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You should carefully consider the risks described below together with the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by any of these risks. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected by any of these risks. The risks described below include forward-looking statements, and actual events and our actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, additional risks and uncertainties are described under other captions in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If any of these risks occur, the value of our common stock could decline. A summary of the risk factors included in this Item 1A are set forth below followed by a full set of risk factors described in greater detail. For further details on our forward-looking statements, see “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” on page 1.
Summary of Risk Factors
Risks Related to the Commercialization and Continued Approval of our Products
There may be safety issues regarding our products that were not known at the time of approval are discovered.
Risks Related to Our Business
Risks Related to Clinical Trials and Regulatory Matters
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Risks Related to our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements
Risks Related to Intellectual Property Matters
Risks Relating to our Operations in Israel
Risks Related to Investing in our Common Stock
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Risks Related to the Commercialization and Continued Approval of our Products
We currently depend heavily on the generation of revenues from the sales of Elfabrio and Elelyso. Any failure to successfully commercialize Elfabrio will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Any failure by us to supply drug substance to Pfizer may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in the development of Elfabrio, and in the past, on the development of Elelyso. Our ability to generate significant product revenues in the future from sales of Elfabrio depends on Chiesi’s successful commercialization of Elfabrio, which we do not control and may not be able to effectively influence, and on the actions and decisions of foreign regulatory authorities. Chiesi may experience delays in, or be unable to achieve, the commercial introduction of Elfabrio globally. Similarly, we generate revenues from sales of Elelyso which are depend on Pfizer’s efforts (except in Brazil), which we do not control. Sales of BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase in Brazil are controlled by Fiocruz. The successful worldwide commercialization of Elfabrio and Elelyso depends on several factors, including the following:
Any failure to commercialize Elfabrio or Elelyso globally or the experience of significant delays in doing so will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any failure to commercialize pegunigalsidase alfa, or the experience of significant delays in doing so, will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Any current products or future product candidates may cause serious adverse events, or SAEs, undesirable side effects or have other properties that could halt their clinical development, prevent, delay, or cause the withdrawal of their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential, or result in material negative consequences.
As with most infused products, use of our products or any current or future product candidates could be associated with undesirable side effects or adverse events which can vary in severity and frequency. From time to time, we have observed serious adverse events in clinical studies of our products and product candidates. For example, while conducting clinical trials of Elfabrio, we have observed treatable anaphylactic reactions. Specifically with respect to Elfabrio, as indicated in the boxed warning with which it was approved by the FDA, patients treated with Elfabrio have experienced hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis. There are postmarketing requirements under the FFDCA included with the approval of Elfabrio by the FDA. For example, the FDA requires that a worldwide descriptive study be conducted that collects prospective and retrospective data in women and their offspring exposed to Elfabrio during pregnancy and/or lactation to assess risk of pregnancy and material complications, adverse effects on the developing fetus and neonate, and adverse effects on the infant. Furthermore, the approval of pharmaceutical products generally includes requirements related to the preparation of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, or a risk management plan as required by the EMA, which could include a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients, a communication plan for healthcare providers and/or other elements to assure safe use. For example, Chiesi must follow a risk management plan agreed upon with the EMA with respect to Elfabrio, which
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includes risk minimization measures in connection with risks associated with hypersensitivity reactions and possible medication errors in the home infusion setting.
Our product candidates, if approved, may also be subject to certain post-authorization reporting requirements. As an example, the EMA has required that Chiesi submit pharmacovigilance documents intended to provide post-authorization evaluation of Elfabrio’s risk-benefit balance at defined time points after authorization, beginning within six months of authorization, and that an educational program about home administration be agreed upon with the National Competent Authority prior to the use of Elfabrio in the home setting.
Any of the foregoing, including the boxed warning, could prevent us or our commercialization partners from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of a product or a particular product candidate and could materially harm our business, results of operations, and prospects, and could adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations, ability to raise additional financing or the market price of our common stock. If outside collaborators fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our clinical development programs, or if their performance is substandard, the approval of anticipated NDAs, BLAs and other marketing applications, and our introduction of new drugs, if any, may be delayed which could impair our clinical development programs and would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If safety issues regarding our products that were not known at the time of approval are discovered, or if we or the applicable marketing authorization holder fails to comply with continuing U.S. and applicable foreign regulations, commercialization efforts for our products could be adversely affected and the products could lose their approval or their sales could be suspended.
Drug products remain subject to continuing regulatory oversight after they are approved for marketing, including the review of additional safety information. Drugs are more widely used by patients once approved for sale and, therefore, side-effects and other problems may be observed after approval that were not seen or anticipated, or were not as prevalent or severe, during clinical trials or nonclinical studies. The subsequent discovery of previously unknown problems with a product could negatively affect commercial sales of the product, result in restrictions on the product or lead to the withdrawal of the product from the market. The reporting of adverse safety events involving our products or public speculation about such events could cause our stock price to decline or experience periods of volatility and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we or the marketing authorization holder, or MAH, of any of our products fail to comply with applicable continuing regulatory requirements, we or such MAH may be subject to fines and/or criminal prosecutions, and the product may become subject to suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approval, product recalls and seizures and operating restrictions. In addition, the manufacturers we or an MAH engage to produce a product and the manufacturing facilities in which the product is made are subject to periodic review and inspection by the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities. If problems are identified during the review or inspection of these manufacturers or manufacturing facilities, it could result in the facility becoming unable to manufacture the product or a determination that inventories are not safe for commercial sale, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. is unable to make sufficient distributions or advances to us, or if there are limitations on our ability to receive such distributions or advances, we may not have the cash resources necessary to conduct our corporate operations or service our debt which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If physicians, patients, third party payors and others in the medical community do not accept and use Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other future products, our ability to generate revenue from product sales will be materially impaired.If physicians, patients, third party payors and others in the medical community do not accept and use taliglucerase alfa, or any of our other product candidates, if approved, our ability to generate revenue from product sales will be materially impaired.
Physicians and patients, and other healthcare providers, may not accept and use Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other products we may develop in the future.Physicians and patients, and other healthcare providers, may not accept and use any of our products or any product candidates, if approved for marketing. Future acceptance and use of any of our products will depend upon a number of factors including:
● | perceptions by physicians, patients, third party payors and others in the medical community about the safety and effectiveness of Elfabrio or Elelyso, or any future product, if any; |
● | the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies; |
● | the prevalence and severity of any side effects, including any limitations or warnings contained in our products’ approved labeling, including the boxed warning associated with Elfabrio in the United States; |
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● | pharmacological benefits of Elfabrio or Elelyso, or any future product, if any relative to competing products and products under development; |
● | the efficacy and potential advantages relative to competing products and products under development; |
● | relative convenience and ease of administration; |
● | effectiveness of education, marketing and distribution efforts by Chiesi, Pfizer and any other relevant licensees and distributors; |
● | publicity concerning Elfabrio or Elelyso, or any future product, if any, or concerning competing products and treatments; and |
● | the price for our products and competing products. |
If the market opportunities for Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other future products are smaller than we believe they are, our revenues may be adversely affected and our business may suffer.If the market opportunities for other product candidates, and for BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase in Brazil, are smaller than we believe they are, our revenues may be adversely affected and our business may suffer.
To date, our development efforts have focused mainly on relatively rare disorders with relatively small patient populations, in particular Gaucher disease and Fabry disease.To date, our development efforts have focused mainly on relatively rare disorders with small patient populations, in particular Gaucher disease and Fabry disease. Estimation of the prevalence of these diseases are based on studies of small subsets of the population of specific geographic areas and are often inexact and prone to error. As new studies are performed, the estimated prevalence of these diseases may change. There can be no assurance that the prevalence of Gaucher disease or Fabry disease in the study populations, particularly in these newer studies, accurately reflect the prevalence of these diseases in the broader world population. If the market opportunities for our products or product candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our revenues may be adversely affected and our business may suffer. If the market opportunities for our current product candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our revenues may be adversely affected and our business may suffer.
Coverage and reimbursement may not be available for Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other future products in all territories, which could diminish sales of our products or adversely affect the profitably of such sales.
Market acceptance and sales of Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other future products, if any, will depend on coverage and reimbursement policies in the countries in which they are approved for sale.Market acceptance and sales of any one or more of our product candidates, if approved, will depend on coverage and reimbursement policies in the countries in which they are approved for sale. Government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. Obtaining reimbursement approval for an approved product from individual governments and other third party payors is a time consuming (six to 12 months or longer) and costly process that requires our collaborators or us, as the case may be, to provide supporting scientific, clinical and cost-effectiveness data for the use of our products, if and when approved, to every payor. Obtaining reimbursement approval for an approved product from governments and other third party payors is a time consuming and costly process that requires our collaborators or us, as the case may be, to provide supporting scientific, clinical and cost-effectiveness data for the use of our products, if and when approved, to every payor. Data sufficient to gain acceptance with respect to coverage and reimbursement might not be available, or post-marketing studies may be required in order to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of approved products, if any, to such payors’ satisfaction. We may not be able to provide data sufficient to gain acceptance with respect to coverage and reimbursement or we might need to conduct post-marketing studies in order to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of approved products, if any, to such payors’ satisfaction. Such studies might require our collaborators or us to commit a significant amount of management time and financial and other resources.
Even if a payor determines that an approved product is eligible for reimbursement, the payor may impose coverage limitations that preclude payment for some uses that are approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. Even if a payor determines that an approved product is eligible for reimbursement, the payor may impose coverage limitations that preclude payment for some uses that are approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. For example, the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act allows Medicare to negotiate the prices of the prescription drugs. Such initiatives and legislation may cause added pricing pressure on our products. Proposals that could impact coverage and reimbursement of our products, including giving states more flexibility to manage drugs covered under the Medicaid program and permitting the re-importation of prescription medications from other countries, could have a material adverse effect by limiting our products’ use and coverage. To the extent that private insurers or managed care programs in the United States or elsewhere follow Medicaid coverage and payment developments, they could use the enactment of these increased rebates to exert pricing pressure on our products, and the adverse effects may be magnified by their adoption of lower payment schedules. In addition, full reimbursement may not be available for high priced products. Moreover, eligibility for coverage does not imply that any approved product will be reimbursed in all cases or at a rate that allows us to make a profit or even cover our costs. Limited reimbursement amounts may reduce the demand for, or the price of, Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other future products. Limited reimbursement amounts may reduce the demand for, or the price of, our product candidates. If coverage and reimbursement are not available or are
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available only to limited levels, the sales of Elfabrio, Elelyso or other future products, if any, may be diminished or we may not be able to sell such products profitably.
The pricing of our products in different countries may vary widely, thus creating the potential for third-party trade in our products in an attempt to exploit price differences between countries. This third-party trade of our products could undermine our sales in markets with higher prices which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Fiocruz is not complying, and we expect they will continue to not comply, with the terms and conditions of the Brazil Agreement.
We do not control and may not be able to effectively influence Fiocruz’s ability to distribute BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase in Brazil. Fiocruz has not complied with the purchase requirements of the Brazil Agreement in the past, and we expect Fiocruz will continue to not comply and may otherwise materially breach the agreement. Continued non-compliance may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. A disruption may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We face the risk of lower than anticipated purchases of BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase by the Brazilian MoH. In addition, we may fail to supply the intended amounts on time, if at all. We also cannot accurately predict the amount of revenues we will generate under the Brazil Agreement in future periods, if any. We also cannot accurately predict the amount of 47 Table of Contentsrevenues we will generate under the Brazil Agreement in future periods, if any. Any failure by the Brazilian MoH to purchase BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase, by us to supply BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase for purchase or by Fiocruz to distribute BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase in Brazil, or the experience of significant delays in any of the foregoing, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We and our collaborating partners may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse and false claims laws and regulations. If we or our collaborating partners are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.
All marketing activities associated with products that are approved for sale in the United States, if any, will be, directly or indirectly through our customers, subject to numerous federal and state laws governing the marketing and promotion of pharmaceutical products in the United States, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Law, the federal False Claims Act and HIPAA.All marketing activities associated with drug products that are approved for sale in the United States, if any, will be, directly or indirectly through our customers, subject to numerous federal and state laws governing the marketing and promotion of pharmaceutical products in the United States, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Law, the federal False Claims Act and HIPAA. These laws may adversely impact, among other things, our proposed sales, marketing and education programs.
The federal Anti-Kickback Law prohibits persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce either the referral of an individual, or the furnishing, recommending, or arranging for a good or service, for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The term “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value, including for example, gifts, discounts, the furnishing of supplies or equipment, credit arrangements, payments of cash, waivers of co-payments and deductibles, ownership interests and providing anything at less than its fair market value. Despite a series of narrow safe harbors, the federal Anti-Kickback Law prohibits many arrangements and practices that are lawful in businesses outside of the healthcare industry. Penalties for violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Law include criminal penalties and civil sanctions such as fines, imprisonment and possible exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid and other state or federal healthcare programs. Many states have also adopted laws similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Law, some of which apply to the referral of patients for healthcare items or services reimbursed by any source, not only the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and do not contain identical safe harbors.
The federal False Claims Act imposes liability on any person who, among other things, knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment by a federal healthcare program. In addition, various states have enacted false claims laws analogous to the False Claims Act. Many of these state laws apply where a claim is submitted to any third-party payer and not merely a federal healthcare program. Violations of the federal False Claims Act and the analogous state laws may result in substantial financial penalties, some as much as three times the actual damages sustained by the government.
HIPAA created several new federal crimes, including health care fraud, and false statements relating to health care matters. The health care fraud statute prohibits knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any health care
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benefit program, including private third-party payers. The false statements statute prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items or services. The false statements statute prohibits knowingly and willfully 50 Table of Contentsfalsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items or services.
We are unable to predict whether we could be subject to actions under any of these or other fraud and abuse laws, or the impact of such actions. Moreover, to the extent that Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other future products, if any, are sold in a foreign country, we and our collaborators may be subject to similar foreign laws and regulations. Moreover, to the extent that taliglucerase alfa or any of our product candidates, if approved for marketing, will be sold in a foreign country, we and our future collaborators may be subject to similar foreign laws and regulations. If we or any of our collaborators are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above and other applicable state and federal fraud and abuse laws, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from government healthcare reimbursement programs and the curtailment or restructuring or our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we or any of our future collaborators are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above and other applicable state and federal fraud and abuse laws, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from government healthcare reimbursement programs and the curtailment or restructuring or our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Business
We have a limited commercial operating history which may limit the ability of investors to make an informed investment decision.
Elfabrio and Elelyso are our only commercial products both of which are marketed by our commercialization partners. Our operations to date have been limited to acquiring, developing and securing our proprietary technology and undertaking, through third parties, preclinical and clinical trials of our drug candidates and advancing our drug candidates through the regulatory approval processes. These operations provide a limited basis for investors to assess our ability to commercialize our drug candidates and whether to invest in our company.
Any failure by us to supply drug substance to Chiesi or Pfizer may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Any failure by us to supply drug substance to Pfizer may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have agreed to sell drug substance to Pfizer and Chiesi for the production of Elelyso and Elfabrio, respectively. With respect to Elelyso, our drug substance supply commitment is for a 15-year period after the execution of the Amended Pfizer Agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions. As part of that obligation, we agreed to substantial financial penalties if we fail to comply with the supply commitments, or are delayed in doing so. The amounts of the penalties depend on when any such failure occurs and for how long it persists, if at all, and other considerations. Any failure to comply with the supply commitments to Pfizer and/or Chiesi may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any failure to comply with the supply commitments under the Amended Pfizer Agreement may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our strategy, in certain cases, is to enter into collaboration agreements with third parties to leverage our ProCellEx system to develop product candidates. Failure to enter into such agreements, or non-compliance by us or our collaborators with such agreements, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our strategy, in certain cases, is to enter into arrangements with pharmaceutical companies to leverage our ProCellEx system to develop additional product candidates. Our future revenues may depend, in part, on our ability to enter into and maintain arrangements with our existing partners and other companies having sales, marketing and distribution capabilities and the ability of such companies to successfully market and pharmaceutical products on a global scale. Under these arrangements, we may grant to our partners rights to license and commercialize pharmaceutical products developed under the applicable agreements, as we have done with Elfabrio and Elelyso. Commercialization, marketing, distribution and other similar alliances with respect to our products and product candidates will subject us to a number of risks. We may be required to relinquish important rights to our products or product candidates, and the rights of our partners may limit our flexibility in considering alternatives for the commercialization of our products and product candidates. Our partners may control key decisions relating to the development of the products and we may depend on our partners’ expertise and dedication of sufficient time and resources to develop and commercialize our products and product candidates. Our partners may control key decisions relating to the development of the products and we may depend on our partners’ expertise and dedication of sufficient resources to develop and commercialize our product candidates. Our partners may experience financial difficulties which adversely affect their efforts with respect to our product and product candidates. If we or any of our current or future partners breach or terminate the agreements that make up such arrangements, our partners otherwise fail to conduct their obligations under such arrangements in a timely manner, there is a dispute about their obligations or if either party terminates the applicable agreement or elects not to continue the arrangement, we may not enjoy the benefits of the agreements or receive a sufficient amount of royalty or
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milestone payments from them, if any, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we are unable to enhance our portfolio of product candidates, our business may be adversely affected.If we are unable to develop and commercialize our product candidates, our business will be adversely affected.
A key element of our business strategy is to establish a portfolio of product candidates as targets for development and eventual commercialization.A key element of our strategy is to develop and commercialize a portfolio of new products in addition to taliglucerase alfa. We seek to do so through our internal research programs and strategic collaborations. We seek to do so through our internal research programs and strategic collaborations for the development of new products. Research programs to identify new product candidates require substantial technical, financial and human resources, whether or not any product candidates are ultimately identified. A research program may initially show promise in identifying a potential product candidate, yet fail to immediately yield the product candidate for clinical development for many reasons, including the following:
● | a product candidate is not capable of being produced in commercial quantities at an acceptable cost, or at all; |
● | the research methodology used may not be successful in identifying potential product candidates; or |
● | a product candidate may, after further study, 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 approval. |
Any failure or delay in the establishment of a portfolio of product candidates as targets for development and eventual commercialization may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Any failure or delay in commencement or completion of any clinical trials of pegunigalsidase alfa or our other product candidates will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The manufacture of our products is an exacting and complex process, and any manufacturing problems encountered by us or certain of our providers may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.39 Table of ContentsThe manufacture of our products is an exacting and complex process, and any manufacturing problems encountered by us or certain of our suppliers may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The FDA and foreign regulators require manufacturers to register manufacturing facilities. The FDA and foreign regulators also inspect these facilities to confirm compliance with cGMP or similar requirements that the FDA or foreign regulators establish. We or certain of our services and materials providers, including our fill and finish service providers, may face manufacturing or quality control problems causing product production and shipment delays or a situation where we or the provider may not be able to maintain compliance with the FDA’s cGMP requirements, or those of foreign regulators, necessary to continue manufacturing. We or certain of our materials suppliers may face manufacturing or quality control problems causing product production and shipment delays or a situation where we or the supplier may not be able to maintain compliance with the FDA’s cGMP requirements, or those of foreign regulators, necessary to continue manufacturing. We or any such third-party manufacturer might be unable to formulate and manufacture our products in the volume and of the quality required to meet our preclinical, clinical and commercial needs. If we engage any contract manufacturers, such manufacturers may not perform as agreed or may not remain in the contract manufacturing business for the time required to supply our preclinical, clinical or commercial needs. In addition, we and contract manufacturers are subject to the rules and regulations of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities and face the risk that any of those authorities may find that they are not in compliance with applicable regulations. In addition, contract manufacturers are subject to the rules and regulations of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities and face the risk that any of those authorities may find that they are not in compliance with applicable regulations. To date, our current facility has passed audits by the FDA and a number of other regulatory authorities but remains subject to audit by other foreign regulatory authorities. There can be no assurance that we or our contract manufacturers will be able to comply, or continue to comply, with FDA or foreign regulatory manufacturing requirements, and the failure to so comply, or continue to comply, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with FDA or foreign regulatory manufacturing requirements for our current facility or any facility we may establish in the future, and the failure to so comply will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We rely on third parties for final processing of Elfabrio, Elelyso and our other product candidates, which exposes us to a number of risks that may delay development, regulatory approval and commercialization of Elfabrio, Elelyso or our other product candidates or result in higher product costs.We rely on third parties for final processing of taliglucerase alfa, pegunigalsidase alfa and our other product candidates, which exposes us to a number of risks that may delay development, regulatory approval and commercialization of taliglucerase alfa and our other product candidates or result in higher product costs.
We have no experience in the final filling and freeze drying steps of the drug manufacturing process. We rely on third-party service providers in the United States and Europe to perform fill and finish activities for Elelyso and Elfabrio, and have engaged other parties for our other product candidates. We rely on third parties in the United States and Europe to perform fill and finish activities for taliglucerase alfa and pegunigalsidase alfa, and have engaged other parties for our other product candidates. The number of potential fill and finish services providers is limited and we face the risk of being unable to identify manufacturers and/or replacement manufacturers on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, the FDA and other regulatory authorities, as applicable, must approve any manufacturer and/or replacement manufacturer, including us.
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Any failure to identify and maintain fill and finish service providers could delay our preclinical and clinical trials, the approval, if any, of our potential drug candidates by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, or the commercialization of our drug candidates, or could result in higher product costs or otherwise deprive us of potential product revenues.
We have limited experience in selling, marketing or distributing products and limited internal capability to do so.
We currently have very limited sales, marketing or distribution capabilities and no experience in building a sales force and distribution capabilities. Under our arrangements with Pfizer and Chiesi, we have out-licensed the marketing rights to Elfabrio and Elelyso, except that we retained the marketing rights to BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase in Brazil. Under our arrangements with Pfizer and Chiesi, we have out-licensed the marketing rights to Elelyso, pegunigalsidase alfa and alidornase alfa via inhalation, except that we retained the marketing rights to BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase in Brazil. The commercialization of a product requires the commitment of significant financial and managerial resources to develop a marketing and sales force with technical expertise and with supporting distribution capabilities. The commercialization of a drug product requires that we commit significant financial and managerial resources to develop a marketing and sales force with technical expertise and with supporting distribution capabilities. If we elect to commercialize our products directly and without strategic partners we may be unable to recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel. In addition, such sales personnel might not access an adequate number of physicians or persuade them to prescribe our products, or may lack complementary products to offer to such physicians. Commercialization by such sales personnel may expose our company to unforeseen costs and expenses.
Developments by competitors may render our products or technologies obsolete or non-competitive which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We compete against fully integrated pharmaceutical companies and smaller companies that are collaborating with larger pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations. Our products compete, and our products candidates will have to compete, with existing therapies and therapies under development by our competitors. Our commercial opportunities may be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and market products that are less expensive, more effective or safer than our products. Other companies have drug candidates in various stages of preclinical or clinical development to treat diseases for which we are also seeking to develop products. Some of these potential competing drugs are further advanced in development than our drug candidates and may be commercialized earlier. See “Business – Competition.”
Most of our competitors, either alone or together with their collaborative partners, operate larger research and development programs, staff and facilities and have substantially greater financial resources than we do, as well as significantly greater experience in:
● | developing drugs; |
● | undertaking preclinical testing and human clinical trials; |
● | obtaining marketing approvals from the FDA and other regulatory authorities; |
● | formulating and manufacturing drugs; and |
● | launching, marketing and selling drugs. |
These organizations also compete with us to attract qualified personnel, acquisitions and joint ventures candidates and for other collaborations. Activities of our competitors may impose unanticipated costs on our business or adversely affect the market for our products which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Activities of our competitors may impose unanticipated costs on our business or adversely affect the market for our drug products which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we in-license drug candidates, we may delay or otherwise adversely affect the development of our existing drug candidates, which may negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition to our own internally developed drug candidates, we proactively seek opportunities to in-license and advance other drug candidates that are strategic and have value-creating potential to take advantage of our development know-how and technology. In-licensing additional drug candidates may significantly increase our capital requirements, and place a strain on the time of our existing personnel, which may delay or otherwise adversely affect the development of our existing drug candidates or cause us to re-prioritize our drug pipeline if we do not have the necessary capital
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resources to develop all of our drug candidates, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we acquire companies, products or technologies, we may face integration risks and costs associated with those acquisitions that could potentially negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.If we acquire companies, products or technologies, we may face integration risks and costs associated with those acquisitions that could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we are presented with appropriate opportunities, we may acquire or make investments in complementary companies, products or technologies. If we acquire companies or technologies, we will face risks, uncertainties and disruptions associated with the integration process, including difficulties in the integration of the operations of an acquired company, integration of acquired technology with our products, diversion of our management’s attention from other business concerns, the potential loss of key employees or customers of the acquired business and impairment charges if future acquisitions are not as successful as we originally anticipate. In addition, our operating results may suffer because of acquisition-related costs or amortization expenses or charges relating to acquired intangible assets. Any failure to successfully integrate other companies, products or technologies that we may acquire may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We depend upon key employees and consultants in a competitive market for skilled personnel. If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel, it could adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products.
We are highly dependent upon the principal members of our management team, especially our President and Chief Executive Officer, Dror Bashan, as well as the Chairman of our Board of Directors, Eliot R.We are highly dependent upon the principal members of our management team, especially our President and Chief Executive Officer, Dror Bashan, as well as the Chairman of our Board of Directors, Zeev Bronfeld, our other directors, consultants and collaborating scientists. Forster, Ph.D., our other directors, consultants and collaborating scientists. Many of these people have been involved with us for many years and have played integral roles in our progress, and we believe that they will continue to provide value to us. A loss of any of these personnel may have a material adverse effect on aspects of our business, clinical development and regulatory programs. We have employment agreements with Mr. Bashan and our other executive officers that may be terminated by us or the applicable officer at any time with varying notice periods of 30 to 180 days. The loss of any of these persons’ services may adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products and obtain necessary regulatory approvals. The loss of any of these persons’ services 41 Table of Contentsmay adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products and obtain necessary regulatory approvals. Further, we do not maintain key-man life insurance.
We also depend in part on the continued service of our key scientific personnel and our ability to identify, hire and retain additional personnel. We experience intense competition for qualified personnel, and the existence of non-competition agreements between prospective employees and their former employers may prevent us from hiring those individuals or subject us to suit from their former employers. While we attempt to provide competitive compensation packages to attract and retain key personnel, many of our competitors are likely to have greater resources and more experience than we have, making it difficult for us to compete successfully for key personnel.
Under current U.S. and Israeli laws, we may not be able to enforce employees’ covenants not to compete and therefore may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of some of our former employees.
We have entered into non-competition agreements with substantially all of our employees. These agreements prohibit our employees, if they cease working for us, from competing directly with us or working for our competitors for a limited period. Under current U.S. and Israeli laws, we may be unable to enforce these agreements against most of our employees and it may be difficult for us to restrict our competitors from gaining the expertise our former employees acquired while working for us. If we cannot enforce our employees’ non-compete agreements, we may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of our former employees, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, stockholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.
Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. While our assessment of our internal control over financial reporting resulted in our
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conclusion that as of December 31, 2024, our internal control over financial reporting was effective, we cannot predict the outcome of our testing or any subsequent testing by our auditor in future periods. Any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, or any subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and affect our reputation, which could have an adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.
Our management is required to assess the effectiveness of our internal controls and procedures and disclose changes in these controls on an annual basis. However, for as long as we are a non-accelerated filer, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control could identify deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that our management’s assessment might not. However, for as long as we are a non accelerated filer, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting 42 Table of Contentspursuant to Section 404. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls could identify deficiencies in internal controls over financial reporting that our management’s assessment might not. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.
Our internal computer systems, or those used by our third-party contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, resulting in liability and harm to our reputation, which could negatively affect our business, results of operation and financial condition.Our internal computer systems, or those used by our third-party contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches. We may face liability if we breach our obligations related to the protection, security, nondisclosure of confidential information or disclosure of sensitive data or fail or are perceived to fail to comply with applicable data protection laws and regulations, or consumer protection laws, regulations and standards.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our present and future contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses and unauthorized access. Although to our knowledge we have not experienced any material system failure or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our development programs and our business operations. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Likewise, we rely on our third-party research institution collaborators for research and development of our product candidates and other third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates and to conduct clinical trials, and similar events relating to their computer systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business. We have a cybersecurity insurance policy to protect us from such risks. However, to the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability despite our insurance policy, and the further development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed.
Further, the global data protection landscape is rapidly evolving, and we are or may become subject to numerous local and foreign laws, requirements and regulations governing the collection, use, disclosure, retention, and security of personal data, such as information that we may collect about individuals worldwide. Implementation standards and enforcement practices are likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future, and we cannot yet determine the impact future laws, regulations, standards, or perception of their requirements may have on our business. This evolution may create uncertainty in our business or to collect, store, transfer use and share personal information, necessitate the acceptance of more onerous obligations in our contracts, result in liability or impose additional costs on us. The cost of compliance with these laws, regulations and standards is high and is likely to increase in the future. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with local or foreign laws or regulation, our internal policies and procedures or our contracts governing our processing of personal information could result in negative publicity, government investigations and enforcement actions, claims by third parties and damage to our reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. If outside collaborators fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our clinical development programs, or if their performance is substandard, the approval of anticipated NDAs, BLAs and other marketing applications, and our introduction of new drugs, if any, may be delayed which could impair our clinical development programs and would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our failure to adhere to or successfully implement processes in response to changing regulatory requirements in this area could result in legal liability or impairment to our reputation in the marketplace, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with FDA or foreign regulatory manufacturing requirements for our current facility or any facility we may establish in the future, and the failure to so comply will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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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 biotechnology companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. If we become subject to such litigation, we will face substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.
If product liability claims are brought against us, it may result in reduced demand for our products and product candidates or damages that exceed our insurance coverage. If product liability claims are brought against us, it may result in reduced demand for our products and product candidates or damages that exceed our insurance coverage.
The use and marketing of our products and product candidates, including in connection with clinical trials, exposes us to product liability or similar claims if the use or misuse of those products or product candidates cause injury or disease, or results in adverse effects.The clinical testing, marketing and use of our products and product candidates exposes us to product liability claims if the use or misuse of those products or product candidates cause injury or disease, or results in adverse effects. We presently carry product liability and clinical trial liability insurance with coverages of up to $10.0 million per occurrence and $10.0 million in the aggregate, an amount we consider reasonable and customary. We presently carry clinical trial liability insurance with coverages of up to $10.0 million per occurrence and $10.0 million in the aggregate, an amount we consider reasonable and customary. However, this insurance coverage includes various deductibles, limitations and exclusions from coverage, and in any event might not fully cover any potential claims. In the future, we may need to obtain additional product liability and clinical trial liability coverage; however, such insurance is expensive and insurance companies may not issue this type of insurance when we need it. We may not be able to obtain adequate insurance in the future at an acceptable cost. Any product liability claim, even one that was not in excess of our insurance coverage or one that is meritless and/or unsuccessful, may adversely affect the availability of funds for other purposes, such as research and development, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any product liability claim, even one that was not in excess of our insurance coverage or one that is meritless and/or unsuccessful, may adversely affect our cash available for other purposes, such as research and development, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Product liability claims, even if without merit, may result in reduced demand for our products, if approved, or result in adverse market reactions, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards may be limited.
Our NOL carryforwards as of December 31, 2024, are equal to approximately $227.2 million, of which approximately $22.2 million may be restricted under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, or the IRC.Our NOL carryforwards as of December 31, 2021, are equal to approximately $247.9 million, of which approximately $36.1 million may be restricted under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, or the IRC. IRC Section 382 applies whenever a corporation with NOLs experiences an ownership change. As a result of IRC Section 382, the taxable income for any post-change year that may be offset by a pre-change NOL may not exceed the fair market value of the pre-change entity multiplied by the IRC long-term tax exempt rate. Significant judgment is required in determining any valuation allowance recorded against deferred tax assets. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we considered all available evidence, including past operating results, the most recent projections for taxable income and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. We reassess our valuation allowance periodically and if future evidence allows for a partial or full release of the valuation allowance, a tax benefit will be recorded accordingly. Any ownership change (including as a result of conversion of our outstanding convertible notes into shares of our common stock), or any other limitation on our utilization of NOLs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our corporate structure may create U.S. federal income tax inefficiencies.
Protalix Ltd. is our wholly-owned subsidiary and thus a controlled foreign corporation of our company for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This organizational structure may create inefficiencies, as certain types of income and investments of Protalix Ltd. that otherwise would not be currently taxable under general U.S. federal income tax principles may become taxable. These inefficiencies may require us to use more of our NOLs than we otherwise might and may result in a tax liability without a corresponding distribution from our subsidiaries which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, on December 22, 2017, the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the TCJA, that significantly reforms the IRC was enacted. The TCJA, among other things, includes changes to U.S. federal tax rates, imposes significant additional limitations on the deductibility of certain expenses and adds certain limitations to the use of net operating loss carryforwards arising after December 31, 2017. Effective in 2022, the TCJA requires all U.S. companies to capitalize and subsequently amortize R&D expenses that fall within the scope of Section 174 over five years for research activities conducted in the United States and over 15 years for research activities conducted outside of the United States rather
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than deducting such costs in the year incurred for tax purposes. As a result of the TCJA, we expect to incur an increase in our tax expenses and a decrease in our cash flows provided by operations.
We are a holding company with no operations of our own.
We are a holding company with no operations of our own. Accordingly, our ability to conduct our operations, service any current or future debt and pay dividends, if any, is dependent upon the earnings from the business conducted by Protalix Ltd. Accordingly, our ability to conduct our operations, service any debt that we may incur in the future and pay dividends, if any, is dependent upon the earnings from the business conducted by Protalix Ltd. The distribution of those earnings or advances or other distributions of funds by our subsidiaries to us, as well as our receipt of such funds, are contingent upon the earnings of Protalix Ltd. The distribution of those earnings or advances or other distributions of funds by our 44 Table of Contentssubsidiary to us, as well as our receipt of such funds, are contingent upon the earnings of Protalix Ltd. and are subject to various business considerations and U.S. and Israeli laws. If Protalix Ltd. is unable to make sufficient distributions or advances to us, or if there are limitations on our ability to receive such distributions or advances, we may not have the cash resources necessary to conduct our corporate operations or service our debt which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Outbreaks of contagious disease or similar public health threats could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Outbreaks of contagious disease or other adverse public health developments worldwide could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Outbreaks of contagious disease or other adverse public health developments could affect our business in a number of ways, including but not limited to:
● | Disruptions or restrictions on our employees’ ability to work effectively due to illness; |
● | Temporary closures or disruptions at our facilities or the facilities of our contract manufacturers or suppliers could adversely affect our ability to timely meet our customer’s orders and negatively impact our supply chain; |
● | Outbreaks of contagious disease could cause delays or disruptions in our supply chain; |
● | The failure of third parties on which we rely to meet their respective obligations to us, or significant disruptions in their ability to do so, which may be caused by their own financial or operational difficulties, could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations; and |
● | The impact of contagious disease or other adverse public health developments could also exacerbate other risks discussed elsewhere in these Risk Factors, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us. |
Our operating costs and business operations could be adversely affected by climate-related events and increasing regulatory requirements and security.
The effects of climate change (such as drought, flooding, heat waves, wildfires, increased storm severity, and sea level rise, etc.) could affect our ability to continue our operations and cause delays in the development of our existing drug candidates, manufacturing and shipment, all of which could cause reputational harm or otherwise have an adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.If we infringe the rights of third parties we could be prevented from selling products, forced to pay damages and required to defend against litigation which could result in substantial costs and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the impacts of climate change on the global economy and our industry are rapidly evolving. In addition, we may sell additional shares of our common stock in the future to raise capital. Changing market dynamics, global policy developments and the increasing frequency and impact of extreme weather events on critical infrastructure across different countries could have the potential to disrupt our business, the business of our third-party suppliers and the business of our customers, and may cause us to experience higher attrition, losses and additional costs to maintain or resume operations. Numerous proposals that would result in changes in the US healthcare system are continuously introduced or proposed in the US Congress and in 43 Table of Contentssome state legislatures within the United States, including reductions in the pricing of prescription products and changes in the levels at which consumers and healthcare providers are reimbursed for purchases of pharmaceutical products. We also expect to face increasing regulatory requirements and regulatory scrutiny related to climate matters, resulting in higher associated compliance costs. Failure to uphold, meet or make timely forward progress against our public commitments and goals related to climate action could adversely affect our reputation with suppliers and customers, financial performance or the ability to recruit and retain talent.If physicians, patients, third party payors and others in the medical community do not accept and use taliglucerase alfa, or any of our other product candidates, if approved, our ability to generate revenue from product sales will be materially impaired.
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Risks Related to Clinical Trials and Regulatory Matters
We may not obtain the necessary U.S., EMA or other worldwide regulatory approvals to commercialize our drug candidates in a timely manner, if at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
To commercialize our drug candidates worldwide, we need FDA approval, EMA approval and approvals from other countries’ regulators to commercialize our drug candidates elsewhere, as applicable.To commercialize our drug candidates worldwide, we need FDA Approval, EMA approval and approvals from other foreign regulators to commercialize our drug candidates elsewhere, as applicable. Approvals of BLAs, NDAs, MAAs and comparable marketing authorization applications worldwide requires that we demonstrate that the subject drug candidate is safe and effective for its intended use which requires significant research, animal or preclinical trials and human or clinical tests trials. Satisfaction of the regulatory requirements of the FDA, EMA and other countries’ regulatory authorities typically takes many years, depends upon the type, complexity and novelty of the drug candidate and requires substantial resources for research, development and testing. Satisfaction of the regulatory requirements of the FDA, EMA and other foreign regulatory authorities typically takes many years, depends upon the type, complexity and novelty of the drug candidate and requires substantial resources for research, development and testing. The results of preclinical and clinical trials of our product candidates may fail to demonstrate that the candidates are safe and effective for their intended uses.
Companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in advanced or late-stage clinical trials, even after obtaining promising earlier trial results or in preliminary findings or other comparable authorities for such clinical trials. Further, even if favorable testing data is generated by the clinical trials of a drug candidate, the applicable regulatory authority may not accept or approve a marketing application we file for the drug candidate or may require us to conduct additional clinical testing or perform post-marketing studies which would cause us to incur additional costs.
Failure to obtain approval of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities of any of our product candidates in a timely manner, if at all, will severely undermine our business, results of operations and financial condition by decreasing our ability to generate product revenues from the sales of such product candidates.Failure to obtain approval of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities of any of our drug candidates in a timely manner, if at all, will severely undermine our business, financial condition and results of operation by reducing our potential marketable products and our ability to generate corresponding product revenues.
We are subject to extensive governmental regulation including the requirements of the FDA and other comparable regulatory authorities before our drug candidates may be marketed.
Both before and after marketing approval of our drug candidates, if at all, we, our drug candidates, our suppliers, our contract manufacturers and our contract testing laboratories are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Failure to comply with applicable requirements of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could result in, among other things, any of the following actions:
● | warning letters; |
● | fines and other monetary penalties; |
● | unanticipated expenditures; |
● | delays in the FDA’s or other foreign regulatory authorities’ approving, or the refusal of any regulatory authority to approve, any drug candidate; |
● | product recall or seizure; |
● | interruption of manufacturing or clinical trials; |
● | operating restrictions; |
● | injunctions; and |
● | criminal prosecutions. |
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In addition to the approval requirements, other numerous and pervasive regulatory requirements apply, both before and after approval, to us, our drug candidates, our suppliers, contract manufacturers, and contract testing laboratories. These include requirements related to:
● | testing; |
● | manufacturing; |
● | quality control; |
● | labeling; |
● | advertising; |
● | promotion; |
● | distribution; |
● | export; |
● | reporting to the FDA certain adverse experiences associated with use of the drug candidate; and |
● | obtaining additional approvals for certain modifications to the drug candidate or its labeling or claims. |
We also are subject to inspection by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to determine our compliance with regulatory requirements, as are our suppliers, contract manufacturers, and contract testing laboratories, and there can be no assurance that the FDA, or any other comparable foreign regulatory authority, will not identify compliance issues that may disrupt production or distribution, or require substantial resources to correct.We also are subject to inspection by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to determine our compliance with regulatory requirements, as are our suppliers, contract manufacturers, and contract testing laboratories, 34 Table of Contentsand there can be no assurance that the FDA, or any other comparable foreign regulatory authority, will not identify compliance issues that may disrupt production or distribution, or require substantial resources to correct. We may be required to make modifications to our manufacturing operations in response to these inspections which may require significant resources and may have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The approval process for any drug candidate may also be delayed by changes in government regulation, future legislation or administrative action or changes in policy of the FDA and comparable foreign authorities that occur prior to or during their respective regulatory reviews of such drug candidate.
Delays in obtaining regulatory approvals with respect to any drug candidate will materially and adversely affect our prospects, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Delays in obtaining regulatory approvals with respect to any drug candidate may:
● | delay commercialization of, and our ability to derive product revenues from, such drug candidate; |
● | delay any regulatory-related milestone payments payable under outstanding collaboration agreements; |
● | require us to perform costly procedures with respect to such drug candidate; or |
● | otherwise diminish any competitive advantages that we may have with respect to such drug candidate. |
Delays in the approval process for any drug candidate may have a material adverse effect upon our prospects, business, results of operations and financial condition.Delays in the approval process for any drug candidate will have a material adverse effect upon our prospects, business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Preclinical and clinical trials are very expensive, time-consuming and difficult to design and implement and may result in unforeseen costs, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Preclinical and clinical trials are very expensive and difficult to design and implement, in part because they are subject to rigorous regulatory requirements.Human clinical trials are very expensive and difficult to design and implement, in part because they are subject to rigorous regulatory requirements. Preliminary and initial results from a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results, and failure can occur at any stage of the trial. We may encounter problems that could cause us to abandon or repeat preclinical studies or clinical trials. We may encounter problems that cause us to abandon or repeat preclinical studies or clinical trials. The clinical trial process is also time-consuming. Failure or delay in the commencement or completion of our clinical trials may be caused by several factors, including:
● | slower than expected rates of patient recruitment, particularly with respect to trials of rare diseases; |
● | determination of dosing issues; |
● | unforeseen safety issues; |
● | lack of effectiveness during clinical trials; |
● | disagreement by applicable regulatory bodies over our trial protocols, the interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials or conduct and control of clinical trials; |
● | determination that the patient population participating in a clinical trial may not be sufficiently broad or representative to assess efficacy and safety for our target population; |
● | inability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment; |
● | inability or unwillingness of medical investigators and institutional review boards to follow our clinical protocols; and |
● | lack of sufficient funding to finance the clinical trials. |
PRX-115 and PRX-119 are still in clinical development and their risk of failure is high. Failure or delay can occur at any time during the preclinical or clinical trial process. Success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will generate the same results or otherwise provide adequate data to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of a product candidate. Preclinical tests and phase I and phase II clinical trials are primarily designed to test safety, to study pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and to understand the side effects of product candidates at various doses and regimens. Success in preclinical studies and early clinical trials does not ensure that later large-scale efficacy trials will be successful nor does it predict final results. Our product candidates may fail to show the required safety and effectiveness through clinical trials despite positive results in preclinical studies or having successfully advanced through initial clinical trials.
Any failure or delay in commencement or completion of any clinical trials of our product candidates will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Any failure or delay in commencement or completion of any clinical trials of pegunigalsidase alfa or our other product candidates will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we, the FDA or other regulatory authorities may suspend any clinical trial at any time if it appears that we are exposing participants in the trial to unacceptable safety or health risks or if the FDA or such other regulatory authorities, as applicable, find deficiencies in our IND submissions or the conduct of the trial. In addition, we or the FDA or other regulatory authorities may suspend any clinical trial at any time if it appears that we are exposing participants in the trial to unacceptable safety or health risks or if the FDA or such other regulatory authorities, as applicable, find deficiencies in our IND submissions or the conduct of the trial. Any suspension of a clinical trial may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If the results of our clinical trials do not support our claims relating to a drug candidate, or if serious side effects are identified, the completion of development of such drug candidate may be significantly delayed or we may be forced to abandon development altogether, which will significantly impair our ability to generate product revenues.
The results of our clinical trials with respect to any drug candidate might not support our claims of safety or efficacy, the results of our clinical trials may fail to conclusively show superiority over other commercially available treatments for the same or similar indications, the effects of our drug candidates may not be the desired effects or may include
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undesirable side effects or the drug candidates may have other unexpected characteristics. Data obtained from tests are susceptible to varying interpretations which may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. The clinical trial process may fail to demonstrate that our drug candidates are safe for humans and effective for indicated uses. In addition, our clinical trials, may involve specific and small patient populations. Results of early clinical trials conducted on a small patient population may not be indicative of future results. Adverse or inconclusive results may cause us to abandon a drug candidate and may delay development of other drug candidates. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials will delay the filing of BLAs and NDAs with the FDA, or other filings with other foreign regulatory authorities, and, ultimately, significantly impair our ability to commercialize our drug candidates and generate product revenues which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Interim, top-line or preliminary data from clinical trials that we announce or publish may change as more patient data becomes available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
We may publicly disclose interim, top-line or preliminary data from our 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 full analysis of all data related to the particular trial. We also may 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, any interim, top-line or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same trials, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Top-line data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different than the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, any top-line data should be viewed with caution until final data are available. Interim 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 data becomes available. Further, regulatory agencies may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses, or may interpret or ascribe different weight to the data, which may impact the value of the clinical trial and may affect the particular clinical program and the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate and our business in general. If regulatory authorities disagree with the conclusions we reach, we may not be able to obtain approval for and commercialize our product candidates, which will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may find it difficult to enroll patients in our clinical trials, or patients may discontinue their participation in our clinical trials, which could cause significant delays in the completion of such trials or may negatively impact the results of these studies and extend the timeline for completion of our development programs or cause us to abandon one or more clinical trials.
Some of the diseases or disorders that our drug candidates under evaluation are intended to treat are relatively rare and we expect only a subset of the patients with these diseases to be eligible for our clinical trials.Some of the diseases or disorders that our drug candidates are intended to treat are relatively rare and we expect only a subset of the patients with these diseases to be eligible for our clinical trials. Our clinical trials generally mandate that a patient cannot be involved in another clinical trial for the same indication. Our clinical trials generally mandate that a 36 Table of Contentspatient cannot be involved in another clinical trial for the same indication. Therefore, subjects that participate in ongoing clinical trials for products that are competitive with our drug candidates are not available for our clinical trials. An inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for any of our clinical trials would result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether. In addition, patients who enroll in our clinical trials may discontinue their participation at any time during the study as a result of a number of factors, related to the trials or not, including withdrawing their consent, experiencing adverse clinical events, which may or may not be judged related to our drug candidates, or due to personal reasons, such as planned or actual pregnancies. In addition, patients that enroll in our clinical trials may discontinue their participation at any time during the study as a result of a number of factors, including withdrawing their consent, experiencing adverse clinical events, which may or may not be judged related to our drug candidates under evaluation, or due to planned or actual pregnancies. The discontinuation of patients in any one of our studies may delay the completion of the study or cause the results from the study not to be positive or to not support a filing for regulatory approval of the applicable drug candidate. Any failure to enroll a sufficient number of patients in our clinical trials in a timely manner, if at all, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in other jurisdictions.
Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of our 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
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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 regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions must also approve the regulatory submission, preclinical studies, clinical trials, 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 trials 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 drugs is also subject to approval.
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 drugs in certain countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our product candidates will be harmed, which may have a material adverse effect on our prospects, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our clinical trials depend upon third-party service providers and, accordingly, the results of our clinical trials and such research activities are subject to delays and other risks which are, to a certain extent, beyond our control, which could impair our clinical development programs and our competitive position.Because our clinical trials depend upon third-party researchers, the results of our clinical trials and such research activities are subject to delays and other risks which are, to a certain extent, beyond our control, which could impair our clinical development programs and our competitive position.
We depend upon independent investigators and collaborators, such as universities and medical institutions, to conduct our preclinical and clinical trials. These collaborators are not our employees, and we cannot control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our clinical development programs. The investigators may not prioritize to our clinical development programs or pursue them as diligently as we would if we were undertaking such programs directly. The investigators may not assign as great a priority to our clinical development programs or pursue them as diligently as we would if we were undertaking such programs directly. If outside collaborators fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our clinical development programs, or if their performance is substandard, the approval of anticipated NDAs, BLAs and other marketing applications, and our introduction of new drugs, if any, may be delayed which could impair our clinical development programs and would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our collaborators may also have relationships with other commercial entities, some of whom may compete with us. If our collaborators also assist our competitors, our competitive position could be harmed.
We have only limited experience in regulatory affairs, and some of our drug candidates may be based on new technologies. These factors may affect our ability or the time we require to obtain necessary regulatory approvals.
We have only limited experience in filing and prosecuting the applications necessary to gain regulatory approvals for medical devices and drug candidates. Moreover, some of the drug candidates that are likely to result from our development programs may be based on new technologies that have not been extensively tested in humans. The regulatory requirements governing these types of drug candidates may not be well defined or more rigorous than for conventional products. As a result, we may experience a longer regulatory process in obtaining regulatory approvals of any products that we develop, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. As a result, we may experience a longer regulatory process in connection with obtaining regulatory approvals of any products that we develop, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may seek orphan drug designation for some or all of our product candidates across various indications, but we may be unable to obtain such designations or to maintain the benefits associated with orphan drug designation, including market exclusivity, which may cause our revenue, if any, to be reduced.
We may seek orphan drug or other comparable designations for our product candidates in specific indications in which there is a medically plausible basis for the use of these products. Even if we obtain orphan drug designation, exclusive marketing rights in the United States or other applicable jurisdictions may be limited if we seek approval for an indication broader than the orphan designated indication, and may be lost if the FDA, or other applicable regulatory authorities later determine that the request for designation was materially defective, if we are unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition, or if a subsequent applicant demonstrates clinical superiority over our products, if approved. In addition, more than one drug can have orphan
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designation for the same indication. Although we may seek orphan drug designation for other product candidates, we might not receive such designations.
Risks Related to our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements
We may fail to meet the continued market capitalization-based listing requirement or other continued listing requirements of the NYSE American.
The stock market in general, and the market for pharmaceutical companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that may have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the listed companies. The trading price of our common stock has been volatile and has been subject to wide price fluctuations in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control. The volatility of our stock price has from time to time in recent periods affected our market capitalization. Adverse fluctuations in the price per share of our common stock or our market capitalization may result in our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of the NYSE American, which would require us to take steps to gain compliance with alternate listing standards or take remedial steps to bring us into compliance. Adverse fluctuations in the price per share of our common stock or our market capitalization may result in our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of The NYSE American, which would require us to take steps to gain compliance with alternate listing standards or take remedial steps to bring us into compliance. A failure to maintain or regain compliance with applicable listing standards could adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock and could result in an event of default under the 2024 Indenture, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. A failure to maintain or regain compliance with applicable listing standards could adversely 46 Table of Contentsaffect the liquidity of our common stock and could result in an event of default under the 2024 Indenture, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may need to raise additional capital to operate our business, which may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, and which will have a dilutive effect on our stockholders.
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, we had net incomes of $8.3 million and $2.9 million, respectively. However, prior to such periods, as we were focused on the development of Elelyso and then Elfabrio, we generally have completed our fiscal years with a net loss. For example, we had a net loss of $14.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Our net losses were primarily the result of expenses incurred through a combination of research and development activities and expenses supporting those activities, which includes share-based compensation expense. We may incur losses in future fiscal years as we continue to execute on our strategic goals as drug development and commercialization is very capital intensive. We expect to continue to incur significant operating expenditures, and we anticipate that our expenses will increase in the foreseeable future as we seek to in-license additional technologies, continue to undertake preclinical development and clinical trials for our current and new drug candidates and seek regulatory approvals for our drug candidates. We expect to continue to incur significant operating expenditures, and we anticipate that our expenses will increase in the foreseeable future as we:●continue to undertake preclinical development and clinical trials for our current and new drug candidates;●seek regulatory approvals for our drug candidates; and●seek to in-license additional technologies. In addition, changes may occur that could consume our existing capital at a faster rate than projected, including, among others, the cost and timing of regulatory approvals, changes in the progress of our research and development efforts and the costs of protecting our intellectual property rights.
Currently, our sources of potential revenues are royalties and commercial milestone payments generated from Pfizer, Fiocruz and Chiesi. We have also generated revenues from research and development services and milestone and other payments we received in connection with our agreements with our commercialization partners, and generated capital from equity and debt offerings and other sources.To date, we have not generated significant revenues from product sales and only minimal revenues from research and development services and other fees, other than the milestone and other payments we have received in connection with our agreements with Pfizer and Chiesi. The revenues we generate from royalties and commercial milestone payments and other sources may not be sufficient to fund our planned operations and capital expenditures. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation. Accordingly, we may need to finance our future cash needs through corporate collaboration, licensing or similar arrangements, public or private equity offerings or debt financings.We will need to finance our future cash needs through corporate collaboration, licensing or similar arrangements, public or private equity offerings or debt financings. If we are unable to secure additional financing in the future on acceptable terms, or at all, we may be unable to expand our portfolio of product candidates, commence or complete planned preclinical and clinical trials or obtain approval of our drug candidates from the FDA and other regulatory authorities. If we are unable to secure additional financing in the future on acceptable terms, or at all, we may be unable to commence or complete planned preclinical and clinical trials or obtain approval of our drug candidates from the FDA and other regulatory authorities. In addition, we may be forced to reduce or discontinue product development or product licensing, reduce or forego sales and marketing efforts and other commercialization activities or forego attractive business opportunities in order to improve our liquidity and to enable us to continue operations which would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Furthermore, any additional source of financing will likely involve the issuance of our equity securities, which will have a dilutive effect on our stockholders.
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Risks Related to Intellectual Property Matters
If we fail to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or secure rights to third party patents, the value of our intellectual property rights would diminish and our business, competitive position and results of operations would suffer.
As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately 50 pending patent applications.As of December 31, 2021, we had more than 30 pending patent applications. However, the filing of a patent application does not mean that we will be issued a patent, or that any patent eventually issued will be as broad as requested in the patent application or sufficient to protect our technology. Any modification required to a current patent application may delay the approval of such patent application which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any modification required to a current patent application may delay the approval of such patent application which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, there are a number of factors that could cause our patents, if granted, to become invalid or unenforceable or that could cause our patent applications to not be granted, including known or unknown prior art, deficiencies in the patent application or the lack of originality of the technology. Our competitive position and future revenues will depend in part on our ability and the ability of our licensors and collaborators to obtain and maintain patent protection for our products, methods, processes and other technologies, to preserve our trade secrets, to prevent third parties from infringing on our proprietary rights and to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. We have filed U.S. and international patent applications for process patents, as well as composition of matter patents, for Elfabrio, Elelyso and our product candidates. However, we cannot predict:
● | the degree and range of protection any patents will afford us against competitors and those who infringe upon our patents, including whether third parties will find ways to invalidate or otherwise circumvent our licensed patents; |
● | if and when patents will issue; |
● | whether or not others will obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our licensed patents and patent applications; or |
● | whether we will need to initiate litigation or administrative proceedings, which may be costly, whether we win or lose. |
As of December 31, 2024, we held, or had license rights to, approximately 75 patents.As of December 31, 2021, we held, or had license rights to, more than 80 patents. If patent rights covering our products or technologies are not sufficiently broad, they may not provide us with sufficient proprietary protection or competitive advantages against competitors with similar products and technologies. Furthermore, if the USPTO or foreign patent offices issue patents to us or our licensors, others may challenge the patents or circumvent the patents, or the patent office or the courts may invalidate the patents. Thus, any patents we own or license from or to third parties may not provide any protection against our competitors and those who infringe upon our patents.
Furthermore, the life of our patents is limited. The patents we hold, and the patents that may be issued in the future based on patent applications from the patent families, relating to our ProCellEx protein expression system are expected to expire by 2025.
We rely on confidentiality agreements that could be breached and may be difficult to enforce which could have a material adverse effect on our business and competitive position.
Our policy is to enter agreements relating to the non-disclosure of confidential information with third parties, including our contractors, consultants, advisors and research collaborators, as well as agreements that purport to require the disclosure and assignment to us of the rights to the ideas, developments, discoveries and inventions of our employees and consultants while we employ them. However, these agreements can be difficult and costly to enforce. Moreover, to the extent that our contractors, consultants, advisors and research collaborators apply or independently develop intellectual property in connection with any of our projects, disputes may arise as to the proprietary rights to the intellectual property. If a dispute arises, a court may determine that the right belongs to a third party, and enforcement of our rights can be costly and unpredictable. In addition, we rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how that we seek
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to protect in part by confidentiality agreements with our employees, contractors, consultants, advisors and others. Despite the protective measures we employ, we still face the risk that:
● | these agreements may be breached; |
● | these agreements may not provide adequate remedies for the applicable type of breach; or |
● | our trade secrets or proprietary know-how will otherwise become known. |
Any breach of our confidentiality agreements or our failure to effectively enforce such agreements may have a material adverse effect on our business and competitive position.
If we infringe the rights of third parties we could be prevented from selling products, forced to pay damages and required to defend against litigation which could result in substantial costs and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have not received to date any claims of infringement by any third parties. However, as our drug candidates progress into clinical trials and commercialization, if at all, our public profile and that of our drug candidates may be raised and generate such claims. Defending against such claims, and occurrence of a judgment adverse to us, could result in unanticipated costs and may have a material adverse effect on our business and competitive position. If our products, methods, processes and other technologies infringe the proprietary rights of other parties, we may incur substantial costs and we may have to:
● | obtain licenses, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all; |
● | redesign our products or processes to avoid infringement; |
● | stop using the subject matter claimed in the patents held by others, which could cause us to lose the use of one or more of our drug candidates; |
● | defend litigation or administrative proceedings that may be costly whether we win or lose, and which could result in a substantial diversion of management resources; or |
● | pay damages. |
Any costs incurred in connection with such events or the inability to sell our products may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we cannot meet requirements under our license agreements, we could lose the rights to our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We depend on licensing agreements with third parties to maintain the intellectual property rights to certain of our product candidates. Our license agreements require us to make payments and satisfy performance obligations in order to maintain our rights under these agreements. All of these agreements last either throughout the life of the patents that are the subject of the agreements, or with respect to other licensed technology, for a number of years after the first commercial sale of the relevant product.
In addition, we are responsible for the cost of filing and prosecuting certain patent applications and maintaining certain issued patents licensed to us. If we do not meet our obligations under our license agreements in a timely manner, we could lose the rights to our proprietary technology which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Risks Relating to our Operations in Israel
Significant parts of our operations are located in Israel and, therefore, our results may be adversely affected by political, economic and military conditions in Israel.
Our executive office and operations are located in the State of Israel. Accordingly, economic, geopolitical and military conditions in Israel and the surrounding region could directly affect our business. Any armed conflicts, political instability, terrorism, cyberattacks or any other hostilities involving Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and its present trading partners could adversely affect our operations. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have occurred between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Hamas and Hezbollah. Since the State of Israel was established in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have occurred between Israel and its Arab neighbors. In October 2023, terrorists from the Hamas organization infiltrated Israel’s southern border from the Gaza Strip and in other areas within the State of Israel attacking a number of civilian and military targets while simultaneously launching extensive rocket attacks on the Israeli population and industrial centers. At the same time, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon increased. In response, Israel’s security cabinet declared war against the Hamas and a military campaign against these terrorist organizations commenced in parallel to their continued rocket and terror attacks. Moreover, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah, and Israel’s defensive measures, may result in a greater regional conflict. Since the outbreak of the war, other regional actors, including Iran, have taken military action against Israel. During January 2025, a ceasefire with Hamas was declared. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the war is ongoing and continues to evolve. The attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah, and Israel’s defensive measures, as well as actions that could be taken in the future by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom the European Union or Israel’s neighboring states and other countries have created global security concerns that may result in a greater or lasting regional conflict. It is currently not possible to predict the duration or severity of the ongoing conflict or its effects on our business, operations and financial conditions.
Our facilities are in range of certain of the rockets that are being fired from Lebanon and elsewhere. We suffered minimal damages during a rocket attack in 2006. As of the issuance of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the impact of the war has not had an adverse effect on our operations. To mitigate the risk of loss due to the military operations, we have elected to store manufactured drug substance in multiple locations, both within and outside of Israel. Our insurance policies do not cover damages incurred in connection with these conflicts or for any resulting disruption in our operations. Our insurance policies do not cover us for the damages incurred in connection with these conflicts or for any resulting disruption in our operations. The Israeli government, as a matter of law, provides coverage for the reinstatement value of direct damages that are caused by terrorist attacks or acts of war; however, the government may cease providing such coverage or the coverage might not be enough to cover potential damages. Any damage to our facilities as a result of war or other hostile action may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any failure to realize the benefits of Fast Track designation may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Ongoing and revived hostilities or other Israeli political or economic factors, could prevent or delay shipments of our products, harm our operations and product development and cause any future sales to decrease. If hostilities disrupt the ongoing operation of our facilities or the airports and seaports on which we depend to import and export our supplies, materials, drug substance and other products, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.If we infringe the rights of third parties we could be prevented from selling products, forced to pay damages and required to defend against litigation which could result in substantial costs and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Parties with whom we do business may sometimes decline to travel to Israel during periods of heightened unrest or tension, forcing us to make alternative arrangements when necessary to meet our business partners face to face. If we fail to satisfy these conditions, we may be required to refund grants previously received together with interest and penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Further, shifting economic and political conditions in the United States and in other countries may result in changes in how the United States and other countries conduct business and other relations with Israel, which may have an adverse impact on our Israeli operations and a material adverse impact on our business. In addition, several countries, principally in the Middle East, restrict doing business with Israel, and additional countries may impose restrictions on doing business with Israel and Israeli companies whether as a result of hostilities in the region or otherwise. Moreover, there have been increased efforts by organizations and movements to cause companies and consumers to boycott Israeli goods.
Our operations may be disrupted by the obligations of our personnel to perform military service which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Many of our male employees in Israel, including members of senior management, are obligated to perform up to one month (in some cases more) of annual military reserve duty until they reach the age of 45 and, in the event of a military conflict, could be called to active duty. To date, we have not suffered any disruptions to our operations from the
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absence of employees in connection with the current military action. However, we continue to face the risk that our operations could be disrupted by the absence of a significant number of our employees related to military service or the absence for extended periods of military service of one or more of our key employees. Any such disruption may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. A disruption may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A certain portion of our expenses is incurred in New Israeli Shekels and, accordingly, our results of operations may be seriously harmed by currency fluctuations and inflation.53 Table of ContentsBecause a certain portion of our expenses is incurred in New Israeli Shekels, our results of operations may be seriously harmed by currency fluctuations and inflation.
We report our financial statements in U.S. dollars, our functional currency. Although most of our expenses are incurred in U.S. dollars, we pay a portion of our expenses in New Israeli Shekels, or NIS, and as a result, we are exposed to risk to the extent that the inflation rate in Israel exceeds the rate of devaluation of the NIS in relation to the U.S. dollar or if the timing of these devaluations lags behind inflation in Israel. In that event, the U.S. dollar cost of our operations in Israel will increase and our U.S. dollar-measured results of operations will be adversely affected. To the extent that the value of the NIS increases against the U.S. dollar, our expenses on a dollar cost basis increase. Our operations also could be adversely affected if we are unable to guard against currency fluctuations in the future. To date, we have not engaged in hedging transactions. In the future, we may enter into currency hedging transactions to decrease the risk of financial exposure from fluctuations in the exchange rate of the U.S dollar against the NIS. These measures, however, may not adequately protect us from material adverse effects.
The tax benefits available to us require that we meet several conditions and may be terminated or reduced in the future, which would increase our taxes.
We are able to take advantage of tax exemptions and reductions resulting from the “Approved Enterprise” status of our facilities in Israel. To remain eligible for these tax benefits, we must continue to meet certain conditions, including making specified investments in property and equipment, and financing at least 30% of such investments with share capital. If we fail to meet these conditions in the future, the tax benefits would be canceled and we may be required to refund any tax benefits we already have enjoyed. These tax benefits are subject to investment policy by the Investment Center and may not be continued in the future at their current levels or at any level. In recent years the Israeli government has reduced the benefits available and has indicated that it may further reduce or eliminate some of these benefits in the future. The termination or reduction of these tax benefits or our inability to qualify for additional “Approved Enterprise” approvals may increase our tax expenses in the future, which would reduce our expected profits and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Additionally, if we increase our activities outside of Israel, for example, by future acquisitions, such increased activities generally may not be eligible for inclusion in Israeli tax benefit programs.
The Israeli government grants we have received for certain research and development expenditures restrict our ability to manufacture products and transfer technologies outside of Israel and require us to satisfy specified conditions. If we fail to satisfy these conditions, we may be required to refund grants previously received together with interest and penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
In the past, our research and development efforts have been financed, in part, through grants that we have received from NATI. We, therefore, must comply with the requirements of the Research Law. Under the Research Law we are prohibited from manufacturing products developed using these grants outside of the State of Israel without special approvals, although the Research Law does enable companies to seek prior approval for conducting manufacturing activities outside of Israel without being subject to increased royalties. We may not receive the required approvals for any proposed transfer of manufacturing activities. Even if we do receive approval to manufacture products developed with government grants outside of Israel, we may be required to pay an increased total amount of royalties (possibly up to 600% of the grant amounts plus interest), depending on the manufacturing volume that is performed outside of Israel, as well as a possibly increased royalty rate. This restriction may impair our ability to outsource manufacturing or engage in similar arrangements for those products or technologies.
Additionally, under the Research Law, Protalix Ltd. is prohibited from transferring NATI-financed technologies and related intellectual property rights outside of the State of Israel, except under limited circumstances and only with the approval of NATI Council or the Research Committee. Protalix Ltd. may not receive the required approvals for any proposed transfer and, if received, Protalix Ltd. may be required to pay NATI a portion of the consideration that it
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receives upon any sale of such technology by a non-Israeli entity. The scope of the support received, the royalties that Protalix Ltd. has already paid to NATI, the amount of time that has elapsed between the date on which the know-how was transferred and the date on which NATI grants were received and the sale price and the form of transaction will be taken into account in order to calculate the amount of the payment to NATI. Approval of the transfer of technology to residents of the State of Israel is required, and may be granted in specific circumstances only if the recipient abides by the provisions of applicable laws, including the restrictions on the transfer of know-how and the obligation to pay royalties. Approval of the transfer of technology to residents of the State of Israel is required, and may be granted in specific circumstances only if the recipient abides by 54 Table of Contentsthe provisions of applicable laws, including the restrictions on the transfer of know-how and the obligation to pay royalties. No assurance can be made that approval to any such transfer, if requested, will be granted.
These restrictions may impair our ability to sell our technology assets or to outsource manufacturing outside of Israel. The restrictions will continue to apply for a certain period of time even after we have repaid the full amount of royalties payable for the grants. If we fail to satisfy the conditions of the Research Law, we may be required to refund certain grants previously received together with interest and penalties, and may become subject to criminal charges, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Investors may have difficulties enforcing a U.S. judgment, including judgments based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us, our executive officers and most of our directors or asserting U.S. securities laws claims in Israel.
A majority of our directors and all of our executive officers are residents of Israel, and accordingly, most of their assets and our assets are located outside the United States.Most of our directors and all of our executive officers are residents of Israel, and accordingly, most of their assets and our assets are located outside the United States. Service of process upon us or our non-U.S. resident directors and officers and enforcement of judgments obtained in the United States against us or our non-U.S. resident directors and executive officers may be difficult to obtain within the United States. We have been informed by our legal counsel in Israel that it may be difficult to assert claims under U.S. securities laws in original actions instituted in Israel or obtain a judgment based on the civil liability provisions of U.S. federal securities laws. Israeli courts may refuse to hear a claim based on a violation of U.S. securities laws against us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors because Israel may not be the most appropriate forum to bring such a claim. In addition, even if an Israeli court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Israeli law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as a fact, which can be a time-consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Israeli law. There is little binding case law in Israel addressing the matters described above. Israeli courts might not enforce judgments rendered outside Israel, which may make it difficult to collect on judgments rendered against us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors.
Moreover, among other reasons, including but not limited to, fraud or absence of due process, or the existence of a judgment which is at variance with another judgment that was given in the same matter if a suit in the same matter between the same parties was pending before a court or tribunal in Israel, an Israeli court will not enforce a non-Israeli judgment if it was given in a state whose laws do not provide for the enforcement of judgments of Israeli courts (subject to exceptional cases) or if its enforcement is likely to prejudice the sovereignty or security of the State of Israel.
Risks Related to Investing in our Common Stock
The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.
The market price of our common stock has experienced significant volatility. The securities of life sciences companies often experience significant volatility in connection with clinical trial and regulatory announcements.
We anticipate that the market price of our common stock is likely to continue to fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as:
● | sales of Elfabrio by Chiesi; |
● | purchases of BioManguinhos alfataliglicerase in Brazil; |
● | the progress and results of the studies of our product candidates under development; |
● | the announcement of new products or product enhancements by us or our competitors; |
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● | developments concerning intellectual property rights and regulatory approvals; |
● | variations in our and our competitors’ results of operations; |
● | changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by securities analysts; |
● | developments in the biotechnology industry; and |
● | general market conditions and other factors, including factors unrelated to our operating performance, such as the Israel-Hamas war. |
Continued market fluctuations could result in extreme volatility in the price of our common stock, which could cause a decline in the value of our common stock. Price volatility of our common stock may be worse when the trading volume of our common stock is low. We have not paid, and do not expect to pay, any cash dividends on our common stock as any earnings generated from future operations will be used to finance our operations. As a result, investors will not realize any income from an investment in our common stock until and unless their shares are sold at a profit.
Future sales of our common stock could reduce our stock price.
If our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock or if we sell a substantial amount of our common stock in any public or private offering, the market price of our common stock could decrease significantly. The perception in the public market that our existing stockholders might sell shares of common stock may also depress the trading price of our common stock. The perception in the public market that our existing stockholders might sell shares of common stock could also depress the trading price of our common stock.
A substantial majority of our outstanding shares of our common stock are freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the federal securities laws. In addition, we may sell additional shares of our common stock in the future to raise capital. At December 31, 2024, there were outstanding options to purchase common stock issued covering approximately 7.4 million shares of our common stock with a weighted average exercise price of $1.98 per share. At December 31, 2021, there were outstanding options to purchase common stock issued covering approximately 2.3 million shares of our common stock with a weighted average exercise price of approximately $4.42 56 Table of Contentsper share. Also at December 31, 2024, there were 4,139,412 shares of common stock available for future for issuance in connection with future grants of incentives under our Amended and Restated Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended. The issuance and sale of substantial amounts of common stock, or the perception that such issuances and sales may occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.
If securities analysts stop publishing research or reports about us or our business or if they downgrade our common stock, the market price of our common stock could decline.
The market for our common stock relies in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts. If any analyst who covers us downgrades our stock or lowers its future stock price targets or estimates of our operating results, the market price for our common stock could decline rapidly. Furthermore, if any analyst ceases to cover us, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
Compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in additional expenses, divert management’s attention from operating our business which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
The laws, rules, regulations and standards including the rules promulgated by the national securities exchanges, including the NYSE American, to which we are subject are changed and/or amended from time to time. New or changed laws, rules, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies, which could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. As a result, our efforts to comply with evolving laws, rules, regulations and standards are likely to continue to result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. Members of our Board of Directors and our executive officers, could face an increased risk of personal liability in
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connection with the performance of their duties. As a result, we may have difficulty attracting and retaining qualified directors and executive officers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. If our efforts to comply with new or changed laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies, we may incur additional expenses to comply with standards set by regulatory authorities or governing bodies which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Delaware law and our organizational documents contain certain provisions, including anti-takeover provisions that limit the ability of our stockholders to take certain actions and could delay or discourage takeover attempts that stockholders may consider favorable.
Our organizational documents and Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition that our stockholders may consider favorable. Among other things, our organizational documents include the following provisions or features:
● | the ability of our Board of Directors to, at any time without any further action on the part of our stockholders, authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock, including “blank check” preferred stock, and to fix and determine the voting rights, rights of redemption and other rights and preferences of preferred stock. Any series of such preferred stock, could, for example, grant to holders, among other terms, the preferred right to our assets upon liquidation, the right to receive dividend payments before dividends are distributed to the holders of our common stock and the right to the redemption of the preferred shares, together with a premium, before the redemption of our common stock, which may have a material adverse effect on the rights of the holders of our common stock.57 Table of ContentsOur Board of Directors may, at any time, authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock that would grant to holders the preferred right to our assets upon liquidation, the right to receive dividend payments before dividends are distributed to the holders of common stock and the right to the redemption of the shares, together with a premium, before the redemption of our common stock, which may have a material adverse effect on the rights of the holders of our common stock. In addition, our Board of Directors, without further stockholder approval, may, at any time, issue large blocks of preferred stock. The issuance of preferred stock may impede a takeover of our company and may prevent a transaction that is favorable to our stockholders. |
● | the right of our Board of Directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of our Board of Directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors; |
● | the ability of our Board of Directors to amend the Bylaws, which may allow our Board of Directors to take additional actions to prevent an unsolicited takeover and inhibit the ability of an acquirer to amend the Bylaws to facilitate an unsolicited takeover attempt; and |
● | our Bylaws contain advance notice procedures with which stockholders must comply to nominate candidates to our Board of Directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which could preclude stockholders from bringing matters before annual or special meetings of stockholders and delay changes in our Board of Directors and also may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us. |
Any provision of our organizational documents or the DGCL that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a related premium for their common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
Our Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our Amended and Restated Bylaws, or our Bylaws, provide that, unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another State court in Delaware or the federal district court for the District of Delaware) is the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, stockholders, officers or other employees to us or to our stockholders, (iii) any action
60
asserting a claim arising pursuant to the DGCL or our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, or our Bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
Our Bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any person in connection with any offering of the corporation’s securities.
The choice of forum provisions above may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees or could result in increased costs for a stockholder to bring a claim, both of which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our Bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 1C.Item 1A. Cybersecurity
Risk Management and Strategy
Our operations include the creation, collection and maintenance of sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business information, intellectual property, third-party information and employee information. To protect this information, we use external and internal services to managed detection and response services to monitor our network infrastructure and associated endpoints for possible cybersecurity threats on a constant basis. In addition, we use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for external use, perform penetration testing and
Our DPP includes an incident response process that includes reporting thresholds and follows standardized identification and authentication practices. If an incident is identified, it is documented by our Senior Director, Information Technology, who is required to report the incident to management.
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Governance
Our cybersecurity risk assessment and management processes are implemented and maintained by certain members of our management, including our
Our incident response process is designed to escalate certain cybersecurity incidents and vulnerabilities to members of management depending on the circumstances, including work with our incident response team to help the company mitigate and remediate cybersecurity incidents of which they are notified. In addition, the company’s incident response processes include
Management is involved with our efforts to prevent, detect, and mitigate cybersecurity incidents by overseeing preparation of cybersecurity policies and procedures, testing incident response plans and engaging vendors to conduct penetration tests. Management participates in cybersecurity incident response efforts by being a member of the incident response team and helping direct our response to cybersecurity incidents.
Our
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