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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2020

 

or

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from ______________________ to ______________________

 

Commission File Number 000-23186

 

BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Delaware

62-1413174

(State or other jurisdiction of

(I.R.S. Employer

incorporation or organization)

Identification No.)

  

4505 Emperor Blvd., Suite 200

 

Durham, North Carolina

27703

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

 

(919) 859-1302

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock

BCRX

Nasdaq Global Select Market

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

  

Emerging growth company

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes  No ☒

 

The number of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01, of the Registrant outstanding as of October 31, 2020 was 176,565,622.

 

 

 

 

BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

 

INDEX

 

 

Page No.

Risk Factor Summary  
Part I. Financial Information  

Item 1. Financial Statements:

1

Consolidated Balance Sheets - September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019

1

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss - Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

2

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

3

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity - Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

4

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

5

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

20

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

32

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

32

Part II. Other Information

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

33

Item 6. Exhibits

56

Signatures

57

 

EX-10.2

EX-10.3

EX-10.4

EX-10.5

EX-10.7

EX-10.8

EX-31.1

EX-31.2

EX-32.1

EX-32.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Risk Factor Summary

 

An investment in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” “BioCryst,” or the “Company”) involves risks.  You should carefully read this entire Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and consider the uncertainties and risks discussed in the “Risk Factors” section in Part II, Item 1A of this report, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations, along with the other information included in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, before deciding to invest in the Company.  A summary of the principal factors that make an investment in the Company speculative or risky is set forth below.

 

 

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could create challenges in all aspects of our business, including, without limitation, delays, stoppages, difficulties, and increased expenses with respect to our and our partners’ development, regulatory processes, and supply chains, negatively impact our ability to access the capital or credit markets to finance our operations, or have the effect of heightening many of the risks described below or in the “Risk Factors” section of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

 

We have incurred losses since our inception, expect to continue to incur losses, and may never be profitable.

 

 

We may not be able to continue as a going concern if we do not obtain additional capital.

 

 

Our success depends upon our ability to advance our products through the various stages of development, especially through the clinical trial process, to receive and maintain regulatory approval for the commercial sale of our products, and to successfully commercialize any approved products. The development process and related regulatory processes are complex and uncertain, may be lengthy and expensive, and require, among other things, an indication that our products and product candidates are safe and effective. For example, applicable regulatory agencies could refuse to approve, or impose restrictions or warnings on, our product candidates, require us to conduct additional studies or adopt study designs that differ from our planned development strategies, suspend or terminate our clinical trials, or take other actions that could materially impact the cost, timing, and success of our planned development strategies. 

 

 

We rely heavily upon third parties, including development partners, contractors, contract research organizations, and third-party suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors, for many important stages of our product candidate development and in the commercialization of certain of our product candidates.  Our failure to maintain these relationships, the failure of any such third party to perform its obligations under agreements with us, or the failure of a such a relationship to meet our expectations could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

 

If we fail to obtain additional financing or acceptable partnership arrangements, we may be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates or continue operations.

 

 

The commercial viability of any approved product could be compromised if the product is less effective than expected, causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, or fails to achieve market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors, health authorities, and others.

 

 

There can be no assurance that our commercialization efforts, methods, and strategies for our products or technologies will succeed, and our future revenue generation is uncertain.

 

 

We expect to continue expanding our development and regulatory capabilities and implementing sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.

 

 

We face intense competition, and if we are unable to compete effectively, the demand for our products, if any, may be reduced.  In addition, developments by others may render our product candidates or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive.

 

 

We are subject to various laws and regulations related to our products and product candidates, and if we or our employees, consultants, or partners do not comply with these laws and regulations, we could face substantial penalties and our reputation could be harmed.  In addition, we and our partners may be subject to new legislation, regulatory proposals, and healthcare payor initiatives that may increase our costs of compliance and adversely affect our or our partners’ ability to market our products, obtain collaborators, and raise capital.

 

 

If we fail to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or secure rights to patents of others, the value of those rights would diminish.  Legal proceedings to protect or enforce our patents, the patents of our partners, or our other intellectual property rights could be expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful.

 

 

We face an inherent risk of liability in the event that the use or misuse of our products results in personal injury or death and our product liability insurance coverage may be insufficient.

 

 

 

 

We face risks related to our government-funded programs.  If the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases were to eliminate, reduce, or delay funding from our contracts, this would have a significant negative impact on the programs associated with such funding and could have a significant impact on our revenues and cash flows.

 

 

If we fail to reach milestones or to make annual minimum payments or otherwise breach our obligations under our license agreements, our licensors may terminate our agreements with them and seek additional remedies.

 

 

Our Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility contains restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business.  We may be required to make a prepayment or repay the outstanding indebtedness earlier than we expect if a prepayment event or an event of default occurs, including a material adverse change with respect to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

 

International expansion of our business exposes us to business, regulatory, political, operational, financial, and economic risks.  For example, our actual or perceived failure to comply with European governmental regulations and other obligations related to privacy, data protection, and information security could harm our business.  In addition, the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the European Union could result in increased regulatory and legal complexity, which may make it more difficult for us to do business in Europe and impose additional challenges in securing regulatory approval of our product candidates in Europe.

 

 

If our facility incurs damage or power is lost for a significant length of time, our business will suffer.

 

 

A significant disruption in our information technology systems or a cybersecurity breach could adversely affect our business.

 

 

Our existing principal stockholders hold a substantial amount of our common stock and may be able to influence significant corporate decisions, which may conflict with the interest of other stockholders.

 

 

Our stock price has been, and is likely to continue to be, highly volatile, which could cause the value of an investment in our common stock to decline significantly.

 

 

Natural disasters, epidemic or pandemic disease outbreaks, trade wars, political unrest, or other events could disrupt our business or operations or those of our development partners, manufacturers, regulators, or third parties with whom we conduct business now or in the future.

 

 

We are subject to legal proceedings, which could result in losses or unexpected expenditure of time and resources.

 

 

If we fail to retain our existing key personnel or fail to attract and retain additional key personnel, the development of our product candidates and commercialization of our products and the related expansion of our business will be delayed or stopped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

 

BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

  

2020

  

2019

 
  

(Unaudited)

  

(Note 1)

 

Assets

        

Cash and cash equivalents

 $96,492  $114,172 

Restricted cash

  2,213   1,551 

Investments

  46,827   22,054 

Receivables from collaborations

  5,422   22,146 

Inventories

  6,241   - 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

  5,241   4,422 

Total current assets

  162,436   164,345 

Investments

  3,002   - 

Property and equipment, net

  7,142   7,347 

Other assets

  3,646   3,590 
         

Total assets

 $176,226  $175,282 
         
         

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

        

Accounts payable

 $11,616  $13,988 

Accrued expenses

  30,462   21,365 

Interest payable

  19,304   14,904 

Deferred collaboration revenue

  432   2,120 

Lease financing obligation

  925   1,377 

Senior credit facility

  19,148   9,020 

Non-recourse notes payable

  29,890   29,561 

Total current liabilities

  111,777   92,335 

Lease financing obligation

  3,919   3,406 

Senior credit facility

  26,893   41,289 

Stockholders’ equity:

        

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; shares authorized - 5,000; no shares issued and outstanding

  -   - 

Common stock, $0.01 par value: shares authorized - 450,000; shares issued and outstanding – 176,566 in 2020 and 154,082 in 2019

  1,766   1,541 

Additional paid-in capital

  994,811   877,300 

Accumulated other comprehensive income

  9   39 

Accumulated deficit

  (962,949)  (840,628)

Total stockholders’ equity

  33,637   38,252 
         

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

 $176,226  $175,282 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

1

 

 

BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

(In thousands, except per share data-Unaudited)

 

    Three Months     Nine Months  
   

2020

   

2019

   

2020

   

2019

 

Revenues

                               

Product sales

  $ 2,478     $ 335     $ 2,696     $ 2,014  

Royalty revenue

    254       508       2,243       3,526  

Collaborative and other research and development

    3,370       932       8,857       3,570  

Total revenues

    6,102       1,775       13,796       9,110  

Expenses

                               

Cost of product sales

    1,517             1,517       1,399  

Research and development

    30,245       25,120       87,610       80,294  

Selling, general and administrative

    17,195       11,735       46,943       26,632  

Royalty

    9       18       78       131  

Total operating expenses

    48,966       36,873       136,148       108,456  

Loss from operations

    (42,864 )     (35,098 )     (122,352 )     (99,346 )

Interest and other income and expense

    (312 )     402       8,892       1,545  

Interest expense

    (2,927 )     (3,044 )     (8,892 )     (8,805 )

(Loss) gain on foreign currency derivative

    (12 )     148       31       331  

Net loss

  $ (46,115 )   $ (37,592 )   $ (122,321 )   $ (106,275 )

Unrealized gain (loss) on available for sale investments

    6       19       (30 )     357  

Comprehensive loss

  $ (46,109 )   $ (37,573 )   $ (122,351 )   $ (105,918 )
                                 

Basic and diluted net loss per common share

  $ (0.26 )   $ (0.34 )   $ (0.75 )   $ (0.96 )
                                 

Weighted average shares outstanding

    176,521       110,416       164,127       110,308  

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

2

 

 

BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

(In thousands-Unaudited)

 

   2020   2019 
Operating activities        

Net loss

 $(122,321) $(106,275)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

 

Depreciation and amortization

  568   539 

Stock-based compensation expense

  8,907   14,031 

Amortization of debt issuance costs

  1,061   936 

Amortization of premium/discount on investments

  106   1 

Change in fair value of foreign currency derivative

  630   532 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

Receivables

  16,724   695 

Inventory

  (6,241)  (127)

Prepaid expenses and other assets

  (1,448

)

  (1,018)

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

  6,725   9,975 

Interest payable

  4,400   1,575 

Deferred revenue

  (1,688)   

Net cash used in operating activities

  (92,577)  (79,136)
         

Investing activities

 

Acquisitions of property and equipment

  (359)  (263)

Purchases of investments

  (49,818)  (3,018)

Sales and maturities of investments

  21,907   64,954 

Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities

  (28,270

)

  61,673 
         

Financing activities

 

Sale of common stock, net

  92,848    

Sale of pre-funded warrants

  14,817    

Proceeds from senior credit facility

     19,477 

Payment of senior credit facility

  (5,000

)

   

Net proceeds from common stock issued under stock-based compensation plans

  1,164   1,161 

Net cash provided by financing activities

  103,829   20,638 
         

(Decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

  (17,018

)

  3,175 

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

  115,723   28,275 
         

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period

 $98,705  $31,450 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

3

 

 

BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

 

(In thousands, except per share amounts-Unaudited)

 

          Accumulated         
      Additional  Other      Total 
  Common  Paid-In  Comprehensive  Accumulated  Stockholders’ 
  Stock  Capital  (Loss) Income  Deficit  Equity (Deficit) 

Balance at December 31, 2019

 $1,541  $877,300  $39  $(840,628) $38,252 

Net loss

           (37,599)  (37,599)

Other comprehensive loss

        (25)     (25)

Employee stock purchase plan sales, 110 shares, net

  1   265         266 

Stock-based compensation expense

     2,754         2,754 

Balance at March 31, 2020

  1,542   880,319   14   (878,227)  3,648 

Net loss

           (38,607)  (38,607)

Other comprehensive loss

        (11)     (11)

Exercise of stock options, 193 shares, net

  2   530         532 

Issuance of common stock, 22,044 shares, net

  220   92,628         92,848 

Issuance of pre-funded warrants, 3,511 warrants

     14,817         14,817 

Stock-based compensation expense

     3,280         3,280 

Balance at June 30, 2020

  1,764   991,574   3   (916,834)  76,507 

Net loss

           (46,115)  (46,115)

Other comprehensive income

        6      6 

Employee stock purchase plan sales, 137 shares, net

  2   364         366 

Stock-based compensation expense

     2,873         2,873 

Balance at September 30, 2020

 $1,766  $994,811  $9  $(962,949) $33,637 

 

          

Accumulated

         
      

Additional

  

Other

      

Total

 
  

Common

  

Paid-In

  

Comprehensive

  

Accumulated

  

Stockholders’

 
  

Stock

  

Capital

  

(Loss) Income

  

Deficit

  

Equity (Deficit)

 

Balance at December 31, 2018

 $1,101  $780,400  $(297) $(731,969) $49,235 

Impact to retained earnings from adoption of ASC 842

           238   238 

Net loss

           (31,054)  (31,054)

Other comprehensive income

        208      208 

Exercise of stock options, 160 shares, net

  2   341         343 

Employee stock purchase plan sales, 47 shares, net

     220         220 

Stock-based compensation expense

     3,317         3,317 

Balance at March 31, 2019

  1,103   784,278   (89)  (762,785)  22,507 

Net loss

           (37,629)  (37,629)

Other comprehensive income

        130      130 

Exercise of stock options, 100 shares, net

  1   413         414 

Stock-based compensation expense

     5,385         5,385 

Balance at June 30, 2019

  1,104   790,076   41   (800,414)  (9,193)

Net loss

           (37,592)  (37,592)

Other comprehensive income

        19      19 

Employee stock purchase plan sales, 68 shares, net

     184         184 

Stock-based compensation expense

     5,329         5,329 

Balance at September 30, 2019

 $1,104  $795,589  $60  $(838,006) $(41,253)

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

4

 

BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

 

Note 1 - Significant Accounting Policies

 

The Company

 

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) is a biotechnology company that discovers novel, oral, small-molecule medicines. The Company focuses on the treatment of rare diseases in which significant unmet medical needs exist and an enzyme plays the key role in the biological pathway of the disease. The Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1986, and its headquarters is located in Durham, North Carolina. The Company integrates the disciplines of biology, crystallography, medicinal chemistry and computer modeling to discover and develop small molecule pharmaceuticals through the process known as structure-guided drug design. BioCryst has incurred losses and negative cash flows from operations since inception.

 

With the funds available at September 30, 2020, the Company believes these resources will be sufficient to fund its planned operations through the second quarter of 2021. The Company has sustained operating losses for the majority of its corporate history and expects that its 2020 expenses will exceed its 2020 revenues. The Company expects to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows until revenues reach a level sufficient to support ongoing operations. Accordingly, its planned operations raise doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern through 2021. The Company’s liquidity needs will be largely determined by the success of operations in regard to the progression of its product candidates in the future. The Company also may consider other plans to fund operations through 2021 including: (1) securing or increasing U.S. Government funding of its programs, including obtaining procurement contracts; (2) out-licensing rights to certain of its products or product candidates, pursuant to which the Company would receive cash milestones; (3) raising additional capital through equity or debt financings or from other sources, including royalty or other monetization transactions; (4) obtaining additional product candidate regulatory approvals, which would generate revenue, milestones and cash flow; (5) reducing spending on one or more research and development programs, including by discontinuing development; and/or (6) restructuring operations to change its overhead structure. The Company may issue securities, including common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, purchase contracts, warrants, debt securities and units, through private placement transactions or registered public offerings in the future. The Company’s future liquidity needs, and ability to address those needs, will largely be determined by the success of its product candidates, timing, scope and magnitude of its commercial expenses and key development and regulatory events and its decisions in the future.

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including JPR Royalty Sub LLC (“Royalty Sub”) and MDCP, LLC (“MDCP”). Both of these subsidiaries were formed to facilitate financing transactions for the Company. Royalty Sub was formed in connection with a $30,000 financing transaction the Company completed on March 9, 2011. See Note 4, Royalty Monetization, for a further description of this transaction. MDCP was formed in connection with a $23,000 senior credit facility that the Company closed on September 23, 2016 and subsequently amended and restated on each of July 20, 2018 and February 5, 2019. See Note 5 for a further description of these transactions. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

 

The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial reporting and the instructions to Form 10-Q and do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. Such financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in management’s opinion, necessary to present fairly, in all material respects, the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. There were no adjustments other than normal recurring adjustments.

 

These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the notes thereto included in the Company’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Interim operating results are not necessarily indicative of operating results for the full year. The balance sheet as of December 31, 2019 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company generally considers cash equivalents to be all cash held in commercial checking accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts or investments in debt instruments with maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase. The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of these items.

 

5

 

Restricted Cash

 

Restricted cash as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 reflects $795 and $134, respectively, in royalty revenue paid by Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (“Shionogi”) designated for interest on the PhaRMA Notes (defined in Note 4) and $1,418 and $1,417, respectively, the Company is required to maintain as collateral for a letter of credit associated with the lease execution and build-out of its Birmingham research facilities.

 

Investments

 

The Company invests in high credit quality investments in accordance with its investment policy, which is designed to minimize the possibility of loss. The objective of the Company’s investment policy is to ensure the safety and preservation of invested funds, as well as maintaining liquidity sufficient to meet cash flow requirements. The Company places its excess cash with high credit quality financial institutions, commercial companies, and government agencies in order to limit the amount of its credit exposure. In accordance with its policy, the Company is able to invest in marketable debt securities that may consist of U.S. Government and government agency securities, money market and mutual fund investments, municipal and corporate notes and bonds, commercial paper and asset or mortgage-backed securities, among others. The Company’s investment policy requires it to purchase high-quality marketable securities with a maximum individual maturity of three years and requires an average portfolio maturity of no more than 18 months. Some of the securities the Company invests in may have market risk. This means that a change in prevailing interest rates may cause the principal amount of the investment to fluctuate. To minimize this risk, the Company schedules its investments with maturities that coincide with expected cash flow needs, thus avoiding the need to redeem an investment prior to its maturity date. Accordingly, the Company does not believe it has a material exposure to interest rate risk arising from its investments. Generally, the Company’s investments are not collateralized. The Company has not realized any significant losses from its investments.

 

The Company classifies all of its investments as available-for-sale. Unrealized gains and losses on investments are recognized in comprehensive loss, unless an unrealized loss is considered to be other than temporary, in which case the unrealized loss is charged to operations. The Company periodically reviews its investments for other than temporary declines in fair value below cost basis and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company believes the individual unrealized losses represent temporary declines primarily resulting from interest rate changes. Realized gains and losses are reflected in interest and other income in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss and are determined using the specific identification method with transactions recorded on a settlement date basis. Investments with original maturities at date of purchase beyond three months and which mature at or less than 12 months from the balance sheet date are classified as current. Investments with a maturity beyond 12 months from the balance sheet date are classified as long-term. At September 30, 2020, the Company believes that the cost of its investments is recoverable in all material respects.

 

The following tables summarize the fair value of the Company’s investments by type. The estimated fair values of the Company’s fixed income investments are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as defined in U.S. GAAP. These valuations are based on observable direct and indirect inputs, primarily quoted prices of similar, but not identical, instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active. These fair values are obtained from independent pricing services which utilize Level 2 inputs.

 

  September 30, 2020 
          Gross  Gross     
  Amortized  Accrued  Unrealized  Unrealized  Estimated 
  Cost  Interest  Gains  Losses  Fair Value 

Obligations of U.S. Government and its agencies

 $45,722  $18  $6  $-  $45,746 

Corporate debt securities

  590   4   -   -   594 

Certificates of deposit

  3,477   9   3   -   3,489 

Total investments

 $49,789  $31  $9  $-  $49,829 

 

     December 31, 2019 
          

Gross

  

Gross

     
  

Amortized

  

Accrued

  

Unrealized

  

Unrealized

  

Estimated

 
  

Cost

  

Interest

  

Gains

  

Losses

  

Fair Value

 

Obligations of U.S. Government and its agencies

 $10,488   50  $23  $-  $10,561 

Corporate debt securities

  9,742   59   10   (1)  9,810 

Certificates of deposit

  1,669   7   7   -   1,683 

Total investments

 $21,899   116  $40  $(1) $22,054 

 

6

 

The following table summarizes the scheduled maturity for the Company’s investments at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019.

 

  

September 30, 2020

 

December 31, 2019

Maturing in one year or less

 $46,827  $22,054 

Maturing after one year through two years

  3,002   - 

Total investments

 $49,829  $22,054 

 

Receivables from Collaborations

 

Receivables from collaborations are recorded for amounts due to the Company related to reimbursable research and development costs from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, royalty receivables from Shionogi, Green Cross Corporation (“Green Cross”), Mundipharma International Holdings Limited (“Mundipharma”) and Seqirus UK Limited (“SUL”), and product sales to SUL. These receivables are evaluated to determine if any reserve or allowance should be established at each reporting date.

 

At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had the following receivables.

 

     September 30, 2020 
  

Billed

  

Unbilled

  

Total

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 $-  $3,547  $3,547 

Shionogi & Co. Ltd.

  1,679   4   1,683 

Green Cross Corporation

  142   8   150 

Mundipharma International Holdings Limited

  42   -   42 

Total receivables

 $1,863  $3,559  $5,422 

 

     December 31, 2019
 
  
 
  

Billed

  

Unbilled

  

Total

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 $1,353  $15,023  $16,376 

Shionogi & Co. Ltd.

  1,336   4   1,340 

Green Cross Corporation

  2,924   8   2,932 

Mundipharma International Holdings Limited

  56   -   56 

Seqirus UK Limited

  1,091   351   1,442 

Total receivables

 $6,760  $15,386  $22,146 

 

Monthly invoices are submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services related to reimbursable research and development costs. The Company is also entitled to monthly reimbursement of indirect costs based on rates stipulated in the underlying contract. The Company’s calculations of its indirect cost rates are subject to audit by the U.S. Government.

 

Receivables from Product Sales

 

Receivables from product sales are recorded for amounts due to the Company related to sales of RAPIVAB. These receivables are evaluated to determine if any reserve or allowance should be established at each reporting date.

 

Inventory

 

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value, determined under the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method, or market. The Company expenses costs related to the production of inventories as research and development expenses in the period incurred until such time it is believed that future economic benefit is expected to be recognized, which generally is reliant upon receipt of regulatory approval. Upon regulatory approval, the Company will capitalize costs related to the production of inventories. At September 30, 2020, the Company’s inventory consisted of $206 of peramivir raw materials and $6,035 of peramivir work-in-process.

 

Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Computer equipment is depreciated over a life of three years. Laboratory equipment, office equipment, and software are depreciated over a life of five years. Furniture and fixtures are depreciated over a life of seven years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over their estimated useful lives or the expected lease term, whichever is less.

 

In accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company periodically reviews its property and equipment for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on an estimate of undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. In the event that such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the carrying amount of the assets, the assets are written down to their estimated fair values. Property and equipment to be disposed of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell.

 

7

 

Patents and Licenses

 

The Company seeks patent protection on all internally developed processes and products. All patent related costs are expensed to selling, general and administrative expenses when incurred as recoverability of such expenditures is uncertain.

 

Accrued Expenses

 

The Company generally enters into contractual agreements with third-party vendors who provide research and development, manufacturing, and other services in the ordinary course of business. Some of these contracts are subject to milestone-based invoicing and services are completed over an extended period of time. The Company records liabilities under these contractual commitments when it determines an obligation has been incurred, regardless of the timing of the invoice. This process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with applicable Company personnel to identify services that have been performed on its behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when the Company has not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. The majority of service providers invoice the Company monthly in arrears for services performed. The Company makes estimates of accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date in its financial statements based on the facts and circumstances. The Company periodically confirms the accuracy of its estimates with the service providers and makes adjustments if necessary. Examples of estimated accrued expenses include:

 

 

fees paid to Clinical Research Organizations (“CROs”) in connection with preclinical and toxicology studies and clinical trials;

 

 

fees paid to investigative sites in connection with clinical trials;

 

 

fees paid to contract manufacturers in connection with the production of the Company’s raw materials, drug substance and drug products; and

 

 

professional fees.

 

The Company bases its expenses related to clinical trials on its estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to contracts with multiple research institutions and CROs that conduct and manage clinical trials on the Company’s behalf. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven payment flows. Payments under some of these contracts depend on factors such as the successful enrollment of patients and the completion of clinical trial milestones. In accruing service fees, the Company estimates the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from the estimate, the Company will adjust the accrual accordingly. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the carrying value of accrued expenses approximates their fair value due to their short-term settlement.

 

Income Taxes

 

The liability method is used in the Company’s accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse.

 

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss is comprised of unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale investments and is disclosed as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss are recorded as interest and other income on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, realized gains of $1 were reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive loss. No reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive loss were recorded during the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

Collaborative and Other Research and Development Arrangements and Royalties

 

The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring promised goods or services to a customer. Revenue is measured at the transaction price that is based on the amount of consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring the promised goods or services to the customer. The transaction price includes estimates of variable consideration to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue recognized will not occur.

 

8

 

The Company has collaboration and license agreements with a number of third parties as well as research and development agreements with certain government entities. The Company’s primary sources of revenue are license, service, royalty and product sale revenues from these collaborative and other research and development arrangements.

 

Revenue from license fees, royalty payments, milestone payments, and research and development fees are recognized as revenue when the earnings process is complete and the Company has no further continuing performance obligations or the Company has completed the performance obligations under the terms of the agreement.

 

Arrangements that involve the delivery of more than one performance obligation are initially evaluated as to whether the intellectual property licenses granted by the Company represent distinct performance obligations. If they are determined to be distinct, the value of the intellectual property licenses would be recognized up-front while the research and development service fees would be recognized as the performance obligations are satisfied. For performance obligations based on services performed, the Company measures progress using an input method based on the effort we expend or costs we incur toward the satisfaction of performance obligation in relation to the total estimated effort or costs. Variable consideration is assessed at each reporting period as to whether it is not subject to significant future reversal and, therefore, should be included in the transaction price at the inception of the contract. If a contract includes a fixed or minimum amount of research and development support, this also would be included in the transaction price. Changes to collaborations, such as the extensions of the research term or increasing the number of targets or technology covered under an existing agreement, are assessed for whether they represent a modification or should be accounted for as a new contract. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, revenue is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. Standalone selling prices are based on observable prices at which the Company separately sells the products or services. If a standalone selling price is not directly observable, then the Company estimates the standalone selling price using either an adjusted market assessment approach or an expected cost plus margin approach, representing the amount that the Company believes the market is willing to pay for the product or service. Analyzing the arrangement to identify performance obligations requires the use of judgment, and each may be an obligation to deliver services, a right or license to use an asset, or another performance obligation.

 

Milestone payments are recognized as licensing revenue upon the achievement of specified milestones if (i) the milestone is substantive in nature and the achievement of the milestone was not probable at the inception of the agreement; and (ii) the Company has a right to payment. Any milestone payments received prior to satisfying these revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue.

 

Reimbursements received for direct out-of-pocket expenses related to research and development costs are recorded as revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss rather than as a reduction in expenses. Under the Company’s contracts with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (”BARDA/HHS”) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID/HHS”), revenue is recognized as reimbursable direct and indirect costs are incurred.

 

Under certain of the Company’s license agreements, the Company receives royalty payments based upon its licensees’ net sales of covered products. Royalties are recognized at the later of when (i) the subsequent sale or usage occurs, or (ii) the performance obligation to which some or all of the sales-based or usage-based royalty has been satisfied.

 

Product Sales

 

The Company’s principal sources of product sales are sales of peramivir to our licensing partners and sales of RAPIVAB to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Company’s procurement contract. The Company recognizes revenue for sales when the customer obtains control of the product, which generally occurs upon delivery.

 

The Company recorded the following revenues for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019:

 

  

Three Months

  

Nine Months

 
  

2020

  

2019

  

2020

  

2019

 

Product sales

 $2,478  $335  $2,696  $2,014 

Royalty revenue

  254   508   2,243   3,526 

Collaborative and other research and development revenues:

                

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

  3,088   932   7,240   3,570 

Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

  282      1,617    

Total collaborative and other research and development revenues

  3,370   932   8,857   3,570 

Total revenues

 $6,102  $1,775  $13,796  $9,110 

 

9

 

Contract Balances

 

The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections results in billed accounts receivable, unbilled receivables (contract assets) and deferred revenue and billings in excess of revenue recognized (contract liabilities) on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

Contract assets - The Company’s long-term contracts, typically the government research and development contracts, are billed as work progresses in accordance with the contract terms and conditions, either at periodic intervals or upon achievement of certain milestones. Often this results in billing occurring subsequent to revenue recognition resulting in contract assets. Contract assets are generally classified as current assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

 

Contract liabilities - The Company often receives cash payments from customers in advance of the Company’s performance resulting in contract liabilities. These contract liabilities are classified as either current or long-term in the Consolidated Balance Sheet based on the timing of when the Company expects to recognize the revenue.

 

Contract Costs

 

The Company may incur direct and indirect costs associated with obtaining a contract. Incremental contract costs that the Company expects to recover are capitalized and amortized over the expected term of the contract. Non-incremental contract costs and costs that the Company does expect to recover are expensed as incurred.

 

Advertising

 

The Company engages in very limited distribution and direct-response advertising when promoting RAPIVAB. Advertising and promotional costs are expensed as the costs are incurred.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

The Company’s research and development costs are charged to expense when incurred. Research and development expenses include all direct and indirect development costs related to the development of the Company’s portfolio of product candidates. Advance payments for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized. Such amounts are recognized as expense when the related goods are delivered or the related services are performed. Research and development expenses include, among other items, personnel costs, including salaries and benefits, manufacturing costs, clinical, regulatory, and toxicology services performed by CROs, materials and supplies, and overhead allocations consisting of various administrative and facilities related costs. Most of the Company’s manufacturing and clinical and preclinical studies are performed by third-party CROs. Costs for studies performed by CROs are accrued by the Company over the service periods specified in the contracts and estimates are adjusted, if required, based upon the Company’s on-going review of the level of services actually performed.

 

Additionally, the Company has license agreements with third parties, such as Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University (“AECOM”), Industrial Research, Ltd. (“IRL”), and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (“UAB”), which require fees related to sublicense agreements or maintenance fees. The Company expenses sublicense payments as incurred unless they are related to revenues that have been deferred, in which case the expenses are deferred and recognized over the related revenue recognition period. The Company expenses maintenance payments as incurred.

 

Deferred collaboration expenses represent sub-license payments, paid to the Company’s academic partners upon receipt of consideration from various commercial partners, and other consideration paid to the Company’s academic partners for modification to existing license agreements. These deferred expenses would not have been incurred without receipt of such payments or modifications from the Company’s commercial partners and are being expensed in proportion to the related revenue being recognized. The Company believes that this accounting treatment appropriately matches expenses with the associated revenue.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

All share-based payments, including grants of stock option awards and restricted stock unit awards, are recognized in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss based on their fair values. The fair value of stock option awards is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair value of restricted stock unit awards is based on the grant date closing price of the common stock. Stock-based compensation cost is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award. In addition, we have outstanding performance-based stock options for which no compensation expense is recognized until “performance” is deemed to have occurred.

 

Interest Expense and Deferred Financing Costs

 

Interest expense for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 was $2,927 and $3,044, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 was $8,892 and $8,805, respectively, related to the issuance of the PhaRMA Notes (defined in Note 4) and the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility (defined in Note 5). Costs directly associated with the issuance of the PhaRMA Notes and the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility have been capitalized and are netted against the non-recourse notes payable and senior credit facility on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These costs are being amortized to interest expense over the terms of the PhaRMA Notes and the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility using the effective interest rate method. Amortization of deferred financing costs and original issue discount included in interest expense was $381 and $341 for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $1,061 and $936 for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, and 2019, respectively.

 

10

 

Currency Hedge Agreement

 

In connection with the issuance by Royalty Sub of the PhaRMA Notes, the Company entered into a Currency Hedge Agreement to hedge certain risks associated with changes in the value of the Japanese yen relative to the U.S. dollar. The Currency Hedge Agreement does not qualify for hedge accounting treatment; therefore, mark to market adjustments are recognized in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. Cumulative mark to market adjustments for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 resulted in losses of $630 and $532, respectively. Mark to market adjustments are determined by a third-party pricing model that uses quoted prices in markets that are not actively traded and for which significant inputs are observable directly or indirectly, representing Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as defined by U.S. GAAP. In addition, the Company realized currency exchange gains of $660 and $863 during the first nine months of 2020 and 2019, respectively, associated with the exercise of a U.S. dollar/Japanese yen currency option under the Currency Hedge Agreement. The Company is also required to post collateral in connection with the mark to market adjustments based on thresholds defined in the Currency Hedge Agreement. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, no hedge collateral was posted under the agreement.

 

Net Loss Per Share

 

Net loss per share is based upon the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is equivalent to basic net loss per share for all periods presented herein because common equivalent shares from unexercised stock options, warrants and common shares expected to be issued under the Company’s employee stock purchase plan were anti-dilutive. The calculation of diluted earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 does not include 16,544 and 541, respectively, of such potential common shares, as their impact would be anti-dilutive. The calculation of diluted earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 does not include 14,154 and 1,892, respectively, of such potential common shares, as their impact would be anti-dilutive.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. The most significant estimates in the Company’s consolidated financial statements relate to the valuation of stock options, and the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets resulting from net operating losses. These estimates are based on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

Significant Customers and Other Risks

 

Significant Customers

 

Other than royalty revenues, the Company’s primary sources of revenue that have an underlying cash flow stream are the reimbursement of galidesivir (formerly BCX4430) development expenses earned under cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts with BARDA/HHS and NIAID/HHS and sales of RAPIVAB (peramivir injection) under our procurement contract awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Company relies on BARDA/HHS and NIAID/HHS to reimburse predominantly all of the development costs for its galidesivir program. Accordingly, reimbursement of these expenses represents a significant portion of the Company’s collaborative and other research and development revenues. The completion or termination of the NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS galidesivir contracts could negatively impact the Company’s future Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss and Cash Flows. The Company recognizes royalty revenue from the net sales of RAPIACTA by Shionogi; however, the underlying cash flow from these royalty payments, except for Japanese government stockpiling sales, goes directly to pay the interest, and then the principal, on the Company’s non-recourse notes payable. Payment of the interest and the ultimate repayment of principal of these notes will be entirely funded by future royalty payments derived from net sales of RAPIACTA. Further, the Company’s drug development activities are performed by a limited group of third-party vendors. If any of these vendors were unable to perform their services, this could significantly impact the Company’s ability to complete its drug development activities.

 

Risks from Third Party Manufacturing and Distribution Concentration

 

The Company may rely on single source manufacturers for active pharmaceutical ingredient and finished drug product manufacturing of product candidates in development and on single source distributors for distribution of approved drug products. Delays in the manufacture or distribution of any product could adversely impact the commercial revenue and future procurement stockpiling of the Company’s product candidates in development.

 

11

 

Credit Risk

 

Cash equivalents and investments are financial instruments which potentially subject the Company to concentration of risk to the extent recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company deposits excess cash with major financial institutions in the United States. Balances may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. The Company believes it has established guidelines for investment of its excess cash relative to diversification and maturities that maintain safety and liquidity. To minimize the exposure due to adverse shifts in interest rates, the Company maintains a portfolio of investments with an average maturity of approximately 18 months or less. Other than product sale and collaborative partner receivables discussed above, the majority of the Company’s receivables from collaborations are due from the U.S. Government, for which there is no assumed credit risk.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 requires a financial asset (or a group of financial assets) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. In addition, ASU 2016-13 requires credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities to be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. ASU 2016-13 requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to develop credit loss estimates.

 

The Company adopted ASU 2016-02 as of January 1, 2020. Given the nature of the Company’s receivables from collaborators, investment portfolio and other financial assets, adoption of this standard did not have a material effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40) (“ASU 2018-15”). ASU 2018-15 aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. The guidance requires entities to capitalize costs for certain implementation activities in the application development stage and expense the capitalized implementation costs over the expected term of the hosting arrangement. ASU 2018-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company elected to adopt this standard early, beginning October 1, 2019 on a prospective basis. Adoption did not have a material effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

 

Note 2 - Stock-Based Compensation

 

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had three stock-based employee compensation plans: the Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan (“Incentive Plan”), the Amended and Restated Inducement Equity Incentive Plan (“Inducement Plan”) and the Amended and Restated Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). The Incentive Plan was amended and restated on March 19, 2020 and approved by the Company’s stockholders on May 12, 2020. The Inducement Plan was adopted by the Board of Directors on April 24, 2019 and amended and restated by the Board of Directors in February 2020 and in July 2020. The ESPP was amended and restated in March 2020 and approved by the Company’s stockholders on May 12, 2020. Stock-based compensation expense of $8,907 ($7,492 of expense related to the Incentive Plan, $1,053 of expense related to the Inducement Plan, and $362 of expense related to the ESPP) was recognized during the first nine months of 2020, while $14,031 ($13,635 of expense related to the Incentive Plan, $164 of expense related to the Inducement Plan and $232 of expense related to the ESPP) was recognized during the first nine months of 2019.

 

There was approximately $21,884 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested stock option awards granted by the Company as of September 30, 2020. That cost is expected to be recognized as follows: $2,708 during the remainder of 2020, $8,461 in 2021, $6,983 in 2022, $3,137 in 2023 and $595 in 2024. In addition, the Company has outstanding performance-based stock options for which no compensation expense is recognized until “performance” has occurred and the award vests.

 

Stock Incentive Plan

 

The Company grants stock option awards and restricted stock unit awards to its employees, directors, and consultants under the Incentive Plan. Under the Incentive Plan, stock option awards are granted with an exercise price equal to the market price of the Company’s stock at the date of grant. Stock option awards and restricted stock units granted to employees generally vest 25% each year until fully vested after four years. In August 2013, December 2014 and December 2019, the Company issued 1,032, 1,250 and 315 performance-based stock options, respectively. These awards vest upon successful completion of specific development milestones. As of September 30, 2020, 75% of the August 2013 grants have vested. As of September 30, 2020, 85% of the December 2014 grants have vested. As of September 30, 2020, none of the December 2019 grants have vested. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company recognized $214 of compensation expense related to one milestone within the December 2019 grants for which achievement became probable. During 2019, the Company recognized $4,998 of stock compensation expense related to two milestones within the December 2014 grants for which achievement became probable. Stock option awards granted to non-employee directors of the Company generally vest over one year. All stock option awards have contractual terms of 10 years. The vesting and exercise provisions of all awards granted under the Incentive Plan are subject to acceleration in the event of certain stockholder-approved transactions, or upon the occurrence of a change in control as defined in the Incentive Plan.

 

12

 

Related activity under the Incentive Plan is as follows:

 

          

Weighted

 
          

Average

 
  

Awards

  

Options

  

Exercise

 
  

Available

  

Outstanding

  

Price

 

Balance December 31, 2019

  968   21,050  $5.96 

Plan amendment

  8,000   -   - 

Restricted stock unit awards granted

  (31)  -   - 

Restricted stock unit awards cancelled

  -   -   - 

Stock option awards granted

  (547)  547   4.86 

Stock option awards exercised

  -   (193)  2.76 

Stock option awards cancelled

  3,030   (3,030)  6.90 
             

Balance September 30, 2020

  11,420   18,374  $5.85 

 

For stock option awards granted under the Incentive Plan during the first nine months of 2020 and 2019, the fair value was estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the assumptions noted in the table below. The weighted average grant date fair value per share of the awards granted during the first nine months of 2020 and 2019 was $3.35 and $4.57, respectively. The fair value of the stock option awards is amortized to expense over the vesting periods using a straight-line expense attribution method.

 

Inducement Equity Incentive Plan

 

The Company has the ability to grant stock option awards to newly-hired employees as inducements material to each employee entering employment with the Company. Stock option awards granted to newly hired employees are granted with an exercise price equal to the market price of the Company’s stock at the date of grant and generally vest 25% each year until fully vested after four years. Each stock option has a term of 10 years and is subject to the terms and conditions of the Inducement Plan. The vesting and exercise provisions of all awards granted under the Inducement Plan are subject to acceleration in the event of certain stockholder-approved transactions, or upon the occurrence of a change in control as defined in the Inducement Plan.

 

Related activity under the Inducement Plan is as follows:

 

          

Weighted

 
          

Average

 
  

Awards

  

Options

  

Exercise

 
  

Available

  

Outstanding

  

Price

 

Balance December 31, 2019

  171   1,329  $3.60 

Plan amendment

  2,900   -   - 

Stock option awards granted

  (2,338)  2,338   3.33 

Stock option awards exercised

  -   -   - 

Stock option awards cancelled

  155   (155)  4.20 
             

Balance September 30, 2020

  888   3,512  $3.42 

 

For stock option awards granted under the Inducement Plan during the first nine months of 2020 and 2019, the fair value was estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the assumptions noted in the table below. The weighted average grant date fair value per share of the awards granted during the first nine months of 2020 and 2019 was $2.41 and $2.72, respectively.

 

The following table summarizes the key assumptions used by the Company to value the stock option awards granted under the Incentive Plan and the Inducement Plan during the first nine months of 2020 and 2019, respectively. The expected life is based on the average of the assumption that all outstanding stock option awards will be exercised at full vesting and the assumption that all outstanding stock option awards will be exercised at the midpoint of the current date (if already vested) or at full vesting (if not yet vested) and the full contractual term. The expected volatility represents the historical volatility on the Company’s publicly traded common stock. The Company has assumed no expected dividend yield, as dividends have never been paid to stock or option holders and will not be paid for the foreseeable future. The weighted average risk-free interest rate is the implied yield currently available on zero-coupon government issues with a remaining term equal to the expected term.

 

13

 

Weighted Average Assumptions for Stock Option Awards Granted to

Employees and Directors under the Plans

 

  2020   

2019

 

Expected Life in Years

  5.5   5.5 

Expected Volatility

  83.8%  81.0%

Expected Dividend Yield

  0.0%  0.0%

Risk-Free Interest Rate

  0.4%  2.0%

 

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”)

 

The Company has reserved a total of 4,475 shares of common stock to be purchased under the ESPP, of which 2,873 shares remain available for purchase at September 30, 2020. Eligible employees may authorize up to 15% of their salary to purchase common stock at the lower of 85% of the beginning or 85% of the ending price during six-month purchase intervals. No more than 3 shares may be purchased by any one employee at the six-month purchase dates, and no employee may purchase stock having a fair market value at the commencement date of $25 or more in any one calendar year. The Company issued 246 shares during the first nine months of 2020 under the ESPP. Compensation expense for shares purchased under the ESPP related to the purchase discount and the “look-back” option were determined using a Black-Scholes option pricing model.

 

 

Note 3 - Collaborative and Other Research and Development Contracts

 

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID/HHS”). In September 2013, NIAID/HHS contracted with the Company for the development of galidesivir as a treatment for Marburg virus disease (the “Initial Contract”). NIAID/HHS, part of the National Institutes of Health, made an initial award of $5,000 to the Company. The goals of the Initial Contract, including amendments, are to file IND applications for intravenous (“i.v.”) and intramuscular (“i.m.”) galidesivir for the treatment of Marburg virus disease and other hemorrhagic fever virus diseases, including Yellow Fever and Ebola virus disease, and to conduct an initial Phase 1 human clinical trial. In April 2020, the Company and NIAID/HHS agreed to add a group of COVID-19 patients to the ongoing clinical trial in Yellow Fever. On April 9, 2020, the Company announced it had opened enrollment into a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the safety, clinical impact and antiviral effects of galidesivir in patients with COVID-19. As of September 30, 2020, the total contract amount to advance the program through the completion of the Phase 1 clinical program under the Initial Contract is $45,931 and all options have been exercised under the Initial Contract. In August 2020, NIAID/HHS awarded the Company a new contract, with potential aggregate funding up of to $43,908 if all contract options are exercised, to manufacture and evaluate the safety, efficacy and tolerability of galidesivir.  NIAID/HHS made an initial award of $6,326 to the Company under this new contract.

 

Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (“BARDA/HHS”). On March 31, 2015, the Company announced that BARDA/HHS had awarded the Company a contract for the continued development of galidesivir as a potential treatment for diseases caused by RNA pathogens, including filoviruses. This BARDA/HHS contract includes a base contract of $16,265 to support galidesivir drug manufacturing, as well as $22,855 in additional development options that can be exercised by the government, bringing the potential value of the contract to $39,120. As of September 30, 2020, a total of $20,574 has been awarded under exercised options within this contract.

 

The contracts with NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS are cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts. That is, the Company is entitled to receive reimbursement for all costs incurred in accordance with the contract provisions that are related to the development of galidesivir plus a fixed fee, or profit. BARDA/HHS and NIAID/HHS will make periodic assessments of progress, and the continuation of the contract is based on the Company’s performance, the timeliness and quality of deliverables, and other factors. The government has rights under certain contract clauses to terminate these contracts. These contracts are terminable by the government at any time for breach or without cause.

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”). On September 6, 2018, the Company announced that HHS had awarded the Company a $34,660 contract for the procurement of up to 50,000 doses of RAPIVAB (peramivir injection) over a five-year period. HHS’s purchase of RAPIVAB will supply the Strategic National Stockpile, the nation’s largest supply of potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency. The Company delivered two shipments under this contract in 2019 for a total price of approximately $13,864. On September 3, 2020, the Company announced that HHS had exercised an option under this contract to purchase an additional 10,000 doses of RAPIVAB for $6,932.

 

Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Torii”). On November 5, 2019, the Company announced that it had entered into the Torii Agreement, granting Torii the exclusive right to commercialize ORLADEYO™ (berotralstat) for the prevention of hereditary angioedema (“HAE”) attacks in Japan.

 

Under the Torii Agreement, the Company received an upfront, non-refundable payment of $22,000 and may be eligible to receive an additional milestone payment of either $20,000 if the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (“PMDA”) grants regulatory approval on or before December 31, 2020, or $15,000 if regulatory approval is granted on or before December 31, 2021. In either case, the regulatory milestone payment is contingent upon receipt of a reimbursement price approval from Japan’s National Health Insurance system in excess of the threshold specified in the Torii Agreement.

 

14

 

In addition, the Company will be entitled under the Torii Agreement to receive tiered royalty payments based on the amount of annual net sales of ORLADEYO in Japan during each calendar year. If ORLADEYO maintains its Sakigake designation during the PMDA review, the tiered royalty rate will range from 20% to 40% of net sales; otherwise, the tiered royalty rate will range from 15% to 35% of net sales. Torii’s royalty payment obligations are subject to customary reductions in certain circumstances, but may not be reduced by more than 50% of the amount that otherwise would have been payable to the Company in the applicable calendar quarter. Torii’s royalty payment obligations commence upon the first commercial sale of ORLADEYO in Japan and expire upon the later of (i) the tenth anniversary of the date of first commercial sale of ORLADEYO in Japan, (ii) the expiration of our patents covering ORLADEYO, and (iii) the expiration of regulatory exclusivity for ORLADEYO in Japan. The Company will be responsible for supplying Torii with its required amounts of ORLADEYO. The activities of the parties pursuant to the Torii Agreement will be overseen by a joint steering committee, to be composed of an equal number of representatives from each party to coordinate the development and commercialization of ORLADEYO in Japan.

 

Under the Torii Agreement, the Company has granted Torii a right of first negotiation (“ROFN”) to commercialize ORLADEYO in Japan for the acute treatment of HAE attacks if the Company develops ORLADEYO for such indication and to commercialize any additional kallikrein inhibitor that the Company may develop in the future for use in HAE in Japan. Under both ROFNs, if the parties do not agree to terms with respect to a definitive amendment to the Torii Agreement or new agreement, as applicable, the terms of the amendment or agreement would be set by a third-party arbitrator.

 

The Company identified performance obligations related to (i) the license to develop and commercialize ORLADEYO, (ii) regulatory approval support and (iii) reimbursement pricing approval support. These were each determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations. The Company allocated the $22,000 upfront consideration to the identified performance obligations using estimation approaches to determine the standalone selling prices under ASC 606. Specifically, in determining the value related to the license, a valuation approach utilizing risk adjusted discounted cash flow projections was used and an expected cost plus margin approach was utilized for the other performance obligations. The Company recognized $20,101 in revenue in 2019 including $19,344 associated with the license which was transferred to Torii at the execution of the Agreement and $757 related to the year to date services provided in the performance of the two approvals. The remaining $1,899 of the $22,000 upfront payment is expected to be recognized as revenue in 2020 as the services are delivered.

 

Seqirus UK Limited (“SUL”). On June 16, 2015, the Company and SUL, a limited company organized under the laws of the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of CSL Limited, a company organized under the laws of Australia, entered into a License Agreement (the “SUL Agreement”) granting SUL and its affiliates worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize RAPIVAB (peramivir injection) for the treatment of influenza except for the rights to conduct such activities in Israel, Japan, Korea and Taiwan (the permitted geographies together constituting the “Territory”).

 

Under the terms of the SUL Agreement, the Company is responsible for fulfilling all post-marketing approval commitments in connection with the FDA's approval of the NDA. Pursuant to rights to sell ALPIVAB in the EU, the Company was also responsible for regulatory filings and interactions with the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”). In accordance with the SUL Agreement, the Company and SUL formed a joint steering committee, composed of an equal number of representatives from each party, to oversee, review and coordinate the conduct and progress of the commercialization of RAPIVAB in the Territory and any additional development. In October 2017, SUL transferred Canadian registration rights for RAPIVAB to the Company.

 

Under the terms of the SUL Agreement, the Company has received an upfront payment of $33,740 and has achieved all development milestones under the contract totaling $12,000. The Company is entitled under the SUL Agreement to receive tiered royalties at a percentage rate beginning in the mid-teens contingent upon meeting minimum thresholds of net sales, as well as a low-thirties percentage of the gross profit from government stockpiling purchases made outside the U.S. Specifically, the Company receives tiered royalties at a percentage rate in the mid-teens to low-forties on net sales in the U.S. during a Contract Year (defined as July 1 - June 30) and tiered royalties at a percentage rate in the mid-teens to mid-twenties on net sales in the Territory, other than in the U.S., during a Calendar Year, each subject to certain downward adjustments for circumstances or events impacting the overall market opportunity. SUL's royalty payment obligations commenced on the date of the SUL Agreement. The Company developed peramivir under a license from UAB and will owe sublicense payments to them on any future milestone payments and/or royalties received by the Company from SUL.

 

The Company and SUL entered arbitration proceedings that involved many items under the SUL Agreement including, but not limited to, the EMA approval milestone, which BioCryst maintains is due under the contract as well as appropriately commercializing peramivir in the Territory. On March 4, 2020, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC Tribunal”) delivered a Partial Arbitration Award (the “Partial Arbitration Award”) in the arbitration matter between the Company and SUL with respect to the SUL Agreement.

 

15

 

In the Partial Arbitration Award, the ICC Tribunal found that, during the term, SUL materially breached and abandoned its core duties to the Company under the Diligent Efforts (as defined in the SUL Agreement) requirements of the SUL Agreement as applicable in the U.S. The ICC Tribunal granted a declaratory judgment in favor of the Company terminating the SUL Agreement and restoring all rights to peramivir to the Company. The parties have agreed on a transition process for the product, including a full transition of commercialization of the product in the U.S. to the Company as of August 1, 2020 and a full transition of commercialization of the product in Australia as of November 1, 2020. The ICC Tribunal also awarded the Company its attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in securing the declaratory judgment as well as the costs incurred by the Company in the arbitration. Finally, the ICC Tribunal found that SUL breached the SUL Agreement by failing to pay the milestone payment due to the Company within 30 days of the approval of peramivir for adult use in the European Union and awarded the Company $5,000 (plus interest) for this claim. The ICC Tribunal retained jurisdiction for further proceedings relating to the award of attorneys’ fees and for any dispute relating to the return to the Company of all rights to peramivir in the Territory. The Company recorded the settlement gain of $8,893 in other income and legal fees and other expenses of $5,026 in selling, general and administrative expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2020.

 

Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (“Shionogi”). In February 2007, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Shionogi to develop and commercialize peramivir in Japan for the treatment of seasonal and potentially life-threatening human influenza. Under the terms of the agreement, Shionogi obtained rights to injectable formulations of peramivir in Japan. The Company developed peramivir under a license from UAB and will owe sublicense payments to UAB on any future milestone payments and/or royalties received by the Company from Shionogi. In October 2008, the Company and Shionogi amended the license agreement to expand the territory covered by the agreement to include Taiwan. Shionogi has commercially launched peramivir under the commercial name RAPIACTA in Japan and Taiwan.

 

In December 2017, the Company, on behalf of Royalty Sub, instituted arbitration proceedings against Shionogi in order to resolve a dispute with Shionogi under the Shionogi Agreement regarding the achievement of sales milestones and escalating royalties. The arbitration proceedings have concluded, with the decision that no sales milestones have been achieved and that the royalties will remain the same. The costs associated with the arbitration proceedings are recoverable from the assets of Royalty Sub in accordance with the terms of the indenture and servicing agreement relating to the PhaRMA Notes.

 

Green Cross Corporation (“Green Cross”). In June 2006, the Company entered into an agreement with Green Cross to develop and commercialize peramivir in Korea. Under the terms of the agreement, Green Cross will be responsible for all development, regulatory, and commercialization costs in Korea. The Company received a one-time license fee of $250. The license also provides that the Company will share in profits resulting from the sale of peramivir in Korea, including the sale of peramivir to the Korean government for stockpiling purposes. Furthermore, Green Cross will pay the Company a premium over its cost to supply peramivir for development and any future marketing of peramivir products in Korea.

 

Mundipharma International Holdings Limited (“Mundipharma”). In February 2006, the Company entered into an exclusive, royalty bearing right and license agreement with Mundipharma for the development and commercialization of Mundesine, a Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase (“PNP”) inhibitor, for use in oncology (the “Original Agreement”). Under the terms of the Original Agreement, Mundipharma obtained rights to Mundesine in markets across Europe, Asia, and Australasia in exchange for a $10,000 up-front payment.

 

On November 11, 2011, the Company entered into the Amended and Restated License and Development Agreement (the “Amended and Restated Agreement”) with Mundipharma, amending and restating the Original Agreement. Under the terms of the Amended and Restated Agreement, Mundipharma obtained worldwide rights to Mundesine. Commencing on November 11, 2011, Mundipharma controls the development and commercialization of Mundesine and assumes all future development and commercialization costs. The Amended and Restated Agreement provides for the possibility of future event payments totaling $15,000 for achieving specified regulatory events for certain indications and tiered royalties ranging from mid to high single-digit percentages of net product sales in each country where Mundesine is sold by Mundipharma. These royalties are subject to downward adjustments based on the then-existing patent coverage and/or the availability of generic compounds in each country.

 

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Industrial Research, Ltd. (“AECOM” and “IRL” respectively). In June 2000, the Company licensed a series of potent inhibitors of PNP from AECOM and IRL, (collectively, the “Licensors”). The lead product candidates from this collaboration are forodesine and ulodesine. The Company has obtained worldwide exclusive rights to develop and ultimately distribute these, or any other, product candidates that might arise from research on these inhibitors. The Company has the option to expand the agreement to include other inventions in the field made by the investigators or employees of the Licensors. The Company agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop these drugs. In addition, the Company has agreed to pay certain milestone payments for each licensed product (which range in the aggregate from $1,400 to almost $4,000 per indication) for future development of these inhibitors, single digit royalties on net sales of any resulting product made by the Company, and to share approximately one quarter of future payments received from other third-party partners, if any. In addition, the Company has agreed to pay annual license fees, which can range from $150 to $500, that are creditable against actual royalties and other payments due to the Licensors. This agreement may be terminated by the Company at any time by giving 60 days advance notice or in the event of material uncured breach by the Licensors.

 

In May 2010, the Company amended the license agreement through which the Company obtained worldwide exclusive rights to develop and ultimately distribute any product candidates that might arise from research on a series of PNP inhibitors, including forodesine and ulodesine. Under the terms of the amendment, the Licensors agreed to accept a reduction of one-half in the percentage of future payments received from third-party sub licensees of the licensed PNP inhibitors that must be paid to the Licensors. This reduction does not apply to (i) any milestone payments the Company may receive in the future under its license agreement dated February 1, 2006 with Mundipharma and (ii) royalties received from its sub licensees in connection with the sale of licensed products, for which the original payment rate will remain in effect. The rate of royalty payments to the Licensors based on net sales of any resulting product made by the Company remains unchanged.

 

16

 

On November 17, 2011, the Company further amended its agreements with the Licensors whereby the Licensors agreed to accept a reduction of one-half in the percentage of Net Proceeds (as defined in the license agreement) received by the Company under its Amended and Restated Agreement with Mundipharma that will be paid to AECOM/IRL.

 

On June 19, 2012, the Company further amended its agreements with AECOM/IRL whereby the parties clarified the definition of the field with respect to PNP inhibition and AECOM/IRL agreed to exclusive worldwide license of galidesivir to BioCryst for any antiviral use.

 

At its sole option and subject to certain agreed upon conditions, any future non-royalty payments due to be paid by the Company to AECOM/IRL under the license agreement may be made either in cash, in shares of the Company’s common stock, or in a combination of cash and shares.

 

On January 6, 2014, the Carbohydrate Chemistry Research Team from Callaghan Innovation Research Limited, formerly Industrial Research Limited, transferred to Victoria University of Wellington (“VUW”) to establish the Ferrier Research Institute. The intellectual property rights relating to this research team, and the contracts relating to that intellectual property were transferred to a wholly owned subsidiary of VUW, including the contracts to which BioCryst is a party. The parties executed novation agreements in order to effectuate the transfer. Except for a substitution of parties, the terms and conditions of the contracts are substantially the same.

 

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (“UAB”). The Company currently has agreements with UAB for influenza neuraminidase and complement inhibitors. Under the terms of these agreements, UAB performed specific research for the Company in return for research payments and license fees. UAB has granted the Company certain rights to any discoveries in these areas resulting from research developed by UAB or jointly developed by UAB with the Company. The Company has agreed to pay single digit royalties on sales of any resulting product and to share in future payments received from other third-party partners. The Company has completed the research under the UAB agreements. These two agreements each have an initial 25-year term, are automatically renewable for five-year terms throughout the life of the last patent and are terminable by the Company upon three months’ notice and by UAB under certain circumstances. Upon termination both parties shall cease using the other parties’ proprietary and confidential information and materials, the parties shall jointly own joint inventions and UAB shall resume full ownership of all UAB licensed products. There is currently no activity between the Company and UAB on these agreements, but when the Company licenses this technology, such as in the case of the Shionogi and Green Cross, or commercializes products related to these programs, the Company will owe sublicense fees or royalties on amounts it receives.

 

 

Note 4 - Royalty Monetization

 

Overview

 

On March 9, 2011, the Company completed a $30,000 financing transaction to monetize certain future royalty and milestone payments under the Shionogi Agreement, pursuant to which Shionogi licensed from the Company the rights to market RAPIACTA in Japan and Taiwan. The Company received net proceeds of $22,691 from the transaction after transaction costs of $4,309 and the establishment of a $3,000 interest reserve account by Royalty Sub, available to help cover interest shortfalls in the future. All of the interest reserve account has been fully utilized with the September 2012 interest payment.

 

As part of the transaction, the Company entered into a purchase and sale agreement dated as of March 9, 2011 with Royalty Sub, whereby the Company transferred to Royalty Sub, among other things, (i) its rights to receive certain royalty and milestone payments from Shionogi arising under the Shionogi Agreement, and (ii) the right to receive payments under a Japanese yen/US dollar foreign currency hedge arrangement (as further described below, the “Currency Hedge Agreement”) put into place by the Company in connection with the transaction. Royalty payments will be paid by Shionogi in Japanese yen, and milestone payments will be paid in U.S. dollars. The Company’s collaboration with Shionogi was not impacted as a result of this transaction.

 

Non-Recourse Notes Payable

 

On March 9, 2011, Royalty Sub completed a private placement to institutional investors of $30,000 in aggregate principal amount of its PhaRMA Senior Secured 14.0% Notes due 2020 (the “PhaRMA Notes”). The PhaRMA Notes were issued by Royalty Sub under an Indenture, dated as of March 9, 2011 (the “Indenture”), by and between Royalty Sub and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee. Principal and interest on the PhaRMA Notes are payable from, and are secured by, the rights to royalty and milestone payments under the Shionogi Agreement transferred by the Company to Royalty Sub and payments, if any, made to Royalty Sub under the Currency Hedge Agreement. The PhaRMA Notes bear interest at 14% per annum, payable annually in arrears on September 1st of each year. The PhaRMA Notes have a final legal maturity date of December 1, 2020, at which time the outstanding principal amount of the PhaRMA Notes, together with accrued and unpaid interest, will be due in full. The Company remains entitled to receive any royalties and milestone payments related to sales of peramivir by Shionogi following repayment of the PhaRMA Notes.

 

17

 

Royalty Sub’s obligations to pay principal and interest on the PhaRMA Notes are obligations solely of Royalty Sub and are without recourse to any other person, including the Company, except to the extent of the Company’s pledge of its equity interests in Royalty Sub in support of the PhaRMA Notes. The Company may, but is not obligated to, make capital contributions to a capital account that may be used to redeem, or on up to one occasion pay any interest shortfall on, the PhaRMA Notes.

 

In September 2014, Royalty Sub was unable to pay the accrued interest obligation due September 3, 2013. Under the terms of the Indenture, Royalty Sub’s inability to pay the full amount of interest payable in September 2013 by the next succeeding Payment Date for the PhaRMA Notes, which was September 1, 2014, constituted an event of default. Accordingly, the PhaRMA Notes and related accrued interest have been classified as current liabilities on the December 31, 2014 balance sheet and thereafter. As a result of the event of default under the PhaRMA Notes, the holders of the PhaRMA Notes may pursue acceleration of the PhaRMA Notes, may foreclose on the collateral securing the PhaRMA Notes and the equity interest in Royalty Sub and exercise other remedies available to them under the Indenture in respect of the PhaRMA Notes. In such event, the Company may not realize the benefit of future royalty payments that might otherwise accrue to it following repayment of the PhaRMA Notes and it might otherwise be adversely affected. Due to the non-recourse nature of the PhaRMA Notes, in the event of any potential acceleration or foreclosure, the primary impact to the Company would be the loss of future royalty payments from Shionogi and legal costs associated with retiring the PhaRMA Notes. In addition, the Company may incur costs associated with liquidating the related Currency Hedge Agreement, which would no longer be required in the event of foreclosure, or if the PhaRMA Notes cease to be outstanding. As the PhaRMA Notes are the obligation of Royalty Sub and non-recourse to the Company, the event of default of the PhaRMA Notes is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s future results of operations or cash flows. As of September 30, 2020, the PhaRMA Notes remain in default.

 

The Indenture does not contain any financial covenants. The Indenture includes customary representations and warranties of Royalty Sub, affirmative and negative covenants of Royalty Sub, Events of Default and related remedies, and provisions regarding the duties of the Trustee, indemnification of the Trustee, and other matters typical for indentures used in structured financings of this type.

 

The PhaRMA Notes are redeemable at the option of Royalty Sub at any time at a redemption price equal to the outstanding principal balance of the PhaRMA Notes being redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest through the redemption date on the PhaRMA Notes being redeemed.

 

As of September 30, 2020, the aggregate fair value of the PhaRMA Notes was estimated to be approximately 3% of the PhaRMA Notes carrying value of $30,000. The estimated fair value of the PhaRMA Notes is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy as defined in U.S. GAAP.

 

Currency Hedge Agreement

 

In connection with the issuance by Royalty Sub of the PhaRMA Notes, the Company entered into a Currency Hedge Agreement to hedge certain risks associated with changes in the value of the Japanese yen relative to the U.S. dollar. Under the Currency Hedge Agreement, the Company has the right to purchase dollars and sell yen at a rate of 100 yen per dollar.

 

The Currency Hedge Agreement does not qualify for hedge accounting treatment; therefore, mark to market adjustments are recognized in the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Loss. Cumulative mark to market adjustments for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 resulted in losses of $630 and $532, respectively.

 

 

Note 5 - Senior Credit Facility

 

On February 5, 2019, the Company entered into a $100,000 Senior Credit Facility with an affiliate of MidCap Financial Services, LLC, as administrative agent (the “Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility”). Borrowings under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility will be available in three tranches, with (i) the first tranche comprised of $50,000 funded at closing, which included $30,000 of proceeds that were deemed rolled over from the outstanding principal amount under the Company’s prior credit agreement, (ii) the second tranche to be comprised of $30,000, and (iii) the third tranche to be comprised of $20,000, with the second and third tranches to be funded upon the completion of certain contingencies related to the Company’s development activities of its product candidates and the establishment of certain financial covenants. On September 10, 2019 the Company executed the first amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Credit Facility which extended the commitment termination date for the second tranche to November 30, 2019. On November 30, 2019, the Company’s access to the second tranche expired.

 

The Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility refinanced and replaced the Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility dated as of July 20, 2018 (the “Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility”). The Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility bears a variable interest rate of LIBOR (which shall not be less than 0.5%) plus 8%. The Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility includes an interest-only payment period through June 2020 and scheduled monthly principal and interest payments for the subsequent 30 months. The Company used a portion of the proceeds of the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility to pay off outstanding amounts under the Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility, and the remainder will be used for general corporate purposes. Under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility, the Company must maintain a minimum cash balance of $25,000 of unrestricted cash at all times.

 

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As of September 30, 2020, the Company had borrowings of $45,000 under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility bearing an interest rate of 8.5%. The carrying amount of the debt approximates its fair value based on prevailing interest rates as of the balance sheet date. The remaining scheduled principal repayments of the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility are as follows:

 

  

Principal Payments

 

2020

 $5,000 

2021

  20,000 

2022

  20,000 
     

Total

 $45,000 

 

The debt agreement contains two provisions that if deemed probable would create the recognition of an embedded feature; however, the Company does not believe either provision is probable.

 

 

Note 6 - Stockholders’ Equity

 

On April 24, 2020, the Company filed a $500,000 shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC. This shelf registration statement became effective on May 14, 2020 and allows the Company to sell securities, including common stock, preferred stock, depository shares, purchase contracts, warrants, debt securities and units, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of sale. On June 1, 2020, the Company completed an underwritten public offering of 22,044,447 shares of its common stock (including shares issued pursuant to the underwriters’ 30-day option to purchase additional shares, which was exercised in full), at a purchase price of $4.50 per share, and pre-funded warrants to purchase 3,511,111 shares of common stock, at a purchase price of $4.49 per pre-funded warrant, for total net proceeds to the Company of $107,665 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by the Company.  The pre-funded warrants are exercisable, subject to the conditions in the warrant agreement, and have an exercise price of $0.01 per share, which is subject to adjustment in the event of certain stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, reclassifications, or similar events affecting the Company’s common stock and also upon any distributions of assets to the Company’s stockholders.

 

 

 

Note 7 – Lease Obligations and Other Contingencies

 

The Company leases certain assets under operating leases, which primarily consisted of real estate leases, laboratory equipment leases and office equipment leases at September 30, 2020. Certain operating leases provide for renewal options, which can vary by lease. The right-of-use asset and lease liabilities on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets represent payments over the lease term, which includes renewal options for certain real estate leases that we are likely to exercise. As part of the Company’s assessment of the lease term, the Company elected the hindsight practical expedient, which allows companies to use current knowledge and expectations when determining the likelihood to extend lease options. Renewal options for the Company’s leases range from 1 to 5 years in length and begin from 2023 through 2026. At September 30, 2020, the weighted average lease term for the Company’s operating leases was 13.7 years. The discount rate used in the calculation of the Company’s right-of-use asset and lease liability was determined based on the stated rate within each contract when available, or the Company’s collateralized borrowing rate from lending institutions. The weighted average discount rate for the Company’s operating leases was 12.8%.

 

The Company has not made any residual value guarantees related to its operating leases; therefore, the Company has no corresponding liability recorded on its Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

Aggregate lease expense under operating leases was $1,321 and $1,064 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively. Certain operating leases include rent escalation provisions, which the Company recognizes as expense on a straight-line basis. Lease expense for leases with an initial term of twelve months or less was not material.

 

Future lease payments for assets under operating leases as of September 30, 2020, are as follows:

 

Remaining Maturities of Lease Liabilities

Year Ending December 31,

 

Operating Leases

2020

 $403 

2021

  851 

2022

  746 

2023

  608 

2024

  577 

Thereafter

  7,908 

Total lease payments

  11,093 

Less imputed interest

  6,249 

Total

 $4,844 

 

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Of the Company’s total lease liability, $925 is a current liability and $3,919 is a long-term liability at September 30, 2020. The current and long-term portions of the Company’s lease liability are presented within “Accrued expenses” and “Other non-current liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company’s right-of-use asset balance associated with operating leases totaled $3,646 at September 30, 2020. This amount is presented within “Other long-term assets” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

 

Item 2.     Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or the future financial performance of BioCryst. Such statements are only predictions, and the actual events or results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this report, as well as those discussed in other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. See “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

 

Cautionary Statement

 

The discussion herein contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are subject to the “safe harbor” created in Section 21E. Forward-looking statements regarding our financial condition and our results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted within the United States (“U.S. GAAP”), as well as projections for the future. The preparation of these financial statements requires our management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis. Our estimates are based on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of our estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources.

 

We operate in a highly competitive environment that involves a number of risks, some of which are beyond our control. We are subject to risks common to biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies, including risks inherent in our drug discovery, drug development and commercialization efforts, clinical trials, uncertainty of regulatory actions and marketing approvals, reliance on collaborative partners, enforcement of patent and proprietary rights, the need for future capital, competition associated with products, potential competition associated with our product candidates and retention of key employees. In order for any of our product candidates to be commercialized, it will be necessary for us, or our collaborative partners, to conduct clinical trials, demonstrate efficacy and safety of the product candidate to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities, obtain marketing approval, enter into manufacturing, distribution and marketing arrangements, and obtain market acceptance and adequate reimbursement from government and private insurers. We cannot provide assurance that we will generate significant revenues or achieve and sustain profitability in the future. In addition, we can provide no assurance that we will have sufficient funding to meet our future capital requirements. Furthermore, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could create challenges in all aspects of our business, including without limitation delays, stoppages, difficulties and increased expenses with respect to our and our partners’ development, regulatory processes and supply chains, could negatively impact our ability to access the capital or credit markets to finance our operations, or could have the effect of heightening many of the risks described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

Statements contained in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and elsewhere in this report which are not historical facts are, or may constitute, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks that could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected results. The most significant known risks are discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors.” Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

 

Our revenues are difficult to predict and depend on numerous factors, including the prevalence and severity of influenza in regions for which peramivir has received regulatory approval, seasonality of influenza, our and our collaborative partners’ commercialization efforts, resources dedicated to our products by our collaborative partners, regulatory approval decisions for ORLADEYO, ongoing discussions with government agencies regarding future peramivir and/or galidesivir development and stockpiling procurement, as well as entering into, or modifying, licensing agreements for our product candidates. Furthermore, revenues related to our collaborative development activities are dependent upon the progress toward and the achievement of developmental milestones by us or our collaborative partners.

 

Our operating expenses are also difficult to predict and depend on several factors, including research and development expenses (and whether these expenses are reimbursable under government contracts), drug manufacturing, and clinical research activities, the ongoing requirements of our development programs, and the availability of capital and direction from regulatory agencies, which are difficult to predict. Management may be able to control the timing and level of research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses, but many of these expenditures will occur irrespective of our actions due to contractually committed activities and/or payments.

 

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As a result of these factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons are not necessarily meaningful and you should not rely on them as an indication of future performance. Due to all of the foregoing factors, it is possible that our operating results will be below the expectations of market analysts and investors. In such event, the prevailing market price of our common stock could be materially adversely affected.

 

Overview

 

We are a biotechnology company that discovers novel, oral, small-molecule medicines. We focus on oral treatments for rare diseases in which significant unmet medical needs exist and an enzyme plays the key role in the biological pathway of the disease. We integrate the disciplines of biology, crystallography, medicinal chemistry and computer modeling to discover and develop small molecule pharmaceuticals through the process known as structure-guided drug design.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

The accompanying discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements and the related disclosures, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We evaluate our estimates, judgments and the policies underlying these estimates on a periodic basis, as situations change, and regularly discuss financial events, policies, and issues with members of our audit committee and our independent registered public accounting firm. We routinely evaluate our estimates and policies regarding revenue recognition, administration, inventory and manufacturing, taxes, stock-based compensation, research and development, consulting and other expenses and any associated liabilities.

 

Recent Corporate Highlights

 

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has severely impacted global economic activity and caused significant volatility in financial markets. To date, our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity have not been materially impacted by the direct effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as discussed under the caption “Complement-Mediated Diseases” below, the acceleration of COVID-19 has slowed startup of the inadequate responder cohorts in our complement oral Factor D inhibitor program. The COVID-19 pandemic is constantly evolving, and its full impact to our business is uncertain. We are monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and are making adjustments intended to assist in protecting the safety of our employees and communities while continuing our business activities. We have implemented remote working arrangements where possible and restricted business-related travel. To date, implementation of these measures has not required material expenditures or significantly impacted our ability to operate our business or our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. We are continuing to monitor developments with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential impacts on our operations and those of our partners, suppliers, and regulators.

 

ORLADEYO™ (berotralstat)

 

ORLADEYO is our lead molecule that is being developed as an oral, once-daily therapy for the prevention of hereditary angioedema (“HAE”) attacks. Based on the data from our successful clinical program, including our pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, APeX-2, and a long-term safety trial, APeX-S, we submitted a new drug application (“NDA”) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in December 2019 for approval of oral, once-daily ORLADEYO for the prevention of HAE attacks. In February 2020, the FDA notified us that it had accepted and filed our NDA for review and that our Prescription Drug User Fee Act date for the NDA is December 3, 2020. In the NDA filing acceptance letter, the FDA stated that it is not currently planning to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss the NDA.

 

On February 3, 2020, we announced we had submitted a new drug application to the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (“PMDA”) for approval of oral, once-daily ORLADEYO for the prevention of HAE attacks. In Japan, ORLADEYO is being reviewed under the Sakigake designation. The PMDA has confirmed its regulatory review schedule, and we expect an approval decision in December 2020.

 

On March 30, 2020, we announced that the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) had validated our marketing authorization application (“MAA”) submission for approval of ORLADEYO for the prevention of HAE attacks. With this validation, the EMA began its formal review of the MAA under the centralized procedure for all member states of the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. We expect an opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use within approximately 12 months from MAA validation.

 

On October 30, 2020, we announced that the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) has granted oral, once-daily ORLADEYO a positive scientific opinion through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (“EAMS”). Under the EAMS, HAE patients in the U.K. aged 12 years and older can gain access to ORLADEYO for the routine prevention of recurrent attacks of HAE before the drug is granted marketing authorization by the European Commission. We previously announced on June 9, 2020 that we have established an expanded access program in the U.S. through which physicians may be able to request ORLADEYO for HAE patients in the U.S. who do not have access to the program through a clinical trial.

 

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In anticipation of a commercial launch of ORLADEYO, we have completed the build-out of our commercial infrastructure to support the successful launch of ORLADEYO in the U.S. Based on proprietary market research, including analyses of HAE prevalence in the U.S. and market research studies with HAE patients, physicians, and payors in the U.S., we anticipate the commercial market for ORLADEYO has the potential to reach a global peak of more than $500 million in annual sales. These expectations are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different. There can be no assurance that regulatory approvals of ORLADEYO will be granted in a timely fashion or at all, that our commercialization methods and strategies will succeed, or that the market for ORLADEYO will develop in line with our current expectations. See the “Risk Factors” section of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including the information under “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—Risks Relating to Drug Development and Commercialization—There can be no assurance that our commercialization efforts, methods, and strategies for our products or technologies will succeed, and our future revenue generation is uncertain” for further discussion of these risks.

 

Complement-Mediated Diseases

 

Discovered by BioCryst, BCX9930 is a novel, oral, potent and selective small molecule inhibitor of Factor D currently in early clinical development for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases. Based on the safety and proof-of-concept data generated to date in PNH patients, we are working closely with key opinion leaders in hematology and nephrology to map the development strategy across a broad set of indications.  Our goal is to develop BCX9930 as a monotherapy for complement-mediated diseases.

 

On June 27, 2019, we announced that we began enrollment of a Phase 1 trial of BCX9930 for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases. The objectives of the trial are to evaluate the safety and tolerability and characterize the pharmacokinetic (“PK”) and pharmacodynamic (“PD”) profiles of BCX9930 after single ascending doses (“SAD”) and multiple ascending doses (“MAD”) in healthy subjects. In part three of the trial, there is an additional objective to demonstrate proof of concept in treatment-naïve paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (“PNH”) patients and PNH patients who are inadequate responders to C5 therapy by evaluating key biomarkers of effectiveness in PNH patients taking BCX9930. Based on the safety, tolerability, PK and PD dose-response results from parts 1 and 2 of the Phase 1 trial, we completed additional MAD dosing cohorts in healthy subjects and advanced to part 3 of the trial, a proof of concept (“PoC”) study of BCX9930 in treatment-naïve PNH patients and in PNH patients who are inadequate responders to eculizumab or ravulizumab.

 

On September 30, 2020, we announced new data from treatment-naïve PNH patients receiving doses through 400 mg twice-daily of oral BCX9930 as monotherapy in an ongoing dose-ranging trial. Oral BCX9930 is driving rapid and dose-dependent reductions in key biomarkers, including lactate dehydrogenase (“LDH”), and increasing hemoglobin levels in all PNH patients in the trial. Increases in hemoglobin levels were maintained without transfusions. BCX9930 has been safe and well tolerated at all doses in the trial. No drug-related serious adverse events have been reported.

 

We are completing the ongoing dose ranging trial in treatment-naïve PNH patients and PNH patients with an inadequate response to C5 inhibitors. Seven treatment-naïve PNH patients are currently receiving BCX9930, with four beyond 12 weeks of therapy, including two with more than 32 weeks on therapy. All seven treatment-naïve patients are continuing to benefit from BCX9930 treatment. Based on the results observed to-date at 400 mg twice-daily and 500 mg twice-daily of oral BCX9930, we plan to add patients at these dose levels, for an overall total of up to 16 subjects with BCX9930 dosed up to 500 mg twice-daily. Because the acceleration of COVID-19 has slowed startup of the inadequate C5 responder cohorts, we expect to report the data from treatment-naïve PNH patients and inadequate C5 responders dosed up to 500 mg twice-daily in the first quarter of 2021.

 

On August 31, 2020, we announced that the FDA has granted Orphan Drug designation for BCX9930 for the treatment of PNH. Orphan Drug designation qualifies BCX9930 for various development incentives, including tax credits for certain clinical costs, a waiver of the new drug application fee, and a designated period of market exclusivity following approval. Earlier in August 2020, the FDA granted Fast Track designation for BCX9930 in PNH. According to the FDA, the purpose of the Fast Track designation is to get important new drugs to the patient earlier by facilitating the development, and expediting the review, of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.

 

Galidesivir (formerly BCX4430)

 

Galidesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug, is an adenosine nucleoside analog that acts to block viral RNA polymerase. It is in advanced development for the treatment of COVID-19, Marburg virus disease and Yellow Fever. Phase 1 clinical safety and pharmacokinetics trials of galidesivir by both intravenous and intramuscular routes of administration in healthy subjects have been conducted. In animal studies, galidesivir has demonstrated activity against a variety of serious pathogens, including Ebola, Marburg, Yellow Fever and Zika viruses. Galidesivir has also demonstrated broad-spectrum activity in vitro against more than 20 RNA viruses in nine different families, including coronaviruses, filoviruses, togaviruses, bunyaviruses, arenaviruses, paramyxoviruses, and flaviviruses. BioCryst is developing galidesivir in collaboration with U.S. government agencies and other institutions.

 

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In April 2020, we agreed with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID/HHS”) to add a group of COVID-19 patients to the ongoing clinical trial in Yellow Fever. On April 9, 2020, we announced that we had opened a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the safety, clinical impact and antiviral effects of galidesivir in patients with COVID-19. The trial (NCT03891420) is being funded by NIAID/HHS, part of the National Institutes of Health. In the COVID-19 patients, efficacy measures include qualitative and quantitative changes from baseline, time to clinical improvement, time to hospital discharge, time to undetectable levels (as measured by polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) in respiratory specimens) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and all-cause mortality. The trial is being conducted in Brazil under a U.S. investigational new drug application, and the protocol also has been approved by the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária and the Brazilian National Ethics Committee. Part 1 of the clinical trial of galidesivir in COVID-19 patients in Brazil has completed enrollment, and we expect to report results in the fourth quarter. The primary endpoint of part 1 is safety. Data is also being collected on secondary endpoints, including clinical outcomes and virology. Based on recent conversations with NIAID/HHS, the major funding partner for the program, we understand that data from part 1 is a gating item for the program and some evidence of clinical and/or virologic activity is important for the program to advance.

 

The galidesivir development program is substantially funded with federal funds from NIAID/HHS and by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (“BARDA/HHS”). Since September 2013, NIAID/HHS has supported us in developing galidesivir as a therapeutic for Ebola and Marburg viruses. Since March 2015, BARDA/HHS has supported the galidesivir development program for the continued development of galidesivir as a potential treatment for filoviruses.

 

We have ongoing studies with NIAID/HHS and academic collaborators to assess the activity of galidesivir against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in both in vitro and animal models. We are also working with NIAID/HHS to increase manufacturing yield and expand the current supply of the drug.

 

On August 31, 2020, we announced that NIAID/HHS awarded us a new $43.9 million contract for the manufacture and evaluation of the safety, efficacy and tolerability of galidesivir and that it also added $2.9 million to its existing contract with us to support the development of galidesivir. The additional funds under these performance-based contracts support the completion of parts 1 and 2 of an ongoing clinical trial of galidesivir in Brazil, conducting a phase 2 clinical trial of galidesivir in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients at high risk for developing severe disease and complications of COVID-19, conducting a clinical pharmacology trial of galidesivir to determine appropriate dosing in patients with renal impairment, and increasing the supply of galidesivir. These contracts are cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts, and as is customary for government contracts of this nature, the government has the right to terminate these contracts at any time for breach or without cause.

 

Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (“FOP”)

 

The goal of the ALK2 inhibitor project program at BioCryst is to discover and develop orally administered kinase inhibitor drug candidates that are able to slow or prevent the progressive formation of bone in soft tissues, also known as heterotopic ossification (“HO”). Our lead compound, BCX9250, reduced HO in an experimental model of ALK2-driven HO in laboratory rats, with up to 89 percent reduction in volume of HO compared to controls. On November 1, 2019, we announced that we had begun a Phase 1 clinical trial with oral BCX9250 for the treatment of FOP. The Phase 1 trial will evaluate single and multiple ascending doses of oral BCX9250 in healthy volunteers. We expect to report the results from the trial by the end of 2020.

 

RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB/RAPIACTA/PERAMIFLU (peramivir injection)

 

On March 4, 2020, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC Tribunal”) delivered a Partial Arbitration Award (the “Partial Arbitration Award”) in the arbitration matter between us and SUL with respect to the SUL Agreement for the commercialization of peramivir by SUL. In the Partial Arbitration Award, the ICC Tribunal found that, during the term, SUL materially breached and abandoned its core duties to us under the Diligent Efforts (as defined in the SUL Agreement) requirements of the SUL Agreement as applicable in the U.S. The ICC Tribunal granted a declaratory judgment in favor of us terminating the SUL Agreement and restoring all rights to peramivir to us. We have agreed with SUL on a transition process for the product, including a full transition of commercialization of the product in the U.S. to us as of August 1, 2020 and a full transition of commercialization of the product in Australia as of November 1, 2020. The ICC Tribunal also awarded us our attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in securing the declaratory judgment as well as the costs incurred by us in the arbitration. Finally, the ICC Tribunal found that SUL breached the SUL Agreement by failing to pay the milestone payment due to us within 30 days of the approval of peramivir for adult use in the European Union and awarded us $5.0 million (plus interest) for this claim. The ICC Tribunal retained jurisdiction for further proceedings for any dispute relating to the return to us of all rights to peramivir in the Territory.

 

On September 3, 2020, we announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has exercised its option to purchase an additional 10,000 doses of our antiviral influenza therapy, RAPIVAB (peramivir injection), for $6.9 million. The order is part of a $34.7 million contract the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded in 2018 for the procurement of up to 50,000 doses of RAPIVAB over a five-year period for the Strategic National Stockpile.

 

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Results of Operations (three months ended September 30, 2020 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2019)

 

For the three months ended September 30, 2020, total revenues were $6.1 million as compared to $1.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019. The increase was primarily due to an increase in collaboration revenue under U.S. government development contracts. Revenues in the third quarter of 2020 included $0.3 million of peramivir product revenue from inventory sales to Shionogi and Green Cross, $0.5 million of royalty revenue from Shionogi, Green Cross and SUL associated with sales of peramivir in Japan, Taiwan, and Australia, $0.3 million of deferred revenue amortization related to the Torii Agreement and $3.1 million of reimbursement of collaborative expenses from NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS related to the development of galidesivir. Revenues in the third quarter of 2019 included $0.3 million of peramivir product revenue from inventory sales to Shionogi, $0.5 million of royalty revenue from Shionogi, Green Cross and SUL associated with sales of peramivir in Japan, Taiwan, and Australia, and $0.9 million of reimbursement of collaborative expenses from NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS related to the development of galidesivir.

 

Research and development (“R&D”) expenses increased to $30.2 million for the third quarter of 2020 from $25.1 million for the third quarter of 2019. During the third quarter of 2020, R&D spending increased on our complement-mediated diseases and galidesivir programs, which was offset by a reduction in spend on the ORLADEYO program as we approach commercial launch.

 

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses for the third quarter of 2020 were $17.2 million compared to $11.7 million in the third quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily due to increased spending on commercial activities and medical affairs to support the U.S. commercial launch of ORLADEYO in 2020.

 

Interest and other income and expense was $(0.3) million in the third quarter of 2020, compared to $0.4 million in the third quarter of 2019. The decrease was primarily due to unrealized foreign currency losses.

 

Interest expense, which is primarily related to our non-recourse notes issued in conjunction with the non-dilutive RAPIACTA royalty monetization transaction in March 2011 and borrowings under our Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility, was $2.9 million in the third quarter of 2020, compared to $3.0 million in the third quarter of 2019.

 

Results of Operations (nine months ended September 30, 2020 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2019)

 

For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, total revenues were $13.8 million as compared to $9.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The increase was primarily due to increased revenue from galidesivir development under U.S. government contracts and amortization of deferred revenue from the Torii Agreement, partially offset by reduced peramivir product sales by our commercial partner in Korea, Green Cross, and lower royalty revenues. Revenues in the first nine months of 2020 included $2.7 million of peramivir product revenue from inventory sales to our commercial partners, $3.5 million of royalty revenue from Shionogi, Green Cross and SUL associated with sales of peramivir in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and the United States, $1.6 million of deferred revenue amortization related to the Torii Agreement and $7.2 million of reimbursement of collaborative expenses from NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS related to the development of galidesivir. Revenues in the first nine months of 2019 included $2.0 million of peramivir product revenue from inventory sales to our commercial partners, $3.5 million of royalty revenue from Shionogi, Green Cross and SUL associated with sales of peramivir in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and the United States, and $3.6 million of reimbursement of collaborative expenses from NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS related to the development of galidesivir.

 

R&D expenses increased to $87.6 million for the first nine months of 2020 from $80.3 million for the first nine months of 2019. The increase in 2020 R&D expenses, as compared to 2019, was primarily due to increased spending on our complement-mediated diseases and galidesivir programs, offset by a reduction in spend on the ORLADEYO program as we approach commercial launch.

 

The following table summarizes our R&D expenses for the periods indicated (amounts are in thousands).

 

   

Three Months Ended

   

Nine Months Ended

 
   

September 30,

   

September 30,

 
   

2020

   

2019

   

2020

   

2019

 

R&D expenses by program:

                               

BCX7353

  $ 9,947     $ 11,094     $ 36,337     $ 43,501  

BCX9930

    11,862       9,134       27,305       19,964  

Galidesivir

    3,035       836       7,395       3,383  

BCX9250

    231       1,089       2,622       4,611  

Peramivir

    296       527       1,433       1,731  

Other research, preclinical and development costs

    4,874       2,440       12,518       7,104  

Total R&D expenses

  $ 30,245     $ 25,120     $ 87,610     $ 80,294  

 

SG&A expenses for the first nine months of 2020 were $46.9 million compared to $26.6 million in the first nine months of 2019. The increase was primarily due to increased spending on commercial activities and medical affairs to support the U.S. commercial launch of ORLADEYO in 2020 and contingent legal costs associated with our arbitration proceedings.

 

Interest and other income was $9.0 million in the first nine months of 2020, compared to $1.5 million in the first nine months of 2019. The increase was primarily due to recognition of income related to our arbitration proceedings.

 

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Interest expense, which is primarily related to our non-recourse notes issued in conjunction with the non-dilutive RAPIACTA royalty monetization transaction in March 2011 and borrowings under our Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility, was $8.9 million in the first nine months of 2020, compared to $8.8 million in the first nine months of 2019.

 

A mark-to-market loss of $0.6 million was recognized in the first nine months of 2020 related to our foreign currency hedge, compared to a mark-to-market loss of $0.5 million in the same period in the prior year, both resulting from changes in the U.S. dollar/Japanese yen exchange rate in the related time periods. In addition, we realized currency exchange gains of $0.7 million and $0.9 million in the first nine months of 2020 and 2019, respectively, associated with the exercise of a U.S. dollar/Japanese yen currency option under our foreign currency hedge.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Cash expenditures have exceeded revenues since our inception, and we expect our 2020 operating expenses to exceed our 2020 revenues. Our operations have principally been funded through public offerings and private placements of equity securities; cash from collaborative and other research and development agreements, including U.S. Government contracts for RAPIVAB and galidesivir; and to a lesser extent, the PhaRMA Notes financing and the Senior Credit Facility, the Amended and Restated Credit Facility, and the Second Amended and Restated Credit Facility. To date, we have been awarded a BARDA/HHS RAPIVAB development contract totaling $234.8 million, which expired on June 30, 2014, a NIAID/HHS galidesivir development contract totaling $45.9 million, which is ongoing, a second NIAID/HHS galidesivir development contract totaling $43.9 million, which is ongoing, and a BARDA/HHS galidesivir development contract totaling $39.1 million, which is also ongoing. The total amount of NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS galidesivir funding obligated under awarded options is $52.2 million and $20.6 million, respectively. We may issue securities through private placement transactions or registered public offerings pursuant to a registration statement filed with the SEC. On June 1, 2020, we issued 22,044,447 shares of common stock to the public at a purchase price of $4.50 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase 3,511,111 shares of common stock at a purchase of $4.49 per pre-funded warrant, for total net proceeds to us of $107.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by us.  The pre-funded warrants are immediately exercisable and have an exercise price of $0.01 per share, which is subject to adjustment in the event of certain stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, reclassifications, or similar events affecting our common stock and also upon any distributions of assets to our stockholders. In addition to the above, we have previously received funding from other sources, including other collaborative and other research and development agreements; government grants; equipment lease financing; facility leases; research grants; and interest income on our investments.

 

As of September 30, 2020, we had net working capital of $50.7 million, a decrease of approximately $21.3 million from $72.0 million at December 31, 2019. The decrease in working capital was principally due to our normal operating expenses associated with the development of our product candidates, partially offset by the June 2020 public offering of our common stock and pre-funded warrants to purchase our common stock. Our principal sources of liquidity at September 30, 2020 were approximately $96.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and approximately $49.8 million in investments considered available-for-sale. We anticipate our cash and investments will fund our planned operations through the second quarter of 2021.

 

We intend to contain costs and cash flow requirements by closely managing our third-party costs and headcount, leasing scientific equipment and facilities, contracting with other parties to conduct certain research and development projects and using consultants. We expect to incur additional expenses, potentially resulting in significant losses, as we continue to pursue our research and development activities and begin to build a commercial infrastructure. We may incur additional expenses related to the filing, prosecution, maintenance, defense and enforcement of patent and other intellectual property claims and additional regulatory costs as our clinical programs advance through later stages of development. The objective of our investment policy is to ensure the safety and preservation of invested funds, as well as maintaining liquidity sufficient to meet cash flow requirements. We place our excess cash with high credit quality financial institutions, commercial companies, and government agencies in order to limit the amount of our credit exposure. We have not realized any significant losses on our investments.

 

We plan to finance our needs principally from the following:

 

 

lease, royalty or loan financing and future public or private equity or debt financing;

 

 

our existing capital resources and interest earned on that capital;

 

 

payments under existing and executing new contracts with the U.S. Government; and

 

 

payments under current or future collaborative and licensing agreements with corporate partners.

 

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As our programs continue to advance, our costs will increase. Our current and planned clinical trials, plus the related development, manufacturing, regulatory approval process requirements and additional personnel resources and testing required for the continuing development of our product candidates will consume significant capital resources and will increase our expenses. Our expenses, revenues and cash utilization rate could vary significantly depending on many factors, including our ability to raise additional capital, the development progress of our collaborative agreements for our product candidates, the amount and timing of funding we receive from existing U.S. Government contracts for galidesivir, the amount of funding or assistance, if any, we receive from new U.S. Government contracts or other new partnerships with third parties for the development and/or commercialization of our product candidates, the progress and results of our current and proposed clinical trials for our most advanced product candidates, the progress made in the manufacturing of our lead product candidates, commercialization of our products, and the overall progression of our other programs. The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on one or more of the foregoing factors could negatively affect our expenses, revenues and cash utilization rate.

 

With the funds available at September 30, 2020, we believe our financial resources will be sufficient to fund our planned operations through the second quarter of 2021. We have sustained operating losses for the majority of our corporate history and expect that our 2020 expenses will exceed our 2020 revenues. We expect to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows until revenues reach a level sufficient to support ongoing operations. Accordingly, our planned operations raise doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern throughout 2021. Our liquidity needs will be largely determined by the success of operations in regard to the progression of our product candidates in the future. We also may consider other plans to fund operations through 2021 including: (1) securing or increasing U.S. Government funding of our programs, including obtaining procurement contracts; (2) out-licensing rights to certain of our products or product candidates, pursuant to which we would receive cash milestone payments; (3) raising additional capital through equity or debt financings or from other sources, including royalty or other monetization transactions; (4) obtaining additional product candidate regulatory approvals, which would generate revenue, milestone payments and cash flow; (5) reducing spending on one or more research and development programs, including by discontinuing development; and/or (6) restructuring operations to change our overhead structure. We may issue securities, including common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, purchase contracts, warrants, debt securities and units, through private placement transactions or registered public offerings. Our future liquidity needs, and ability to address those needs, will largely be determined by the success of our product candidates, the timing, scope and magnitude of our commercial expenses and key development and regulatory events and our decisions in the future.

 

Our long-term capital requirements and the adequacy of our available funds will depend upon many factors, including:

 

 

our ability to perform under our government contracts and receive reimbursement thereunder, and receive stockpiling procurement contracts;

 

 

the magnitude of work under our government contracts;

 

 

the progress and magnitude of our research, drug discovery and development programs;

 

 

changes in existing collaborative relationships or government contracts;

 

 

our ability to establish additional collaborative relationships with academic institutions, biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies and governmental agencies or other third parties;

 

 

the extent to which our partners, including governmental agencies, will share in the costs associated with the development of our programs or run the development programs themselves;

 

 

our ability to negotiate favorable development and marketing strategic alliances for certain product candidates or a decision to build or expand internal development and commercial capabilities;

 

 

successful commercialization of marketed products by either us or a partner;

 

 

the scope and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials to identify and develop product candidates;

 

 

our ability to engage sites and enroll subjects in our clinical trials;

 

 

the scope of manufacturing of our product candidates to support our preclinical research and clinical trials;

 

 

increases in personnel and related costs to support the development and commercialization of our product candidates;

 

 

the scope of manufacturing of our drug substance and product candidates required for future NDA filings;

 

 

competitive and technological advances;

 

 

the time and costs involved in obtaining regulatory approvals;

 

 

post-approval commitments for RAPIVAB and other products that receive regulatory approval; and

 

 

the costs involved in all aspects of intellectual property strategy and protection including the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing patent claims.

 

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The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on one or more of the foregoing factors could negatively affect our capital requirements and the availability of funds to finance those requirements.

 

We expect that we will be required to raise additional capital to complete the development and commercialization of our current product candidates, and we may seek to raise capital in the future. Additional funding, whether through equity or debt financings, royalty or other monetization transactions, collaborative or other arrangements with corporate partners or from other sources, including governmental agencies in general and existing government contracts specifically, may not be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us. The issuance of preferred or common stock or convertible securities, with terms and prices significantly more favorable than those of the currently outstanding common stock, could have the effect of diluting or adversely affecting the holdings or rights of our existing stockholders. In addition, collaborative arrangements may require us to transfer certain material rights to such corporate partners. Insufficient funds may require us to delay, scale back or eliminate certain of our research and development programs. Our future working capital requirements, including the need for additional working capital, will be largely determined by the advancement of our portfolio of product candidates as well as the rate of reimbursement by U.S. Government agencies of our galidesivir expenses and any future decisions regarding the future of the RAPIVAB and galidesivir programs, including those relating to stockpiling procurement. More specifically, our working capital requirements will be dependent on the number, magnitude, scope and timing of our development programs; regulatory approval of our product candidates; obtaining funding from collaborative partners; the cost, timing and outcome of regulatory reviews, regulatory investigations, and changes in regulatory requirements; the costs of obtaining patent protection for our product candidates; the timing and terms of business development activities; the rate of technological advances relevant to our operations; the efficiency of manufacturing processes developed on our behalf by third parties; the timing, scope and magnitude of commercial spending, and the level of required administrative support for our daily operations.

 

The restrictive covenants contained in the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility could cause us to be unable to pursue business opportunities that we or our stockholders may consider beneficial without the lender’s permission or without repaying all Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility obligations. These covenants limit our ability to, among other things, convey, sell, lease, license, transfer or otherwise dispose of certain parts of our business or property; change the nature of our business; liquidate or dissolve; enter into certain change in control or acquisition transactions; incur or assume certain debt; grant certain types of liens on our assets; modify, liquidate or transfer assets in certain collateral accounts; pay dividends or make certain distributions to our stockholders; make certain investments; enter into material transactions with affiliates; and modify existing debt or collaboration arrangements. A breach of any of these covenants could result in an event of default under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility.

 

Financial Outlook for 2020

 

With the additional capital raised in the second quarter of 2020 and the safety and proof-of-concept data generated to date with BCX9930 in PNH patients, we are investing in accelerated development of BCX9930 and expect full year 2020 net operating cash use to be in the range of $150 to $165 million, and our operating expenses to be in the range of $180 to $195 million. Our operating expense range excludes equity-based compensation expense due to the difficulty in accurately projecting this expense as it is significantly impacted by the volatility and price of our stock, as well as vesting of our outstanding performance-based stock options. Our operating cash forecast excludes any impact of our royalty monetization, hedge collateral posted or returned, and any other non-routine cash outflows or inflows. Our ability to remain within our operating expense and operating cash target ranges is subject to multiple factors, including unanticipated or additional general development and administrative costs and other factors described under the Risk Factors located elsewhere in this report.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of September 30, 2020, we do not have any unconsolidated entities or off–balance sheet arrangements.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

We have established various accounting policies that govern the application of U.S. GAAP, which were utilized in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. Certain accounting policies involve significant judgments and assumptions by management that have a material impact on the carrying value of certain assets and liabilities. Management considers such accounting policies to be critical accounting policies. The judgments and assumptions used by management are based on historical experience and other factors, which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Because of the nature of the judgments and assumptions made by management, actual results could differ from these judgments and estimates, which could have a material impact on the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the results of operations.

 

While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, we believe that the following accounting policies are the most critical to aid you in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results and affect the more significant judgments and estimates that we use in the preparation of our financial statements.

 

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Inventory

 

Our inventories consist of peramivir finished goods and work in process, which are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value using the first-in, first-out (i.e., FIFO) method. Cost includes materials, labor, overhead, shipping and handling costs. Our inventories are subject to expiration dating. We regularly evaluate the carrying value of our inventories and provide valuation reserves for any estimated obsolete, short-dated or unmarketable inventories. In addition, we may experience spoilage of our raw materials and supplies. Our determination that a valuation reserve might be required, in addition to the quantification of such reserve, requires us to utilize significant judgment. In connection with the FDA approval of RAPIVAB and other regulatory approvals, we began capitalizing costs associated with the production of peramivir inventories.

 

Accrued Expenses

 

We enter into contractual agreements with third-party vendors who provide research and development, manufacturing, and other services in the ordinary course of business. Some of these contracts are subject to milestone-based invoicing and services are completed over an extended period of time. We record liabilities under these contractual commitments when an obligation has been incurred. This accrual process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with our applicable personnel to identify services that have been performed and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. The majority of our service providers invoice us monthly in arrears for services performed. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date based on the facts and circumstances known to us. We periodically confirm the accuracy of our estimates with the service providers and make adjustments if necessary. Examples of estimated accrued expenses include:

 

 

fees paid to Clinical Research Organizations (“CROs”) in connection with preclinical and toxicology studies and clinical trials;

 

 

fees paid to investigative sites in connection with clinical trials;

 

 

fees paid to contract manufacturers in connection with the production of our raw materials, drug substance and product candidates; and

 

 

professional fees.

 

We base our expenses related to clinical trials on our estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to contracts with multiple research institutions and CROs that conduct and manage clinical trials on our behalf. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven payment flows. Payments under some of these contracts depend on factors such as the successful enrollment of patients and the completion of clinical trial milestones. In accruing service fees, we estimate the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from our estimate, we will adjust the accrual accordingly. If we do not identify costs that we have begun to incur or if we underestimate or overestimate the level of these costs, our actual expenses could differ from our estimates.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

Collaborative and Other Research and Development Arrangements and Royalties

 

We recognize revenue when we satisfy a performance obligation by transferring promised goods or services to a customer. Revenue is measured at the transaction price that is based on the amount of consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for transferring the promised goods or services to the customer. The transaction price includes estimates of variable consideration to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue recognized will not occur.

 

We have collaboration and license agreements with a number of third parties as well as research and development agreements with certain government entities. Our primary sources of revenue are license, service, royalty and product sale revenues from these collaborative and other research and development arrangements.

 

Revenue from license fees, royalty payments, milestone payments, and research and development fees are recognized as revenue when the earnings process is complete and we have no further continuing performance obligations or we have completed the performance obligations under the terms of the agreement.

 

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Arrangements that involve the delivery of more than one performance obligation are initially evaluated as to whether the intellectual property licenses granted by us represent distinct performance obligations. If they are determined to be distinct, the value of the intellectual property licenses would be recognized up-front while the research and development service fees would be recognized as the performance obligations are satisfied. Variable consideration is assessed at each reporting period as to whether it is not subject to significant future reversal and, therefore, should be included in the transaction price at the inception of the contract. If a contract includes a fixed or minimum amount of research and development support, this also would be included in the transaction price. Changes to collaborations, such as the extensions of the research term or increasing the number of targets or technology covered under an existing agreement, are assessed for whether they represent a modification or should be accounted for as a new contract. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, revenue is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. Standalone selling prices are based on observable prices at which we separately sell the products or services. If a standalone selling price is not directly observable, then we estimate the standalone selling price considering market conditions and entity-specific factors. Analyzing the arrangement to identify performance obligations requires the use of judgment, and each may be an obligation to deliver services, a right or license to use an asset, or another performance obligation.

 

Milestone payments are recognized as licensing revenue upon the achievement of specified milestones if (i) the milestone is substantive in nature and the achievement of the milestone was not probable at the inception of the agreement; and (ii) we have a right to payment. Any milestone payments received prior to satisfying these revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue.

 

Reimbursements received for direct out-of-pocket expenses related to research and development costs are recorded as revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss rather than as a reduction in expenses. Under our contracts with BARDA/HHS and NIAID/HHS, revenue is recognized as reimbursable direct and indirect costs are incurred.

 

Under certain of our license agreements, we receive royalty payments based upon our licensees’ net sales of covered products. Royalties are recognized at the later of when (i) the subsequent sale or usage occurs, or (ii) the performance obligation to which some or all of the sales-based or usage-based royalty has been satisfied.

 

Product Sales

 

Our principal sources of product sales are sales of peramivir to our licensing partners and sales of RAPIVAB to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under our procurement contract. We recognize revenue for sales when the customer obtains control of the product, which generally occurs upon delivery.

 

Contract Balances

 

The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections results in billed accounts receivable, unbilled receivables (contract assets) and deferred revenue and billings in excess of revenue recognized (contract liabilities) on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

Contract assets - Our long-term contracts are billed as work progresses in accordance with the contract terms and conditions, either at periodic intervals or upon achievement of certain milestones. Often this results in billing occurring subsequent to revenue recognition, resulting in contract assets. Contract assets are generally classified as current assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

Contract liabilities - We often receive cash payments from customers in advance of our performance, resulting in contract liabilities. These contract liabilities are classified as either current or long-term in the Consolidated Balance Sheets based on the timing of when we expect to recognize the revenue.

 

Contract Costs

 

We may incur direct and indirect costs associated with obtaining a contract. Incremental contract costs that we expect to recover are capitalized and amortized over the expected term of the contract. Non-incremental contract costs and costs that we expect to recover are expensed as incurred.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

Our research and development costs are charged to expense when incurred. Advance payments for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized. Such amounts are recognized as expense when the related goods are delivered or the related services are performed. Research and development expenses include, among other items, personnel costs, including salaries and benefits; manufacturing costs; clinical, regulatory, and toxicology services performed by CROs; materials and supplies and overhead allocations consisting of various administrative and facilities related costs. Most of our manufacturing and clinical and preclinical studies are performed by third-party CROs. Costs for studies performed by CROs are accrued by us over the service periods specified in the contracts and estimates are adjusted, if required, based upon our on-going review of the level of services actually performed.

 

Additionally, we have license agreements with third parties, such as the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Industrial Research, Ltd. and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (“UAB”), which require fees related to sublicense agreements or maintenance fees. We expense sublicense payments as incurred unless they are related to revenues that have been deferred, in which case the expenses are deferred and recognized over the related revenue recognition period. We expense maintenance payments as incurred.

 

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Deferred collaboration expenses represent sub-license payments paid to our academic partners upon receipt of consideration from various commercial partners, and other consideration to our academic partners for modification to existing license agreements. These deferred expenses would not have been incurred without receipt of such payments or modifications from our commercial partners and are being expensed in proportion to the related revenue being recognized. We believe that this accounting treatment appropriately matches expenses with the associated revenue.

 

We group our R&D expenses into two major categories: direct external expenses and indirect expenses. Direct expenses consist of compensation for R&D personnel and costs of outside parties to conduct laboratory studies, develop manufacturing processes and manufacture the product candidate, conduct and manage clinical trials, as well as other costs related to our clinical and preclinical studies. These costs are accumulated and tracked by active program. Indirect expenses consist of lab supplies and services, facility expenses, depreciation of development equipment and other overhead of our research and development efforts. These costs apply to work on non-active product candidates and our discovery research efforts.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

All share-based payments, including grants of stock option awards and restricted stock unit awards, are recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss based on their fair values. Stock-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award. Determining the appropriate fair value model and the related assumptions for the model requires judgment, including estimating the life of an award, the stock price volatility, and the expected term. We utilize the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value our awards and recognize compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting periods. The estimation of share-based payment awards that will ultimately vest requires judgment, and to the extent actual results or updated estimates differ from our current estimates, such amounts will be recorded as a cumulative adjustment in the period estimates are revised. In addition, we have outstanding performance-based stock options for which no compensation expense is recognized until “performance” has occurred. Significant management judgment is also required in determining estimates of future stock price volatility and forfeitures to be used in the valuation of the options. Actual results, and future changes in estimates, may differ substantially from our current estimates.

 

Currency Hedge Agreement

 

In connection with our issuance of the PhaRMA Notes, we entered into a foreign Currency Hedge Agreement to hedge certain risks associated with changes in the value of the Japanese yen relative to the U.S. dollar. Under the Currency Hedge Agreement, we have the right to purchase dollars and sell yen at a rate of 100 yen per dollar.

 

The Currency Hedge Agreement does not qualify for hedge accounting treatment and therefore mark to market adjustments will be recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. Mark to market adjustments are determined by quoted prices in markets that are not actively traded and for which significant inputs are observable directly or indirectly, representing the Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as defined by generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). We are also required to post collateral in connection with the mark to market adjustments based on defined thresholds. As of September 30, 2020, no collateral was posted under the agreement.

 

Tax

 

We account for uncertain tax positions in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against net deferred tax assets. We have recorded a valuation allowance against all potential tax assets, due to uncertainties in our ability to utilize deferred tax assets, primarily consisting of certain net operating losses carried forward, before they expire. The valuation allowance is based on estimates of taxable income in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate and the period over which our deferred tax assets will be recoverable.

 

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This filing contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created in Section 21E. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this filing are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” the negative of these words or similar expressions. Statements that describe our future plans, strategies, intentions, expectations, objectives, goals or prospects are also forward-looking statements. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements are principally contained in “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” as well as any amendments we make to those sections in filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

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the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of our business, including without limitation delays, stoppages, difficulties and increased expenses with respect to our and our partners’ development, regulatory and supply chain operations, or on our ability to access the capital or credit markets to finance our operations;

 

 

the preclinical development, clinical development, commercialization, or post-marketing studies of our product candidates and products, including ORLADEYO, BCX9930, BCX9250, peramivir, galidesivir, and early stage discovery programs; 

 

 

the potential funding from our contracts with NIAID/HHS and BARDA/HHS for the development of galidesivir;

 

 

the potential for government stockpiling orders of peramivir and galidesivir, additional regulatory approvals of peramivir, or milestones, royalties or profit from sales of peramivir by us or our partners;

 

 

the potential use of peramivir as a treatment for H1N1, H5N1, and H7N9 or other strains of influenza;

 

 

the implementation of our business model, strategic plans for our business, products, product candidates and technology;

 

 

our ability to establish and maintain collaborations or out-license rights to our product candidates;

 

 

the outcome, cost and timing of any resolution of disputes and legal proceedings, including but not limited to the dispute with our partner SUL;

 

 

plans, programs, progress and potential success of our collaborations, including Mundipharma for mundesine, Torii for ORLADEYO in Japan and Shionogi and Green Cross for peramivir in their territories;

 

 

our and MDCP’s ability to satisfy obligations under our Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility;

 

 

Royalty Sub’s ability to service its payment obligations in respect of the PhaRMA Notes;

 

 

the Currency Hedge Agreement entered into by us in connection with the issuance by Royalty Sub of the PhaRMA Notes;

 

 

the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and technology;

 

 

our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others;

 

 

estimates of our expenses, revenues, capital requirements, annual cash utilization, and our needs for additional financing;

 

 

our ability to continue as a going concern;

 

 

the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings or regulatory agreements, deferrals, and approvals;

 

 

the timing or likelihood of entering into a U.S. government stockpile order and our ability to execute any such order;

 

 

our plans and ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations or repay our recourse debt obligations;

 

 

our ability to comply with the covenants as set forth in the agreements governing our debt obligations;

 

 

our financial performance;

 

 

the timing and success of our anticipated commercialization of ORLADEYO in the U.S. and elsewhere; and

 

 

competitive companies, technologies and our industry.

 

These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those listed under “Risk Factors.” Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, industry and future growth. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.

 

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Item 3.     Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

 

Interest Rate Risk

 

We are subject to interest rate risk on our investment portfolio and borrowings under our fixed-interest rate PhaRMA Notes and our variable-interest rate Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility. The interest rate applicable to our borrowings under the PhaRMA Notes is fixed at 14.0%, and the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility bears a floating interest rate based on LIBOR. Increases in interest rates could therefore increase the associated interest payments that we are required to make on the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility. As of September 30, 2020, our Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility had an interest rate of 8.5%.

 

We invest in marketable securities in accordance with our investment policy. The primary objectives of our investment policy are to preserve capital, maintain proper liquidity to meet operating needs and maximize yields. Our investment policy specifies credit quality standards for our investments and limits the amount of credit exposure to any single issue, issuer or type of investment. We place our excess cash with high credit quality financial institutions, commercial companies, and government agencies in order to limit the amount of credit exposure. Some of the securities we invest in may have market risk. This means that a change in prevailing interest rates may cause the principal amount of the investment to fluctuate.

 

Our investment exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates to the increase or decrease in the amount of interest income we can earn on our portfolio, changes in the market value due to changes in interest rates and other market factors as well as the increase or decrease in any realized gains and losses. Our investment portfolio includes only marketable securities and instruments with active secondary or resale markets to help ensure portfolio liquidity. A hypothetical 100 basis point increase or decrease in interest rates along the entire interest rate yield curve would not significantly affect the fair value of our interest sensitive financial instruments, including our borrowings, but may affect our future earnings and cash flows. We generally have the ability to hold our fixed-income investments to maturity and therefore do not expect that our operating results, financial position or cash flows will be materially impacted due to a sudden change in interest rates. However, our future investment income may fall short of expectations due to changes in interest rates, or we may suffer losses in principal if forced to sell securities which have declined in market value due to changes in interest rates or other factors, such as changes in credit risk related to the securities’ issuers. To minimize this risk, we schedule our investments to have maturities that coincide with our expected cash flow needs, thus avoiding the need to redeem an investment prior to its maturity date. Accordingly, we do not believe that we have material exposure to interest rate risk arising from our investments. Generally, our investments are not collateralized. We have not realized any significant losses from our investments.

 

We do not use interest rate derivative instruments to manage exposure to interest rate changes. We ensure the safety and preservation of invested principal funds by limiting default risk, market risk and reinvestment risk. We reduce default risk by investing in investment grade securities.

 

Foreign Currency Risk

 

The majority of our transactions and the greatest magnitude of these transactions occur in U.S. dollars and we do not have significant operating subsidiaries or significant investments in foreign countries as of September 30, 2020. Therefore, we are not subject to significant foreign currency exchange risk in our normal operations.

 

Item 4.     Controls and Procedures

 

We maintain a set of disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information relating to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. required to be disclosed in our periodic filings under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely manner under the Exchange Act. We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of September 30, 2020, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports filed or submitted by it under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and include controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in such reports is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended September 30, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1A.     RISK FACTORS

 

An investment in our stock involves risks. You should carefully read this entire report and consider the following uncertainties and risks, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, along with all of the other information included in our other filings with the SEC, before deciding to buy our common stock.

 

Risks Relating to Our Business

 

Risks Relating to COVID-19

 

Our business, operations, clinical development or commercialization plans and timelines, and access to capital could be adversely affected by the effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic on us or on third parties with whom we conduct business, including without limitation our development partners, manufacturers, CROs, and others, as well as on the regulatory and government agencies with whom we work.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to multiple countries around the world, is affecting the United States and global economies, and may cause significant disruptions to our business, operations, and clinical development or commercialization plans and timelines, as well as the business and operations of third parties with whom we conduct business. For example, quarantines, shelter-in-place and similar government orders have impacted and may continue to impact, among other things: (1) our personnel and those of third parties on whom we rely, including our development partners (such as Torii), manufacturers, CROs, and others; (2) the conduct of our current and future clinical trials; and (3) the operations of the FDA, EMA, PMDA and other health and governmental authorities, which could result in delays of reviews and approvals.

 

If our operations or those of third parties with whom we conduct business are impaired or curtailed as a result of these events, the development and commercialization of our products and product candidates could be stopped or delayed, or the costs of such development and commercialization activities could increase, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our business. For example, if interruptions related to COVID-19 were to impair our or Torii’s ability to perform under the Torii Agreement to complete our regulatory interactions in Japan, including with respect to the pending Japanese NDA with respect to ORLADEYO for the treatment of HAE, then the timing and success of our development and commercialization of ORLADEYO in Japan could be severely impacted.

 

Our suppliers or other vendors may be unable to meet their obligations to us or perform their services as expected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or other health epidemics. In such circumstances, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative suppliers or vendors or do so on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner. Such delays could adversely impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development and any future commercialization timelines. Although we carefully manage our relationships with our suppliers and vendors, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.

 

In addition, our clinical trials may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the acceleration of COVID-19 has slowed startup of the inadequate C5 responder cohorts in our complement oral Factor D inhibitor program and, as a result, delayed the reporting of related data. Clinical site initiation and patient enrollment may be delayed due to prioritization of hospital resources toward the COVID-19 pandemic or concerns among patients about participating in clinical trials during a pandemic. Some patients may have difficulty following certain aspects of clinical trial protocols if quarantines impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services. Similarly, our inability to successfully recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19 or experience additional restrictions by their institutions, city, or state could adversely impact our clinical trial operations.

 

If global health concerns prevent the FDA, EMA, PMDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting their inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA, EMA, PMDA or other regulatory authorities to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and clinical development plans and timelines.

 

We have implemented work-from-home policies for our employees, which may negatively impact productivity, disrupt our business and delay our clinical programs and timelines, the magnitude of which will depend, in part, on the length and severity of the restrictions and other limitations on our ability to conduct our business in the ordinary course. These and similar, and perhaps more severe, disruptions in our operations could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

The spread of COVID-19, which has caused a broad impact globally, may also materially affect our access to capital. While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, the pandemic could result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access the equity or debt capital markets or obtain other sources of capital, which could negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of our common stock.

 

The global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to evolve rapidly. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar health epidemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. These effects could be material, and we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely. We do not yet know the full extent and magnitude of the impacts that COVID-19 has had or will have on our business, on the healthcare system, or on the global economy. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic could have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described below.

 

General Operating and Liquidity Risks

 

We have incurred losses since our inception, expect to continue to incur such losses, and may never be profitable.

 

Since our inception, we have not achieved sustained profitability. We expect to incur additional losses for the foreseeable future, and our losses could increase as our research and development efforts and commercial activities progress. We expect that such losses will fluctuate from quarter to quarter and that losses and fluctuations may be substantial. To become profitable, we, or our collaborative partners, must successfully manufacture and develop product candidates, receive regulatory approval, and successfully commercialize and/or enter into profitable commercialization arrangements with other parties. It could be several years, if ever, before we receive significant revenue from any current or future license agreements or revenues directly from product sales.

 

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing our product candidates and their potential for commercialization, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. If we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the market value of our common stock will likely decline.

 

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We may not be able to continue as a going concern if we do not obtain additional capital.

 

We have sustained operating losses for the majority of our corporate history and expect that our 2020 expenses will exceed our 2020 revenues. We expect to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows until revenues reach a level sufficient to support ongoing operations.

 

Our liquidity needs will be largely determined by the success of operations in regard to the progression of our product candidates in the future. Our plans to alleviate the doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern primarily include controlling the timing and spending on our research and development programs, raising additional funds through equity financings, and commercializing approved product candidates. We also may consider other plans to fund operations including: (1) securing or increasing U.S. Government funding of our programs, including obtaining additional and delivering on procurement contracts; (2) out-licensing rights to certain of our products or product candidates, pursuant to which we would receive cash milestone payments and/or royalties; (3) raising additional capital through equity or debt financings or from other sources, including royalty or other monetization transactions; (4) obtaining additional product candidate regulatory approvals, which would generate revenue, milestones and cash flow; (5) reducing spending on research and development programs, including by discontinuing and suspending development; and/or (6) restructuring operations to change our overhead structure.

 

There can be no assurance that any of our plans will be successful or that additional capital will be available to us on reasonable terms, or at all, when needed. If we are unable to obtain sufficient additional capital, we may be forced to curtail operations, delay or stop ongoing clinical trials, cease operations altogether or file for bankruptcy.

 

Risks Relating to Drug Development and Commercialization

 

Our success depends upon our ability to advance our products through the various stages of development, especially through the clinical trial process, and to receive regulatory approval for the commercial sale of our products.

 

To receive the regulatory approvals necessary for the commercial sale of our product candidates, we or our partners must demonstrate through preclinical studies and clinical trials that each product candidate is safe and effective. The development process and related regulatory process are complex and uncertain. The preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates is susceptible to the risk of failure inherent at any stage of drug development, including failure to demonstrate efficacy and safety, the occurrence of adverse events that are severe or medically or commercially unacceptable, our or our partners’ failure to comply with trial protocols, applicable regulatory requirements, and industry standards, or a determination by the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority that a product candidate may not continue development or be approved in accordance with our development plans or at all. We cannot guarantee that any preclinical studies and clinical trials will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all, or that the results of such trials will be sufficient to support regulatory approval for our product candidates.

 

Progression of our product candidates through the clinical development process is dependent upon our trials indicating that our product candidates have adequate safety and efficacy in the patients being treated by achieving pre-determined safety and efficacy endpoints according to the clinical trial protocols. Failure to achieve any of these endpoints in any of our programs, including ORLADEYO, BCX9930, BCX9250, galidesivir, and our other rare disease product candidates, could result in delays in or modifications to our trials or require the performance of additional unplanned trials. If any of our product candidates is associated with adverse events or undesirable side effects or has properties that are unexpected, we may need to abandon development or limit development of that product candidate to certain uses or subpopulations in which the undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Product candidates that initially show promise in clinical or preclinical testing could later be found to cause undesirable or unexpected side effects that could result in delays in the development of our product candidates, significant unexpected costs, or the termination of programs. The development plans for our product candidates, including our clinical trials, may not be adequately designed or executed, which could negatively affect the outcome and analysis of study results. Because of the cost and duration of clinical trials, we may decide to discontinue development of product candidates that are unlikely to show favorable results in clinical trials, unlikely to help advance a product to the point of a meaningful collaboration, or unlikely to have reasonable commercial potential.

 

Undesirable or inconclusive data in our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials or side effects in humans could result in the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities (including, e.g., the EMA, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor & Welfare (“MHLW”) or the MHRA) refusing to approve a product candidate for any targeted indications or imposing restrictions or warnings that could impact development or the ultimate commercial viability of a product candidate. In addition, the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may determine that study data from our product candidates necessitates additional studies or study designs which differ from our planned development strategy, and such regulatory authorities may also require patient monitoring and testing or may implement restrictions or other conditions on our development activities, any of which could materially impact the cost and timing of our planned development strategy. We, our partners, the FDA, or foreign regulatory authorities may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time if we or they believe the trial participants face unacceptable health risks.

 

Our ability to successfully complete the clinical development process is dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to:

 

 

our or our partners’ ability to secure suitable clinical sites and investigators and to enroll and maintain an adequate number of patients on a timely basis or at all;

 

 

patients that enroll in a clinical trial may not comply with the clinical trial protocol or maintain contact with investigators to provide complete data during and after treatment;

 

 

our product candidates may not prove to be either safe or effective or may produce unfavorable or inconclusive results;

 

 

we or our partners may decide, or be required by regulatory authorities, to suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks, undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics of the product candidate, noncompliance with regulatory requirements or their standards of conduct, or findings of undesirable effects caused by a chemically or mechanistically similar product or product candidate;

 

 

regulatory authorities may disagree with our or our partners’ clinical trial protocols or our or their interpretation of data from preclinical studies and clinical trials;

 

 

clinical protocols or study procedures may not be adequately designed or followed by the investigators;

 

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formulation improvements may not work as expected, which could negatively impact commercial demand for our product candidates;

 

 

regulatory authorities may fail to approve or subsequently find fault with the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we or our partners enter into agreements for clinical and commercial supplies;

 

 

the supply or quantity of raw materials or manufactured product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct development activities may be insufficient, inadequate, or unavailable at an acceptable cost, and we or our partners may experience interruptions in supply;

 

 

our or our partners’ development plans may be delayed or changed as a result of changes in development strategy, the impact of new or different regulations, requirements, and guidelines, or other unexpected events or conditions;

 

 

the cost of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may be greater than we anticipate;

 

 

we or our third-party contractors, including those manufacturing our product candidates or components or ingredients thereof, or conducting clinical trials or laboratory testing on our or our partners’ behalf, may fail to comply with regulatory requirements and industry standards or meet contractual obligations in a timely manner or at all; and

 

 

the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on one or more of the foregoing factors.

 

Clinical trials are lengthy and expensive. Many of the factors listed above could result in increased clinical development costs or longer clinical development times for any of our programs. We or our partners incur substantial expense for, and devote significant time to, preclinical testing and clinical trials, yet we cannot be certain that the tests and trials will ever result in the commercial sale of a product. Even if we or our partners successfully complete clinical trials for our product candidates, we or our partners might not file the required regulatory submissions in a timely manner, may not receive regulatory approval for the product candidates, in which case we would be unable to generate any revenues from product sales or licensing arrangements, or any product candidate, if approved, may be subject to restrictions on labeling, marketing, distribution, prescribing, and use, which could adversely impact the sales of such product.

 

If our development collaborations with third parties, such as our development partners, contractors and contract research organizations, fail, the development of our product candidates will be delayed or stopped.

 

We rely heavily upon third parties for many important stages of our product candidate development, including but not limited to:

 

 

discovery of natural proteins that cause or enable biological reactions necessary for the progression of the disease or disorder, called enzyme targets;

 

 

execution of certain pharmacology preclinical studies and late-stage development for our compounds and product candidates;

 

 

management of our Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials, including medical monitoring, laboratory testing, and data management;

 

 

execution of toxicology studies that may be required to obtain approval for our product candidates;

 

 

formulation improvement strategies and methods;

 

 

manufacturing the starting materials and drug substance required to formulate our products and the product candidates to be used in our clinical trials, toxicology studies and any potential commercial product; and

 

 

management of certain regulatory interactions outside of the United States.

 

Our failure to engage in successful collaborations at any one of these stages would greatly impact our business. If we do not license enzyme targets or inhibitors from academic institutions or from other biotechnology companies on acceptable terms, our drug development efforts would suffer. Similarly, if the contract research organizations or third-party contractors that conduct our initial or late-stage clinical trials, conduct our toxicology or other studies, manufacture our starting materials, drug substance and product candidates, provide laboratory testing or other services in connection with our clinical trials, or assist with our regulatory function breach their obligations to us, perform their services inconsistent with industry standards, or fail to comply with regulatory requirements, this would delay or prevent both the development of our product candidates and the availability of any potential commercial product.

 

If we lose our relationship with any one or more of these parties, we could experience a significant delay in both identifying another comparable provider and then contracting for its services. We may be unable to retain an alternative provider on reasonable terms, if at all. Even if we locate an alternative provider, it is likely that this provider may need additional time to respond to our needs and may not provide the same type or level of service as the original provider. In addition, any provider that we retain will be subject to applicable FDA current Good Laboratory Practices, current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”) and current Good Clinical Practices, and comparable foreign standards. We do not have control over compliance with these regulations by these providers. Consequently, if these practices and standards are not adhered to by these providers, the development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed. If any of the foregoing risks are realized, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

 

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If we fail to obtain additional financing or acceptable partnership arrangements, we may be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates or continue operations.

 

As our programs advance, our costs are likely to increase. Our current and planned discovery, development, approval, and commercialization efforts will require significant capital. Our expenses, revenues and cash utilization rate could vary significantly depending on many factors, including: our ability to obtain regulatory approval for and successfully commercialize our product candidates, including ORLADEYO, BCX9930, BCX9250, and galidesivir; our ability to raise additional capital; the amount of funding we receive from partnerships with third parties for the development and commercialization of our product candidates (including, our collaborations with Torii, BARDA/HHS and NIAID/HHS); the commercial success of peramivir achieved by our partners; the amount or profitability of any orders for peramivir or galidesivir by any government agency or other party; the progress and results of our current and proposed clinical trials for our product candidates; and the progress made in the manufacture of our lead products and the progression of our other programs.

 

In order to continue future operations, progress our drug development programs, and commercialize our current product candidates, we will be required to raise additional capital. In addition to seeking strategic partnerships, transactions and government funding, we may access the equity or debt markets, incur additional borrowings, or seek other sources of funding to meet liquidity needs at any time. Additional funding, whether through additional sales of securities, additional borrowings, royalty or other monetization transactions, collaborative arrangements with partners, including corporate partners such as Torii and governmental agencies such as BARDA/HHS or NIAID/HHS, or from other sources, may not be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us. The issuance of preferred or common stock or convertible securities, with terms and prices significantly more favorable than those of our currently outstanding common stock, could have the effect of diluting or adversely affecting the holdings or rights of our existing stockholders. Additional borrowings may subject us to more restrictive covenants than are currently applicable to us under our Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility. In addition, collaborative arrangements may require us to transfer certain material rights to such corporate partners. Insufficient funds or lack of an acceptable partnership may require us to delay, scale-back or eliminate certain of our research and development programs.

 

Our ability to raise additional capital when needed or at all may be limited and may greatly depend upon the success of our current drug development programs, including the progress, timeline and ultimate outcome of the development programs (including but not limited to formulation progress, long-term human safety studies, and carcinogenicity, drug-drug interaction, toxicity, or other required studies) for ORLADEYO, BCX9250 for the treatment of FOP, BCX9930 for diseases of the complement system, our broad-spectrum antiviral program, including galidesivir, and other rare disease product candidates, as well as any post-approval studies for RAPIVAB. In addition, constriction and volatility in the equity and debt markets, including as a result of the impacts of COVID-19, may restrict our future flexibility to raise capital when such needs arise. Furthermore, we have exposure to many different industries, financing partners and counterparties, including commercial banks, investment banks and partners (which include investors, licensing partners, and the U.S. Government) which may be unstable or may become unstable in the current economic and political environment, including as a result of the impacts of COVID-19. Any such instability may impact these parties’ ability to fulfill contractual obligations to us or they might limit or place burdensome conditions upon future transactions with us. Also, it is possible that suppliers may be negatively impacted. Any such unfavorable outcomes in our current programs or unfavorable economic conditions could place severe downward pressure on the price of our common stock and may decrease opportunities to raise capital in the capital or credit markets, and further could reduce the return available on invested corporate cash, which, if severe and sustained, could have a material and adverse impact on our results of operations and cash flows and limit our ability to continue development of our product candidates.

 

If we or our partners do not obtain and maintain governmental approval for our product candidates, we or our partners will not be able to commercialize and sell these potential products, which would significantly harm our business because we will receive no revenue.

 

We or our partners must obtain regulatory approval before marketing or selling our products. If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority delays or denies regulatory approval of one of our product candidates, or revokes approval of a previously approved product, we would be unable to market or sell the product in the applicable jurisdiction and would not receive revenue from sales or licensing arrangements related thereto, which could have a material and adverse impact on our business.

 

The process of preparing for and obtaining regulatory approval in any jurisdiction may be lengthy and expensive, and approval is never certain. Because of the risks and uncertainties inherent to the development process, including risks and uncertainties related to the impact of COVID-19, our product candidates could take a significantly longer time to gain regulatory approval than we expect or may never gain approval. As discussed under “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—Risks Relating to Drug Development and Commercialization—Our success depends upon our ability to advance our products through the various stages of development, especially through the clinical trial process, and to receive regulatory approval for the commercial sale of our products,” we or our partners may experience any number of unfavorable outcomes during or as a result of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials that could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our product candidates, or negatively impact our management’s credibility, our value and our operating results.

 

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Even if the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities approve a product candidate, the approval may limit the indicated uses for a product candidate, impose other restrictions on the product candidate, and/or may require post-approval studies that could impair the commercial viability of a product candidate. If we receive approval to market our potential products, whether in the United States or internationally, we will continue to be subject to extensive regulatory requirements. These requirements are wide ranging and govern, among other things:

 

 

adverse drug experience reporting regulations;

 

 

product promotion;

 

 

product manufacturing, including good manufacturing practice requirements; and

 

 

product changes or modifications.

 

Our failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements for regulatory approval, or our loss of, or changes to, previously obtained approvals, could impair our ability to generate any revenues from product sales or licensing arrangements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

We focus on rare diseases, which may create additional risks and challenges.

 

Because we focus on developing drugs as treatments for rare diseases, we may seek orphan drug, breakthrough therapy or fast track designations for our product candidates in the United States or the equivalent designations elsewhere in the world. Often, regulatory authorities have broad discretion in determining whether or not to grant such designations. We cannot guarantee that our product candidates will receive orphan drug status from the FDA or equivalent designations from other regulatory authorities. We also cannot guarantee that we will receive breakthrough therapy, fast track, or equivalent designations, which provide certain potential benefits such as more frequent meetings with the applicable regulatory authorities to discuss development plans, intensive guidance on efficient drug development programs, and potential eligibility for rolling review or priority review. Even if we are successful in obtaining any such designations for our product candidates, such designations may not lead to faster development or regulatory review or approval and do not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval. For instance, although BCX9930 for PNH and ORLADEYO for HAE prophylaxis have received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations from the FDA, and ORLADEYO has also received Sakigake designation from the PMDA and Promising Innovative Medicine designation from the MHRA, as well as orphan drug status from the EMA and the MHLW, we may not experience a faster development, review or approval process compared to the conventional process in the relevant jurisdictions. We may not be able to obtain or maintain these designations for ORLADEYO, BCX9930 or other product candidates that receive them, and our competitors may obtain these designations for their product candidates, which could impact our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates or compete with such competitors, which may adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

The commercial viability of any approved product could be compromised if the product is less effective than expected, causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, or fails to achieve market acceptance within the medical community.

 

If after obtaining regulatory approval of a product we or others discover that it is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, any of the following adverse events could occur:

 

 

regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval of, or impose marketing or manufacturing restrictions on, the product, or require us or our partners to create a medication guide outlining the risks of unidentified side effects for distribution to patients;

 

 

we or our partners may be required to recall the product, change the way the product is administered, conduct additional clinical trials, or be subject to civil or criminal penalties; and

 

 

the product may become less competitive and our reputation may suffer.

 

Even after receiving regulatory approval, any product could fail to gain sufficient, or even any, market acceptance by physicians, patients, third party payors, health authorities and others in the medical community. For example, physicians are often reluctant to switch their patients from existing therapies even when new and potentially more effective or convenient treatments enter the market. Further, patients often acclimate to the therapy that they are currently taking and do not want to switch unless their physicians recommend switching products or they are required to switch therapies due to lack of reimbursement for existing therapies. If an approved product does not achieve an adequate level of market acceptance, it may not generate significant revenues. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material and adverse impact on our business.

 

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If we fail to successfully commercialize or establish collaborative relationships to commercialize certain of our product candidates, or if any partner terminates or fails to perform its obligations under agreements with us, potential revenues from commercialization of our product candidates could be reduced, delayed or eliminated.

 

Our business strategy is to increase the asset value of our product candidate portfolio. We believe this is best achieved by retaining full product rights or through collaborative arrangements with third parties as appropriate. As needed, potential third-party relationships could include preclinical development, clinical development, regulatory approval, marketing, sales and distribution of our product candidates.

 

Currently, we have established collaborative relationships with Torii for the commercialization of ORLADEYO in Japan, with each of Shionogi and Green Cross for the development and commercialization of peramivir, and with Mundipharma for the development and commercialization of Mundesine (forodesine). The process of establishing and implementing collaborative relationships is difficult, time-consuming and involves significant uncertainty, including:

 

 

our partners may seek to renegotiate or terminate their relationships with us due to unsatisfactory commercial, regulatory or clinical results, including post approval clinical commitments, a change in business strategy, a change of control or other reasons;

 

 

our contracts for collaborative arrangements may expire;

 

 

our partners may choose to pursue alternative technologies, including those of our competitors;

 

 

we may have disputes with a partner that could lead to litigation or arbitration, such as the recent arbitration proceeding between us and SUL, which could result in substantial costs and divert the attention of our management;

 

 

we do not have day to day control over the activities of our partners and have limited control over their decisions;

 

 

our ability to generate future event payments and royalties from our partners depends upon their abilities to establish the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, obtain regulatory approvals and achieve market acceptance of products developed from our product candidates;

 

 

we or our partners may fail to properly initiate, maintain or defend our intellectual property rights, where applicable, or a party may utilize our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or potentially invalidate our proprietary information or expose us to potential liability;

 

 

we or our partners may not devote sufficient capital or resources towards our product candidates; and

 

 

we or our partners may not comply with applicable government regulatory requirements.

 

If we or our partners fail to fulfill our responsibilities in a timely manner, or at all, our commercialization efforts related to that collaboration could be reduced, delayed or terminated, or it may be necessary for us to assume responsibility for activities that would otherwise have been the responsibility of our partner. If we are unable to establish and maintain collaborative relationships on acceptable terms, we may have to delay or discontinue further development or commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, undertake commercialization activities at our own expense or find alternative sources of funding. Any delay in the development or commercialization of our product candidates would severely affect our business, because if our product candidates do not progress through the development process or reach the market in a timely manner, or at all, we may not receive any revenues from product sales or licensing arrangements.

 

The results of our partnership with Torii may not meet our current expectations.

 

We have an agreement with Torii for the development and commercialization of ORLADEYO in Japan (the “Torii Agreement”). We do not have a history of working with Torii and cannot predict the success of this collaboration. Our ability to realize the expected benefits of this collaboration, including with respect to the receipt or amounts of potential milestone or royalty payments, is subject to a number of risks, including that applicable regulatory agencies may not provide adequate regulatory clearances or reimbursement approvals on a timely basis or at all, the commercial potential of ORLADEYO may not meet our current expectations, we or Torii may fail to comply with our respective obligations under the Torii Agreement, and third parties may fail to perform their obligations to us on a timely basis or at all.

 

The Torii Agreement provides for a potential milestone payment depending on the receipt and timing of regulatory approval and contingent upon receipt of a reimbursement price approval from Japan’s National Health Insurance system in excess of the threshold specified in the Torii Agreement, either of which we may not receive on a timely basis or at all. The Torii Agreement also provides that we will be entitled to receive tiered royalty payments, the amounts of which will depend upon the amount of annual net sales of ORLADEYO in Japan during each calendar year, whether ORLADEYO maintains its Sakigake designation, and other factors. We remain responsible for regulatory activities with respect to ORLADEYO in Japan for one year after the first commercial sale. We expect to use third parties to satisfy many of our obligations under the Torii Agreement, including but not limited to our regulatory and other responsibilities in Japan. If our interactions, or those of our third party agents, are unsuccessful, we could fail to meet our obligations under the Torii Agreement, fail to receive regulatory approval of ORLADEYO on a timely basis or at all, receive approval of ORLADEYO on a narrower scope than currently anticipated, or fail to receive reimbursement authorization in excess of the specified threshold, which could negatively impact the commercial success and the partnership, impact the economic benefit expected or require additional development of ORLADEYO.

 

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Torii may terminate the Torii Agreement under certain limited circumstances, including the receipt of notice that certain additional development activities are required for regulatory approval of ORLADEYO, if regulatory approval of ORLADEYO is not received prior to December 31, 2022, or upon one year’s written notice after the sixth anniversary of the first commercial sale of ORLADEYO in Japan. If the Torii Agreement is terminated in connection with these provisions, we will no longer be entitled to receive any milestone or royalty payments thereunder, which could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

 

Torii will have sole control over and decision-making authority with respect to commercialization activities for ORLADEYO for the prevention of HAE attacks in Japan, subject to oversight from a joint steering committee. Therefore, our receipt of, and the amounts of, any royalty payments under the Torii Agreement are dependent upon Torii’s successful performance of such commercialization activities. In addition, competitive products and variations in patient demand, prescription levels, reimbursement determinations or other factors may limit the commercial potential of ORLADEYO in Japan, which could materially reduce the amount of any royalties we would be entitled to receive under the Torii Agreement.

 

Under the Torii Agreement, we will be responsible for supplying Torii with its required amounts of ORLADEYO for commercial sale. If due to the failure of our third-party contract manufacturers to produce sufficient drug product we fail to supply to Torii the required amounts of ORLADEYO, then Torii’s ability to successfully commercialize ORLADEYO in Japan could be materially impaired, and we may receive less royalty income under the Torii Agreement, or none at all.

 

Any of the foregoing risks could materially adversely impact our ability to obtain regulatory approval of ORLADEYO in Japan, the price of ORLADEYO in Japan, and to perform our obligations under the Torii Agreement, which could materially reduce the economic benefits of the Torii Agreement to us and impair or result in the termination of our collaboration with Torii.

 

There can be no assurance that our commercialization efforts, methods, and strategies for our products or technologies will succeed, and our future revenue generation is uncertain.

 

There can be no assurance that our commercialization efforts, methods and strategies will succeed. Although we have expanded and added experienced professionals to our internal commercial team, as a company we do not have a great deal of experience in commercializing our product candidates or technologies. In addition, we may be unable to establish or sufficiently increase our sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for products we currently, or plan to, commercialize. Our ability to receive revenue from products we or our partners commercialize is subject to several risks, including:

 

 

we or our partners may fail to successfully complete clinical trials, or satisfy post-marketing commitments, sufficient to obtain and keep regulatory agency marketing approval;

 

 

many competitors are more experienced and have significantly more resources, and their products could reach the market faster, be more cost effective or have a better efficacy or tolerability profile than our product candidates;

 

 

we may fail to employ a comprehensive and effective intellectual property strategy, which could result in decreased commercial value of our Company and our products;

 

 

we may fail to employ a comprehensive and effective regulatory strategy, which could result in a delay or failure in commercialization of our products;

 

 

our ability to successfully commercialize our products is affected by the competitive landscape, which cannot be fully known at this time;

     
  revenue from product sales would depend on our ability to obtain and maintain favorable pricing;

 

 

reimbursement is constantly changing, which could greatly affect usage of our products;

 

 

future revenue from product sales would depend on our ability to successfully complete clinical studies, obtain regulatory approvals, and manufacture, market, distribute and commercialize our approved drugs; and

 

 

the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on us or our partners.

 

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We expect to continue expanding our development and regulatory capabilities and implementing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.

 

We expect to continue experiencing significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of drug development, regulatory affairs and, if any of our product candidates currently in development receive marketing approval, sales, marketing and distribution. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. For example, as we approach the commercial launch of ORLADEYO, we’ve expanded our internal commercial team. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. In addition, if a commercial launch for any product or product candidate for which we recruit a commercial team and establish marketing capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.

 

We depend on third-party vendors, including third-party manufacturers and distributors, to manufacture and distribute our products, product candidates and the materials for our product candidates. Often, especially early in the development and commercialization process, we have only one or limited sources for a particular product or service, such as manufacturing and/or distribution. If we cannot rely on existing third-party vendors, we will be required to incur significant costs and potential delays in finding new third-party vendors, which could adversely impact the development and commercialization timeframes for our products and product candidates.

 

We depend on these third-party vendors to perform their obligations in a timely manner and in accordance with applicable governmental regulations. Our third-party vendors, particularly our third-party manufacturers and distributors, which may be the only vendor we have engaged for a particular product or service, may encounter difficulties with meeting our requirements, including but not limited to problems involving, as applicable:

 

 

insufficient resources being devoted in the manner necessary to satisfy our requirements within expected timeframes;

 

 

inconsistent production yields;

 

 

product liability claims or recalls of commercial product;

 

 

difficulties in scaling production to commercial and validation sizes;

 

 

interruption of the delivery of materials required for the manufacturing process;

 

 

failure to distribute commercial supplies of our products to commercial vendors or end users in a timely manner;

 

 

scheduling of plant time with other vendors or unexpected equipment failure;

 

 

potential catastrophes that could strike their facilities or have an effect on infrastructure;

 

 

potential impurities in our drug substance or products that could affect availability of product for our clinical trials or future commercialization;

 

 

poor quality control and assurance or inadequate process controls;

 

 

failure to provide us with accurate or timely information regarding inventories, the number of patients who are using our products, or serious adverse events and/or product complaints regarding our products;

 

 

inability of third parties to satisfy their financial obligations to us or to others;

 

 

potential breach of the manufacturing or distribution agreement by the third party;

 

 

possible termination or nonrenewal of a critical agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient to us; and

 

 

lack of compliance or cooperation with regulations and specifications or requests set forth by the FDA or other foreign regulatory agencies or local customs, particularly associated with ORLADEYO, BCX9930, BCX9250, galidesivir, peramivir and our early stage compounds.

 

Many additional factors could cause production or distribution interruptions with the manufacture and distribution of any of our products and product candidates, including human error, natural disasters, pandemics, labor disputes, acts of terrorism or war, equipment malfunctions, or raw material shortages.

 

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In addition, our contract manufacturers may not be able to manufacture the materials required for our product candidates at a cost or in quantities necessary to make them commercially viable. Our raw materials, drug substances, and product candidates are manufactured by a limited group of suppliers, including some at a single facility. If any of these suppliers were unable to produce these items, this could significantly impact our supply of product candidate material for further preclinical testing and clinical trials. To date, our third-party manufacturers have met our manufacturing requirements, but they may not continue to do so. Furthermore, changes in the manufacturing process or procedure, including a change in the location where the drug is manufactured or a change of a third-party manufacturer, may require prior review and approval in accordance with the FDA’s cGMP and comparable foreign requirements. This review may be costly and time-consuming and could delay or prevent the launch of a product. The FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may at any time implement new standards, or change their interpretation and enforcement of existing standards for manufacture, packaging or testing of products. If we or our contract manufacturers are unable to comply, we or they may be subject to regulatory action, civil actions or penalties any of which could be costly to us and could result in a delay or shortage of product.

 

If we are unable to maintain current third-party relationships, or enter into new agreements with additional third parties on commercially reasonable terms, or if there is poor manufacturing or distribution performance or failure to comply with any regulatory agency on the part of any of our third-party vendors, we may not be able to complete development of, obtain timely approval of, or commercialize, our product candidates.

 

Commercialization of peramivir by our partners is subject to the potential commercialization risks described herein and numerous additional risks. Any potential revenue benefits to us in the form of milestone payments, royalties or other consideration are highly speculative.

 

Commercialization success of peramivir is uncertain and is subject to all the risks and uncertainties disclosed in our other risk factors relating to drug development and commercialization. In addition, commercialization of peramivir products is subject to further risks and may be negatively impacted by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

 

peramivir may not prove to be adequately safe and effective for market approval in markets other than the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia and the European Union (“EU”);

 

 

necessary funding for post-marketing commitments and further development of peramivir may not be available timely, at all, or in sufficient amounts;

 

 

flu prevention or pandemic treatment concerns may not materialize at all, or in the near future;

 

 

advances in flu vaccines or other antivirals, including competitive i.v. antivirals, could substantially replace potential demand for peramivir;

 

 

a limited number of governmental entities are expected to be the primary potential stockpiling customers for peramivir and if we are not successful at marketing peramivir to these entities for any reason, we will not receive substantial revenues from stockpiling orders;

 

 

government and third-party payors may not provide sufficient coverage or reimbursement which would negatively impact the demand for peramivir;

 

 

we may not be able to supply commercial material to our partners and our partners may not be able to maintain or establish sufficient and acceptable commercial manufacturing, either directly or through third-party manufacturers;

 

 

the commercial demand and acceptance for peramivir by healthcare providers and by patients may not be sufficient to result in substantial revenues of peramivir to our partners and may result in little to no milestones or royalties to us;

 

 

effectiveness of marketing and commercialization efforts for peramivir by our partners;

 

 

market satisfaction with existing alternative therapies;

 

 

perceived efficacy relative to other available therapies;

 

 

disease prevalence;

 

 

cost of treatment;

 

 

pricing and availability of alternative products;

 

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marketing and sales activities of competitors;

 

 

shifts in the medical community to new treatment paradigms or standards of care; and

 

 

relative convenience and ease of administration. 

 

Risks Relating to Competing in Our Industry

 

We face intense competition, and if we are unable to compete effectively, the demand for our products, if any, may be reduced.

 

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are highly competitive and subject to rapid and substantial technological change. There are many companies seeking to develop products for the same indications that we currently target. Our competitors in the United States and elsewhere are numerous and include, among others, major multinational pharmaceutical and chemical companies and specialized biotechnology firms. Most of these competitors have greater resources than we do, including greater financial resources, larger research and development staffs and more experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations. In addition, most of our competitors have greater experience than we do in conducting clinical trials and obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals. Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in obtaining FDA or other regulatory approvals of product candidates more rapidly than we do. Companies that complete clinical trials, obtain required regulatory approvals, and commence commercial sale of their drugs before we do may achieve a significant competitive advantage, including patent and FDA exclusivity rights that would delay our ability to market products. We face, and will continue to face, competition in the licensing of potential product candidates for desirable disease targets, licensing of desirable product candidates, and development and marketing of our product candidates from academic institutions, government agencies, research institutions and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. This includes competition with respect to, among other things, galidesivir as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Competition may also arise from, among other things:

 

 

other drug development technologies;

 

 

methods of preventing or reducing the incidence of disease, including vaccines; and

 

 

new small molecule or other classes of therapeutic agents.

 

Developments by others may render our product candidates or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive.

 

We are performing research on or developing products for the treatment of several rare diseases, including HAE, diseases of the complement system, and FOP, as well as developing broad spectrum antivirals for use as medical countermeasures. We expect to encounter significant competition for any of the pharmaceutical products we are developing and plan to develop. Companies that complete clinical trials, obtain required funding or government support, obtain required regulatory approvals and commence commercial sales or stockpiling orders of their products before their competitors may achieve a significant competitive advantage. There are licensed therapies for HAE (including Berinert®, Haegarda®, Cinryze®, Kalbitor®, Takhzyro®, Firazyr® (icatibant), generic icatibant, and Ruconest®), therapies for certain complement-mediated diseases such as PNH, aHUS, myasthenia gravis, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (Soliris® and UltomirisTM), products for the prevention or treatment of influenza (seasonal flu vaccines, Tamiflu® (oseltamivir), generic oseltamivir, Relenza®, and Inavir®, favipiravir, and Xofluza™), remdesivir as a potential treatment for COVID-19 and a number of additional products in clinical development in these therapeutic areas and for the treatment of FOP. In addition, various government entities throughout the world may offer incentives, grants and contracts to encourage additional investment into preventative and therapeutic agents against viruses such as influenza, coronavirus, Ebola, and others, which may have the effect of further increasing the number of our competitors and/or providing advantages to certain competitors. See “Item 1. Business—Competition” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 for further discussion of our competitors, competitive products or programs, and the competitive conditions in these and other therapeutic areas.

 

If one or more of our competitors’ products or programs, including potential competitors not currently identified, are successful, the market for our products may be reduced or eliminated.

 

Compared to us, many of our competitors and potential competitors have substantially greater:

 

 

capital resources;

 

 

research and development resources, including personnel and technology;

 

 

regulatory experience;

 

 

preclinical study and clinical testing experience;

 

 

manufacturing and marketing experience; and

 

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production facilities.

 

Any of these competitive factors could impede our funding efforts, render technology and product candidates noncompetitive or eliminate or reduce demand for our product candidates.

 

Legal and Regulatory Risks

 

We are subject to various laws and regulations related to our products and product candidates and, if we or our partners do not comply with these laws and regulations, we could face substantial penalties.

 

Our or our partners’ activities related to approved products, such as RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB (peramivir), or, following their regulatory approval, any of our product candidates under development, such as ORLADEYO, BCX9930, BCX9250, and galidesivir, are subject to regulatory and law enforcement authorities in the United States (including the FDA, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, and state and local governments) and their foreign equivalents (including the EMA, MHLW, MHRA, and others).

 

We are responsible for reporting adverse drug experiences, have responsibility for certain post-approval studies, and may have responsibilities and costs related to a recall or withdrawal of RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB from sale in the jurisdictions in which it is approved. We may also incur liability associated with RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB manufacturing contracted by us or in support of any of our partners. We are required to maintain records and provide data and reports to regulatory agencies related to RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB (e.g. risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, track and trace requirements, adverse events), and we may incur certain promotional regulatory and government pricing risks, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our operations and financial condition. Similar responsibilities would apply upon regulatory approval of any of our other product candidates currently under development.

 

In addition, we are subject to the federal physician sunshine act and certain similar physician payment and drug pricing transparency legislation in various states. We are also subject to various federal and state laws pertaining to health care “fraud and abuse,” including both federal and state anti-kickback and false claims laws. Outside of the United States, we may be subject to analogous foreign laws and regulations in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. These laws and regulations apply to our or our partners’ operations, sales and marketing practices, price reporting, and relationships with physicians and other customers and third-party payors. Anti-kickback laws generally prohibit a manufacturer from soliciting, offering, receiving, or paying any remuneration to generate business, including the purchase or prescription of a particular drug. Although the specific provisions of these laws vary, their scope is generally broad and there may be no regulations, guidance or court decisions that clarify how the laws apply to particular industry practices. False claims laws prohibit anyone from knowingly and willingly presenting, or causing to be presented for payment to third party payors (including Medicare and Medicaid) claims for reimbursement or services that are false or fraudulent, claims for items or services not provided as claimed, or claims for medically unnecessary items or services. The sunshine provisions apply to manufacturers with products reimbursed under certain government programs and require those manufacturers to disclose annually to the federal government certain payments made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as, ownership and investment interests held by physicians (as defined above) and their immediate family members. State laws may also require disclosure of pharmaceutical pricing information and marketing expenditures. Although we seek to comply with these statutes, it is possible that our practices, or those of our partners, might be challenged under health care fraud and abuse, anti-kickback, false claims or similar laws. Violations of the physician sunshine act and similar legislation or the fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by civil or criminal sanctions, including fines and civil monetary penalties, and future exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs.

 

The principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive compensation in connection with such services. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to certain regulatory authorities, including the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Consequently, the FDA or other regulatory authority may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator creates a conflict of interest or otherwise affects interpretation of the study. In the event of a conflict of interest with respect to a study, the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site may be questioned or the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized. This could result in a delay in approval, or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA or other regulatory authority, as the case may be, and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of one or more of our product candidates.

 

We have a number of outstanding post-approval commitments to the FDA and EMA that we retain, which we may not complete successfully or on time for any number of reasons, including but not limited to lack of funds to complete the studies and insufficient interest by appropriate sites, investigators or study subjects. For example, as a condition of the approval of RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB, we were required to complete pediatric patient trials and to submit the final results of these clinical trials to the FDA and EMA. We may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with post-approval legal and regulatory requirements and our products could be subject to continual recordkeeping and reporting requirements, review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory bodies. Regulatory approval of a product may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the other restrictive conditions of approval that limit our ability to promote, sell or distribute a product. Furthermore, the approval of RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB and any other future product candidates may be subject to requirements for costly post-approval testing and surveillance to monitor its safety or efficacy.

 

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Advertising and promotion are subject to stringent FDA rules and oversight, and as an NDA-holder, we may be held responsible for any advertising and promotion that is not in compliance with the rules and regulations. In particular, the claims in all promotional materials and activities must be consistent with the FDA approvals for approved products and must be appropriately substantiated and fairly balanced with information on the safety risks and limitations of the products. We are also required to engage in appropriate truthful, non-misleading, and non-promotional scientific exchange concerning our products, and applicable regulatory authorities, competitors, and other third parties may take the position that we are not in compliance with such regulations. In addition to medical education efforts, we may offer patient support services to assist patients receiving treatment with our commercially approved products which have increasingly become the focus of government investigation.

 

Adverse event information concerning approved products must be reviewed, and as an NDA-holder, we are required to make expedited and periodic adverse event reports to the FDA and other regulatory authorities. In addition, the research, manufacturing, distribution, sale and promotion of products are potentially subject to regulation by various federal, state and local authorities in addition to the FDA, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, other divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Justice and individual U.S. Attorney offices within the Department of Justice, state and local governments, and foreign equivalents of the foregoing. All of these activities are also potentially subject to healthcare false claims and fraud and abuse laws, as well as consumer protection and unfair competition laws.

 

If our operations with respect to RAPIVAB/ALPIVAB or our other products that are subject to healthcare laws and regulations are found to be in violation of any of the healthcare fraud and abuse laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Any penalties, damages, fines, curtailment or restructuring of our operations could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Although compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and prosecution for violations of these laws, the risks cannot be entirely eliminated. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management's attention from the operation of our business. Moreover, achieving and sustaining compliance with all applicable fraud and abuse laws may be costly.

 

Our employees and consultants may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could cause significant liability for us and harm our reputation.

 

We are subject to the risk of fraud or other misconduct by our employees and consultants, including intentional failures to comply with FDA regulations or similar regulations of comparable foreign regulatory authorities, provide accurate information to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, comply with manufacturing standards we have established, comply with federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations and similar laws and regulations established and enforced by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. Employee and consultant misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter employee and consultant misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws, standards or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.

 

We and our partners may be subject to new legislation, regulatory proposals and healthcare payor initiatives that may increase our costs of compliance and adversely affect our or our partners’ ability to market our products, obtain collaborators and raise capital.

 

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA, made extensive changes to the delivery of health care in the U.S. The PPACA included numerous provisions that affect pharmaceutical companies, some of which became effective immediately and others of which have taken effect over the past several years. For example, the PPACA expanded health care coverage to the uninsured through private health insurance reforms and an expansion of Medicaid. The PPACA also imposed substantial costs on pharmaceutical manufacturers, such as an increase in liability for rebates paid to Medicaid, new drug discounts that must be offered to certain enrollees in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, an annual fee imposed on all manufacturers of brand prescription drugs in the U.S., and an expansion of an existing program requiring pharmaceutical discounts to certain types of hospitals and federally subsidized clinics. The PPACA also contains cost containment measures that could reduce reimbursement levels for health care items and services generally, including pharmaceuticals. It also required reporting and public disclosure of payments and other transfers of value provided by pharmaceutical companies to physicians and teaching hospitals.

 

We expect that the current presidential administration and U.S. Congress may continue to seek to modify, repeal, or otherwise invalidate all, or certain provisions of, the PPACA or undertake other reforms that impact the pharmaceutical industry. For instance, the Trump administration has taken several executive actions, including the issuance of a number of executive orders, that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, the FDA’s ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities such as implementing statutes through rulemaking, issuance of guidance, and review and approval of marketing applications. An under-staffed FDA could result in delays in the FDA’s responsiveness or in its ability to review submissions or applications within the established Prescription Drug User Fee Act time frames, issue regulations or guidance, or implement or enforce regulatory requirements in a timely fashion or at all. There is still significant uncertainty with respect to the impact that the current presidential administration and the U.S. Congress may have on the PPACA specifically and the healthcare industry generally, and any changes will likely take time to unfold. As such, we cannot predict what effect the PPACA or other healthcare reform initiatives that may be adopted in the future will have on our business.

 

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The continuing efforts of the government, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of health care services to contain or reduce costs of health care could result in decreased net revenues from our pharmaceutical products and decrease potential returns from our development efforts. In addition, pharmaceutical and device manufacturers are also required to report and disclose certain payments and transfers of value to, and investment interests held by, physicians and their immediate family members during the preceding calendar year. Failure to submit required information may result in civil monetary penalties for payments, transfers of value or ownership or investment interests not reported in an annual submission. Compliance with the PPACA and state laws with similar provisions is difficult and time consuming, and companies that do not comply with these state laws face civil penalties. Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the safe harbors, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. Such a challenge could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

 

In addition, there have been a number of other legislative and regulatory proposals aimed at changing the pharmaceutical industry. For example, legislation has been enacted in certain states and at a federal level that requires development of an electronic pedigree to track and trace each prescription drug at the saleable unit level through the distribution system. Compliance with these electronic pedigree requirements may increase our operational expenses and impose significant administrative burdens. In addition, our compliance may be deemed insufficient and we could face a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. As a result of these and other new proposals, we may determine to change our current manner of operation, provide additional benefits or change our contract arrangements, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Adequate coverage and reimbursement in the U.S. and other markets is critical to the commercial success of RAPIVAB or any other product that we might bring to market, including ORLADEYO. Recently in the U.S. there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed bills designed to, among other things, reform government program reimbursement methodologies. Individual states in the United States have been increasingly active in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. Regional health care authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other health care programs. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services and, in some cases, imposing restrictions on the coverage of particular drugs. Many third-party payors negotiate the price of medical services and products and develop formularies which establish pricing and reimbursement levels. Exclusion of a product from a formulary can lead to its sharply reduced usage in the third-party payor’s patient population. The process for obtaining coverage can be lengthy and costly, and we expect that it could take several months before a particular payor initially reviews our product and makes a decision with respect to coverage. For example, third-party payors may require cost-benefit analysis data from us in order to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of RAPIVAB or any other product we might bring to market, including ORLADEYO. For any individual third-party payor, we may not be able to provide data sufficient to gain reimbursement on a similar or preferred basis to competitive products, or at all which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We are subject to data security and privacy risks, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with regulations and other legal obligations related to privacy and data protection could harm our business.

 

We are subject to legal obligations related to privacy and data protection.  Compliance with U.S. and international data protection laws and regulations could require us to take on more onerous obligations in our contracts, restrict our ability to collect, use, and disclose data, or in some cases, impact our ability to operate in certain jurisdictions. For example, we are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, which gives California residents expanded rights to access and require deletion of their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used. We are also subject to the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU.  See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—Risks Relating to International Operations—Our actual or perceived failure to comply with European governmental regulations and other legal obligations related to privacy, data protection and information security could harm our business” for additional discussion of international privacy laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions, private litigation, or harm to our reputation and our business.

 

If because of our use of hazardous materials, we violate any environmental controls or regulations that apply to such materials, we may incur substantial costs and expenses in our remediation efforts.

 

Our research and development involves the controlled use of hazardous materials, chemicals and various radioactive compounds. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and some waste products. Accidental contamination or injury from these materials could occur. In the event of an accident, we could be liable for any damages that result, and any liabilities could exceed our resources. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations or a violation of such environmental laws and regulations could require us to incur substantial unexpected costs, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

Intellectual Property Risks

 

If we fail to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or secure rights to patents of others, the value of those rights would diminish.

 

Our success will depend in part on our ability and the abilities of our partners to obtain, protect and enforce viable intellectual property rights including but not limited to trade name, trademark and patent protection for our Company and its products, methods, processes and other technologies we may license or develop, to preserve our trade secrets, and to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties both domestically and abroad. The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies is generally highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has recently been the subject of much litigation. Neither the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), the Patent Cooperation Treaty offices, nor the courts of the United States and other jurisdictions have consistent policies nor predictable rulings regarding the breadth of claims allowed or the degree of protection afforded under many biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents. Further, we may not have worldwide patent protection for all of our product candidates and our intellectual property rights may not be legally protected or enforceable in all countries throughout the world. In some jurisdictions, some of our product candidates in certain programs, including our HAE program, may have short or no composition of matter patent life and we may therefore rely on orphan drug exclusivity or data exclusivity. There can be no assurance that we will obtain orphan drug exclusivity or data exclusivity in every jurisdiction. Further, in some jurisdictions, we may rely on formulation patents or method of use patents. Both the ability to achieve issuance and the enforcement of formulation and method of use patents can be highly uncertain and can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and such patents may therefore not adequately prevent competitors and potential infringers in some jurisdictions. The validity, scope, enforceability and commercial value of the rights protected by such patents, therefore, is highly uncertain.

 

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We also rely on trade secrets to protect technology in cases when we believe patent protection is not appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. If we cannot maintain the confidentiality of our technology and other confidential information in connection with our collaborators and advisors, our ability to receive patent protection or protect our proprietary information may be imperiled.

 

We may be involved in legal proceedings to protect or enforce our patents, the patents of our partners or our other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.

 

Competitors may infringe or otherwise violate our patents, the patents of our licensors or our other intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file legal claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming and unsuccessful. An adverse result in any legal proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk. Our success depends in part on avoiding the infringement of other parties’ patents and other intellectual property rights as well as avoiding the breach of any licenses relating to our technologies and products. In the United States, patent applications filed in recent years are confidential for 18 months, while older applications are not published until the patent issues. As a result, avoiding patent infringement may be difficult and we may inadvertently infringe third-party patents or proprietary rights. These third parties could bring claims against us, our partners or our licensors that even if resolved in our favor, could cause us to incur substantial expenses and, if resolved against us, could additionally cause us to pay substantial damages. Further, if a patent infringement suit were brought against us, our partners or our licensors, we or they could be forced to stop or delay research, development, manufacturing or sales of any infringing product in the country or countries covered by the patent we infringe, unless we can obtain a license from the patent holder. Such a license may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, particularly if the third party is developing or marketing a product competitive with the infringing product. Even if we, our partners or our licensors were able to obtain a license, the rights may be nonexclusive, which would give our competitors access to the same intellectual property.

 

If we or our partners are unable or fail to adequately initiate, protect, defend or enforce our intellectual property rights in any area of commercial interest or in any part of the world where we wish to seek regulatory approval for our products, methods, processes and other technologies, the value of the product candidates to produce revenue would diminish. Additionally, if our products, methods, processes, and other technologies or our commercial use of such products, processes, and other technologies, including but not limited to any trade name, trademark or commercial strategy infringe the proprietary rights of other parties, we could incur substantial costs. The USPTO and the patent offices of other jurisdictions have issued to us a number of patents for our various inventions and we have in-licensed several patents from various institutions. We have filed additional patent applications and provisional patent applications with the USPTO. We have filed a number of corresponding foreign patent applications and intend to file additional foreign and U.S. patent applications, as appropriate. We have also filed certain trademark and trade name applications worldwide. We cannot assure you as to:

 

 

the degree and range of protection any patents will afford against competitors with similar products;

 

 

if and when patents will issue;

 

 

if patents do issue, we cannot be sure that we will be able to adequately defend such patents and whether or not we will be able to adequately enforce such patents; or

 

 

whether or not others will obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our patent applications.

 

If the USPTO or other foreign patent office upholds patents issued to others or if the USPTO grants patent applications filed by others, we may have to:

 

 

obtain licenses or redesign our products or processes to avoid infringement;

 

 

stop using the subject matter claimed in those patents; or

 

 

pay damages.

 

We may initiate, or others may bring against us, litigation or administrative proceedings related to intellectual property rights, including proceedings before the USPTO or other foreign patent office. Any judgment adverse to us in any litigation or other proceeding arising in connection with a patent or patent application could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the costs of any such proceeding may be substantial whether or not we are successful.

 

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Our success is also dependent upon the skills, knowledge and experience, none of which is patentable, of our scientific and technical personnel. To help protect our rights, we require all employees, consultants, advisors and partners to enter into confidentiality agreements that prohibit the disclosure of confidential information to anyone outside of our company and require disclosure and assignment to us of their ideas, developments, discoveries and inventions. These agreements may not provide adequate protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use or disclosure or the lawful development by others of such information, and if any of our proprietary information is disclosed, our business will suffer because our revenues depend upon our ability to license or commercialize our product candidates and any such events would significantly impair the value of such product candidates.

 

Product Liability Risks

 

We face an inherent risk of liability in the event that the use or misuse of our products results in personal injury or death and our product liability insurance coverage may be insufficient.

 

If the use or misuse of peramivir, forodesine or any other regulatory body-approved products we or a partner may sell in the future harms people, we may be subject to costly and damaging product liability claims brought against us by consumers, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, third-party payors or others. The use of our product candidates in clinical trials, including post marketing clinical studies, could also expose us to product liability claims. We cannot predict all of the possible harms or side effects that may result from the use of our products or the testing of product candidates and, therefore, the amount of insurance coverage we currently have may not be adequate to cover all liabilities or defense costs we might incur. A product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could give rise to a substantial liability that could exceed our resources. Even if claims are not successful, the costs of defending such claims and potential adverse publicity could be harmful to our business.

 

We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our product candidates in human clinical trials and will face even greater risks upon any commercialization by us of our product candidates. We have product liability insurance covering our clinical trials. Clinical trial and product liability insurance is becoming increasingly expensive. As a result, we may be unable to obtain sufficient insurance or increase our existing coverage at a reasonable cost to protect us against losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business. An individual may bring a product liability claim against us if one of our products or product candidates causes, or is claimed to have caused, an injury or is found to be unsuitable for consumer use. Any product liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could result in:

 

 

liabilities that substantially exceed our product liability insurance, which we would then be required to pay from other sources, if available;

 

 

an increase of our product liability insurance rates or the inability to maintain insurance coverage in the future on acceptable terms, or at all;

 

 

withdrawal of clinical trial volunteers or patients;

 

 

damage to our reputation and the reputation of our products, resulting in lower sales;

 

 

regulatory investigations that could require costly recalls or product modifications;

 

 

litigation costs; and

 

 

the diversion of management’s attention from managing our business.

 

Risks Relating to Our Contractual Arrangements

 

We face risks related to our government-funded programs; if BARDA/HHS or NIAID/HHS were to eliminate, reduce or delay funding from our contracts, this would have a significant negative impact on the programs associated with such funding and could have a significant negative impact on our revenues and cash flows.

 

We have completed work under a contract with BARDA/HHS for the development of RAPIVAB and have entered into contracts with BARDA/HHS and NIAID/HHS for the development of galidesivir as a treatment for diseases caused by RNA pathogens, including COVID-19, Marburg virus disease, Yellow Fever and Ebola virus disease. In contracting with these government agencies, we are subject to various U.S. Government contract requirements, including general clauses for a cost-reimbursement research and development contract, which may limit our reimbursement or, if we are found to be in violation, could result in contract termination. If the U.S. Government terminates any of its contracts with us for its convenience, or if we default by failing to perform in accordance with the contract schedule and terms, significant negative impact on our cash flows and operations could result.

 

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U.S. Government contracts typically contain a number of extraordinary provisions that would not typically be found in commercial contracts and which may create a disadvantage and additional risks to us as compared to competitors that do not rely on U.S. Government contracts. These risks include the ability of the U.S. Government to unilaterally:

 

 

terminate or reduce the scope of our contract with or without cause;

 

 

interpret relevant regulations (federal acquisition regulation clauses);

 

 

require performance under circumstances which may not be favorable to us;

 

 

require an in-process review where the U.S. Government will review the project and its options under the contract;

 

 

control the timing and amount of funding, which impacts the development progress of our programs; and

 

 

audit and object to our contract-related costs and fees, including allocated indirect costs.

 

The U.S. Government may terminate its contracts with us either for its convenience or if we default by failing to perform in accordance with the contract schedule and terms. Termination for convenience provisions generally enable us to recover only our costs incurred or committed, and settlement expenses and profit on the work completed prior to termination. Termination does not permit these recoveries under default provisions. In the event of termination or upon expiration of a contract, the U.S. Government may dispute wind-down and termination costs and may question prior expenses under the contract and deny payment of those expenses. Should we choose to challenge the U.S. Government for denying certain payments under a contract, such a challenge could subject us to substantial additional expenses which we may or may not recover. Further, if the U.S. Government terminates its contracts with us for its convenience, or if we default by failing to perform in accordance with the contract schedule and terms, significant negative impact on our cash flows and operations could result.

 

As a U.S. Government contractor, we are required to comply with applicable laws, regulations and standards relating to our accounting practices and are subject to periodic audits and reviews. As part of any such audit or review, the U.S. Government may review the adequacy of, and our compliance with, our internal control systems and policies, including those relating to our purchasing, property, estimating, compensation and management information systems. Audits under the active BARDA/HHS and NIAID/HHS galidesivir contracts may occur at the election of the U.S. Government and have been concluded through fiscal 2015; all subsequent fiscal years are still open and auditable. Based on the results of its audits, the U.S. Government may adjust our contract-related costs and fees, including allocated indirect costs. This adjustment could impact the amount of revenues reported on a historic basis and could impact our cash flows under the contracts prospectively. In addition, in the event BARDA/HHS or NIAID/HHS determines that certain costs and fees were unallowable or determines that the allocated indirect cost rate was higher than the actual indirect cost rate, BARDA/HHS or NIAID/HHS would be entitled to recoup any overpayment from us as a result. In addition, if an audit or review uncovers any improper or illegal activity, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of our contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. Government. We could also suffer serious harm to our reputation if allegations of impropriety were made against us. In addition, under U.S. Government purchasing regulations, some of our costs may not be reimbursable or allowed under our contracts. Further, as a U.S. Government contractor, we are subject to an increased risk of investigations, criminal prosecution, civil fraud, whistleblower lawsuits and other legal actions and liabilities as compared to private sector commercial companies.

 

There are risks related to the potential government use or sale of our antivirals.

 

Government use or sale, in emergency situations or otherwise, of our antivirals—including peramivir for the treatment of influenza or galidesivir as a potential treatment for COVID-19—may result in risks to us or our collaborative partners. There can be no assurance that government use of our antivirals (whether as indicated or outside of their current indications) will prove to be generally safe, well-tolerated and effective. Any government sale or use (on an emergency basis or otherwise) of our antivirals in any country may create liabilities for us or our partners.

 

We have entered into a contract with the CDC for the procurement of up to 50,000 doses of RAPIVAB (peramivir injection) over a five-year period. In addition, we are conducting a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the safety, clinical impact and antiviral effects of galidesivir in patients with COVID-19. The trial is being funded by NIAID/HHS. We have ongoing studies with NIAID/HHS and academic collaborators to assess the activity of galidesivir against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in both in vitro and animal models. We are also working with NIAID/HHS to increase manufacturing yield and expand the current supply of the drug. There can be no assurance that we or our manufacturers will be able to fully meet the demand for such antivirals with respect to these or future arrangements. Further, we may not receive a favorable purchase price for future orders of our antivirals by governmental entities. Our competitors may develop products that could compete with or replace any antivirals selected for government sale or use. We may face competition in markets where we have no existing intellectual property protection or are unable to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights.

 

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There can be no assurance that the non-U.S. partnerships that we have entered into for peramivir will result in any order for peramivir in those countries or that peramivir will be approved for any use or will achieve market approval in additional countries. There can be no assurance that galidesivir will be approved for use in any countries. In the event that any emergency use or market approval is granted in any country, there can be no assurance that any government order or commercialization of the applicable product or product candidate in such countries will be substantial or will be profitable to us.

 

If we fail to reach milestones or to make annual minimum payments or otherwise breach our obligations under our license agreements, our licensors may terminate our agreements with them and seek additional remedies.

 

If we are unable or fail to meet payment obligations, performance milestones relating to the timing of regulatory filings, product supply obligations, post approval commitments, or development and commercial diligence obligations; are unable or fail to make milestone payments or material data use payments in accordance with applicable provisions; or fail to pay the minimum annual payments under any of our in-licenses relating to our products or product candidates, our licensors may terminate the applicable license or seek other available remedies. As a result, our development of the respective product candidate or commercialization of the product would cease.

 

Royalties and milestone payments from Shionogi under our license agreement with Shionogi (the "Shionogi Agreement") are required to be used by Royalty Sub to service its obligations under its PhaRMA Notes, and generally will not be available to us for other purposes unless and until Royalty Sub has repaid in full its obligations under the PhaRMA Notes.

 

In March 2011, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Royalty Sub, issued $30.0 million in aggregate principal amount of PhaRMA Notes. The PhaRMA Notes are secured principally by (i) certain royalty and milestone payments under the Shionogi Agreement, pursuant to which Shionogi licensed from us the rights to market peramivir in Japan and Taiwan, (ii) rights to certain payments under a Japanese yen/U.S. dollar Currency Hedge Agreement put into place by us in connection with the issuance of the PhaRMA Notes and (iii) the pledge by us of our equity interest in Royalty Sub. Payments from Shionogi to us on non-governmental sales under the Shionogi Agreement will generally not be available to us for other purposes unless and until Royalty Sub has repaid in full its obligations under the PhaRMA Notes. Accordingly, these funds have been and will continue to be required to be dedicated to Royalty Sub’s debt service and not available to us for product development or other purposes. Since September 1, 2014, payments from Shionogi have been insufficient for Royalty Sub to service its obligations under the PhaRMA Notes, resulting in a continuing event of default with respect to the PhaRMA Notes since that time. As a result of the continuing event of default, the holders of the PhaRMA Notes may be able to pursue acceleration of the PhaRMA Notes and foreclose on the collateral securing the PhaRMA Notes and our equity interest in Royalty Sub and may exercise other remedies available to them under the indenture or other documents related to the PhaRMA Notes. In such event, we may not realize the benefit of future royalty payments that might otherwise accrue to us following repayment of the PhaRMA Notes, we may incur legal costs and we might otherwise be adversely affected.

 

The PhaRMA Notes have a final legal maturity date of December 1, 2020, at which time the outstanding principal amount of the PhaRMA Notes, together with accrued and unpaid interest, will be due in full. The failure by Royalty Sub to repay in full the outstanding principal amount of the PhaRMA Notes, together with any accrued and unpaid interest, at the December 1, 2020 final maturity date would constitute an additional event of default under the PhaRMA Notes. We do not currently expect that Royalty Sub will be able to repay the PhaRMA Notes at final maturity. We cannot predict whether holders of PhaRMA Notes will seek to pursue any remedies as a result of the continuing event of default with respect to the PhaRMA Notes or at final maturity if Royalty Sub fails to pay the PhaRMA Notes in full at final maturity. The PhaRMA Notes are the obligation of Royalty Sub. As a result, we do not currently expect the continuing event of default on the PhaRMA Notes, or a failure by Royalty Sub to repay the PhaRMA Notes at final maturity, to have a significant impact on our future results of operations or cash flows. However, we cannot assure you that this will be the case or that we will not otherwise be adversely affected as a result the continuing event of default under the PhaRMA Notes or a failure by Royalty Sub to repay the PhaRMA Notes at maturity.

 

Because a continuing event of default exists under the PhaRMA Notes, the holders of the PhaRMA Notes may be able to pursue acceleration of the PhaRMA Notes and foreclose on the collateral securing the PhaRMA Notes and our equity interest in Royalty Sub. In addition, we do not currently expect that Royalty Sub will be able to repay the PhaRMA Notes at final maturity on December 1, 2020. As a result, we may not realize the benefit of future royalty payments that might otherwise accrue to us following repayment of the PhaRMA Notes and we could otherwise be adversely affected.

 

As Royalty Sub has been unable to service its obligations under the PhaRMA Notes and a continuing event of default exists under the PhaRMA Notes, the holders of the PhaRMA Notes may be able to pursue acceleration of the PhaRMA Notes and foreclose on the collateral securing the PhaRMA Notes and our equity interest in Royalty Sub and may exercise other remedies available to them under the indenture or other documents related to the PhaRMA Notes. In such event, we may not realize the benefit of future royalty payments that might otherwise accrue to us following repayment of the PhaRMA Notes, we may incur legal costs and we might otherwise be adversely affected. In addition, the PhaRMA Notes have a final legal maturity date of December 1, 2020, at which time the outstanding principal amount of the PhaRMA Notes, together with accrued and unpaid interest, will be due in full. The failure by Royalty Sub to repay in full the outstanding principal amount of the PhaRMA Notes, together with any accrued and unpaid interest, at the December 1, 2020 final maturity date would constitute an additional event of default under the PhaRMA Notes. We do not currently expect that Royalty Sub will be able to repay the PhaRMA Notes at final maturity. We cannot predict whether holders of PhaRMA Notes will seek to pursue any remedies as a result of the continuing event of default with respect to the PhaRMA Notes or at final maturity if Royalty Sub fails to pay the PhaRMA Notes in full at final maturity. The PhaRMA Notes are the obligation of Royalty Sub. As a result, we do not currently expect the continuing event of default on the PhaRMA Notes, or a failure by Royalty Sub to repay the PhaRMA Notes at final maturity, to have a significant impact on our future results of operations or cash flows. However, we cannot assure you that this will be the case or that we will not otherwise be adversely affected as a result the continuing event of default under the PhaRMA Notes or a failure by Royalty Sub to repay the PhaRMA Notes at maturity.

 

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Our Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility contains restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business. We may be required to make a prepayment or repay the outstanding indebtedness earlier than we expect if a prepayment event or an event of default occurs, including a material adverse change with respect to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

The Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility contains various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. These covenants limit our ability to, among other things:

 

 

convey, sell, lease, license, transfer or otherwise dispose of certain parts of our business or property;

 

 

change the nature of our business;

 

 

liquidate or dissolve;

 

 

enter into certain change in control or acquisition transactions;

 

 

incur or assume certain debt, including accessing additional tranches of debt under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility;

 

 

grant certain types of liens on our assets;

 

 

modify, liquidate or transfer assets in certain collateral accounts;

 

 

pay dividends or make certain distributions to our stockholders;

 

 

make certain investments;

 

 

enter into material transactions with affiliates; and

 

 

modify existing debt or collaboration arrangements.

 

The restrictive covenants contained in the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility could cause us to be unable to pursue business opportunities that we or our stockholders may consider beneficial without the lender’s permission or without repaying all Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility obligations.

 

A breach of any of these covenants could result in an event of default under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility. An event of default will also occur if, among other things, a material adverse change in our business, operations or condition occurs, which could potentially include negative results in clinical trials, or a material impairment of the prospect of our repayment of any portion of the amounts we owe under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility occurs. In the case of a continuing event of default under the agreement, the lender could elect to declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable, proceed against the collateral in which we granted to the lender a security interest under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility, or otherwise exercise the rights of a secured creditor. Amounts outstanding under the Second Amended and Restated Senior Credit Facility are secured by substantially all of our assets and those of our subsidiaries, excluding certain specified assets but including proceeds from those assets.

 

Risks Relating to International Operations

 

International expansion of our business exposes us to business, regulatory, political, operational, financial, and economic risks.

 

Our business strategy includes international expansion, including the commercialization of products outside of the United States. We currently conduct clinical studies and regulatory activities and have hired, and expect to continue hiring, employees outside of the United States. Doing business internationally involves a number of risks, including but not limited to:

 

 

multiple, conflicting, and changing laws and regulations such as privacy and data regulations, transparency regulations, tax laws, export and import restrictions, employment laws, regulatory requirements, and other governmental approvals, permits, and licenses;

 

 

introduction of new health authority requirements and/or changes in health authority expectations;

 

 

failure by us or our partners to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for the use of our products in various countries;

 

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complexities and difficulties in obtaining protection for, and enforcing, our intellectual property;

 

 

difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations;

 

 

complexities associated with managing multiple payor reimbursement regimes, government payors, or patient self-pay systems;

 

 

limits on our ability to penetrate international markets;

 

 

financial risks, such as longer payment cycles, difficulty collecting accounts receivable, the impact of local and regional financial crises on demand and payment for our products, and exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

 

natural disasters and political and economic instability, including wars, terrorism, political unrest, results of certain elections and votes, actual or threatened public health emergencies and outbreak of disease (including for example, the recent coronavirus outbreak), boycotts, adoption or expansion of government trade restrictions, and other business restrictions;

 

 

certain expenses including, among others, expenses for travel, translation, and insurance;

 

 

regulatory and compliance risks that relate to maintaining accurate information and control over commercial operations and activities that may fall within the purview of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, including its books and records provisions or anti-bribery provisions, or the U.K. Bribery Act and similar foreign laws and regulations; and

 

 

regulatory and compliance risks relating to doing business with any entity that is subject to sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

 

Any of these factors could significantly harm our future international expansion of operations and, consequently, our business and results of operations.

 

Additionally, in some countries, such as Japan and the countries of the EU, the pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is subject to governmental control and access. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after the receipt of marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we or our partners may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of our product to other available therapies. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business could be materially harmed.

 

Our actual or perceived failure to comply with European governmental regulations and other legal obligations related to privacy, data protection and information security could harm our business.

 

EU member states, Switzerland and other countries have adopted data protection laws and regulations, which impose significant compliance obligations. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) imposes strict requirements on controllers and processors of personal data, including special protections for “special category data,” which includes health, biometric and genetic information of data subjects located in the EU. Further, GDPR provides a broad right for EU member states to create supplemental national laws, for example relating to the processing of health, genetic and biometric data, which could further limit our ability to use and share such data or could cause our costs to increase and harm our business and financial condition. GDPR grants individuals the opportunity to object to the processing of their personal information, allows them to request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances, and provides the individual with an express right to seek legal remedies in the event the individual believes his or her rights have been violated. Further, the GDPR imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the EU to the United States or other regions that have not been deemed to offer “adequate” privacy protections.

 

Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the related national data protection laws of the EU member states, which may deviate slightly from the GDPR, may result in significant fines of up to 4% of global revenues, or €20.0 million, whichever is greater, and in addition to such fines, our failure to comply with the requirements of GDPR may subject us to litigation and/or adverse publicity, which could have material adverse effects on our reputation and business. As a result of the implementation of the GDPR, we are required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new data protection rules. For example, the GDPR requires us to make more detailed disclosures to data subjects, requires disclosure of the legal basis on which we can process personal data, makes it harder for us to obtain valid consent for processing, will require the appointment of a data protection officer where sensitive personal data (i.e., health data) is processed on a large scale, introduces mandatory data breach notification throughout the EU, imposes additional obligations on us when we are contracting with service providers and requires us to adopt appropriate privacy governance including policies, procedures, training and data audit.

 

We are subject to the supervision of local data protection authorities in those jurisdictions where we undertake clinical trials. We depend on a number of third parties in relation to the provision of our services, a number of which process personal data of EU individuals on our behalf. With each such provider we are required to enter into contractual arrangements under which they are contractually obligated to only process personal data according to our instructions, and conduct diligence to ensure that they have sufficient technical and organizational security measures in place.

 

We are also subject to evolving European privacy laws on electronic marketing and cookies. The EU is in the process of replacing the e-Privacy Directive (2002/58/EC) with a new set of rules taking the form of a regulation that will be directly implemented in the laws of each European member state. While this e-Privacy Regulation was originally intended to be adopted on May 25, 2018, it is still going through the European legislative process and the timing of its adoption remains unclear.

 

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The United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the EU could result in increased regulatory and legal complexity, which may make it more difficult for us to do business in Europe and impose additional challenges in securing regulatory approval of our product candidates in Europe.

 

The United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, or Brexit, has caused political and economic uncertainty, including in the regulatory framework applicable to our operations and product candidates, and this uncertainty may persist for years. Brexit could, among other outcomes, disrupt the free movement of goods, services and people between the United Kingdom and the EU, and result in increased legal and regulatory complexities, as well as potential higher costs of conducting business in Europe. For instance, preparations for Brexit have resulted in the decision to move the EMA from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. This transition may cause disruption or delays in granting clinical trial authorization or opinions for marketing authorization, disruption of importation and export of active substance and other components of new drug formulations, and disruption of the supply chain for clinical trial product and final authorized formulations.

 

The cumulative effects of the disruption to the regulatory framework may add considerably to the development lead time to marketing authorization and commercialization of products in the EU and/or the United Kingdom. It is possible that there will be increased regulatory complexities, which can disrupt the timing of our clinical trials and regulatory approvals. In addition, changes in, and legal uncertainty with regard to, national and international laws and regulations may present difficulties for our clinical and regulatory strategy. Any delay in obtaining, or an inability to obtain, any marketing approvals, as a result of Brexit or otherwise, would prevent us from commercializing our product candidates in the United Kingdom and/or the EU and restrict our ability to generate revenues and achieve and sustain profitability.

 

In addition, as a result of Brexit, other European countries may seek to conduct referenda with respect to their continuing membership with the EU. Given these possibilities and others we may not anticipate, as well as the absence of comparable precedent, it is unclear what financial, regulatory and legal implications the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU would have and how such withdrawal would affect us, and the full extent to which our business could be adversely affected.

 

Risks Relating to Technology

 

If our facility incurs damage or power is lost for a significant length of time, our business will suffer.

 

We store clinical and stability samples at our facility that could be damaged if our facility incurs physical damage or in the event of an extended power failure. We have backup power systems in addition to backup generators to maintain power to all critical functions, but any loss of these samples could result in significant delays in our drug development process.

 

In addition, we store most of our preclinical and clinical data at our facilities. Duplicate copies of most critical data are secured off-site. Any significant degradation or failure of our computer systems could cause us to inaccurately calculate or lose our data. Loss of data could result in significant delays in our drug development process and any system failure could harm our business and operations.

 

A significant disruption in our information technology systems or a cyber-security breach could adversely affect our business.

 

We are increasingly dependent on information technology systems to operate our business. In addition, the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities regulate, among other things, the record keeping and storage of data pertaining to potential pharmaceutical products. We currently store most of our preclinical research data, our clinical data and our manufacturing data at our facility. While we do store duplicate copies of most of our clinical data offsite and a significant portion of our data is included in regular backups of our systems, we could lose important data if our facility incurs damage, or if our vendor data systems fail, suffer damage or are destroyed.

 

Like other companies in our industry, our networks and infrastructure may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks or intrusions, including by computer hackers, foreign governments, foreign companies or competitors, or may be breached by employee error, malfeasance or other disruption. A breakdown, invasion, corruption, destruction or interruption of critical information technology systems could negatively impact operations. If our systems are damaged, fail to function properly or otherwise become unavailable, we may incur substantial costs to repair or replace them, and we may experience loss of critical data and interruptions or delays in our ability to perform critical functions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Any compromise of our data security could also result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws, significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, loss or misuse of the information and a loss of confidence in our data security measures, which could harm our business. There can be no assurance that our efforts to protect our data and information technology systems will prevent breakdowns or breaches in our systems, or those of third parties with which we do business, and any such events could adversely affect our business.

 

Risks Relating to Investing in Our Common Stock

 

Our existing principal stockholders hold a substantial amount of our common stock and may be able to influence significant corporate decisions, which may conflict with the interest of other stockholders.

 

Several of our stockholders own greater than 5% of our outstanding common stock. Our top ten stockholders own more than 50% of BioCryst and can individually, and as a group, influence our operations based upon their concentrated ownership. These stockholders, if they act together, may be able to influence the outcome of matters requiring approval of the stockholders, including the election of our directors and other corporate actions.

 

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Our stock price has been, and is likely to continue to be, highly volatile, which could cause the value of an investment in our common stock to decline significantly.

 

The market prices for securities of biotechnology companies in general have been highly volatile and may continue to be highly volatile in the future. Moreover, our stock price has fluctuated frequently, and these fluctuations are often not related to our financial results. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2020, the 52-week range of the market price of our stock was from $1.38 to $6.29 per share. The following factors, in addition to other risk factors described in this section, may have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock:

 

 

announcements of technological innovations or new products by us or our competitors;

 

 

developments or disputes concerning patents or proprietary rights;

 

 

additional dilution through sales of our common stock or other derivative securities;

 

 

status of new or existing licensing or collaborative agreements and government contracts;

 

 

announcements relating to the status of our programs;

 

 

developments and announcements regarding new and virulent strains of influenza;

 

 

we or our partners achieving or failing to achieve development milestones;

 

 

publicity regarding actual or potential medical results relating to products under development by us or our competitors;

 

 

publicity regarding certain public health concerns for which we are or may be developing treatments;

 

 

regulatory developments in both the United States and foreign countries;

 

 

public concern as to the safety of pharmaceutical products;

 

 

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;

 

 

changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts;

 

 

changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems, including developments in price control legislation;

 

 

announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

 

 

additions or departures of key personnel or members of our board of directors;

 

 

purchases or sales of substantial amounts of our stock by existing stockholders, including officers or directors;

 

 

economic and other external factors or other disasters or crises; and

 

 

period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results.

 

53

 

Future sales and issuances of securities may dilute the ownership interests of our current stockholders and cause our stock price to decline.

 

Future sales of our common stock by current stockholders into the public market could cause the market price of our stock to fall. As of October 31, 2020, there were 176,565,622 shares of our common stock outstanding. We may from time to time issue securities in relation to a license arrangement, collaboration, merger or acquisition. We may also sell, for our own account, shares of common stock or other equity securities, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of sale.

 

As of October 31, 2020, there were 18,362,390 stock options outstanding and 11,433,039 shares available for issuance under our Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan, 3,671,668 stock options outstanding and 728,332 shares available for issuance under our Inducement Equity Incentive Plan and 2,872,764 shares available for issuance under our Amended and Restated Employee Stock Purchase Plan. In addition, we could also make equity grants outside of our Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan or Amended and Restated Inducement Equity Incentive Plan. The shares underlying existing stock options, restricted stock units and possible future stock options, stock appreciation rights and stock awards have been registered pursuant to registration statements on Form S-8.

 

If some or all of such shares are sold or otherwise issued into the public market over a short period of time, our current stockholders’ ownership interests may be diluted and the value of all publicly traded shares is likely to decline, as the market may not be able to absorb those shares at then-current market prices. Additionally, such sales and issuances may make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that our management deems acceptable, or at all.

 

In March 2017, we entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with entities affiliated with Baker Bros. Advisors LP (the “Baker Entities”) to provide that, if requested, we will register the shares of our common stock beneficially owned by the Baker Entities for resale under the Securities Act. Our registration obligations pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement cover all shares then held or thereafter acquired by the Baker Entities, for up to ten years, and include our obligation to facilitate certain underwritten public offerings of our common stock by the Baker Entities in the future. On May 10, 2017, we filed a registration statement on Form S-3 with respect to 11,710,951 shares of common stock held by the Baker Entities. Subsequently, on November 21, 2019, certain of the Baker Entities acquired pre-funded warrants to purchase 11,764,706 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.69 per warrant. In addition, on June 1, 2020, we issued pre-funded warrants to purchase 3,511,111 shares of our common stock at a price of $4.49 per warrant, including pre-funded warrants acquired by certain of the Baker Entities to purchase 3,252,375 shares of our common stock. Each warrant has an exercise price of $0.01 per share. If the Baker Entities, by exercising their underwriting rights or otherwise, sell a large number of our shares, or the market perceives that the Baker Entities intend to sell a large number of our shares, this could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

We have anti-takeover provisions in our corporate charter documents that may result in outcomes with which you do not agree.

 

Our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock and to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of those shares without further vote or action by our stockholders. The rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future may adversely affect the rights of the holders of common stock. The issuance of preferred stock could make it more difficult for third parties to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock.

 

In addition, our certificate of incorporation provides for staggered terms for the members of the board of directors and supermajority approval of the removal of any member of the board of directors and prevents our stockholders from acting by written consent. Our certificate also requires supermajority approval of any amendment of these provisions. These provisions and other provisions of our by-laws and of Delaware law applicable to us could delay or make more difficult a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving us.

 

We have never paid dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate doing so in the foreseeable future.

 

We have never paid cash dividends on our stock. We currently intend to retain all future earnings, if any, for use in the operation of our business. Accordingly, we do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

 

Our Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which may limit a stockholder’s ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for such disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

 

Our Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be 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 a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents arising out of or relating to any provision of the General Corporation Law of Delaware or our Certificate of Incorporation or Amended and Restated Bylaws or (iv) any action against us or any of our directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware. This exclusive forum provision does not apply to establish the Delaware Court of Chancery as the forum for actions or proceedings brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

 

This exclusive forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to choose its preferred judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage the filing of lawsuits with respect to such claims. If a court were to find this exclusive forum provision to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in another jurisdiction, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

 

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General Risk Factors

 

Natural disasters, epidemic or pandemic disease outbreaks, trade wars, political unrest or other events could disrupt our business or operations or those of our development partners, manufacturers, regulators or other third parties with whom we conduct business now or in the future.

 

A wide variety of events beyond our control, including natural disasters, epidemic or pandemic disease outbreaks (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), trade wars, political unrest or other events could disrupt our business or operations or those of our development partners (such as Torii), manufacturers, regulatory authorities, or other third parties with whom we conduct business. These events may cause businesses and government agencies to be shut down, supply chains to be interrupted, slowed, or rendered inoperable, and individuals to become ill, quarantined, or otherwise unable to work and/or travel due to health reasons or governmental restrictions. If our operations or those of third parties with whom we have business are impaired or curtailed as a result of these events, the development and commercialization of our products and product candidates could be impaired or halted, which could have a material adverse impact on our business. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—Our business, operations, clinical development or commercialization plans and timelines, and access to capital could be adversely affected by the effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic on us or on third parties with whom we conduct business, including without limitation our development partners, manufacturers, CROs, and others, as well as on the regulatory and government agencies with whom we work.”

 

We are subject to legal proceedings, which could result in losses or unexpected expenditure of time and resources.

 

From time to time, we may be involved in disputes, called upon to initiate legal proceedings or to defend ourselves in such legal proceedings relating to our business. Due to the inherent uncertainties in legal proceedings, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of any such proceedings. An unfavorable outcome in any such proceedings could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If our stock price is volatile, we may become involved in securities class action lawsuits in the future. Any current or future dispute resolution or legal proceeding, regardless of the merits of any such proceeding, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources that are needed to successfully run our business.

 

Insurance coverage is increasingly more costly and difficult to obtain or maintain.

 

While we currently have insurance for our business, property, directors and officers, and our products, insurance is increasingly more costly and narrower in scope, and we may be required to assume more risk in the future. If we are subject to claims or suffer a loss or damage in excess of our insurance coverage, we will be required to bear any loss in excess of our insurance limits. If we are subject to claims or suffer a loss or damage that is outside of our insurance coverage, we may incur significant uninsured costs associated with loss or damage that could have an adverse effect on our operations and financial position. Furthermore, any claims made on our insurance policies may impact our ability to obtain or maintain insurance coverage at reasonable costs or at all.

 

If we fail to retain our existing key personnel or fail to attract and retain additional key personnel, the development of our product candidates and commercialization of our products and the related expansion of our business will be delayed or stopped.

 

We are highly dependent upon our senior management and scientific team, the unexpected loss of whose services might impede the achievement of our development and commercial objectives. This risk has been heightened in the current environment as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Competition for key personnel with the experience that we require is intense and is expected to continue to increase. Our inability to attract and retain the required number of skilled and experienced management, commercial, operational and scientific personnel will harm our business because we rely upon these personnel for many critical functions of our business.

 

 

 

 

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Item 6.     Exhibits

 

Number

Description

3.1

Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed December 22, 2006.

3.2

Certificate of Amendment to the Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed July 24, 2007.

3.3

Certificate of Increase of Authorized Number of Shares of Series B Junior Participating Preferred Stock. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed November 4, 2008.

3.4

Certificate of Amendment to the Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed May 7, 2014.

3.5

Certificate of Increase of Authorized Number of Shares of Series B Junior Participating Preferred Stock. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed May 7, 2014.

3.6

Certificate of Elimination of the Series B Junior Participating Preferred Stock. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed May 13, 2020.

3.7

Certificate of Amendment to the Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed May 13, 2020.

3.8

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant effective October 29, 2008. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed November 4, 2008.

3.9

Amendment to Amended and Restated By-Laws of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., dated January 21, 2018. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed January 22, 2018.

10.1

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Inducement Equity Incentive Plan (as amended and restated July 17, 2020). Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Form S-8 (File No. 333-245024) filed August 12, 2020.

(10.2)

Amendment #23 to the Agreement between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, dated August 21, 2020.

(10.3)

Amendment #23 to the Agreement between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, dated September 14, 2020.

(10.4)*

Agreement, dated September 1, 2020, between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

(10.5)*

Amendment #1 to the Agreement between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, dated October 14, 2020.

10.6

Amendment, dated August 31, 2020, to the Contract dated September 1, 2018 between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the Department of Health and Human Services. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed September 3, 2020.

(10.7)*

Third Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement dated as of September 28, 2020, by and among Midcap Financial Trust, as administrative agent, the Lenders on the Credit Facility Schedule attached thereto and otherwise party thereto from time to time, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and MDCP, LLC.

(10.8)

Amendment #13 to the Agreement between BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness Response, dated September 29, 2020.

(31.1)

Certification of the Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(31.2)

Certification of the Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(32.1)

Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(32.2)

Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(101)

Financial statements from the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss, (iii) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, and (iv) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, tagged as blocks of text and including detailed tags.

(104)

Cover Page Interactive Data File – The cover page from this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 is formatted in Inline XBRL (contained in Exhibit 101).

( ) Filed or furnished herewith.

*

Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and would likely cause competitive harm to the Company if publicly disclosed.

 

 

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized on this 6th day of November, 2020.

 

  BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.  
     
  /s/ Jon P. Stonehouse  
  Jon P. Stonehouse  
  President and Chief Executive Officer  
  (Principal Executive Officer)  
     
  /s/ Anthony Doyle  
  Anthony Doyle  
  Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer  
  (Principal Financial Officer)  
     
  /s/ Michael L. Jones  
  Michael L. Jones  
  Executive Director, Finance and Principal Accounting Officer  
  (Principal Accounting Officer)  
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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