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Amryt Pharma Plc (AMYT)
:AMYT
US Market

Amryt Pharma (AMYT) Risk Analysis

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Public companies are required to disclose risks that can affect the business and impact the stock. These disclosures are known as “Risk Factors”. Companies disclose these risks in their yearly (Form 10-K), quarterly earnings (Form 10-Q), or “foreign private issuer” reports (Form 20-F). Risk factors show the challenges a company faces. Investors can consider the worst-case scenarios before making an investment. TipRanks’ Risk Analysis categorizes risks based on proprietary classification algorithms and machine learning.

Amryt Pharma disclosed 78 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Amryt Pharma reported the most risks in the “Finance & Corporate” category.

Risk Overview Q4, 2020

Risk Distribution
78Risks
31% Finance & Corporate
26% Legal & Regulatory
17% Tech & Innovation
12% Ability to Sell
10% Production
5% Macro & Political
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.

Risk Change Over Time

S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
Amryt Pharma Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.

The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.

Risk Highlights Q4, 2020

Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 24 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 24 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
78
S&P 500 Average: 31
78
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
0Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Dec 2020
0Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Dec 2020
Number of Risk Changed
0
S&P 500 Average: 3
0
S&P 500 Average: 3
See the risk highlights of Amryt Pharma in the last period.

Risk Word Cloud

The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.

Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 78

Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 24/78 (31%)Above Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights10 | 12.8%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
An active and liquid market for our securities may fail to develop, which could harm the market price of our ADSs.
Although our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq, an active trading market for our ADSs may never be sustained. In the absence of an active trading market for our ADSs, investors may not be able to sell their ADSs at the time that they would like to sell.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
The price and trading volume of our ADSs and ordinary shares may be volatile, and purchasers of our ADSs or ordinary shares could incur substantial losses.
The market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares is likely to be volatile and could decline significantly. The stock market in general, and the market for biotechnology and emerging pharmaceutical companies in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. In addition, our securities have a relatively small public float and may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of companies with broader public ownership. The market price for our ADSs and ordinary shares may be influenced by a variety of factors, including: - actual or anticipated variations in our financial condition and operating results;- actual or anticipated changes in our growth rate relative to our competitors;- announcements of technological partnerships, innovations or new products by us or our competitors;- the success of competitive products or technologies;- changes in management and members of our Board;- changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts;- changes in the trading volume of our ADSs on the Nasdaq and of our ordinary shares on AIM;- sales of our ADSs or ordinary shares by executive officers or future holders of our equity securities;- announcements or expectations of additional debt or equity financing efforts;- unanticipated losses or gains due to unexpected events, including events related to the success of our clinical trials or regulatory approvals;- significant acquisitions or business combinations, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by or involving us or our competitors;- changes in our accounting policies or practices;- disputes or other developments related to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;- failure to integrate successfully the Aegerion business with ours or to realize anticipated benefits from the integration;- changes in government regulations, including any changes that may affect pricing or reimbursement; and - conditions in the financial markets or changes in general economic conditions. These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for our ADSs and ordinary shares to fluctuate substantially. In addition, the trading prices for common stock of other biopharmaceutical companies have been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which the outbreak may impact our business, and the prices of our ADSs and ordinary shares will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
Future sales, or the possibility of future sales, of a substantial number of our ordinary shares or ADSs could adversely affect the price of such securities.
Future sales of a substantial number of our ordinary shares (including shares in the form of ADSs), or the perception that such sales will occur, could cause a decline in the market price of ADSs and our ordinary shares. As of December 31, 2020, we had 178,801,593 ordinary shares issued and outstanding (not including 8,966,520 zero cost warrants that may be exercised at any time or 4,791,703 ordinary shares held as treasury shares), including 111,338,095 ordinary shares represented by ADSs. All of our outstanding ordinary shares are freely tradeable on AIM and holders of our ordinary shares registered will be able to sell such ordinary shares in the form of ADSs, and such ADSs are freely tradeable. If holders sell substantial amounts of shares in the public markets, or if the market perceives that such sales may occur, the market price of our shares (including our ADSs) and our ability to raise capital through an issue of equity securities in the future could be adversely affected. As of December 31, 2020, Novelion beneficially owned 2,498,050 ADSs, representing approximately 12.49 million of our ordinary shares. Novelion as part of its voluntary liquidation process announced that it made a distribution on or about March 11, 2021 to Novelion's registered shareholders of 2,185,238 Amryt ADS's. Substantial sales of our shares or ADSs, as part of the Novelion liquidation, could have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares (including our ADSs).
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
Holders of our ADSs have fewer rights than our shareholders and are subject to certain additional risks.
ADS holders do not hold ordinary shares directly and, as such, are subject to, among others, the following additional risks: - As an ADS holder, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not be able to exercise shareholder rights, except through the depositary as permitted by the deposit agreement. - Distributions on the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs will be paid to the depositary, and before the depositary makes a distribution to you on behalf of your ADSs, any withholding taxes that must be paid will be deducted. Additionally, if the exchange rate fluctuates during a time when the depositary cannot convert the foreign currency, you may lose some or all of the value of the distribution. - We and the depositary may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without the ADS holders' consent in a manner that could prejudice ADS holders.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
ADS holders must act through the depositary to exercise their voting rights and, as a result, may be unable to exercise their voting rights on a timely basis.
We will not treat holders of our ADSs (rather than the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs) as shareholders, and they will not be able to exercise shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs, and ADS holders will be able to exercise voting rights with respect to the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs only in accordance with the deposit agreement relating to the ADSs. There are practical limitations on the ability of ADS holders to exercise their voting rights due to the additional procedural steps involved in communicating with these holders. For example, holders of our ordinary shares will receive notice of shareholders' meetings by mail and will be able to exercise their voting rights by either attending the shareholders meeting in person or voting by proxy. ADS holders, by comparison, will not receive notice directly from us. Instead, in accordance with the deposit agreement, we will use commercially reasonable endeavors to provide at least 30 days' notice to the depositary of any such shareholders' meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted on in advance of the meeting date. If we so instruct, the depositary will mail to holders of ADSs the notice of the meeting and a statement as to the manner in which voting instructions may be given by holders as soon as practicable after receiving notice from us of any such meeting. To exercise their voting rights, ADS holders must then instruct the depositary as to voting the ordinary shares represented by their ADSs. Due to these procedural steps involving the depositary, the process for exercising voting rights may take longer for ADS holders than for holders of ordinary shares. The ordinary shares represented by ADSs for which the depositary fails to receive timely voting instructions will not be voted.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
ADS holders may have difficulty in effecting service of process on our company and certain directors or officers in the United States in enforcing U.S. judgements in the United Kingdom or in enforcing U.S. securities laws in UK courts.
We are incorporated and located outside the United States and certain of our directors and officers are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for ADS holders to effect service of process within the United States upon all such persons or our company, or to obtain discovery of relevant documents and/or the testimony of witnesses. ADS holders based in the United States may also have difficulty enforcing in courts outside the United States judgments obtained in U.S. courts against our company or our directors (including actions under the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws). ADS holders may also have difficulty enforcing liabilities under the U.S. securities laws in legal actions originally brought in jurisdictions located outside the United States.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7
We are an "emerging growth company," and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our ADSs less attractive to investors and, as a result, adversely affect the price of the ADSs and result in a less active trading market for the ADSs.
We are an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include: - only being required to present two years of audited financials and related discussion in Management's Discussion & Analysis;- not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;- not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor's report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;- reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation; and - exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may choose to take advantage of some, but not all, of the available exemptions. For example, in this annual report, we have elected to rely on the exemption from the auditor attestation requirement and the exemption that permits only two years of financial statements to be presented. We may avail ourselves of these disclosure exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We cannot predict whether investors will find our ADSs less attractive because of our reliance on some or all of these exemptions. If investors find our ADSs less attractive, it may adversely affect the price of the ADSs and there may be a less active trading market for the ADSs. We will cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest of: - the last day of the fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion (as such amount is indexed for inflation every five years by the SEC) or more;- the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt;- the date on which we are deemed to be a "large-accelerated filer," as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ordinary shares and ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter; and - December 31, 2025. In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. If we are unable to comply timely with these accounting standards, we may be delayed in providing the disclosures required by the Exchange Act.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8
ADS holders may not receive distributions on the ordinary shares represented by our ADSs or any value for such distribution if it is illegal or impractical to make them available to holders of ADSs.
While we do not anticipate paying any dividends on its ordinary shares in the foreseeable future, if such a dividend is declared, the depositary for the ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, in accordance with the limitations set forth in the deposit agreement, it may be unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to holders of ADSs. We have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of the ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of our ADSs. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value from them if it is unlawful or impractical to make them available to you. These restrictions may have a material adverse effect on the value of your ADSs.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9
ADS holders may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result.
We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we may not, and under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, the depositary will not, offer those rights to ADS holders unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are registered under the Securities Act or the distribution of them to ADS holders is exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective. In addition, we may not be able to rely on an exemption from registration under the Securities Act to distribute such rights and securities. Accordingly, holders of the ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in their holdings as a result.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10
ADS holders may be subject to limitations on transfer of the ADSs.
The ADSs are only transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deem it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.
Accounting & Financial Operations5 | 6.4%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
We must maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, and if we are unable to do so, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, investor confidence and market price.
As a U.S. listed public company, we are required to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in order to accurately and timely report our results of operations and financial condition. As required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we will engage 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 dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants, and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented, and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm will be able to conclude within the prescribed timeframe that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. This could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. We disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures and our management is required to assess the effectiveness of these controls annually. However, for as long as we are an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting could detect problems that our management's assessment might not. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting could lead to restatements of our financial statements and require us to incur the expense of remediation. If we fail to staff our accounting and finance function adequately or maintain internal control over financial reporting adequate to meet the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our business and reputation may be harmed. Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the applicable requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, we may be subject to sanctions or investigations by regulatory authorities, including the SEC and the Nasdaq. Furthermore, if we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective or if our independent registered public accounting firm identifies deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our ADSs and ordinary shares could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC, the Nasdaq or other regulatory authorities. Failure to implement or maintain effective internal control systems as required of public companies could also restrict our access to the capital markets. The occurrence of any of the foregoing would also require additional financial and management resources.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception and we may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future.
To date, we have financed our operations primarily through a combination of revenues from sales of our commercialized products and the sale of our equity securities and convertible bonds. We have incurred net losses since our inception, including net losses of $30.6 million, $62.2 million and $106.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Aegerion similarly incurred losses since its inception, including net losses of $96.5 million and $30.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the six-month period ended June 30, 2019. We have devoted most of our financial resources to the acquisition of attractive commercial and near-commercial rare disease assets and research and development. We anticipate that we will continue to incur significant costs associated with the continued commercialization of lomitapide and metreleptin, and in connection with ongoing clinical development efforts and post-marketing commitments for these products as well as the continued development of our product candidates. The amount of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of our future expenditures, our ability to continue generating adequate revenues from sales of lomitapide and metreleptin and from sales of Oleogel-S10 if approved, and our ability to obtain funding through equity or debt offerings, grant funding, collaborations, strategic partnerships and/or licensing arrangements. If we do become profitable, we may not be able to sustain or increase our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
If intangible assets and goodwill that we record in connection with our acquisitions become impaired, we may have to take significant charges against earnings.
In connection with the accounting for our acquisitions, a significant value may be recognized in respect of intangible assets, including developed technology and customer relationships relating to the acquired product lines, and goodwill. Under IFRS, we must assess, at least annually and potentially more frequently, whether the value of intangible assets and goodwill has been impaired. Intangible assets and goodwill will be assessed for impairment in the event of an impairment indicator. Any reduction or impairment of the value of intangible assets and goodwill will result in a charge against earnings, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and shareholders' equity in future periods.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
Our assumptions and estimates regarding prevalence and the addressable markets for our products and product candidates may be inaccurate. If there are fewer actual patients than estimated, or if any product approval is based on narrower definitions of patient populations, our revenues and cash position could be materially and adversely affected.
The patient population for the diseases that our products treat is very small, and networking, data gathering and support channels are not as established as those for more prevalent and researched disease indications. There are limited patient registries or methods of establishing with precision the actual number of HoFH, GL and PL, or EB patients in any geography. Estimating the prevalence of a rare disease is difficult and we therefore must rely on assumptions, beliefs and an amalgam of information from multiple sources, resulting in potential under or over-reporting. There is no guarantee that our assumptions and beliefs are correct, or that the methodologies used and data collected have generated or will continue to generate accurate estimates. There is therefore uncertainty around the estimated total potential addressable patient population for treatment with lomitapide and metreleptin worldwide. In addition, the potential market opportunity for our product candidates that we may develop is difficult to estimate precisely, particularly given that the orphan drug markets which are targeted are, by their nature, relatively unknown. Our estimates of the potential market opportunity for each of these product candidates are predicated on several key assumptions, such as industry knowledge and publications, third-party research reports and other surveys. If any of our assumptions prove to be inaccurate, then the actual market for lomitapide, metreleptin, Oleogel-S10 or AP103, or our other or future product candidates, could be smaller than our estimates of the potential market opportunity. If that turns out to be the case, our product revenue may be limited, and we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 5
We have never declared or paid dividends on our ordinary shares, and we do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our ordinary shares. For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to support our operations and to finance the growth and development of our business. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of the Board, subject to compliance with applicable laws and covenants under current or future debt facilities, which may restrict or limit our ability to pay dividends, and will depend on our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, general business conditions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. As a result, a return on any investment will only occur if the price of our ordinary shares increases.
Debt & Financing5 | 6.4%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
We may need to raise additional funding, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and failure to obtain this capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations or to delay payment on future obligations.
On September 24, 2019, we entered into a five-year term loan facility ("Secured Credit Facility") and issued 5% senior unsecured convertible notes ("Convertible Notes"). As of December 31, 2020, we had borrowings of $87.3 million under our Secured Credit Facility and $125.0 million under our Convertible Notes, for total debt of $212.3 million. Furthermore, we may be required to satisfy payment obligations of up to $85 million to holders of contingent value rights ("CVRs") issued to shareholders and option holders in connection with specified milestones, which we may elect to pay in ordinary shares or notes. If we elect to issue notes, we will settle such notes in cash 120 days after their issue. We have significant payment obligations in connection with our Secured Credit Facility, the Convertible Notes, the CVRs, liabilities due to governmental entities that we assumed from Aegerion, and royalty obligations under certain of our license agreements. We have significant milestone and royalty payments payable under our material contracts if/when certain milestones are met, the terms of which are outlined in the "Material Contracts" section. In addition, while we are currently commercializing our approved products, we are also advancing our product candidates through preclinical and clinical development. Developing product candidates is expensive, lengthy and risky, and we expect our research and development expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance our product candidates toward commercialization. As of December 31, 2020, our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were $118.6 million. We expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our current operations and our payment obligations to third parties for at least the next 12 months. However, these resources might be insufficient to conduct research and development programs, the cost of product in-taking and possible acquisitions, fully commercialize products and operate our business to the full extent currently planned, and our operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us. As a result, we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings, government or other third-party funding, marketing and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements or a combination of these approaches. Even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans as well as to satisfy our payment obligations to third parties, we may seek additional capital if market conditions are favorable or if we have specific strategic considerations. Any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. If we cannot obtain adequate funds, we may be required to significantly curtail our commercial plans or one or more of our research and development programs or obtain funds through additional arrangements with corporate collaborators or others that may require us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates. In addition, we cannot guarantee that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Moreover, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our shareholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares to decline. The sale of additional equity or convertible securities may be dilutive to our shareholders. We may also enter into additional credit facilities from time to time, which may be secured, to fund certain of our operations. If we raise additional capital through debt financing, we would be subject to payment obligations and may be subject to security interests in our assets and covenants restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional capital through marketing and distribution arrangements, sales of assets or other collaborations, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish certain valuable rights to our product candidates, technologies, future revenue streams or research programs. We also could be required to seek collaborators for one or more of our current or future product candidates at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or relinquish our rights to product candidates or intellectual property that we otherwise would seek to develop or commercialize ourselves. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts, at the right time, on favorable terms, or at all, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of one or more of our products or product candidates, or one or more of our other research and development initiatives. Any of the above events could significantly harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations, cause the price of our ADSs and ordinary shares to decline, and negatively impact our ability to fund operations.
Debt & Financing - Risk 2
The terms of our debt and any requirements to incur further indebtedness or refinance our indebtedness in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Our level of indebtedness, together with any additional indebtedness we may incur in the future, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. For example, our anticipated level of indebtedness or any additional financing may: - make it more difficult for us to pay or refinance debts as they become due;- require us to use a larger portion of cash flow for debt service, reducing funds available for other purposes;- limit our ability to pursue business opportunities, such as potential acquisitions, and to react to changes in market or industry conditions;- reduce the funds available for other purposes, such as implementing our strategy, funding capital expenditures and making distributions to shareholders;- increase our vulnerability to adverse economic, industry or competitive developments;- affect our ability to obtain additional financing, particularly as substantially all of our assets (including our intellectual property) are subject to liens securing indebtedness under our Secured Credit Facility;- decrease our profitability, if we become profitable, or cash flow, or require us to dispose of significant assets in order to satisfy debts and other obligations if we are not able to satisfy these obligations using cash from operations or other sources; and - disadvantage us compared to competitors. Any of the foregoing, alone or in combination, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. A breach of, or the inability to comply with, the covenants in the Secured Credit Facility and the Convertible Notes could result in an event of default, in which case the lenders will have the right to declare all borrowings to be immediately due and payable, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and could lead to foreclosure on our assets. In the future, we may need to refinance our indebtedness. However, additional financing may not be available on favorable commercial terms to us, or at all. If, at such time, market conditions are materially different or our credit profile has deteriorated, the cost of refinancing such debt may be significantly higher than our indebtedness existing at that time. Furthermore, we may not be able to procure refinancing at all. Any failure to meet any future debt service obligations through use of cash flow, refinancing or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Debt & Financing - Risk 3
Restrictive covenants in certain of the agreements and instruments governing our indebtedness may adversely affect our financial and operational flexibility.
The terms of our indebtedness as of the date of this annual report include covenants that, among other things, restrict our ability to: incur liens; dispose of our assets (both material assets and exclusive licensing transactions in material territories); consolidate and merge with other entities; make loans and investments; incur indebtedness; engage in transactions with affiliates; make specified payments; and engage in other customary business activities. If we breach a restrictive covenant under the Secured Credit Facility or the Convertible Notes, or an event of default occurs with respect to such indebtedness, all amounts owing in respect of such indebtedness may be able to be declared due and payable immediately, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, both our Secured Credit Facility and the Convertible Notes include cross-default provisions, which generally provide that a default under one facility also results in a default under the other. See "Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions-B. Related Party Transactions-Agreements with Principal Shareholders-Secured Credit Facility" and "Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions-B. Related Party Transactions-Agreements with Principal Shareholders-Convertible Notes." If we enter into future debt agreements, they may include similar or more restrictive provisions. These restrictions may also make more difficult or discourage a takeover of our company, whether favored or opposed by management or the Board. Our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, and any material deviations from our forecasts could require us to seek waivers or amendments of covenants or alternative sources of financing, or to reduce expenditures. We cannot guarantee that such waivers, amendments or alternative financing could be obtained or, if obtained, would be on terms acceptable to us. A breach of any of the covenants or restrictions in our debt agreements or instruments could result in an event of default. Such a default could allow our debt holders to accelerate repayment of the related debt, as well as any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies, or to declare all borrowings outstanding under these agreements to be due and payable. If our debt is accelerated, our assets may not be sufficient to repay such debt. Holders of the Convertible Notes have the right to require the repurchase of their notes for cash upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, such as a change of control of our company, at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the respective principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. If a fundamental change occurs and the Convertible Notes are converted during the related fundamental change conversion period, then the conversion rate may be increased to a corresponding number of shares and share price set forth in the Convertible Notes. Subject to certain exceptions as provided in the indenture governing the Convertible Notes, a fundamental change includes (a) the acquisition of 50% or more of the voting interests in our company, (b) an event in which we merge or consolidate with another entity, (c) an event in which we convey, sell, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our assets to another entity, (d) our liquidation or (e) delisting of our ordinary shares. Among the exceptions provided in the indenture are for transactions described in (a), (b) or (c) in which (i) our stockholders immediately prior to the transaction have the right to exercise, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the total voting power of the capital stock of the continuing or surviving entity or transferee or parent thereof following the transaction or (ii) 90% of the consideration paid for our ordinary shares in a transaction consists of stock that is or will be quoted on AIM, the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. Further, unless we elect to deliver our ordinary shares to settle any conversions of Convertible Notes, we would be required to settle a portion or all of the conversion obligation through the payment of cash. We may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time it is required to make repurchases of Convertible Notes surrendered therefor or Convertible Notes being converted. The failure to repurchase Convertible Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the indenture or to pay any cash payable on future conversions of the Convertible Notes as required by the indenture would constitute a default under the indenture. A default under the indenture or a fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our current and future indebtedness. If the repayment of such indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we are unlikely to have sufficient funds to repay such indebtedness and repurchase the Convertible Notes or make cash payments upon conversions thereof or other required payments on its other indebtedness, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations on a consolidated basis.
Debt & Financing - Risk 4
We may be subject to ongoing financial liabilities and other obligations that we assumed upon Aegerion's emergence from bankruptcy.
On September 24, 2019, we completed the Acquisition upon Aegerion's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy pursuant to a Plan of Reorganization approved by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Prior to filing bankruptcy, Aegerion, its parent, Novelion Therapeutics Inc. ("Novelion"), and Aegerion's primary creditors entered into, among other things, a Restructuring Support Agreement. We purchased Aegerion pursuant to certain transactions effectuated in accordance with Aegerion's Plan of Reorganization, as contemplated by the Restructuring Support Agreement. Pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization, Aegerion was discharged from all claims, interests, rights and liabilities against Aegerion that arose prior to the effective date of the Plan of Reorganization ("Effective Date"), except as expressly set forth in the Plan of Reorganization. The Plan of Reorganization contemplated that certain prepetition liabilities of Aegerion would continue to be obligations of Aegerion, notwithstanding the general discharge of all prepetition claims against Aegerion. Specifically, the Plan of Reorganization contemplated the following post-Effective Date liabilities: (i) in satisfaction of certain of its prepetition secured debt obligations, Aegerion entered into a new secured term loan debt facility in the amount of $81,020,618.73 with interest accruing at (a) 11% per annum paid in cash on a quarterly basis; or (b) 6.5% per annum paid in cash plus 6.5% per annum paid in kind on a quarterly basis; (ii) in satisfaction of certain prepetition liabilities, Aegerion issued $125 million in Convertible Notes; (iii) Aegerion assumed certain prepetition contracts (including all pre- and post-petition associated liabilities) with trade creditors providing goods and services to Aegerion; and (iv) Aegerion excepted from discharge its obligations to indemnify, defend, reimburse, exculpate, advance fees and expenses to, or limit the liability of directors, officers or employees of Aegerion, or any of Aegerion's subsidiaries, who served in such capacity after Aegerion's bankruptcy petition. In addition, prior to the bankruptcy proceedings, Aegerion entered into 38 settlement agreements with governmental entities (including the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the FDA) in connection with the Juxtapid investigations. These settlement agreements required Aegerion to pay specified fines, which have been satisfied as of the end of the first fiscal quarter 2021, and engage in extensive regulatory compliance efforts, during which period the last payment was made. The Plan of Reorganization provided that each of these settlement agreements were assumed by Aegerion pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization and would therefore continue to constitute obligations of Aegerion after the Effective Date. Following the Acquisition, we are subject to the obligations levied by these settlement agreements as well as the other liabilities that survived the bankruptcy cases. This may result in unanticipated costs and may harm our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Debt & Financing - Risk 5
The Athyrium Funds hold a significant interest in our company and may be able to influence matters relating to our business.
The Athyrium Funds hold approximately 24.8% of our share capital. The Athyrium Funds are in a position to exert influence over matters requiring approval of the holders of our equity securities and will have the ability to block certain actions requiring shareholder approval, including (but not limited to) disapplication of preemption rights. We are not required to enter and have not entered into a relationship agreement with Athyrium or the Athyrium Funds to manage the relationship between them. The interests of the Athyrium Funds may be different from the interests of other shareholders and, as a result, the Athyrium Funds' interests in our ordinary shares, if of sufficient individual or aggregate size, or if aggregated in any circumstances, or should the Athyrium Funds convert their warrants into ordinary shares, may permit them to effect certain transactions without the support of other holders of our equity securities, or delay or prevent certain transactions that are in the interests of other holders of our equity securities. Decisions made by Athyrium (on behalf of the Athyrium Funds) may therefore influence our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. These decisions may also conflict with the interest of other holders of our equity securities and could prevent other holders of our equity securities from receiving a premium on their securities. The market price of our ADSs and ordinary shares may decline if Athyrium uses its influence in ways that are or may be adverse to the interests of other holders of our equity securities.
Corporate Activity and Growth4 | 5.1%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
We will incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a U.S. listed public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.
As a U.S. publicly traded company, and particularly after we cease to be an "emerging growth company" as defined in the JOBS Act, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur prior to the listing of our ADSs in the United States as a result of reporting requirements under the Exchange Act. In addition, the federal securities laws, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Sarbanes-Oxley Act"), and rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC have imposed various requirements on public companies, including requirements to file annual and event-driven reports with respect to our business and financial condition, and to establish and maintain effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time consuming and costly. For example, these regulations may make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified members of the Board and various corporate committees, and obtaining director and officer liability insurance will be more expensive. We may not be able to produce reliable financial statements or file these financial statements as part of a periodic report in a timely manner with the SEC or comply with the Nasdaq listing requirements. In addition, we could make errors in our financial statements that could require us to restate our financial statements. Shareholder activism, the current political environment, and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currently anticipate. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
We have faced, and we may continue to face, challenges integrating the businesses and operations of our company and Aegerion and, as a result, may not realize the expected benefits of the Acquisition.
Integrating the businesses of our company and the significantly larger business of Aegerion is a complex process. At June 30, 2019, shortly before completion of the Acquisition, Aegerion had total assets of $322.6 million compared to our total assets of $75.4 million. We cannot guarantee that the integration of our business with Aegerion's will be completed successfully or that we will be able to achieve any of the anticipated benefits. In order for the integration to be successful, we must maintain our and Aegerion's prior regulatory relationships, clinical trials, product initiatives, license, service DOJ and Corporate Integrity agreement(s) and their related obligations, with violations of these agreements resulting in potential financial penalties, additional time added on to the current terms of the agreements and additional costs for the company. We must also undertake certain actions required to maintain manufacturing, supply and distribution processes. While we have made significant progress, we may not be able to successfully integrate the businesses of our company and Aegerion, and even if successful, the integration may be costly and time consuming, and the anticipated synergies may not be realized, either of which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 3
Any future acquisitions we make may expose us, to risks that could adversely affect our business, and we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of acquisitions of businesses or technologies.
As a part of our growth strategy, we may make additional acquisitions of complementary businesses. Any future acquisition will involve numerous risks and operational, financial and managerial challenges, including the following, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations: - limited support and user knowledge for legacy systems of acquired companies;- problems maintaining uniform procedures, controls and policies with respect to our financial accounting systems;- difficulties in managing geographically dispersed operations, including risks associated with entering foreign markets in which we have no or limited prior experience;- underperformance of any acquired technology, product or business relative to our expectations and the price we paid;- negative near-term impacts on financial results after an acquisition, including acquisition-related earnings charges;- the potential loss of key employees, customers and strategic partners of acquired companies;- claims by terminated employees and shareholders of acquired companies or other third parties related to the transaction;- the assumption or incurrence of additional debt obligations or expenses, or use of substantial portions of our cash;- the issuance of equity securities to finance or as consideration for any acquisitions that dilute the ownership of our shareholders;- any collaboration, strategic alliance and licensing arrangement may require us to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us;- risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party and their existing products or product candidates and regulatory approvals;- diversion of management's attention and company resources from existing operations of the business;- inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures and policies;- the impairment of intangible assets as a result of technological advancements, or worse-than-expected performance of acquired companies;- assumption of, or exposure to, historical liabilities of the acquired business, including unknown contingent or similar liabilities that are difficult to identify or accurately quantify;- our inability to generate revenue from acquired technology or products sufficient to meet our objectives in undertaking the acquisition or even to offset the associated acquisition and maintenance costs;- risks associated with acquiring intellectual property, including potential disputes regarding acquired companies' intellectual property; and - future acquired products, employees policies and operations (including pricing/reimbursement) could be subject to Corporate Integrity Agreement compliance and review. There can be no assurance that any of the acquisitions we may make will be successful or will be, or will remain, profitable. Our failure to successfully address the foregoing risks may prevent us from achieving the anticipated benefits from any acquisition in a reasonable time frame, or at all.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 4
Our future performance depends, in part, on our ability to successfully implement our strategy.
Our future success will depend on our ability to implement our strategy to develop and expand our existing portfolio of drugs to treat patients with rare diseases and to create a rare disease company with a diversified offering of multiple development stage and commercial assets that can provide us with scale to support future growth. The success of our strategy depends, in part, on our ability to drive growth in existing territories and access and drive growth in new territories and indications with existing commercial assets, build a franchise in EB through our lead product candidate, Oleogel-S10, and our product candidate AP103, based on our novel polymer-based topical gene therapy delivery platform and expand and diversify our product portfolio through acquisition and in-licensing opportunities. This strategy will require us to, among other things, identify suitable targets, conduct and complete clinical trials, obtain the necessary consents and authorizations for our products and any product candidates, conduct diligence, carry out any acquisition or in-licensing transaction and obtain suitable financing. Implementing our strategy requires substantial time and resources from our management team. Our Board and management may not be able to successfully implement our strategy or other strategies to be developed by management, and implementing these strategies may not sustain or improve, and could even harm, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We may be unable to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of our business strategies, which are based on assumptions about future demand for our current products and product candidates, as well as on our continuing ability to produce our products profitably. Consequently, any predictions made about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or additional products on the market.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 20/78 (26%)Above Sector Average
Regulation13 | 16.7%
Regulation - Risk 1
The laws and regulations in the areas of sales and marketing of pharmaceutical products and interacting with healthcare professionals and patients are very complex and onerous and require a robust compliance program. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to comply with certain laws and regulations could lead to governmental investigations and result in financial penalties and remedial and compliance measures. For example, compliance failures by Aegerion led to a DOJ investigation and ultimately resulted in three separate settlements (Corporate Integrity Agreement, Consent Decree and Deferred Prosecution Agreement) with multiple government agencies (Office of Inspector General ("OIG"), the FDA and DOJ) and aggregate penalties of approximately $40.1 million, which include $7.2 million in restitution payable over three years beginning January 2018, a civil penalty of $4.1 million to be paid to the SEC pursuant to the SEC judgment, and $28.8 million to be paid pursuant to the settlement agreement with the DOJ. Aegerion had been making the required payments and following the Acquisition we assumed responsibility for payment obligations, which were fully satisfied in the first quarter of 2021. Pursuant to the settlement, we are also required to maintain various remedial and compliance measures, which were implemented as required by the settlement. We may be unsuccessful in implementing and complying with all of the elements of the settlement in a timely or satisfactory manner, or at all. Failure to comply with any provisions of these settlements, or if we became subject to new allegations or whistleblower complaints, could result in the imposition of additional fines, penalties and obligations by the applicable government agency, and could subject us to prosecution. Furthermore, the investigation by the Brazilian authorities of Aegerion's activities could result in the commencement of formal proceedings, and if the investigation finds any violation of any laws or governmental regulations, then our Brazilian subsidiary may be subject to civil lawsuits and administrative penalties and other potential damages and fines. Under certain circumstances, the Brazilian subsidiary and our company could be barred from further sales to federal or state governments in Brazil, including sales of Juxtapid or Myalepta, due to penalties imposed by Brazilian regulatory authorities or through civil actions initiated by federal or state public prosecutors.
Regulation - Risk 2
We are subject to extensive legal and compliance obligations as a pharmaceutical company that commercializes products, as well as under Aegerion's settlements with the DOJ, OIG, FDA, SEC and other federal and state government agencies.
As a pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes pharmaceutical products, we are subject to an extensive array of broad and complex laws and regulations. These include, without limitation, regulations and laws in the United States and outside the United States related to manufacturing, clinical, quality, drug safety, commercialization, payments to and interactions with healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations, anti-kickbacks, fraud and abuse, the requirement to report payments and other transfers of value to healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations, data protection and privacy, pricing, reimbursement, price reporting, anti-corruption and anti-bribery, and a myriad of other areas and levels of regulation. Any failure by us or our key vendors, contractors, distributors, licensors or other key third-party vendors or service providers to comply with such laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition, could result in product approvals being suspended, withdrawn, delayed or denied, could result in litigation or investigations which could be costly and be a significant distraction to executive management and other employees, and could result in damages or prosecution. In September 2017, Aegerion entered into various settlements with the DOJ, OIG, FDA and SEC ("Aegerion Settlements") of investigations regarding Aegerion's U.S. commercial activities and disclosures related to Juxtapid, as described in more detail in "Note 15: Commitments and Contingencies-Legal Matters" in Aegerion's Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report. Under the terms of the Aegerion Settlements, Aegerion was required to pay approximately $40.1 million in penalties, which include $7.2 million in restitution payable over three years beginning January 2018, a civil penalty of $4.1 million to be paid to the SEC pursuant to the SEC judgment, and $28.8 million to be paid pursuant to the settlement agreement with the DOJ. We assumed these obligations in connection with the Acquisition and have been making these penalty payments in accordance with the terms of the Aegerion Settlements with all of these payment obligations having been fully satisfied as of the end of the first fiscal quarter 2021. The Aegerion Settlements also mandates extensive remedial and compliance measures. The failure to comply with any provisions of the Aegerion Settlements, including the financial, remedial and compliance measures, or if we became subject to new allegations or whistleblower complaints, could result in the imposition of additional fines, penalties and obligations, and could subject us to prosecution or exclusion from federal healthcare programs in the United States.
Regulation - Risk 3
The FDA, the EU Member States and other regulatory agencies outside the United States and the European Union enforce laws and regulations governing drug marketing and promotional activities, including prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses. Violations of these laws and regulations, and the resulting enforcement actions by these agencies, can result in significant liability.
The FDA, the regulatory authorities of the EU Member States and other comparable regulatory agencies outside the United States and the European Union strictly regulate the promotional claims that may be made about prescription drug products. In particular, a drug product may not be promoted in a jurisdiction prior to obtaining regulatory marketing approval or for uses that are not approved by the FDA, the European Commission ("EC"), the regulatory authorities of the EU Member States or such other regulatory agencies, as applicable, as reflected in the product's approved prescribing information or summary of product characteristics. The European Union and the United Kingdom reached an agreement on a TCA on December 24, 2020, which was ratified by the UK Parliament on December 30, 2020. The TCA is provisionally applicable since January 1, 2021 and it is currently awaiting ratification by the European Parliament which is expected by the end of April 2021 (being the current expiration date of the provisional application period of the TCA). Among other areas, the TCA includes provisions affecting the life sciences sector (including on customs and tariffs) but areas for further discussion between the EU and UK remain. In addition, there are some specific provisions concerning pharmaceuticals. These include the mutual recognition of GMP, inspections of manufacturing facilities for medicinal products and GMP documents issued. The TCA does not, however, contain wholesale mutual recognition of UK and EU pharmaceutical regulations and product standards. In the United States, marketing and promotion of drug products is regulated by the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") to ensure that any claims about such products are consistent with regulatory approvals, not misleading or false in any particular way, and adequately substantiated by clinical data. In the United States and the European Union, the promotions of a drug product in a manner that is false, misleading, unsubstantiated, or for unapproved (or off-label) uses may result in enforcement letters or notices, inquiries and investigations, and civil and criminal sanctions by the FDA, FTC and regulatory authorities of the EU Member States (as applicable). Promotion of products for off-label uses in the United States can also result in false claims litigation under federal and state statutes, which can lead to consent decrees, civil monetary penalties, restitution, criminal fines and imprisonment, and exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs. Aegerion was the subject of such investigations and enforcement in connection with the investigations into Juxtapid and the related Aegerion Settlements. Cooperation with such investigations and negotiation of, and compliance with, the settlement has been and will continue to be costly and burdensome on our management and other resources. Any future investigations and litigation involving us could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. It could also distract our management from operating the business and may be disruptive to employees, leading to further employee attrition. In addition, the Aegerion Settlements have impacted, and may continue to impact, our reputation and the willingness of some physicians to prescribe our licensed products.
Regulation - Risk 4
The regulatory approval processes of the EMA, the FDA and other comparable regulatory agencies may be lengthy and time consuming and the outcome is unpredictable.
Our future success is partly dependent upon our ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and commercialize one or more of our product candidates. There can be no assurance that any development product candidates will be successful in clinical trials or receive regulatory approval. We cannot predict with certainty if or when we might submit for regulatory approval of any of our product candidates currently under development. Any approvals we may obtain may not cover all of the clinical indications for which we are seeking approval. Also, an approval might contain significant limitations in the form of narrow indications, warnings, precautions, or contra-indications with respect to conditions of use. Applications for any of our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the following: - the EMA, the FDA or any other comparable regulatory agency may disagree with the design or implementation of clinical trials or interpretation of data from non-clinical trials or clinical trials;- the population studied in the clinical program may not be sufficiently broad or representative to ensure that the clinical data can be relied on safely in the full population for which we are seeking approval;- the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support a finding that has statistically significant clinical meaningfulness or support the submission of a new drug application or other submission, or to obtain regulatory approval in relevant jurisdictions, such as the European Union and the United States;- we may be unable to demonstrate to the EMA, the FDA or any other comparable regulatory agency that a product candidate's risk-benefit ratio for its proposed indication is acceptable;- the EMA, the FDA or any other comparable regulatory agency may fail to approve the manufacturing processes, test procedures and specifications or facilities of Amryt or third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and - the approval policies or regulations of the EMA, the FDA or any other comparable regulatory agency may significantly change in a manner rendering clinical data insufficient for approval. Disruptions at the FDA, the EMA and other regulatory agencies may also slow the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, in recent years, including in 2018 and 2019, the U.S. government shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, had to furlough critical employees and stop critical activities. Separately, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 10, 2020 the FDA announced its intention to postpone most inspections of foreign manufacturing facilities and products except for those deemed to be "mission critical." On March 18, 2020, the FDA announced its intention to temporarily postpone routine surveillance inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities and provided guidance regarding the conduct of clinical trials. In July 2020, FDA resumed "prioritized" domestic inspections, which generally include pre-approval and surveillance inspections based on the COVID-19 Advisory Rating System, which it followed up on with an August 2020 guidance document on inspections. Following the August 2020 guidance, FDA resumed domestic inspections, while foreign inspections remained limited to those deemed "mission critical." In March 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report indicating that FDA faces an inspections backlog that may take years to clear, which could delay drug approvals. In April 2021, the FDA issued guidance related to remote inspections to further elaborate on the oversight tools which may be considered in relation to mission critical inspections. Regulatory authorities outside the United States may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if global health concerns continue to prevent the FDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, it could significantly impact the ability of such regulatory authorities to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, in our operations as a public company, future government shutdowns or delays could impact our ability to access the public markets and obtain necessary capital in order to properly capitalize and continue our operations. Any of our current or future product candidates could take a significantly longer time to gain regulatory approval than expected or may never gain regulatory approval. This could delay or eliminate any potential product revenue by delaying or terminating the potential commercialization of product candidates. For example, any centralized marketing authorization application made to the EMA involving ‘Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products' (such as AP103) will be subject to scientific evaluation by the Committee for Advanced Therapies, in addition to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use ("CHMP"). We intend to seek regulatory approvals to commercialize the product candidates in the United States and the European Union. To obtain regulatory approval in other countries, we must comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of such other jurisdictions, which may include (without limitation) safety, efficacy, chemistry, manufacturing and controls, clinical trials, commercial sales, pricing and distribution of product candidates. Even if we are successful in obtaining approval in one jurisdiction, there can be no guarantee that it will obtain approval in other jurisdictions. Failure to obtain any marketing authorizations for the product candidates will result in us being unable to market and sell such products. If we fail to obtain approval in any jurisdiction, the geographic market for the product candidates could be limited. Similarly, regulatory agencies may not approve the labelling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of the product candidates.
Regulation - Risk 5
Enacted and future legislation and related regulations may increase the difficulty and cost for us to commercialize metreleptin, lomitapide or Oleogel-S10 or development candidates and may affect the prices we are able to obtain for our products, if and where approved.
In the United States, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that restrict or regulate post-approval activities, which may affect our ability to profitably sell our products. Legislative and regulatory proposals have been made to expand post-approval requirements and restrict sales and promotional activities for pharmaceutical products. We cannot predict whether additional legislative changes will be enacted, or whether the FDA regulations, guidance or interpretations will be changed, or what the impact of such changes for the products may be. In addition, increased scrutiny by Congress of the FDA's approval process may subject us to more stringent product labeling, post-marketing testing and other requirements. In May 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services adopted a final rule permitting Medicaid Part D plans to apply certain utilization controls on new starts of protected class drugs. In the United States, most outpatient prescription drugs, including Myalept, Juxtapid and Oleogel-S10, if approved, may be covered under Medicare Part D. Medicare Part D prescription drug plans are authorized to use formularies where they can limit the number of drugs that will be covered in any therapeutic class and impose differential cost sharing or other utilization management techniques. The possibility that our products and product candidates will be subject to such formularies places pressure on them to contain and reduce costs, which could negatively impact our commercialization efforts. Changes to Medicare Part D, which give plans more freedom to limit coverage or manage utilization, and other cost reduction initiatives in the program could decrease the coverage and price that we receive for any approved products, and could be detrimental to our business. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA") (as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010) substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers. The law contains a number of provisions that affect coverage and reimbursement of drug products and that could potentially reduce the demand for our products, such as: - increasing drug rebates under state Medicaid programs for brand name prescription drugs and extending those rebates to Medicaid managed care; and - requiring drug manufacturers to provide a 70% discount on Medicare Part D brand name prescription drugs sold to Medicare beneficiaries whose prescription drug costs cause the beneficiaries to be subject to the Medicare Part D coverage cap (i.e., the so-called donut hole). We cannot predict the ultimate content, timing or effect of any changes to the PPACA or other federal and state reform efforts. There is no assurance that federal or state healthcare reform will not adversely affect our business and financial results, and we cannot predict how future federal or state legislative, judicial or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business. In November 2020, HHS issued two rules aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs.  The first rule would cap the price Medicare can pay for a drug to the lowest price paid in an economically comparable country within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, commonly referred to as the "most favored nation," or MFN, model.  The rule was immediately challenged in at least four federal courts and has been temporarily enjoined from going into effect.  Under the Biden administration, the Department of Health & Human Services has indicated that the MFN model will not be implemented without further rulemaking.  The second rule eliminated the safe harbor shielding Medicare Part D rebates to pharmacy benefit managers ("PBMs") from the Anti-Kickback Statute.  In response to litigation brought by a trade association on behalf of PBMs, the Biden administration has agreed to delay the rule's effective date until January 1, 2023.   It remains to be seen whether, and to what extent, these measures will take effect. Further, under the 117th Congress, several bills have been introduced aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs, including proposals to authorize the Department of Health & Human Services to negotiate the prices of brand-name prescription drugs covered by Medicare and to cap Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. Any significant spending reductions affecting Medicare, Medicaid or other publicly funded or subsidized health programs that may be implemented and/or any significant taxes or fees that may be imposed, as part of any broader deficit reduction effort or legislative replacement to current laws or regulations, could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. In addition, countries outside the United States may make changes to their healthcare systems, which may in the future affect the revenue generated from sales of lomitapide, metreleptin and Oleogel-S10, if approved, or any of our future commercial products.
Regulation - Risk 6
The successful commercialization of our product candidates will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities and health insurers establish adequate coverage, reimbursement levels and pricing policies. Failure to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our product candidates, if approved, could limit our ability to market those products and decrease revenue generating ability.
The availability and adequacy of coverage and reimbursement by governmental healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurers and other third-party payers is essential for many patients to be able to afford prescription medications such as our products and potential product candidates, assuming regulatory approval is obtained. Our ability to achieve acceptable levels of coverage and reimbursement for products by governmental authorities, private health insurers and other organizations will affect the success of our approved products and product candidates. Assuming we obtain coverage for our product candidates by third-party payers, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement in the United States, the EU Member States, or elsewhere will be available for the product candidates or any product that we may develop, and any reimbursement that may become available may be decreased or eliminated in the future. Further, it is possible that a third-party payer may consider our product candidates as substitutes and only offer to reimburse patients for a less expensive product. Even if we show improved efficiency or convenience of administration with our product candidates compared to products marketed by our competitors and the prevailing SOC, the pricing of existing therapies may still limit the amount we could charge. Third-party payers may deny or revoke the reimbursement status of any given product or establish new prices for existing marketed products that inhibit us from realizing an appropriate return on our investment in the product candidates. If reimbursement is not available or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates, and may not be able to obtain a satisfactory financial return on them.
Regulation - Risk 7
Outside the United States, the success of our products and operations is subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations which may materially and adversely affect our ability to generate commercially reasonable revenue and profits.
Our operations are subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations in the United Kingdom and other countries outside of the United States. The increasing emphasis on cost-containment initiatives in the various EU Member States and other countries can put pressure on the pricing and usage of currently marketed products and product candidates in the future. In many countries, the prices of medical products are subject to varying price control mechanisms as part of national health systems. Some EU Member States have established free-pricing systems, but regulate the pricing for drugs, inter alia, through profit control schemes. However, the UK, which has implemented the most vigorous scheme, has officially left the European Union on January 31, 2020. Additional foreign price controls or other changes in pricing regulation could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for our product candidates. Accordingly, in markets outside the United States, the reimbursement for our currently marketed products and our product candidates in the future may be reduced and may be insufficient to generate sufficient revenues and profits. Moreover, increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payers in the United States and abroad to control healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and the level of reimbursement for newly approved products and, as a result, they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our products, or any other product candidates we may develop in the future.
Regulation - Risk 8
Previously granted regulatory exclusivity will expire and we may not be entitled to such exclusivity in the future.
Orphan Drug Designation can confer various benefits, depending on the jurisdiction, including market exclusivity and regulatory and fiscal incentives. Because our products and product candidates treat rare diseases and conditions that affect relatively small patient populations, we depend on the financial incentives and market exclusivity provided by Orphan Drug Designation to generate revenue from our product portfolio and protect our products from competition from lower-priced generic versions of such drugs. The Orphan Drug Designation in the United States for Juxtapid for the treatment of HoFH expired on December 21, 2019, and Orphan Drug Designation for Myalept for treatment of GL will expire in 2021. Aegerion also obtained Orphan Drug Designation for metreleptin for the treatment of PL in the United States, which provides seven years exclusivity after approval in the United States. In 2012, metreleptin was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the EC for the treatment of Barraquer-Simons syndrome, Berardinelli-Seip syndrome, Lawrence syndrome and familial PL, which is expected to expire ten years from approval of any marketing authorization(s) for such indication(s) by the EMA. The EC provided that at the end of the fifth year into the Orphan Drug exclusivity period it is established that metreleptin continues to fulfill the criteria for Orphan Drug Designation. If not, such exclusivity period is reduced to six years. Following approval by the EMA in July 2018, metreleptin was entitled to ten years of market and Orphan Drug exclusivity in the European Union. Upon the expiration of the Orphan Drug exclusivity periods for our products, we may face substantial competition from generic drugs which could materially and adversely affect the price we are able to receive for the products and its business. Furthermore, the Orphan Drug Designation may not be available in the future by virtue of a number of factors, such as changes in law or regulation, increased competition in the Orphan Drug market, clinical and technological developments, among others. The designation could also result in significant payments to meet ongoing compliance obligations. The expiration or loss of Orphan Drug Designation in respect of one of our products or future products means that financial incentives by governments and non-government entities may not be available, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We also rely on the data and market exclusivity granted to innovative medicinal products in the European Union to protect our products from competition from lower-priced generic versions of the drugs. Innovative medicinal products authorized in the European Union on the basis of a full marketing authorization application (as opposed to an application for marketing authorization that relies on data in the marketing authorization application for another, previously approved medicinal product) are entitled to eight years' data exclusivity from the date of notification of the marketing authorization. During this period, applicants for approval of generics of these innovative products cannot rely on data contained in the marketing authorization application submitted for the innovative medicinal product. Innovative medicinal products are also entitled to ten years' market exclusivity. During this ten-year period, no generic medicinal product can be placed on the EU market. The ten-year period of market exclusivity can be extended to a maximum of 11 years if, during the first eight of those ten years, the marketing authorization holder for the innovative product obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. We currently benefit from marketing and data exclusivity periods in the European Union. Metreleptin is entitled to up to ten years of market exclusivity in the European Union from its approval in July 2018, subject to possible reductions to six years when the marketing authorization is renewed if the product no longer meets the criteria for orphan designation. The product is also entitled to eight years' data exclusivity and ten years' marketing exclusivity in the European Union from its date of authorization. Lomitapide is entitled to eight years' data exclusivity and ten years' marketing exclusivity in the European Union from July 31, 2013, the date of the EC's approval of lomitapide. Upon the expiration of these data and market exclusivity periods, in relation to existing and new products we may face substantial competition from generic drugs which could have a material adverse effect on the price we are able to receive for the products and business, which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Regulation - Risk 9
Our relationships with customers and payers in the United States are subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, any breaches of which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages and reputational harm, could diminish future earnings and could prevent us from achieving our expected financial results.
Our arrangements with third-party payers and customers in the United States expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, including the federal healthcare Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, HIPAA and the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, and similar state and foreign laws and regulations that may regulate the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell and distribute our products. The number and complexity of both federal and state laws continue to increase, and additional governmental resources are being used to enforce these laws and to prosecute companies and individuals who are believed to be violating them. In March 2010, the PPACA was passed, which substantially changes the way healthcare is financed by both the government and private insurers, and significantly impacts the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The PPACA, among other things: (i) addresses a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected; (ii) increases the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and extends the rebate program to individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations; (iii) establishes annual fees and taxes on manufacturers of certain branded prescription drugs; (iv) expands the availability of lower pricing under the 340B drug pricing program by adding new entities to the program; and (v) establishes a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program effective 2019, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 70% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer's outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D. The PPACA also includes a number of provisions aimed at strengthening the government's ability to pursue anti-kickback and false claims cases against pharmaceutical manufacturers and other healthcare entities, including substantially increased funding for healthcare fraud enforcement activities, enhanced investigative powers, and amendments to the False Claims Act that make it easier for the government and whistleblowers to pursue alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ("FDCA"), the False Claims Act and other relevant laws. While the evolving nature of this regulatory framework makes it difficult to predict what effect the framework and any recent or future changes will have on our business, we anticipate that government scrutiny of pharmaceutical sales and marketing practices will continue for the foreseeable future, and the risk of government investigations and enforcement actions will continue. For example, federal enforcement agencies recently have shown interest in, and engaged in enforcement actions against, pharmaceutical companies' product and patient assistance programs, including manufacturer reimbursement support services and relationships with specialty pharmacies, as well as contributions by companies to third-party 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that assist patients in accessing treatment for certain diseases and conditions. This was also a part of the Juxtapid investigations, including certain contributions that were not resolved in the Aegerion Settlements. Some of these investigations have resulted in significant civil and criminal settlements. Responding to a government investigation or enforcement action would be expensive and time consuming and could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Anti-bribery rules in many jurisdictions also prohibit the offer of kick-backs and other inappropriate inducements to prescribe.
Regulation - Risk 10
We are subject to the UK Bribery Act, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other anti-corruption laws, export control laws, import and customs laws, trade and economic sanctions laws and other laws which govern our operations.
Our operations are subject to anti-corruption laws, including the UK Bribery Act, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 ("FCPA"), the U.S. domestic bribery statute, the U.S. Travel Act, and other anti-corruption laws that apply in countries where we conduct business. The UK Bribery Act, the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws generally prohibit us and our employees and intermediaries from authorizing, promising, offering or providing, directly or indirectly, improper or prohibited payments, or anything else of value, to government officials or other persons to obtain or retain business or gain some other business advantage. Under the UK Bribery Act, we may also be liable for failing to prevent a person associated with us from committing a bribery offense. We and our commercial partners operate in a number of jurisdictions that pose a high risk of potential UK Bribery Act or FCPA violations, and we also participate in collaborations and relationships with third parties whose corrupt or illegal activities could potentially subject us to liability under the UK Bribery Act, FCPA or local anti-corruption laws, even if we did not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. In addition, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements on our international operations or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted. We are also subject to other laws and regulations governing our international operations, including regulations administered by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States, and authorities in the European Union, including applicable export control regulations, economic sanctions and embargoes on certain countries and persons, anti-money laundering laws, import and customs requirements and currency exchange regulations (collectively, "Trade Control Laws"). There is no assurance that we will be completely effective in ensuring compliance with all applicable anti-corruption laws, including the UK Bribery Act and the FCPA, or other legal requirements, including Trade Control Laws. If we are not in compliance with the UK Bribery Act, the FCPA and other anti-corruption 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 effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Likewise, any investigation of any potential violations of the UK Bribery Act, the FCPA, other anti-corruption laws or Trade Control Laws by the United Kingdom, United States, or other authorities could also have an adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Regulation - Risk 11
If we are unable to commercialize or receive regulatory approval for Oleogel-S10, or experience significant delays in doing so, or are not granted a Priority Review Voucher, our business could be materially harmed.
Our Phase 3 EASE randomized double-blind placebo control study achieved its primary endpoint and forms the basis of application for regulatory approval. However, this positive data for Oleogel-S10 does not guarantee that we will successfully receive regulatory approval for Oleogel-S10. An NDA was submitted to FDA on March 30, 2021 and a Marketing Authorization Application was submitted to the EMA on March 8, 2021 with a procedure start date of March 25, 2021. Our inability to obtain approval for and commercialize Oleogel-S10 would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects. Amryt will seek a Priority Review Voucher ("PRV") as part of the Oleogel-S10 NDA submission which if granted, we can sell, transfer or use to accelerate the approval of a future Amryt NDA. However to be eligible for a PRV, Oleogel-S10 must have a Pediatric Rare Disease Designation from the FDA, be granted a priority review by FDA, and ultimately the NDA must be approved by the FDA. Amryt was granted a Pediatric Rare Disease Designation by the FDA in August 2018. When the NDA was submitted to the FDA on March 30, 2021 Amryt requested priority review. If the FDA does not grant a priority review for Oleogel-S10, the PRV cannot be granted by FDA. Additionally, if priority review is not granted this will extend the review time by FDA and will slow the approval process of Oleogel-S10.
Regulation - Risk 12
The FDA's Orphan Drug exclusivity regulations may face legal challenges that could lead to changes which might adversely affect our business.
There have been legal challenges to aspects of the FDA's regulations and policies concerning the exclusivity provisions of the U.S. Orphan Drug Act of 1983, and future challenges could lead to changes that affect the protections afforded to our product candidates in ways that are difficult to predict and which may have a material adverse effect on their business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In 2014, a U.S. district court invalidated the FDA's denial of orphan exclusivity to an orphan designated drug, which the FDA had based on its determination that the drug was not proven to be clinically superior to a previously approved "same drug." In response to the decision, the FDA released a policy statement stating that the court's decision is limited to the facts of that particular case and that the FDA will continue to deny Orphan Drug exclusivity to a designated drug upon approval if the drug is the "same" as a previously approved drug, unless the drug is demonstrated to be clinically superior to that previously approved drug. Since then, similar legal challenges have been initiated against the FDA for its denial of Orphan Drug exclusivity to other designated drugs, and in 2017, Congress amended the U.S. Orphan Drug Act of 1983 to require a demonstration of clinical superiority upon approval as a condition to receiving Orphan Drug exclusivity when another "same drug" has already been approved for the same indication. In the future, there is the potential for additional legal challenges to the FDA's Orphan Drug regulations and policies, and it is uncertain how ongoing and future challenges might affect our business.
Regulation - Risk 13
As a "foreign private issuer," we are exempt from a number of rules under the U.S. securities laws and the Nasdaq rules, and we are permitted to file less information with the SEC than are U.S. companies. In addition, we are permitted and expect to follow certain home country corporate governance practices in lieu of certain Nasdaq requirements applicable to domestic issuers. This may make our ADSs and ordinary shares less attractive to investors.
We are a "foreign private issuer," as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC, and, consequently, we are not subject to all of the disclosure requirements applicable to companies organized within the United States For example, we are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act that regulate disclosure obligations and procedural requirements related to the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations applicable to a security registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers and directors are exempt from the reporting and "short-swing" profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and related rules with respect to their purchases and sales of our securities. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. public companies. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning our company than there is for U.S. public companies. As a foreign private issuer traded on AIM, we are permitted to follow certain home country corporate governance practices in lieu of certain Nasdaq requirements. The rights of holders of ordinary shares and, therefore, certain of the rights of holders of the ADSs, are governed by English law, including the provisions of the Companies Act, and by our Articles of Association, which may provide less protection than is afforded to investors under Nasdaq rules applicable to domestic issuers. In particular, we expect to follow English law instead of Nasdaq practice in the following ways: - We do not intend to follow Nasdaq Rule 5620(c) regarding quorum requirements applicable to meetings of shareholders. Such quorum requirements are not required under English law. In accordance with generally accepted business practice, our Articles of Association provide alternative quorum requirements that are generally applicable to meetings of shareholders. - We do not intend to follow Nasdaq Rule 5605(b)(2), which requires that independent directors regularly meet in an executive session, where only independent directors are present. The independent directors may choose to meet in an executive session at their discretion. Although we may rely on certain home country corporate governance practices, we must comply with Nasdaq Rule 5625, Notification of Noncompliance and Rule 5640, Voting Rights. Further, we must have an audit committee that satisfies Rule 5605(c)(3), which addresses audit committee responsibilities and authority, and that consists of committee members who meet the independence requirements of Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)(ii). We intend to take all actions necessary to maintain compliance as a foreign private issuer under the applicable corporate governance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the rules adopted by the SEC and the Nasdaq corporate governance rules and listing standards.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities3 | 3.8%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
If we fail to comply with our reporting and payment obligations under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program or other governmental pricing programs in the United States, we could be subject to additional reimbursement requirements, penalties, sanctions and fines which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We participate in various government programs and contracts that require us to calculate and report certain prices for our products to government agencies or provide rebates or discounted pricing on products purchased to certain purchasers or government payers. The requirements for calculating prices and rebates are complex and subject to change. Changes to such requirements may affect our business and operations. We may also have reimbursement obligations or be subject to penalties if we fail to provide timely and accurate information to the government, pay the correct rebates or offer the correct discounted pricing. To maintain coverage of products under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and Medicare Part D, we will be required to extend significant discounts to certain "covered entities" (defined by statute to include certain types of hospitals and other healthcare providers that receive federal grants) that purchase products under the 340B Program. The 340B Program requires participating manufacturers to agree to charge such covered entities no more than the 340B "ceiling price" for the manufacturers' covered outpatient drugs. The 340B ceiling price is calculated using a statutory formula, which is based on the average manufacturer price and rebate amount for the covered outpatient drug as calculated under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Orphan drugs, such as Myalept and Juxtapid, are exempt from the ceiling price requirements for drugs purchased by certain covered entities (i.e., rural referral centers, sole community hospitals, critical access hospitals and freestanding cancer hospitals). Because of our participation in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, we are required to pay a rebate for each unit of metreleptin or lomitapide reimbursed by a state Medicaid program as a condition to avail us of federal funds to the states for our drugs under Medicaid and Medicare Part D. Pricing and rebate calculations vary among products and programs. The calculations are complex and often subject to interpretation by governmental or regulatory agencies and the courts. For example, the Medicaid rebate amount is computed each quarter based on our submission to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") of our average manufacturer price and best price for the quarter. If we become aware that reporting for prior quarters was incorrect or has changed as a result of recalculation of pricing data, we must resubmit the corrected data for a period not exceeding 12 quarters from the quarter in which the data was originally due. Such restatements and recalculations would serve to increase our costs for complying with the laws and regulations governing the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Any corrections to our rebate calculations could result in an overage or underage in our rebate liability for past quarters, depending on the nature of the correction. Price recalculations also may affect the price that we will be required to charge certain safety net providers under the Public Health Service 340B drug discount program.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 2
If we fail to comply with our reporting and payment obligations under the Federal Supply Schedule pricing program, we could be subject to penalties.
Federal Supply Schedule ("FSS") contracts are federal procurement contracts that include standard government terms and conditions, separate pricing for each product, and extensive disclosure and certification requirements. All federal agencies and some non-federal entities are authorized to access FSS contracts. FSS contractors are permitted to charge FSS purchasers other than the four federal agencies "negotiated pricing" for covered drugs that is not capped by the statutory Federal Ceiling Price ("FCP"); instead, such pricing is negotiated based on a mandatory disclosure of the contractor's commercial "most favored customer" pricing. Moreover, all items on FSS contracts are subject to a standard FSS contract clause that requires FSS contract price reductions under certain circumstances where pricing to an agreed "tracking" customer is reduced. In July 2016, Aegerion concluded negotiations with the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"), and on August 15, 2016, Aegerion secured an FSS contract for both Myalept and Juxtapid. Under this program, we are obligated to make Myalept and Juxtapid available for procurement on an FSS contract at a negotiated price and also charge a price to four federal agencies (the VA, Department of Defense, Public Health Service and Coast Guard) that is no higher than the statutory FCP, which we calculate and report to the VA on a quarterly and annual basis. If we fail to comply with our reporting and payment obligations under the FSS pricing program, we could be subject to penalties in the future, which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 3
We face potential product liability exposure, and if claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability.
The use of any product in clinical trials or early access programs, and the sale and use of any product for which we have obtained marketing approval exposes us to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability claims might be brought against us by consumers, healthcare providers or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products. If we cannot successfully defend against product liability claims, we could incur substantial liabilities. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in: - decreased demand or coverage for our products;- impairment of our business reputation and exposure to adverse publicity;- warnings on product labels;- withdrawal of clinical trial participants;- substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;- significant time and costs to defend the related litigation;- distraction of management's attention from our primary business;- substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;- loss of revenues; and - the inability to successfully commercialize our products. Although we have obtained product liability insurance coverage for both our clinical trials and our commercial exposure, this insurance coverage may not be sufficient to reimburse us for expenses or losses that 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 potential liability. If a claim is brought against us, we might be required to pay legal and other expenses to defend the claim, as well as pay uncovered damages awards resulting from a claim brought successfully against us and these damages could be significant and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits relating to drugs that had unanticipated side effects or warnings found to be inadequate. The cost of any product liability litigation or other proceedings, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. A product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could harm our reputation and cause the price of our securities to decline and, if the claim is successful and judgments exceed our insurance coverage, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Taxation & Government Incentives3 | 3.8%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
We expect that certain U.S. federal income tax rules regarding "inversion transactions" will apply to us, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
We believe that we are a "surrogate foreign corporation" and that Aegerion is an "expatriated entity," within the meaning of section 7874 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), as a result of the Acquisition. We are a surrogate foreign corporation with respect to Aegerion if (1) pursuant to a plan, we complete the direct or indirect acquisition of substantially all of the properties held, directly or indirectly, by Aegerion, (2) after the acquisition at least 60% of our stock (by vote or value) is held by former shareholders and certain creditors of Aegerion by reason of their holding Aegerion stock or debt obligations (such percentage held by such persons being the "Section 7874 Percentage"), and (3) after the Acquisition, the expanded affiliated group that includes Amryt, Aegerion and their respective more-than-50% controlled subsidiaries ("Enlarged Amryt Group") does not have substantial business activities in the United Kingdom relative to the group's worldwide business activities. If the Section 7874 Percentage is at least 60% but less than 80% and we are a surrogate foreign corporation with respect to Aegerion, several limitations apply to Aegerion, including, but not limited to, the prohibition, for a period of ten years, of the use of net operating losses, foreign tax credits and other tax attributes to offset the income or gain recognized by reason of transfer of any property to a foreign related person or to offset any income received or accrued during such period by reason of our license of any property to a foreign related person and an additional minimum tax under Section 59A of the Code on certain "base eroding" payments to members of the Enlarged Amryt Group that are foreign corporations. In addition, under section 4985 of the Code and the rules related thereto, an excise tax at a rate of currently 20% is imposed on the value of certain share compensation held directly or indirectly by certain "disqualified individuals." Further, shareholders that are U.S. persons for U.S. federal income tax purposes may not be eligible for reduced rates on dividends paid by us. If the Section 7874 Percentage is at least 80% and we are a surrogate foreign corporation with respect to Aegerion, we will be treated as a U.S. domestic corporation, regardless of the fact that we are also incorporated in England and Wales, and managed and controlled in the United Kingdom, and therefore generally classified as a UK corporation for UK tax purposes. If we were treated as a U.S. domestic corporation, our entire net income would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis and would be determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. While we expect to be treated as a surrogate foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we believe that the Section 7874 Percentage with respect to Aegerion is less than 80%. We therefore do not expect to be treated as a U.S. domestic corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Determining the Section 7874 Percentage, however, is complex and subject to factual and legal uncertainties. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") will agree with our conclusions regarding the Section 7874 Percentage. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the potential application of section 7874 of the Code and its potential tax consequences. A determination by the IRS that we are a U.S. domestic corporation for the purposes of section 7874 of the Code may have material adverse effects on the business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects of the Enlarged Amryt Group.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 2
Our global operations subject us to significant tax risks.
We are subject to tax rules in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Changes in tax rates, tax relief and tax laws, changes in practice or interpretation of the law by the relevant tax authorities, increasing challenges by relevant tax authorities or any failure to manage tax risks adequately could result in increased charges, financial loss, penalties and reputational damage. Tax authorities may actively pursue additional taxes based on retroactive changes to tax laws which could result in a material restatement to its tax position. Any of these factors could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 3
It is possible that we will be a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
A non-U.S. corporation will be classified as a passive foreign investment company (a "PFIC") for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year if either: - at least 75% of its gross income is "passive income," or - at least 50% of the value, determined on the basis of a quarterly average, of its gross assets is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of "passive income." Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, royalties, rents (other than certain rents and royalties derived in the active conduct of a trade or business), annuities and gains from assets that produce passive income. Cash is a passive asset for PFIC purposes, even if held as working capital. Based on the composition of our income and assets, we do not believe that we were a PFIC in 2020 and do not expect to be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the current taxable year or any future taxable year. This conclusion is a factual determination, however, that is made annually and thus may be subject to change. Because PFIC status is determined based on the composition of our income and assets annually and generally cannot be determined until the end of the taxable year, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for the current taxable year or any future taxable year. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you own ADSs and ordinary shares, and you are a U.S. Holder (as defined in this annual report in the section titled "Income Tax Considerations"), you will generally be subject to additional taxes and interest charges on the gain from a sale of ADSs or ordinary shares, and upon receipt of an "excess distribution" with respect to the ADSs or ordinary shares. In general, a U.S. Holder would receive an "excess distribution" if the amount of any distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes in respect of the ADSs and ordinary shares were more than 125% of the average distributions made with respect to the ADSs and ordinary shares within the three preceding taxable years (or shorter period if such U.S. Holder held the ADSs or ordinary shares for a shorter period). A U.S. Holder of a PFIC generally may mitigate these adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences by making a "qualified electing fund" election or a "mark-to-market" election. However, there is no assurance that we would provide information that would enable a U.S. Holder to make a qualified electing fund election. In addition, as a PFIC, dividends in respect of the ADSs or ordinary shares would not be eligible for the special tax rate available to non-corporate U.S. Holders applicable to "qualified dividend income." U.S. owners of ADSs or ordinary shares should consult their own U.S. tax advisors regarding the potential application of the PFIC rules.
Environmental / Social1 | 1.3%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
If we fail to comply with UK, EU or U.S. privacy and data security laws and regulations, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and other liability.
We are also subject to laws and regulations covering data privacy and the protection of health-related and other personal information. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve, and there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data protection issues which may affect our business, including recently enacted laws in many jurisdictions where we operate. The collection and use of personal health data in the European Union is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR"). The GDPR, which is wide-ranging in scope and includes extraterritoriality provisions that apply to certain entities located outside of the European Union, imposes several requirements relating to the consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, the information provided to the individuals, notification of data processing obligations to the competent national data protection authorities and the security and confidentiality of the personal data, and substantial fines for breaches of the data protection rules. The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the European Union to other countries (including the United States). Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the related national data protection laws of the EU Member States may result in large fines and other administrative penalties: a failure to comply could result in fines up to the greater of 4% of annual worldwide turnover for the preceding financial year or €20 million, whichever is greater, with infringements being grouped into tiers which attract different maximum fine levels. Turnover in this context may include not only the entity in breach but also other group entities. Recent enforcement actions against multinational companies have resulted in significant fines. With respect to data protection the TCA provides for a further transition period of up to six months as of January 1, 2021 to enable the EU Commission to complete its adequacy assessment of the UK's data protection laws. Accordingly personal data may continue to be transferred freely between the European Union and UK during that specified period. If no adequacy decision has been adopted by the EU Commission during such period, or if the UK makes changes to its data protection legal framework that is in place as of January 1, 2021 without the European Union's consent, the transfer of personal data from the European Union to the UK will only be permissible if European Union data exporters take further steps to ensure adequacy for the protection of personal data, which may expose us to further compliance risk. Additionally, following the UK's withdrawal from the European Union and the EEA, companies have to comply also with the UK's data protection laws (including the GDPR as incorporated into UK national law), the latter regime having the ability to separately fine up to the greater of £17.5 million or 4% of global turnover. While we have taken steps to comply with the GDPR and the DPA 2018, we cannot assure you that our efforts to achieve and remain in compliance have been or will continue to be fully successful. The GDPR regulations and the DPA 2018 may impose additional responsibility and liability in relation to personal data that we process and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms ensuring compliance with these or new data protection rules. This may be onerous and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, we obtain patient health information from most healthcare providers that prescribe our products and research institutions with which we collaborate, and they are subject to privacy and security requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") in the United States. Although we are not directly subject to HIPAA other than with respect to providing certain employee benefits, we could potentially be subject to criminal penalties if we knowingly obtain or disclose individually identifiable health information maintained by a HIPAA-covered entity in a manner that is not authorized or permitted by HIPAA. Failure to comply with healthcare laws and laws and regulations covering data privacy and the protection of health-related and other personal information could result in government enforcement actions, which could include civil or criminal penalties, private litigation and adverse publicity and could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 13/78 (17%)Above Sector Average
Innovation / R&D4 | 5.1%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
A number of adverse effects have been reported in clinical trials for metreleptin, lomitapide and Oleogel-S10, and the prescribing information for each of lomitapide and metreleptin contains significant limitations on use and other important warnings and precautions, any of which could negatively affect the market acceptance, dropout rates and marketing approval for these products, and post-marketing commitments could identify additional adverse events and safety or efficacy risks, which could further harm our business.
The prescribing information for lomitapide in the United States and the European Union and in other countries in which lomitapide is approved contains significant limitations on use and other important warnings and precautions, including, but not limited to, a boxed warning in the Juxtapid U.S. labeling, additional monitoring which is identified by a black inverted triangle in the product information for Lojuxta in the European Union, warnings in the prescribing information for Lojuxta citing concerns over liver toxicity associated with use of lomitapide and a U.S. Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategy ("REMS") program. The prescribing information for metreleptin in the United States and European Union contains important warnings and precautions, including but not limited to, a boxed warning on the Myalept label in the United States, citing the risk of anti-metreleptin antibodies with neutralizing activity, risk of lymphoma and a U.S. REMS program. As with the U.S. label, the Myalepta Summary of Product Characteristics in the European Union notes that the consequences of neutralizing antibodies with respect to the loss of efficacy or serious or severe infections is not well characterized but could reduce how well the leptin found naturally in the body works or how well Myalepta works. Patients reported various adverse reactions in the Phase 3 study of lomitapide, including reports of gastrointestinal events by 93% of patients, and in the HoFH clinical trial, including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dyspepsia, abdominal pain, weight loss, abdominal discomfort, abdominal distension, constipation, flatulence, increased alanine aminotransferase, chest pain, influenza, nasopharyngitis, and fatigue. Elevations in liver enzymes and hepatic (liver) fat were also observed. GL patients in the Phase 3 study of metreleptin reported various adverse drug reactions, including weight loss, hypoglycemia, decreased appetite, fatigue, neutralizing antibodies and alopecia. Additionally, although none were assessed as drug related, there were four reported treatment-emergent deaths over the course of the 14-year study duration. Upon further investigation, these reports were consistent with the underlying morbidity of lipodystrophy and included renal failure, cardiac arrest (with pancreatitis and septic shock), progressive end-stage liver disease (chronic hepatic failure), and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. In the open-label, long-term, investigator-sponsored study of metreleptin for the treatment of metabolic disorders associated with lipodystrophy syndromes (initiated in 2000 and conducted at the National Institutes of Health ("NIH")), there were two cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma and one case of a localized anaplastic lymphoma (kinase-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma, which is a type of T-cell lymphoma). Both of the cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma were reported in patients with acquired GL, and both had evidence of pre-existing lymphoma and/or bone marrow/hematologic abnormalities before metreleptin therapy. A third case of anaplastic large cell lymphoma occurred in the context of a specific chromosomal translocation. These adverse events, coupled with the boxed warnings and other label restrictions, could cause healthcare providers, regulators and patients or potential patients to view the risks associated with our products as outweighing the benefits. This could cause patients to discontinue use and limit the number of new patients, thereby negatively affecting our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, as part of the post-marketing commitment to the FDA for both lomitapide and metreleptin, we are conducting post-marketing registries to better understand their long-term safety and effectiveness. For lomitapide, we are conducting an observational cohort study to better understand the long-term safety, patterns of use, compliance and long-term effectiveness of controlling LDL levels. For metreleptin, we are conducting a long-term, prospective, observational study (product exposure registry) to identify and better understand any serious risks related to the use of the product. Finally, we are conducting sequential programs to expand the understanding of metreleptin immunogenicity and manufacturing. The final program regarding the immunogenicity of metreleptin was initiated in 2018, and the final post-marketing study related to the manufacturing of metreleptin is expected to be completed by the deadlines set by the FDA. In addition, we are working to implement post-marking commitments in the European Union for metreleptin, including a pediatric study in GL patients, an immunogenicity program, a post-approval study in PL and a European product exposure registry. A failure to meet post-marketing commitments to the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities could impact the ability to continue to market lomitapide or metreleptin, respectively, in countries where we are unable to meet such commitments. A Phase 3, randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of metreleptin in patients with partial lipodystrophy (PL) will commence at the end of Q4 2021 with registration intent to include this population in the US label. In the course of conducting observational cohort studies, additional clinical studies (such as pursuant to a pediatric investigation plan ("PIP") in the European Union), post-marketing surveillance, or re-evaluation of any completed clinical study data could identify, additional safety information on known or unknown side effects or new undesirable side effects caused by our products or product candidates, or the data may raise other issues with respect to the products. In such instances, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including: - we may experience a negative impact on market acceptance and increased dropout rates;- regulatory authorities may suspend, withdraw or alter their approval of the relevant product;- regulatory authorities may require the addition of labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications or distribution and use restrictions such as, for example, the modifications to the Juxtapid label to include language instructing patients to cease therapy upon the occurrence of severe diarrhea;- regulatory authorities may issue, or require us to issue additional specific communications such as safety alerts, field alerts, or "Dear Doctor" letters to healthcare professionals;- regulatory authorities may require us to recall, withdraw, or stop selling a product or take other enforcement action;- we may receive negative publicity;- we may be required to change the way the relevant product is administered, conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials or restrict the distribution or use of the relevant product;- patients could suffer harm, and we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients;- the regulatory authorities may require us to amend the relevant REMS program, Risk Management Plan or comparable equivalent; and - our reputation may suffer. Any known safety concerns for our products or product candidates, or any unknown safety issues that may develop or be discovered, including drug interaction problems or an increase in the severity or frequency of known adverse events or the discovery of previously unknown adverse events, or the evaluation or reevaluation of study data, could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the respective product, affect our ability to obtain or retain regulatory marketing approval of the respective product in one or more countries, result in onerous restrictions on such approval or the implementation or modification of the REMS programs (if applicable) or risk management plans for our products, or any other enforcement actions, result in claims, lawsuits and increased regulatory scrutiny, and affect our ability to achieve our financial goals.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 2
Clinical trials are expensive, time consuming and difficult to design and implement and involve uncertain outcomes and, furthermore, results of earlier preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of results of future preclinical studies or clinical trials.
To obtain the requisite regulatory approvals to market and sell any of our product candidates, or to obtain regulatory approvals to market and sell any of our commercial products for new indications, we must demonstrate, through extensive preclinical studies and clinical trials, that our product candidates are safe and effective in humans. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete and has inherently uncertain outcomes. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process and in addition regulatory authorities may require further studies at additional cost. Furthermore, regulatory authorities may not agree on the same trial design for pivotal studies. The results of preclinical studies and earlier clinical trials, or the results from earlier stages of preclinical studies or clinical trials, may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. For example, the results generated to date in preclinical studies or Phase 1 or Phase 2 clinical trials for product candidates do not ensure that later clinical trials will demonstrate similar results. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy outcomes despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. We may suffer setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding any promising results in earlier clinical trials. As product candidates are developed from preclinical through early to late stage clinical trials towards approval and commercialization, it is customary that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing and methods of administration, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. While these types of changes are common and are intended to optimize the product candidates for late stage clinical trials, approval and commercialization, such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives. In addition, we may experience delays in ongoing or future preclinical studies or clinical trials and we have no certainty as to whether future preclinical studies or clinical trials will begin on time, will need to be redesigned, will enroll an adequate number of subjects or patients on time, if at all, or will be completed on schedule, if at all. Such factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 3
Our product candidates may not work as intended, may cause undesirable side effects or may have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if any.
Use of our product candidates could be associated with side effects or adverse events which can vary in severity from minor reactions to serious and/or severe adverse events, and in frequency from infrequent to prevalent. Undesirable side effects or unacceptable toxicities caused by our product candidates could cause us 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, the EMA or comparable regulatory authorities. Results of our trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects. If unacceptable side effects arise in the development of our product candidates, we, the FDA, competent authorities of EU Member States, ethics committees, the IRBs, the institutions in which our studies are conducted, or the DSMB could suspend or terminate our clinical trials. The FDA or comparable regulatory authorities could also order us to cease clinical trials or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Treatment-related side effects could also affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete any of our clinical trials or result in potential product liability claims. In addition, these side effects may not be appropriately recognized or managed by the treating medical staff. We expect to have to train medical personnel using our product candidates to understand the side effect profiles of our product candidates in our clinical trials and upon any commercialization of any of our product candidates. Inadequate training in recognizing or managing the potential side effects of our product candidates could result in patient injury or death. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects significantly.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 4
We may seek and fail to obtain Fast Track or breakthrough therapy designations for our current or future product candidates. If we are successful, these programs may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review process, and they do not guarantee we will receive approval for any product candidate.
If a product is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and preclinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need for this condition, the product sponsor may apply for Fast Track Designation. The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant this designation, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for this designation, we cannot assure you that the FDA would decide to grant it. We have received Fast Track Designation for Oleogel-S10. However, Fast Track Designation does not mean we will necessarily experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. The FDA may rescind the Fast Track Designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program.
Trade Secrets8 | 10.3%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
It may be challenging or costly for us to obtain, maintain, enforce and defend our intellectual property rights. Failure to obtain or protect these rights could adversely affect our business and our ability to compete.
Our success and ability to compete effectively are in large part dependent upon exploitation of proprietary technologies and product candidates that have been developed internally or have been acquired or in-licensed, our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights so as to preserve our exclusive rights in respect of our technologies and product candidates, and our ability to preserve the confidentiality of our know-how. We rely primarily on exclusivity provided by a combination of Orphan Drug approval, data exclusivity, patent rights, trade secrets and confidentiality to protect our intellectual property rights. There can be no assurance that patents pending or future patent applications will be issued, or that the lack of any such patents will not have a material adverse effect on our ability to develop and market our proposed candidates, or that, if issued, we would have the resources to protect or enforce any such issued patent. Also, no assurance can be given that we will develop technologies or candidates that are patentable or that patents will be sufficient in their scope to provide protection for our products or intellectual property rights against third parties. Nor can there be any assurance as to the ownership, validity, patentability, enforceability or scope of any patents that have been, or may in the future be, issued to us or that claims with respect thereto will not be asserted by third parties. Furthermore, we may develop technology important to our businesses that we cannot successfully patent due to the existence of prior art. Lojuxta did not receive Orphan Drug approval in Europe and relies on data exclusivity and patent protection. This may make our reimbursement discussions more difficult. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain and/or maintain Orphan Drug Designation or Orphan Drug approval for our product candidates. For example, the EMA's COMP reviews an orphan design of a product if it is approved for a marketing authorization; for a product to benefit from market exclusivity, it must maintain its orphan designation at the time of marketing authorization review by the EMA and approval by the EC. The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. For example, on August 28, 2015, the Coalition for Affordable Drugs VIII L.L.C. filed two separate inter partes review ("IPR") petitions with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, challenging the validity of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,932,268 and 8,618,135, which are directed to methods-of-use for lomitapide. Although the PTAB ruled in our favor, third parties may obtain patents in the future and allege that our products or the use of our technologies infringe their patent claims or that we are employing their proprietary technology and other intellectual property without authorization. Likewise, third parties may infringe upon our existing or future patents. We also rely on copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and agreements, non-compete and work for hire invention assignment agreements and licensing arrangements with our employees, consultants, contractors, customers and vendors, to establish and protect our rights to our technology and other developments and, to the best extent possible, control the access to and distribution of our technology, software, documentation and proprietary information. We also have procedures and policies in place against the misuse of third party rights. While we employ physical and electronic protective measures to safeguard our technology and other proprietary information, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our technology without authorization. Once granted, a patent can be challenged both in the patent office and in the courts by third parties. Third parties can bring material and arguments, for example, that the patent office granting the patent may not have been aware of. Therefore, issued patents may be found by a court of law or by the patent office to be invalid or unenforceable or in need of further limitation. In particular, our commercial success depends on our ability to obtain and maintain the following intellectual property protections: - product, composition of matter, formulation and method of use patents in Europe, the United States and other key global markets for existing and future products;- Orphan Drug exclusivity granted to our products because they aim to treat rare diseases and conditions, which entitles us to: exclusivity protections for a period of up to seven years after approval in the United States (although metreleptin should also qualify for a 12-year period of exclusivity from biosimilar or interchangeable products) and up to ten years in the European Union and Japan; as well as certain financial incentives. The ten-year Orphan Drug exclusivity period in the European Union can be extended a further two years upon successful completion of a PIP. Conversely, the ten-year exclusivity period may be reduced to six years, if at the end of the fifth year, it is established that a product no longer fulfills the criteria for Orphan Drug Designation;- medicinal products granted a marketing authorization in the European Union entitles us to eight years' data exclusivity after approval, and up to ten years' market exclusivity protection which can be extended for a further year if a new indication is granted; and - available extensions to the terms of our Orphan Drug exclusivity, product and methods of use patents in Europe and United States. If we lose the competitive advantage provided by these intellectual property and other protections, we will not be able to generate sustainable revenues or profits from our product portfolio. If we do not adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property, competitors may erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could materially harm our business and ability to achieve expected financial results.
Trade Secrets - Risk 2
We may infringe or be alleged to infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may prevent or delay product development and commercialization efforts, requiring us to expend resources on litigation or other resolutions, which may materially and adversely affect our business.
Our success will depend in part on our ability to operate without infringing the intellectual property and other proprietary rights of third parties. Identification of third-party patent rights that may be relevant to our products and proprietary technology is difficult due to differences in terminology among patents, incomplete databases and the difficulty and uncertainty in assessing the meaning of patent claims. There could be issued patents of which we are or were not aware that our products infringe. There also could be patents that we believe our products do not infringe, but that our products may ultimately be found to infringe. Moreover, a patent application may be maintained in secrecy until a patent on the application is issued. The publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature frequently occurs later, often substantially later, than the date on which the underlying discoveries were made and patent applications were filed. Because patents can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending applications of which we are unaware that may later result in issued patents that our products will be found to infringe. For example, there may exist pending applications that provide support or can be amended to recite a claim that is granted and which our products are later found to infringe. Proceedings involving our patents or patent applications or those of others could: - put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, rendered unenforceable or interpreted narrowly;- adversely impact our ability to obtain patent protection for our inventions relating to our products;- result in monetary damages, injunctive relief or other harm to our competitive position, including by limiting marketing and selling activities, increasing the risk for generic competition, limiting development and commercialization activities or requiring us to obtain licenses to use the relevant technology (which licenses may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all); and otherwise negatively impact the enforceability, validity or scope of protection provided by the patents relating to the products. We may not have the resources to adequately defend claims by third parties in one or more such proceedings, and even if successful in any such proceedings, we would incur substantial costs and divert management's time and attention in pursuing these proceedings, putting further strain on our resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If we are unable to avoid infringing the patent rights of others, we may be required to seek a license, defend an infringement action or challenge the validity of the patents in court or another venue. Patent litigation is costly and time consuming. We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. In addition, if we do not obtain a license, develop or obtain non-infringing technology, fail to defend an infringement action successfully or have infringed patents declared invalid, we may: - incur substantial monetary damages;- encounter significant delays in expanding the market of our products; and - be precluded from manufacturing or selling any products;which, in each case, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
Our existing patent protections will expire and protection for these rights may not be extended.
We depend on patent protection to provide exclusive marketing rights for our products. Loss of patent protection for a product typically leads to a significant and rapid loss of sales for that product as lower-priced generic versions of that drug become available. The expiration of patent protection for any product that contributes significantly to our sales can have a material and adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations, financial position and prospects. The Oleogel-S10 patent portfolio includes one U.S. patent covering oleogel compositions and two U.S. patents covering treatment of EB that provide exclusivity in the United States into 2025 (compositions) or 2030 (treatment of EB). There is currently no other intellectual property protection for the Oleogel-S10 product in the United States beyond 2025 or for Oleogel-S10 indications in the United States beyond 2030. The existing Orphan Drug designation for Oleogel-S10 would extend Orphan Drug exclusivity for Oleogel-S10 seven years from the approval date in the United States. The non-U.S. patents for Oleogel-S10 include European patents covering the Oleogel-S10 composition and methods of healing wounds with Oleogel-S10. Supplementary protection certificates have been obtained in various EU countries, extending the expiration of the composition patents in the European Union from 2025 to 2030. The European method of use patents expire in 2030. There is currently a non-provisional application filed for Oleogel-S10 covering the Oleogel-S10 product and future Oleogel-S10 indications which, if granted, would provide international protection for such compositions and indications until 2039. The AP103 patent portfolio includes one granted European patent (validated in various European Patent Organisation member states including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) claiming highly branched poly ß-amino ester ("HPAE") polymers and polyplexes comprising HPAE polymers, and transfection methods using such polymers, as well as pending U.S. and European divisional applications. These patents and applications have been in-licensed from the University College Dublin and are expected to provide exclusivity into 2035. We have filed an international application covering a proprietary genus of HPAEs and novel HPAE polyplexes, as well as an international application claiming a proprietary and scalable HPAE polyplex manufacturing methods, which if granted would expire in 2039. Our lomitapide patent portfolio includes eight Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations ("Orange Book") listed patents licensed from the University of Pennsylvania ("UPenn") claiming methods of treatment that provide protection from 2025 to 2027 in the United States and into 2025 in Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. Applications are pending in the U.S., Canada, and India. Supplementary protection certificates ("SPCs") have been granted in 22 European countries (including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) extending patent protection into 2028. Six additional SPCs applications are pending. The EP method of use patent is eligible for up to approximately three years of supplemental protection in certain European countries. Aegerion applied for such protection in the European countries in which Lojuxta is approved, on a country-by-country basis; in some such countries, supplemental protection was granted and extends patent protection to July or August of 2028, while in other countries, the applications are still pending. The metreleptin patent portfolio includes two issued U.S. patents claiming methods of treating lipoatrophy, two granted European patents ("EP patents") claiming methods of treatment (validated in numerous European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain), granted patents claiming methods of treatment in other jurisdictions including Australia, Canada, and Japan, well as a pending application in the United States, all of which have been licensed to Aegerion or are owned by Aegerion. The granted patents provide protection from 2022 to 2027 in the United States and into 2022 in Europe and other jurisdictions in July 2018, Aegerion received approval for marketing authorization by the EC for metreleptin in the European Union, under the brand name Myalepta, as replacement therapy to treat complications of leptin deficiency in patients with GL and PL. Metreleptin has orphan exclusivity in the European Union until July 2028. The ten-year Orphan Drug exclusivity period in the European Union can be extended a further two years upon successful completion of a PIP. The loss of patent protection could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Trade Secrets - Risk 4
Our patents may be challenged, deemed unenforceable, invalidated or circumvented, and if we do not obtain or maintain patent protection for the products, our business may be materially harmed.
The patent positions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies involve complex legal and factual questions and, therefore, validity and enforceability cannot be predicted with certainty. U.S. patents and patent applications also may be subject to interference or derivation proceedings, ex parte re-examination, IPR and post-grant review proceedings and supplemental examination and may be challenged in district courts. Patents granted in certain other countries may be subjected to opposition, revocation, or the like before various authorities. These proceedings could result in either loss of a patent or denial of the patent application or loss or reduction in the scope of one or more of the claims of the patent or patent application. In addition, such interference, derivation, re-examination, post-grant review, IPR, supplemental examination, opposition or revocation proceedings may be costly. We will be able to protect our proprietary rights against third parties only to the extent that our proprietary technologies are protected by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets. The degree of future protection for our products and proprietary rights is uncertain, and it cannot be guaranteed that: - we will be able to successfully develop or commercialize our product in some countries before some or all of the relevant patents or regulatory exclusivity expire, or successfully develop or commercialize our product in countries where we do not have any such patent protection or exclusivity;- we or our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed by each of the pending patent applications and patents;- we or our licensors were the first to file, or the first inventors to file, patent applications for these inventions;- others will not independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies;- any of our pending patent applications or those that we have licensed will result in issued patents;- any of our patents or those we have licensed will be valid or enforceable;- we will be able to license the patents or pending patent applications necessary or desirable to enforce or protect our patent rights on commercially reasonable terms or at all;- any patents issued to us or to our licensors or collaborators will provide a basis for any additional commercially viable products, will provide us with any competitive advantages or will not be challenged by third parties;- we will be able to develop additional proprietary technologies that are patent eligible or patentable;- Orphan Drug exclusivity marketing rights for our products in the United States will be maintained, if, for example, the FDA determines in the future that the request for Orphan Drug Designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. In addition, the FDA, and the EMA for the European Union, may subsequently approve products with the same active moiety for the same condition if the FDA or the EMA concludes that the later drug is safer, more effective, or makes a major contribution to patient care. Orphan Drug Designation neither shortens the development time nor regulatory review time of a drug nor gives the drug any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process; or - the patents of others will not have an adverse effect on our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 5
We enjoy only limited geographical protection with respect to certain patents.
Filing and prosecuting patent applications and defending patents covering product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Competitors may use our and our licensors' technologies in jurisdictions where patent protection has not yet been obtained to develop their own products or may export infringing products to territories where enforcement rights are not as strong as in the United States or Europe. These products may compete with our product candidates, and our intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent such products from competing with our products. Patent applications may be issued in some non-U.S. jurisdictions with different scope as compared with the corresponding U.S. patent, or they may not be granted at all in view of differences in patent law and practice in jurisdictions around the world. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in other jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert efforts and attention from other aspects of the business. They could also put our patents and patent applications at risk of being invalidated, denied or interpreted narrowly, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits or have damages or other remedies awarded to us, and any such remedies, if obtained, they may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our intellectual property rights as enforced may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage and our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights may be unsuccessful or inadequate, which may adversely affect our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in our expected significant markets, we cannot ensure that we will be able to initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market our product candidates. Accordingly, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to successfully commercialize our drug candidates in all of our expected, significant international markets. Some countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties or laws limiting the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In those countries, the value of such patents may be materially diminished at least in those contexts. If we or any of our licensors are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be adversely affected.
Trade Secrets - Risk 6
If we do not obtain protection under the Hatch-Waxman Amendments and similar non-U.S. legislation for extending the term of patents covering our product candidates, our ability to compete effectively could be impaired.
Depending upon the timing, duration and conditions of FDA marketing approval of our product candidates, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 ("Hatch-Waxman Amendments"). The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent term extension of up to five years for a patent covering an approved product or method of use as compensation for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. A maximum of one patent may be extended per FDA approved product as compensation for the patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. A patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval and only those claims covering such approved drug product, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. Similar patent term extensions may be available in other jurisdictions. In the European Union, a Supplementary Protection Certificate may be applied for approval to recover some of the time lost between the patent application filing date and the date of first marketing authorization. However, we may not receive an extension if we fail to apply within applicable deadlines, fail to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents, or otherwise fail to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the length of the extension could be less than requested. If we are unable to obtain patent term extensions or the term of any such extension is less than requested, the period during which we can enforce our patent rights for that product will be shortened and competitors may obtain approval to market competing products sooner. As a result, our revenue from applicable products could be reduced materially. We applied for supplemental protection in the countries in which Lojuxta is approved, on a country-by-country basis, and in some countries, supplemental protection has been granted so as to extend patent protection to 2028, while in other countries, the applications are still pending.
Trade Secrets - Risk 7
If we are not able to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information, the value of our technology and product portfolio could be significantly diminished.
We rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technologies, especially where we do not believe patent protection is adequate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, outside scientific collaborators, sponsored researchers and other advisors to protect trade secrets and other proprietary information. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information, and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. For example, the FDA has periodically considered whether to make additional information, such as clinical information, publicly available on a routine basis, and the EMA has considered amplifying its disclosure rules as well. Changes in this regard could mean that information that we may consider to be a trade secret or otherwise confidential and proprietary may have to be publicly disclosed, and it is currently unclear how FDA and the EMA disclosure policies may change in the future. Costly and time consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of proprietary rights and we may not have adequate resources at the time to enforce our rights. Failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Trade Secrets - Risk 8
If we fail to comply with our obligations in the license agreements for our products or are alleged to have breached such agreements, we could lose license rights that are important to our business, have to make additional payments to our licensors or become involved in costly litigation, which would further reduce cash resources.
Our existing license agreements impose various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance, reporting, audit and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with such obligations or encounters disagreements with its license partners, we could lose license rights that are important to the business. Further, if the license partners allege that a breach of any such license agreements has occurred, defense of such allegations, even if untrue, can be costly to pursue and could lead to litigation or costly settlements, which would be burdensome on our resources. Even if we were able to successfully settle any disagreements or disputes under the license agreements, the settlement arrangements are unlikely to foreclose additional claims from the licensing party or other third parties, and the terms of such settlement could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If we fail to comply with the obligations and restrictions under the license agreements, the applicable licensor may have the right to seek financial payments or damages and terminate the license, in which case we may not be able to market the products that are covered by the license, or the licensor might require amendments to the license agreement that are overly burdensome. Further, the terms of such license agreements are intensely negotiated, and therefore tend to be complex, which could lead to differing interpretations by the parties. Any breach or alleged breach (whether intentional or unintentional), or termination, of the license agreements applicable to our products, or any disagreements as to the application of the terms of the agreements with licensing partners, could expose us to considerable costs and expenses as such allegations, terminations or disputes can be costly to remedy or resolve (regardless of the merits), and may not be remedied or resolved in a manner favorable to us, or at all. Any breach or alleged breach of the quantitative or qualitative diligence provisions of these agreements could result in termination of the co-development agreement and loss of the program and also expose us to considerable costs and expenses and any disputes may not be remedied or resolved in a manner favorable to us, or at all. Any such difficulties with the license agreements could have a significant adverse effect on our business.
Cyber Security1 | 1.3%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
The occurrence of cyber incidents, or a deficiency in cybersecurity, could negatively impact our business by causing a disruption to its operations, a compromise or corruption of confidential information, exposure to legal and regulatory action, or damage to our patient, partner or employee relationships, any of which could subject us to loss and reputational harm.
A cyber incident is considered to be any event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of information resources. More specifically, a cyber incident is an intentional attack or an unintentional event that can include gaining unauthorized access to systems to disrupt operations, corrupt data or steal confidential information about patients, suppliers, partners or employees. A number of companies have recently experienced serious cyber incidents and breaches of their information technology systems. Cyber incidents pose risks both to our internal systems and to those we have outsourced operations to, including the risk of operational interruption, damage to our reputation and relationships with patients, partners and employees, and private data exposure. We have implemented processes, procedures and controls to help mitigate these risks. However, these measures, as well as an increased awareness of the risk of a cyber incident, do not guarantee that our reputation, operations and financial results will not be adversely affected by such an incident. In the ordinary course of business, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information and patient data. This data includes, where required or permitted by applicable laws, personally identifiable information. Certain third parties with whom we contract also collect and store data related to clinical trial subjects and patients. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Despite our current security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breaches due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise information stored on networks or those of our partners. Any access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, recovery costs, disruption of operations, including delays in our regulatory approval efforts, and damage our reputation, which could adversely affect our business. In October 2020, Amryt was the target of an external cyber attack. An employee received a fraudulent email that induced the employee to send certain personal details of 91 current and former U.S. based employees to an unauthorized external individual. Once we learned of the incident we promptly took steps to prevent any further unauthorized disclosures, and conducted a thorough investigation of the incident and of our IT infrastructure. The domain that the unauthorized actor used to send the email was blocked and we alerted employees to take extra care when receiving and responding to emails from outside the company network. We also conducted a thorough search of our network and systems for signs of malicious software and are not aware of any evidence indicating that the unauthorized individual had access to our systems. We reviewed and updated our security practices to help prevent this type of incident from occurring again, including by implementing additional trainings regarding phishing and other email security issues as well as put in place identity theft protection services for all those individuals affected.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 9/78 (12%)Above Sector Average
Competition2 | 2.6%
Competition - Risk 1
We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
The specific markets in which we operate are highly competitive and this competition could harm our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Our competitors include major international pharmaceutical companies as well as smaller or regional specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We may be forced to either lower the selling prices of our products in response to competitor pricing or lose patients who choose lower-priced products. Many of our competitors are larger, have greater financial resources and a lower cost structure. As a result, our competitors may be better equipped to withstand changes in economic and industry conditions. These competitors currently engage in, have engaged in or may in the future engage in the development, manufacturing, marketing and commercialization of new pharmaceuticals, some of which may compete with our products. Competition may also arise from, among other things, other drug development technologies, methods of preventing or reducing the incidence of disease, including vaccines and new small molecule or other classes of therapeutic agents. Smaller or early stage companies may also be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Key competitive factors affecting the commercial success of our products and any other products that we develop or acquire are likely to be safety, efficacy, tolerability profile, reliability, convenience of dosing, price and reimbursement. We may also face future competition from companies selling generic alternatives to our products in countries where we do not have patent coverage, Orphan Drug status or another form of data or marketing exclusivity or where patent coverage or data or marketing exclusivity has expired, is not enforced, or may, in the future, be challenged. A significant competitor to our lomitapide product is a class of drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors. Two main brands dominate the marketplace – Praluent and Repatha which are both approved in the European Union and the United States. Sales of PCSK9 inhibitors compete with sales of lomitapide and we expect that this product will continue to compete with lomitapide. In addition, one of our competitors, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., is developing evinacumab, a human monoclonal antibody directed against the activity of angiopoietin-like 3 ("ANGPTL3") for the treatment of HoFH. In August 2019, Regeneron announced positive topline data from its ongoing Phase 3 trial in HoFH; the FDA approved evinacumab on February 11, 2021 for adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older for treatment of HoFH. In June 2020, Regeneron stated that the EMA recommended an accelerated assessment for evinacumab's review. Regeneron launched evinacumab in the United States in March 2021 and is expected to launch in the European Union within the first half of 2021. Although administered through intravenous infusion, physicians may now consider this product for HoFH patients as an alternative to lomitapide. Other competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing additional pharmaceutical products that are introduced into the market and that are more effective, have a more favorable safety profile or are less costly than our products. Although Myalept is the first and only product approved in the United States for the treatment of complications of leptin deficiency in patients with GL, there are a number of therapies approved to treat these complications independently that are not specific to GL. Myalepta also faces competition in the European Union, both for the treatment of GL and PL. Our competitors are also developing products, which, if approved, and depending on the labelled indication, could potentially compete with metreleptin. Although there are no approved products in the United States and the European Union for the treatment of EB, our competitors are developing products, which, if approved, and depending on the labelled indication, could potentially compete with Oleogel-S10. One such competitor on the near-term horizon is a potential competitor from Krystal Biotech – B-VEC. B-VEC is gene therapy delivered through a herpes simplex viral vector with studies focused on the narrower population of RDEB patients. They have recently completed Phase 3 recruitment and could be approved in the US in Q2 2022 and in the EU in H2 2022. Although there is overlap with Oleogel-S10, Amryt believe that this lifelong condition will require multiple therapeutic options. Other competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing additional pharmaceutical products that are introduced into the market and that are more effective, have a more favorable safety profile, or are less costly than our products. If we do not compete successfully, our operating margins, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.
Competition - Risk 2
Recent legislation and proposed federal regulations and guidance may permit reimportation of drugs from foreign countries into the United States where the drugs are sold at lower prices and this may adversely affect our operating results and overall financial condition.
The U.S. Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 ("MMA") contains provisions that may change importation laws and expand pharmacists' and wholesalers' abilities to import lower-priced versions of an approved drug and competing products from Canada, where there are government price controls. These changes to U.S. importation laws will only take effect if the Secretary of Health and Human Services certifies that the changes will pose no additional risk to the public's health and safety. We do not know the timing and likelihood of this certification. In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA issued a final rule and guidance concerning two new pathways for importing lower-cost drugs into the United States. The final rule allows certain prescription drugs to be imported from Canada, but would not permit the import of biologics. The FDA guidance describes procedures for drug manufacturers to facilitate the importation of FDA approved drugs and biologics manufactured abroad and originally intended for sale in a foreign country in the United States. If distributors or other purchasers of Myalept or Juxtapid in the United States are able to import lower-priced products from countries outside the United States that place price controls on pharmaceutical products, this may result in a negative impact on the revenues of our products. In addition, some state governments have implemented importation schemes for their citizens and, in the absence of federal action to curtail such activities, other state governments may launch importation efforts. The reimportation of metreleptin or lomitapide into the U.S. market from a foreign market may negatively impact our revenues and anticipated financial results. Although the European Union does not permit the re-importation of medicinal products from outside the European Union, parallel trade between EU Member States is possible and can result in third party imports from EU Member States offering lower prices for a product into those reimbursing products at higher costs.
Sales & Marketing7 | 9.0%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
We rely on named patient sales of our products in certain territories, but there are no assurances that named patient sales of our products will continue at current levels, or at all.
In a number of countries, where permitted based on U.S. or EU approval, metreleptin and lomitapide are available on a named patient sales or similar basis. Named patient basis means physician-requested treatment for patients in territories where marketing authorization has not yet occurred. There is no assurance that named patient sales will continue to be authorized in any particular country. Even if they are authorized, we will likely not be permitted to promote, market or otherwise engage in proactive selling activities for products sold on a named patient basis, which makes named patient sales much less predictable, and susceptible to unexpected decreases. If violations of any laws or governmental regulations are found to have occurred in connection with our products significant criminal or civil lawsuits may be filed, or investigations may be commenced. For example, in Brazil, under certain circumstances, we could be barred from sales of products to federal or state governments in Brazil due to penalties imposed by Brazilian regulatory authorities or through civil actions initiated by federal or state public prosecutors, or we could face administrative penalties imposed by Brazilian regulatory authorities and additional damages and fines. It is believed that the investigations in respect of Aegerion in Brazil have contributed to a slower turnaround between price quotation and orders, including reorders, from the federal government, and, in some cases, delays in orders and reorders from the government of the State of São Paulo after a patient has obtained access to lomitapide through the judicial process. These delays may continue, and we may experience other delays or suspensions of the ordering process. Similarly, there has been, and may continue to be, some reluctance by physicians to prescribe lomitapide, and some patients to take or stay on lomitapide, while the investigations are ongoing, particularly given that some of the investigators in Brazil made formal inquiries of certain prescribers of lomitapide, and there has been significant local media coverage of such inquiries and Aegerion's past activities in Brazil. Further, in October 2017, a new set of regulatory requirements governing use of product candidates was published in Brazil which has added complexity to the process for the purchase, on a named patient basis, of drugs which have not received regulatory and/or pricing and reimbursement approval in Brazil, such as metreleptin and lomitapide, which has, along with the ongoing court proceeding, resulted in delays in the receipt of orders from Brazil for existing metreleptin and lomitapide patients. We believe that this led certain patients to discontinue therapy with metreleptin and lomitapide. In December 2020, we received marketing authorization approval from Agencia Nacional De Vigilancia Sanitaria, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, for lomitapide. We do not know the full extent of the impact that the approval of PCSK9 inhibitor products in the United States, or the approval of a PCSK9 inhibitor product, will have on the named patient sales of lomitapide in other countries. We also do not know whether we will be permitted to sell metreleptin or lomitapide on a named patient basis in any additional countries. In certain countries, we may decide not to pursue named patient sales even if permitted. Even if named patient sales (or equivalent sales) are permitted in a certain country, and we elect to make metreleptin or lomitapide available on such basis, there is no guarantee that physicians in such country will prescribe the product, which they can only do if they proactively reach out to us or our distributors and also undertake the effort, time and cost of following the stringent local requirements to get their patient on therapy on a named patient basis, and that patients will be willing to start and adhere to therapy, or that the country will pay for the product at all, or at a level that is acceptable to us, without delay or imposing other hurdles on payment. Further, there are countries where we choose to or are required to make our products available under an expanded access program at no cost prior to approval in such countries. There is no assurance that we will be able to obtain marketing approval or reimbursement at all or at acceptable levels or to maintain reimbursement for our products in any country where we have expanded access programs or that patients on such programs will convert to commercial product even if we do obtain requisite approvals. In certain countries where we seek reimbursement for the product during the pre-approval phase, we are able to establish the price for the product, while in other countries we need to negotiate the price. Such negotiations may not result in a price acceptable to us, in which case we may elect not to distribute the products in such country prior to approval or it may curtail distribution. Our expanded access program may result in significant expenses and may not result in expected future sales at desired levels or at all, and could negatively impact our financial results.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 2
We commercialize our products through both a direct sales force and through strategic relationships with third parties for commercialization, distribution, sales and marketing in certain jurisdictions. If we are unable to adequately develop and maintain our sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into business arrangements, we may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates.
We sell lomitapide and metreleptin directly in the United States using our own marketing and sales resources and also market and sell, or plan to market and sell, our products directly in certain key countries outside the United States where such products are, or may be, approved using country managers or local distributors to the extent rights to commercialize such products are not out-licensed. We also make our products available on a named patient basis as a result of the approval of lomitapide in the United States or the European Union. We use third parties to provide sales, warehousing, shipping, third-party logistics, invoicing, collections and other distribution services on our behalf in connection with the sale of products globally. Metreleptin is available in: Italy, Greece, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain/UAE, Colombia and Argentina. Metreleptin was out-licensed to Shionogi & Co. Ltd. ("Shionogi") in Japan. Lomitapide is available in: the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, France, Hungary, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. We also out-licensed lomitapide for sale by Recordati Rare Diseases Inc. ("Recordati") in Japan. For example, there is currently a contract with a single specialty pharmacy distributor in the United States for the distribution of lomitapide and metreleptin, a single distributor in Brazil for both products, and single distributors, third-party logistics providers, importers and/or specialty pharmacies in certain other countries, including the European Union. We have entered into or may selectively seek to establish sales, distribution and similar forms of arrangements to grow revenue in existing territories and gain access to new territories and to reach patients in certain geographies that we do not believe can be cost-effectively addressed with our own sales and marketing capabilities. If we are unable to establish, maintain and finance the capabilities to sell, market and distribute our products, either through our own capabilities or through arrangements with third parties, and to effectively manage those third parties, or if we are unable to enter into distribution agreements in countries that we do not believe can be cost-effectively addressed with our own sales and marketing capabilities, we may not be able to successfully sell our products. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to establish, maintain and finance our own capabilities or to enter into and maintain favorable distribution agreements with third parties on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing or distribution services, the product revenues or the profitability of these product revenues may be lower than if we were to commercialize the products on our own. We will have limited control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market the products effectively, and may also, despite our compliance diligence reviews, audits and training, engage in non-compliant / illegal activities including U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 ("FCPA") violative activity that, directly or indirectly, impact the use or sales of the products or damage our relationships with relevant stakeholders. Any performance failure, inability or refusal of our specialty pharmacy distributors, or third-party service providers to perform, or any failure to renew existing agreements on favorable terms, or at all, could cause serious disruption and impair our commercial or named patient sales of the products, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Adverse actions with third parties and contract manufacturing organizations we enter into arrangements with including adverse regulatory actions could negatively impact the company. Furthermore, the expenses associated with maintaining sales force and distribution capabilities may continue to be substantial compared to the revenues we generate. If we are unable to establish and effectively maintain adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, whether independently or with third parties, we may not be able to generate product revenues, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. See "-Risks Related to our Reliance on Third Parties."
Sales & Marketing - Risk 3
We may fail to obtain or maintain Orphan Drug marketing exclusivity for our products and product candidates and may face significant competitive threats to the commercialization of these compounds from other manufacturers.
Obtaining Orphan Drug Designation does not guarantee that we will be the first to obtain marketing approval for any particular orphan indication due to the uncertainties associated with developing pharmaceutical products, which could prevent us from marketing the product candidates if another company is able to obtain Orphan Drug exclusivity before we do. Exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be unavailable or lost if: (i) an approval is sought for an indication broader than the orphan-designated indication; (ii) the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective; or (iii) the applicant is unable to secure sufficient quantities of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition following approval. In the European Union, a marketing authorization granted for an Orphan Drug must only cover the therapeutic indications that meet the Orphan Drug Designation criteria. Further, even if Orphan Drug exclusivity has been obtained, and maintained that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product candidates from competition because different drugs with different active moieties may be approved for the same condition. In addition, the FDA and the EMA may subsequently approve products with the same active moiety for the same condition if the FDA or the EMA concludes that the later drug is safer, more effective, or makes a major contribution to patient care. Orphan Drug Designation neither shortens the development time or regulatory review time of a drug nor gives the drug any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process. We intend to seek Orphan Drug Designation for existing and future product candidates and we may never receive such designations. Despite exclusivity protections, another company nevertheless could market another version of the product if such company submits a full New Drug Application ("NDA") in the United States or a full application for marketing authorization in the European Union with a complete human clinical trial program and obtains marketing approval of its product. Failure by us to obtain or maintain Orphan Drug marketing exclusivity for our products and product candidates may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 4
We are dependent primarily on two products, lomitapide and metreleptin, to generate revenue and these products may not be successful and may not generate sales at anticipated levels.
Our ability to meet expectations with respect to sales of lomitapide and metreleptin, and to generate revenues from such sales, and attain and maintain positive cash flow from operations, in the time periods anticipated, or at all, will depend on a number of factors, including, among others: - the ability to continue to maintain and grow market acceptance for lomitapide and metreleptin among healthcare professionals and patients in the United States, European Union and other key markets for the treatment of approved indications;- continuing market demand and medical need for these products;- the development, acquisition, licensing or introduction of competitive products that are more effective, have a more favorable safety profile or are less costly than our products;- maintaining regulatory approvals without onerous restrictions or limitations in key markets and securing regulatory approvals in additional markets on a timely basis and with commercially feasible labels, and pricing and reimbursement approvals at adequate levels, where required, on a timely basis;- side effects or other safety issues associated with the use of lomitapide and metreleptin could require us or our collaborators to modify or halt commercialization of these products or expose us to product liability lawsuits which will harm our business;- we may be required by regulatory agencies to conduct additional studies regarding the safety and efficacy of lomitapide and metreleptin, which we have not planned or anticipated;- generating revenues in markets that allow for sales of pharmaceutical products without regulatory approval based solely on the approvals of such products in the United States or European Union, and in which no promotion or commercialization activities are permitted; and - adequately investing in the manufacturing, sales, marketing, market access, medical affairs and other functions that are supportive of our commercialization efforts. If we are unable to continue to generate revenue from our current commercial products, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects will be adversely affected.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 5
Our products may not gain market acceptance, in which case we may not be able to generate product revenues.
Physicians, healthcare providers, patients, payers or the medical community may not accept or use our approved products. Efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payers on the benefits of the products may require significant resources and may not be successful. Notwithstanding the level of revenues historically generated from the sale of lomitapide and metreleptin, if any of our existing marketed products or product candidates do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may struggle to continue to generate significant product revenues and may not in the future generate any profits from operations. The degree of market acceptance will depend on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: - whether clinicians and potential patients perceive product candidates to have better efficacy, safety, tolerability profile and ease of use, when compared with the products marketed by our competitors and the prevailing standard of care ("SOC");- the timing and location of market introduction of any approved products;- our ability to provide acceptable evidence of safety and efficacy;- the frequency and severity and causal relationships of any side effects and a continued acceptable safety profile following approval;- relative convenience and ease of administration;- cost effectiveness;- patient diagnostics and screening infrastructure in each market;- marketing and distribution support;- the availability of healthcare coverage, reimbursement and adequate payment from health maintenance organizations and other third-party payers, both public and private; and - competition from other therapies.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 6
If our licensees do not successfully commercialize the licensed products, we will not receive anticipated royalties and other payments and our results of operations will suffer.
The product sales, milestone payments and royalties that we may be entitled to receive under our license arrangements with Shionogi and Recordati are dependent on such licensees' ability to successfully develop and commercialize the licensed products for their respective indications. Our licensees may not succeed in their product development efforts. It is possible that our licensees may be unable to obtain regulatory approval of product candidates using our technologies or successfully market and commercialize any such products for which regulatory approval is obtained. We have no control over these licensees and the contractual provisions may not provide adequate remedies in the event that a licensee fails to satisfy its obligations and commitments under the licensing arrangements. In addition, we have limited experience in maintaining multiple licensing arrangements and may be unable to adequately administer or monitor, or comply with, these arrangements, especially in light of limited personnel and cash resources, and these or future license arrangements may require us to provide services, supply or other efforts to the licensee. For example, under the license agreement with Recordati, we are required to provide supply product to Recordati. Moreover, the licensees have the ability to terminate or elect not to renew their respective license agreement in certain circumstances, including if we materially breach the agreement. A decision by a licensee to terminate its relationship, or a failure by a licensee to successfully develop or commercialize the licensed products or indications, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 7
If we overcharge U.S. government payers for our products, or if we fail to correctly and timely report state drug pricing changes, we may be found liable and could be subject to penalties for errors associated with the submission of pricing data.
To maintain coverage of products under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and Medicare Part D and when purchased by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Public Health Service and Coast Guard, typically a pharmaceutical company must participate in the FSS. In addition to the FSS contract with the VA, we also participate in the Tricare Retail Pharmacy program, under which we pay quarterly rebates on utilization of Myalept and Juxtapid when the products are dispensed through the Tricare Retail Pharmacy network to Tricare beneficiaries. If we are found to have knowingly submitted false average manufacturer price or best price information to the government, we may be liable for civil monetary penalties in the amount of $100,000 per item of false information. Failure by us to submit monthly or quarterly average manufacturer price and best price data on a timely basis could result in a civil monetary penalty of $10,000 per day for each day the submission is late beyond the due date. In the event that CMS were to terminate the rebate agreement, no federal payments would be available under Medicaid or Medicare Part D for our products. In addition, if we overcharge the government in connection with the FSS contract or under any other government program, we will be required to refund the difference to the government. Failure to make necessary disclosures or to identify contract overcharges could result in allegations against us under the federal civil False Claims Act and other laws and regulations. If we fail to correctly and timely report state drug pricing changes on a State by State basis as applicable, we may be liable to pay fines which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Production
Total Risks: 8/78 (10%)Above Sector Average
Manufacturing3 | 3.8%
Manufacturing - Risk 1
Adverse events involving any of our products and product candidates may lead the U.S. Food & Drug Administration ("FDA"), the European Medicines Agency ("EMA") or other regulatory authorities to delay or deny clearance for our products or result in product recalls that could harm our reputation, business and financial results.
The FDA and the EMA, as well as similar governmental authorities in other jurisdictions, have the authority to require the recall of certain commercialized products in the event of adverse side effects, material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture. Manufacturers may, under their own initiative, recall a product if any material deficiency in a product is found. A government-mandated recall or voluntary recall by us or one of our distributors could occur as a result of adverse side effects, impurities or other product contamination, manufacturing errors, design or labeling defects or other deficiencies and issues. Recalls of any of our products or product candidates would divert managerial and financial resources and have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. A recall announcement could harm our reputation with customers and negatively affect our sales, if any.
Manufacturing - Risk 2
We may be unable to scale up our manufacturing capability or successfully outsource manufacturing to third-party contractors.
We may underestimate the cost, time or complexity of installing or operating the manufacturing equipment required for our business. There also is a risk that any new equipment may not function as expected once installed. We may decide to outsource future manufacturing needs to third parties but may be unable to find sufficient supply for our manufacturing needs. Any inability to successfully scale up manufacturing capability, including that of Oleogel-S10, or meet manufacturing need through third-party contractors may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Manufacturing - Risk 3
We may not be successful in our efforts to build a pipeline of product candidates and develop additional marketable products.
We operate in the biopharmaceutical sector and have product candidates in various stages of clinical and preclinical development. In addition, we may continue to explore other opportunities within the sector in order to expand our present development pipeline. Industry experience indicates that there may be a very high incidence of delay or failure to produce valuable scientific results in relation to our present development pipeline. In addition, disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the likelihood that we encounter such difficulties or delays in initiating, enrolling, conducting or completing our planned and ongoing clinical trials. We may not be successful in developing new products based on our scientific discoveries. We will also face the risk that in developing new products we may spend substantial sums of money and the new products developed may not effectively meet the perceived need or may not be successfully commercialized. Our ability to develop new products relies on, among other things, the recruitment of sufficiently qualified research and development partners with expertise in the biopharmaceutical sector. We may not be able to develop relationships or recruit research partners of a sufficient caliber to satisfy the rate of growth and develop our future pipeline.
Employment / Personnel1 | 1.3%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
Our future success depends on our ability to hire and retain key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
Our future success depends on our ability to attract and retain key management personnel, scientific and technical personnel, particularly in the biopharmaceutical industry. Our ability to continue our operations and implement our strategy depends upon retaining, recruiting and motivating employees, especially with respect to our management team and research personnel. Experienced employees in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are in high demand and competition for their talents can be intense, especially in Germany, Ireland, and Boston, Massachusetts, where we maintain our principal operations. We have entered into employment agreements with executive officers and other key employees, but any employee may terminate his or her employment at any time or may be unable to continue in his or her role. The loss of any executive or key employee, or an inability to recruit desirable candidates or find adequate third parties to perform such services on reasonable terms and on a timely basis, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If we are not able to attract, retain and motivate necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience constraints that could significantly impede our ability to achieve our development and commercial objectives, our ability to raise additional capital and our ability to implement our business strategy.
Supply Chain4 | 5.1%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
We rely on third parties to conduct clinical trials and registry studies and perform related services, and those third parties may not perform satisfactorily, including by failing to meet established deadlines for the completion of such clinical trials and compliance with post-marketing requirements.
We do not have the resources to independently conduct clinical trials or registry studies or perform pharmacovigilance and REMS program and other risk management plan monitoring and reporting, and we rely on third parties, such as contract research organizations, medical institutions, academic institutions, clinical investigators, specialty pharmacies and other third-party service providers, to perform these functions. Reliance on third parties for these functions reduces our control over such functions. However, if we sponsor clinical trials, we are responsible for ensuring that each of the sponsored clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for the trial. Our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of these responsibilities and requirements. Furthermore, these third parties may have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors. If the third parties we rely upon fail to successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they provide is compromised or delayed due to the failure to adhere to regulatory requirements or clinical trial protocols, or for other reasons, our current marketing authorizations may be revoked, suspended, or revised to be more stringent. Further, our development programs, including any potential clinical studies, may be extended, delayed or terminated. If we were to experience an unexpected loss of supply of any of our product candidates or any of our future product candidates for any reason, whether as a result of manufacturing, supply or storage issues or otherwise, we could experience delays, disruptions, suspensions or terminations of, or be required to restart or repeat, any pending or ongoing clinical trials. For example, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our ability to procure sufficient supplies for the development of our products and product candidates will depend on the severity and duration of the spread of the virus, and the actions undertaken to contain COVID-19 or treat its effects. Additional marketing approvals for metreleptin or lomitapide may be delayed or denied in the targeted indication or jurisdiction, and efforts to successfully commercialize Oleogel-S10 if approved, metreleptin, lomitapide, or any other product for targeted indications or in the targeted jurisdiction may be delayed or unsuccessful. Should this occur, any existing approvals could be negatively impacted, which could materially and adversely affect our commercialization efforts.
Supply Chain - Risk 2
We depend on third-party manufacturers to produce the drug substance and the drug product for lomitapide and metreleptin sold globally, as well as the drug product for commercial supply and clinical trials. We also depend on third-party manufacturers to produce the drug product for Oleogel-S10. Even though we have reserve stock, interruption in supply could materially and adversely affect sales.
We have limited internal manufacturing facilities for the production of the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Oleogel-S10. We employ a small number of personnel with manufacturing experience but we are currently dependent upon contract manufacturers to produce metreleptin and lomitapide and the drug product for commercial supplies and clinical trials, including for Oleogel-S10, if it is approved. Aegerion entered into long-term supply agreements with a manufacturer of metreleptin drug substance and a manufacturer of metreleptin drug product. In February 2017, the original contract manufacturer for metreleptin drug product received a warning letter from the FDA citing significant violations of current Good Manufacturing Practice ("cGMP") regulations at the manufacturing facility where metreleptin drug product was manufactured. In addition, in December 2017, this contract manufacturer informed Aegerion that it would terminate its supply contract in December 2019. As a result, to mitigate metreleptin supply risks, Aegerion maintained a supply of safety stock and entered into a long-term supply agreement with another drug product manufacturer. This new manufacturer has finished validation for all metreleptin drug product sizes and commercial supply is now on stream for all sizes of the drug product. Given the inventory levels of the drug product and the fact that metreleptin is now being commercially supplied from this new manufacturer, we do not expect that there should be any material effect on supply if there are any delays in market approvals for ongoing changes in the supply chain. We have sufficient inventory of metreleptin and lomitapide drug substances to maintain supply for more than one year and of unlabeled drug product to maintain supply for greater than six months. We do not have any other agreements in place for redundant supply or a second source for drug substance or drug product for either product. Any interruption in supply of drug product or drug substance for our products could have a material and adverse impact on our sales, depending upon the length of interruption, which in turn may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If we are unable to maintain arrangements for third-party manufacturing, are unable to do so on commercially reasonable terms, or are unable to obtain timely regulatory approvals in connection with contract manufacturers, we may not be able to complete development of our product candidates or successfully commercialize our products. We may incur significant added costs and substantial delays in identifying and qualifying any replacement manufacturers, and in obtaining regulatory approval to use such replacement manufacturer in the manufacture of the products. Any such delays could result in significant delay in the supply of drug product for an ongoing clinical trial due to the need to replace a third-party manufacturer and could delay completion of the trial. If for any reason we are unable to obtain adequate supplies of lomitapide or metreleptin, or the drug substances used to manufacture them, it will be more difficult or impossible for us to compete effectively, generate revenues, meet expectations for financial performance and further develop our products. In addition, if we are unable to assure a sufficient quantity of the drug for patients with rare diseases or conditions, we may lose any Orphan Drug exclusivity to which our product otherwise would be entitled. We are subject to minimum production levels with some of these manufacturing companies. If we cannot sell sufficient levels of metreleptin or lomitapide, this will result in excess levels of inventory being manufactured and resulting obsolescence.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
If our third-party manufacturers are unable to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, unable to source sufficient raw materials, experience manufacturing or distribution difficulties, or are otherwise unable to manufacture and distribute sufficient quantities to meet demand, our commercialization efforts may be materially harmed.
While we manufacture the drug substance for Oleogel-S10 on our own, we do not own or operate manufacturing facilities for the production of clinical or commercial supplies of our products. We have limited personnel with experience in drug manufacturing and lack the resources and the capabilities to manufacture any of our product candidates on a clinical or commercial scale. We currently rely on third parties for supply of drug substances and drug products, and our strategy is to outsource all manufacturing of our product candidates and products to third parties. We rely on contract manufacturers to consistently produce drug substances and drug products to required specifications, including those imposed by the FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities. There can be no assurance that our contractors will consistently be able to produce commercial supplies of drug substance or drug product meeting the approved specifications. A number of factors could cause production interruptions at the facilities of the contract manufacturers, including equipment malfunctions, facility contamination, labor problems, raw material shortages or contamination, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, disruption in utility services, terrorist activities, regulatory actions resulting from failure to comply with cGMP, human error or disruptions in the operations of the suppliers. Aegerion experienced failures by third-party manufacturers to produce products that meet specifications in the past, and any future failure by third-party manufacturers to produce products that meet specifications could lead to a shortage of lomitapide or metreleptin. The FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities require that drug products be manufactured according to cGMPs relating to methods, facilities and controls used in the manufacturing, processing and packaging of the product, which are intended to ensure that drug products are safe and that they consistently meet applicable requirements and specifications. Our contract manufacturers are subject to periodic announced and unannounced inspections by the FDA to assess compliance with cGMP requirements. If an FDA inspection on a manufacturer's facilities reveals conditions that the FDA determines do not comply with applicable regulatory requirements, the FDA may issue observations through a Notice of Inspectional Observations, commonly referred to as a "Form FDA 483" report. If observations in the Form FDA 483 Report are not addressed in a timely manner and to the FDA's satisfaction, the FDA may issue a Warning Letter or proceed directly to other forms of enforcement action. Any failure by third-party manufacturers to comply with cGMP or to provide adequate and timely corrective actions in response to deficiencies identified in a regulatory inspection could result in further enforcement action that could lead to a shortage of products and harm our business, including to withdrawal of approvals previously granted, seizure, injunction or other civil or criminal penalties. The failure of any third-party manufacturer to address any concerns raised by the FDA or foreign regulators could also lead to plant shutdown or the delay or withholding of product approval by the FDA in additional indications, or by foreign regulators in any indication. Certain countries may impose additional requirements on the manufacturing of drug products or drug substances, and on third-party manufacturers, as part of the regulatory approval process for products in such countries. The failure by us or our third-party manufacturers to satisfy such requirements could impact our ability to obtain or maintain approval of our products in such countries. The manufacture of biologic pharmaceuticals, such as metreleptin, is more difficult and riskier than the manufacture of small molecule pharmaceuticals, such as lomitapide. The process of manufacturing biologics is highly susceptible to product loss due to contamination, oxidation, equipment failure or improper installation or operation of equipment, or vendor or operator error. Even minor deviations from normal manufacturing processes could result in reduced production yields, product defects and other supply disruptions. If microbial, viral or other contaminations are discovered in metreleptin or the facilities of the contract manufacturer, we may need to cease the manufacture of metreleptin for an extended period of time to investigate and remediate the contaminant. A contamination, recall, raw material shortage, or other supply disruption could adversely impact or disrupt commercial manufacturing of metreleptin or could result in a withdrawal of metreleptin from the market. Any such disruption, in turn, could adversely affect our ability to satisfy demand for metreleptin, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Supply Chain - Risk 4
We rely on third parties for distribution services around the world, and a failure to manage these third parties could harm our business.
We use, and plan to use, third parties to provide warehousing, shipping, third-party logistics, invoicing, collections and other distribution services on our behalf in the United States and in other countries throughout the world. Our failure to establish, maintain and finance the capabilities to sell, market or distribute our products, either through our own commercial infrastructure or through arrangements with third parties, and to effectively manage such third parties, could result in us not being able to successfully sell our products and could, as a result, have a material adverse effect on business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 4/78 (5%)Above Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment1 | 1.3%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Legal, political and economic uncertainty surrounding the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union may be a continued source of instability in international markets and currency exchange rate volatility, and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Since the United Kingdom ("UK") has formally left the European Union on January 31, 2020 and the transition period, during which EU laws continued to apply to the United Kingdom, has expired on December 31, 2020, EU laws now only apply to the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland as laid out in the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. The European Union and the United Kingdom have concluded a trade and cooperation agreement ("TCA"), which was ratified by the UK Parliament on December 30, 2020. The TCA is provisionally applicable since January 1, 2021 and it is currently awaiting ratification by the European Parliament which is expected by the end of April 2021 (being the current expiration date of the provisional application period of the TCA). The TCA includes provisions affecting the life sciences sector (including on customs and tariffs) but areas for further discussion between the European Union and UK remain. In addition, there are some specific provisions concerning pharmaceuticals. These include the mutual recognition of Good Manufacturing Practice ("GMP"), inspections of manufacturing facilities for medicinal products and GMP documents issued. The TCA does not, however, contain wholesale mutual recognition of UK and EU pharmaceutical regulations and product standards. Since January 1, 2021, the EU laws which have been transposed into UK law through secondary legislation continue to be applicable as "retained EU law". As there is no general power to amend these regulations, the UK government has adopted the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 which seeks to address this regulatory gap through introducing regulation-making, delegated powers covering the fields of human medicines, clinical trials of human medicines, veterinary medicines and medical devices. The purpose of the act is to enable the existing regulatory frameworks to be updated, with the powers granted under it only exercisable in relation to four pieces of legislation: the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004, the Medicines (Products for Human Use) Regulations 2016 and limited parts of the Medicines Act 1968 (specifically those parts which make provision related to pharmacies). It is then further restricted to amending or updating only those provisions stated in the act, which include clinical trials. Specified provisions of the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 entered into force on February 11, 2021 when the legislation formally became law. The remaining provisions came into effect within two months of February 11, 2021 or will come into effect otherwise as stipulated in subsequent statutory instruments. These developments may have a significant adverse effect on global economic conditions and continue to be a source of instability in the global financial markets, and could significantly reduce global market liquidity and limit the ability of key market participants to operate in certain financial markets. In particular, it could also lead to a period of considerable uncertainty in relation to the United Kingdom financial and banking markets, as well as on the regulatory process in the United Kingdom. Asset valuations and currency exchange rates may also be subject to continued market volatility as a result of Brexit and other factors, including those relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ultimate impact of Brexit on our business operations could vary depending on the details of further agreement(s) and Brexit could significantly affect the financial, trade, regulatory and legal landscape in the United Kingdom, and could have a material impact on its economy and the future growth of its various industries, including the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Further, Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and regulatory divergence between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Given the lack of comparable precedent, it is unclear what financial, trade, regulatory and legal implications the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will have and how such withdrawal will affect us. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Natural and Human Disruptions1 | 1.3%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
The outbreak of COVID-19 could adversely impact our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials.
Since a novel strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causing a disease referred to as COVID-19, was first reported in December 2019, the disease has spread across the world, including countries in which we have planned or active clinical trial sites. The outbreak and government measures taken in response have also had a significant impact, both direct and indirect, on businesses and commerce, as worker shortages have occurred; supply chains have been disrupted; facilities and production have been suspended; and demand for certain goods and services, such as medical services and supplies, has spiked, while demand for other goods and services, such as travel, has fallen. In response to the spread of COVID-19, we have closed our executive offices with our administrative employees continuing their work outside of our offices and limited the number of staff in any given manufacturing facility. As COVID-19 continues to spread around the globe, we may experience disruptions that could affect our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials, including: - unsuccessful and/or untimely completion of preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates and any other future candidates, as well as the associated costs, including any unforeseen costs we may incur as a result of preclinical study or clinical trial delays;- delays or difficulties in initiating, enrolling, conducting or completing our planned and ongoing clinical trials;- risk that participants enrolled in our clinical trials will acquire COVID-19 while the clinical trial is ongoing, which could result in patients dropping out of the clinical trial or impact the results of the clinical trial, including by increasing the number of observed adverse events;- existing patients with serious diseases included in our clinical trials may die as a result of contracting COVID-19 or suffer other adverse medical events for reasons that may not be related to our products or candidates;- delays or difficulties in clinical site initiation, including difficulties in recruiting clinical site investigators and clinical site staff;- healthcare budgets may be adversely affected and as a result, funding may not be available to pay for our products;- diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials;- interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site monitoring, due to limitations on travel imposed or recommended by federal, state or local governments, employers and others or interruption of clinical trial subject visits and study procedures (such as pre-planned clinical trial assessments), which may impact the integrity of subject data and clinical study endpoints;- limitations in employee resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, including because of sickness of employees or their families or the desire of employees to avoid contact with large groups of people;- interruption or delays in the operations of the FDA, EMA or other regulatory authorities, which may impact review and approval timelines of our products, including review and approval timelines for Oleogel-S10 which may be impacted by the need to undertake pre-approval inspections of our facilities before approval is granted;- delays in receiving approval from local regulatory authorities to initiate our planned clinical trials;- delays in clinical sites receiving the supplies and materials needed to conduct our clinical trials due to staffing shortages, production slowdowns or stoppages and disruptions in delivery systems;- suspension or termination of a clinical trial by us, by the Institutional Review Boards ("IRBs") of the institutions in which such trial is being conducted, by a Data and Safety Monitoring Board ("DSMB") for such trial or by the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects;- refusal of the FDA to accept data from clinical trials in affected geographies outside the United States;- changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 pandemic which may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or to discontinue the clinical trials altogether;- delays in necessary interactions with local regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government employees;- impairment of our operations, including among others, employee mobility and productivity, availability of facilities, conduct of clinical trials, manufacturing and supply capacity, disruption of our supply chain, availability of shipping and distribution channels, restrictions on import and export regulations and the availability and productivity of third party service suppliers;- incurrence of delays in the delivery of our products, or our inability to deliver products to our patients, or our sales representatives may continue to be unable to meet in person with physicians and hospitals to identify new patients for our products;- interruption in global shipping that may affect the transport of clinical trial materials, such as investigational drug product used in our clinical trials;- disruption and volatility in the global capital markets, which increases the cost of capital and adversely impacts access to capital should we have specific strategic considerations which require it; and - disruptions that could affect our business, specifically the development, manufacture and labelling of our products. The global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to evolve rapidly. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar health epidemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, preclinical studies, clinical trials, healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole. However, these effects could have a material impact on our operations, and we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely.
Capital Markets2 | 2.6%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
Fluctuations in currency exchange rates and increased inflation could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We have operations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain and other select markets throughout the world. As a result of the international scope of our operations, fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly between the U.S. dollar, our reporting currency, and the Euro, may adversely affect us. In the year ended December 31, 2020, 2.6% of our sales were denominated in pound sterling (£), 73.6% of our sales were denominated in U.S. dollars, 21.9% were denominated in Euros and the balance was denominated in other currencies. As a result, weakening of the Euro or pound sterling relative to the U.S. dollar presents the most significant risk to us. Any significant fluctuations in currency exchange rates may have a material impact on our business. In addition, economies in Central European and Latin American countries have periodically experienced high rates of inflation. Periods of higher inflation may slow economic growth in those countries. As a substantial portion of our expenses (excluding currency losses and changes in deferred tax) is denominated in U.S. dollars or Euros, the relative movement of inflation significantly affects our results of operations. Inflation also is likely to increase some of our costs and expenses, including wages, rents, leases and employee benefit payments, which we may not be able to pass on to our customers and, as a result, may reduce our profitability. To the extent inflation causes these costs to increase, such inflation may materially adversely affect our business. Inflationary pressures could also affect our ability to access financial markets and lead to counter-inflationary measures that may harm our financial condition, or results of operations or materially adversely affect the market price of our securities.
Capital Markets - Risk 2
Currency fluctuations may adversely affect the price of our ADSs or Ordinary Shares.
Our ordinary shares are quoted in Sterling pence on AIM, and our ADSs are quoted in U.S. dollars on the Nasdaq. Movements in the Sterling/U.S. dollar exchange rate may adversely affect the U.S. dollar price of the ADSs on the Nasdaq or the Sterling price on AIM. For example, if the Sterling weakens against the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar price of our ADSs could decline, even if the price of our ordinary shares in Sterling increases or remains unchanged.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.

FAQ

What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.
    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.
      They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.
        It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
          How do companies disclose their risk factors?
          Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.
            Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.
              Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.
                According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
                  How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
                  Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.
                    You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.
                      Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.
                        A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
                          What are all the risk factor categories?
                          TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.
                          1. Financial & Corporate
                          • Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
                          • Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
                          • Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
                          • Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.
                          2. Legal & Regulatory
                          • Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
                          • Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
                          • Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
                          • Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.
                          3. Production
                          • Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
                          • Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
                          • Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
                          • Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.
                          4. Technology & Innovation
                          • Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
                          • Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
                          • Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
                          • Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.
                          5. Ability to Sell
                          • Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
                          • Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
                          • Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
                          • Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.
                          6. Macro & Political
                          • Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
                          • Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
                          • International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
                          • Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.
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