Want to see AQST full AI Analyst Report?
Risk Overview Q2, 2026
Risk Distribution
28% Finance & Corporate
28% Tech & Innovation
19% Legal & Regulatory
16% Production
7% Ability to Sell
3% 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
Aquestive Therapeutics 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.
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 Q2, 2026
Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 19 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 19 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
69
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 32
69
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 32
Recent Changes
1Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Jun 2026
1Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Jun 2026
Number of Risk Changed
0
-4
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 0
0
-4
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 0
See the risk highlights of Aquestive Therapeutics 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 69
Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 19/69 (28%)Below Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights7 | 10.1%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock in the public market by our existing stockholders would cause our stock price to fall.Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
We are a "smaller reporting company", and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies will make our Common Stock less attractive to investors.We are a "smaller reporting company", as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act which allows us to take advantage of many of the exemptions from disclosure requirements available to "emerging growth companies," as defined in the JOBS Act, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and certain reduced financial disclosures in our periodic reports, including this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We are eligible to remain a smaller reporting company for so long as we have a public float (based on our Common Stock equity) of less than $250 million measured as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or a public float (based on our Common Stock equity) of less than $700 million as of such date and annual revenues of less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. We cannot predict if investors will find our Common Stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Common Stock less attractive as a result of these disclosure exemptions, there may be a less active trading market for our Common Stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they publish negative evaluations of our Company, the price of our Common Stock could decline.The trading market for our Common Stock relies, in part, on the research and reports that industry and financial analysts publish about us or our business. We currently have limited research coverage by industry and financial analysts. Should any analysts then covering our business downgrade their evaluations of our stock, the price of our stock could decline. If any analysts then covering our business cease to cover our stock, we could lose visibility in the market for our stock, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
The market price of our Common Stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our Common Stock.The market price of our Common Stock since our IPO has been and is likely to be volatile. The stock market in general and the market for biopharmaceutical or pharmaceutical companies in particular, has experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, you may not be able to sell your Common Stock at or above your purchase price. The market price for our Common Stock may be influenced by many factors, including:
- results of clinical trials of our current and any future product candidates or those of our competitors;- the success or regulatory approval of competitive drugs or therapies;- regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries, as to both our products and product candidates and those of our competitors;- developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;- the recruitment or departure of key personnel;- the level of expenses related to our current and any future product candidates or clinical development programs;- the results of our efforts to discover, develop, acquire or in-license additional product candidates;- actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development, clinical trials or regulatory approval timelines or recommendations by securities analysts;- our inability to obtain or delays in obtaining adequate drug supply for any approved drug or inability to do so at acceptable prices;- disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;- significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;- variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us, or our failure to achieve anticipated financial results or funding;- market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;- inflation and rising interest rates;- general economic, industry and market conditions; and - the other factors described in this "Risk Factors" section.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to limited exceptions, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws or any other action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation described above. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire us, or may increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders, or remove our current management.Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management. These provisions include:
- authorizing the issuance of "blank check" preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval;- limiting the removal of directors by the stockholders;- creating a classified board of directors;- establishing a supermajority stockholder vote requirement for amending certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and of our amended and restated bylaws;- prohibiting stockholder action by written consent, thereby requiring all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;- eliminating the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders; and - establishing advance notice and other requirements, including compliance with the SEC Universal Proxy Rules, for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholder meetings.
These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an interested stockholder,unless such transactions are approved by our board of directors. This provision could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Further, other provisions of Delaware law may also discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7
Our largest stockholder and management own a significant percentage of our stock and may have the ability to effectively influence matters subject to stockholder approval.As of December 31, 2025, our executive officers and directors beneficially owned approximately 5.8% of our outstanding common stock. In addition, Bratton Capital Management L.P. and its affiliates beneficially owned, directly, approximately 7.9% of our outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2025. Therefore, these stockholders may have, through their respective ownership positions, the ability to influence matters requiring stockholder approval, including elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents or approval of any merger, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our Common Stock that you may believe are in your best interest as one of our stockholders.
Accounting & Financial Operations6 | 8.7%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly, and these fluctuations could cause our stock price to decline.Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
We do not intend to pay dividends on our Common Stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.We have never declared or paid any cash dividend on our Common Stock. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.We have incurred substantial losses since the inception of our company and do not expect to become profitable in the near future, if ever. Under currently enacted federal income tax law, to the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses in future years, such unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, but our deductibility of such losses in a future year is generally limited to 80% of taxable income. Furthermore, under Section 382 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an "ownership change," generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation's ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income may be further limited. We believe that, with our initial public offering, we may have triggered an "ownership change" limitation. In addition, we have experienced and may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership, including an ownership change as a result of the combined effect of our initial public offering and future equity offerings. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards to offset United States federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, stockholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our Common Stock.Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our Common Stock.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 5
Even if we can generate revenues from our operations in the future, our revenues and operating income are likely to fluctuate significantly from year-to-year or quarter-to-quarter and create volatility in our stock price.Even if we are able to generate future revenues, our results of operations would likely continue to vary significantly from year-to-year and quarter-to-quarter. Variations may result from, among other factors:
- the timing of FDA or any other regulatory approval, delay in any FDA or other regulatory approvals, or failure to obtain any such FDA or other regulatory approvals;- competitor's product candidates obtaining FDA or other regulatory approval, which may include orphan drug market exclusivity for seven years in the U.S., before our product has received any such regulatory approval and/or orphan drug exclusivity, or obtaining other FDA marketing exclusivity that blocks U.S. market access for our product candidates;- the timing of process validation for particular product candidates;- the timing of addressing issues raised in the CRL and collecting the human factors and clinical data required to obtain FDA approval of Anaphylm and delays as a result thereof;- changes in the timing of and the amount we spend to research, develop, acquire, license or promote new product candidates;- the timing, amount we spend on, and outcome of our research, development, preclinical studies and clinical trial programs;- serious or unexpected health or safety concerns related to our products or product candidates;- the introduction of new branded and generic products by others that render our product candidates obsolete, subject to greater competition or noncompetitive;- our ability to maintain selling prices and gross margins on our products;- changes in coverage and reimbursement policies of health plans and other health insurers, including changes to Medicare, Medicaid and similar government healthcare programs;- our ability to comply with complex governmental regulations applicable to many aspects of our business;- increases in the cost of raw materials used to manufacture our products and product candidates;- manufacturing and supply interruptions, including product rejections or recalls due to failure to comply with manufacturing specifications or current Good Manufacturing Practices;- timing of revenue recognition related to our collaboration agreements;- our ability to fund the commercialization of, commence a commercial operation, and actually commercialize our proprietary products and product candidates, if approved by the FDA;- our ability and the significant cost to protect our intellectual property and avoid infringing the intellectual property of others and any adverse developments in any related legal proceeding or in other legal proceedings of any nature; and - the outcome and cost of existing or possible future litigation with third parties.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 6
We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.Some of our product candidates will require substantial additional development time and resources before we are able to receive regulatory approvals, implement commercialization infrastructure and strategies, or license product out to begin generating revenue from product sales or royalty streams. Our current product candidates are still in their early stages, and we may not generate substantial revenue from sales or royalties of our product candidates in the near term, if ever.
We have devoted most of our financial resources to product development. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through the sale of equity and debt securities, proceeds from our debt facilities, and from revenues from certain product licenses and collaborations. The extent of future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future expenditures and our ability to generate revenue.
The development, regulatory approval process, and commercialization of drug candidates involve significant risk and significant uncertainty, including matters over which we have no control. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development, we are unable to fully predict the timing or amount of our expenses. We expect to incur substantial expenses going forward, which we expect will increase as we expand our development activities and product portfolio. Some of the expenses we expect to incur going forward include:
- conducting clinical trials of our product candidates;- seeking regulatory approval for any of our product candidates that successfully complete clinical development;- maintaining, expanding and protecting our intellectual property portfolio;- acquiring or in-licensing new technologies or development-stage or approved products;- activities related to pre-commercialization and commercialization of products;- adding clinical, scientific, operational, financial, and management information systems personnel, including personnel to support our product development and to support our operations as a public company; and - experiencing incremental costs due to delays or encountering any issues with any of the above, including, but not limited to, failed or not fully successful trials, complex results, safety issues or other regulatory challenges.
We expect to continue to incur net losses for at least the next few years as we pursue the development efforts and commercialization of our product candidates. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from period to period, depending on regulatory approval developments concerning our product candidates, the timing of our planned clinical trials and expenditures on our other R&D. We expect our expenses will continue to be substantial in 2026 and future periods as we continue to:
- clinically develop Anaphylm and provide supporting data needed for market approval from the FDA, anticipated amended NDA submission, pre-commercialization preparations including manufacturing and regulatory inspections and commercialization activities;- seek licensing and other transactions of our product candidates;- R&D of the Adrenaverse technology to support the future pipeline of product candidates; and - clinical development of our product candidate AQST-108.
We expect to continue to manage the timing and level of expenses in light of the declining Suboxone revenues, while focusing on the development and commercialization of Anaphylm.
Debt & Financing4 | 5.8%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
We will need substantial additional capital to fund our operations, including to commercialize Anaphylm if approved and begin making quarterly principal payments on our 13.5% Notes starting in June 2026, unless we are able to refinance or amend their terms. This additional capital may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.Debt & Financing - Risk 2
We may sell additional equity, incur debt or raise funds through licensing arrangements to fund our operations, which may result in dilution to our stockholders, impose restrictions on our business or require us to relinquish proprietary rights.Aquestive has experienced a history of net losses and our accumulated deficits totaled $446,998 as of December 31, 2025. The net losses and accumulated deficits were partially offset by gross margins from sales of commercialized licensed and proprietary products, license fees, milestone and royalty payments from commercial licensees and co-development parties.
In November 2020, we began utilizing the ATM facility. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we sold 7,457,627 shares which provided net proceeds of approximately $21,229, after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $771.
On April 3, 2024, we filed the "2024 Registration Statement", which was declared effective by the SEC on April 23, 2024. Included as part of the 2024 Registration Statement are: (i) a base prospectus registering the offer, issuance and sale of up to $250,000 worth of Common Stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, rights and units and (ii) the $100,000 ATM facility prospectus. The remaining authorized balance of the ATM facility was $78,000 as of December 31, 2025.
Until such time, if ever, that we can generate sufficient revenue to fully fund our operations, we would need to seek additional capital and cash resources through public or private equity or debt financings, third-party funding, marketing and distribution arrangements, as well as other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements, or any combination of these approaches. In addition, if the RTW Purchase Agreement goes into effect upon approval of Anaphylm by the FDA, the refinancing of our 13.5% Notes and satisfaction of certain other customary conditions, we would be required to make tiered revenue share payments to the Purchaser ranging from 7.5% to 1.0% of net sales (and 9.5% for subsequent calendar year periods if net sales do not achieve specified levels beginning in 2027) in the United States until the Purchaser receives $187.5 million by December 31, 2035 or $225 million thereafter. Similar to the Royalty Rights Agreements we entered into in connection with our 13.5% Notes, these revenue share payments would reduce the net revenues we realize from sales of Anaphylm and could materially impact our cash flows and ability to fund our operations and other development activities. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the stockholders' existing ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of existing stockholders. Debt financings may be coupled with an equity component, such as warrants to purchase shares of our common stock, which could also result in dilution of existing stockholders' ownership. The incurrence of additional indebtedness would result in increased fixed payment obligations and could also result in certain increased restrictive covenants (most, if not all, of which currently exist under our existing debt facilities), such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights or sell assets, and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business and continue to result in liens being placed on all of our assets and intellectual property. If we were to default on such indebtedness, we could lose all such assets and intellectual property and our ability to operate our business.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, or strategic alliance, marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may need to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, product candidates or future revenue streams or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us.
Debt & Financing - Risk 3
Our level of indebtedness and significant debt service obligations could constrain our ability to invest in our business and make it more difficult for us to fund our operations.We have substantial debt and substantial debt service obligations. At December 31, 2025, we had an aggregate principal amount of $45,000 of outstanding indebtedness, represented by the 13.5% Notes. In the future, we will need to raise additional funds. Commencing in June 2026, we will be required to commence making principal payments on the 13.5% Notes unless they are refinanced or amended.
Because of our indebtedness:
- we may have difficulty satisfying our obligations with respect to our existing indebtedness including the repayment of such indebtedness;- we may have difficulty obtaining financing in the future (and we have substantial restrictions on incurring any additional indebtedness under our current debt instruments) for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes;- we will need to use a substantial portion of our available cash flow to pay interest and principal on our debt, which will reduce the amount of money available to finance our operations and other business activities;- we may be more vulnerable to general economic downturns and adverse industry conditions;- if cash flow from revenues from licensed product or collaborative arrangements are insufficient to satisfy our obligations with respect to our existing indebtedness, we may be forced to seek to sell assets (subject to obtaining consent under the Indenture Agreement) or seek additional capital, which we may not be able to accomplish on favorable terms, if at all;- we could be limited in our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and in our industry in general;- we could be placed at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt, less debt restriction or less restrictive debt covenants;- our failure to comply with the financial and other restrictive covenants in our debt instruments which, among other things, limits our ability to incur additional debt and sell or dispose of assets, could result in an event of default that, if not cured or waived, would have a material adverse effect on our business or prospects; and - our tangible and intangible assets, including our intellectual property, are subject to first priority liens and may be used to satisfy our outstanding debt.
We intend to satisfy our current and future debt service obligations with our existing cash and cash equivalents and potential access to other funding. However, we may not have sufficient funds, and may be unable to arrange for additional financing, to pay the amounts due under the Indenture Agreement and 13.5% Notes or any other debt instruments we may enter into. Failure to make required debt service payments or comply with other covenants under our existing debt facilities or such other debt instruments would result in an event of default and acceleration of amounts due, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Debt & Financing - Risk 4
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry could adversely affect our current and projected business operations and our financial conditions and results of operation.Adverse developments that affect financial institutions, such as events involving liquidity that are rumored or actual, have in the past and may in the future lead to bank failures and market-wide liquidity problems. Although the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC may take action to mitigate the risk of potential losses, widespread demands for customer withdrawals or other liquidity needs of financial institutions for immediate liquidity may exceed the capacity of such program.
Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to cash in amounts adequate to finance or capitalization our current projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect the financial institutions with which we have banking relationships, and in turn, us. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally. The results of events or concerns that involve one or more of these factors could include a variety of material and adverse impacts on our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and results of operations. These could include, but may not be limited to, delayed access to deposits or other financial assets or the uninsured loss of deposits or other financial assets; or termination of cash management arrangements and/or delays in accessing or actual loss of funds subject to cash management arrangements.
In addition, widespread investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our operating expenses, financial obligations or fulfill our other obligations, result in breaches of our financial and/or contractual obligations or result in violations of federal or state wage and hour laws. Any of these impacts, or any other impacts resulting from the factors described above or other related or similar factors not described above, could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity and our current and/or projected business operations and financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, a critical vendor or business partner could be adversely affected by any of the liquidity or other risks that are described above as factors, which in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our current and/or projected business operations and results of operations and financial condition. Any business partner or supplier bankruptcy or insolvency, or any breach or default by a business partner or supplier, or the loss of any significant business partner or supplier relationships, could result in material adverse impacts on our current and/or projected business operations and financial condition.
Corporate Activity and Growth2 | 2.9%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
We may experience difficulties in managing growth if our business expands to meet future needs, which could disrupt our operations.Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
We may not be successful in establishing development and commercialization collaborations, which could adversely affect, and potentially prohibit, our ability to develop our product candidates.Because developing pharmaceutical products, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals, establishing manufacturing capabilities and marketing approved products are expensive, we continue to explore collaborations or licensing arrangements with third parties that have available resources and experience both in the United States and in territories outside of the United States. We continue to explore selective collaborations with third parties for development and commercialization of our products and candidates both in and outside of the United States. We may, however, be unable to advance the development and/or commercialization of our products and product candidates in territories outside of the United States, which may limit the market potential for certain products and product candidates outside the U.S.
In situations where we enter into a development and commercial collaborative arrangement for a product or product candidate, we may also seek to establish additional collaborations for development and commercialization in territories outside of those addressed by the first collaborative arrangement for such product or product candidate. There are a limited number of potential licensees, and we expect to face competition in seeking appropriate licensees. If we are unable to enter into any development and commercial collaborations and/or sales and marketing arrangements on acceptable terms, if at all, we may be unable to successfully develop and seek regulatory approval for our product or product candidates and/or effectively market and sell approved products, if any, in all of the territories outside of the United States where it may otherwise be valuable to do so.
Whether we reach an agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator's resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator's evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the likelihood of approval by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, the potential market for the product or product candidate, the costs and complexities of delivering such product or product candidate to patients, competing products, and industry and market conditions generally. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document.
We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain significant additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market and generate product revenue.
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 19/69 (28%)Above Sector Average
Innovation / R&D6 | 8.7%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
We may not be successful in maintaining development and commercialization collaborations, and any collaborators may not devote sufficient resources to the development or commercialization of our products or product candidates or may otherwise fail in development or commercialization efforts, which could adversely affect our ability to develop and successfully commercialize certain of our products and product candidates and our financial condition and operating results.Innovation / R&D - Risk 2
We have limited commercialization experience and may lack the necessary expertise, personnel and resources to successfully commercialize our other product candidates that must first receive regulatory approval, either on our own or together with collaborators.We rely on our third-party licensees to commercialize our multiple licensed products and to date have only marketed, through our own efforts and with the services of third-party outsourcing vendors, including contract sales personnel, our first self-developed product, Sympazan, launched in December 2018. With the license of Sympazan to Assertio in October 2022, we scaled back many of our commercial operations, including elimination of our sales and marketing force. In April 2024 we launched Libervant for ARS patients between two and five years of age, however a year later the commercial efforts ceased due to marketing authorization being converted to tentative approval by the FDA because of a legal decision. In 2025 we were working towards a potential launch of Anaphylm, if approved by the FDA. Given our limited history of direct experience in commercializing product candidates, and current limited commercial operations, we have no long-term experience upon which to measure our ability or success in commercializing future product candidates, if approved, or our ability to make predictions about financial results or prospects of any future launches of product candidates, if approved.
Our ongoing commercial strategy for our product candidates involves the development of a commercial infrastructure that spans multiple jurisdictions and is dependent upon our ability to build an infrastructure that is capable of implementing our commercial product launch strategy. The establishment and development of our commercial infrastructure will be expensive and time consuming, and we may not be able to develop our commercial infrastructure successfully or in a timely manner, or at all. Doing so will require a high degree of coordination and compliance with laws and regulations in numerous territories, including in the United States, each state, and other countries in which we do business, including restrictions on advertising practices, enforcement of intellectual property rights, restrictions on pricing or discounts, transparency laws and regulations, and unexpected changes in regulatory requirements and tariffs. If we are unable to effectively coordinate such activities or comply with such laws and regulations, our ability to commercialize our product candidates in the United States and other jurisdictions in which they are or may be available will be materially adversely affected.
We also intend to enter into strategic licenses with third parties to commercialize our product candidates. We may have difficulty establishing relationships with third parties on terms that are acceptable to us, or in all of the regions where we wish to commercialize our products, or at all. If we are unable to build our own distribution and marketing capabilities or to find suitable licensees for the commercialization of our products and product candidates, if approved, we may have difficulties generating revenue from them and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects and the trading price of our stock may be materially adversely affected.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 3
We cannot be certain that we will be able to successfully develop our product candidates or obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, including following the CRL we received for Anaphylm.Prior to receiving approval to commercialize any of our drug products, we must demonstrate with substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical trials, and to the satisfaction of the FDA and/or other regulatory authorities in the U.S. and other countries, that our particular product candidates are both safe and effective. For each drug product, we must demonstrate its efficacy and monitor its safety throughout the process. If development within these parameters is unsuccessful, our business could be harmed, and our stock price could be adversely affected.
We currently have product candidates in preclinical and clinical development. Our business depends primarily on the successful clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates. Before our product candidates can be marketed, the FDA and other comparable foreign regulatory agencies must approve our applicable NDA or comparable regulatory submissions. Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is very uncertain as to outcome. A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. Further, positive results from earlier stage clinical trials may not be predictive of later clinical trials or other regulatory developments. In addition, many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in later stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in early stage development, and we cannot be certain that we will not face similar setbacks. Also, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials nonetheless failed to obtain FDA approval. Even after successful completion of clinical testing, there is a risk that the FDA may request further information from us, disagree with our findings or otherwise undertake a lengthy review of our submission. We may be asked to provide further justification and evidence to support the application for approval at an FDA Advisory Committee meeting, which requires significant time and resources to prepare. FDA staff, and the public, may also present their own analyses of the clinical trial data, and discuss other issues at an Advisory Committee meeting. FDA Advisory Committees are typically asked to comment on whether they believe there is adequate safety and effectiveness data to support approval. Advisory Committees may also recommend that FDA request additional studies before approval or suggest changes to a product's proposed labeling. Advisory Committees make nonbinding recommendations to FDA. FDA generally follows the recommendations, but is not legally bound to do so. We also face hurdles and setbacks by reason of competitors' drug candidates obtaining FDA or other regulatory approvals, including orphan drug market exclusivity, prior to our obtaining FDA or other regulatory approval of our similar drug candidate. Even if the FDA approves our NDA, we may be unable to successfully commercialize our products and product candidates.
In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to the numerous factors, including changes in clinical trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, adherence to the dosing regimen, and other clinical trial protocols, and the rate of dropout among clinical participants. If we fail to produce positive results in our planned preclinical studies or clinical trials of any of our product candidates, the development timeline and regulatory approval and commercialization prospects for our product candidates and, correspondingly, our business and financial prospects, would be materially adversely affected. In addition, our product candidates rely on proper administration by patients or caregivers, and difficulties with product design, packaging, or user interface could interfere with regulatory approval or limit commercial success.
It is also possible that the FDA will not approve an application that we may submit, or our product candidates may not obtain appropriate regulatory approvals necessary for us to commence clinical trials for our product candidates. Any delay or failure in obtaining required approvals could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, we recently received a CRL which resulted in a delay in the planned launch of Anaphylm. We are working to address the issues raised in the CRL and although we believe that the issues can be addressed, additional human factors and a clinical trial will need to be completed and data submitted for FDA review. There is no assurance that we will be able to satisfy the FDA's concerns. This process from development to commercialization can take many years and will likely require the expenditure of substantial resources beyond the proceeds we currently have on hand, without any guarantee or assurance that we will be successful with regulatory approval, or commercial success, of such product candidate.
Even if we obtain approval from the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for our current and future product candidates, any approval might contain significant limitations related to use restrictions for specified age groups, warnings, precautions or contraindications, or may be subject to burdensome post-approval study or risk management requirements. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval, or any approval contains significant limitations, we may not be able to obtain sufficient funding or generate sufficient revenue to continue the development of that product candidate or any other product candidate that we may in-license, develop or acquire in the future.
Clinical trials may be delayed, suspended or terminated for many reasons, which will increase our expenses and delay the time it takes to develop our product candidates.
We may experience delays in our ongoing or future preclinical trials, and we do not know whether future preclinical studies or clinical trials will begin on time, need to be redesigned, enroll an adequate number of patients on time or be completed on schedule. The commencement and completion of clinical trials for our clinical product candidates may be delayed suspended or terminated as a result of many factors, including:
- the FDA disagreeing as to the design, protocol or implementation of our clinical studies;- the delay or refusal of regulators or IRBs, to authorize us to commence a clinical trial at a prospective trial site;- changes in regulatory requirements, policies and guidelines;- delays or failure to reach an agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs, and clinical trial sites;- the inability to enroll or delays in enrolling a sufficient number of patients in trials, particularly in orphan indications, to observe statistically significant treatment effects in the trial;- having clinical sites deviate from the trial protocol;- negative or inconclusive results from ongoing preclinical studies or clinical trials, which may require us to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials or to abandon projects that we had expected to be promising;- reports from preclinical testing of other similar therapies that raise safety or efficacy concerns;- regulators or IRBs requiring that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or safety concerns, among others;- lower than anticipated retention rates of patients and volunteers in clinical trials;- our CROs or clinical trial sites failing to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all, deviating from the protocol or dropping out of a trial;- delays in establishing the appropriate dosage levels; and - exceeding budgeted costs due to difficulty in accurately predicting costs associated with clinical trials.
If we experience delays in the commencement or completion of any clinical trial of our product candidates, or if any clinical trials suspended or terminated, our costs may substantially increase and the commercial prospects of our product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate revenue from sales of any product candidate will be delayed or not realized at all. Significant preclinical study or clinical trial delays also could shorten the period during which we have exclusive rights to commercialize a product candidate or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize a product candidate.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 4
If we fail to develop, acquire or in-license other product candidates or products, our business and prospects will be limited.Our long-term growth strategy is to develop and commercialize a portfolio of product candidates in addition to our existing products and product candidates. We may also acquire or in-license early to mid-stage new chemical entities, or NCEs. Although we have internal R&D capacity that we believe will enable us to make improvements to existing compounds, we do not have internal drug discovery capabilities to identify and develop entirely new chemical entities or compounds. As a result, our primary means of expanding our pipeline of product candidates is to develop improved formulations and administration methods for existing FDA-approved products and/or select and acquire or in-license product candidates for the treatment of therapeutic indications that complement or augment our current targets, or that otherwise fit into our development or strategic plans on terms that are acceptable to us. Developing new formulations of existing products or identifying, selecting and acquiring or in-licensing promising product candidates requires substantial technical, financial and human resources expertise. Efforts to do so may not result in the actual development, acquisition or in-license of a particular product candidate, potentially resulting in a diversion of our management's time and the expenditure of significant resources with no resulting benefit. If we are unable to add additional product candidates to our pipeline, our long-term business and prospects will be limited.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 5
Our products or product candidates may cause adverse effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or limit the scope of any approved label or market acceptance, cause us to suspend or discontinue clinical trials, abandon product candidates, or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if any.As with many pharmaceutical and biological products, treatment with our products or product candidates may produce undesirable side effects or adverse reactions or events. Although the nature of our products or product candidates as containing active ingredients that have already been approved means that the side effects arising from the use of the active ingredient or class of drug in our products or product candidates is generally known, our products or product candidates may still cause undesirable side effects. These could be attributed to the active ingredient or class of drug or to our unique formulation of such products or product candidates, or other potentially harmful characteristics. Such characteristics could cause us, our IRBs, clinical trial sites, the FDA or other regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay, denial or withdrawal of regulatory approval, which may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
Further, if any of our products cause serious or unexpected side effects after receiving market approval, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
- regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval of the product or impose restrictions on its distribution;- the FDA may require implementation of a REMS;- regulatory authorities may require the addition of labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications;- we may be required to change the way the product is administered or conduct additional clinical studies;- we could be sued and held liable for substantial damages for harm caused to patients; and - our reputation may suffer.
Any of the above described events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product or product candidate, significantly affect our revenues and profitability from such products, and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our products and product candidates.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 6
If we do not effectively develop, adopt, and govern AI technologies, we may be less competitive and our operating results could suffer.AI is increasingly used across the life sciences industry to accelerate target identification, molecular design, trial optimization, safety signal detection, manufacturing efficiency, and commercial operations. If we fail to adopt AI effectively-or adopt it more slowly, at higher cost, or with weaker governance than our competitors-our competitors may achieve faster development timelines, improved success rates, lower costs, enhanced quality, and better commercial execution, which could reduce our market share, compress margins, or render aspects of our business less competitive. Moreover, realizing value from AI requires specialized talent, data readiness, validated processes, and change management. Competition for qualified AI and data professionals is intense, and we may not be able to recruit or retain personnel needed to build or operate AI capabilities. Even where we invest in AI, we may not achieve expected productivity gains, may over-invest in tools that underperform, or may workflow disruption. Any of these outcomes could adversely impact our business objectives.
Trade Secrets11 | 15.9%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.Trade Secrets - Risk 2
If we are not able to obtain adequate trademark protection or regulatory approval for our brand names, we may be required to re-brand affected products, which could cause delays in getting such product to market, substantively impact successful commercialization of any such product and substantially increasing our costs.To protect our rights in any trademark we use or intend to use for our products or our product candidates, we may seek to register such trademarks. Trademark registration is territory-specific and we must apply for trademark registration in the United States as well as any other country where we intend to commercialize our product or product candidates. Failure to obtain trademark registrations may place our use of the trademarks at risk or make them subject to legal challenges, which could force us to choose alternative names for our product or product candidates. In addition, the FDA and other regulatory authorities outside the United States conduct independent reviews of proposed product names for pharmaceuticals, including an evaluation of the potential for confusion with other pharmaceutical product names for medications. These regulatory authorities may also object to a proposed product name if they believe the name inappropriately makes or implies a therapeutic claim. If the FDA or other regulatory authorities outside the United States object to any of our proposed product names, we may be required to adopt alternative names for our product or product candidates. If we adopt alternative names, either because of our inability to obtain a trademark registration or because of objections from regulatory authorities, we would lose the benefit of our existing trademark applications. As a result, we may be required to expend significant additional resources in an effort to adopt a new product name that would be registrable under applicable trademark laws, not infringe the existing rights of third parties and be acceptable to the FDA and other regulatory authorities, which could adversely impact our product brand identity and successful commercialization of any product and increase our costs. Furthermore, we may not be able to build a successful brand identity for a new trademark in a timely manner or at all, which would limit our ability to commercialize our product or our product candidates.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of our patents and other intellectual property.We may also be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents or other intellectual property. We may be subject to ownership disputes in the future arising, for example, from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved in developing our product candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship or ownership. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation generally involves substantial costs and can be a distraction to management and other employees.
Trade Secrets - Risk 4
Our drug development strategy relies heavily upon the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which requires us to certify that we do not infringe upon third-party patents covering approved drugs. Such certifications typically result in third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, the defense of which will be costly and time-consuming, and an unfavorable outcome in any litigation may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts which would harm our business.Litigation or other proceedings to enforce or defend intellectual property rights are often complex in nature, may be very expensive and time-consuming, may divert our management's attention from other aspects of our business and may result in unfavorable outcomes that could adversely impact our ability to launch and market our product candidates, or to prevent third parties from competing with our products and product candidates.
There is a substantial amount of litigation, both within and outside the United States, involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions and inter party reexamination proceedings before the USPTO. Numerous United States and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we and our collaborators are developing product candidates. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties.
Our commercial success depends in large part on our avoiding infringement of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties for existing approved drug products. Because we utilize the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway for the approval of our products and product candidates, we rely in whole or in part on studies conducted by third parties related to those approved drug products. As a result, upon filing with the FDA for approval of our product candidates, we will be required to certify to the FDA that either: (1) there is no patent information listed in the FDA's Orange Book with respect to our NDA; (2) the patents listed in the Orange Book have expired; (3) the listed patents have not expired, but will expire on a particular date and approval is sought after patent expiration; or (4) the listed patents are invalid or will not be infringed by the manufacture, use or sale of our proposed drug product. When we submit a paragraph IV certification to the FDA, a notice of the paragraph IV certification must also be sent to the patent owner once our 505(b)(2) NDA is accepted for filing by the FDA. The third-party may then initiate a lawsuit against us to defend the patents identified in the notice. The filing of a patent infringement lawsuit within 45 days of receipt of the notice automatically prevents the FDA from approving our NDA until the earliest of 30 months or the date on which the patent expires, the lawsuit is settled, or the court reaches a decision in the infringement lawsuit in our favor. If the third-party does not file a patent infringement lawsuit within the required 45-day period, our NDA will not be subject to the 30-month stay.
In addition to paragraph IV litigation noted above, third-party owners of patents may generally assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations or methods of manufacture related to the use or manufacture of our product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending or subsequently filed patent applications which may later result in issued patents that may be infringed by our products or product candidates. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our product candidates, including the formulation, any method or process involved in the manufacture of any of our product candidates, any molecules or intermediates formed during such manufacturing process or any other attribute of the final product itself, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize our product candidates unless we obtain a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
Our success will depend in part on our ability to operate without infringing the intellectual property and proprietary rights of third parties. We cannot assure you that our business, products, product candidates and methods do not or will not infringe the patents or other intellectual property rights of third parties.
Parties making claims against us may request and/or obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates on a temporary or permanent basis. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, involves substantial litigation expense and could be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys' fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties, pay royalties or redesign our infringing products or manufacturing processes, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure. We cannot predict whether any such license would be available at all or whether it would be available on commercially reasonable terms. Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research, manufacture clinical trial supplies or allow commercialization of our product candidates. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize one or more of our products or product candidates, which could harm our business significantly. We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist which might be enforced against our products or product candidates, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or, with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties.
Trade Secrets - Risk 5
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other government fees on patents and/or applications will be due to be paid to the USPTO and various government patent agencies outside of the United States over the lifetime of our owned and licensed patents and/or applications and any patent rights we may own or license in the future. We rely on our outside counsel or our licensees to monitor the status of these fees so that we may make required payments of these fees when due to non-U.S. patent agencies. The USPTO and various non-U.S. government patent agencies require compliance with several procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. We employ reputable law firms and other professionals to help us comply and we are also dependent on our licensors to take the necessary action to comply with these requirements with respect to our licensed intellectual property. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. There are situations, however, in which non-compliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patents or patent applications, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, potential competitors might be able to enter the market which could harm our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 6
The patents and patent applications that we have covering our products and product candidates are limited to specific formulations and manufacturing processes, and our market opportunity for our products and product candidates may be limited by the lack of patent protection for the active ingredients and by competition from other formulations and manufacturing processes, as well as administration methods that may be developed by competitorsWe have obtained and continue to seek to obtain patent protection for our manufacturing technology, drug administering technology and our products and product candidates, including specific formulations and manufacturing processes, which may not be as effective as composition of matter coverage in preventing work-arounds by competitors. As a result, generic products that do not infringe the claims of our issued patents covering formulations and processes are, or may be, available while we are marketing our products. Competitors who obtain the requisite regulatory approval will be able to commercialize products with the same active ingredients as our products or product candidates so long as the competitors do not infringe any process, use or formulation patents that we have developed for our products or product candidates, subject to any regulatory exclusivity we may be able to obtain for our products.
The number of patents and patent applications covering products containing the same active ingredient as our products or product candidates indicates that competitors have sought to develop and may seek to commercialize competing formulations that may not be covered by our patents and patent applications. The commercial opportunity for our products or product candidates could be significantly harmed if competitors are able to develop and commercialize alternative formulations of our products or product candidates that are different from ours and do not infringe our issued patents covering our products or use of our products.
Suboxone, Ondif, Sympazan, Libervant and Emylif have been commercialized by us or our licensees at different times and in different geographies, and other product candidates may be approved by the FDA and other regulatory bodies in the future. As additional products of ours are on the market, one or more third parties may also challenge the patents that we control covering our products, which could result in the invalidation or unenforceability of some or all of the relevant patent claims of our issued patents covering our products.
If we or one of our licensees initiated legal proceedings against a third-party to enforce a patent covering one of our products or product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim, and have in certain existing proceedings counterclaimed, that the patent covering our product or product candidate is invalid and/or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are common, and there are numerous grounds upon which a third-party can assert invalidity or unenforceability of a patent. Third parties may also raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post-grant review, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in revocation of or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our products or product candidates. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which we, our patent counsel and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on our products or product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 7
Third parties may commence legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a negative impact on the success of our business.Our commercial success depends, in part, upon our ability, and the ability of our existing and future collaborators, to develop, manufacture, market and sell our products and product candidates, if approved, and use our proprietary technologies without alleged or actual infringement, misappropriation or other violation of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There have been many lawsuits and other proceedings involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing product candidates. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us.
We may have been and in the future may become party to or be threatened with adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products, product candidates and technology, which may include interference or derivation proceedings, post grant review and inter partes review before the USPTO or similar adversarial proceedings or litigation in any jurisdiction. Similarly, we or our licensors or collaborators have initiated, and in the future may initiate, such proceedings or litigation against third parties, which may include challenging the validity or scope of intellectual property rights controlled by third parties. Third parties have asserted and, in the future, may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit. There is a risk that additional third parties may choose to engage in litigation with us to enforce or to otherwise assert their patent rights against us. Even if we believe any of those claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable and infringed, and the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such product or product candidates unless we obtain a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable. Similarly, if any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our technology, holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the applicable product or product candidate unless we obtained a license or until such patent expires or is finally determined to be invalid, unenforceable or not infringed by our product or technology. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need or may choose to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In such event, we may be unable to further practice our technologies or develop and commercialize any of our product candidates at issue, which could significantly harm our business.
Parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates, if approved. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, could involve substantial litigation expense and a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. Third parties making such claims may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to these legal actions than we or our licensors or collaborators can. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys' fees for willful infringement, pay royalties, redesign our infringing products or obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.
Trade Secrets - Risk 8
We have in the past and are likely in the future to be, involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents. These lawsuits are expensive and require us to expend substantial financial resources, are time consuming, may continue for many years for one or more claims and may be unsuccessful.Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of any potential licensors. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we have been, and in the future may be, required to file infringement claims, which are expensive and time-consuming. In an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours or our licensors is not valid or is unenforceable or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing.
Interference proceedings invoked by third parties or brought by us may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications or those of our collaborators or licensors. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be significantly harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Our bringing or defending litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees from our core business. We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensors, misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States.
A number of our issued patents have been involved in administrative proceedings, such as reexamination and inter partes review at the USPTO and opposition at the EPO. The matters are resolved, but in possible future proceedings, there can be no assurance that all claims of the challenged patents will be upheld or that the patents challenged by us will be found infringed. We may lose any of the challenged patents entirely, or we may have to amend the scope of claims to an extent which may be considered insufficient to cover our products or product candidates. If any of those scenarios were to occur, we might lose our competitive advantage in our market, and our business could be materially affected.
Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
Trade Secrets - Risk 9
Patent reform legislation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.Our ability to obtain patents is highly uncertain because, to date, some legal principles remain unresolved, there has not been a consistent policy regarding the breadth or interpretation of claims allowed in patents in the United States and the specific content of patents and patent applications that are necessary to support and interpret patent claims is highly uncertain due to the complex nature of the relevant legal, scientific and factual issues. Changes in either patent laws or interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection and could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce existing patents or patents that we might obtain in the future. Similarly, changes in patent law and regulations in other countries or jurisdictions or changes in the governmental bodies that enforce them or changes in how the relevant governmental authority enforces patent laws or regulations may weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce existing patents or patents that we may obtain in the future.
Further, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. For example, if the issuance to us, in a given country, of a patent covering an invention is not followed by the issuance, in other countries, of patents covering the same invention, or if any judicial interpretation of the validity, enforceability, or scope of the claims in, or the written description or enablement, in a patent issued in one country is not similar to the interpretation given to the corresponding patent issued in another country, our ability to protect our intellectual property in those countries may be limited. Changes in either patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may materially diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection.
Trade Secrets - Risk 10
We may enjoy only limited geographical protection with respect to certain patents and we may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.Filing and prosecuting patent applications and defending patents covering our products or product candidates, if approved, in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Competitors may use our and our licensors' technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we and our licensors have patent protection, but enforcement rights are not as strong as those in the United States or Europe. These products may compete with our products or product candidates, and our and our licensors' patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
In addition, we may decide to abandon national and regional patent applications before grant. The examination of each national or regional patent application is an independent proceeding. As a result, patent applications in the same family may issue as patents in some jurisdictions, such as in the United States, but may issue as patents with claims of different scope or may even be refused in other jurisdictions. It is also quite common that depending on the country, the scope of patent protection may vary for the same product candidate or technology.
The laws of some jurisdictions do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws or rules and regulations in the United States and Europe, and many companies have encountered significant difficulties in protecting and defending such rights in such jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in other jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing as patents, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. 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 product candidates in all of our expected significant foreign markets. If we or our licensors encounter difficulties in protecting, or are otherwise precluded from effectively protecting, the intellectual property rights important for our business in such jurisdictions, the value of these rights may be diminished, and we may face additional competition from others in those jurisdictions.
Some countries also have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, some countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In those countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patents. If we or any of our licensors is forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired.
Trade Secrets - Risk 11
If we are unable to obtain or protect intellectual property rights of any of our products and product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our products and our product candidates. The issuance, scope, validity, enforceability, strength and commercial value of patents in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical field involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. The patent applications that we own, or in-license, may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover the products or product candidates, if approved, in the United States or in foreign countries or territories. If this were to occur, early generic competition could be expected against our products and product candidates, if approved. There may be relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications which could invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing based on a pending patent application. In particular, because the active pharmaceutical ingredients in many of our product candidates have been on the market as separate products for many years, it is possible that these products have previously been used off-label in such a manner that such prior usage would affect the validity of our patents or our ability to obtain patents based on our patent applications.
The patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming. We or our licensors may not be able to prepare, file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications for a commercially reasonable cost or in a timely manner or in all jurisdictions. It is also possible that we or our licensors may fail to identify patentable aspects of inventions made in the course of development and commercialization activities before it is too late to obtain patent protection on them. Moreover, depending on the terms of any future in-licenses to which we may become a party, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering technology in-licensed from third parties. Therefore, these patents and patent applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business.
In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce or which we choose not to seek to patent, and any other elements of our drug development and reformulation processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents. Although we generally require all of our colleagues to assign their inventions to us, and we generally seek to have all of our colleagues, consultants, advisors and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot provide any assurances that all such agreements have been duly executed or that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors or other third parties. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating the trade secret. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. For example, the FDA is considering whether to make additional information publicly available on a routine basis, including information that we may consider to be trade secrets or other proprietary information, and it is not clear at the present time how the FDA's disclosure policies may change in the future, if at all. If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the non-patented intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, and there is no guarantee that we will have any such enforceable trade secret protection, we may not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Technology2 | 2.9%
Technology - Risk 1
Our use of artificial intelligence technologies could expose us to operational, legal, regulatory, and reputational risks and could adversely affect our business.Technology - Risk 2
We rely significantly on information technology and any failure, inadequacy, interruption or security lapse of that technology, including any cybersecurity incidents (including those facilitated by AI) , could harm our ability to operate our business effectively.Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of third parties with which we contract are vulnerable to damage from cyber-attacks, computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. The increasing availability of AI may amplify the effectiveness of phishing, social engineering, automated vulnerability discovery, and malicious code generation, increasing the likelihood, sophistication, and potential impact of cyber incidents. While our systems have been secured and strengthened, there can be no assurance that we will not experience cyber-attacks in the future, suffer indirect consequences from a cyber-attack on a third-party, or fail to anticipate, identify or offset threats of potential cyber-attacks or security breaches in a timely manner. This is especially so considering the nature of cyber-attack techniques, which change frequently, can be difficult to detect for extended periods of time and often are not recognized until they succeed. System failures, accidents or security breaches could cause interruptions in our operations and could result in a material disruption of our product development and clinical activities and business operations, in addition to possibly requiring substantial expenditures of resources to remedy. The loss of product development or clinical trial data could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and our development programs and the development of our product candidates could be delayed.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 13/69 (19%)Below Sector Average
Regulation9 | 13.0%
Regulation - Risk 1
If the FDA does not conclude that our product candidates satisfy the requirements for the 505(b)(2) regulatory approval pathway, or if the requirements for approval of any of our product candidates under Section 505(b)(2) are not as we expect, the approval pathway for our product candidates will likely take significantly longer, cost significantly more and encounter significantly greater complications and risks than anticipated, and in any case may not be successful.Regulation - Risk 2
Regulatory approval is required for each of our products in each jurisdiction in which we intend to market or license such products, and the inability to obtain such approvals would limit our ability to realize their full market potential.In order to market products outside of the United States, we or our licensees must comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries regarding safety and efficacy. Clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries, and regulatory approval in one country does not mean that regulatory approval will be obtained in any other country. However, the failure to obtain regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may adversely impact the ability to obtain regulatory approval in another jurisdiction. Approval processes vary among countries and can involve additional product testing and validation and additional administrative review periods. Seeking foreign regulatory approval could result in difficulties and costs and require additional non-clinical studies or clinical trials which could be costly and time consuming. Regulatory requirements can vary widely from country to country and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in those countries. If we or our licensees fail to comply with regulatory requirements in international markets or to obtain and maintain required approvals, or if regulatory approval in international markets is delayed, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our products will be harmed.
Regulation - Risk 3
Our business is subject to extensive regulatory requirements and our approved products and product candidates that obtain regulatory approval will be subject to ongoing and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant expense and limit our ability to commercialize such products.Even after a product is approved, we will remain subject to ongoing FDA and other regulatory requirements governing the labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, safety surveillance, advertising, promotion, import, export, record-keeping and reporting of safety and other post-market information. The holder of an approved NDA is obligated to monitor and report adverse events, or AEs, and any failure of a product to meet the specifications in the NDA. The holder of an approved NDA must also submit new or supplemental applications and obtain FDA approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling or manufacturing process. Advertising and promotional materials must comply with FDA rules and are subject to FDA review, in addition to other potentially applicable federal and state laws. In addition, the FDA may impose significant restrictions on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or on the conditions of approval. For example, a product's approval may contain requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product, or the imposition of a REMS program.
The holder of an NDA is subject to payment of user fees and adherence to commitments made in the NDA. A manufacturer is also subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMPs. If we or a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as AEs of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions relative to that product or the manufacturing facility, including requiring product recall, notice to physicians, withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing.
If we or our products or product candidates or our manufacturing facilities fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:
- issue warning letters or untitled letters asserting that we are in violation of the law;- impose restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product;- seek an injunction or impose civil, criminal and/or administrative penalties, damages, assess monetary fines, require disgorgement, consider exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs and require curtailment or restructuring of our operations;- suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;- suspend any ongoing clinical trials;- refuse to approve a pending NDA or supplements to an NDA submitted by us;- seize product; or - refuse to allow us to enter into government contracts.
Similar post-market requirements may apply in foreign jurisdictions in which we may seek approval of our products. Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to market our products or commercialize our product candidates and generate revenues.
In addition, the FDA's regulations, policies or guidance may change and new or additional statutes or government regulations in the United States and other jurisdictions may be enacted that could prevent or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates or further restrict or regulate post-approval activities. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of adverse government regulation that may arise from pending or future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are not able to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance, we may not be permitted to market or license our products and/or product candidates, which would materially adversely affect our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability.
Regulation - Risk 4
Added
In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully review and consider the information regarding certain risks and uncertainties facing the Company that could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and available capital resources set forth in Part I, Item 1A of Aquestive’s 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
Regulation - Risk 5
Regulatory approval for any approved product is limited by the FDA to those specific indications and conditions for which clinical safety and efficacy have been demonstrated, and any allegations of our failure to comply with such approved indications could limit our sales efforts and have a material adverse effect on our business.The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of prescription drugs. These regulations include standards and restrictions for direct-to-consumer advertising, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities, promotional activities involving the internet and off-label promotion. Any regulatory approval that the FDA grants is limited to those specific diseases and indications for which a product is deemed to be safe and effective by the FDA. In addition to the FDA approval required for new formulations, any new indication for an approved product also requires FDA approval. If we are not able to obtain FDA approval for any desired future indications for our products and product candidates, our ability to effectively market and sell our products may be reduced and our business may be materially adversely affected.
While physicians in the U.S. may choose and are generally permitted to prescribe drugs for uses that are not described in the product's labeling and for uses that differ from those tested in clinical trials and approved by the regulatory authorities, our ability to promote our products is narrowly limited to those indications that are specifically approved by the FDA. These "off-label" uses are common across medical specialties and may constitute an appropriate treatment for some patients in varied circumstances. Regulatory authorities in the U.S. generally do not regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments. Regulatory authorities do, however, restrict communications by pharmaceutical companies on the subject of off-label use. Promotional activities that fail to comply with the FDA's regulations or guidelines may be subject to warnings from, or enforcement action by, these authorities and may cause the FDA to issue warning letters or untitled letters, bring an enforcement actions, suspend or withdraw an approved product from the market, require a recall or institute fines, or could result in disgorgement of money, operating restrictions, injunctions or criminal prosecution, any of which could materially harm our reputation and our business significantly.
Regulation - Risk 6
Our R&D activities could be affected or delayed as a result of possible restrictions on animal testing.Certain laws and regulations require us to test our product candidates on animals before initiating clinical trials involving humans. Animal testing activities have been the subject of controversy and adverse publicity. Animal rights groups and other organizations and individuals have attempted to stop animal testing activities by pressing for legislation and regulation in these areas and by disrupting these activities through protests and other means. To the extent the activities of these groups are successful, our R&D activities may be interrupted, delayed or become more expensive.
Regulation - Risk 7
The design, development, manufacture, supply, and distribution of our licensed products and our product candidates is highly regulated and technically complex.All entities involved in the preparation of therapeutics for clinical trials or commercial sale are subject to extensive regulation. Components of a finished therapeutic product approved for commercial sale or used in late-stage clinical trials must be manufactured in accordance with cGMP and equivalent foreign standards. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures (including record keeping) and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational products and products approved for sale. Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of adventitious agents or other contaminants, or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of our product candidates that may not be detectable in final product testing. The development, manufacture, supply, and distribution of our products and our product candidates is highly regulated and technically complex. We, along with our third-party providers, must comply with all applicable regulatory requirements of the FDA and foreign authorities.
We, or our API and component manufacturers, must supply all necessary documentation in support of our regulatory filings for our product candidates on a timely basis and must adhere to the FDA's GLP and cGMP regulations enforced by the FDA through its facilities inspection program, and the equivalent standards of the regulatory authorities in other countries. Any failure by us or by our third-party API or component manufacturers to comply with cGMP or failure to scale-up manufacturing processes, including any failure to deliver sufficient quantities of product candidates in a timely manner, could lead to a delay in, or failure to obtain, regulatory approval of any of our product candidates. Our facilities and quality systems and the facilities and quality systems of some or all of our third-party API and component manufacturers must also pass a pre-approval inspection for compliance with the applicable regulations as a condition of regulatory approval of our product candidates or any of our other potential products. In addition, the regulatory authorities in any country may, at any time, audit or inspect a manufacturing facility involved with the preparation of our product candidates or our other potential products or the associated quality systems for compliance with the regulations applicable to the activities being conducted. If these facilities and quality systems do not pass a pre-approval plant inspection, FDA approval of our product candidates, or the equivalent approvals in other jurisdictions, will not be granted.
Regulatory authorities also may, at any time following approval of a product for sale, inspect our manufacturing facilities or those of our third-party suppliers or contractors. If any such inspection identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations or if a violation of our product specifications or applicable regulations occurs independent of such an inspection or audit, we or the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time-consuming for us or a third-party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales of our approved products or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business. If we or any of our third-party API or component manufacturers fail to maintain regulatory compliance, the FDA can impose regulatory sanctions including, among other things, refusal to approve a pending NDA for a new drug product or revocation of a pre-existing approval. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially harmed resulting in a significant loss of revenues and results and resulting in a potential default in our supply commitments or obligations, which could lead to termination of our supply agreements, our incurrence of default damages and our loss of significant revenues.
Regulation - Risk 8
Recently enacted and future healthcare reform legislation or regulation may increase the difficulty and cost for us and any future collaborators to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates and may adversely affect the prices we, or they, may obtain and may have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could, among other things, prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability, or the ability of any future collaborators, to profitably sell any products for which we, or they, obtain marketing approval. Among policymakers and payors in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality and/or expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives. We expect that current laws, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we, or any future collaborators, may receive for any approved products. In March 2010, President Obama signed into law the PPACA. Among the provisions of the PPACA of importance to our business, including our ability to commercialize and the prices we may obtain for any of our products and product candidates that are approved for sale, are the following:
- an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports specified branded prescription drugs and biologic agents, apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs, although this fee does not apply to sales of certain products approved exclusively for orphan indications;- expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to certain individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing a manufacturer's Medicaid rebate liability;- expansion of manufacturers' rebate liability under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program by increasing the minimum rebate for both branded and generic drugs and revising the definition of "average manufacturer price," or AMP, for calculating and reporting Medicaid drug rebates on outpatient prescription drug prices and extending rebate liability to prescriptions for individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans;- addition of more entity types eligible for participation in the Public Health Service 340B drug pricing program, or the 340B program;- a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research; and - establishment of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation within CMS to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending.
In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the PPACA was enacted. For example, beginning April 1, 2013, Medicare payments for all items and services, including drugs and biologics, were reduced by 2% under the sequestration (i.e., automatic spending reductions) required by the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Subsequent legislation, including the BBA, extended the 2% reduction, on average, to 2032, subject to additional Congressional action. Sequestration may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding and, if we obtain regulatory approvals, may otherwise affect the prices we may obtain for our product candidates or the frequency with which our product candidates may be prescribed or used if approved. Due to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, estimated budget deficit increases resulting from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and subsequent legislation, Medicare payments to providers are subject to further reductions in 2025. Additional changes that may affect our business include the expansion of new programs such as Medicare payment for performance initiatives for physicians under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). The introduction of the Medicare quality payment program has shifted the focus of physician reimbursement from volume to value, encouraging higher quality and more cost-effective care.
Further, legislative changes to or regulatory changes under the PPACA remain possible in the U.S. Congress and under the second-term Trump administration. The nature and extent of any legislative or regulatory changes to the PPACA, including repeal and replacement initiatives, are uncertain at this time. It is possible that the PPACA repeal and replacement initiatives, if enacted into law, could ultimately result in fewer individuals having health insurance coverage or in individuals having insurance coverage with less generous benefits, including limited coverage for drugs. While Congress has not passed repeal legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA"), which was signed into law by President Trump during his first administration, effectively eliminated the federal "individual mandate" penalty imposed by the PPACA on individuals who failed to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year. Shortly thereafter, the BBA amended the PPACA to close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the "donut hole." The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which was signed into law by President Biden, has since eliminated the coverage gap and replaced it with a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket spending for covered drugs. We will continue to evaluate the impact of the PPACA on our business, and the potential for its further repeal or replacement.
The costs of prescription pharmaceuticals in the United States have also been the subject of considerable discussion in the United States, and members of Congress and the administration have stated that they will address such costs through new legislative and administrative measures. This focus has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. In 2022, the Biden administration signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which included a number of significant drug pricing reforms, including the establishment of a drug price negotiation program within the HHS that, starting in 2026, will require manufacturers to charge a negotiated "maximum fair price" for certain selected drugs or pay an excise tax for noncompliance; the establishment of rebate payment requirements on manufacturers under Medicare Parts B and D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation; and a redesign of the Part D benefit, as part of which manufacturers are required to provide discounts on Part D drugs. Additionally, President Biden issued a subsequent Executive Order directing the Secretary of the HHS consider whether new payment and delivery models would lower drug costs, though, on the first day of his second term, President Trump repealed that Executive Order. At the state level, legislatures are increasingly passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.
We expect that we may experience more rigorous coverage criteria and additional downward pricing pressure as the result of these and other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our drugs. We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures. Additionally, policy changes resulting from the new presidential administration may create sudden and unexpected shifts in the operations of HHS that might impact both existing and planned operations.
The pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is also subject to governmental control outside the United States. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after the receipt of marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost effectiveness of our product candidates to other available product candidates. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our ability to generate revenues and become profitable could be impaired.
Regulation - Risk 9
Our relationships with customers, physicians, and third-party payors will be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, health information privacy and security laws, and other healthcare laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors in the United States and elsewhere will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any licensed products currently marketed and any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval in the future. Our current and future arrangements with healthcare professionals, principal investigators, consultants, customers and third-party payors may subject us to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws and other healthcare laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal civil and criminal false claims laws and the law commonly referred to as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and regulations promulgated thereunder. These laws will impact, among other things, our clinical research programs and our proposed sales, marketing and educational programs for our product candidates, if approved. In addition, we may be subject to patient privacy laws by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct or may conduct our business. The laws that will affect our operations include, but are not limited to:
- the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, in return for the purchase, recommendation, leasing or furnishing of an item or service reimbursable under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand, and prescribers, purchasers and formulary managers on the other. Under the PPACA a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it and action that may be customary in other industries ma unintentionally violate the Anti-Kickback Statute;- federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including, without limitation, the False Claims Act, and civil monetary penalty laws which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment or approval from Medicare, Medicaid or other government payors that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. The PPACA provides, and recent government cases against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers support, the view that federal Anti-Kickback Statute violations and certain marketing practices, including off-label promotion, may implicate the False Claims Act;- HIPAA created federal criminal statutes that prohibit a person from knowingly and willfully executing a scheme or making false or fraudulent statements to defraud any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private);- HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, which imposes certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information without appropriate authorization on entities subject to the rule, such as health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and certain healthcare providers, and their respective business associates who provide services involving the creation, use or disclosure of HIPAA protected health information;- federal transparency laws, including the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which is part of the PPACA, that require certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to report annually to CMS information related to: (i) payments or other "transfers of value" made to physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives and teaching hospitals; and (ii) certain ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members, with such information being made publicly available through a searchable website;- state and foreign law equivalents of each of the above federal laws; state laws that require manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers, marketing expenditures, or pricing information; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry's voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or to adopt compliance programs as prescribed by state laws and regulations, or that otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers; and state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and - state and foreign laws that govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws.
It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, contractual damages, reputational harm and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations.
The risk of our being found in violation of these laws is increased by the fact that many of them have not been fully interpreted by the regulatory authorities or the courts, and the provisions are open to a variety of interpretations. Moreover the industry is adapting with use of technology and direct-to-patient access for medications and government initiatives are supportive of the DTC model, though this guidance is nascent and does not address the full scope of potential issues. Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management's attention from the operation of our business. The shifting compliance environment and the need to build and maintain robust and expandable systems to comply with multiple jurisdictions with different compliance and/or reporting requirements increases the possibility that a healthcare company may run afoul of one or more of the requirements.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities2 | 2.9%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
Our licensed products and, if approved, product candidates, may give rise to potential product liability claims or false marketing claims, and, if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability.Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 2
We could incur substantial costs and disruption to our business and delays in the launch of our product candidates if our competitors and/or collaborators bring legal actions against us, which could harm our business and operating results.We cannot predict whether our competitors or potential competitors may bring legal action against us based on our research, development and commercialization activities, as well as any product candidates or products resulting from these activities, claiming, among other things, infringement of their intellectual property rights, breach of contract, false or disparaging statements about another company's products or product candidates, or other legal theories. To date we have been subject to a number of claims of this nature. In defending such lawsuits, whether or not they are with or without merit or are ultimately determined in our favor, we would continue to face costly litigation and diversion of technical and management personnel. These lawsuits could hinder our ability to enter the market early with our product candidates and thereby hinder our ability to influence usage patterns when fewer, if any, of our potential competitors have entered the market, which could adversely impact our potential revenue from such product candidates. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources than we do and could be able to sustain the cost of litigation to a greater extent and for longer periods of time than we can. Furthermore, an adverse outcome of a dispute may require us: to pay damages, potentially including treble damages and attorneys' fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a party's patent or other intellectual property rights; to cease making, licensing or using products that are alleged to incorporate or make use of the intellectual property of others; to expend additional development resources to reformulate our products or prevent us from marketing a product; and to enter into potentially unfavorable royalty or license agreements in order to obtain the rights to use necessary technologies.
Environmental / Social2 | 2.9%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
Compliance with ever evolving federal, state, and foreign laws relating to handling of information about individuals involves significant expenditure and resources, and any failure by us or our vendors to comply may result in significant liability, negative publicity, and/or an erosion of trust, and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.Environmental / Social - Risk 2
Our operations involve hazardous materials and we and third parties with whom we contract must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which can be expensive and restrict how we do business.As a pharmaceutical company, we are subject to environmental and safety laws and regulations, including those governing the use of hazardous materials. The cost of compliance with health and safety regulations is substantial. Our business activities involve the controlled use of hazardous materials. Our R&D activities involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, including the components of our product candidates and other hazardous compounds. We and manufacturers and suppliers with whom we may contract 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 accidental contamination or injury from these materials, which could cause an interruption of our commercialization efforts, R&D efforts and business operations, 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. We cannot guarantee that the safety procedures utilized by third-party manufacturers and suppliers with whom we may contract will comply with the standards prescribed by laws and regulations or will 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 U.S. federal and state or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of certain 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 maintain environmental liability insurance coverage to mitigate our exposure in the event of an accident or environmental discharge. In the event that we may be held liable for any consequential damage and any resulting claims for damages, which may exceed our insured limits and financial resources, we may incur costs that may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects, and the value of our shares.
Production
Total Risks: 11/69 (16%)Above Sector Average
Manufacturing2 | 2.9%
Manufacturing - Risk 1
Public concern regarding the safety of any of our drug products could result in the inclusion of unfavorable information in our labeling or require us to undertake other activities that may entail additional costs.Manufacturing - Risk 2
Business interruptions at our manufacturing facilities could delay us in the process of developing our product candidates.Our headquarters are located in Warren, New Jersey and we have manufacturing facilities in Portage, Indiana. If we encounter any disruptions to our operations at these sites or one were to shut down for any reason, including by fire, natural disaster, such as a hurricane, tornado or severe storm, power outage, systems failure, labor dispute or other unforeseen disruption, then we may be prevented from effectively operating our business. Our coverage for natural disasters may be somewhat limited for floods or earthquakes and we may not carry sufficient business interruption insurance for any unexpected events to compensate us for losses that may occur. Any losses or damages we incur could have a material adverse effect on our business operations.
Employment / Personnel4 | 5.8%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
Under applicable employment laws, we may not be able to enforce covenants not to compete.Employment / Personnel - Risk 2
Our future success depends on our ability to retain key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.We are highly dependent on the principal members of our executive team and other key executives, the loss of whose services may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives. Any of our executive officers could leave our employment at any time. Recruiting and retaining other qualified employees for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will also be critical to our success. Competition for skilled personnel is intense and the turnover rate can be high. We may not be able to attract and retain personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical companies for individuals with similar skill sets. In addition, failure to succeed in clinical studies may make it more challenging to recruit and retain qualified personnel. The inability to recruit key executives or the loss of the services of any executive or key employee might impede the progress of our development and commercialization objectives.
Employment / Personnel - Risk 3
We may be subject to claims that our colleagues, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.We employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. We may be subject to claims that we or our colleagues, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of our colleagues' former employers or other third parties. We may also be subject to claims that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. There is no guarantee of success in defending these claims and even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and other colleagues from our core business.
Employment / Personnel - Risk 4
Our colleagues, principal investigators, consultants and agents may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading.We are exposed to the risk of fraud or other misconduct by our colleagues, principal investigators, contract sales force, consultants and agents. Misconduct by these parties could include failure to:
- comply with FDA regulations or the regulations applicable in other jurisdictions;- provide accurate information to the FDA and other regulatory authorities;- comply with healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad;- report financial information or data accurately; or - disclose unauthorized activities to us.
Supply Chain3 | 4.3%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
We rely on third parties to manufacture API for our licensed products and product candidates, and we intend to rely on third parties to manufacture the API for other approved products. The commercialization of any of our licensed products and product candidates, if approved, could be stopped, delayed or made less profitable if those third parties fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of API or fail to do so at acceptable quality levels or prices or fail to maintain or achieve satisfactory regulatory compliance.Supply Chain - Risk 2
We rely on limited sources of supply for our thin film foil, and any disruption in the chain of supply may impact production and sales and cause delay in developing and commercializing our proprietary PharmFilm Technology product candidates.We currently have relationships with two third parties for the manufacture of our thin film foil. Because of the unique equipment and process for manufacturing our thin film foil, transferring manufacturing activities for our foil to an alternate supplier would be a time-consuming and costly endeavor, and there are only a limited number of manufacturers that we believe are capable of performing this function for us. Switching thin film foil suppliers may involve substantial cost and could result in a delay in our desired clinical and commercial timelines. If any of our thin film foil manufacturers breach or terminate their agreements with us, we would need to identify an alternative source for the thin film foil manufacture and supply of foil to us for the development and commercialization of the applicable products. Identifying an appropriately qualified source of alternative thin film foil supply for any one or more of these product candidates could be time consuming, and we may not be able to do so without incurring material delays in the development and commercialization of our product candidates, or in satisfying our manufacturing and supply commitments and obligations for our licensed products, which could harm our financial position, the commercial potential for our licensed products and product candidates, and our results of operations, as well as to result in a default in our supply commitments and obligations. Any alternative thin film foil vendor would also need to be qualified through an NDA supplement which could result in further delay. The FDA or other regulatory agencies outside of the United States may also require additional studies if we appoint a new manufacturer for supply of our licensed products that differs from the manufacturer used for clinical development of such products. For our product candidates, we expect that only one supplier will initially be qualified as a vendor with the FDA. If supply from the approved vendor is interrupted, there could be a significant disruption in our development and supply activities.
These factors could cause the delay of clinical trials, regulatory submissions, required approvals or commercialization of our approved products and product candidates, cause us to incur higher costs and prevent successful commercialization of our licensed products and product candidates, if approved. Furthermore, if our suppliers fail to deliver the required commercial quantities of components and active pharmaceutical ingredient on a timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices, and we are unable to secure one or more replacement suppliers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, we would likely be in default in our supply obligations, which could result in the termination of our supply agreements, our incurring potential default damages and our loss of significant revenues.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third-party CROs to monitor and manage data for our preclinical and clinical programs. We rely on these parties for execution of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our CROs are required to comply with FDA laws and regulations regarding current good clinical practice, or GCP, which are also required by the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area and comparable foreign regulatory authorities in the form of International Conference on Harmonization, or ICH, guidelines for all of our products in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce GCP through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we or any of our CROs fail to comply with applicable GCP, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product produced under the current cGMP regulations. While we have agreements governing activities of our CROs, we have limited influence over their actual performance. In addition, portions of the clinical trials for our product candidates are expected to be conducted outside of the United States, which will make it more difficult for us to monitor CROs and visit clinical trial sites and will force us to rely heavily on CROs to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and compliance with applicable regulations, including GCP. Failure to comply with applicable regulations in the conduct of the clinical trials for our product candidates may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.
Some of our CROs have an ability to terminate their respective agreements with us if, among other reasons, it can be reasonably demonstrated that the safety of the subjects participating in our clinical trials warrants such termination, if we make a general assignment for the benefit of our creditors or if we are liquidated. If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, our CROs are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such CROs, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our preclinical and clinical programs. If CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates. Consequently, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase substantially and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed significantly.
Switching or adding additional CROs involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we strive to manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Costs2 | 2.9%
Costs - Risk 1
If we are unable to achieve and maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors for our licensed products or product candidates, if approved, their commercial success may be severely hindered.Costs - Risk 2
We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage, and our existing or any future insurance policies or our own resources may not sufficiently cover claims for damages that we may receive in the future.Our business exposes us to potential product liability and other liability risks that are inherent in clinical development, manufacturing, marketing, sale and use of human therapeutic products. It is generally necessary for us to secure certain levels of insurance as a condition for the conduct of clinical trials and any sale or use of our products. We have procured product liability insurance with respect to the sale of our licensed products and all clinical trials performed to date for which we were responsible (i.e., in respect of our internal product pipeline). Further, we may seek to expand our insurance coverage for our licensed products and our marketing and commercialization of any future approved product candidates as well as other risks related to our business.
Our current product liability insurance coverage may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at an acceptable cost to us or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. The product liability claim against us with respect to Suboxone may make obtaining product liability insurance coverage at an acceptable cost more problematic. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated adverse effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could materially adversely affect our results of operations and business.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 5/69 (7%)Below Sector Average
Competition1 | 1.4%
Competition - Risk 1
We face significant competition from other pharmaceutical companies, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.Demand3 | 4.3%
Demand - Risk 1
Guidelines and recommendations published by government agencies can reduce the use of our products or product candidates.Demand - Risk 2
A substantial portion of our revenues is derived from a single customer and license and any loss or material reduction in revenues from such significant customer would adversely affect our business.Historically, a substantial portion of our revenues in each quarter and year has been derived from a single customer and this trend is expected to continue while we continue to develop, seek regulatory approval of and seek to commercialize our proprietary products and product candidates. If revenues from such key customer were to decline significantly, it would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Indivior accounted for approximately 73% and 62% of our revenues for 2025 and 2024, respectively, and we believe in the future will continue to account for a substantial part of our revenues.
Further, the Indivior License Agreement under which we manufacture and supply Suboxone to Indivior on an exclusive basis, may be terminated should certain causes or events occur. For example, either party to the Indivior License Agreement may terminate the relationship in connection with a material breach by the other party of its contractual obligations. Indivior may also terminate the Indivior License Agreement if the FDA or other applicable regulatory authority declares our manufacturing site to no longer be suitable for the manufacture of Suboxone or Suboxone is no longer suitable to be manufactured due to health or safety reasons. In addition, the Indivior Licensing Agreement currently has a one-year term, subject to automatic one-year renewals unless either party provides the other party with twelve months' prior notice of non-renewal. As a result, there can be no assurance that either party will not terminate the Indivior License Agreement either due to any future breach of obligation, other termination cause or event, or notice of non-renewal. Any such termination would have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, capital position and prospects.
Although Suboxone has continued to retain meaningful market share, we expect erosion of this sunsetting branded product over time, which will further affect our total revenues and our results from operations.
Indivior is a party to a number of lawsuits alleging product liability complaints and seeking a monetary relief. We cannot assess whether this settlement and disposition will have a material adverse financial impact on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and operating results.
Demand - Risk 3
Our success depends upon attaining significant market acceptance of our licensed products and proprietary products and product candidates, if approved, among patients, physicians, pharmacists and the medical community.It is possible that we may not complete development of our product candidates or obtain regulatory approval for those product candidates. Even if we do complete development and obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, our product candidates may not gain market acceptance among patients, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, the medical community or third-party payors, which is critical to commercial success. Market acceptance of our products and any product candidate for which we receive approval depends on a number of factors, including:
- the timing of market introduction of the product candidate as well as competitive products;- the clinical indications for which the product candidate is approved;- the potential and perceived advantages of such product candidate over alternative treatments;- favorable pricing and the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors and government authorities;- relative convenience and ease of administration;- any negative publicity related to our or our competitors' products that include the same active ingredient;- the prevalence and severity of adverse side effects, including limitations or warnings contained in a product's FDA-approved labeling; and - the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts.
Even if a potential product displays a favorable efficacy and safety profile in clinical trials, market acceptance of the product will not be known until a period of time after it is launched. If our products or product candidates, if approved, fail to achieve an adequate level of acceptance by patients, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, the medical community or third-party payors, we will be unable to generate significant revenues, and we may not become or remain profitable.
In addition, the potential market opportunities for our product candidates are difficult to estimate. Our estimates of the potential market opportunities are predicated on several key assumptions such as industry knowledge and publications, third-party research reports or analyses and other analytical information. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, these assumptions may be inaccurate. If any of the assumptions proves to be inaccurate, then the actual market for our product candidates could be smaller than our estimates of the potential market opportunity. If the actual market for our product candidates is smaller than we expect, or if the products fail to achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, health care payors and patients, our revenue from product sales may be limited and we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.
Further, we may not be able to hire or contract for a sales force that is sufficient in size or has adequate expertise in the medical markets that we intend to target for our product candidates in the future. Any failure or delay in the development of our sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of our product candidates, if approved.
Sales & Marketing1 | 1.4%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
We are dependent upon the commercial success of our licensed and proprietary products and other licensing activities to generate revenue for the near future.Macro & Political
Total Risks: 2/69 (3%)Below Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment1 | 1.4%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Changes in U.S. government policies, including those with respect to China, increased tariffs, and reductions in federal research funding, could adversely affect our business.Natural and Human Disruptions1 | 1.4%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
Public health threats such as a global pandemic, or widespread outbreak of infectious disease, similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, may create uncertainties about our future operating results and financial conditions.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.