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Risk Overview Q1, 2026
Risk Distribution
34% Tech & Innovation
23% Legal & Regulatory
19% Finance & Corporate
11% Production
7% Macro & Political
5% 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
S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
ImageneBio Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
Risk Highlights Q1, 2026
Main Risk Category
Tech & Innovation
With 25 Risks
Tech & Innovation
With 25 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
73
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
73
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
0Risks added
0Risks removed
3Risks changed
Since Mar 2026
0Risks added
0Risks removed
3Risks changed
Since Mar 2026
Number of Risk Changed
3
-17
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 1
3
-17
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 1
See the risk highlights of ImageneBio 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 73
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 25/73 (34%)Above Sector Average
Innovation / R&D8 | 11.0%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
We have conducted and intend to conduct certain of our clinical trials globally. However, the FDA and other foreign equivalents may not accept data from such trials, in which case our development plans may be delayed, which could materially harm our business.Innovation / R&D - Risk 2
Our business is entirely dependent on the success of IMG-007 for the treatment of AD and for other potential indications.On July 25, 2025, immediately prior to consummation of the Merger, Legacy Inmagene consummated the Non-OX40 Divestiture controlled by Legacy Inmagene immediately prior to the Merger. Accordingly, our business is entirely dependent on the success of IMG-007 for the treatment of AD and other potential indications. IMG-007 is currently in Phase 2 development for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD. We may also develop IMG-007 for other immunological, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as AA, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and hidradenitis suppurativa. We cannot give any assurance that we will generate preclinical, clinical or other data for IMG-007 for the treatment of AD or other immunological, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases sufficiently supportive to receive regulatory approval, which will be required before IMG-007 can be commercialized. We may, among other things, experience difficulties with patient recruitment, enrollment and retention, quality and provision of materials and supplies necessary to manufacture sufficient quantities of drug product to meet our current or future preclinical study and clinical trial needs on a timely basis, or safety signals or pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic or efficacy data that does not align with our target profile for IMG-007. IMG-007 will require significant further clinical development, regulatory review and approval, substantial investment, access to sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity, and significant marketing efforts before we can generate any revenue from product sales.
The success of our business, including our ability to finance our company and generate any revenue in the future, will primarily depend on the successful development, regulatory approval and commercialization of IMG-007, which may never occur. If we are unable to develop, or obtain regulatory approval for, or, if approved, successfully commercialize IMG-007, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to continue our business and our business would be materially harmed.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 3
Interim, topline and preliminary data from our preclinical studies or clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may not be predictive of future results and may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures, which could result in material changes to the final data.From time to time, we may publicly disclose interim, topline or preliminary data from our preclinical studies, clinical trials or planned clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data. The results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the interim, topline or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Interim, topline and preliminary data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, such data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. From time to time, we may also disclose interim data from our clinical trials. Interim, topline, or preliminary data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Adverse differences between interim, topline or preliminary data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects.
Further, others, including regulatory authorities, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value, approvability or commercialization of IMG-007 or any future product candidate, and our company in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and others may not agree with what we determine is the material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure, and any information we determine not to disclose may ultimately be deemed significant with respect to future decisions, conclusions, views, activities or otherwise regarding a particular product, product candidate or our business. If the interim, topline or preliminary data that we report differ from actual results, or if others including comparable foreign regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for, and commercialize, IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.
Moreover, results from previous preclinical studies or clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future clinical trial results, and interim results of a clinical trial are not necessarily indicative of final results. IMG-007 or any future product candidates may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy in clinical development despite positive results in preclinical studies of such product candidates or having successfully advanced through initial clinical trials.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 4
Clinical trials are expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design and implement, and have an uncertain outcome. Further, we may encounter substantial delays in our clinical trials.The clinical trials and manufacturing of IMG-007 and any future product candidates are subject to extensive and rigorous review and regulation by numerous government authorities in the United States and in other countries where we intend to test and market IMG-007 and any future product candidates. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, we must demonstrate through lengthy, complex and expensive preclinical testing and clinical trials that such product candidates are both safe and effective for use in each target indication. In particular, because IMG-007 is subject to regulation as a biological drug product, we will need to demonstrate that it is safe, pure and potent for use in its target indications. IMG-007 and each future product candidates must demonstrate an adequate risk versus benefit profile in its intended patient population and for its intended use.
Clinical testing is expensive and takes many years to complete, and is subject to uncertainty. Our planned clinical trials may not be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. Delays and failures can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. Even if our future clinical trials are completed as planned, their results may not support the safety and effectiveness of IMG-007 or any future product candidates for their targeted indications or support continued clinical development of such product candidates. Our future clinical trial results may not be successful.
In addition, even if our planned trials are successfully completed, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not interpret the results as we do, and more trials could be required before we submit IMG-007 or any future product candidates for approval. To the extent that the results of the trials are not satisfactory to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for support of a marketing application, we may be required to expend significant resources, which may not be available to us, to conduct additional trials in support of potential approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates.
To date, we have not completed any pivotal clinical trials required for the approval of IMG-007. We may experience delays in conducting any clinical trials, and we do not know whether our clinical trials will begin on time, will need to be redesigned, will recruit and enroll patients on time or have data readouts or be completed on schedule, or at all. Events that may prevent successful or timely commencement, readouts, and completion of clinical development and preclinical studies include:
- inability to generate sufficient preclinical, toxicology, or other in vivo or in vitro data to support the initiation of clinical trials;- delays in sufficiently developing, characterizing or controlling a manufacturing process suitable for advanced clinical trials, or failure to do so;- delays in reaching agreement with the FDA, or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities as to the design or implementation of our clinical trials, or failure to do so;- delays in or failure to obtain regulatory approval to commence a clinical trial;- delays in or failure to reach an agreement on acceptable terms with clinical trial sites or prospective CROs the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different clinical trial sites;- delays in or failure to obtain institutional review board ("IRB") approval or positive ethics committee opinion at each site;- delays in or failure to recruit suitable patients to participate in a clinical trial;- delays in or failure to have patients complete a clinical trial or return for post-treatment follow-up;- clinical sites, CROs or other third parties deviating from trial protocol or dropping out of a trial;- failure to perform in accordance with the FDA's Good Clinical Practice ("GCP") requirements, or applicable regulatory guidelines in other countries;- delays or failure due to restrictions or other mandated requirements imposed by FDA or other regulatory bodies on the conduct of the clinical development program based on either internal or external data, such as emerging data with other molecules, either in development or approved, that target the same immunological pathway as IMG-007;- the serious, life-threatening diseases of the patients enrolled in our clinical trials, who may die or suffer adverse medical events during the course of the trials for reasons that may not be related to IMG-007 or any future product candidates;- failure in addressing patient safety concerns that arise during the course of a trial, including occurrence of adverse events associated with IMG-007 or any future product candidate that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits;- failure to add a sufficient number of clinical trial sites; or - failure to manufacture sufficient quantities of IMG-007 or any future product candidates for use in clinical trials.
We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidates or significantly increase the cost of such trials, including:
- we may experience changes in regulatory requirements or guidance, or receive feedback from regulatory authorities that requires us to modify the design of our clinical trials;- clinical trials of IMG-007 or any future product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon development programs;- the number of patients required for clinical trials of IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate or participants may drop out of these clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate;- the ability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment;- our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;- we or our investigators might have to suspend or terminate clinical trials of IMG-007 or any future product candidates for various reasons, including non-compliance with regulatory requirements, a finding that IMG-007 or any future product candidates have undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics, a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;- adverse events suffered by clinical trial participants that may ultimately be determined to be unrelated to IMG-007 or any future product candidates;- the cost of clinical trials of IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be greater than we anticipate and we may elect not to cover the costs;- the supply or quality of IMG-007 or any future product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate;- regulators may revise the requirements for approving IMG-007 or any future product candidates, or such requirements may not be as we anticipate; and - any future collaborators that conduct clinical trials may face any of the above issues, and may conduct clinical trials in ways they view as advantageous to them but that are suboptimal for us.
If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of IMG-007 or any future product candidates beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of IMG-007 or any future product candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we may:
- incur unplanned costs;- be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for IMG-007 or any future product candidates or not obtain marketing approval at all;- obtain marketing approval in some countries and not in others;- obtain marketing approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;- obtain marketing approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings, including boxed warnings;- be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements; or - have the product removed from the market after obtaining marketing approval.
We could encounter delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us, by the IRBs or ethics committees of the institutions in which such trials are being conducted, by the Data Safety Monitoring Board ("DSMB") for such trial or by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. These authorities may impose such a suspension or termination due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a drug, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.
IMG-007 will require extensive clinical testing before we are prepared to submit a biologics license application ("BLA") or marketing authorization application ("MAA") for regulatory approval. We cannot predict with any certainty if or when we might complete the clinical development for IMG-007 or any future product candidates and submit a BLA or MAA for regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates or whether any such BLA or MAA will be approved. We may also seek feedback from the FDA, or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities on our clinical development program, and the FDA or such other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not provide such feedback on a timely basis, or such feedback may not be favorable, which could further delay our development of IMG-007 or any future product candidates.
We also cannot predict with any certainty whether or when we might complete a given clinical trial. If we experience delays in the commencement or completion of our clinical trials, or if we terminate a clinical trial prior to completion, the commercial prospects of IMG-007 or any future product candidates could be harmed, and our ability to generate revenue from IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be delayed. In addition, any delays in our clinical trials could increase our costs, slow down the development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 5
IMG-007 or any future product candidates may cause serious adverse events ("SAEs") or undesirable side effects or have other properties that may delay or prevent regulatory approval, cause us to suspend or discontinue clinical trials, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if any.Manipulation of the immune system via therapeutic agents can result in a spectrum of immunosuppression depending on the target and the disease being treated. In general terms immunosuppression has been associated with increased risk of infection and, with long term immunosuppression, malignancies. The risk of these types of events is dependent both on the breadth of immunosuppression as well as the disease and population in which it is being used.
As with all protein-based therapies administered either intravenously or subcutaneously there is also the risk of injection site reactions and systemic hypersensitivity reactions, with cases of anaphylaxis reported with some such agents. The incidence and severity of these reactions vary depending on the characteristics of both the therapeutic agent, its target, and the vehicle solution in which the therapy is administered.
When considering other therapies that target the OX40-OX40L pathway, infections including serious infections, injection site reactions, chills and pyrexia, hypersensitivity reactions, oral and gastrointestinal ulceration, and malignancies including Kaposi Sarcoma have been reported. To date, a causal association between the therapies targeting the pathway and the events has not been established.
There may be undesirable side effects and adverse events associated with IMG-007 or any future product candidates. Undesirable side effects or adverse events that may be caused by IMG-007 or any future product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label than anticipated or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Results of our clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or unexpected characteristics.
While the data reported to date from our Phase 1 and Phase 2a clinical trials indicate that IMG-007 was generally well tolerated, there remains a risk that clinical trial results could reveal high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of previously unreported side effects or unexpected characteristics. Any such findings could cause delays in completion or cancellation of our clinical trials or require us to abandon or limit our development of IMG-007.
If unacceptable treatment-related side effects or deaths arise in the development of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, we, the FDA, the IRBs or ethics committees at the institutions in which our studies are conducted, DSMB or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could suspend or terminate our clinical trials or the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease clinical trials or deny approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Further undesirable side effects, dose-limiting toxicity events, or deaths in clinical trials with IMG-007 or any future product candidates may cause the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to place a clinical hold on the associated clinical trials, to require additional studies, dose de-escalation, or additional protocol amendments, or otherwise to delay or deny approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Treatment-related side effects could also affect site initiation, patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 6
Enrollment and retention of patients in clinical trials is an expensive and time-consuming process subject to various external factors beyond our control that may cause delays or complications.The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols depends, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients who remain in the trial until its conclusion. We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for IMG-007 or any future product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials to such trials' conclusion as required by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We may experience difficulty in patient enrollment in our clinical trials for a number of reasons. The enrollment of patients depends on many factors, including:
- the patient eligibility criteria defined in the protocol;- the size and nature of the patient population required for analysis of the trial's endpoints;- the proximity of patients to study sites;- the design of the trial;- our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with appropriate competencies and experience;- clinicians' and patients' perceptions as to the potential advantages of the product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including new products that may be approved for the indications we are investigating;- our ability to obtain and maintain patient consents for participation in our clinical trials; and - the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will not remain in the trial through the completion of evaluation.
Competing with numerous ongoing trials and established therapies poses a challenge in recruiting patients. Our clinical trials may also compete with other clinical trials of product candidates that are targeting the same indications as IMG-007 or any future product candidates, and this competition could reduce the number and types of patients available to us, because some patients who might have opted to enroll in our trials may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors. Additionally, the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, so we may conduct some of our clinical trials at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which will reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials at such clinical trial site. Recent announcements of clinical trial plans by various companies targeting immunological, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases could intensify future competition for investigators and patients. Failure to enroll a sufficient number of patients promptly could lead to delays or failure in completing our trials, hindering the development and commercialization of IMG-007 or any future product candidates within certain patient subgroups or altogether.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 7
We may not identify or discover other product candidates and may fail to capitalize on product candidates that may present a greater commercial opportunity or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.Our business depends upon our ability to identify, develop and commercialize product candidates. A key element of our strategy is to develop IMG-007 for the treatment of AD and other potential indications targeting immunological, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. We are seeking to do so through our internal research and development capabilities and may also explore additional strategic collaborations for the discovery of new product candidates. Research programs to identify product candidates require substantial technical, financial and human resources, whether or not any product candidates are ultimately identified. In addition, targets for different immunological, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases may require changes to the manufacturing processes of our CMOs or require us to identify new CMOs to manufacture our product candidates, which may slow down development of or make it impossible to manufacture our product candidates. Our research programs may initially show promise in identifying potential product candidates, yet fail to yield product candidates for clinical development for many reasons, including the following:
- the research methodology or technology platform used may not be successful in identifying potential product candidates;- competitors may develop alternatives that render our product candidates obsolete or less attractive;- choosing to cease development if we determine that clinical results do not show promise;- product candidates we develop may nevertheless be covered by third parties' patents or other exclusive rights;- a product candidate may be shown to have harmful side effects or other characteristics that indicate it is unlikely to be effective or otherwise does not meet applicable regulatory criteria; and - a product candidate may not be accepted as safe and effective by patients, the medical community or third-party payors.
Because we have limited resources, we must choose to pursue and fund the development of specific types of treatment, or treatment for a specific type of immunological, autoimmune and inflammatory disease, and we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with certain product candidates or for indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our estimates regarding the potential market for IMG-007 or any future product candidates could be inaccurate, and if we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through strategic collaboration, licensing or other arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate. Alternatively, we may allocate internal resources to a product candidate in a therapeutic area in which it would have been more advantageous to enter into a partnering arrangement.
If any of these events occur, we may be forced to abandon or delay our development efforts with respect to a particular product candidate or indication or fail to develop a potentially successful product candidate.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 8
Our future preclinical programs may experience delays or may never advance to clinical trials, which would adversely affect our ability to obtain regulatory approvals or commercialize these programs on a timely basis or at all.In order to obtain FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority approval to market a new biological product we must demonstrate proof of safety, purity and potency, or efficacy, in humans. To meet these requirements, we will have to conduct adequate and well-controlled clinical trials. IMG-007 is our only product candidate in clinical development. Before we can commence clinical trials for any future product candidates, we must complete extensive preclinical testing and studies that support Investigational New Drug applications ("INDs") in the United States and comparable applications outside the United States.
We cannot be certain of the timely completion or outcome of our preclinical testing and studies and cannot predict if the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities will accept our proposed clinical programs or if the outcome of our preclinical testing and studies will ultimately support the further development of our programs. As a result, we may not submit INDs or similar applications for our preclinical programs within our anticipated timelines, if at all, and submission of INDs or similar applications may not result in the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities allowing clinical trials to begin.
Conducting preclinical testing is a lengthy, time-consuming and expensive process. The length of time may vary substantially according to the type, complexity and novelty of the program, and often can be several years or more per program. Any delays in preclinical testing and studies conducted by us or potential future partners may cause us to incur additional operating expenses. The commencement and rate of completion of preclinical studies for a product candidate may be delayed by many factors, including, for example:
- inability to generate sufficient preclinical or other in vivo or in vitro data to support the initiation of clinical trials;- delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory authorities on study design; and - the FDA, or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities, not allowing us to rely on previous findings of safety and efficacy for other similar but approved products and published scientific literature.
Moreover, because standards for preclinical assessment are evolving and may change rapidly, even if we reach an agreement with the FDA on a pre-IND proposal for a future product candidate, the FDA may not accept the IND submissions as presented and thus, our clinical trial timelines could be delayed.
Trade Secrets16 | 21.9%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
If we breach our current or future licenses or other intellectual property-related agreements for IMG-007 or any future product candidates or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our current or future licensors, we could lose the ability to continue the development and commercialization of our product candidates.Trade Secrets - Risk 2
We depend on our licensors or patent owners of our in-licensed patent rights to prosecute and maintain certain patents and patent applications that are material to our business. Any failure by our licensors or such patent owners to effectively protect these patent rights could adversely impact our business and operations.We have licensed certain patent rights from for IMG-007 from Hutchmed and may in the future license other patent rights from third parties. As a licensee of third parties, we may rely on these third parties to file and prosecute patent applications and maintain patents and otherwise protect the licensed intellectual property under certain of our license agreements. In addition, we may not have primary control over these activities for certain of our patents or patent applications and other intellectual property rights that we may jointly own with certain of our licensors. We cannot be certain that these patents and patent applications have been or will be prepared, filed, prosecuted or maintained by such third parties in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business, or in a manner that will result in valid and enforceable patents or other intellectual property rights that cover IMG-007 or other product candidates. If our licensors fail to prepare, prosecute or maintain such patent applications and patents, or lose rights to those patent applications or patents, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated, and our right to develop and commercialize IMG-007 or other product candidates could be adversely affected.
Pursuant to the terms of the license agreements with certain of our licensors, the licensors may have the right to control enforcement of our licensed patents or defense of any claims asserting the invalidity or unenforceability of these patents.
Even if we are permitted to pursue the enforcement or defense of our licensed patents, we will require the cooperation of our licensors and any applicable patent owners and such cooperation may not be provided to us. We cannot be certain that our licensors will allocate sufficient resources or prioritize their or our enforcement of such patents or defense of such claims to protect our interests in the licensed patents. Even if we are not a party to these legal actions, an adverse outcome could harm our business because it might prevent us from continuing to license intellectual property that we may need to operate our business. If we lose any of our licensed intellectual property, our right to develop and commercialize IMG-007 or other product candidates could be adversely affected.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
Our rights to develop and commercialize IMG-007 are subject, in part, to the terms and conditions of licenses granted to us by others.We rely on licenses to certain patent rights and other intellectual property from third parties that are important or necessary to the development of IMG-007. These and other licenses may not provide exclusive rights to use such intellectual property in all relevant fields of use and in all territories in which we may wish to develop or commercialize IMG-007. As a result, we may not be able to prevent competitors from developing and commercializing competitive product candidates in territories included in all our licenses.
In addition, our licensors may have relied on third-party consultants or collaborators or on funds from third parties such that our licensors are not the sole and exclusive owners of the patents we in-license. If other third parties have ownership rights or other rights to our in-licensed patents, they may be able to license such patents to our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects.
In spite of our best efforts, our licensors might conclude that we have materially breached our license agreements and might therefore terminate the license agreements, thereby removing our ability to develop and commercialize IMG-007. If such licenses are terminated, we may be required to seek alternative in-license arrangements, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or may be non-exclusive. If these in-licenses are terminated, or if the underlying patents fail to provide the intended exclusivity, we may need to modify or cease the development, manufacture and commercialization of IMG-007, and competitors would have the freedom to seek regulatory approval of and to market products identical to ours. In addition, we may seek to obtain additional licenses from our licensors and, in connection with obtaining such licenses, we may agree to amend our existing licenses in a manner that may be more favorable to the licensors, including by agreeing to terms that could enable third parties (potentially including our competitors) to receive licenses to a portion of the intellectual property that is subject to our existing licenses. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects.
Trade Secrets - Risk 4
If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for IMG-007 or any future product candidates or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.We rely, and will continue to rely, upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to IMG-007. Our success depends in large part on our ability to secure and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to IMG-007 and any future product candidates we may develop. We seek to protect our proprietary position by filing or collaborating with our licensors to file patent applications in the United States and abroad related to IMG-007 or any future product candidates. The patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. Moreover, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain.
Composition of matter patents for biological and pharmaceutical product candidates often provide a strong form of intellectual property protection for those types of products, as such patents provide protection without regard to any method of use. Although our licensing partner Hutchmed received a composition of matter patent in the U.S. and Taiwan for IMG-007, we cannot be certain that the claims in Hutchmed's pending patent applications directed to composition of matter of IMG-007 will be considered patentable by patent offices in other foreign countries. Method of use patents protect the use of a product for the specified method. This type of patent does not prevent a competitor from making and marketing a product that is identical to our product for an indication that is outside the scope of the patented method.
It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Therefore, these patents and patent applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. The patent applications that we own or in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover IMG-007 and any future product candidates we may develop in the United States or in other foreign countries, in whole or in part. Alternately, the existing patents that we own or in-license and any future patents we obtain may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from developing competing products and technologies. It is possible that not all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found, which can prevent a patent from issuing from a pending patent application or later invalidate or narrow the scope of an issued patent. For example, publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing or, in some cases, not at all. Therefore, we cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Even if patents do successfully issue and even if such patents cover IMG-007 and any future product candidates we may develop, third parties may challenge their validity, ownership, enforceability or scope thereof, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable or circumvented. Any successful challenge to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of IMG-007 or any future product candidates. In addition, the issuance of a patent does not give us the right to practice the patented invention. Third parties may have blocking patents that could prevent us from marketing IMG-007 or any future product candidates, if approved, or practicing our own patented technology. Our competitors may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative product candidates in a non-infringing manner. Further, if we encounter delays in regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market IMG-007 or any future product candidate under patent protection could be reduced. If any of our patents expire or are challenged, invalidated, circumvented or otherwise limited by third parties prior to the commercialization of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, and if we do not own or have exclusive rights to other enforceable patents protecting IMG-007 or any future product candidates, competitors and other third parties could market products and use processes that are substantially similar, or superior, to ours and our business would suffer.
If the patent applications we hold or have in-licensed with respect to IMG-007 or any future product candidates fail to issue, if their validity, breadth or strength of protection is threatened, or if they fail to provide meaningful exclusivity for any of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop product candidates, encourage competitors to develop competing products or technologies and threaten our ability to commercialize future product candidates. Any such outcome could harm our business.
We are a party to the Hutchmed Agreement which is important to our business, and we may enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our Hutchmed Agreement imposes, and we expect that future license agreements will impose, various diligence, milestone payments, royalties and other obligations on us. See Note 9 - Commitments and Contingencies to our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. If we fail to comply with our obligations under these agreements, or we are subject to a bankruptcy, or, in some cases, under other circumstances, the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to market product candidate(s) covered by the license.
The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies is generally highly uncertain, involves complex legal, scientific and factual questions, and is characterized by the existence of large numbers of patents and frequent litigation based on allegations of patent or other intellectual property infringement or violation. The standards that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") and its foreign counterparts use to grant patents are not always applied predictably or uniformly. In addition, the laws of jurisdictions outside the United States may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending such rights in foreign jurisdictions. For example, European patent law restricts the patentability of methods of treatment of the human body more than United States law does. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection. Since patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are confidential for a period of time after filing, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file for patents covering our inventions. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain. Our pending and future patent applications may not result in the issuance of patents, or may result in the issuance of patents which fail to protect IMG-007 or any future product candidates, in whole or in part, or which fail to effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and products.
The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, ownership, scope, validity or enforceability and our owned and licensed patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. We may become involved in opposition, derivation, reexamination, inter partes review, post-grant review or interference proceedings challenging our owned or licensed patent rights. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope of, or invalidate, our patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us. Thus, even if our patent applications issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage.
Moreover, patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after it is filed. Various extensions may be available; however, the life of a patent and the protection it affords, is limited. Without patent protection for IMG-007 or any future product candidates, we may be open to competition from biosimilar versions of such products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.
Trade Secrets - Risk 5
Third parties may assert claims against us alleging infringement of their patents and proprietary rights, or we may need to become involved in lawsuits to defend or enforce our patents, either of which could result in substantial costs or loss of productivity, delay or prevent the development and commercialization of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, prohibit our use of proprietary technology or sale of products or put our patents and other proprietary rights at risk.Our commercial success depends, in part, upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell IMG-007 and any future product candidates without alleged or actual infringement, misappropriation or other violation of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. However, our research, development and commercialization activities may be subject to claims that we infringe or otherwise violate patents or other intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties. Litigation relating to infringement or misappropriation of patent and other intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is common, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, derivation and administrative law proceedings, inter partes review and post-grant review before the USPTO, as well as oppositions and similar processes in foreign jurisdictions. The various markets in which we plan to operate are subject to frequent and extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Our competitors in both the United States and abroad, many of which have substantially greater resources and have made substantial investments in patent portfolios and competing technologies, may have applied for or obtained or may in the future apply for or obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use and sell, if approved, IMG-007 or any future product candidates. In addition, many companies in intellectual property-dependent industries, including the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, have employed intellectual property litigation as a means to gain an advantage over their competitors. Numerous U.S., EU and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing IMG-007 or any future product candidates, and as the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, and as we gain greater visibility and market exposure as a public company, the risk increases that IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties. Some claimants may have substantially greater resources than we do and may be able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we could. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us.
We may be subject to third-party claims including patent infringement, interference or derivation proceedings, post-grant review and inter partes review before the USPTO or similar adversarial proceedings or litigation in other jurisdictions. Even if such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable and infringed, and the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize the applicable product candidate unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to compositions, formulations, or methods of treatment, prevention use, or manufacture of IMG-007 or any future product candidates or technologies. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that IMG-007 or any future product candidates may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our compositions, formulations, or methods of treatment, prevention or use, the holders of any such patents may be able to prohibit our use of those compositions, formulations, methods of treatment, prevention or use or other technologies, effectively blocking our ability to progress the clinical development of or commercialize the applicable product candidate until such patent expires or is finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable or unless we obtained a license.
We also may be subject to third party claims arising from prior employment agreements or consulting agreements entered into by our officers, employees, independent contractors and consultants. Claims may include breach of nondisclosure, nonuse, noncompetition and non-solicitation provisions, intellectual property assignment and ownership, and misuse or misappropriation of intellectual property, trade secrets and other confidential information, among others. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds that we breached the provisions of third-party consulting agreements, we may be prohibited from using certain intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential information, effectively blocking our ability to seek patent protection for our inventions and halting the progress of our clinical development and commercialization efforts.
In addition, defending such claims would cause us to incur substantial expenses and, if successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages if we are found to be infringing a third party's intellectual property rights. These damages potentially include increased damages and attorneys' fees if we are found to have infringed such rights willfully. Further, if a patent infringement suit is brought against us or our third-party service providers, our development, manufacturing or sales activities relating to the product or product candidate that is the subject of the suit may be delayed or terminated, as parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief. As a result of patent infringement claims, or in order to avoid potential infringement claims, we may choose to seek, or be required to seek, a license from the third party, which may require payment of substantial royalties or fees, or require us to grant a cross-license under our intellectual property rights. These licenses may not be available on reasonable terms or at all. Even if a license can be obtained on reasonable terms, the rights may be nonexclusive, which would give our competitors access to the same intellectual property rights. If we are unable to enter into a license on acceptable terms, we could be prevented from commercializing IMG-007 or any future product candidates, or forced to modify such product candidates, or to cease some aspect of our business operations, which could harm our business significantly. We might also be forced to redesign or modify IMG-007 or any future product candidates so that we no longer infringe the third-party intellectual property rights, which may result in significant cost or delay to us, or which redesign or modification could be impossible or technically infeasible. Even if we were ultimately to prevail, any of these events could require us to divert substantial financial and management resources that we would otherwise be able to devote to our business. Intellectual property litigation, regardless of its outcome, may cause negative publicity, adversely impact prospective customers, cause product shipment delays, or prohibit us from manufacturing, importing, marketing or otherwise commercializing our products, services and technology. In addition, if the breadth or strength of protection provided the patents and patent applications we own or in-license is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to license, develop or commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidates.
Competitors may infringe our patents or other intellectual property. If we or one of our licensors were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering IMG-007 or any future product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that our patent is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States and in Europe, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, for example, lack of novelty, obviousness, lack of written description, or non-enablement. Third parties might allege unenforceability of our patents because during prosecution of the patent an individual connected with such prosecution withheld relevant information or made a misleading statement. Interference or derivation proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us or declared by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications. The outcome of proceedings involving assertions of invalidity and unenforceability during patent litigation is unpredictable. With respect to the validity of patents, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art of which we and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution, but that an adverse third party may identify and submit in support of such assertions of invalidity. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on IMG-007 or any future product candidates. Our patents and other intellectual property rights also will not protect our technology if competitors design around our protected technology without infringing our patents or other intellectual property rights.
Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors view these announcements in a negative light, the price of our shares could be adversely affected. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce our resources available for development activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have an adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.
Trade Secrets - Risk 6
We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop, manufacture and market IMG-007 or any future product candidates.It is possible that our or our licensors' patent searches or analyses, including but not limited to the identification of relevant patents, analysis of the scope of relevant patent claims or determination of the expiration of relevant patents, are not complete or thorough. It is also possible that we have not identified each and every third-party patent and pending application in the United States, Europe and elsewhere that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of IMG-007 or any future product candidates in any jurisdiction. Patent applications in the United States, the EU and elsewhere are published approximately 18 months after the earliest filing for which priority is claimed, with such earliest filing date being commonly referred to as the priority date. Therefore, patent applications covering IMG-007 or any future product candidates could be filed by others without our knowledge. Additionally, pending patent applications that have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover IMG-007 or any future product candidates or the use of such product candidates. After issuance, the scope of patent claims remains subject to construction as determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent's prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to market IMG-007 or any future product candidates. We may incorrectly determine that IMG-007 or any future product candidates are not covered by a third-party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third party's pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States, the EU or elsewhere that we consider relevant may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to develop and market IMG-007 or any future product candidates. Our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market IMG-007 or any future product candidates, if approved.
If we fail to identify or correctly interpret relevant patents, we may be subject to infringement claims. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully settle or otherwise resolve such infringement claims. If we fail in any such dispute, in addition to being forced to pay monetary damages, we may be temporarily or permanently prohibited from commercializing IMG-007 or any future product candidates. We might, if possible, also be forced to redesign IMG-007 or any future product candidates in a manner that no longer infringes third-party intellectual property rights. Any of these events, even if we were ultimately to prevail, could require us to divert substantial financial and management resources that we would otherwise be able to devote to our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 7
Changes in patent laws or patent jurisprudence could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect IMG-007 or any future product candidates.As is the case with other biotechnology companies, our success is heavily dependent on our intellectual property, particularly our patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biotechnology industry involves both technological and legal complexity. Therefore, obtaining and enforcing biotechnology patents is costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. In addition, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ("AIA") which was passed in September 2011, resulted in significant changes to the U.S. patent system.
An important change introduced by the AIA is that, as of March 16, 2013, the United States transitioned from a "first-to-invent" to a "first-to-file" system for deciding which party should be granted a patent when two or more patent applications are filed by different parties claiming the same invention. Under a "first-to-file" system, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application generally will be entitled to a patent on the invention regardless of whether another inventor had made the invention earlier. A third party that files a patent application in the USPTO after that date but before us could therefore be awarded a patent covering an invention of ours even if we made the invention before it was made by the third party. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application and be diligent in filing patent applications, but circumstances could prevent us from promptly filing patent applications on our inventions.
Among some of the other changes introduced by the AIA are changes that limit where a patentee may file a patent infringement suit and providing opportunities for third parties to challenge any issued patent in the USPTO. This applies to all of our U.S. patents, even those issued before March 16, 2013. Because of a lower evidentiary standard in USPTO proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in U.S. federal courts necessary to invalidate a patent claim, a third party could potentially provide evidence in a USPTO proceeding sufficient for the USPTO to hold a claim invalid even though the same evidence would be insufficient to invalidate the claim if first presented in a district court action.
Accordingly, a third party may attempt to use the USPTO procedures to invalidate our patent claims that would not have been invalidated if first challenged by the third party as a defendant in a district court action. It is not clear what, if any, impact the AIA will have on the operation of our business. However, the AIA and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our or our licensors' patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our or our licensors' issued patents.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations, and there are other open questions under patent law that courts have yet to decisively address. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by Congress, the federal courts and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways and could weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future. In addition, the European patent system is relatively stringent in the type of amendments that are allowed during prosecution, but, the complexity and uncertainty of European patent laws has also increased in recent years. Complying with these laws and regulations could limit our ability to obtain new patents in the future that may be important for our business.
Further, on June 1, 2023, the European Patent Package ("EU Patent Package") regulations were implemented with the goal of providing a single pan-European Unitary Patent and a new European Unified Patent Court ("UPC"), for litigation involving European patents. Under the UPC, all European patents, including those issued prior to ratification of the European Patent Package, will by default automatically fall under the jurisdiction of the UPC. The UPC provides our competitors with a new forum to centrally revoke our European patents, and allows for the possibility of a competitor to obtain pan-European injunctions. It will be several years before we will understand the scope of patent rights that will be recognized and the strength of patent remedies provided by the UPC. As the UPC is a new court system, there is no precedent for the court, increasing the uncertainty of any litigation. We will have the right to opt our patents out of the UPC over the first seven years of the court's existence, but doing so may preclude us from realizing the benefits, if any, of the new unified court.
Trade Secrets - Risk 8
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.The USPTO, European and other patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In addition, periodic maintenance and annuity fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO, European and other patent agencies over the lifetime of the patent. While an inadvertent failure to make payment of such fees or to comply with such provisions can in many cases be cured by additional payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which non-compliance with such provisions will result in the abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, and the partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction, or loss of entitlement or unenforceability against third parties. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse or loss of entitlement or unenforceability of a patent or patent application include failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents within prescribed time limits. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering IMG-007 or any future product candidates or if we or our licensors otherwise allow our patents or patent applications to be abandoned or lapse, it can create opportunities for competitors to enter the market, which would hurt our competitive position and could impair our ability to successfully progress clinical development of or commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidates in any indication for which they may be approved.
Trade Secrets - Risk 9
We enjoy only limited geographical protection with respect to certain patents and we may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.Filing, prosecuting and defending patents covering IMG-007 or any future product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and even in countries where we have sought protection for our intellectual property, such protection can be less extensive than those in the United States. The requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly developing countries, and the breadth of patent claims allowed can be inconsistent. 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 United States. In-licensing patents covering IMG-007 or any future product candidates in all countries throughout the world may similarly be prohibitively expensive, if such opportunities are available at all. And in-licensing or filing, prosecuting and defending patents even in only those jurisdictions in which we develop or commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be prohibitively expensive or impractical. Competitors may use our and our licensors' technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection or licensed patents to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we and our licensors have patent protection, but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States or the EU. These products may compete with IMG-007 or any future product candidates, and our or our licensors' patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
In addition, we may decide to abandon national and regional patent applications while they are still pending. The grant proceeding of each national or regional patent is an independent proceeding which may lead to situations in which applications may be rejected by the relevant patent office, while substantively similar applications are granted by others. For example, relative to other countries, China has a heightened requirement for patentability with respect to written description and experimental data in support of a claimed drug or medical use. Furthermore, generic drug manufacturers or other competitors may challenge the scope, validity or enforceability of our or our licensors' patents, requiring us or our licensors to engage in complex, lengthy and costly litigation or other proceedings. Generic drug manufacturers may develop, seek approval for and launch generic versions of our products. It is also quite common that depending on the country, the scope of patent protection may vary for the same product candidate or technology.
The laws of some jurisdictions do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws or regulations in the United States and the EU and many companies have encountered significant difficulties in protecting and defending proprietary rights in such jurisdictions. Moreover, the legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets or other forms of intellectual property, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to prevent competitors in some jurisdictions from marketing competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, are likely to result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, and additionally could put at risk our or our licensors' patents of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, could increase the risk of our or our licensors' patent applications not issuing, or could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, while damages or other remedies may be awarded to the adverse party, which may be commercially significant. If we prevail, damages or other remedies awarded to us, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in our expected significant markets, we cannot ensure that we will be able to initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market IMG-007 or any future product candidates. Accordingly, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to successfully commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidates in all of our expected significant foreign markets. If we or our licensors encounter difficulties in protecting, or are otherwise precluded from effectively protecting, the intellectual property rights important for our business in such jurisdictions, the value of these rights may be diminished and we may face additional competition in those jurisdictions.
In some jurisdictions including EU countries, compulsory licensing laws compel patent owners to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, some countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors are forced to grant a license to third parties under patents relevant to our business, or if we or our licensors are prevented from enforcing patent rights against third parties, our competitive position may be substantially impaired in such jurisdictions.
Trade Secrets - Risk 10
If we do not obtain patent term extension in the United States under the Hatch-Waxman Act and in foreign countries under similar legislation, thereby potentially extending the term of marketing exclusivity for IMG-007 or any future product candidates, our business may be harmed.In the United States, a patent that covers an FDA-approved drug or biologic may be eligible for a term extension designed to restore the period of the patent term that is lost during the premarket regulatory review process conducted by the FDA. Depending upon the timing, duration and conditions of FDA marketing approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (the "Hatch-Waxman Act"), which permits a patent term extension of up to five years for a patent covering an approved product as compensation for effective patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. A patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, and only claims covering such approved drug product, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. In the EU, IMG-007 and any future product candidates may be eligible for term extensions based on similar legislation. In either jurisdiction, however, we may not receive an extension if we fail to apply within applicable deadlines, fail to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise fail to satisfy applicable requirements. Even if we are granted such extension, the duration of such extension may be less than our request. If we are unable to obtain a patent term extension, or if the term of any such extension is less than our request, the period during which we can enforce our patent rights for that product will be in effect shortened and our competitors may obtain approval to market competing products sooner. The resulting reduction of years of revenue from applicable products could be substantial.
Trade Secrets - Risk 11
Our proprietary rights may not adequately protect IMG-007 or any future product candidates, and do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business, or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. The following examples are illustrative:
- others may be able to make products that are the same as or similar to IMG-007 or any of our future product candidates but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we own or have exclusively licensed;- others, including inventors or developers of our owned or in-licensed patented technologies who may become involved with competitors, may independently develop similar technologies that function as alternatives or replacements for any of our technologies without infringing our intellectual property rights;- we or our licensors or our other collaboration partners might not have been the first to conceive and reduce to practice the inventions covered by the patents or patent applications that we own, license or will own or license;- we or our licensors or our other collaboration partners might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of the patents or patent applications that we or they own or have obtained a license, or will own or will have obtained a license;- we or our licensors may fail to meet obligations to the U.S. government with respect to in-licensed patents and patent applications funded by U.S. government grants, leading to the loss of patent rights;- it is possible that our or our licensors' pending patent applications will not result in issued patents;- it is possible that there are prior public disclosures that could invalidate our or our licensors' patents;- issued patents that we own or exclusively license may not provide us with any competitive advantage, or may be held invalid or unenforceable, as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;- we may not exclusively license our patents and, therefore, may not have a competitive advantage if such patents are licensed to others;- our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights, or in countries where research and development safe harbor laws exist, and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;- ownership, validity or enforceability of our or our licensors' patents or patent applications may be challenged by third parties; and - the patents of third parties or pending or future applications of third parties, if issued, may have an adverse effect on our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 12
Our reliance on third parties may require us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed, and confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and protect other proprietary information.We consider trade secrets and confidential know-how to be important to our business. We may rely on trade secrets and confidential know-how to protect our technology, especially where patent protection is believed by us to be of limited value. However, trade secrets and confidential know-how are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets and confidential know-how used by our licensors, collaborators and suppliers. Because we rely on third parties to manufacture IMG-007, may continue to do so in the future and expect to collaborate with third parties on the development of IMG-007 or any future product candidates we develop, we may, at times, share trade secrets and confidential know-how with them. We also conduct joint research and development programs that may require us to share trade secrets and confidential know-how under the terms of our research and development partnerships or similar agreements. Under such circumstances, trade secrets and confidential know-how can be difficult to maintain as confidential.
To protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by competitors, our policy is to require our employees, consultants, contractors and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with us prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, including our trade secrets. However, current or former employees, consultants, contractors and advisers may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. The need to share trade secrets and other confidential know-how increases the risk that such trade secrets and confidential know-how become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our competitive position is based, in part, on our confidential know-how and trade secrets, a competitor's discovery of our trade secrets or confidential know-how or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Enforcing a claim that a third party obtained illegally and is using trade secrets or confidential know-how is expensive, time consuming and unpredictable, and the enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect proprietary information, technology and know-how. Further, we may need to share our trade secrets and confidential know-how with future business partners, collaborators, contractors and others located in countries at heightened risk of theft of trade secrets, including through direct intrusion by private parties or foreign actors, and those affiliated with or controlled by state actors.
In addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability of our advisors, employees, third-party contractors and consultants to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets or confidential know-how, although our agreements may contain certain limited publication rights. Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets and confidential know-how, our competitors may discover them, either through breach of our agreements with third parties, independent development or publication of information by any of our third-party collaborators. A competitor's discovery of our trade secrets or confidential know-how would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 13
If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition among potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. At times, competitors may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of our unregistered trademarks or trade names. Over the long term, if we are unable to successfully register our trademarks and trade names and establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations.
Trade Secrets - Risk 14
We may need to license additional intellectual property from third parties, and any such licenses may not be available or may not be available on commercially reasonable terms.The growth of our business may depend in part on our ability to acquire or in-license additional proprietary rights. For example, IMG-007 or any future product candidates may require the use of additional proprietary rights held by third parties. IMG-007 or any future product candidates may also require specific formulations to work effectively and efficiently. These formulations may be covered by intellectual property rights held by others. We may develop products containing our compositions and pre-existing pharmaceutical compositions. These pharmaceutical products may be covered by intellectual property rights held by others. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any relevant third-party intellectual property rights that we identify as necessary or important to our business operations. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all, which would harm our business. We may need to cease use of the compositions or methods covered by such third-party intellectual property rights, and may need to seek to develop alternative approaches that do not infringe on such intellectual property rights which may entail additional costs and development delays, even if we were able to develop such alternatives, which may not be feasible. Even if we are able to obtain a license under such intellectual property rights, any such license may be non-exclusive, which may allow our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us.
Trade Secrets - Risk 15
We may fail to obtain or enforce assignments of intellectual property rights from our employees and contractors.While it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing an enforceable agreement with each party who in fact conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. Furthermore, our assignment agreements may not be self-executing or may be breached, and we may be forced to bring or defend claims to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property, and we may not be successful in such claims. If we fail in bringing or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. Such an outcome could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and distraction to management and other employees.
Trade Secrets - Risk 16
Confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties may not prevent unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect trade secrets, confidential know-how, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce, and any other elements of our product discovery and development processes that involve proprietary information or technology that is not covered by patents. Trade secrets, however, may be difficult to protect. Although we require all of our employees to assign their inventions to us, and require all of our employees and key consultants who have access to our confidential know-how, information, or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot be certain that our trade secrets and other confidential information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Furthermore, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. If we are unable to prevent unauthorized material disclosure of our intellectual property to third parties, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Cyber Security1 | 1.4%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
If our information technology systems or those third parties with whom we work or our data are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including, but not limited to, interruptions to our operations such as our clinical trials, claims that we breached our data protection obligations, harm to our reputation, regulatory investigations or actions, litigation, fines and penalties, disruptions of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profits, and other adverse consequences.Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 17/73 (23%)Above Sector Average
Regulation12 | 16.4%
Regulation - Risk 1
We will incur costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws, rules and regulations affecting public companies.Regulation - Risk 2
We and the third parties with whom we work 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 (or the third parties with whom we work) actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation (including class claims) and mass arbitration demands, fines and penalties, disruptions of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profits, and other adverse business consequences.In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, "process") personal data and other sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we collect about trial participants in connection with clinical trials, and sensitive third-party data. Our data processing activities subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements and other obligations relating to data privacy and security, including in connection with clinical trials in the United States and abroad.
In the United States, federal state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including data breach notification laws, health information privacy 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). For example, HIPAA imposes specific requirements relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable protected health information. In addition, we may obtain health information from third parties (including research institutions from which we obtain clinical trial data) which may be subject to privacy and security requirements under HIPAA. Depending on the facts and circumstances, we could be subject to significant penalties if we violate HIPAA.
Numerous U.S. states 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 ("CCPA") applies to personal data of consumers, business representatives, and employees who are California residents, and requires businesses to whom the CCPA applies to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of such individuals to exercise certain privacy rights. The CCPA provides for fines and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. The CCPA and other comprehensive U.S. state consumer privacy laws exempt some data processed in the context of clinical trials, but these developments further complicate compliance efforts, and increase legal risk and compliance costs for us and the third parties with whom we work (including our collaborators). Similar laws have passed and are being considered in several other states, as well as at the federal and local levels, and we expect more states to pass similar laws in the future. Regulators are also increasingly scrutinizing certain personal data transfers and have proposed and enacted certain data localization or transfer requirements. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a rule entitled the Preventing Access to U.S. Sensitive Personal Data and Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern or Covered Persons, which places additional restriction on certain data transactions involving countries of concern (e.g., China, Russia, Iran) and covered persons (i.e., individuals and entities who are designated as such by the U.S. Attorney General or considered "foreign persons" and are majority owned by, organized under the laws of, a primary resident in, or a contractor of, a covered person or country of concern, as applicable) that impacts certain business activities such as vendor engagements, sale or sharing of data, employment of certain individuals, and investor agreements. Violations of the rule could lead to significant civil and criminal fines and penalties. The rule applies regardless of whether data is anonymized, key-coded, pseudonymized, de-identified or encrypted, which presents particular challenges for companies like ours that operate in the clinical trial space and impacts our ability to engage in transactions or agreements with certain third parties.
Outside the United States, an increasing number of laws, regulations, and industry standards govern data privacy and security. For example, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation ("EU GDPR"), the United Kingdom's GDPR ("UK GDPR") (collectively, "GDPR"), Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais, or "LGPD") (Law No. 13,709/2018), Australia's Privacy Act, and China's Personal Information Protection Law ("PIPL") impose strict requirements for processing personal data. For example, under the GDPR, in the event of non-compliance, companies face temporary or definitive bans on data processing and other corrective actions; fines of up to 20 million Euros under the EU GDPR, 17.5 million pounds sterling under the UK GDPR or, in each case, 4% of annual global revenue, whichever is greater; and private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by classes of data subjects and consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests.
In Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") and various related provincial laws, as well as Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation ("CASL"), apply to our operations. Australia's Privacy Act also applies to our operations. We also conduct studies in Asia and are or may become subject to new and emerging data privacy regimes in Asia, including China's PIPL and Korea's Personal Information Protection Act ("PIPA"). For example, China's PIPL imposes a set of specific obligations on covered businesses in connection with their processing and transfer of personal data and imposes fines of up to RMB 50 million or 5% of the prior year's total annual revenue of the violator. India's new privacy legislation, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act ("DPDP"), may also apply to our operations.
In the ordinary course of business, we transfer personal data from Europe and other jurisdictions to the United States and other countries. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. In particular, the European Economic Area ("EEA") and the UK have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it generally believes are inadequate. Other jurisdictions may adopt or have already adopted similarly stringent data localization and cross-border data transfer laws.
Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal data from the EEA and UK to the United States in compliance with law, such as the EEA standard contractual clauses, the UK's International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the UK 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 United States.
If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the EEA, the UK or other jurisdictions to the United States or other jurisdictions, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions (such as Europe) at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal data necessary to operate our business. Additionally, companies that transfer personal data out of the EEA and UK to other jurisdictions, particularly to the United States, are subject to increased scrutiny from regulators, individual litigants, and activist groups. Some European regulators have ordered certain companies to suspend or permanently cease certain transfers out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR's cross-border data transfer limitations.
In addition to data privacy and security laws, we are and may become contractually subject to industry standards adopted by industry groups. 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. Moreover, clinical trial subjects about whom we or the third parties with whom we work obtain information may contractually limit our ability to use and disclose such information.
We publish privacy policies, marketing materials and other statements, concerning data privacy, and security. Regulators are increasingly scrutinizing these statements, and if these policies, materials or statements are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, misleading, or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators or other adverse consequences.
Our personnel use generative artificial intelligence ("AI") technologies to perform their work, and the disclosure and use of personal data in AI technologies is subject to various privacy laws and other privacy obligations. Governments have passed and are likely to pass additional laws and regulations regulating AI technologies. Our use of this technology could result in additional compliance costs, regulatory investigations and actions, and lawsuits. If we are unable to use AI and automated decision-making technologies, it could make our business less efficient and result in competitive disadvantages.
Obligations related to data privacy and security (and individuals' data privacy expectations) are quickly changing, becoming increasingly stringent, and creating uncertainty. Additionally, these obligations may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or conflict among jurisdictions. Preparing for and complying with these obligations requires us to devote significant resources, which may necessitate changes to our services, information technologies, systems and practices and to those of any third parties that process personal data on our behalf.
We may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed) in our efforts to comply with our data privacy and security obligations. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties with whom we work may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations. If we, or the third parties with whom we work (including our collaborators and third-party providers) fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable data privacy and security obligations, we could face significant consequences, including but not limited to: government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-action claims) and mass arbitration demands; additional reporting requirements and oversight; bans or restrictions on processing personal data; orders to destroy or not use personal data; 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: loss of customers; interruptions or stoppages in our 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; adverse publicity; or substantial changes to our business model or operations.
Regulation - Risk 3
Our business activities may be subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") and similar anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws of other countries in which we operate, as well as U.S. and certain foreign export controls, trade sanctions and import laws and regulations. Compliance with these legal requirements could limit our ability to compete in foreign markets and subject us to liability if we violate them.If we expand our operations outside of the United States, we must dedicate additional resources to comply with numerous laws and regulations in each jurisdiction in which we plan to operate. Our business activities may be subject to the FCPA and similar anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws, regulations or rules of other countries in which we operate. The FCPA generally prohibits companies and their employees and third party intermediaries from offering, promising, giving or authorizing the provision of anything of value, either directly or indirectly, to a non-U.S. government official in order to influence official action or otherwise obtain or retain business. The FCPA also requires public companies to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the transactions of the corporation and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls.
Our business is heavily regulated and therefore involves significant interaction with public officials, including officials of non-U.S. governments. Additionally, in many other countries, hospitals owned and operated by the government, and doctors and other hospital employees would be considered foreign officials under the FCPA. There is no certainty that all of our employees, agents or contractors, or those of our affiliates, will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, particularly given the high level of complexity of these laws. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our employees, disgorgement and other sanctions and remedial measures, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Any such violations could include prohibitions on our ability to offer our product in one or more countries and could materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international activities, our ability to attract and retain employees and our business.
In addition, our product and activities may be subject to U.S. and foreign export controls, trade sanctions and import laws and regulations. Governmental regulation of the import or export of our product, or our failure to obtain any required import or export authorization for our product, when applicable, could harm our international sales and adversely affect our revenue. Compliance with applicable regulatory requirements regarding the export of our product may create delays in the introduction of our product in international markets or, in some cases, prevent the export of our product to some countries altogether. Furthermore, U.S. export control laws and economic sanctions prohibit the shipment of certain products and services to countries, governments and persons targeted by U.S. sanctions. If we fail to comply with export and import regulations and such economic sanctions, penalties could be imposed, including fines and denial of certain export privileges. Moreover, any new export or import restrictions, new legislation or shifting approaches in the enforcement or scope of existing regulations, or in the countries, persons, or product targeted by such regulations, could result in decreased use of our product by, or in our decreased ability to export our product to existing or potential customers with international operations. Any decreased use of our product or limitation on our ability to export or sell access to our product would likely significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Regulation - Risk 4
Our activities may subject us to various laws relating to foreign and U.S. investments and other transactions, and our failure to comply with these laws could subject us to substantial fines and other penalties, which could adversely affect our business.With respect to foreign investments, transactions in which we participate may be subject to U.S. laws that regulate foreign investments in and other transactions with U.S. businesses. These laws include Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, and the implementing regulations thereof administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") and codified at 31 C.F.R. Part 800 (the "CFIUS Regulations").
The CFIUS Regulations authorize CFIUS to review certain foreign investments in and acquisitions of U.S. businesses, and to prohibit, modify, or unwind transactions subject to CFIUS jurisdiction in the event the transaction is determined to raise national security concerns.
With respect to U.S. investment transactions, certain of our activities may be subject to the Outbound Investment Security Program ("OISP") implemented to effectuate Executive Order 14105, administered by the Department of the Treasury, and codified at 31 C.F.R. Part 850 (the "OISP Regulations").
The OISP Regulations prohibit or require notification to the Department of the Treasury of certain transactions involving U.S. persons and persons with a qualifying nexus to China (including Hong Kong and Macau) that are engaged in specified activities in the semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technology, and AI sectors.
Application of these laws may negatively impact our business in various ways, including by restricting our access to capital and markets; limiting mergers and acquisitions, investments, or collaborations we may pursue; increasing our costs and the time necessary to obtain required authorizations and to ensure compliance; and threatening monetary fines, government investigations, business disruption, reputation harm, and other penalties if we do not.
Regulation - Risk 5
Our relationships with customers, physicians, other healthcare professionals and third-party payors are subject, directly or indirectly, to federal, state, local and foreign healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, transparency laws, health information privacy and security laws and other healthcare laws and regulations. If we or our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners and vendors violate these laws, we could face substantial penalties.Healthcare professionals and third-party payors in the United States and elsewhere will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of IMG-007 or any future product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our current and future arrangements with healthcare professionals, third-party payors, customers and others may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations. These laws may impact, among other things, our clinical research program, as well as our proposed and future sales, marketing and education programs. In particular, the promotion, sales and marketing of healthcare items and services is subject to extensive laws and regulations designed to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive and other business arrangements. We may also be subject to federal, state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of identifiable patient information. The U.S. healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to:
- the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, any person or entity from knowingly and willfully, offering, paying, soliciting or receiving any remuneration, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce, or in return for, the purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for the purchase, lease, or order of any item or service reimbursable, in whole or in part, under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. The term "remuneration" has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value. Although there are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly and require strict compliance in order to offer protection. Practices that may be alleged to be intended to induce prescribing, purchases or recommendations, including any payments of more than fair market value,may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exception or safe harbor. In addition, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;- federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the federal civil False Claims Act ("FCA") and civil monetary penalties laws, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment or approval from Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal government programs that are false or fraudulent or knowingly making a false statement to improperly avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government, including federal healthcare programs. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA. Private individuals, commonly known as "whistleblowers," can bring federal civil FCA qui tam actions, on behalf of the government and such individuals and may share in amounts paid by the entity to the government in recovery or settlement;- the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"), which created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by any trick, scheme or device, a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statements in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;- HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH"), and their respective implementing regulations, which impose requirements on covered entities, including certain healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses, and their respective business associates that perform services for them that involve creating, receiving maintaining or transmitting protected health information ("PHI") and their subcontractors that use, disclose, access, or otherwise process PHI, relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Penalties for HIPAA violations can be significant. They vary greatly depending on the nature of violation, and could include civil monetary or criminal penalties. HIPAA also authorizes state attorneys general to file suit under HIPAA on behalf of state residents. Courts can award damages, costs and attorneys' fees related to violations of HIPAA in such cases. While HIPAA does not create a private right of action allowing individuals to sue us in civil court for HIPAA violations, its standards have been used as the basis for a duty of care claim in state civil suits such as those for negligence or recklessness in the misuse or breach of PHI;- the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to CMS information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), certain non-physician practitioners (physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologist assistants, and certified nurse midwives), and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; and - federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers.
Additionally, we may be subject to state, local and foreign equivalents of each of the healthcare laws described above, among others, some of which may be broader in scope. For example, in the EU, interactions between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations are also governed by strict laws, regulations, industry self-regulation codes of conduct and physicians' codes of professional conduct both at EU level and in the individual EU Member States. The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians to induce or encourage the prescription, recommendation, endorsement, purchase, supply, order or use of pharmaceutical products is prohibited in the EU. Relationships with healthcare professionals and associations are subject to stringent anti-gift statutes and anti-bribery laws, the scope of which differs across the EU. In addition, national "Sunshine Acts" may require pharmaceutical companies to report/publish transfers of value provided to healthcare professionals and associations on a regular (e.g., annual) basis.
Also, we may be subject to the following: state laws that require certain regulatory licenses to manufacture or distribute products commercially and/or the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives in the jurisdiction; state and foreign anti-kickback and false claims laws that may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental, third-party payors, including private insurers, or that apply regardless of payor; state and foreign laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry's voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government; state and local laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare professionals or marketing expenditures; state and foreign laws that require the reporting of information related to drug pricing; and state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. If we or our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners and vendors violate these laws, we may be subject to investigations, enforcement actions and significant penalties. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, disgorgement, monetary fines, imprisonment, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, 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 curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations. In addition, the approval and commercialization of any of IMG-007 or any future product candidates outside the United States will also likely subject us to foreign equivalents of the healthcare laws mentioned above, among other foreign laws.
Regulation - Risk 6
IMG-007 will be regulated as a biologic, and therefore they may be subject to competition sooner than anticipated.The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 ("BPCIA") established an abbreviated pathway for the approval of biosimilar and interchangeable biological products. The regulatory pathway establishes legal authority for the FDA to review and approve biosimilar biologics, including the possible designation of a biosimilar as "interchangeable" based on its similarity to an approved biologic. Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product cannot be approved by the FDA until 12 years after the reference product was approved under a BLA.
We believe that any of the product candidates we develop that is approved in the United States under a BLA should qualify for the 12-year period of exclusivity. However, there is a risk that this exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action or otherwise, or that the FDA will not consider the subject product candidates to be reference products for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for generic competition sooner than anticipated.
In the EU, there is a special regime for biosimilars, or biological medicinal products that are similar to a reference medicinal product but that do not meet the definition of a generic medicinal product.
For such products, the results of appropriate preclinical or clinical trials must be provided in support of an application for MA. Guidelines from the EMA detail the type of quantity of supplementary data to be provided for different types of biological product.
The approval of a biosimilar to one of our products could have a material adverse impact on our business as it may be significantly less costly to bring to market and may be priced significantly lower than our products.
Regulation - Risk 7
Even if we obtain regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, the products may not gain market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals and others in the medical community.The use of IMG-007 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD, or other potential indications or any of our future product candidates may not become broadly accepted by physicians, patients, hospitals and others in the medical community. Factors that will influence whether IMG-007 or any future product candidates are accepted in the market include:
- the clinical indications for which IMG-007 or any future product candidates are approved;- physicians, hospitals and patients considering IMG-007 or any future product candidates as a safe and effective treatment;- the potential and perceived advantages of IMG-007 or any future product candidates over alternative treatments;- the incidence and severity of any side effects;- product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities;- limitations or warnings contained in the labeling approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities;- the timing of market introduction of IMG-007 or any future product candidates as well as competitive products;- the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;- our pricing and the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government authorities;- the willingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government authorities;- relative convenience, frequency and ease of administration, including as compared to alternative treatments and competitive therapies; and - the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.
If IMG-007 or any future product candidates are approved but fail to achieve market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals or others in the medical community, we will not be able to generate significant revenue. Even if our products achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to maintain that market acceptance over time if new products or technologies are introduced that are more favorably received than our products, are more cost effective or render our products obsolete.
Regulation - Risk 8
We may seek special designations by the regulatory authorities to expedite regulatory approvals, but may not be successful in receiving these designations, and even if received, they may not benefit the development and regulatory approval process.We may seek various designations by regulatory authorities, such as Fast Track Designation or PRIority MEdicine ("PRIME") Designation from regulatory authorities, for IMG-007 or any future product candidates that we develop. If a drug is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition or disease, and nonclinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need, the product may qualify for Fast Track Designation, for which sponsors must apply. The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant this designation. If granted, fast track designation makes a drug eligible for more frequent interactions with FDA to discuss the development plan and clinical trial design, as well as rolling review of the application, which means that the company can submit completed sections of its marketing application for review prior to completion of the entire submission. Products with Fast Track designation may also be eligible for accelerated approval and priority review, if the relevant criteria are met.
Innovative products that target an unmet medical need and are expected to be of major public health interest may be eligible for a number of expedited development and review programs, such as the PRIME scheme, which provides incentives similar to the breakthrough therapy designation in the U.S. PRIME is a voluntary scheme aimed at enhancing the EMA's support for the development of medicinal products that target unmet medical needs. Eligible products must target conditions for which there is an unmet medical need (there is no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment in the EU or, if there is, the new medicinal product will bring a major therapeutic advantage) and they must demonstrate the potential to address the unmet medical need by introducing new methods of therapy or improving existing ones. Benefits accrue to sponsors of product candidates with PRIME designation, including but not limited to, early and proactive regulatory dialogue with the EMA, frequent discussions on clinical trial designs and other development program elements, and potentially accelerated MAA assessment once a dossier has been submitted.
Seeking and obtaining these designations is dependent upon results of our clinical program, and we cannot guarantee whether and when we may have the data from our clinical program to support an application to obtain any such designation. The FDA and the EMA, as applicable, have broad discretion whether or not to grant any of these designations, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for one or more of these designations, the applicable regulatory authority may determine not to grant it. Even if we do receive the designations we may apply for, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA or EMA procedures, as applicable. The FDA or EU, as applicable, may rescind any granted designations if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program. Additionally, qualification for any expedited review procedure does not ensure that we will ultimately obtain regulatory approval for such product candidate.
Regulation - Risk 9
Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates in other jurisdictions.Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain regulatory approval in any other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval of a product candidate, comparable foreign regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the product candidate in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the United States, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials as clinical studies conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval.
We may also submit marketing applications in other countries. Regulatory authorities in jurisdictions outside of the United States have requirements for approval of product candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those jurisdictions. Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of IMG-007 and any future product candidates will be harmed.
Regulation - Risk 10
Even if we receive regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with IMG-007 or any future product candidates.Any regulatory approvals that we receive for IMG-007 or any future product candidates will require surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of such product candidate. The FDA may also require a REMS in order to approve IMG-007 or any future product candidates, which could entail requirements for a medication guide, physician communication plans or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. In addition, if the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority approves IMG-007 or any future product candidates, the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, import, export and recordkeeping for IMG-007 or any future product candidates will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMPs and GCPs for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. As such, we and our contract manufacturers will be subject to continual review and inspections to assess compliance with cGMP and adherence to commitments made in any BLA, other marketing application and previous responses to inspectional observations. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control. In addition, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could require us to conduct another study to obtain additional safety or biomarker information.
Further, we will be required to comply with FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities' promotion and advertising rules, which include, among others, standards for direct-to-consumer advertising, restrictions on promoting products for uses or in patient populations that are not described in the product's approved uses (known as "off-label use"), limitations on industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and requirements for promotional activities involving the internet and social media. Although the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities do not regulate a physician's choice of drug treatment made in the physician's independent medical judgment, they do restrict promotional communications from companies or their sales force with respect to off-label uses of products for which marketing clearance has not been issued. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with IMG-007 or any future product candidates, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party suppliers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information; imposition of post-market studies or clinical studies to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS or similar foreign program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:
- restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, withdrawal of the product from the market or voluntary or mandatory product recalls;- fines, untitled letters, warning letters or holds on clinical trials;- the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority may require revisions to the labeling, including limitations on approved uses or the addition of additional warnings, contraindications or other safety information, including boxed warnings;- the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority may require the conduct of an additional post-market clinical trial or trials to assess the safety of the product;- refusal by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications submitted by us or suspension or revocation of license approvals;- product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of IMG-007 or any future product candidates; and - injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities' policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo overturned the longstanding Chevron doctrine, under which courts were required to give deference to regulatory agencies' reasonable interpretations of ambiguous federal statutes. The Loper decision could result in additional legal challenges to regulations and decisions issued by federal agencies, including the FDA, on which we rely. Any such legal challenges, if successful, could have a material impact on our business. Additionally, the Loper decision may result in increased regulatory uncertainty, inconsistent judicial interpretations, and other impacts to the agency rulemaking process, any of which could adversely impact our business and operations. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative or executive action, either in the United States or abroad. Certain policies of any administration may impact our business and industry. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.
Regulation - Risk 11
The regulatory approval process of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable, and even if we complete the necessary clinical trials, we cannot predict when, or if, we will obtain regulatory approval for IMG-007 or any future product candidates, and any such regulatory approval may be for a more narrow indication than we seek.The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, selling, import, export, marketing, and distribution of drug products, including biologics, are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities in and outside the United States. We are not permitted to market any biological drug product in the United States or outside the United States until we receive approval of a BLA from the FDA or similar approvals from comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We have not previously submitted a BLA to the FDA, or similar approval filings to comparable foreign authorities. A BLA and similar applications must include extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to establish the product candidate's safety and effectiveness for each desired indication. The BLA and similar applications must also include significant information regarding the chemistry, manufacturing and controls for the product, including with respect to chain of identity and chain of custody of the product.
IMG-007 or any future product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval from the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority for many reasons, including:
- disagreement with the design or conduct of our clinical trials;- failure to demonstrate to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities that IMG-007 or any future product candidates are safe and effective, or have a positive benefit/risk profile for its proposed indication;- failure of clinical trials to meet the level of statistical significance required for approval;- disagreement with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;- the insufficiency of data collected from clinical trials of IMG-007 or any future product candidates to support the submission and filing of a BLA or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval;- failure to obtain approval of our manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with whom we contract for clinical and commercial supplies or our own manufacturing facility; or - changes in the approval policies or regulations that render our preclinical and clinical data insufficient for approval.
This lengthy approval process as well as the unpredictability of future clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval to market IMG-007 or any future product candidates, which would significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects. The FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority may require more information, including additional preclinical or clinical data to support approval, which may delay or prevent approval and our commercialization plans, or we may decide to abandon the development program. If we were to obtain approval, regulatory authorities may approve IMG-007 or any future product candidates for fewer or more limited indications than we request (including failing to approve the most commercially promising indications), may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical studies, or may approve a product candidate with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate. Even if IMG-007 or any future product candidates meet their safety and efficacy endpoints in clinical trials, the regulatory authorities may not complete their review processes in a timely manner, or we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval.
The FDA may also require a panel of experts, referred to as an "Advisory Committee," to deliberate on the adequacy of the safety and efficacy data to support licensure. The opinion of the Advisory Committee, although not binding, may have a significant impact on our ability to obtain licensure of the product candidates based on the completed clinical trials, as the FDA often adheres to the Advisory Committee's recommendations. Similar requirements may apply outside the United States.
In addition, we may experience delays or rejections based upon additional government regulation from future legislation or administrative action, or changes in regulatory authority policy during the period of product development, clinical trials and the review process. Accordingly, the regulatory approval pathway for IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be uncertain, complex, expensive and lengthy, and approval may not be obtained. For instance, the regulatory landscape related to clinical trials in the EU recently evolved. The EU Clinical Trials Regulation ("CTR"), which was adopted in April 2014 and repeals the EU Clinical Trials Directive, became applicable on January 31, 2022. The CTR allows sponsors to make a single submission to both the competent authority and an ethics committee in each EU Member State, leading to a single decision for each EU Member State. The assessment procedure for the authorization of clinical trials has been harmonized as well, including a joint assessment by all EU Member States concerned, and a separate assessment by each EU Member State with respect to specific requirements related to its own territory, including ethics rules. Each EU Member State's decision is communicated to the sponsor via the centralized EU portal. Once the clinical trial is approved, clinical study development may proceed. The CTR foresees a three-year transition period. On January 31, 2025, all ongoing trials became subject to the provisions of the CTR. Compliance with the CTR requirements by us and our third-party service providers, such as CROs, may impact our developments plans.
In addition, the EU pharmaceutical legislation is currently the subject of proposals for a complete review, in the context of the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe initiative, launched by the European Commission in November 2020. On April 26, 2023, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Directive and Regulation to revise the existing pharmaceutical legislation. If adopted in the form proposed, the recent European Commission proposals to revise the existing EU laws governing authorization of medicinal products may result in a decrease in data and market exclusivity opportunities for our product candidates in the EU and make them open to generic or biosimilar competition earlier than is currently the case with a related reduction in reimbursement status. The proposed revisions remain to be agreed and adopted by the European Parliament and European Council and the proposals may therefore be substantially revised before adoption, the date of which cannot currently be anticipated. The revisions may however have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry and our business in the long term.
Regulatory authorities also may approve a product candidate for more limited indications than requested or they may impose significant limitations in the form of narrow indications, warnings or a REMS or comparable foreign strategies. These regulatory authorities may require labeling that includes precautions or contra-indications with respect to conditions of use, or they may grant approval subject to the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials. In addition, regulatory authorities may not approve the labeling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our product candidates. Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for our product candidates and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Regulation - Risk 12
Disruptions to the operations of the FDA, the SEC, other U.S. governmental agencies or comparable foreign regulatory authorities caused by funding shortages, leadership changes, staffing cuts or other staffing shortages, along with uncertainty regarding the potential for new initiatives, laws, regulations, policies and guidance affecting our product candidates or other aspects of our business, could materially and adversely affect our business.The ability of the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities to review and approve new products or take action with respect to other regulatory matters can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, leadership changes, the ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept payment of user fees, the availability of personnel and other resources, changes in statutes, regulations and policies that affect the FDA's or comparable foreign regulatory authorities' ability to perform routine functions, and other business disruptions. Average review times at the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of the SEC and other government agencies on which our operations may rely, including those that fund research and development activities, is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable.
Over the last several years, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA and the SEC, have had to furlough critical FDA, SEC and other government employees and stop critical activities. In addition, there have recently been terminations of large numbers of federal employees at various federal agencies, including the FDA. Changes and cuts in FDA staffing could result in delays in the FDA's responsiveness or in its ability to review IND submissions or applications, issue regulations or guidance, or implement or enforce regulatory requirements in a timely fashion, or at all. If a government shutdown occurs or if the FDA or other federal agencies otherwise experience resource constraints, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA or other federal agencies to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, any future government shutdowns or employee terminations or resignations at the SEC could impact our ability to access the public markets and obtain necessary capital in order to properly capitalize and continue our operations.
There is substantial uncertainty as to whether and how the current administration will seek to modify or revise the requirements and policies of the FDA and other regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over our product candidates and any products for which we obtain approval. This uncertainty could present new challenges as we navigate development and approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates. Some of these efforts have manifested to date in the form of personnel cuts and measures that could impact the FDA's ability to hire and retain key personnel, which could result in delays or limitations on our ability to obtain guidance from the FDA on IMG-007 or any future product candidates we develop and obtain the requisite regulatory approvals in the future. There is uncertainty as to whether we will be materially and negatively impacted by governmental orders, regulations, policies or guidance, or disruptions to the normal operations of government agencies.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities3 | 4.1%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
Clinical trial subject injury and product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and could limit commercialization of IMG-007 or any future product candidates that we may develop.Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 2
Our business could be affected by litigation, government investigations, and enforcement actions.We currently operate in a number of jurisdictions in a highly regulated industry, and we could be subject to litigation, government investigation and enforcement actions on a variety of matters in the United States or foreign jurisdictions, including, without limitation, intellectual property, regulatory, product liability, environmental, whistleblower, false claims, data privacy and security, anti-kickback, anti-bribery, securities, commercial, employment and other claims and legal proceedings that may arise from conducting our business. Any determination that our operations or activities are not in compliance with existing laws or regulations could result in the imposition of fines, civil and criminal penalties, equitable remedies, including disgorgement, injunctive relief or other sanctions against us, and remediation of any such findings could have an adverse effect on our business operations.
Legal proceedings, government investigations and enforcement actions can be expensive and time-consuming. An adverse outcome resulting from any such proceedings, investigations or enforcement actions could result in significant damages awards, fines, penalties, exclusion from the federal healthcare programs, healthcare debarment, injunctive relief, product recalls, reputational damage and modifications of our business practices, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Even if such a proceeding, investigation, or enforcement action is ultimately decided in our favor, the investigation and defense thereof could require substantial financial and management resources.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 3
We could be subject to securities class action litigation.In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biopharmaceutical companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management's attention and resources, which could harm our business. Additionally, the increase in the cost of directors' and officers' liability insurance may cause us to opt for lower overall policy limits or to forgo insurance that we may otherwise rely on to cover significant defense costs, settlements and damages awarded to plaintiffs.
Taxation & Government Incentives1 | 1.4%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
Changes in tax laws or regulations that are applied adversely to us or our customers may have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, financial condition or results of operations.Environmental / Social1 | 1.4%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
The increasing use of social media platforms presents new risks and challenges.Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 14/73 (19%)Below Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights6 | 8.2%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
Our amended and restated bylaws designate specific courts as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit the ability of our stockholders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with the Company.Changed
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
The market price of our common stock is expected to be volatile.The market price of our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuations. Market prices for securities of early-stage pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other life sciences companies have historically been particularly volatile. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include:
- our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for IMG-007 and any future product candidates, and delays or failures to obtain such approvals;- failure of IMG-007 or any of our future product candidates, if approved, to achieve commercial success;- failure by us to maintain our existing third-party license and supply agreements;- failure by us or our licensors to prosecute, maintain, or enforce our intellectual property rights;- changes in laws or regulations applicable to IMG-007 or our future product candidates;- any inability to obtain adequate supply of IMG-007 or our future product candidates or the inability to do so at acceptable prices;- adverse regulatory authority decisions;- introduction of new products, services or technologies by our competitors;- failure to meet or exceed financial and development projections we may provide to the public;- failure to meet or exceed the financial and development projections of the investment community;- the perception of the pharmaceutical industry by the public, legislatures, regulators and the investment community;- announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic collaborations, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors;- disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters, and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;- additions or departures of key personnel;- significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;- if securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our business and stock;- changes in the market valuations of similar companies;- general market or macroeconomic conditions;- sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders in the future;- trading volume of our common stock;- failure to maintain compliance with the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market;- announcements by commercial partners or competitors of new commercial products, clinical progress or the lack thereof, significant contracts, commercial relationships or capital commitments;- adverse publicity generally, including with respect to other products and potential products in such markets;- the introduction of technological innovations or new therapies that compete with our potential products;- changes in the structure of health care payment systems; and - period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results.
Moreover, the stock markets in general have experienced substantial volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of individual companies. These broad market fluctuations may also adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, stockholders have often instituted class action securities litigation against those companies. Such litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management attention and resources, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
Additionally, a decrease in our stock price may cause our common stock to no longer satisfy the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. If we are not able to maintain the requirements for listing on Nasdaq, we could be delisted, which could have a materially adverse effect on our ability to raise additional funds as well as the price and liquidity of our common stock.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our management.Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may delay or prevent an acquisition or a change in management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the "DGCL"), which prohibits stockholders owning in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us. Although we believe these provisions collectively will provide for an opportunity to receive higher bids by requiring potential acquirors to negotiate with our board of directors, they would apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove then current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of management.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
An active trading market for our common stock may not develop and our stockholders may not be able to resell their shares of common stock for a profit, if at all.Prior to the Merger, there had been no public market for the Legacy Inmagene shares. An active trading market for our shares of common stock may never develop or be sustained. If an active market for our common stock does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for our stockholders to sell their shares at an attractive price or at all.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
Substantial future sales of shares of our common stock could adversely affect the market price of such shares.If existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or there is the perception that these sales could occur, this could adversely affect the market price of such shares and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. We cannot predict what effect, if any, sales of our shares in the public market or the availability of shares for sale would have on the market price of our common stock. However, future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, including shares issued upon exercise of outstanding options, or the perception that such sales may occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
If equity research analysts do not publish research or reports, or publish unfavorable research or reports, about us, our business or our market, our stock price and trading volume could decline.The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. Equity research analysts may elect not to provide research coverage of our common stock, and such lack of research coverage may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the event we do have equity research analyst coverage, we will not have any control over the analysts, or the content and opinions included in their reports. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our stock or issue other unfavorable commentary or research. If one or more equity research analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Accounting & Financial Operations5 | 6.8%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to remediate this material weakness, or if we identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud. If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired.We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a private company, Legacy Inmagene was never required to test its internal controls within a specified period. As a public company, we will need to incur substantial professional fees and internal costs to expand our accounting and finance functions and expend significant management efforts.
We may discover weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system's objectives will be met. The inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Because of these inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.
If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If that were to happen, the market price of our common stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited, including as a result of the Merger.As of December 31, 2025, we had U.S. federal net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards and state NOL carryforwards of $267.0 million and $81.5 million, respectively. Under current law, U.S. federal NOL carryforwards generated in taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such NOL carryforwards is limited to 80% of taxable income. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to federal law.
In addition, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), federal NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in ownership. An "ownership change" pursuant to Section 382 of the Code generally occurs if one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who own at least 5% of a company's stock increase their ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a rolling three-year period. Our ability to utilize our NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities may be limited as a result of ownership changes, including potential changes in connection with the Merger or other transactions. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. If we earn taxable income, such limitations could result in increased future income tax liability to us, and our future cash flows could be adversely affected.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and predict our future performance.We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. Our operations to date have focused on organizing and staffing our operations, business planning, raising capital, establishing our intellectual property portfolio and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials of IMG-007. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully manufacture, obtain marketing approvals for or commercialize IMG-007. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales. Consequently, any predictions about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history.
We are focused on the discovery and development of innovative drugs for the treatment of various immunological, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Our limited operating history, particularly in light of the rapidly evolving drug research and development industry in which we operate and the changing regulatory and market environments we encounter, may make it difficult to evaluate our prospects for future performance. As a result, any assessment of our future performance or viability is subject to significant uncertainty. We will encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by early-stage companies in rapidly evolving fields as we seek to transition to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. If we do not address these risks and difficulties successfully, our business will suffer.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 5
We expect to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and the significant risk that product candidates will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. For the three months ended March 31, 2026 and the year ended December 31, 2025, our net losses were $10.6 million and $45.3 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2026, we had an accumulated deficit of $240.7 million. Substantially all of our losses have resulted from expenses incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations.
We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and additional operating losses for the foreseeable future as we seek to advance IMG-007 through clinical development, expand our research and development activities, develop new product candidates, complete clinical trials, seek regulatory approval and, if we receive regulatory approval, commercialize our products. Furthermore, the costs of advancing product candidates into each succeeding clinical phase tend to increase substantially over time. The total costs to advance IMG-007 or any future product candidate to regulatory approval in even a single jurisdiction would be substantial. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to generate any revenue from the commercialization of any approved products or achieve or maintain profitability. Our expenses will also increase substantially as we operate as a public company following the Merger and add clinical, scientific, operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our product development and planned future commercialization efforts.
We cannot generate any revenue from product sales unless and until we obtain regulatory approvals for IMG-007 and any future product candidates in our desired jurisdictions, successfully manufacture IMG-007 and any future product candidates, and successfully build a commercial organization. These activities will require substantial investment and significant marketing efforts. Our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we are required by the FDA, the EMA, the competent authorities of individual EU Member States or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to perform additional preclinical studies and clinical trials or to modify any of our manufacturing processes or make other changes to IMG-007 or any future product candidates than those that we currently anticipate. As a result, we expect to continue to incur net losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future. These net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our stockholders' equity and working capital.
As we continue to build our business, we expect our financial condition and operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, the results of any particular quarterly or annual period should not be relied on as indications of future operating performance. If we are unable to develop, obtain regulatory approval, and successfully commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidate either alone or with collaborators, or if revenue from IMG-007 and any future product candidates that receive regulatory approval are insufficient, we will not achieve profitability. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability. If we are unable to achieve and then maintain profitability, the value of our securities will be adversely affected.
Debt & Financing1 | 1.4%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
We will need to obtain substantial additional funding to complete the development and any commercialization of IMG-007 and any future product candidates, which may cause dilution to our stockholders. If we are unable to raise this capital when needed, we may be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our research and development programs or other operations.Corporate Activity and Growth2 | 2.7%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
We have entered into, and may in the future enter into, collaboration agreements and strategic alliances to maximize the potential of IMG-007 and any future product candidates, and we may not realize the anticipated benefits of such collaborations or alliances. We expect to continue to form collaborations in the future with respect to IMG-007 and any future product candidates, but may be unable to do so or to realize the potential benefits of such transactions, which may cause us to alter or delay our development and commercialization plans.Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
We will need to expand our organization, and we may experience challenges in managing this growth as we build our capabilities, which could disrupt our operations.As of March 31, 2026, we had 17 full-time employees. We will need to expand our organization, and we may have difficulty identifying, hiring and integrating new personnel. Future growth would impose significant additional responsibilities on our management, including the need to identify, recruit, maintain, motivate and integrate additional employees, consultants and contractors. Also, our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of IMG-007 or any future product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate and grow revenue could be reduced, and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidates and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.
Production
Total Risks: 8/73 (11%)Below Sector Average
Manufacturing1 | 1.4%
Manufacturing - Risk 1
We and any of our third-party manufacturers or suppliers may use potent chemical agents and hazardous materials, and any claims relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time consuming or costly.Employment / Personnel3 | 4.1%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of their former employers or other third parties.Employment / Personnel - Risk 2
Our employees and independent contractors, including consultants, vendors and any third parties we may engage in connection with development and commercialization may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could harm our business.Misconduct by our employees and independent contractors, including consultants, vendors and any third parties we may engage in connection with development and commercialization, could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or unauthorized activities that violate: (i) the laws and regulations of the FDA, EU and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities; (ii) manufacturing standards; (iii) data privacy and security laws, and fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations; or (iv) other laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate financial information and data. Specifically, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Activities subject to these laws could also involve the improper use or misrepresentation of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, creation of fraudulent data in preclinical studies or clinical trials or illegal misappropriation of drug product, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with such laws or regulations. Additionally, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could allege fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgements, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, other U.S. federal healthcare programs or healthcare programs in other jurisdictions, integrity oversight and reporting obligations to resolve allegations of non-compliance, imprisonment, other sanctions, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of our operations.
Employment / Personnel - Risk 3
Our future success depends on our ability to retain our key personnel and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.Our industry has experienced a high rate of turnover of management personnel in recent years. We are highly dependent on our executive officers, as well as the other members of our management, scientific and clinical teams. We do not have formal employment agreements with certain of our executive officers and any of our executive officers may terminate their employment with us at any time. In addition our executive officers are entitled to receive certain severance benefits in connection with their voluntary resignation of employment for good reason, as defined in their applicable employment or severance agreements.
If we lose one or more of our executive officers or key employees, our ability to implement our business strategy successfully could be seriously harmed. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of highly specialized skills and experience required to develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize our product candidates successfully. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these additional key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be engaged by entities other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to advance the clinical development of and commercialize product candidates will be limited.
Supply Chain3 | 4.1%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
We rely on third parties for the manufacture of IMG-007 for development, and expect to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Our current and anticipated future dependence upon third parties for the manufacture of IMG-007 or any future product candidates increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of IMG-007 or any future product candidates or such quantities at an acceptable cost, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts and could impact future profit margins.Changed
Supply Chain - Risk 2
Some of our suppliers may experience disruption to their respective supply chain due to the effects of macroeconomic conditions, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.We obtain certain active pharmaceutical ingredients, drug product and certain other research materials in countries affected by macroeconomic events and conditions, including inflation, interest rate fluctuations, uncertainty with respect to the federal budget and debt ceiling and potential government shutdowns related thereto, increasing financial market volatility and uncertainty, the impact of war or military conflict, including regional conflicts around the world, and public health pandemics. Supply chain disruptions and delays as a result of any new tariff policies or trade restrictions could also negatively impact our cost of materials and production processes. If we are unable to obtain our active pharmaceutical ingredients, drug product or other certain research materials in sufficient quantity and in a timely manner due to disruptions in the global supply chain caused by macroeconomic events and conditions, the development, testing and clinical trials of that drug candidate may be delayed or infeasible, and regulatory approval or commercial launch of any resulting product may be delayed or not obtained, which could significantly harm our business.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
We rely on third parties to conduct, supervise and monitor our discovery research, preclinical studies and clinical trials. If third parties do not satisfactorily carry out their contractual duties or fail to meet expected deadlines, the development of IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be delayed or subject to increased costs, each of which may have an adverse effect on our business and prospects.We do not currently have the ability to independently conduct certain discovery research, preclinical studies and clinical trials for our IMG-007 or any future product candidates. We rely on third parties, including CROs, academic institutions and clinical trial sites, to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and we expect to have limited influence over their actual performance. We rely upon these third parties to monitor and manage data for our clinical programs, as well as the execution of future nonclinical studies. We expect to control only certain aspects of our third parties' activities. Nevertheless, we will be responsible for ensuring that each of our preclinical studies or clinical trials are conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards and our reliance on the third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities.
We and our third parties will be required to comply with the good laboratory practices ("GLPs") and GCPs, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and applicable foreign authorities in the form of International Conference on Harmonization guidelines for any of our product candidates that are in preclinical and clinical development. The regulatory authorities enforce GCPs through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and clinical trial sites. Although we will rely on third parties to conduct GLP-compliant preclinical studies and GCP-compliant clinical trials, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our GLP preclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with its investigational plan and protocol and applicable laws and regulations, and our reliance on the third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. If we or our third parties fail to comply with GCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or applicable foreign authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. Accordingly, if our third parties fail to comply with these regulations or fail to recruit a sufficient number of participants or ensure the collection of requisite data by clinical sites, we may be required to enroll additional participants or repeat clinical trials, which would delay the marketing approval process.
While we will have agreements governing their activities, our third parties will not be our employees, and we will not control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our future clinical and nonclinical programs. These third parties may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials, or other drug development activities which could harm our business. We face the risk of potential unauthorized disclosure or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third parties, which may reduce our trade secret protection and allow our potential competitors to access and exploit our proprietary technology. If our third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for any other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain marketing approval for, or successfully commercialize any product candidate that we develop. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for any product candidate that we develop would be harmed, our costs could increase, and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.
In addition, quarantines, shelter-in-place, and similar government orders, or the perception that such orders, shutdowns or other restrictions on the conduct of business operations could occur, which could disrupt our clinical timelines, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. If our relationship with these third parties terminates, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative third parties or do so on commercially reasonable terms.
Switching or adding additional third parties can involve substantial cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new third party commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can negatively impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we intend to carefully manage our relationships and contracts with our third parties, we may encounter challenges or delays in the future and we cannot make assurances that these delays or challenges will not have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Moreover, principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive compensation in connection with such services. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to the FDA or applicable foreign authorities. The FDA or applicable foreign authorities may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected interpretation of the trial. The FDA or applicable foreign authorities may therefore question the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized. This could result in a delay in approval, refusal to accept or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA or applicable foreign authorities and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates.
Costs1 | 1.4%
Costs - Risk 1
Our insurance policies may be inadequate, may not cover all of our potential liabilities and may potentially expose us to unrecoverable risks.Macro & Political
Total Risks: 5/73 (7%)Above Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment2 | 2.7%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Unstable market and economic conditions, including any adverse macroeconomic conditions or geopolitical events, may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and stock price.Economy & Political Environment - Risk 2
The advancement of healthcare reform may negatively impact our ability to profitably sell IMG-007 or any future product candidates, if approved.Third-party payors, whether domestic or foreign, or governmental or commercial, are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs. In both the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system that could impact our ability to profitably sell IMG-007 or any future product candidates, if approved. In particular, in 2010 the Affordable Care Act ("ACA") was enacted which, among other things, revised the methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers to the state and federal government for covered outpatient drugs and certain biologics, including IMG-007, under the Medicaid drug rebate program are calculated, increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by most manufacturers under the Medicaid drug rebate program, extended the Medicaid drug rebate program to utilization of prescriptions of individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, subjected manufacturers to new annual fees and taxes for certain branded prescription drugs, and provided incentives to programs that increase the federal government's comparative effectiveness research.
Since its enactment, there have been executive, judicial and political challenges and amendments to certain aspects of the ACA. For example, on July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the "OBBBA") was signed into law, which narrowed access to ACA marketplace exchange enrollment and declined to extend the ACA enhanced advanced premium tax credits that expired at the end of 2025, which, among other provisions in the law, are anticipated to reduce the number of Americans with health insurance. The OBBBA also is expected to reduce Medicaid spending and enrollment by implementing work requirements for some beneficiaries, capping state-directed payments, reducing federal funding, and limiting provider taxes used to fund the program. Congress is considering proposed legislation intended to further reduce healthcare costs with alternatives to replace the expired ACA subsidies. It is unclear how other healthcare reform measures of the current administration, if any, will impact our business.
Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. For example, aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers went into effect beginning on April 1, 2013 and due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute will stay in effect through 2032, unless additional congressional action is taken. In addition, Congress is considering health reform measures as part of other health reform initiatives.
There have been, and likely will continue to be, legislative and regulatory proposals at the foreign, federal and state levels directed at broadening the availability of healthcare and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. 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. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenue from product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop product candidates.
The current administration is pursuing policies to reduce regulations and expenditures across government including at HHS, the FDA, CMS and related agencies. For example, the current administration announced agreements with several pharmaceutical companies that require the drug manufacturers to offer, through a direct-to-consumer platform, U.S. patients and Medicaid programs prescription drug Most-Favored Nation pricing equal to or lower than those paid in other developed nations, with additional mandates for direct-to-patient discounts and repatriation of foreign revenues. Other recent 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 and proposals may, for example, include directives: (1) directing agencies to reduce agency workforce and cut programs; (2) directing HHS and other agencies to lower prescription drug costs through a variety of initiatives, including by improving upon the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and establishing Most-Favored-Nation pricing for pharmaceutical products; (3) imposing tariffs on certain imported pharmaceutical products; and (4) as part of the Make America Healthy Again Commission's recent Strategy Report, working across government agencies to increase enforcement on direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising. Additionally, the current administration recently called on Congress to enact "The Great Healthcare Plan," to codify and expand Most-Favored Nation pricing, lower government subsidies to private insurance companies, increase healthcare price transparency, expand pharmaceutical drugs available for over-the-counter purchase, and enact restrictions on pharmacy benefit manager payment methodologies, among other things. These actions and policies may significantly reduce U.S. drug prices, potentially impacting manufacturers' global pricing strategies and profitability, while increasing their operational costs and compliance risks. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision greatly reduced judicial deference to regulatory agencies, which could increase successful legal challenges to federal regulations affecting our operations. Congress may introduce and ultimately pass health care related legislation that could impact the drug approval process and make changes to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly active in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.
In the EU, similar developments may affect our ability to profitably commercialize IMG-007 or any future product candidates, if approved. In addition to continuing pressure on prices and cost containment measures, legislative developments at the EU or Member State level may result in significant additional requirements or obstacles that may increase our operating costs. The delivery of healthcare in the EU, including the establishment and operation of health services and the pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products, is almost exclusively a matter for national, rather than EU, law and policy. National governments and health service providers have different priorities and approaches to the delivery of health care and the pricing and reimbursement of products in that context. In general, however, the healthcare budgetary constraints in most EU Member States have resulted in restrictions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products by relevant health service providers. Coupled with ever-increasing EU and national regulatory burdens on those wishing to develop and market products, this could prevent or delay marketing approval of IMG-007 or any future product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates, if approved. In markets outside of the United States and EU, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies.
On December 13, 2021, Regulation No 2021/2282 on HTA amending Directive 2011/24/EU, was adopted in the EU. This Regulation, which entered into force in January 2022 and applies as of January 2025, is intended to boost cooperation among EU Member States in assessing health technologies, including new medicinal products, and providing the basis for cooperation at EU level for joint clinical assessments in these areas. The Regulation foresees a three-year transitional period and will permit EU Member States to use common HTA tools, methodologies and procedures across the EU, working together in four main areas, including joint clinical assessment of the innovative health technologies with the most potential impact for patients, joint scientific consultations whereby developers can seek advice from HTA authorities, identification of emerging health technologies to identify promising technologies early, and continuing voluntary cooperation in other areas. Individual EU Member States will continue to be responsible for assessing non-clinical (e.g., economic, social, ethical) aspects of health technologies, and making decisions on pricing and reimbursement. If we are unable to maintain favorable pricing and reimbursement status in EU Member States for product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval, any anticipated revenue from and growth prospects for those products in the EU could be negatively affected.
We cannot predict the initiatives that may be adopted in the future. The continuing efforts of the government, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of healthcare services to contain or reduce costs of healthcare or impose price controls may adversely affect:
- the demand for IMG-007 or any future product candidates, if we obtain regulatory approval;- our ability to set a price that we believe is fair for our products;- our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability;- the level of taxes that we are required to pay; and - the availability of capital.
Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors, which may adversely affect our future profitability.
Natural and Human Disruptions2 | 2.7%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
Our business is subject to risks arising from pandemic and epidemic diseases.Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 2
We or the third parties upon whom we depend may be adversely affected by a fire and earthquake or other man-made or natural disasters and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans may not adequately protect us from a serious disaster.Our principal executive offices are located in San Diego, California and are vulnerable to fires and earthquakes. Any unplanned event, such as a flood, fire, explosion, earthquake, extreme weather condition, epidemic or pandemic, power outage, telecommunications failure or other natural or manmade accidents or incidents that result in us being unable to fully utilize our facilities may have a material and adverse effect on our ability to operate our business, particularly on a daily basis, and have significant negative consequences on our financial and operating conditions. Any similar impacts of natural or man-made disasters on our third-party CMOs and CROs, could cause delays in our clinical trials and may have a material and adverse effect on our ability to operate our business and have significant negative consequences on our financial and operating conditions. If a natural disaster, power outage or other event occurred that prevented us from using our clinical sites, impacted clinical supply or the conduct of our clinical trials, that damaged critical infrastructure, such as the manufacturing facilities of our third-party CMOs, or that otherwise disrupted operations, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible, for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. The disaster recovery and business continuity plans we and our CMOs and CROs have in place may prove inadequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event. In the event of an accident or incident at these facilities, we cannot provide assurance that the amounts of insurance we currently carry will be sufficient to satisfy any damages and losses. If our facilities, or the manufacturing facilities of our CMOs or CROs, are unable to operate because of an accident or incident or for any other reason, even for a short period of time, any or all of our development programs may be harmed. Any business interruption could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Capital Markets1 | 1.4%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
International trade policies, including tariffs, sanctions and trade barriers may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 4/73 (5%)Below Sector Average
Competition1 | 1.4%
Competition - Risk 1
We face substantial competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and our operating results may suffer if we fail to compete effectively.Demand2 | 2.7%
Demand - Risk 1
Coverage and reimbursement may be limited or unavailable in certain market segments for IMG-007 or any future product candidates, which could make it difficult for us to sell IMG-007 or any future product candidates, if approved, profitably.Changed
Demand - Risk 2
The affected populations for IMG-007 or any future product candidates may be smaller than we or third parties currently project, which may affect the addressable markets for IMG-007 or any future product candidates.We select the indications for the development of IMG-007 and any future product candidates based on a number of factors, including the estimated patient populations where we believe there is a meaningful addressable market opportunity. However, our projections of the number of people who have the diseases we are seeking to treat, as well as the subset of people with these diseases who have the potential to benefit from treatment with IMG-007 or any future product candidates, are estimates based on our knowledge and understanding of these diseases. The total addressable market opportunity for IMG-007 or any future product candidates will ultimately depend upon a number of factors, including the diagnosis and treatment criteria included in the final label, if approved for sale in specified indications, acceptance by the medical community, patient access, alternative therapies and product pricing and reimbursement. For example, we intend to prioritize evaluation and seeking approval of IMG-007 for the treatment of AD. We also intend to develop IMG-007 for other indications, such as AA. Incidence and prevalence estimates are frequently based on information and assumptions that are not exact and may not be appropriate, and the methodology is forward-looking and speculative. The process we have used in developing an estimated incidence and prevalence range for the indications we are targeting has involved collating limited data from multiple sources. Accordingly, our incidence and prevalence estimates should be viewed with caution. Further, our data and statistical information, including estimates derived from them, may differ from information and estimates made by our competitors or from current or future studies conducted by independent sources.
Sales & Marketing1 | 1.4%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
We currently have no marketing and sales organization and have no experience as a company in commercializing products, and we may have to invest significant resources to develop these capabilities. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our products, we may not be able to generate product revenue.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.