federal and state statutes. These include fraud and abuse and consumer protection laws, which can lead to civil and criminal penalties and fines and agreements with governmental authorities that materially restrict the manner in which we promote or distribute therapeutic products and conduct our business. These restrictions could include corporate integrity agreements, suspension or exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, and suspension and debarment from government contracts and refusal of orders under existing government contracts. These False Claims Act lawsuits against manufacturers of drugs and biologics have increased significantly in volume and breadth. In addition, False Claims Act lawsuits may expose manufacturers to follow-on claims by private payers based on fraudulent marketing practices. This growth in litigation has increased the risk that a biopharmaceutical company will have to defend a false claim action, pay settlement fines or restitution, as well as criminal and civil penalties, agree to comply with burdensome reporting and compliance obligations, and be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal and state healthcare programs. If we do not lawfully promote our approved products, if any, we may become subject to such litigation and, if we do not successfully defend against such actions, those actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
In the United States, the promotion of biopharmaceutical products is subject to additional FDA requirements and restrictions on promotional statements. If after one or more of our product candidates obtains marketing approval the FDA determines that our promotional activities violate its regulations and policies pertaining to product promotion, it could request that we modify our promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or other enforcement actions, including issuance of warning letters or untitled letters, suspension or withdrawal of an approved product from the market, requests for recalls, payment of civil fines, disgorgement of money, imposition of operating restrictions, injunctions or criminal prosecution, and other enforcement actions. Similarly, industry codes in foreign jurisdictions may prohibit companies from engaging in certain promotional activities and regulatory agencies in various countries may enforce violations of such codes with civil penalties. If we become subject to regulatory and enforcement actions our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects will be materially harmed.
Even if our product candidates receive regulatory approval, we will be subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and limit how we manufacture and market our products.
Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval will be subject to extensive and ongoing requirements of and review by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including requirements related to the manufacturing processes, post approval clinical data, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, shortage reporting, risk management plans, supply chain security, storage, recordkeeping, export, import, advertising, marketing, and promotional activities for such product. These requirements further include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information, including manufacturing deviations and reports, registration and listing requirements, the payment of annual fees, continued compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, requirements relating to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, and good clinical practices, or GCPs, for any clinical trials that we conduct post approval.
The FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities will continue to closely monitor the safety profile of any product even after approval. If the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities become aware of new safety information after approval of any of our product candidates, they may withdraw approval, issue public safety alerts, require labeling changes or establishment of a REMS or similar strategy, impose significant restrictions on a product’s indicated uses or marketing, or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post approval studies or post-market surveillance. Any such restrictions could limit sales of the product.
We and any of our suppliers or collaborators, including our contract manufacturers, could be subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA to monitor and ensure compliance with cGMPs and other FDA regulatory requirements. Application holders must further notify the FDA, and depending on the nature of the change, obtain FDA preapproval for product and manufacturing changes.
In addition, later discovery of previously unknown adverse events or that the product is less effective than previously thought or other problems with our products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements both before and after approval, may yield various negative results, including:
•restrictions on manufacturing, distribution, or marketing of such products;
•restrictions on the labeling, including required additional warnings, such as black boxed warnings, contraindications, precautions, and restrictions on the approved indication or use;
•modifications to promotional pieces;
•issuance of corrective information;
•requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or other clinical trials;
•clinical holds or termination of clinical trials;
•requirements to establish or modify a REMS or similar strategy;
•changes to the way the product candidate is administered;
•liability for harm caused to patients or subjects;
•reputational harm;
•the product becoming less competitive;
•warning, untitled, or cyber letters;
•suspension of marketing or withdrawal of the products from the market;
•regulatory authority issuance of safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases, or other communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product candidate;
•refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;
•recalls of products;
•fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenues;
•suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;
•refusal to permit the import or export of our products;
•product seizure or detention;
•FDA debarment, suspension and debarment from government contracts, and refusal of orders under existing government contracts, exclusion from federal healthcare programs, consent decrees, or corporate integrity agreements; or
•injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties, including imprisonment.
Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular product candidate, if approved, or could substantially increase the costs and expenses of commercializing such product, which in turn could delay or prevent us from generating significant revenues from its marketing and sale. Any of these events could further have other material and adverse effects on our operations and business and could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
The FDA’s policies or those of comparable foreign regulatory authorities may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates, limit the marketability of our product candidates, or impose additional regulatory obligations on us. Changes in medical practice and standard of care may also impact the marketability of our product candidates.
If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements, standards of care, or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and be subject to regulatory enforcement action.
Should any of the above actions take place, we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability. Further, the cost of compliance with post approval regulations may have a negative effect on our operations and business and could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
We conduct clinical trials for product candidates outside the United States, and the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data from such trials.
We currently conduct clinical trials outside the United States. The acceptance by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority of study data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States or another jurisdiction may be subject to certain conditions or may not be accepted at all. In cases where data from foreign clinical trials are intended to serve as the basis for marketing approval in the United States, the FDA will generally not approve the application on the basis of foreign data alone unless (i) the data are applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice; (ii) the trials were performed by clinical investigators of recognized competence and pursuant to GCP regulations; and (iii) the data may be considered valid without the need for an on-site inspection by the FDA or, if the FDA considers such as inspection to be necessary, the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means. Additionally, the FDA’s clinical trial requirements, including sufficient size of patient populations and statistical powering, must be met. Many foreign regulatory authorities have similar approval requirements. In addition, such foreign trials would be subject to the applicable local laws of the foreign jurisdictions where the trials are conducted. There can be no assurance that the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States or the applicable jurisdiction. If the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority does not accept such data, it would result in the need for additional trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay aspects of our business plan, and which may result in product candidates that we may develop not receiving approval or clearance for commercialization in the applicable jurisdiction.
Obtaining and maintaining marketing approval for our product candidates in one jurisdiction would not mean that we will be successful in obtaining marketing approval of that product candidate in other jurisdictions, which could prevent us from marketing our products internationally.
Obtaining and maintaining marketing approval of our product candidates in one jurisdiction would not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain marketing approval in any other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining marketing approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the marketing approval process in others. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval of a product candidate, comparable foreign regulatory authorities must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the product candidate in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from and, in some cases, greater than, those in the United States, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, as clinical trials conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval. Additionally, with the full departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2021, commonly referred to as Brexit, there is continuing regulatory uncertainty. Since a significant proportion of the regulatory framework in the United Kingdom is derived from European Union directives and regulations, and the degree to which the United Kingdom and European Union regulatory regimes align or diverge could materially impact the execution of our clinical trials or approval of our product candidates in the United Kingdom or the European Union.
Regulatory authorities in jurisdictions outside of the United States have requirements for approval of product candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those jurisdictions. Obtaining foreign marketing approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our product candidates will be harmed. If we obtain approval for any product candidate and ultimately commercialize that product in foreign markets, we would be subject to additional risks and uncertainties, including
the burden of complying with complex and changing foreign regulatory, tax, accounting and legal requirements and the reduced protection of intellectual property rights in some foreign countries.
Risks related to commercialization
If we are unable to successfully commercialize any product candidate for which we receive regulatory approval, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.
If we are successful in obtaining marketing approval from applicable regulatory authorities for RP1 or any of our other product candidates, our ability to generate revenues from our product candidates will depend on our success in:
•launching commercial sales of our product candidates, whether alone or in collaboration with others;
•receiving an approved label with claims that are necessary or desirable for successful marketing, and that does not contain safety or other limitations that would impede our ability to market the product candidates;
•creating market demand for our product candidates through marketing, sales and promotion activities;
•hiring, training, and deploying a sales force or contracting with third parties to commercialize product candidates in the United States;
•manufacturing product candidates in sufficient quantities and at acceptable quality and cost to meet commercial demand at launch and thereafter;
•establishing and maintaining agreements with wholesalers, distributors, and group purchasing organizations on commercially reasonable terms;
•creating partnerships with, or offering licenses to, third parties to promote and sell product candidates in foreign markets where we receive marketing approval;
•maintaining patent and trade secret protection and regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates;
•our intellectual property position, including the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering RP1 and our other product candidates, claims others may make regarding rights in our intellectual property, and any potential infringement, misappropriation or other violation or alleged violation of any third-party intellectual property rights;
•achieving market acceptance of our product candidates by patients, the medical community, and third- party payors;
•achieving appropriate reimbursement for our product candidates;
•effectively competing with other therapies; and
•maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of our product candidates following launch.
To the extent we are not able to do any of the foregoing, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects will be materially harmed.
We face significant competition from other biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, government agencies, and other research organizations, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products more quickly or marketing them more successfully than us. If their product candidates are shown to be safer or more effective than ours, our commercial opportunity may be reduced or eliminated.
The development and commercialization of cancer immunotherapy products is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary rights. We face competition with respect to our current product candidates, and will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major biopharmaceutical companies, specialty biopharmaceutical companies, and biotechnology companies worldwide. There are a number of large biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that
currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of solid tumors, including oncolytic immunotherapy and cancer vaccine approaches. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies, and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection, and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization.
While our product candidates are intended to be used in combination with other drugs with different mechanisms of action, if and when marketed they will still compete with a number of drugs that are currently marketed or in development that also target cancer. To compete effectively with these drugs, our product candidates will need to demonstrate advantages in clinical efficacy and safety compared to these competitors when used alone or in combination with other drugs.
Our commercial opportunities could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are easier to administer or are less expensive alone or in combination with other therapies than any products that we may develop alone or in combination with other therapies. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. In addition, our ability to compete may be affected in many cases by insurers, other third-party payors coverage decisions or third-party intellectual property rights that another may allege are violated by our product candidates.
Certain of the companies with which we are competing or may compete in the future have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals, and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in developing or acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. If we are unable to successfully compete with these companies our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed.
If we are unable to establish effective marketing, sales and distribution capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our product candidates, if they are approved, the revenues that we generate may be limited and we may never become profitable.
We currently do not have a commercial infrastructure for the marketing, sale, and distribution of our product candidates. If and when our product candidates receive marketing approval, we intend to commercialize our product candidates on our own in the United States and potentially with pharmaceutical or biotechnology partners in other geographies. In order to commercialize our products, we must build our marketing, sales, and distribution capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services. We may not be successful in doing so. Should we decide to move forward in developing our own marketing capabilities, we may incur expenses prior to product launch or even approval in order to recruit a sales force and develop a marketing and sales infrastructure. If a commercial launch is delayed as a result of FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority requirements or other reasons, we would incur these expenses prior to being able to realize any revenue from sales of our product candidates. Even if we are able to effectively hire a sales force and develop a marketing and sales infrastructure, our sales force and marketing teams may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates. This may be costly, and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel.
We may also or alternatively decide to collaborate with third-party marketing and sales organizations to commercialize any approved product candidates in the United States, in which event, our ability to generate product revenues may be limited. To the extent we rely on third parties to commercialize any products for which we obtain regulatory approval, we may receive less revenues than if we commercialized these products ourselves, which could materially harm our prospects. In addition, we would have less control over the sales efforts of any other third parties involved in our commercialization efforts, and could be held liable if they failed to comply with applicable legal or regulatory requirements.
We have no prior experience in the marketing, sale, and distribution of biopharmaceutical products, and there are significant risks involved in building and managing a commercial infrastructure. The establishment and development of commercial capabilities, including compliance plans, to market any products we may develop will be expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch, and we may not be able to successfully develop this capability. We will have to compete with other biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including oncology-focused companies, to recruit, hire, train, manage, and retain marketing and sales personnel, which is expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch. Developing our sales capabilities may also divert resources and management attention away from product development.
In the event we are unable to develop a marketing and sales infrastructure, we may not be able to commercialize our product candidates in the United States or elsewhere, which could limit our ability to generate product revenues and materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects. Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our product candidates include:
•the inability to recruit, train, manage, and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;
•the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or persuade adequate numbers of physicians to prescribe our product candidates;
•our inability to effectively oversee a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team;
•the costs associated with training sales and marketing personnel on legal and regulatory compliance matters and monitoring their actions;
•an inability to secure adequate coverage and reimbursement by government and private health plans;
•the clinical indications for which the products are approved and the claims that we may make for the products;
•limitations or warnings, including distribution or use restrictions, contained in the products’ approved labeling;
•any distribution and use restrictions imposed by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities or to which we agree as part of a mandatory REMS or voluntary risk management plan;
•third-party intellectual property rights that another may allege are violated by our product candidates;
•liability for sales or marketing personnel who fail to comply with the applicable legal and regulatory requirements;
•the lack of complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and
•unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization or engaging a contract sales organization.
Our product candidates are based on a novel approach to the treatment of cancer, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development.
We have concentrated all of our research and development efforts on product candidates based on our proprietary RPx platform, and our future success depends on the successful development of this therapeutic approach. There can be no assurance that any development problems we experience in the future will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs, or that such development problems can be solved. Should we encounter development problems, including unfavorable preclinical or clinical trial results, the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities may refuse to approve our product candidates, or may require additional information, tests, or trials, which could significantly delay product development and significantly increase our development costs. Moreover, even if we are able to provide the requested information or trials to the FDA, there would be no guarantee that the FDA would accept them or approve our product candidates. We may also experience delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible and scalable manufacturing process, or developing or qualifying and validating product release assays, other testing and manufacturing methods, and our equipment and facilities in a timely manner, which may prevent us from completing our clinical trials or commercializing our product candidates on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.
In addition, the clinical trial requirements of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use and market of the potential products. The FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities have limited experience with the approval of oncolytic immunotherapies. Only one oncolytic immunotherapy, T-Vec, has received FDA approval to date. Any product candidates that are approved may be subject to extensive post approval regulatory requirements, including requirements pertaining to manufacturing, distribution, and promotion. We may need to devote significant time and resources to compliance with these requirements.
If our product candidates do not achieve broad market acceptance, the revenues that we generate from their sales may be limited, and we may never become profitable.
We have never commercialized a product candidate for any indication. Even if our product candidates are approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities for marketing and sale, they may not gain acceptance among physicians, patients, third-party payors, and others in the medical community. If any product candidates for which we obtain regulatory approval do not gain an adequate level of market acceptance, we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability. Market acceptance of our product candidates by the medical community, patients, and third-party payors will depend on a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. For example, physicians are often reluctant to switch their patients and patients may be reluctant to switch from existing therapies even when new and potentially more effective or safer treatments enter the market.
Efforts to educate the medical community and third party payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources and may not be successful. If any of our product candidates is approved but does not achieve an adequate level of market acceptance, we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability. The degree of market acceptance of any of our product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including:
•the efficacy of our product candidates in combination with marketed checkpoint blockade drugs;
•the commercial success of the checkpoint blockade drugs with which our products are co-administered;
•the prevalence and severity of adverse events associated with our product candidates or those products with which they are co-administered;
•the clinical indications for which the products are approved and the approved claims that we may make for the products;
•limitations or warnings contained in the product’s FDA-approved labeling or those of comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including potential limitations or warnings for our product candidates that may be more restrictive than other competitive products;
•changes in the standard of care for the targeted indications for our product candidates, which could reduce the marketing impact of any claims that we could make following FDA approval or approval by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, if obtained;
•the relative convenience and ease of administration of our product candidates by direct injection into tumors, a less common method for the administration of oncology therapies than systemic administration, which may result in slower adoption of our therapies;
•the relative convenience and ease of administration of any products with which our product candidates are co-administered;
•the cost of treatment compared with the economic and clinical benefit of alternative treatments or therapies;
•the availability of adequate coverage or reimbursement by third parties, such as insurance companies and other healthcare payors, and by government healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid;
•the price concessions required by third-party payors to obtain coverage;
•the extent and strength of our marketing and distribution of our product candidates;
•the safety, efficacy, and other potential advantages over, and availability of, alternative treatments already used or that may later be approved;
•distribution and use restrictions imposed by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities with respect to our product candidates or to which we agree as part of a REMS or voluntary risk management plan;
•the timing of market introduction of our product candidates, as well as competitive products;
•our ability to offer our product candidates for sale at competitive prices;
•the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies;
•the extent and strength of our manufacturing operations and our third-party manufacturer and supplier support;
•the actions of companies that market any products with which our product candidates are co-administered;
•the approval of other new products;
•adverse publicity about our product candidates or any products with which they are co-administered, or favorable publicity about competitive products; and
•potential product liability claims.
The successful commercialization of our product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on the extent to which government authorities and health insurers establish adequate reimbursement levels and pricing policies.
Sales of any approved drug candidate will depend in part on the availability of coverage and reimbursement from third-party payers such as government insurance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurers, health maintenance organizations and other health care related organizations, who are increasingly challenging the price of medical products and services. Accordingly, coverage and reimbursement may be uncertain. Adoption of any drug by the medical community may be limited if third-party payers will not offer adequate coverage. Additionally, significant uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly-approved drugs. Cost control initiatives may decrease coverage and payment levels for any drug and, in turn, the price that we will be able to charge and/or the volume of our sales. We are unable to predict all changes to the coverage or reimbursement methodologies that will be applied by private or government payers. Any denial of private or government payer coverage or inadequate reimbursement could harm our business and reduce our revenue.
In addition, both the federal and state governments in the United States and foreign governments continue to propose and pass new legislation, regulations, and policies affecting coverage and reimbursement rates, which are designed to contain or reduce the cost of health care. Further federal and state proposals and healthcare reforms are likely, which could limit the prices that can be charged for the product candidates that we develop and may further limit our commercial opportunity. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or IRA, includes several measures intended to lower the cost of prescription drugs and related healthcare reforms, including limits on price increases and subjecting an escalating number of drugs to annual price negotiations with CMS. We cannot be sure whether additional legislation related to the IRA will be issued or enacted, or what impact, if any, such changes will have on the profitability of any of our drug candidates, if approved for commercial use, in the future. There also may be future changes unrelated to the IRA that result in reductions in potential coverage and reimbursement levels for our product candidates, if approved and commercialized, and we cannot predict the scope of any future changes or the impact that those changes would have on our operations.
If future reimbursement for approved product candidates, if any, is substantially less than we project, or rebate obligations associated with them are substantially greater than we expect, our future net revenue and profitability could be materially diminished.
The size of the potential market for our product candidates is difficult to estimate and, if any of our assumptions are inaccurate, the actual markets for our product candidates may be smaller than our estimates.
The potential market opportunities for our product candidates are difficult to estimate and will depend in large part on the drugs with which our product candidates are co-administered and the success of competing therapies and therapeutic approaches. In particular, the market opportunity for oncolytic immunotherapies is hard to estimate given that it is an emerging field with only one existing FDA-approved oncolytic immunotherapy, T-Vec, which has yet to enjoy broad market acceptance. Our estimates of the potential market opportunities are predicated on many assumptions, which may include industry knowledge and publications, third-party research reports, and other surveys. Although we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, these assumptions involve the exercise of significant judgment on the part of our management, are inherently uncertain, and their reasonableness has not been assessed by an independent source. If any of the assumptions proves to be inaccurate, the actual markets for our product candidates could be smaller than our estimates of the potential market opportunities.
Negative developments in the field of immuno-oncology could damage public perception of our product candidates and negatively affect our business.
The commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of cancer immunotherapies. Adverse events in clinical trials of RP1 or our other product candidates or in clinical trials of others developing similar products and the resulting publicity, as well as any other negative developments in the field of immuno-
oncology that may occur in the future, including in connection with competitor therapies, could result in a decrease in demand for our product candidates. These events could also result in the suspension, discontinuation, or clinical hold of or modification to our clinical trials. If public perception is influenced by claims that the use of cancer immunotherapies is unsafe, whether related to our therapies or those of our competitors, our product candidates may not be accepted by the general public or the medical community and potential clinical trial subjects may be discouraged from enrolling in our clinical trials. As a result, we may not be able to continue or may be delayed in conducting our development programs.
As our product candidates consist of a modified virus, adverse developments in antiviral vaccines or clinical trials of other oncolytic immunotherapy products based on viruses may result in a disproportionately negative effect for our product candidates as compared to other products in the field of immuno-oncology that are not based on viruses. Future negative developments in the field of immuno-oncology or the biopharmaceutical industry could also result in greater governmental regulation, stricter labeling requirements and potential regulatory delays in the testing or approvals of our products. Any increased scrutiny could delay or increase the costs of obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates.
Risks related to our financial position and need for additional capital
We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a very limited operating history. We have incurred net losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur substantial and increasing net losses in the foreseeable future. We may never achieve or sustain profitability.
We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history, and we are early in our development efforts. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy or an acceptable safety profile, gain marketing approval and become commercially viable. We have financed our operations to date primarily through the sale of equity securities, including the sale of our common stock and pre-funded warrants in our public offerings. Since our inception, most of our resources have been dedicated to the preclinical and clinical development of our proprietary RPx platform, including our lead product candidate, RP1, and our other product candidates. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on our future expenses and our ability to generate revenue, if any.
We are not profitable and have incurred losses in each period since our inception. For the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, we reported a net loss of $106.8 million and $109.6 million, respectively. At September 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $808.1 million.We expect to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our research and development of, and seek marketing approvals for, RP1, our other product candidates and any additional product candidates we may develop.
Even if we succeed in receiving marketing approval for and commercialize RP1 or our other product candidates, we will continue to incur substantial research and development and other expenditures to develop and market additional potential products. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.
Our ability to generate revenue from product sales and become profitable will depend significantly on our success in achieving a number of goals.
We have no products approved for commercial sale, have not generated any revenue from product sales, and do not anticipate generating any revenue from product sales until after we have received marketing approval for the commercial sale of a product candidate, if ever. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability depends significantly on our success in achieving a number of goals, including:
•completing research regarding, and preclinical and clinical development of, RP1 and our other product candidates;
•obtaining marketing approvals for RP1 and our other product candidates for which we complete clinical trials;
•developing a sustainable and scalable manufacturing process for RP1 and our other product candidates, including establishing and maintaining commercially viable supply and manufacturing relationships with third parties;
•launching and commercializing RP1 and our other product candidates for which we obtain marketing approvals, either directly or with a collaborator or distributor;
•obtaining market acceptance of RP1 and our other product candidates as viable treatment options;
•addressing any competing technological and market developments;
•identifying, assessing, acquiring and developing new product candidates;
•negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing, or other arrangements into which we may enter;
•obtaining, maintaining, protecting, and expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, and know-how; and
•attracting, hiring, and retaining qualified personnel.
Even if our product candidates or any future product candidates that we develop are approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing any such product candidate. Our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we are required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to change our manufacturing processes or assays, or to perform clinical, nonclinical, or other types of studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate.
If we are successful in obtaining regulatory approvals to market RP1 or our other product candidates, our revenue will be dependent, in part, upon the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain marketing approval, the accepted price for the product, the ability to get reimbursement at any price, and whether we own the commercial rights for that territory. If the number of our addressable patients is not as significant as we estimate, the indication approved by regulatory authorities is narrower than we expect, the labels for our product candidates contain significant safety warnings, regulatory authorities impose burdensome or restrictive distribution requirements, or the reasonably accepted patient population for treatment is narrowed by competition, physician choice or treatment guidelines, we may not generate significant revenue from sales of such products, even if approved. If we are not able to generate revenue from the sale of any approved products, we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability.
We will require additional financing to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or commercialization efforts.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. At September 30, 2024, our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were $432.1 million. We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts to continue the clinical and preclinical development of RP1 and our other product candidates. Accordingly, we will need to obtain additional funds to achieve our business objectives. If we are able to gain marketing approval of any product candidate, we will require significant additional amounts of cash in order to launch and commercialize such product. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise.
Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including:
•the scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing RP1 and our other product candidates, and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials;
•the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining marketing approvals for RP1 and our other product candidates if clinical trials are successful;
•the success of any collaborations;
•the cost of commercialization activities for any approved product, including marketing, sales and distribution costs;
•the cost and timing of operating our manufacturing facility;
•the cost of manufacturing RP1 and our other product candidates for clinical trials in preparation for marketing approval and commercialization;
•our ability to establish and maintain strategic licensing or other arrangements and the financial terms of such agreements;
•the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, expanding, defending and enforcing patent claims, including litigation costs and the outcome of such litigation;
•the timing, receipt, and amount of sales of, or royalties on, our future products, if any; and
•the emergence of competing cancer therapies and other adverse market developments.
We do not have any committed external source of funds or other support for our development efforts. Until we can generate sufficient product revenue to finance our cash requirements, which we may never do, we expect to finance our future cash needs through a combination of public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements and other marketing or distribution arrangements. Based on our current operating plan, we expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, as of September 30, 2024 will enable us to fund operations into the second half of 2026 which includes scale up for the commercialization of RP1 in skin cancers and for working capital and general corporate purposes. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. In addition, because the design and outcome of our planned and anticipated clinical trials is highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of RP1 or our other product candidates.
We maintain our cash at financial institutions, often in balances that exceed federally insured limits.
Our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are held in accounts with banking institutions. The balances of some of these accounts have in the past, and may in the future, exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we could lose all or a portion of those amounts held in excess of such insurance limitations. In March 2023, the FDIC took control of Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”), where we previously held a portion of our cash. The Federal Reserve subsequently announced that account holders would be made whole and we were able to access all of our cash held at SVB. However, the FDIC may not make all account holders whole in the event of future bank failures. In addition, even if account holders are ultimately made whole with respect to a future bank failure, account holders’ access to their accounts and assets held in their accounts may be substantially delayed. Any material loss that we may experience in the future or inability for a material time period to access our cash, short-term investments and cash equivalents could have an adverse effect on our ability to pay our operational expenses, fund our operations or make other payments, which could adversely affect our business.
Risks related to intellectual property
If we are unable to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights for our technology and product candidates, or if our intellectual property rights are inadequate, our competitive position could be harmed.
Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our technology, proprietary RPx platform, including our lead product candidate, RP1, and our other product candidates. We rely on trade secret, patent, copyright and trademark laws, and confidentiality, licensing and other agreements with employees and third parties, all of which offer only limited protection.
The patent positions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally are highly uncertain, involve complex legal and factual questions and have in recent years been the subject of much litigation and subject to change with regulatory agencies and court decisions. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our licensed patents and any patents we own in the future are highly uncertain. The steps we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate to preclude misappropriation of our proprietary information, use by third parties of our products or infringement of our intellectual property rights, both inside and outside of the United States.
Our pending applications cannot be enforced against third parties practicing the inventions claimed in such applications unless and until a patent issues from such applications. Because the issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, our issued patents and issued patents that we license from third parties or may own have been and in the future may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Further, the examination process may require us to narrow the claims for our pending patent applications, which may limit the scope of patent protection that may be obtained if these applications issue. The scope of a patent may also be interpreted or reinterpreted after issuance. The rights that may be granted under our future issued patents may not provide us with the proprietary protection or competitive advantages we are seeking. In addition, defending against challenges in respect of the inventorship, scope,
validity or enforceability of our patents may be expensive, time consuming, difficult and in some cases may not be possible. Although we enter into nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to confidential or patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, collaborators, and other third parties, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose such output before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection. In addition, the patent prosecution process is expensive, time consuming and complex, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, enforce or license all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology or inventions, or for RP1 or our other product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficient, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or superior to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize RP1 or our other product candidates and future technologies or inventions may be adversely affected.
Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our products for an adequate amount of time, and our product candidates for which we intend to seek approval as biological products may face competition sooner than anticipated. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of our product candidates, such as RP1 and our other product candidates, patents protecting such product candidates might expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized.
Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on our technology or inventions in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries or religions outside the United States can be less protective of our products than those in the United States. In addition, the laws and practices of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Changes to the patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect RP1 and our other product candidates. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies or inventions in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop and/or manufacture their own products and may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products and our patent claims or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from so competing.
Protecting against the unauthorized use of our patented inventions, trademarks and other intellectual property rights is expensive, time consuming, difficult and in some cases may not be possible. In some cases, it may be difficult or impossible to detect third-party infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, even in relation to issued patent claims, and proving any such infringement or misappropriation may be even more difficult. If we are unable to obtain, maintain, and protect our intellectual property our competitive advantage could be harmed, and it could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
In addition to seeking patent protection, we also rely on other proprietary rights, including protection of trade secrets, know-how and confidential and proprietary information. Although we enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, collaborators, suppliers, manufacturers and other third parties who have access to our trade secrets, and our agreements with employees also provide that any inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us shall be our exclusive property, we may not obtain these agreements in all circumstances, and individuals with whom we have these agreements may not comply with their terms or may have conflicting agreements with third parties. In addition, in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets or proprietary information, these agreements, even if obtained, may not provide meaningful protection, particularly for our trade secrets or other confidential information. To the extent that our employees, consultants or contractors use technology or know-how owned by third parties in their work for us, disputes may arise between us and those third parties as to the rights in related inventions. If any of our trade secrets, know-how or confidential or proprietary information were to be lawfully obtained, patented or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or information to compete with us and may be blocked from using such trade secrets, know-how or confidential or proprietary information ourselves. The disclosure of our trade secrets or the independent development of our trade secrets by a competitor or other third party would impair our competitive position and may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Third parties may in the future initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, and we may become involved in lawsuits or other administrative procedures to protect or enforce our intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful and have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.
Our commercial success depends on our ability and the ability of our current or future collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell RP1 and our other product candidates, and to use our related proprietary technologies without
infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property and proprietary rights of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. We may become party to, or threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our current and any other future product candidates. For example, we are aware of U.S. Patent 10,034,938 (the ‘938 Patent) held by Amgen Inc., which includes claims purported to cover methods and kits for treating stage IIIb to IV melanoma by the administration of (i) an effective amount of an anti-PD-1 antibody or anti-CTLA-4 antibody; and (ii) a herpes simplex virus, wherein the herpes simplex virus lacks a functional ICP34.5 encoding gene and a functional ICP47 encoding gene, and comprises a gene encoding human GM-CSF. On November 2, 2022, we filed a petition for inter partes review with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the USPTO, seeking to invalidate certain claims of United States Patent 10,034,938 (the ‘938 Patent). In August 2023 we entered into a Settlement Agreement with Amgen and mutually agreed to terminate our challenges to their patents. In connection with the Settlement Agreement, we entered into a License and Covenant Agreement with Amgen in which we agreed to pay Amgen low single-digit royalty payments on net sales of our products that, but for the license, could be found to infringe a valid Amgen patent on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis.
Third parties may assert infringement or other intellectual property claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be filed and/or granted in the future. At times we may attempt to initiate litigation or other administrative procedures to invalidate or otherwise limit the scope of a third party’s intellectual property and these attempts may not be successful. If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, and we are unsuccessful in demonstrating that such intellectual property rights are invalid, unenforceable or otherwise not infringed, we could be required to obtain a license from such third-party to continue developing, manufacturing and commercializing RP1 and our other product candidates. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be nonexclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies and inventions licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. We also could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing, and commercializing RP1 or our other product candidates or we could be found liable for significant monetary damages if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent or other intellectual property right. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects. Any claims by third parties that we have misappropriated their know-how, confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets could have a similar material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
If we or one of our licensing partners initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering any of our technology or inventions, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. If a third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on RP1 and our other product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Many of our employees, including our senior management team, were previously employed at, or consulted for, universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we take steps to ensure that our employees do not use, claim as theirs, or misappropriate the intellectual property, confidential or proprietary information, know-how or trade secrets of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used, claimed as theirs, misappropriated or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets, know-how or other confidential or proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel or sustain damages. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third-party to commercialize our technology or products. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
In addition, we are developing certain of our product candidates in combination with nivolumab and cemiplimab, which are covered by patents or licenses held by BMS and Regeneron, respectively, to which we do not have a license other than for use in connection with the applicable clinical trial. We also may develop our product candidates in combination with products developed by additional companies that are covered by patents or licenses held by those entities to which we do not have a license. In the event that a labeling instruction is required in product packaging recommending that combination, we could be accused of, or held liable for, infringement of the third-party patents covering the product candidate or product recommended for administration with RP1 or our other product candidates. In such a case, we could be required to obtain a license from the other company or institution to use the required or desired package labeling, which license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
Competitors may infringe any future licensed patents or any patent we own in the future or misappropriate or otherwise violate our intellectual property rights. We may also be required to defend against claims of infringement and our
licensed patents and any patents we own in the future may become involved in priority or other intellectual property related disputes. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of our own intellectual property rights or the proprietary rights of others.
These proceedings can be expensive and time consuming. Many of our current and potential competitors have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to conduct intellectual property related litigation or proceedings than we can. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct such litigation or proceedings adequately. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property. An adverse result in any litigation or other intellectual property related proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation in the United States, there is a risk that some of our trade secrets, know-how, or proprietary or confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments in any such proceedings. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of shares of our common stock. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Risks related to manufacturing and our reliance on third parties
We have agreements with BMS and Regeneron, and in the future may have agreements with other companies, to obtain the supply of anti-PD-1 therapies for the development of our product candidates. If our relationships with BMS, Regeneron, or any future collaborator or supplier are not successful, we may be delayed in completing the development of our product candidates.
We have entered into arrangements with BMS and Regeneron as part of our clinical development for our product candidates where nivolumab or cemiplimab, respectively, are intended to be used for these clinical programs. BMS is providing nivolumab, its anti-PD-1 therapy, for use in our ongoing IGNYTE Phase 1/2 trials with RP1 and our Phase 1/2 clinical trial with RP2 where we intend to use nivolumab and may potentially do so for other clinical trials in the future; Regeneron agreed to provide cemiplimab, its anti-PD-1 therapy, for use in our CERPASS Phase 2 clinical trial and may potentially do so for other clinical trials in the future.
We may also enter into agreements with additional companies for the supply of anti-PD-1 therapies for use in the development of RP1 and our other product candidates, similar to our agreement with Roche. The outcome of these clinical trials is dependent, in part, both on the performance of our partners’ products and product candidates and also on our partners’ ability to deliver sufficient quantities of adequately produced product. Should any of our partners’ products or product candidates fail to produce the results that we anticipate, we may have to re-run clinical trials for RP1 or our other product candidates or may otherwise be delayed in the commercialization of RP1 or our other product candidates. Similarly, should any partner fail to provide us with a product or product candidate that suits our requirements, we may have to re-run clinical trials for RP1 or our other product candidates or may be otherwise delayed in the commercialization of RP1 or our other product candidates. Additionally, we are subject to specific risks associated with our collaboration partners, including possible discrepancies as to the timing, nature and the extent of development plans, contract interpretations, and the costs and allocation of costs related to the conduct of our clinical trials. If we and any collaboration partner are unable to agree or fail to perform our respective obligations or effectively manage our relationship, our clinical trials performed under such collaboration could incur additional costs, be delayed or could result in costly or time-consuming legal proceedings that could have an adverse effect on a collaboration or on our business.
Our collaboration agreements with any future partners may not be successful, which could adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates.
We may in the future seek collaboration arrangements with other parties for the development or commercialization of our product candidates. The success of any collaboration arrangements may depend on the efforts and activities of our collaborators. Collaborators generally have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these arrangements. Disagreements between parties to a collaboration arrangement regarding clinical development and commercialization matters can lead to delays in the development process or commercializing the applicable product candidate and, in some cases, termination of the collaboration arrangement.
Collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies and other third parties often are terminated or allowed to expire by the other party. Any such termination or expiration could adversely affect us financially and could harm our business reputation.
Any future collaborations we might enter into may pose a number of risks, including the following:
•collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected;
•collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of any product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding, or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities;
•collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;
•collaborators could fail to make timely regulatory submissions for a product candidate;
•collaborators may not comply with all applicable regulatory requirements or may fail to report safety data in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, which could subject them or us to regulatory enforcement actions;
•collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our products or product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours;
•product candidates discovered in collaboration with us may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to cease to devote resources to the commercialization of our product candidates;
•a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such product candidate or product;
•disagreements with collaborators, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation or the preferred course of development, might cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of product candidates, might lead to additional responsibilities for us with respect to product candidates, or might result in litigation or arbitration, any of which would be time consuming and expensive;
•collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation; and
•collaborators may infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability.
If any collaborations we might enter into in the future do not result in the successful development and commercialization of products or if one of our collaborators subsequently terminates its agreement with us, we may not receive any future research funding or milestone or royalty payments under such potential future collaboration. If we do not receive the funding we expect under the agreements, our development of our product candidates could be delayed and we may need additional resources to develop our product candidates and our product platform.
Additionally, if any future collaborator of ours is involved in a business combination, the collaborator might de-emphasize or terminate development or commercialization of any product candidate it licenses to us. If one of our collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may find it more difficult to attract new collaborators and our reputation in the business and financial communities could be adversely affected.
We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Our ability to reach a definitive agreement for any collaboration will depend upon, among other things, our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors.
If we are unable to reach agreements with suitable collaborators on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all, we may have to curtail the development of a product candidate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to fund and undertake development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional expertise and additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we fail to enter into collaborations and do not have sufficient funds or expertise to undertake the necessary development and commercialization activities, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market or continue to develop our product platform and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct, supervise, and monitor our preclinical studies and clinical trials. If those third parties do not perform satisfactorily, including failing to meet deadlines for the completion of such trials or failing to comply with regulatory requirements, we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates or any other product candidates that we may develop in the future.
We rely on third-party CROs, study sites, and others to conduct, supervise, and monitor our preclinical studies and clinical trials for our product candidates and do not currently plan to independently conduct preclinical studies or clinical trials of any other potential product candidates. We expect to continue to rely on third parties, such as CROs, clinical data management organizations, medical institutions, and clinical investigators, to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials. Although we have agreements governing their activities, we have limited influence over their actual performance and control only certain aspects of their activities. The failure of these third parties to successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines could substantially harm our business because we may be delayed in completing or unable to complete the studies required to support future approval of our product candidates, or we may not obtain marketing approval for or commercialize our product candidates in a timely manner or at all. Moreover, these agreements might terminate for a variety of reasons, including a failure to perform by the third parties. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements our product development activities would be delayed and our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed.
Our reliance on these third parties for development activities will reduce our control over these activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory, and scientific standards and our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. For example, we will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for the trial. We must also ensure that our preclinical trials are conducted in accordance with the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice, or GLP, regulations, as appropriate. Moreover, the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities require us to comply with standards, commonly referred to as GCPs for conducting, recording, and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity, and confidentiality of trial participants are protected. Regulatory authorities enforce these requirements through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, clinical investigators, and trial sites. If we or any of our third parties fail to comply with applicable GCPs or other regulatory requirements, we or they may be subject to enforcement or other legal actions, the data generated in our trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional studies. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product candidates that were produced under cGMP regulations. Failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.
If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our preclinical studies or clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our trials may be repeated, extended, delayed, or terminated; we may not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, marketing approvals for our product candidates; we may not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize our product candidates, or we or they may be subject to regulatory enforcement actions. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed. To the extent we are unable to successfully identify and manage the performance of third-party service providers in the future, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects may be materially harmed.
If any of our relationships with these third parties terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative providers or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional third parties involves additional cost and may result in delays that could compromise our ability to meet our desired development timelines.
We also rely on other third parties to store and distribute our products for the clinical trials that we conduct. Any performance failure on the part of our distributors could delay clinical development, marketing approval, or commercialization of our product candidates, which could result in additional losses and deprive us of potential product revenue.
If the manufacturers upon which we rely fail to produce our raw materials or process consumables in the volumes that we require on a timely basis, or fail to comply with stringent regulations applicable to biopharmaceutical manufacturers, we may face delays in the development and commercialization of, or be unable to meet demand for, our product candidates and may lose potential revenues.
We continue to rely on third-party contract manufacturers to manufacture our raw materials and certain clinical trial product supplies. As a result, there can be no assurance that our clinical development or commercial supplies will not be limited, interrupted, or of satisfactory quality or continue to be available at acceptable prices.
We currently have only one in-house manufacturing site approved for use in our clinical trials. In addition, we do not have any long-term commitments from our suppliers of raw materials or clinical trial material or guaranteed prices for our product candidates or their components. There are a limited number of manufacturers that operate under cGMP regulations and that are both capable of manufacturing and filling our viral product for us and willing to do so. If our existing third-party manufacturers of raw materials or our product candidates, or the third parties that we engage in the future, should cease to work with us, we likely would experience delays in obtaining sufficient quantities of our product candidates for us to meet commercial demand or to advance our clinical trials while we identify and qualify replacement suppliers. Any replacement of our contract manufacturer could require significant effort and expertise because there may be a limited number of qualified replacements. Any delays in obtaining adequate supplies of our raw materials or product candidates that meet the necessary quality standards may delay our development or commercialization.
If our manufacturers of raw materials, equipment or process consumables do not perform as agreed or encounter difficulties in production costs and yields, quality control, shortages of qualified personnel or key raw materials, compliance with strictly enforced federal, state, and foreign regulations, or other difficulties, our ability to provide product candidates to patients in our clinical trials could be jeopardized.
In addition, if our Framingham manufacturing site cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or other regulatory authorities, we will not be able to secure or maintain regulatory approval for our manufacturing facilities. Any such deviations may also require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time consuming for us or a third party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business. Any delays in obtaining raw materials, products or product candidates that comply with the applicable regulatory requirements may result in delays to clinical trials, product approvals, and commercialization.
We are ultimately responsible for the manufacturing of our product candidates and therapeutic substances, but, other than through our contractual arrangements, we have limited control over our raw materials or process consumables manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards. If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority does not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates or if it withdraws any such approval in the future, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved. We must also receive FDA approval for the use of any new manufacturers for clinical or commercial supply, including our own manufacturing facility.
A failure to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements, including periodic regulatory inspections, may result in regulatory enforcement actions against us (including fines and civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment) suspension or restrictions of production, injunctions, delay or denial of product approval or supplements to approved products, clinical holds or termination of clinical trials, warning or untitled letters, regulatory authority communications warning the public about safety issues with the product candidate, refusal to permit the import or export of the products, product seizure, detention, or recall, operating restrictions, suits under the civil False Claims Act, corporate integrity agreements, consent decrees, withdrawal of product approval, environmental or safety incidents and other liabilities. If the safety of any quantities supplied is compromised due to our manufacturing failures to adhere to applicable laws or for other reasons, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates.
The transition of our manufacturing operations to, and operating and maintaining, our own manufacturing facility may result in further delays or expenses, and we may not experience the anticipated operating efficiencies.
Our approximately 63,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Framingham, Massachusetts is now fully operational. We have completed the process of transferring the manufacturing of RP1, RP2 and RP3 from our third-party contract manufacturer. Comparability analysis of RP1, RP2 and RP3 produced at our in-house Framingham facility with the contract manufacturer material used in our clinical studies is complete. The FDA and some European regulatory agencies have approved the use of material produced at our Framingham facility in ongoing and future clinical trials. The Framingham facility is intended to give us control over key aspects of the supply chain for our products and product candidates. However, we may not experience the anticipated operating efficiencies as we commence manufacturing operations at the new facility. Any such delays may disrupt or delay the supply of our product candidates if we have not maintained a sufficient backup supply of our product candidates through third-party manufacturers. Moreover, changing manufacturing facilities may also require that we conduct additional studies, make notifications to the regulatory authorities, make additional filings to the regulatory authorities, and obtain regulatory authority approval for the new facilities, which may be delayed or which we may never receive. We will further need to comply with the FDA’s and applicable foreign regulatory authorities’ cGMP requirements for the production of our product candidates for clinical trials and, if approved, commercial supply, and will be subject to FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authority inspections. We may not be able to develop or acquire the internal expertise and resources necessary for compliance with these requirements. If we are not able to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements or produce product that meets our requirements and specifications, we will be subject to the same risks that we would be subject to should third party manufacturers be unable to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements or produce product meeting our requirements or specifications, as described above. If we fail to achieve the operating efficiencies that we anticipate, our manufacturing and operating costs may be greater than expected, which could have a material adverse impact on our operating results.
In operating our own manufacturing facility, we may be forced to devote greater resources and management time than anticipated, particularly in areas relating to operations, quality, raw material supply, regulatory, facilities and information technology. Further, should corrective or preventative actions be required, we will be fully responsible for these. If we experience unanticipated employee turnover in any of these areas, we may not be able to effectively manage our ongoing manufacturing operations and we may not achieve the operating efficiencies that we anticipate from the new facility, which may negatively affect our product development timeline, product candidate supplies and, if approved, our commercial product
supplies. If we experience any unanticipated shortages of key raw materials, or other difficulties related to our raw material supply, we may not be able to effectively manage our ongoing manufacturing timelines and costs which may negatively affect our product development schedule and our ability to provide clinical trial supplies to patients in our clinical trials, and if approved, our commercial product supplies.
Any problems or delays we experience in preparing for commercial scale manufacturing of a product candidate or component may result in a delay in product development timelines and FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority approval of the product candidate or may impair our ability to manufacture commercial quantities or such quantities at an acceptable cost and quality, which could result in the delay, prevention, or impairment of clinical development and commercialization of our product candidates and may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Any such problems could result in the delay, prevention, or impairment of clinical development and commercialization of our product candidates and may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Risks related to legal and compliance matters
We face potential product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability and have to limit the commercialization of any approved products and/or our product candidates.
The use of our product candidates in clinical trials, and the sale of any product for which we obtain regulatory approval, exposes us to the risk of product liability claims. We face inherent risk of product liability related to the testing of our product candidates in human clinical trials, including liability relating to the actions and negligence of our investigators, and will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any product candidates that we may develop. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. Product liability claims might be brought against us by consumers, healthcare providers or others using, administering or selling our products. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against these claims, we will incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our product candidates. Even successful defense would require significant financial and management resources. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
•loss of revenue from decreased demand for our products and/or product candidates;
•impairment of our business reputation or financial stability;
•costs of related litigation;
•substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;
•diversion of management attention;
•withdrawal of clinical trial participants and potential termination of clinical trial sites or entire clinical programs;
•the inability to commercialize our product candidates;
•significant negative media attention;
•decreases in our stock price;
•initiation of investigations and enforcement actions by regulators; and
•product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions, including withdrawal of marketing approval.
We believe we have sufficient insurance coverage in place for our business operations. However, our insurance coverage may not reimburse us or may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. We intend to expand our insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products if we obtain FDA or comparable foreign regulatory approval for our product candidates in development, but we may be unable to obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance for any products approved for marketing, or at all. Failure to obtain and retain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of products we develop. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to fall and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash, and materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and other anticorruption laws, as well as import and export control laws, customs laws, sanctions laws and other laws governing our operations. If we fail to comply with these laws, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, other remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Our operations are subject to anticorruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or the Bribery Act, and other anticorruption laws that apply in countries where we do business. We also may participate in collaborations and relationships with third parties whose actions, if noncompliant, could potentially subject us to liability under the FCPA, Bribery Act or local anticorruption laws. We are also subject to other laws and regulations governing our international operations, including regulations administered by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom and authorities in the European Union, including applicable import and export control regulations, economic sanctions on countries and persons, anti-money laundering laws, customs requirements and currency exchange regulations, collectively referred to as the trade control laws.
We can provide no assurance that we will be completely effective in ensuring our compliance with all applicable anticorruption laws or other legal requirements, including trade control laws. If we are not in compliance with applicable anticorruption laws or trade control laws, we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement and other sanctions and remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects. Likewise, any investigation of any potential violations of these anticorruption laws or trade control laws by U.S., U.K. or other authorities could also have an adverse impact on our reputation, our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
If we fail to comply with federal and state healthcare laws, including fraud and abuse and health and other information privacy and security laws, we could face substantial penalties and our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects will be materially harmed.
We are subject to many federal and state healthcare laws, such as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal civil and criminal False Claims Acts, the civil monetary penalties statute, the Medicaid Drug Rebate statute and other price reporting requirements, the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, or VHCA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economics and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH), or HIPAA, the FCPA, the ACA, and similar state laws. Even though we do not and will not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors, certain federal and state healthcare laws, and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse, reimbursement programs, government procurement, and patients’ rights are and will be applicable to our business. We would be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse and patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states and foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. In the European Union, the data privacy laws are generally stricter than those that apply in the United States and include specific requirements for the collection of personal data of European Union persons or the transfer of personal data outside of the European Union to the United States to ensure that European Union standards of data privacy will be applied to such data.
If we, our operations or in some instances our partners actions under clinical trials in which we are the sponsor, are found to be in violation of any federal or state healthcare law, or any other laws or regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil, criminal, and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, suspension and debarment from government contracts, and refusal of orders under existing government contracts, exclusion from participation in U.S. federal or state health care programs, corporate integrity agreements, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could materially adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. If any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found not to be in compliance with applicable laws, it may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including but not limited to, exclusions from participation in government healthcare programs, which could also materially affect our business. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business.
We are subject to new legislation, regulatory proposals and healthcare payor initiatives that may increase our costs of compliance, and adversely affect our ability to market our products, obtain collaborators, and raise capital.
In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any products for which we obtain marketing approval. We expect that current laws, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we may receive for any approved products, which could have a material adverse effect on customers for our products, if approved, and, accordingly, on our results of operations.
Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government healthcare programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from commercializing our products and being able to generate revenue, and we could be prevented from or significantly delayed in achieving profitability.
Compliance with the federal track and trace requirements may increase our operational expenses and impose significant administrative burdens. As a result of these and other new proposals, we may determine to change our current manner of operation, provide additional benefits or change our contract arrangements, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners, principal investigators, CMOs, or CROs may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners, principal investigators, CMOs, or CROs could include intentional, reckless, negligent, or unintentional failures to comply with FDA regulations, comply with applicable fraud and abuse laws, provide accurate information to the FDA, properly calculate pricing information required by federal programs, report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. This misconduct could also involve the improper use or
misrepresentation of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. Moreover, it is possible for a whistleblower to pursue a False Claims Act case against us even if the government considers the claim unmeritorious and declines to intervene, which could require us to incur costs defending against such a claim. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.
Violations of or liabilities under environmental, health and safety laws and regulations could subject us to fines, penalties or other costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.
We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures, the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological and radioactive materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We would incur substantial costs as a result of violations of or liabilities under environmental requirements in connection with our operations or property, including fines, penalties and other sanctions, investigation and cleanup costs and third party claims. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties.
Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover costs and expenses, we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us in connection with our storage or disposal of biological or hazardous materials.
We are subject to stringent and changing obligations related to privacy and security. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to government enforcement actions (which could include civil or criminal penalties), private litigation and/or adverse publicity and could negatively affect our operating results and business.
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, processing) sensitive information, including personal data, proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we collect about trial participants in connection with clinical trials, and sensitive third-party data. Our data processing activities subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contracts, and other obligations that govern the processing of personal data by us and on our behalf.
In the United States, numerous federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws and regulations, including personal data privacy laws, health information privacy laws, data breach notification laws, personal data privacy laws, and consumer protection laws. For example, HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, imposes specific requirements relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. We may obtain health information from third parties, including research institutions from which we obtain clinical trial data, that are subject to privacy and security requirements under HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, and its implementing rules and regulations. Depending on the facts and circumstances, we could be subject to significant penalties if we obtain, use, or disclose individually identifiable health information maintained by a HIPAA-covered entity in a manner that is not authorized or permitted by HIPAA.
Additionally, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, imposes obligations on covered businesses. These obligations include, but are not limited to, providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording California residents certain rights related to their personal data. The CCPA also allows for statutory fines for noncompliance (up to $7,500 per violation) and includes a private right of action for certain data breaches. Although there are some exemptions for clinical trial data and health information, the CCPA may impact our business activities and increase our compliance costs and potential liability. In addition, it is anticipated that the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, which became operative on January 1, 2023, will expand the CCPA, including by expanding consumers’ rights with respect to certain sensitive personal data. The CPRA also creates the new California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the CCPA and the CPRA, which could increase compliance costs. Similar laws have passed in Virginia, Utah, Connecticut and Colorado, and have been proposed in other states and at the federal level, reflecting a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States. The enactment of such laws could have potentially conflicting requirements that would make compliance challenging. In the event that we are subject to or affected by HIPAA, the CCPA, the CPRA or other domestic privacy and data protection laws, any liability from failure to comply with the requirements of these laws could adversely affect our financial condition.
Outside the United States, an increasing number of laws, regulations, and industry standards apply to data privacy and security. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or EU GDPR, and the United Kingdom’s GDPR, or UK GDPR, impose strict requirements for processing personal data. For example, under the EU GDPR, government regulators may impose temporary or definitive bans on data processing, as well as fines up to the greater of €20 million or 4% of annual global revenue. Further, individuals may initiate litigation related to processing of their personal data.
Certain jurisdictions have enacted data localization laws and cross-border personal data transfer laws, which could make it more difficult to transfer information across jurisdictions (such as transferring or receiving personal data that originates in the EU or in other jurisdictions outside of the United States). Existing mechanisms that facilitate cross-border personal data transfers may change or be invalidated. For example, absent appropriate safeguards or other circumstances, the EU GDPR generally restricts the transfer of personal data to countries outside of the European Economic Area, or EEA, that the European Commission does not consider to provide an adequate level of data privacy and security, such as the United States. The European Commission released a set of “Standard Contractual Clauses,” or SCCs, that are designed to be a valid mechanism to facilitate personal data transfers out of the EEA to these jurisdictions. The SCCs, though approved by the European Commission as a suitable alternative, have faced challenges in European courts, and may be further challenged, suspended or invalidated. Additionally, the SCCs impose additional compliance burdens, such as conducting transfer impact assessments to determine whether additional security measures are necessary to protect the at-issue personal data. Other countries in Europe, such as the UK, similarly restrict personal data transfers outside of those jurisdictions to countries such as the United States that do not provide an adequate level of personal data protection. If we cannot implement a valid compliance mechanism for cross-border data transfers, we may face increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines, and injunctions against processing or transferring personal data from Europe or other foreign jurisdictions. The inability to import personal data to the United States could significantly and negatively impact our business operations, limiting our ability to collaborate with parties that are subject to such cross-border data transfer or localization laws; or requiring us to increase our personal data processing capabilities and infrastructure in foreign jurisdictions at significant expense.
Risks related to our operations
We will need to expand the size of our organization, and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth, which could disrupt our operations.
As our development and commercialization plans and strategies develop, we expect to need additional managerial, operational, sales, marketing, financial and other personnel. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize RP1 and our other product candidates will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth, which would impose significant additional responsibilities on members of management and may divert their attention away from day-to-day activities.
We currently rely, and for the foreseeable future will continue to rely, in substantial part on certain independent organizations, advisors and consultants to provide certain services. The services include substantially all aspects of clinical trial management and manufacturing, as well as support for our financial reporting and accounting functions. If the services of independent organizations, advisors and consultants become unavailable to us or we are unable to effectively manage our outsourced activities, or if the quality or accuracy of such services is compromised for any reason, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, we may not comply with our financial reporting and accounting obligations on a timely basis and we may not be able to obtain marketing approval of RP1 and our other product candidates or otherwise advance our business.
If we are not able to effectively expand our organization by hiring qualified new employees and expanding our groups of consultants and contractors, we may not be able to successfully implement the tasks necessary to further develop and commercialize RP1 and our other product candidates and, accordingly, may not achieve our research, development and commercialization goals.
Our future success depends on our ability to retain our key employees and consultants, and to attract and motivate highly qualified personnel.
Our ability to compete in the highly competitive biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries depends upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific and medical personnel. We are highly dependent on our executive leadership team, as well as our other scientific, manufacturing, quality and medical personnel. The loss of the services of our key personnel and any of our other executive officers, key employees, and scientific and medical advisors, without our inability to find suitable replacements, could result in delays in product development and harm our business.
Changes in our management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives and key employees from time to time could disrupt our business. These changes and any future significant leadership changes or senior management transitions involve inherent risk. Any failure to find a timely and suitable replacement and ensure an effective transition within executive leadership or senior management, including the effective onboarding, assimilation, and retention of our management team and key employees, could hinder our strategic planning, business execution and future performance. In addition, executive leadership transition periods can be disruptive and may result in a loss of personnel with deep institutional or technical knowledge, or result in changes to business strategy or objectives, and may negatively impact our operations and relationships with employees and third-parties due to increased or unanticipated expenses, operational inefficiencies, uncertainty regarding changes in strategy, decreased employee morale and productivity, and increased turnover.
To induce valuable employees to remain at our company, in addition to salary and cash incentives, we have provided stock option and restricted stock unit grants that vest over time. The value to employees of these equity grants that vest over time may be significantly affected by movements in our stock price that are beyond our control, and may at any time be insufficient to counteract more lucrative offers from other companies. Although we have employment agreements with our key employees, these employment agreements generally provide for at-will employment, which means that any of our employees could leave our employment at any time, with or without notice.
If we fail to establish and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired.
We are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting. We must perform system and process design evaluation and testing of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We continue to be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to incur substantial professional fees and internal costs for our accounting and finance functions, expend significant management efforts, continue to implement plans developed to address areas that we have identified as requiring improvement, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting.
If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If that were to happen, our investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC, Nasdaq or other regulatory authorities.
We believe that any internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. We may discover weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our consolidated financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.
These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Our business and operations could suffer in the event of system failures or unauthorized or inappropriate use of or access to our systems.
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, processing) sensitive information, including personal data, proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we collect about trial participants in connection with clinical trials, and sensitive third-party data. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Some of this information could be an attractive target of criminal attack or unauthorized access and use by third parties with a wide range of motives and expertise, including organized criminal groups, “hacktivists,” patient groups, disgruntled current or former employees and others. Cyber-attacks are of ever-increasing levels of sophistication, and despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to such attacks or may be breached, including due to employee error or malfeasance.
The pervasiveness of cybersecurity incidents in general and the risks of cyber-crime are complex and continue to evolve. There can be no assurance that our security efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Our internal computer systems and those of our contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, unauthorized or inappropriate access or use, natural disasters, pandemics (including COVID-19), terrorism, war (including the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel), and telecommunication and electrical failures. Such events could cause interruption of our operations. For example, the loss of pre-clinical trial data or data from clinical trials for our product candidates could result in delays in our regulatory filings and development efforts, as well as delays in the commercialization of our products, and significantly increase our costs. To the extent that any disruption, security breach or unauthorized or inappropriate use or access to our systems were to result in a loss of or damage to our data, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, including but not limited to patient, employee or vendor information, we could incur notification obligations to affected individuals and government agencies, liability, including potential lawsuits from patients, collaborators, employees, stockholders or other third parties and liability under foreign, federal and state laws that protect the privacy and security of personal information, and the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed. or additional information, see the Risk Factor captioned “We are subject to stringent and changing obligations related to privacy and security. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to government enforcement actions (which could include civil or criminal penalties), private litigation and/or adverse publicity and could negatively affect our operating results and business.”
Risks related to our common stock and general risk factors
An active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained.
Our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 20, 2018. Given the limited trading history of our common stock, there is a risk that an active trading market for shares of our common stock may not be sustained. In the absence of an active trading market for shares of our common stock, our stockholders may not be able to sell their common stock at or above the price at which such stockholder acquired our common stock or at the time that they would like to sell.
The price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our common stock.
Our stock price has been and is likely to be volatile. The stock market in general and the market for biopharmaceutical companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, you may not be able to sell your common stock at or above the price at which it was acquired. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:
•the success of competitive products or technologies;
•results of clinical trials of RP1 and our other product candidates or those of our competitors;
•regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;
•developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;
•the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
•the level of expenses related to the development of RP1 and our other product candidates or clinical development programs;
•the results of our efforts to discover, develop, acquire or in-license additional product candidates or drugs;
•actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts;
•variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
•changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
•market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;
•general economic, industry and market conditions;
•political and economic instability, including the impact of COVID-19, the possibility of an economic recession, international hostilities including, but not limited to, the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian and Israel-Hamas military conflicts, acts of terrorism, governmental restrictions and sanctions, inflation, global supply chain disruptions, trade relationships and military and political alliances; and
•the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or our guidance.
Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly in the future, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. From time to time, we may enter into license or collaboration agreements with other companies that include development funding and significant upfront and milestone payments and/or royalties, which may become an important source of our revenue. Accordingly, our revenue may depend on development funding and the achievement of development and clinical milestones under current and any potential future license and collaboration agreements and sales of our products, if approved. These upfront and milestone payments may vary significantly from period to period and any such variance could cause a significant fluctuation in our operating results from one period to the next.
In addition, we measure compensation cost for stock-based awards made to employees at the grant date of the award, based on the fair value of the award as determined by our board of directors, and recognize the cost as an expense over the employee’s requisite service period. As the variables that we use as a basis for valuing these awards change over time, including, our underlying stock price and stock price volatility, the magnitude of the expense that we must recognize may vary significantly.
Furthermore, our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of other factors, many of which are outside of our control and may be difficult to predict, including the following:
•timing and cost of, and level of investment in, research and development activities relating to our current and any future product candidates, which will change from time to time;
•the total expenses we incur in connection with equipping and operating our manufacturing facility;
•our ability to engage clinical trial sites in the U.S. and in foreign territories, obtain the approval for conducing our clinical trials in foreign territories from their regulatory authorities, as well as our ability to enroll the number of patients necessary in our clinical trials and the timing of enrollment;
•the cost of manufacturing our current and any future product candidates, which may vary depending on the FDA’s and comparable foreign regulatory authorities’ guidelines and requirements, the quantity of production and the terms of any agreements with manufacturers;
•expenditures that we will or may incur to acquire or develop additional product candidates and technologies;
•the timing and outcomes of clinical and preclinical studies for RP1 and our other product candidates or competing product candidates;
•competition from existing and potential future products that compete with RP1 and our other product candidates, and changes in the competitive landscape of our industry, including consolidation among our competitors or partners;
•any delays in regulatory review or approval of RP1 or our other product candidates;
•the level of demand for RP1 and our other product candidates, if approved, which may fluctuate significantly and be difficult to predict;
•the risk/benefit profile, cost and reimbursement policies with respect to our product candidates, if approved, and existing and potential future products that compete with RP1 and our other product candidates;
•our ability to commercialize RP1 and our other product candidates, if approved, inside and outside of the United States, either independently or working with third parties;
•the success of and our ability to establish and maintain collaborations, licensing or other arrangements;
•our ability to adequately support future growth;
•potential unforeseen business disruptions that increase our costs or expenses;
•political and economic instability, including the impact of COVID-19, the possibility of an economic recession, international hostilities, including, but not limited to, those resulting from the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian and Israel-Hamas military conflicts, acts of terrorism, governmental restrictions and sanctions, inflation, global supply chain disruptions, trade relationships and military and political alliances;
•future accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies; and
•the changing and volatile global economic environment.
These factors could result in large fluctuations and unpredictability in our quarterly and annual operating results. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. Investors should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance.
This variability and unpredictability could also result in our failing to meet the expectations of industry or financial analysts or investors for any period. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of analysts or investors or below any forecasts we may provide to the market, or if the forecasts we provide to the market are below the expectations of analysts or investors, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Such a stock price decline could occur even when we have met any previously publicly stated revenue and/or earnings guidance we may provide.
We have broad discretion in how we use our cash, cash equivalents and investments, and may not use these resources effectively, which could affect our results of operations and cause our stock price to decline.
Our management has considerable discretion in the application of our cash, cash equivalents and investments. We intend to use our resources to fund our preclinical and clinical development programs as well as for general corporate purposes, including working capital requirements and other operating expenses. As a result, investors will be relying upon management’s judgment with only limited information about our specific intentions for the use of our resources. We may use our resources for purposes that do not yield a significant return or any return at all for our stockholders. In addition, pending their use, we may invest our cash, cash equivalents and investments in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.
We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any return on their investment.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.
If our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market after the expiration of contractual or legal restrictions on resale lapse, the market price of our common stock could decline. These sales may make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate, or to use equity as consideration for future acquisition.
In addition, a significant number of shares of common stock that are either subject to outstanding options and restricted stock units, reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans or subject to outstanding warrants are eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting schedules and Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the
Securities Act, including our ESPP if activated. If these additional shares of common stock are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decline.
Certain holders of shares of our common stock, or their permitted transferees, are entitled to rights with respect to the registration under the Securities Act of shares of our common stock pursuant to the amended and restated investors' rights agreement by and among us and certain of our stockholders. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in the shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, except for shares purchased by affiliates. Any sales of securities by these stockholders could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
We may sell up to $100.0 million of shares of our common stock in “at-the-market” offerings pursuant to a Sales Agreement entered into on August 3, 2023, as amended, with Leerink Partners LLC, or the 2023 Sales Agreement. The sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock pursuant to the 2023 Sales Agreement, or anticipation of such sales, could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline or make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise desire. In addition, issuances of any shares of our common stock sold pursuant to the 2023 Sales Agreement will have a dilutive effect on our existing stockholders.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common stock or securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into common stock, our existing stockholders’ interest will be diluted. Debt financing, if available, would increase our fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.
If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to grant rights to develop and market one or more of our product candidates or technologies that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
If we engage in future acquisitions or strategic partnerships, this may increase our capital requirements, dilute our stockholders, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, and subject us to other risks.
We may evaluate various acquisitions and strategic partnerships, including licensing or acquiring complementary products, intellectual property rights, technologies, or businesses. Any potential acquisition or strategic partnership may entail numerous risks, including:
•increased operating expenses and cash requirements;
•the assumption of additional indebtedness or contingent liabilities;
•the issuance of our equity securities;
•assimilation of operations, intellectual property and products of an acquired company, including difficulties associated with integrating new personnel;
•the diversion of our management’s attention from our existing product programs and initiatives in pursuing such a strategic merger or acquisition;
•retention of key employees, the loss of key personnel, and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships;
•risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party, their regulatory compliance status, and their existing products or product candidates and marketing approvals; and
•our inability to generate revenue from acquired technology and/or products sufficient to meet our objectives in undertaking the acquisition or even to offset the associated acquisition and maintenance costs.
In addition, if we undertake acquisitions, we may issue dilutive securities, assume or incur debt obligations, incur large one-time expenses and acquire intangible assets that could result in significant future amortization expense or intangible asset impairment charges. Moreover, we may not be able to locate suitable acquisition opportunities and this inability could impair
our ability to grow or obtain access to technology or products that may be important to the development of our business. Any of the foregoing may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Unfavorable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition, results of operations, stock price and prospects.
Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets. The most recent global financial crisis caused extreme volatility and disruptions in the capital and credit markets. A severe or prolonged economic downturn could result in a variety of risks to our business, including a reduced ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all. A weak or declining economy could also strain our suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption. Any of the foregoing could harm our business and we cannot anticipate all of the ways in which the economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.
Global financial markets have been experiencing extreme disruption in recent months, including, among other things, extreme volatility in securities prices. We are unable to predict the likely duration and severity of the current disruptions in financial markets and adverse economic conditions throughout the world. These economic developments affect businesses such as ours and those of third parties on which we rely in a number of ways that could result in unfavorable consequences to us. Current economic conditions or a deepening economic downturn in the United States and elsewhere have reduced and may continue to reduce our ability or willingness to access capital, which could negatively impact our short-term and long-term liquidity.
Although we are not aware of any downgrades, material losses, or other significant deterioration in the fair value of our cash equivalents or short-term investments, we cannot assure you that deterioration of the global credit and financial markets would not negatively impact our current portfolio of cash equivalents or short-term investments, or our ability to meet our financing objectives. Furthermore, our stock price may decline due, in part, to the volatility of the stock market and general economic downturns.
Exchange rate fluctuations may materially affect our results of operations and financial conditions.
Owing to the international scope of our operations, fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly between the U.S. dollar and the British pound and the euro, may adversely affect us. Although we are based in the United States, we have significant research and development operations in the United Kingdom, and source third-party manufacturing, consulting and other services in the United Kingdom and the European Union. As a result, our business and the price of our common stock may be affected by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, which may have a significant impact on our results of operations and cash flows from period to period. Currently, we do not have any exchange rate hedging arrangements in place.
Unfavorable global economic conditions and geopolitical events could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets. The financial markets and the global economy may also be adversely affected by the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, including the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian and Israel-Hamas military conflicts, terrorism or other geopolitical events. Sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries in response to such conflicts may also adversely impact our clinical trials, the financial markets and the global economy, and any economic countermeasures by the affected countries or others could exacerbate market and economic instability. A weak or declining economy or political disruption, including any international trade disputes, could disrupt or otherwise adversely impact our operations and those of third parties upon which we rely. Although we do not currently operate in Russia, Ukraine, Israel or territories under Hamas control, if these conflicts broaden it may impact countries or territories in which we do operate or intend to operate, which could have a negative impact on our ability to achieve our objectives or timelines.
The increasing focus on environmental sustainability and social initiatives could increase our costs, harm our reputation and adversely impact our financial results.
There has been increasing public focus by investors, customers, environmental activists, the media and governmental and nongovernmental organizations on a variety of environmental, social and other sustainability matters. We experience pressure to make commitments relating to sustainability matters that affect us, including the design and implementation of specific risk mitigation strategic initiatives relating to sustainability. If we are not effective in addressing environmental, social and other sustainability matters affecting our business, or setting and meeting relevant sustainability goals, our reputation and financial results may suffer. We may experience increased costs in order to execute upon our sustainability goals and measure
achievement of those goals, which could have a materially adverse impact on our business and financial condition. In addition, this emphasis on environmental, social and other sustainability matters has resulted and may result in the adoption of new laws and regulations, including new reporting requirements. If we fail to comply with new laws, regulations or reporting requirements, our reputation and business could be adversely impacted.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.
There have been no unregistered sales of securities other than previously disclosed by us in our Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on June 13, 2024.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Other Information.
Rule 10b5-1 Plan Trading Arrangements
None of our directors or officers adopted, modified, or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” in each case as defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K, during the three months ended September 30, 2024.
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
* Filed or furnished herewith. The certifications furnished in Exhibit 32.1 and Exhibit 32.2 hereto are deemed to accompany this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and will not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it by reference.
† Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
*‡ Pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC, certain portions of this exhibit have been omitted. The Company hereby agrees to furnish supplementally to the SEC, upon its request, an unredacted copy of this exhibit.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.