Viridian Therapeutics (VRDN) Risk Factors

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenue from the sale of our product candidates, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, and license and development agreements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a stockholder. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to our research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or other arrangements with third parties when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to third parties to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity, including pursuant to any sales under our September 2022 ATM Agreement with Jefferies, convertible debt, or other securities convertible into equity, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these new securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our stockholders. Any additional sales of our capital stock by us will dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders and may cause the price per share of our common stock to decrease. In addition, any exercise of outstanding warrants will dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders and may cause the price per share of our common stock to decrease. Debt financing, including under our Hercules Loan and Security Agreement, may include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, making additional product acquisitions, or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through strategic collaborations or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our product candidates or future revenue streams or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. We cannot be assured that we will be able to obtain additional funding, if and when necessary, to fund our entire portfolio of product candidates to meet our projected plans. If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to delay or discontinue one or more of our development programs or the commercialization of any product candidates or be unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on potential business opportunities, which could materially harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our annual report filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This requires that we incur substantial professional fees and internal costs to expand our accounting and finance functions and that we expend significant management efforts. We may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner for each period. We may discover weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system's objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, it could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis, which could require a restatement, cause us to be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, cause investors to lose confidence in our financial information, or cause our stock price to decline. As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting, insurance, and other expenses, and our management and other personnel have and will need to continue to devote a substantial amount of time to compliance initiatives resulting from operating as a public company. We also anticipate that these costs and compliance initiatives will continue to increase as a result of ceasing to be a "smaller reporting company," as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

As of September 30, 2024, we had $753.2 million of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. We believe that our current cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, will be sufficient to fund our operations, including our clinical development plan, into the second half of 2027. We will need to raise additional capital to continue to fund our operations and service our obligations in the future. If we are unable to raise additional capital when needed, we will not be able to continue as a going concern. Developing our product candidates requires a substantial amount of capital. We expect our research and development expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance our product candidates through clinical trials. We will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations and such funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. We do not currently have any products approved for sale and do not generate any revenue from product sales. Accordingly, we expect to rely primarily on equity and/or debt financings to fund our continued operations. Our ability to raise additional funds will depend, in part, on the success of our preclinical studies and clinical trials and other product development activities, regulatory events, our ability to identify and enter into licensing or other strategic arrangements, and other events or conditions that may affect our value or prospects, as well as factors related to financial, economic and market conditions, many of which are beyond our control. For example, even if our clinical trials generate data that we view favorably, investors may not share our interpretation of these data, and we may be unable to raise additional funds. There can be no assurance that sufficient funds will be available to us when required or on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may be required to: - significantly delay, scale back, or discontinue the development or commercialization of our product candidates;- seek strategic alliances, or amend existing alliances, for research and development programs at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or that we otherwise would have sought to develop independently, or on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available in the future;- dispose of technology assets, or relinquish or license on unfavorable terms, our rights to technologies or any of our product candidates that we otherwise would seek to develop or commercialize ourselves;- pursue the sale of our company to a third party at a price that may result in a loss on investment for our stockholders; or - file for bankruptcy or cease operations altogether. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and prospects.

As our development and commercialization plans and strategies develop and our geographical footprint expands, we expect to need additional managerial, operational, sales, marketing, financial, legal, and other resources. Our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of our attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees, and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of additional product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate and/or grow revenue could be reduced and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize product candidates and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.

If any of our product candidates are approved, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements with respect to manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, sampling, record-keeping, conduct of post-marketing clinical trials, and submission of safety, efficacy, and other post-approval information, including both federal and state requirements in the United States, and requirements of the EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. See "Business-Government Regulation-Expedited Development and Review Programs" and "Business-Government Regulation-Regulation in the European Union" in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the marketed product. We will be required to report adverse reactions and production problems, if any, to the FDA, EMA, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Any new legislation could result in delays in product development or commercialization, or increased costs to assure compliance. If our original marketing approval for a product candidate was granted accelerated approval by the FDA, we could be required to conduct a successful post-marketing clinical trial in order to confirm the clinical benefit of our products. Other regulatory authorities outside of the United States may have similar requirements. An unsuccessful post-marketing clinical trial or failure to complete such a trial could result in the withdrawal of marketing approval. We and any of our suppliers or collaborators, including our CDMOs, would be subject to periodic inspections by the FDA, EMA, and, as applicable, comparable foreign regulatory authorities to monitor compliance with cGMPs and other FDA, EMA, and, as applicable, any comparable foreign regulatory requirements. Application holders must further notify the FDA, and any comparable foreign regulatory authorities, as applicable, and depending on the nature of the change, obtain FDA pre-approval or pre-approval from other comparable foreign regulatory authorities, as applicable, for product and manufacturing changes. We must comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for any product candidates for which we seek or obtain marketing approval. Promotional communications with respect to drugs and biologics are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. When the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities issue regulatory approval for a product candidate, the regulatory approval is limited to those specific uses and indications for which a product is approved. If we are not able to obtain FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority approval for desired uses or indications for our product candidates, we may not market or promote them for those indications and uses, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and reputation may be materially harmed. We also must sufficiently substantiate any claims that we make for our products, including claims comparing our products to other companies' products, and must abide by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority's strict requirements regarding the content of promotion and advertising. Any government investigation or enforcement action concerning alleged violations of law, including with respect to promotional requirements, would be expected to require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could result in significant liability, including civil and administrative remedies as well as criminal sanctions and fines. Even if it is later determined that we were not in violation of these laws, we may be faced with negative publicity, incur significant expenses defending our actions and have to divert significant management resources from other matters. Any non-compliance with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our products, and the value of the company and our operating results would be adversely affected.

From time to time in the ordinary course of its business, we and our directors and officers may become involved in various legal proceedings, including commercial, employment and other litigation and claims, as well as governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management's attention and resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. Litigation is inherently unpredictable, the results of any such actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.

New income, sales, use, or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations, or ordinances could be enacted at any time, which could adversely affect our business operations and financial performance. Further, existing tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations, or ordinances could be interpreted, changed, modified, or applied adversely to us. For example, the Tax Act enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to the Tax Act may affect us, and certain aspects of the Tax Act could be repealed or modified in future legislation. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act or any newly enacted federal tax legislation. Changes in corporate tax rates, the realization of net deferred tax assets relating to our operations, the taxation of foreign earnings, and the deductibility of expenses under the Tax Act or future reform legislation could have a material impact on the value of our deferred tax assets, could result in significant one-time charges, and could increase our future U.S. tax expense.

Our research and development activities and our third-party manufacturers' and suppliers' activities involve the controlled storage, use, and disposal of hazardous materials, including the components of our product candidates and other hazardous compounds. We and our manufacturers and suppliers are subject to laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling, and disposal of these hazardous materials. In some cases, these hazardous materials and various wastes resulting from their use are stored at our and our manufacturers' facilities pending their use and disposal. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination, which could cause an interruption of our commercialization efforts, research and development efforts, and business operations, and cause environmental damage resulting in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling, and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. Although we believe that the safety procedures utilized by us and our third-party manufacturers for handling and disposing of these materials generally comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that this is the case or eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In such an event, we may be held liable for any resulting damages and such liability could exceed our resources, and state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of specified materials and/or interrupt our business operations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently, and have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance. We do not currently carry biological or hazardous waste insurance coverage.

We do not currently have, nor do we currently plan to develop, the infrastructure or capability internally to manufacture our clinical supplies for use in the conduct of our clinical trials, and we lack the resources and the capability to manufacture any of our product candidates, devices, or device components on a clinical or commercial scale. We currently rely on outside vendors to manufacture our clinical supplies of our product candidates and plan to continue relying on third parties to manufacture our product candidates, devices, or device components on a commercial scale, if approved. In particular, we rely upon single-sourced manufacturing with one CMO for manufacturing our product candidates, including drug substance and drug product. We also rely on single-sourced manufacturing for various elements of our combination products. We do not yet have sufficient information to reliably estimate the cost of the commercial manufacturing of our product candidates and our current cost to manufacture our drug products may not be commercially feasible. Additionally, the actual cost to manufacture our product candidates could materially and adversely affect the commercial viability of our product candidates. As a result, we may never be able to develop a commercially viable product. In addition, our reliance on third-party manufacturers exposes us to the following additional risks: - We may be unable to identify additional manufacturers of our product candidates, including combination product candidates, on acceptable terms or at all. - Our third-party manufacturers might be unable to timely formulate and manufacture our product or produce the quantity and quality required to meet our clinical and commercial needs, if any. - Contract manufacturers may not be able to execute our manufacturing process or procedures appropriately. - Our future third-party manufacturers may not perform as agreed or may not remain in the contract manufacturing business for the time required to supply our clinical trials or to successfully produce, store, and distribute our commercial products, if approved. - Our reliance on single-sourced manufacturing with one CMO increases the risk that any problems or delays with that CMO could materially, negatively affect the development of our product candidates, or their commercialization, if approved. - Manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA, applicable foreign regulatory authorities and some state agencies to ensure strict compliance with current good manufacturing practice and other government regulations and corresponding foreign standards. We do not have control over third-party manufacturers' compliance with these regulations and standards. - We may not own, or may have to share, the intellectual property rights to any improvements made by our third-party manufacturers in the manufacturing process for our product candidates. - Our third-party manufacturers could breach or terminate their agreement with us. - Our third-party manufacturers' performance, available capacity and ability to manufacture clinical or commercial products may be impacted by mergers and or acquisitions. - We may experience labor disputes or shortages, raw material shortages or manufacturing capacity shortages, including from the effects of health emergencies (such as novel viruses or pandemics) and natural disasters. - We and our third-party manufacturers may be impacted by global conflicts, including any potential conflict involving China and Taiwan, and any resulting trade sanctions or regulatory actions. - We are heavily reliant on third-party manufacturing operations in China, and any regional or geopolitical disruption could negatively impact our clinical trials and development or commercialization of our product candidates, which would harm our business. - Foreign third-party manufacturers may be subject to U.S. legislation, regulatory actions, or investigations, including the proposed BIOSECURE Act, trade restrictions and other U.S. or foreign regulatory requirements, which could increase the cost or reduce the supply of material available to us, delay or prevent the procurement or supply of such material, delay clinical trials, delay commercial launch, affect the ability to transfer to different manufacturers or have an adverse effect on our ability to secure commitments from governments to purchase our potential therapies. Each of these risks could delay our clinical trials, as well as the approval, if any, of our product candidates by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, or the commercialization of our product candidates, or could result in higher costs, or could deprive us of potential product revenue. In addition, we rely on third parties to perform release testing on our product candidates prior to delivery to patients. If these tests are not appropriately conducted and test data are not reliable, patients could be put at risk of serious harm, and this could result in product liability suits. As we currently rely upon single suppliers for the development and manufacture of our product candidates, we are taking steps to build redundancy into our supply chain. In connection with those efforts, we are currently evaluating options and taking steps to establish the development and/or manufacture of our product candidates at new manufacturers. If we encounter any material problems in connection with that process, we may be delayed in the development or commercialization of our product candidates, including veligrotug, and our business could be harmed. The manufacture of drug products, including combination products that comprise a biological drug product and a device, is complex and requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques, process controls and product testing methods. Manufacturers of medical products often encounter difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up and validating initial production and absence of contamination. These problems include difficulties with raw material supply, production costs and yields, quality control, stability of the product, quality assurance testing, operator error, shortages of qualified personnel, logistical problems or delays encountered when using multiple sites for manufacturing and testing, as well as compliance with strictly enforced federal, state, and foreign regulations. These problems may be more likely, or worse, in cases where the products candidates being manufactured are combination products, like certain of our product candidates, due to the increased complexity in their manufacture and associated supply chain. Furthermore, if contaminants are discovered in our supply of our product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination. We cannot be assured that any stability issue or other issues relating to the manufacture of our product candidates will not occur in the future. Additionally, our manufacturers may experience manufacturing difficulties due to resource constraints or as a result of labor disputes, shortages, including from the effects of heath emergencies (such as novel viruses or pandemics) and natural disasters, or unstable political environments. If our manufacturers were to encounter any of these difficulties, or otherwise fail to comply with their contractual obligations, our ability to provide our product candidates to patients or subjects in clinical trials would be jeopardized. Any delay or interruption in the supply of clinical trial supplies could delay the initiation or completion of clinical trials, increase the costs associated with initiating or maintaining clinical trial programs and, depending upon the period of delay, require us to commence new clinical trials at additional expense or terminate clinical trials completely. We currently rely on the Chinese contract research, development and manufacturing organizations ("CDMOs") WuXi AppTec (Hong Kong) Limited and WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited (together, "WuXi") and other foreign CDMOs, to develop and manufacture our product candidates, and will likely continue to rely on them in the future. There has been increased governmental focus in the United States on the role of Chinese companies in the life sciences industry. This focus has included U.S. legislative proposals, such as the proposed BIOSECURE Act, which has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is pending before the U.S. Senate. If enacted, the BIOSECURE Act would, among other things, prohibit U.S. federal agencies from entering into or renewing any contract with any entity that uses biotechnology equipment or services produced or provided by a "biotechnology company of concern" to perform that contract with the government. Although the proposed Act has not been enacted and thus is subject to change through the legislative process, a version of the Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives defines a "biotechnology company of concern" to include WuXi Biologics and WuXi AppTec. If adopted, the BIOSECURE Act could cause us to seek to exit some or all of our arrangements with WuXi (or any other China-based service provider determined to be "biotechnology companies of concern") and accelerate the transition of these services to alternative companies or continue to engage redundant suppliers for the U.S. market. Additionally, the legislation could adversely impact WuXi's operations or financial position which, in turn, could impact their ability to perform under our agreements with it. Our reliance on Chinese-based contract research organizations, such as WuXi, may also cause us to face additional risks due to geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China and related legal and regulatory restrictions and requirements, including measures directly affecting WuXi. In addition, these entities may be subject to other U.S. legislation, sanctions, investigations, regulations, trade restrictions, regulatory actions, or ex-U.S. legislation, regulatory actions or requirements that could increase the cost or reduce the supply of material available to us, delay or prevent the procurement or supply of such material, delay or impact the availability of our product candidates, delay or impact clinical trials, availability of commercial supply, or have an adverse effect on our ability to secure significant commitments from governments to purchase our potential therapies. Any of the foregoing outcomes could adversely affect our financial condition and business prospects. For example, in February 2024, the chair and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, along with certain Senators, sent a letter to the Biden administration requesting that certain WuXi related entities be added to the Department of Defense's Chinese Military Companies List (pursuant to Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021), the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List, and the Department of Treasury's Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List. While the Biden administration has yet to take action on this letter, adding either or both previously mentioned WuXi entities on any or all of the aforementioned lists could materially impact our agreements with WuXi and could delay the initiation or completion of clinical trials, increase the costs associated with starting or maintaining clinical trial programs and, depending upon the period of delay, require us to commence new clinical trials at additional expense or terminate clinical trials completely or adversely impact our financial condition and business prospects. Furthermore, the biopharmaceutical industry in China is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, including Chinese collaborators and service providers such as CROs and CDMOs. Changes to Chinese regulations or government policies affecting biopharmaceutical companies are unpredictable and may adversely impact or have a material adverse effect on us or on our collaborators or in China. Such changes may also adversely impact the management of data generated in China, the availability of data generated with Chinese collaborators or in studies in China and the availability of data or records generated by service providers, which could have an adverse effect on our business, the development of our product candidates, our financial condition, results of operations and business prospects. In addition, it may be difficult or impossible to obtain certain source documentation from Chinese entities, which may adversely affect our business where such source documentation is required. Evolving changes in China's economic, political, and social conditions and the uncertainty around China's relationship with other governments, such as the U.S. and the U.K., could also negatively impact our ability to use Chinese companies to manufacture our product candidates for our clinical trials or have an adverse effect on our ability to secure commitments from governments to purchase our potential therapies, which could cause us to delay our clinical development programs or adversely affect our financial condition. If it becomes necessary to shift our operations away from reliance upon WuXi or other non-US based CROs and CMOs, we will need to find suitable replacements for their services. We may encounter significant difficulty in finding suitable replacement partners and vendors, difficulties in transferring our programs or processes from one CRO or CMO to another, and such parties may have limited capacity due to the influx of demand from other companies, including other biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies in a position similar to ours. Inability to find suitable replacements for these necessary services could increase the cost or reduce or eliminate the supply of material available to us, delay or prevent the procurement or supply of such material, delay or impact the availability of our product candidates, delay or impact clinical trials, availability of commercial supply, or have an adverse effect on our ability to secure significant commitments from governments to purchase our potential therapies. Any of the foregoing outcomes could adversely affect our financial condition and business prospects.

Even with the approvals from the FDA, EMA, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, the commercial success of our products will depend in part on the healthcare providers, patients, and third-party payors accepting our product candidates as medically useful, cost-effective, and safe. Any product that we bring to the market may not gain market acceptance by physicians, patients, and third-party payors. The degree of market acceptance of any of our products will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to: - the efficacy or safety of the product as demonstrated in clinical trials and potential advantages over competing treatments;- the prevalence and severity of the disease and any side effects;- the clinical indications for which approval is granted, including any limitations or warnings contained in a product's approved labeling;- the convenience and ease of administration;- the cost of treatment;- the willingness of the patients and physicians to accept these therapies;- the perceived ratio of risk and benefit of these therapies by physicians and the willingness of physicians to recommend these therapies to patients based on such risks and benefits;- the marketing, sales, and distribution support for the product;- the publicity concerning our products or competing products and treatments; and - the pricing and availability of third-party payor coverage and adequate reimbursement. Even if a product displays a favorable efficacy and safety profile upon approval, market acceptance of the product remains uncertain. We may be unable to penetrate the existing TED market and successfully commercialize our product candidates, if approved. Efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of the products may require significant investment and resources and may never be successful. If our products fail to achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors, and other healthcare providers, we will not be able to generate sufficient revenue to become or remain profitable. In addition, the market for TED therapies may fail to continue its growth, or may shrink, which could affect the commercial viability of our product candidates and could negatively impact revenues from any approved products. For example, sales of Tepezza may fall, and this could cause our business to be negatively impacted. Our estimates of the market size and market opportunity for our product candidates may prove inaccurate, which could negatively impact their commercial viability.