Public companies are required to disclose risks that can affect the business and impact the stock. These disclosures are known as “Risk Factors”. Companies disclose these risks in their yearly (Form 10-K), quarterly earnings (Form 10-Q), or “foreign private issuer” reports (Form 20-F). Risk factors show the challenges a company faces. Investors can consider the worst-case scenarios before making an investment. TipRanks’ Risk Analysis categorizes risks based on proprietary classification algorithms and machine learning.
Dynavax disclosed 40 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Dynavax reported the most risks in the “Finance & Corporate” category.
Risk Overview Q2, 2025
Risk Distribution
43% Finance & Corporate
28% Tech & Innovation
18% Legal & Regulatory
8% Macro & Political
5% Production
0% Ability to Sell
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
2022
Q4
S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
Dynavax Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
Risk Highlights Q2, 2025
Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 17 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 17 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
40
-12
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
40
-12
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
4Risks added
14Risks removed
6Risks changed
Since Jun 2025
4Risks added
14Risks removed
6Risks changed
Since Jun 2025
Number of Risk Changed
6
+1
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 1
6
+1
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 1
See the risk highlights of Dynavax 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 40
Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 17/40 (43%)Above Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights6 | 15.0%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
Future sales of our common stock or the perception that such sales may occur in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.
Under our universal shelf registration statement, we may sell any combination of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants in one or more offerings, including pursuant to our sales agreement with Cowen & Company, LLC, under which we can offer and sell our common stock from time to time up to aggregate sales proceeds of $120.0 million. As of June 30, 2025, we had $120.0 million of our common stock remaining available for future issuance under our sales agreement with Cowen & Company, LLC. The sale or issuance of our securities, as well as the existence of outstanding options and shares of common stock reserved for issuance under our option and equity incentive plans also may adversely affect the terms upon which we are able to obtain additional capital through the sale of equity securities.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
Our stock price is subject to volatility, and your investment may suffer a decline in value.
The market prices for securities of biopharmaceutical companies have in the past been, and are likely to continue in the future to be, very volatile. The market price of our common stock is subject to substantial volatility depending upon many factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
- our ability to expand or retain our HEPLISAV-B vaccine market share;- impact of COVID-19 or other respiratory or seasonal vaccination initiatives on our HEPLISAV-B vaccine, CpG 1018 adjuvant, or other product revenue;- progress or results of any of our clinical trials or regulatory or manufacturing efforts, in particular any announcements regarding the progress or results of our planned trials and BLA filing and communications, from the FDA or other regulatory authorities;- our ability to receive timely regulatory approval for our product candidates;- our ability to establish and maintain collaborations for the development and commercialization of our product candidates;- our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, to the extent needed;- technological innovations, new commercial products or drug discovery efforts and preclinical and clinical activities by us or our competitors;- changes in our intellectual property portfolio or developments or disputes concerning the proprietary rights of our products or product candidates;- our ability to obtain component materials and successfully enter into manufacturing relationships for our products or product candidates or establish manufacturing capacity on our own;- our ability to establish and maintain licensing agreements for intellectual property necessary for the development of our product candidates;- changes in government regulations, general economic conditions or industry announcements;- changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;- issuance of new or changed securities analysts' reports or recommendations;- accumulations of our common stock or other public actions by our stockholders and related market or investor perceptions and expectations, some of which may be speculative or short term in nature;- actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results;- the volume of trading in our common stock;- investor perceptions or negative announcements by our customers, competitors or suppliers regarding their own performance; and - industry conditions and general financial, economic and political instability.
The stock markets in general, and the markets for biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks in particular, have historically experienced significant volatility that has often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. Changes in the broader macroeconomic condition, including historically high inflation, changes in interest rates, government policies, impact of pandemics or endemics and instances of geopolitical instability, such as that resulting from the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, can and have caused changes in market prices, notwithstanding a lack of fundamental change in the underlying business models or prospects of companies. These broad market fluctuations have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
One or more of these factors could cause a substantial decline in the price of our common stock. In addition, securities class action and shareholder derivative litigation have often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. We have in the past been, and we may in the future be, the target of such litigation. Securities and shareholder derivative litigation could result in substantial costs, and divert management's attention and resources, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
Changed
Certain provisions in the indentures governing the Convertible Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover attempt of us.
Certain provisions in the indentures governing the Convertible Notes may make it more difficult or expensive for a third party to acquire us. For example, the indentures governing the Convertible Notes will each require us, subject to certain exceptions, to repurchase such Convertible Notes for cash upon the occurrence of a fundamental change (as defined in the applicable indenture governing the Convertible Notes) and, in certain circumstances, to increase the conversion rate of the applicable series of Convertible Notes for a holder that converts such Convertible Notes in connection with a make-whole fundamental change (as defined in the applicable indenture governing the Convertible Notes). A takeover of us may trigger the requirement that we repurchase the Convertible Notes and/or increase the conversion rate, which could make it more costly for a potential acquirer to engage in such takeover. Such additional costs may have the effect of delaying or preventing a takeover of us that would otherwise be beneficial to investors.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
Changed
The anti-takeover provisions of our certificate of incorporation, our bylaws, and Delaware law may prevent or frustrate a change in control, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, which could affect our stock price adversely and prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.*
Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may delay or prevent a change in control, discourage bids at a premium over the market price of our common stock and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting or other rights of the holders of our common stock. These provisions include:
- authorizing our Board of Directors to issue additional preferred stock with voting rights to be determined by the Board of Directors;- limiting the persons who can call special meetings of stockholders;- prohibiting stockholder actions by written consent;- a classified Board of Directors pursuant to which our directors are currently elected for staggered terms (until our 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, at and after which directors will be elected to one-year terms);- providing that a supermajority vote of our stockholders is required for amendment to certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws; and - establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our Board of Directors or for proposing matters that can be acted on by stockholders at stockholder meetings.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
Added
Actions of activist stockholders against us have been and could be disruptive and costly, cause uncertainty about the strategic direction of our business, result in litigation, divert management's and the Board of Director's attention and resources, and have an adverse effect on our business and stock price.*
From time to time, we may be subject to proposals by activist stockholders urging us to take certain corporate actions or to nominate certain individuals to our Board of Directors. For example, we were recently engaged in a proxy contest in connection with our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Future activist stockholder matters, including any proxy contest and/or potential related litigation, could have a material adverse effect on us for the following reasons:
- Such stockholders may attempt to effect changes in our governance and strategic direction or to acquire control over the Board of Directors or our company;- While we welcome the opinions of all stockholders, responding to proxy contests and related litigation by activist stockholders could be costly and time-consuming, and could disrupt our operations, and divert the attention of our Board of Directors, management team and other employees away from their regular duties and the pursuit of business opportunities to enhance stockholder value;- Perceived uncertainties as to our future direction and control, our ability to execute on our strategy, or changes to the composition of our Board of Directors or senior management team arising from a proxy contest could lead to the perception of a change in the direction of our business, instability or lack of continuity, which may be exploited by our competitors and cause concern to our existing or potential collaboration partners, employees and stockholders; make it more difficult to pursue our strategic initiatives, limit our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners or harm our ability to attract investors, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results and cause our stock price to experience periods of volatility or stagnation based on such factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business; and - If nominees advanced by an activist stockholder were to be elected to our Board of Directors with a specific agenda, it could adversely affect our ability to effectively and timely run our business or to drive long-term stockholder value, and this could in turn have an adverse effect on our business and on our results of operations and financial condition.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
Added
Our share repurchase program may not provide the full benefits anticipated.*
In November 2024, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program (the "Repurchase Program") to repurchase up to $200.0 million worth of our common stock. As of June 30, 2025, we have completed all repurchases of our common stock under the Repurchase Program. The Repurchase Program may not provide the full benefits anticipated, and it may not prove to be the best use of our cash.
Accounting & Financial Operations1 | 2.5%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited.
We have incurred significant net operating losses ("NOLs") during our history, and despite prior profitability, may not be able to achieve sustained profitability over the long term. Unused U.S. federal NOLs for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2018 may be carried forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused
NOLs expire. Under legislation enacted in 2017, as modified by legislation enacted in 2020, U.S. federal NOLs incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 can be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such U.S. federal NOLs in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020 is limited to 80% of taxable income. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the aforementioned U.S. tax law provisions.
As of December 31, 2024, we had U.S. federal and state NOL carryforwards of $293.5 million and $262.9 million, respectively. Of the $293.5 million U.S. federal NOL carryforwards, $293.1 million may be carried forward indefinitely with utilization limited to 80% of taxable income, and the remainder will begin to expire in 2025. The state NOL carryforwards will begin to expire in 2025.
In addition, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and corresponding provisions of state law, if a corporation undergoes an "ownership change," which is generally defined as one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who own at least 5% of our stock increasing their ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a rolling three-year period, the corporation's ability to use its pre-change NOL carryforwards to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. We have experienced ownership changes as a result of shifts in our stock ownership in the past, and in the future it is possible that we may be deemed to have experienced additional ownership changes as a result of shifts in our stock ownership, some of which may be outside of our control. This could limit the amount of NOLs that we can utilize annually to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities. Subsequent ownership changes and changes to the U.S. tax rules in respect of the utilization of NOLs may further affect the limitation in future years. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed.
Debt & Financing8 | 20.0%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry may have adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and stock price.
We regularly maintain cash balances at third-party financial institutions in excess of the FDIC insurance limit. Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect us, the financial institutions with which we have arrangements directly, or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which we have financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally.
Debt & Financing - Risk 2
Changed
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the capped call options.
The option counterparties are financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that any or all of them might default under the Capped Calls. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral.
If an option counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under the Capped Calls with such option counterparty. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, an increase in our exposure will be correlated to an increase in the market price and in the volatility of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by an option counterparty, we may suffer adverse tax consequences and more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the option counterparties.
General Risk Factors
Debt & Financing - Risk 3
The Capped Calls may affect the value of the Convertible Notes and our common stock.*
In connection with the issuance of the 2026 Notes, we entered into capped call options with the option counterparties totaling $27.2 million (the "Capped Calls") in 2021. The Capped Calls cover, subject to customary adjustments under the terms of the Capped Calls, the number of shares of common stock that initially underlie the Capped Calls. The Capped Calls are expected to offset the potential dilution to our common stock as a result of any conversion of the 2026 Notes, subject to a cap based on the cap price. As part of the Refinancing Transaction completed in March 2025,we unwound a portion of the Capped Calls and received $46.6 million in cash. Following the partial unwind, Capped Calls covering approximately 3,841,222 shares of common stock remain outstanding as of June 30, 2025.
In connection with establishing their initial hedges of the Capped Calls, we have been advised that the option counterparties and/or their respective affiliates entered into various derivative transactions with respect to our common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the 2026 Notes and/or purchased shares of our common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the 2026 Notes. In addition, the option counterparties and/or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the 2026 Notes and prior to the maturity of the 2026 Notes (and are likely to do so on each exercise date of the Capped Calls, which are expected to occur during the 30 trading day period beginning on the 31st scheduled trading day prior to the maturity date of the 2026 Notes, or following any termination of any portion of the Capped Calls in connection with any repurchase, redemption or early conversion of the 2026 Notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or the 2026 Notes.
Debt & Financing - Risk 4
Conversion of the Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders or may otherwise depress the price of our common stock.*
From April 1 through June 30, 2025, the conditions allowing holders to convert all or any portion of their Convertible Notes were not met. In the event the conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes is triggered, the conversion of some or all of the Convertible Notes to shares of common stock may dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders. Upon conversion of either series of Convertible Notes, we have the option to pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of our common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock. If we elect to settle our conversion obligation in shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, any sales in the public market of our common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the Convertible Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the Convertible Notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the Convertible Notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.
Debt & Financing - Risk 5
The conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.*
From April 1 through June 30, 2025, the conditions allowing holders to convert all or any portion of their Convertible Notes were not met. In the event the conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes is triggered, holders of Convertible Notes will be entitled to convert their Convertible Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their Convertible Notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert their Convertible Notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the 2030 Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.
Debt & Financing - Risk 6
Servicing our Convertible Notes requires a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to pay our substantial debt.
Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance our indebtedness, including the $265.2 million in Convertible Notes, depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not continue to generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service our debt and make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring debt or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations.
Debt & Financing - Risk 7
Changed
We may not have the ability to generate or raise the funds necessary to settle conversions of the Convertible Notes in cash or to repurchase the Convertible Notes for cash upon a fundamental change, and our future debt may contain limitations on our ability to pay cash upon conversion or repurchase of the Convertible Notes.
Holders of each series of the Convertible Notes will have the right, subject to certain conditions and limited exceptions, to require us to repurchase all or a portion of their Convertible Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change (as defined in the applicable indenture governing the Convertible Notes), in each case, at a fundamental change repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date. In addition, upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the Convertible Notes being converted. Moreover, we will be required to repay the Convertible Notes in cash at their maturity unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of Convertible Notes surrendered therefore or pay cash with respect to Convertible Notes being converted. In addition, our ability to repurchase the Convertible Notes or to pay cash upon conversions of the Convertible Notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our future indebtedness. Our failure to repurchase Convertible Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the indenture governing the Convertible Notes or to pay any cash payable on future conversions of the Convertible Notes as required by the indenture governing the Convertible Notes would constitute a default under the relevant indenture. A default under either indenture governing the Convertible Notes or the occurrence of a fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our future indebtedness. Moreover, the occurrence of a fundamental change under the indenture governing the Convertible Notes could constitute an event of default under any agreements governing our future indebtedness. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase the Convertible Notes or make cash payments upon conversions thereof.
Debt & Financing - Risk 8
Until we are able to generate significant revenues or achieve profitability through product sales on a consistent basis, we may require substantial additional capital to finance our operations.
As of June 30, 2025, we had $613.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Prior to January 1, 2021, we incurred net losses in each year since our inception. While we recognized revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2024, we recorded a net income of $18.7 million and a net loss of $77.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively. As of June 30, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $980.7 million. We expect to continue to incur substantial expenses as we continue to invest in the commercialization and development of HEPLISAV-B and our CpG 1018 adjuvant, clinical trials for our pipeline candidates, and other development. If we cannot generate a sufficient amount of revenue from product sales, we may need to finance our operations through strategic alliance and licensing arrangements and/or future public or private debt and equity financings. Raising additional funds through the issuance of equity or debt securities could result in dilution to our existing stockholders, increased fixed payment obligations, or both. In addition, our Convertible Notes and other securities we issue in the future may have rights senior to those of our common stock and could include covenants that restrict our operations.
Our ability to raise additional capital in the equity and debt markets, should we choose to do so, is dependent on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the market demand for our common stock, which itself is subject to a number of development and business risks and uncertainties, our creditworthiness and the uncertainty that we would be able to raise such additional capital at a price or on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by deteriorating global economic conditions and disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide. Adequate financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If adequate funds are not available when needed, we may need to significantly reduce our operations while we seek strategic alternatives, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to achieve our intended business objectives and the value of our stock.
Corporate Activity and Growth2 | 5.0%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
A key part of our business strategy for products in development is to establish collaborative relationships to help fund or manage development and commercialization of our product candidates and research programs. We may not succeed in establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships, which may significantly limit our ability to continue to develop and commercialize those products and programs, if at all.
We have and may in the future need to establish collaborative relationships to obtain domestic and/or international sales, marketing, research, development and distribution capabilities for our products or product candidates and our discovery research programs. Failure to obtain a collaborative relationship for those products or product candidates and programs in markets outside the U.S. requiring extensive sales efforts may significantly impair the potential for those products and programs and we may be required to raise additional capital to continue them. The process of establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships is difficult and time-consuming, and even if we establish such relationships, they may involve significant uncertainty, including:
- our partners may seek to renegotiate or terminate their relationships with us due to unsatisfactory clinical results, manufacturing issues, a change in business strategy, a change of control or other reasons;- our perceived shortage of capital resources may impact the willingness of companies to collaborate with us;- our contracts for collaborative arrangements are often terminable at will on written notice and may otherwise expire or terminate and we may not have alternative funding available;- our partners may choose to pursue alternative technologies, including those of our competitors;- we may have disputes with a partner that could lead to litigation or arbitration;- we have limited control over the decisions of our partners and they may change the priority of our programs in a manner that would result in termination of the agreement or add significant delay in the partnered program;- our ability to generate future payments and royalties from our partners depends upon the abilities of our partners to establish the safety and efficacy of product candidates, obtain regulatory approvals and successfully manufacture and commercialize the products developed from product candidates;- we or our partners may fail to properly initiate, maintain or defend our intellectual property rights, where applicable, or a party may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or potentially invalidate our intellectual property or other proprietary rights or expose us to potential liability;- our partners may not devote sufficient capital or resources towards our product candidates; and - our partners may not comply with applicable government regulatory requirements.
Supporting diligence activities conducted by potential collaborators and negotiating the financial and other terms of a collaboration agreement are long and complex processes with uncertain results. Despite our efforts, we may be unable to secure collaborative arrangements. If we are unable to establish and maintain collaborative relationships on acceptable terms or to successfully transition terminated collaborative agreements, we may have to delay or discontinue further development of one or more of our product candidates, undertake development and commercialization activities at our own expense or find alternative sources of capital.
Even when we are successful in entering into collaboration agreements, collaborations can involve greater uncertainty for us, as we have less control over certain aspects of our collaborative programs than we do over our solely-owned development and commercialization programs, and the financial terms upon which collaborators are willing to enter into such an arrangement cannot be certain. If any collaborator fails to fulfill its responsibilities in a timely manner, or at all, our research, clinical development, manufacturing or commercialization efforts pursuant to that collaboration could be delayed or terminated, or it may be necessary for us to assume responsibility for expenses or activities that would otherwise have been the responsibility of our collaborator.
For example, we are working to develop our CpG 1018 adjuvant as a premier vaccine adjuvant through research collaborations, partnerships and supply arrangements. Current relationships and efforts are focused on adjuvanted vaccines for COVID-19, plague and numerous other preclinical programs. For some of these relationships, our collaborators have primary responsibility for the development, conduct of clinical trials, and for seeking and obtaining regulatory approval of potential vaccines containing our adjuvant. We have limited or no control over our collaborators' decisions, including the amount and timing of resources that any of these collaborators will dedicate to such activities. In circumstances where our collaborators do not purchase as much adjuvant as we anticipate or they delay placing orders or taking certain deliveries, there can be a negative impact on our revenue recognition. If a collaborator fails to conduct collaborative activities successfully, the development and commercialization of a vaccine could be delayed or may not occur at all. Lastly, the ability of our collaborators to deliver, sell and collect on receivables is not guaranteed and this could, in turn, impact our own ability to collect receivables.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
In connection with our work with the U.S. Department of Defense ("DoD"), we have become a defense contractor, and are therefore subject to additional administrative burdens and control requirements in connection with the maintenance of that relationship.
In September 2021, we entered into an agreement with the DoD relating to the conduct of a clinical trial and studies in connection with the development of an improved plague vaccine. In July 2023, we entered into a contract modification with the DoD to support advancement into a nonhuman primate challenge study, and in December 2024, we entered into an agreement with the DoD to support additional Phase 2 clinical and manufacturing activities to be performed through the first half of 2027. In connection with this agreement, we became subject to new administrative and control requirements, including certain reporting obligations as well as a requirement to develop, implement and maintain an International Traffic in Arms Regulations compliance program, among other things. Further, if our efforts result in an improved plague vaccine and we enter into a supply agreement for finished plague vaccines with the DoD, we expect that such a supply contract would impose additional administrative, control, compliance and other obligations. We have limited experience developing and administering such programs. Development and maintenance of such programs can be burdensome and costly and there can be no guarantee that we will be able to maintain compliance with all of the terms of such an agreement. As a federal government contractor, we also maintain plans to ensure compliance with nondiscrimination and regulatory requirements for qualified employees on the basis of gender, race, disability, and veteran status. Consequently, we may be subject to executive orders and regulatory changes affecting various aspects of our operations, including compliance with nondiscrimination plans. Any required elimination or modification of such plans in response to new executive orders could pose challenges in hiring or retaining employees, and may lead to other adverse operational impacts. Failure to comply with requirements applicable to us as a federal contractor could expose us to administrative, civil, or criminal liabilities, including fines, penalties, repayments, or suspension or debarment from eligibility for future U.S. government contracts and could have a significant reputational or financial impact on our business and on our stock price.
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 11/40 (28%)Above Sector Average
Innovation / R&D4 | 10.0%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
As a biopharmaceutical company, we engage CROs to conduct clinical studies, and failure by us or our CROs to conduct a clinical study in accordance with GCP standards and other applicable regulatory requirements could result in disqualification of the applicable clinical trial from consideration in support of approval of a potential product.
We are responsible for conducting our clinical trials consistent with GCP standards and for oversight of our vendors to ensure that they comply with such standards. We depend on medical institutions and CROs to conduct our clinical trials in compliance with GCP. To the extent that we or they fail to comply with GCP standards, fail to enroll participants for our clinical trials, or are delayed for a significant time in the execution of our trials, including achieving full enrollment, we may be affected by increased costs, program delays or both, which may harm our business.
Clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with FDA or other applicable foreign government guidelines and are subject to oversight by the FDA, other foreign regulatory authorities, IRBs and the Ethics Committees at the medical institutions where the clinical trials are conducted. In addition, clinical trials must be conducted with supplies of our product candidates produced under GMP and other requirements in foreign countries and may require large numbers of participants.
In addition, we obtain guidance from regulatory authorities on certain aspects of our clinical development activities and seek to comply with written guidelines provided by the authorities. These discussions and written guidelines are not binding obligations on the part of the regulatory authorities and the regulatory authorities may require additional patient data or studies to be conducted. Regulatory authorities may revise or retract previous guidance during the course of a clinical trial or after completion of the trial. The authorities may also disqualify a clinical trial from consideration in support of approval of a potential product if they deem the guidelines have not been met. The FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may determine our clinical trials or other data regarding safety, efficacy or consistency of manufacture or compliance with GMP regulations are insufficient for regulatory approval.
The FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities or we ourselves could delay, suspend or halt our clinical trials of a product candidate for numerous reasons, including with respect to our product candidates and those of our partners in combination agent studies:
- deficiencies in the trial design;- deficiencies in the conduct of the clinical trial including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or clinical protocols;- deficiencies in the clinical trial operations or trial sites resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold;- a product candidate may have unforeseen adverse side effects, including fatalities, or a determination may be made that a clinical trial presents unacceptable health risks;- the time required to determine whether a product candidate is effective may be longer than expected;- fatalities or other adverse events arising during a clinical trial that may not be related to clinical trial treatments;- a product candidate or combination study may appear to be no more effective than current therapies;- the quality or stability of a product candidate may fail to conform to acceptable standards;- the inability to produce or obtain sufficient quantities of a product candidate to complete the trials;- our inability to reach agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;- our inability to obtain IRB or Ethics Committee approval to conduct a clinical trial at a prospective site;- the inability to obtain regulatory approval to conduct a clinical trial;- lack of adequate funding to continue a clinical trial, including the occurrence of unforeseen costs due to enrollment delays, requirements to conduct additional trials and studies and increased expenses associated with the services of our CROs and other third parties;- the inability to recruit and enroll individuals to participate in clinical trials for reasons including competition from other clinical trial programs for the same or similar indications; or - the inability to retain participants who have initiated a clinical trial but may withdraw due to side effects from the product, lack of efficacy or personal issues, or who are otherwise unavailable for further follow-up.
In addition, we may experience significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after promising results in earlier trials, such as unexpected adverse events that occur when our product candidates are given to larger patient populations, which often occur in later-stage clinical trials, or less favorable clinical outcomes. Moreover, clinical results are frequently susceptible to varying interpretations that may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approvals.
Negative or inconclusive results or adverse medical events, including participant fatalities that may be attributable to our product candidates, during a clinical trial may necessitate that it be redesigned, repeated or terminated. Further, some of our clinical trials may be overseen by a Data Safety Monitoring Board ("DSMB"), and the DSMB may determine to delay or suspend one or more of these trials due to safety or futility findings based on events occurring during a clinical trial. Any such delay, suspension, termination or request to repeat or redesign a trial could increase our costs and prevent or significantly delay our ability to commercialize our product candidates. Even if we complete all such activities without issue, final results may not actually support approval of a particular product candidate.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 2
As we plan for the broader commercialization of our HEPLISAV-B vaccine and for the requisite capacity to manufacture our CpG 1018 adjuvant, our financial commitments for manufacturing and supply capacity might outpace actual demand for our products.
As we manage our production capabilities for HEPLISAV-B and CpG 1018 adjuvant to support recent market share gains and other initiatives, we have been, and in the future could be, required to make significant financial commitments at our contract manufacturing organizations ("CMOs"), including minimum purchase commitments and prepayments of purchase orders to facilitate the procurement of raw materials and the incurrence of various manufacturing costs. Because of minimum or advance purchase commitments and uncertainty about the expected demand for HEPLISAV-B or CpG 1018 adjuvant, the financial commitments we make to our CMOs to support manufacturing may not be recovered in their entirety, or at all, if our customers do not ultimately purchase from us at expected volumes, or other concessions are made by us. Capacity reservation fees are generally not recoverable if we do not use the capacity we have reserved as a result of lower than expected demand, or otherwise. Similarly, prepayments of purchase orders may not be recoverable if we do not ultimately require the entire volume subject to the applicable purchase order. As a result, we could end up making financial commitments that we never recover if demand for HEPLISAV-B or CpG 1018 adjuvant does not materialize in the volumes we are expecting or at all. This may require us to record certain charges or write-offs in one or more fiscal periods, which in turn could result in significant, unexpected fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results, and potentially have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, and financial condition.
For example, in August and October 2022, we entered into amendments to the Clover Supply Agreement, which, among other things, modified the scope of the Clover Supply Agreement to reduce certain quantities of CpG 1018 adjuvant that we originally intended to deliver in accordance with a purchase order previously issued by Clover. As a result of the concessions made in the amendments to the Clover Supply Agreement, prior financial commitments made to certain CMOs to manufacture quantities of CpG 1018 adjuvant to fulfill the original Clover purchase order, and reduced demand for CpG 1018 adjuvant, we recorded write-offs of $13.9 million of CpG 1018 adjuvant raw materials inventory and $20.4 million of finished goods inventory during the year ended December 31, 2022. Relating to our Bio E Supply Agreement, we entered into an amendment and an assignment agreement in April 2023, pursuant to which (i) CEPI forgave the entirety of remaining amounts outstanding relating to the Bio E CEPI Advance Payments for CpG 1018 Materials allocated to Bio E and has assumed our previous rights to collect $47.4 million of Bio E accounts receivable, (ii) we collected $14.5 million from Bio E, resulting in no accounts receivable balance as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, and (iii) we derecognized a $47.4 million CEPI accrual in connection with the Bio E CEPI Advance Payments. It is possible we may have similar write-offs in the future. During the six months ended June 30, 2025, we recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts of approximately $11.0 million relating to the contract asset recognized for Clover. This determination was based on our evaluation of credit risk associated with Clover, driven by the formal termination by the GAVI of its advanced purchase agreement option with Clover on April 24, 2025, Clover's recent write-down of the carrying value of its CpG 1018 Materials, and Clover's liquidity position, as reflected by cash and cash equivalents reported in Clover's audited consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2024.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 3
Clinical trials for our commercial product and product candidates are expensive and time consuming, may take longer than we expect or may not be completed at all, and have uncertain outcomes.
Clinical trials, including post-marketing studies, to generate sufficient data to meet FDA and other regulatory authority requirements are expensive and time consuming, may take more time to complete than expected, may not be completed at all, and may not have favorable outcomes if they are completed. In addition, results from smaller, earlier stage clinical studies may not be representative of larger, controlled clinical trials that would be required in order to obtain regulatory approval of a product candidate.
Each of our clinical trials requires the investment of substantial planning, expense and time and the timing of the commencement, continuation and completion of these clinical trials may be subject to significant delays relating to various causes, including scheduling conflicts with participating clinicians and clinical institutions, difficulties in identifying and enrolling participants who meet trial eligibility criteria, failure of participants to complete the clinical trial, delay or failure to obtain Institutional Review Board ("IRB"), Ethics Committee or regulatory approval to conduct a clinical trial at a prospective site, unexpected adverse events and shortages of available vaccine or component supply. Participant enrollment is a function of many factors, including the size of the relevant population, the proximity of participants to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the trial, the existence of competing clinical trials and the availability of alternative or new treatments. Failure of one or more product candidates to successfully advance through to approval and licensure could result in the loss of unrecoverable costs expended and impact our ability to generate future revenue from such products, either of which, or both of which, could have an adverse impact on our business.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 4
Changed
negative impact on the commercialization of our current products and delay or prevent development or commercialization of our product candidates.
We may be exposed to future litigation or other dispute with third parties based on claims that our products, product candidates or proprietary technologies infringe their intellectual property rights, or we may be required to enter into litigation to enforce patents issued or licensed to us or to determine the ownership, scope or validity of our or another party's proprietary rights, including a challenge as to the validity and scope of our issued and pending claims. From time to time, we have been, and in the future may become, involved in various administrative proceedings related to our intellectual property which can cause us to incur certain legal expenses. If we become involved in any litigation and/or other administrative proceedings related to our intellectual property or the intellectual property of others, we will incur substantial additional expenses and it will divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel.
If we or our collaborators are unsuccessful in defending or prosecuting our issued and pending claims or in defending potential claims against our products, for example, as may arise in connection with the commercialization of HEPLISAV-B or any similar or other product candidate, we or our collaborators could be required to pay substantial damages or be unable to commercialize our product candidates or use our proprietary technologies without a license from such third party. A license may require the payment of substantial fees or royalties, require a grant of a cross-license to our intellectual property or technologies or may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. Any of these outcomes could require us to change our business strategy and could materially impact our business, operations or financial condition.
Trade Secrets6 | 15.0%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
Changes in U.S. patent law or the patent law of other countries or jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.
Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the U.S. or in other jurisdictions could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of issued patents. In the U.S., numerous recent changes to the patent laws and proposed changes to the rules of the USPTO may have a significant impact on our ability to protect our technology and enforce our intellectual property rights.
For example, the America Invents Act, involved significant changes in patent legislation. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, some of which cases either narrow the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weaken the rights of patent owners in certain situations.
For example, in Europe, a new unitary patent system took effect June 1, 2023, which will significantly impact European patents, including those granted before the introduction of such a system. Under the unitary patent system, European applications have the option, upon grant of a patent, of becoming a Unitary Patent which will be subject to the jurisdiction of the Unitary Patent Court ("UPC"). As the UPC is a new court system, there is no precedent for the court, increasing the uncertainty of any litigation. Patents granted before the implementation of the UPC will have the option of opting out of the jurisdiction of the UPC and remaining as national patents in the UPC countries. Patents that remain under the jurisdiction of the UPC will be potentially vulnerable to a single UPC-based revocation challenge that, if successful, could invalidate the patent in all countries who are signatories to the UPC. We cannot predict with certainty the long-term effects of any potential changes.
Trade Secrets - Risk 2
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
The biopharmaceutical patent environment outside the U.S. is also uncertain. We may be particularly affected by this uncertainty since several of our product candidates or our collaborators' vaccine candidates may initially address market opportunities outside the U.S., where we may only be able to obtain limited patent protection, if any at all. For example, while many countries such as the U.S. permit method of use patents or patent claims relating to the use of drug products, in some countries the law relating to patentability of such use claims is evolving, or may prohibit certain activities, and may be unfavorably interpreted to prevent us from successfully prosecuting some or all of our pending patent applications. There are some countries that currently do not allow such method of use patents or patent claims, or that significantly limit the types of uses, claims or subject matter that are patentable.
Patents are of national or regional effect. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on all of our products and product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the U.S. can be less extensive than those in the U.S. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the U.S. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the U.S. or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the U.S. or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our 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 have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the U.S. These competitor products may compete with our products and product candidates, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Geo-political actions in the U.S. and in foreign countries could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution or maintenance of our patent applications or those of any current or future licensors and the maintenance, enforcement or defense of our issued patents or those of any current or future licensors.
Various companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of many countries do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to pharmaceuticals, 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.
Various countries outside the U.S. have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. As a result, a patent owner may have limited remedies in certain circumstances, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected. 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.
Further, the standards applied by the USPTO, foreign patent offices and other adjudicating bodies in granting and/or adjudicating patents are not always applied uniformly or predictably. As such, we do not know the degree of future protection that we will have on our products and product candidates.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental 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 governmental fees on patents and/or applications are due to be paid to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and various governmental patent agencies outside of the U.S. in several stages over the lifetime of the patents and/or applications. We employ reputable law firms and other professionals to help us comply, and 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. However, there are situations in which non-compliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdictions, and in such an event, our competitors might be able to enter the market.
Trade Secrets - Risk 4
We may be subject to claims that we or our employees or consultants have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of our employees' or consultants' former employers or their clients. These claims may be costly to defend and if we do not successfully do so, we may be required to pay monetary damages and may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel.
Many of our employees or consultants may have been previously employed in other biopharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Some of these individuals executed proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements in connection with such previous employment or engagements. Although no claims against us are currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these employees or consultants or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers or clients. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. A loss of key research personnel or their work product could hamper our ability to develop and ultimately commercialize, or prevent us from developing and commercializing, our product candidates, which could severely harm our business. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.
We may rely, in some circumstances, on trade secrets and confidentiality agreements to protect our technology. Although trade secrets are difficult to protect, wherever possible, we use confidential disclosure agreements to protect the proprietary nature of our technology. Our standard practice is to require each of our collaborators, commercial partners, employees, consultants, contractors and advisors to enter into an agreement before beginning their employment, consulting or advisory relationship with us that in general provides that the individuals must keep confidential and not disclose to other parties any of our confidential information developed or learned by the individuals during the course of their relationship with us except in limited circumstances. These agreements with employees, consultants and contractors also generally provide that we own all inventions conceived by the individuals in the course of rendering their employment or services to us. However, there can be no assurance that these agreements will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, or that our trade secrets and/or proprietary information will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that our employees, consultants or contractors use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may also arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions, which could result in substantial costs which could severely harm our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 5
We have in the past, and may in the future, rely on licenses to intellectual property from third parties. Impairment of these licenses or our inability to obtain or maintain them could severely harm our business.
Our current or future research and development efforts may depend in part upon our license arrangements for certain intellectual property owned by or co-owned with third parties. Our dependence on these licenses could subject us to numerous risks, such as disputes regarding the use of the licensed intellectual property and the creation and ownership of new discoveries under such license agreements. In addition, these license arrangements could require us to make timely payments to maintain our licenses and typically contain diligence or milestone-based termination provisions. Our failure to meet any obligations pursuant to such agreements could allow licensors to terminate our agreements or undertake other remedies such as converting exclusive to non-exclusive licenses if we are unable to cure or obtain waivers for such failures or amend such agreements on terms acceptable to us or at all. In addition, license agreements may be terminated or may expire by their terms, and we may not be able to maintain the exclusivity of these licenses or any rights to the underlying intellectual property. If we cannot obtain and maintain licenses that are advantageous or necessary to the development or the commercialization of our products or product candidates, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to develop or license similar technology or to find other alternatives to maintaining the competitive position of our products or product candidates. If such alternatives are not available to us in a timely manner or on acceptable terms, we may be unable to develop or commercialize certain of our products or product candidates. In the absence of a current license, we may be required to redesign our technology so it does not infringe a third-party's intellectual property (including patents), which may not be possible or could require substantial funds and time.
Trade Secrets - Risk 6
If the combination of patents, trade secrets and contractual provisions that we rely on to protect our intellectual property is inadequate, the value of our products or product candidates may decrease, and we may be unable to realize any commercial benefit from the development of our products or product candidates.
Our success depends on our ability to:
- obtain and protect commercially valuable patents or the rights to patents both domestically and abroad;- operate without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others; and - prevent others from successfully challenging or infringing our proprietary rights.
We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use only to the extent that these rights are covered by valid and enforceable patents for a commercially sufficient term or are otherwise effectively maintained as trade secrets. We try to protect our proprietary rights by filing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications. However, in certain cases such protection may be limited, depending in part on existing patents held by third parties, or other disclosures which impact patentability, which may only allow us to obtain relatively narrow patent protection, if any at all. In the U.S., and worldwide, legal standards relating to the validity and scope of patent claims in the biopharmaceutical field can be highly uncertain, are still evolving and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. Changes in U.S. patent and ex-U.S. patent laws could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing us and our collaborators' ability to protect our products.
Our HEPLISAV-B vaccine and CpG 1018 adjuvant have no composition of matter patent protection in the U.S. or elsewhere. We must therefore rely primarily on the protection afforded by method of use patent claims relating to HEPLISAV-B vaccine and the use of CpG 1018 adjuvant in vaccines, and trade secret protection and confidentiality and other agreements to protect our interests in proprietary know-how related to HEPLISAV-B vaccine and CpG 1018 adjuvant. We have three issued U.S. patents relating to certain uses of HEPLISAV-B that are projected to expire in 2032. We have filed patent applications claiming compositions and methods of use of CpG 1018 adjuvant for COVID-19 and other vaccines, but we cannot provide any assurances that we will receive an issued patent for any of these patent applications or that, if issued, any of these patents will provide adequate protection for any intended use of CpG 1018 adjuvant in vaccines. In addition, we are or may be subject to co-ownership of the underlying intellectual property with our collaborators and, therefore, may not be the sole owner and be in a position to diligently control patent prosecution, or enforce our rights. If we are unable to adequately obtain patent protection or enforce our other proprietary rights relating to CpG 1018 adjuvant, we may be unable to realize any recurring commercial benefit from the development of a vaccine containing CpG 1018 adjuvant, and we may not have the ability to prevent others from developing or commercializing a vaccine containing CpG 1018 adjuvant.
We also rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality and other agreements to protect our interests in proprietary know-how related to CpG 1018 adjuvant. If we or our collaborators are unable to adequately obtain, protect or enforce our proprietary rights relating to CpG 1018 adjuvant, we may be unable to realize recurring commercial benefit from the development of a vaccine containing CpG 1018 adjuvant, and we or our collaborators may not have the ability to prevent others from developing or commercializing a vaccine containing the adjuvant. Disputes or litigation may also arise with our collaborators (with us and/or with one or more third parties), including disputes over ownership rights to intellectual property, know-how or technologies developed with our collaborators.
Because patent applications in the U.S. and many foreign jurisdictions typically are not published until 18 months after filing and publications of discoveries in the scientific literature lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file for protection of the inventions set forth in these patent applications or in our issued patents. Further, there could be post-grant proceedings such as inter partes review ("IPR"), post grant review ("PGR"), reexamination, reissue or opposition which could result in claims in our patents being narrowed or invalidated.
Our commercial success depends significantly on our ability to operate without infringing patents and other proprietary rights of third parties. A number of pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies, as well as universities and research institutions, may have filed patent applications or may have been granted patents that cover inventions similar to the inventions owned by or licensed to us. We may not be able to determine with certainty whether patents or patent applications of other parties may materially affect our ability to make, use, offer to sell, or sell any products. If another party controls patents or patent applications covering our products, we may not be able to obtain the rights we need to those patents or patent applications in order to commercialize our products.
Litigation may be necessary to enforce patents issued or licensed to us or to determine the scope or validity of another party's proprietary rights. The existence of third-party patent applications and patents could significantly reduce the coverage of the patents owned by or licensed to us and limit our ability to obtain meaningful patent protection. Litigation or any other proceedings could result in substantial costs to and diversion of effort by us, and an adverse outcome in a court or patent office could subject us to significant liabilities, require disputed rights to be licensed from other parties, or require us to cease using some of our technology. We may not prevail in these actions or proceedings if they arise.
In addition, other parties may duplicate, design around or independently develop similar or alternative technologies to ours or our licensors.
The risks and uncertainties that we face with respect to our patents and other proprietary rights include the following:
- we may not receive an issued patent for any of our patent applications or for any patent applications that we may have exclusively licensed, now or in the future;- the pending patent applications we have filed or to which we have exclusive rights may take longer than we expect to result in issued patents;- the claims of any patents that are issued may not provide meaningful protection or may not be valid or enforceable;- we might not be able to develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;- the patents licensed or issued to us or our collaborators may not provide a competitive advantage;- patents issued to other parties may limit our intellectual property protection or harm our ability to do business;- other parties may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate our technologies and commercialize discoveries that we attempt to patent;- other parties may design around technologies we have licensed, patented or developed;- pending patent applications or issued patents may be challenged by third parties in litigation or other proceedings, such as inter partes reviews, pre- and post-grant oppositions, reexaminations, derivation proceedings and post-grant review, in the U.S or abroad;- we may be subject to claims that our employees or consultants have used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers or clients, thus putting our intellectual property at risk;- our reliance on trade secret protection and confidentiality and other agreements may not be sufficient to protect our interests and proprietary know-how related to our products and processes; and - it may be found that we or our collaborators have not complied with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by patent offices, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated.
We also rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect our interests in proprietary know-how that may not be directed to what is considered to be patentable subject matter, and for processes for which patents are difficult to enforce. We cannot be certain that we will be able to protect our trade secrets or other proprietary know-how adequately. Any disclosure of confidential data in the public domain or to third parties could allow our competitors to learn our trade secrets. If we are unable to adequately obtain or enforce proprietary rights, we may be unable to commercialize or continue to commercialize our products, enter into or maintain collaborations, generate revenues or maintain any advantage we may have with respect to existing or potential competitors.
Cyber Security1 | 2.5%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
If our information technology systems or those of third parties upon which we rely, or our data are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; and other adverse consequences.
Our business is increasingly dependent on critical, complex and interdependent information technology systems, including internet-based systems, to support business processes as well as internal and external communications. In addition, our dependence on information technology systems has intensified because many of our critical business activities are now being conducted remotely in our remote-first work environment. The size and complexity of our computer systems make them potentially vulnerable to breakdown, malicious intrusion and computer viruses that may result in the impairment of key business processes.
In addition, our systems, along with those of our customers, suppliers, or third-party service providers which operate critical business systems to process sensitive information in a variety of contexts are potentially vulnerable to a variety of evolving threats and data security breaches-whether by employees or others-that may expose sensitive data to unauthorized persons. Such threats could include, but not be limited to social-engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), online and offline fraud, malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks, access attacks (such as credential stuffing or credential harvesting), personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, telecommunications failures, earthquakes, fires, floods, and other similar threats. Such threats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer "hackers," threat actors, "hacktivists," organized criminal threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation states, and nation-state-supported actors.
Ransomware attacks, including by organized criminal threat actors, nation-states, and nation-state-supported actors, are becoming increasingly prevalent and severe and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. Similarly, supply-chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties and infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners' supply chains have not been compromised or that they do not contain exploitable flaws or bugs that could result in a breach of or disruption to our information technology systems (including our products or the third-party information technology systems that support us and our goods). We rely on third parties to operate critical business systems to process sensitive information in a variety of contexts. Our ability to monitor these third parties' information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. While we may be entitled to damages if our third-party service providers fail to satisfy their privacy or security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover such award.
It may be difficult and/or costly to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident. Our efforts to do so may not be successful. Actions taken by us or the third parties with whom we work to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident could result in outages, data losses, and disruptions of our business. Threat actors may also gain access to other networks and systems after a compromise of our networks and systems.
The potential liability and associated consequences we could suffer as a result of any such cyber events could be catastrophic and result in irreparable harm including (a) the loss of trade secrets or other intellectual property, or (b) the public exposure of personally identifiable information (including sensitive personal information) of our employees, collaborators, clinical trial patients, and others, (c) extortion and other monetary damages due to malware or business email compromise, (d) significant interruptions in our operations, or (e) other significant damages. A data security breach or privacy violation that leads to disclosure or modification of or prevents access to patient information, including personally identifiable information or protected health information, could harm our reputation, compel us to comply with federal, state and/or international data breach notification laws, subject us to mandatory corrective action, require us to verify the correctness of database contents and otherwise subject us to liability under laws and regulations that protect personal data, including, but not limited to, HIPAA, similar state data protection regulations, and the EU GDPR and UK GDPR, resulting in significant penalties; increased costs; loss of revenue; expenses of computer or forensic investigations; material fines and penalties; compensatory, special, punitive or statutory damages; litigation; consent orders regarding our privacy and security practices; requirements that we provide notices, credit monitoring services and/or credit restoration services or other relevant services to impacted individuals; adverse actions against our licenses to do business; or injunctive relief.
Compliance with these and any other applicable privacy and data security laws and regulations is a rigorous and time-intensive process, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms ensuring compliance with the new data protection rules. If we fail to comply with any such laws or regulations, we may face significant fines and penalties that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the laws are not consistent, and compliance in the event of a widespread data breach is costly.
U.S. and equivalent foreign authorities and international authorities warned businesses of increased cybersecurity threats from actors seeking to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. If we are unable to prevent data security breaches or privacy violations or implement satisfactory remedial measures, our operations could be disrupted, and we may suffer loss of reputation, financial loss and other regulatory penalties because of lost or misappropriated information, including sensitive patient data. Moreover, failure to maintain effective internal accounting controls related to data security breaches and cybersecurity in general could impact our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements and could subject us to regulatory scrutiny. In addition, these breaches and other inappropriate access can be difficult to detect, and any delay in identifying them may lead to increased harm of the type described above. Moreover, the prevalent use of mobile devices that access confidential information increases the risk of data security breaches, which could lead to the loss of confidential information, trade secrets or other intellectual property. While we have implemented security measures that are intended to protect our data security and information technology systems, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. We take steps designed to detect, mitigate, and remediate vulnerabilities in our information systems (such as our hardware and/or software, including that of third parties upon which we rely). We may not, however, detect and remediate all such vulnerabilities including on a timely basis. Further, we may experience delays in deploying remedial measures and patches designed to address identified vulnerabilities.
Such disruptions and breaches of security could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 7/40 (18%)Below Sector Average
Regulation5 | 12.5%
Regulation - Risk 1
Enacted or future legislation, including potentially unfavorable pricing regulations or other healthcare reform initiatives, may have an adverse effect on our operations and business.*
We expect there will continue to be federal and state laws and/or regulations, proposed and implemented, that could impact our operations and business. For example, the ACA, among other things, imposes a significant annual fee on companies that manufacture or import branded prescription drug products. It also contains substantial provisions intended to broaden access to health insurance, reduce or constrain the growth of healthcare spending, and impose additional health policy reforms, any or all of which may affect our business. There have been executive, legal and political challenges and amendments to certain aspects of ACA. For example, on August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 ("IRA") was signed into law, which among other things, extends enhanced subsidies for individuals purchasing health insurance coverage in ACA marketplaces through plan year 2025. The IRA also eliminates the "donut hole" under the Medicare Part D program beginning in 2025 by significantly lowering the beneficiary maximum out-of-pocket cost and through a newly established manufacturer discount program. It is unclear how any such challenges and additional healthcare reform measures by the current administration will impact the ACA and our business.
Other legislative changes have also been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. For example, the Budget Control Act of 2011 resulted in aggregate reductions in Medicare payments to providers of up to two percent per fiscal year, starting in 2013 and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, will remain in effect until 2032 unless additional Congressional action is taken. Additionally, on March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law, which eliminated the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, previously set at 100% of a drug's average manufacturer price, for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, effective January 1, 2024.
Also, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny recently in the U.S. over pharmaceutical pricing practices in light of the rising cost of prescription drugs and biologics. For example, the IRA, among other things, (i) directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") to negotiate the price of certain biologics covered under Medicare that have been on the market for at least 11 years (the "Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program") and subjects drug manufacturers to civil monetary penalties and a potential excise tax by offering a price that is not equal to or less than the negotiated "maximum fair price" under the law, and (ii) imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation. These provisions began to take effect progressively in 2023, although the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is currently subject to legal challenge. On August 15, 2024, HHS announced the agreed upon price list of the first ten drugs that were subject to price negotiations, which take effect in January 2026. On January 17, 2025, HHS selected fifteen additional products covered under Part D for price negotiation in 2025. Each year thereafter more Part B and Part D products will become subject to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. Further, on December 7, 2023, an initiative to control the price of prescription drugs through the use of march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act was announced. On December 8, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology published for comment a Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights which for the first time includes the price of a product as one factor an agency can use when deciding to exercise march-in rights. While march-in rights have not previously been exercised, it is uncertain if that will continue under the new framework.
At the state level, legislatures have increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, and restrictions on certain product access. In some cases, such legislation and regulations have been designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. For example, on January 5, 2024, the FDA approved Florida's Section 804 Importation Program (SIP) proposal to import certain drugs from Canada for specific state healthcare programs. It is unclear how this program will be implemented, including which drugs will be chosen, and whether it will be subject to legal challenges in the U.S. or Canada. Other states have also submitted SIP proposals that are pending review by the FDA. Any such approved importation plans, when implemented, may result in lower drug prices for products covered by those programs.
Many EU Member States periodically review their reimbursement procedures for medicinal products, which could have an adverse impact on reimbursement status. We expect that legislators, policymakers and healthcare insurance funds in the EU Member States will continue to propose and implement cost-containing measures, such as lower maximum prices, lower or lack of reimbursement coverage and incentives to use cheaper, usually generic, products as an alternative to branded products, and/or branded products available through parallel import to keep healthcare costs down.
We cannot predict the initiatives that may be adopted in the future or the effect any such initiatives may have on our business. However, in the future, there will likely continue to be additional proposals relating to the reform of the U.S. healthcare system, particularly in light of the recent U.S. Presidential and Congressional elections and other equivalent foreign systems, some of which could further limit coverage and reimbursement of products, including our product candidates. The current presidential administration is pursuing policies to reduce regulations and expenditures across government including at HHS, FDA, CMS and related agencies. These actions, presently directed by executive orders or memoranda from the Office of Management and Budget, may propose policy changes that create additional uncertainty for our business. These actions, for example, include (1) directives to reduce agency workforce and cut programs; and (2) directing HHS and other agencies to lower prescription drug and vaccine costs through a variety of initiatives, including by establishing Most-Favored-Nation pricing for pharmaceutical products. Additionally, in its June 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (Loper Bright), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the longstanding Chevron doctrine, under which courts were required to give deference to regulatory agencies' reasonable interpretations of ambiguous federal statutes. The Loper Bright decision could result in additional legal challenges to current regulations and guidance issued by federal agencies applicable to our operations, including those issued by the FDA. Congress may introduce and ultimately pass health care related legislation that could, among others, impact the drug and vaccine approval process and reduce Medicaid enrollment and funding. 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 products.
Regulation - Risk 2
We have applied for, and in some cases have received, grants that, if and when received, may involve pricing or other restrictions.
We have applied for, and in some cases have received, grants from various charitable, philanthropic and other organizations that, if and when received, may come with certain pricing requirements, global access requirements, reporting requirements or other covenants that require us to make the funded product available worldwide and on a nondiscriminatory basis. For example, we received such an initial grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2020 to help fund the potential scale-up of production of our CpG 1018 adjuvant that may be required in the event the CpG 1018 adjuvant is included in any approved and commercially available vaccine, whether a COVID-19 vaccine or otherwise. Covenants in these types of grants may limit the price we can charge for any funded product and may involve a license to use technology we own that is included in the funded products if we do not comply. Such price limitations or licenses, if invoked, could serve to limit the prices we charge, or our control over the manufacturing and distribution of grant-funded products. Failure to agree to such requirements, may result in us not receiving some or all of the grant.
Regulation - Risk 3
If we fail to comply with the extensive requirements applicable to biopharmaceutical manufacturers and marketers under the healthcare fraud and abuse, anticorruption, privacy, transparency and other laws of the jurisdictions in which we conduct our business, we may be subject to significant liability.
Our activities, and the activities of our agents, including some contracted third parties, are subject to extensive government regulation and oversight both in the U.S. and in foreign jurisdictions. Our interactions with physicians and others in a position to prescribe or purchase our products are subject to a legal regime designed to prevent healthcare fraud and abuse and off-label promotion. We also are subject to laws pertaining to transparency of transfers of value to healthcare providers; privacy and data protection; compliance with industry voluntary compliance guidelines; and prohibiting the payment of bribes. Relevant U.S. laws include:
- the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits persons from, among other things, knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service for which payment may be made under federal health care programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;- federal false claims laws, including the False Claims Act and Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which prohibit individuals or entities from, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment to the government or its agents that are false or fraudulent;- the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and governing regulations which, among other things, prohibit off-label promotion of prescription drugs;- the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, "ACA") which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other health care professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, and ownership and investment interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members;- the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), which created, among other things, new federal criminal statutes that prohibit knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement, in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services;- HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and their implementing regulations, which imposes certain requirements on "covered entities," including certain healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, and their respective "business associates" that create, receive, maintain or transmit individually identifiable health information for or on behalf of a covered entity as well as their covered subcontractors relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information;- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign government officials and requires that a company's books and records accurately reflect our transactions; and - foreign and state law equivalents of each of the federal laws described above, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by state health insurance programs or any third-party payor, including commercial insurers; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry's voluntary compliance guidelines and the applicable compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government; state laws that require drug manufacturers to report information on the pricing of certain drugs; state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA.
In the U.S., the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, states' Attorneys General and other governmental authorities actively enforce the laws and regulations discussed above. These entities also coordinate extensively with the FDA, using legal theories that connect violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (such as off-label promotion) to the eventual submission of false claims to government healthcare programs. Prosecution of such promotion cases under the False Claims Act provides the potential for private parties (qui tam relators, or "whistleblowers") to initiate cases on behalf of the government and provides for significantly higher penalties upon conviction.
In the U.S., pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been the target of numerous government prosecutions and investigations alleging violations of law, including claims asserting impermissible off-label promotion of pharmaceutical products, payments intended to influence the referral of federal or state health care business, submission of false claims for government reimbursement, or submission of incorrect pricing information.
Violations of any of the laws described above or any other applicable governmental regulations and other similar foreign laws may subject us, our employees or our agents to significant criminal, civil and administrative penalties, including fines, civil monetary penalties, exclusion from participation in government health care programs (including, in the U.S., Medicare and Medicaid), disgorgement, imprisonment, 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 and the restriction or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Additionally, whether or not we have complied with the law, an investigation into alleged unlawful conduct may cause us to incur significant expense, cause reputational damage, divert management time and attention, and otherwise adversely affect our business. While we have developed and instituted a corporate compliance program, we cannot guarantee that we, our employees, our consultants, contractors, or other agents are or will be in compliance with all applicable U.S. or foreign laws.
Regulation - Risk 4
We and the third parties supporting our operations are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, and rules, contractual obligations, industry standards, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations (or by the third parties supporting our operations) could lead to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; loss of customers or sales; and other adverse business consequences.
In the ordinary course of business, we process personal data and other sensitive information, including our proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we may collect about trial participants in connection with clinical trials, and other sensitive data. Our data processing activities subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contracts, and other obligations that govern the processing of personal data by us and on our behalf.
In the U.S., federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including data breach notification laws, personal data privacy laws, consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), and other similar laws (e.g., wiretapping laws). In the past few years, numerous U.S. states-including California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah-have enacted comprehensive privacy laws that impose certain obligations on covered businesses, including providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording residents with certain rights concerning their personal data. As applicable, such rights may include the right to access, correct, or delete certain personal data, and to opt-out of certain data processing activities, such as targeted advertising, profiling, and automated decision-making. The exercise of these rights may impact our business and ability to provide our products and services. Certain states also impose stricter requirements for processing certain personal data, including sensitive information, such as conducting data privacy impact assessments. These state laws allow for statutory fines for noncompliance. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights
Act of 2020 ("CPRA") (collectively, "CCPA") requires businesses to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of California residents to exercise certain privacy rights. The CCPA provides for civil penalties of up to $7,500 per intentional violation and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. Similar laws are being considered in several other states, as well as at the federal and local levels. These developments may further complicate compliance efforts and may increase legal risk and compliance costs for us and the third parties upon whom we rely.
We may be subject to new laws governing the privacy of consumer health data, including reproductive, sexual orientation, and gender identity privacy rights. For example, Washington's My Health My Data Act ("MHMD") broadly defines consumer health data, places restrictions on processing consumer health data (including imposing stringent requirements for consents), provides consumers certain rights with respect to their health data, and creates a private right of action to allow individuals to sue for violations of the law. Other states are considering and may adopt similar laws. California also recently passed a law protecting privacy of abortion-related records and other reproductive healthcare services. These laws would also apply to our employees in the respective states.
Outside the U.S., an increasing number of laws, regulations, and industry standards may govern data privacy and security. For example, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation ("EU GDPR"), the UK's General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR"), Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais, or "LGPD") (Law No. 13,709/2018), and China's Personal Information Protection Law ("PIPL") impose strict requirements for processing personal data. For example, under the EU GDPR, companies may face temporary or definitive bans on data processing and other corrective actions; fines of up to 20 million Euros or 4% of annual global revenue, whichever is greater; or private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by classes of data subjects or consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests.
Regulators in the U.S. are also increasingly scrutinizing certain personal data transfers and may impose data localization requirements, for example, the Biden Administration's executive order Preventing Access to Americans' Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and U.S. Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern. Outside the U.S., certain jurisdictions have enacted data localization and cross-border data transfer laws, which could make it more difficult to transfer information across jurisdictions. In particular, the European Economic Area ("EEA") and the UK have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the U.S. and other countries whose privacy and data security laws they believe not to offer an adequate level of protection.
Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal data from the EEA and the UK to the U.S. in compliance with law, such as the EU and UK's standard contractual clauses, the U.K.'s International Data Transfer Agreement/Addendum and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the U.K. extension thereto (which allows for transfers to relevant U.S.-based organizations who self-certify compliance and participate in the Framework), these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal data to the U.S. If we are unable to implement a legal mechanism to ensure that our transfers of personal data from the EEA or the U.K. are lawful, we could face adverse consequences, including increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties and injunctions against processing or transferring personal data, and could be required to increase our data processing capabilities in the EEA, the U.K. or elsewhere at significant expense. Restrictions on our ability to transfer personal data from the EEA, the U.K. or elsewhere could impact our clinical trial activities in the EEA or the U.K. and limit our ability to collaborate with CROs and other third parties.
We are also bound by contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and our efforts to comply with such obligations may not be successful. For example, certain privacy laws, such as the GDPR and the CCPA, require our customers to impose specific contractual restrictions on their service providers. We publish privacy policies, marketing materials and other statements, such as compliance with certain certifications or self-regulatory principles, regarding data privacy and security. If these policies, materials or statements are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair or misrepresentative of our practices, we may face adverse consequences, which may include but are not limited to, governmental enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar), litigation (including class-related claims) and mass arbitration demands, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight, bans on processing personal data, orders to destroy or not use personal data, civil and criminal liability and imprisonment of company officials. In particular, plaintiffs have become increasingly more active in bringing privacy-related claims against companies, including class claims and mass arbitration demands. Some of these claims allow for the recovery of statutory damages on a per violation basis, and, if viable, carry the potential for monumental statutory damages, depending on the volume of data and the number of violations. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business or financial condition, including but not limited to interruptions or stoppages in business operations (including our clinical trials), inability to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions, limited ability to develop or commercialize our products, expenditure of time and resources to defend any claim or inquiry, or revision or restructuring of our operations.
In addition, privacy advocates and industry groups have proposed, and may propose, standards with which we are legally or contractually bound to comply or may become subject to in the future.
Our obligations related to privacy and data security are quickly changing and becoming increasingly stringent, creating uncertainty. These obligations may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or in conflict among jurisdictions. Preparing for and complying with these obligations requires us to devote significant resources. These obligations may also necessitate changes to our information technologies, systems and practices and those of third parties upon which we rely. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties upon which we rely may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations and compliance posture.
For instance, in the EU, the second Network and Information Security Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2555, "NIS2") entered into force on 17 January 2023 and had to be transposed into the national law of each Member State by 17 October 2024. NIS2 creates a specific legal framework for the resilience and incident response capabilities of entities operating in 18 sectors, including the health sector. As a result, companies in scope are obligated to maintain robust network and information systems security measures and report any significant incidents that might impact their operations. Companies that fail to comply with NIS2 may face significant operational disruptions, legal liabilities, and regulatory penalties of a maximum of €10 million or up to 2% of the total worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year.
Our employees and other personnel can use generative artificial intelligence ("AI") technologies, from time to time, in certain circumstances to perform portions of their work, and the disclosure and use of personal data in generative AI technologies is subject to various privacy laws and other privacy obligations. Governments have passed and are likely to pass additional laws regulating generative AI. Our use of this technology could result in additional compliance costs, regulatory investigations and actions, and lawsuits. Our use of generative AI could make it more difficult to comply with various privacy laws and other privacy obligations in the U.S. and Europe and could negatively affect our ability to protect or own certain intellectual property, any or all of which may cause us to incur significant expense, cause reputational damage, and otherwise adversely affect our business.
Regulation - Risk 5
Added
extended which may lead to substantial delays in the regulatory approval process for our product candidates and may impair our ability to generate revenues.
Our registration and commercial timelines depend on further discussions with regulatory authorities and requirements and any requests that they may make for additional data or completion of additional clinical trials. Any such requirements or requests could:
- adversely affect our ability to timely and successfully commercialize or market these product candidates;- result in significant additional costs;- potentially diminish any competitive advantages for those products;- potentially limit the markets for those products;- adversely affect our ability to enter into collaborations or receive milestone payments or royalties from potential collaborators;- cause us to abandon the development of the affected product candidate; or - limit our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, if at all.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities1 | 2.5%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
We face product liability exposure, which, if not covered by insurance, could result in significant financial liability.
While we have not experienced any product liability claims to date, the use of any of our product candidates in clinical trials and the sale of any approved products, including HEPLISAV-B, will subject us to potential product liability claims and may raise questions about a product's safety and efficacy. As a result, we could experience a delay in our ability to commercialize one or more of our product candidates or reduced sales of any approved product candidates. In addition, a product liability claim may exceed the limits of our insurance policies and exhaust our internal resources. We have obtained limited clinical trial liability and umbrella insurance coverage for our clinical trials. This coverage may not be adequate or may not continue to be available in sufficient amounts, at an acceptable cost, or at all. While we have obtained product liability insurance coverage for HEPLISAV-B, there is a risk that this coverage may not be adequate or may not continue to be available in sufficient amounts, at an acceptable cost or at all. We also may not be able to obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance for any product approved for marketing in the future. A product liability claim, product recalls or other claims, as well as any claims for uninsured liabilities or in excess of insured liabilities, would divert our management's attention from our business and could result in significant financial liability.
Taxation & Government Incentives1 | 2.5%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
Tax law changes could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
New income, sales, use or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be enacted at any time, which could adversely affect our business operations and financial performance. Further, existing tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be interpreted, changed, modified or applied adversely to us. For example, legislation informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to such legislation may affect us, and certain aspects of the foregoing tax legislation could be repealed or modified in future legislation. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to such legislation or any newly enacted federal tax legislation. Changes in corporate tax rates, the realization of net deferred tax assets relating to our operations, the taxation of foreign earnings, and the deductibility of expenses under past or future reform legislation could have a material impact on the value of our deferred tax assets, could result in significant one-time charges, and could increase our future U.S. tax expense.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 3/40 (8%)Above Sector Average
International Operations1 | 2.5%
International Operations - Risk 1
Changed
We may develop, seek regulatory approval for and market HEPLISAV-B or any other product candidates outside of the U.S., the EU and the UK, requiring a significant additional commitment of resources. Failure to successfully manage our international operations could result in significant unanticipated costs and delays in regulatory approval or commercialization of our products or product candidates.
We may seek to introduce HEPLISAV-B, or any other product candidates we may develop, to various additional markets in or outside of the U.S., the EU and the UK. Developing, seeking regulatory approval for and marketing our product candidates in or outside of the U.S., the EU and the UK in jurisdictions where we don't currently have approval could impose substantial costs, impose burdens on our personnel, and divert management's attention from domestic operations. International operations are subject to risk, including:
- the difficulty of managing geographically distant operations, including recruiting and retaining qualified employees, locating adequate facilities and establishing useful business support relationships in the local community;- compliance with varying international regulatory requirements, laws and treaties;- securing international distribution, marketing and sales capabilities upon favorable terms;- adequate protection of our intellectual property rights;- obtaining regulatory and pricing approvals at a level sufficient to justify commercialization;- legal uncertainties and potential timing delays associated with tariffs, export licenses and other trade barriers;- foreign tax compliance and diverse tax consequences;- the fluctuation of conversion rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar; and - regional and geopolitical risks.
In the event that we determine to pursue commercialization of HEPLISAV-B outside the U.S., the EU and the UK, our opportunity will depend upon our receiving regulatory approval, which can be costly and time consuming, and there is a risk that one or more regulatory bodies may require that we conduct additional clinical trials and/or take other measures which will take time and require that we incur significant additional expense. In addition, we may not receive approval in one or more jurisdictions, even if we undertake these efforts.
The results of clinical trials conducted to support regulatory approval in one or more jurisdictions, and any failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one or more jurisdictions, may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in other jurisdictions, including our existing regulatory approval in the U.S., the EU and UK. If we are unable to successfully manage our international operations, we may incur significant unanticipated costs and delays in regulatory approval or commercialization of our products or product candidates, which would impair our ability to generate revenues.
Natural and Human Disruptions1 | 2.5%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
Our business operations are vulnerable to interruptions by natural disasters, health epidemics and other catastrophic events beyond our control, the occurrence of which could materially harm our manufacturing, distribution, sales, business operations and financial results.
Our business operations are subject to interruption by natural disasters and other catastrophic events beyond our control, including, but not limited to, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, droughts, tornadoes, tsunamis, electrical blackouts, public health crises and pandemics, war, terrorism, bank failures and geo-political unrest and uncertainties. We have not undertaken a systematic analysis of the potential consequences to our business that might result from any such natural disaster or other catastrophic event and have limited recovery plans in place. If any of these events occur, our manufacturing and supply chain, distribution, sales and marketing efforts and other business operations could be subject to business shutdowns or disruptions and financial results could be adversely affected. We cannot presently predict the scope and severity of any potential business shutdowns or disruptions resulting from these events, but if we or any of the third parties with whom we engage, including the suppliers, contract manufacturers, distributors and other third parties with whom we conduct business, were to experience shutdowns or other business disruptions, our ability to conduct our business in the manner and on the timelines presently planned could be materially and adversely affected in a number of ways, some of which are not predicable.
Our business could be adversely affected by health epidemics in regions where we have manufacturing facilities, sales activities or other business operations. For example, outbreaks of epidemic or pandemic diseases, such as COVID-19, or the fear of such events, have and could again in the future cause restrictions on supply chains, restrict access to workplaces and affect employee health and availability. Furthermore, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic there was a significantly reduced utilization of all adult vaccines (other than COVID-19 vaccines), including a reduced utilization of HEPLISAV-B.
Although we maintain inventories of HEPLISAV-B and its components, our ability and those of our contractors and distributors to produce and distribute HEPLISAV-B could be adversely affected. A pandemic or similar health challenge could severely impact the U.S. healthcare system, which may have an adverse effect on usage and sales of HEPLISAV-B. In addition, any such event could result in widespread global health crisis that could adversely affect global economies and financial markets resulting in an economic downturn that could affect the demand for HEPLISAV-B and future revenue and operating results and our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all.
Additionally, our corporate headquarters in Emeryville, California, is located in a seismically active region that also is subject to possible electrical shutdowns and wildfires. Because we do not carry earthquake insurance for earthquake-related losses and significant recovery time could be required to resume operations, our financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected in the event of a major earthquake or catastrophic event. We carry only limited business interruption insurance that would compensate us for actual losses from interruption of our business that may occur, and any losses or damages incurred by us in excess of insured amounts could adversely affect our business and operations.
Capital Markets1 | 2.5%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
Added
Global trade issues and changes in and uncertainties with respect to trade policies and export regulations, including import and export license requirements, trade sanctions, tariffs and international trade disputes, could increase our costs, reduce the competitiveness of our products and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our financial results, business and business prospects.*
The U.S. and other countries have imposed and may continue to impose new trade restrictions and export regulations, have levied tariffs and taxes on certain goods, and could continue to significantly increase tariffs on a broad array of goods, including pharmaceutical and biological products.
In April 2025, the U.S. government imposed a 10% baseline global tariff and a 125% tariff on goods imported into the U.S. from China, subject to various exemptions, including pharmaceuticals, in addition to a prior 20% tariff imposed on imports from China, while suspending the imposition of higher "reciprocal" tariffs on numerous other territories until August 2025.
The U.S. government has also specifically stated that the pharmaceutical industry will be exempt from tariffs. We conduct business globally and our operations, including third-party suppliers, span numerous countries outside the U.S. subject to industry-specific tariffs, and the U.S. government has initiated a related investigation into the national security effects of imported pharmaceuticals and their ingredients. As such, we currently expect that the current pharmaceutical exemption will be short-lived and that such industry-specific pharmaceutical tariffs will be ultimately imposed by the U.S. government.
We rely on our facility in Düsseldorf, Germany and third parties to perform the multiple processes involved in manufacturing hepatitis B surface antigen for use in HEPLISAV-B, the manufacture and combination of the oligonucleotide with the antigens, and formulation, fill and finish. While we cannot at this time predict the ultimate impact of the proposed tariffs, or if they would apply to transactions between a parent company and its foreign subsidiary, we anticipate that that our margins could be adversely affected beginning as early as fiscal 2026, depending on the ultimate scope and duration of tariffs imposed. However, given the volatility and uncertainty regarding the scope and duration of such tariffs and other aspects of U.S. and foreign government trade policies, the ultimate impact on our operations and financial results remains uncertain and could be significant.
Such tariffs may result in additional costs on our business, including costs with respect to the items mentioned above upon which our business depends and may generally increase our manufacturing costs. In addition, such tariffs may increase our supply chain complexity and could also potentially disrupt our existing supply chain. Moreover, other governments have imposed and may continue to impose retaliatory tariffs, trade restrictions or trade barriers impacting HEPLISAV-B, which could impose additional costs and complexity on our business, including with respect to our planned commercialization of HEPLISAV-B.
Further, the continued threats of new or increased tariffs, sanctions, trade restrictions and trade barriers as well as ongoing changes in U.S. and foreign government trade policies, including potential modifications to existing international trade agreements, have had and may continue to have a generally disruptive impact on the global economy and, therefore, could negatively impact revenues from sales of HEPLISAV-B. Given the volatility and uncertainty regarding the scope and duration of such tariffs and other aspects of U.S. and foreign government trade policies, the ultimate impact on our operations and financial results is uncertain and could be significant in the future. In any event, further trade restrictions and export regulations, or new or increased tariffs, including further retaliatory measures, could increase our supply chain complexity and our manufacturing costs, decrease our gross margins, reduce the competitiveness of HEPLISAV-B, or restrict our ability to sell HEPLISAV-B in the EU or in other international markets where we may obtain approval of HEPLISAV-B, or restrict or increase our costs to purchase necessary equipment and supplies. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our financial results, business and business prospects.
Production
Total Risks: 2/40 (5%)Below Sector Average
Employment / Personnel1 | 2.5%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
The loss of key personnel could delay or prevent achieving our objectives. In addition, our continued growth to support commercialization may result in difficulties in managing our growth and expanding our operations successfully.
We depend on our senior executive officers, as well as other key scientific personnel. Our commercial and business efforts could be adversely affected by the loss of one or more key members of our commercial or management staff, including our senior executive officers. We currently have no key person insurance on any of our employees.
As our operations expand, we expect that we will need to manage additional relationships with various vendors, partners, suppliers and other third parties. Future growth will impose significant added responsibilities on members of management. Our future financial performance and our ability to successfully commercialize HEPLISAV-B, or other future products we may attempt to commercialize, and to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to manage any future growth effectively. To that end, we must be able to effectively manage our commercialization efforts, research efforts and clinical trials and hire, train and integrate additional regulatory, manufacturing, administrative, and sales and marketing personnel. We may not be able to accomplish these tasks, and our failure to accomplish any of them could prevent us from successfully growing and achieving profitability.
Supply Chain1 | 2.5%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
We rely on CROs and clinical sites and investigators for our clinical trials. If these third parties do not fulfill their contractual obligations or meet expected deadlines, our planned clinical trials may be delayed and we may fail to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commercialize our product candidates.
We rely on CROs, clinical sites and investigators for our clinical trials. If these third parties do not perform their obligations or meet expected deadlines our planned clinical trials may be extended, delayed, modified or terminated. While we maintain oversight over our clinical trials and conduct regular reviews of the data, we are dependent on the processes and quality control efforts of our third-party contractors to ensure that clinical trials are conducted properly and that detailed, quality records are maintained to support the results of the clinical trials that they are conducting on our behalf. Any extension, delay, modification or termination of our clinical trials or failure to ensure adequate documentation and the quality of the results in the clinical trials could delay or otherwise adversely affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates and could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
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.