rare-10q_20170630.htm

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

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

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2017

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 No. 001-36276

 

ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Delaware

 

27-2546083

(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

 

60 Leveroni Court
Novato, California

 

94949

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(Zip Code)

(415) 483-8800

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

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 and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).     YES     NO  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer

 

  

Accelerated filer

 

 

 

 

 

Non-accelerated filer

 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

  

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  

As of July 24, 2017, the registrant had 42,458,458 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

 

 

 

 

 


ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

FORM 10-Q FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

INDEX

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Page

 

 

 

 

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

  

1

 

 

 

 

 

Part I –

 

Financial Information

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1.

 

Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Unaudited

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

  

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

  

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss

  

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

  

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

  

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 2.

 

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

  

13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 3.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

  

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 4.

 

Controls and Procedures

  

20

 

 

 

 

 

Part II –

 

Other Information

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1.

 

Legal Proceedings

  

21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1A.

 

Risk Factors

  

21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 2.

 

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

  

49

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 3.

 

Defaults Upon Senior Securities

  

49

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 4.

 

Mine Safety Disclosures

  

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 5.

 

Other Information

  

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 6.

 

Exhibits

  

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signatures

 

 

  

51

 

 

 

 


CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Quarterly Report”) contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. We make such forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Quarterly Report are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these words, or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

our expectations regarding the timing of clinical study commencements and reporting results from same;

 

the timing and likelihood of regulatory approvals for our product candidates;

 

the anticipated indications for our product candidates, if approved;

 

the potential market opportunities for commercializing our product candidates;

 

our expectations regarding the potential market size and the size of the patient populations for our product candidates, if approved for commercial use;

 

estimates of our expenses, future revenue, capital requirements, and our needs for additional financing;

 

our ability to develop, acquire, and advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical studies;

 

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

 

the initiation, timing, progress, and results of ongoing and future preclinical and clinical studies, and our research and development programs;

 

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

 

our ability to maintain and establish collaborations or obtain additional funding;

 

our ability to maintain and establish relationships with third parties, such as contract research organizations, suppliers, and distributors;

 

our financial performance and the expansion of our organization;

 

our ability to obtain supply of our product candidates;

 

developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry; and

 

other risks and uncertainties, including those listed under Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Any forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report reflect our current views with respect to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other 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 discussed under Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors and discussed elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. 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.

This Quarterly Report also contains estimates, projections, and other information concerning our industry, our business, and the markets for certain diseases, including data regarding the estimated size of those markets, and the incidence and prevalence of certain medical conditions. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, market research, or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business, market, and other data from, or derived such data based on information in, reports, research surveys, studies, and similar data prepared by market research firms and other third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data, and similar sources.

 


1


PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

 

ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

(In thousands, except share amounts)

 

 

June 30,

 

 

December 31,

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

90,751

 

 

$

161,120

 

Short-term investments

 

308,897

 

  

 

219,028

 

Restricted cash

 

461

 

 

 

1,411

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

19,685

 

 

 

20,136

 

Total current assets

 

419,794

 

 

 

401,695

 

Property and equipment, net

 

16,405

 

 

 

17,055

 

Restricted cash

 

1,805

 

 

 

2,076

 

Long-term investments

 

57,802

 

 

 

117,963

 

Other assets

 

1,736

 

 

 

1,837

 

Total assets

$

497,542

 

 

$

540,626

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

$

11,876

 

 

$

5,364

 

Accrued liabilities

 

50,130

 

 

 

54,554

 

Deferred rent—current portion

 

669

 

 

 

341

 

Total current liabilities

 

62,675

 

 

 

60,259

 

Other liabilities

 

5,414

 

 

 

6,393

 

Total liabilities

 

68,089

 

 

 

66,652

 

Stockholders’ equity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock — 25,000,000 shares authorized; nil outstanding as of June 30, 2017 and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      December 31, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock — 250,000,000 shares authorized; 42,428,124 and 41,240,230 shares issued

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      and outstanding as of June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively

 

42

 

 

 

41

 

Additional paid-in capital

 

1,105,348

 

 

 

1,003,561

 

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

 

(4,223

)

 

 

905

 

Accumulated deficit

 

(671,714

)

 

 

(530,533

)

Total stockholders’ equity

 

429,453

 

 

 

473,974

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

497,542

 

 

$

540,626

 

See accompanying notes.

 

 

 

2


ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Revenue

$

 

 

$

17

 

 

$

 

 

$

17

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

 

58,436

 

 

 

43,332

 

 

 

109,705

 

 

 

83,747

 

General and administrative

 

20,005

 

 

 

14,738

 

 

 

38,690

 

 

 

27,945

 

Total operating expenses

 

78,441

 

 

 

58,070

 

 

 

148,395

 

 

 

111,692

 

Loss from operations

 

(78,441

)

 

 

(58,053

)

 

 

(148,395

)

 

 

(111,675

)

Other income (expense), net:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

1,151

 

 

 

971

 

 

 

2,233

 

 

 

1,955

 

Other income (expense), net

 

4,413

 

 

 

159

 

 

 

4,995

 

 

 

40

 

Total other income (expense), net

 

5,564

 

 

 

1,130

 

 

 

7,228

 

 

 

1,995

 

Loss before income taxes

 

(72,877

)

 

 

(56,923

)

 

 

(141,167

)

 

 

(109,680

)

Income tax provision

 

(14

)

 

 

 

 

 

(14

)

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(72,891

)

 

$

(56,923

)

 

$

(141,181

)

 

$

(109,680

)

Net loss per share, basic and diluted

$

(1.72

)

 

$

(1.46

)

 

$

(3.35

)

 

$

(2.81

)

Shares used in computing net loss per share, basic and diluted

 

42,346,830

 

 

 

39,028,701

 

 

 

42,095,750

 

 

 

38,999,439

 

See accompanying notes.

 

 

 

3


ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Net loss

$

(72,891

)

 

$

(56,923

)

 

$

(141,181

)

 

$

(109,680

)

 

Other comprehensive income (loss):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

(4,403

)

 

 

11

 

 

 

(5,051

)

 

 

11

 

 

Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities

 

(51

)

 

 

149

 

 

 

(77

)

 

 

1,109

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss):

 

(4,454

)

 

 

160

 

 

 

(5,128

)

 

 

1,120

 

 

Total comprehensive loss

$

(77,345

)

 

$

(56,763

)

 

$

(146,309

)

 

$

(108,560

)

 

See accompanying notes.

 

 

 

4


ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(141,181

)

 

$

(109,680

)

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stock-based compensation

 

31,293

 

 

 

21,077

 

Amortization of premium on investment securities, net

 

1,051

 

 

 

3,215

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

2,216

 

 

 

1,236

 

Foreign currency remeasurement gain

 

(4,604

)

 

 

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

469

 

 

 

(4,554

)

Other assets

 

101

 

 

 

(851

)

Accounts payable

 

6,353

 

 

 

2,825

 

Accrued liabilities and other liabilities

 

(5,725

)

 

 

2,182

 

Net cash used in operating activities

 

(110,027

)

 

 

(84,550

)

Investing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of property and equipment

 

(861

)

 

 

(6,521

)

Purchase of investments

 

(207,208

)

 

 

(223,123

)

Proceeds from the sale of investments

 

21,642

 

 

 

54,332

 

Proceeds from maturities of investments

 

154,730

 

 

 

222,616

 

(Increase) decrease in restricted cash

 

1,221

 

 

 

(1,543

)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

 

(30,476

)

 

 

45,761

 

Financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of common stock in connection with at-the-market offering, net

 

67,616

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of common stock from equity awards, net

 

2,879

 

 

 

289

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

70,495

 

 

 

289

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

 

(361

)

 

 

 

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

 

(70,369

)

 

 

(38,500

)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

 

161,120

 

 

 

93,569

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$

90,751

 

 

$

55,069

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See accompanying notes.

 

 

 

5


ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

1.

Organization

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (the Company) is a biopharmaceutical company and was incorporated in California on April 22, 2010. The Company subsequently reincorporated in the state of Delaware in June 2011.

The Company is focused on the identification, acquisition, development, and commercialization of novel products for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare diseases, with a focus on serious, debilitating genetic diseases. The Company has completed a Phase 3 study of vestronidase alpha (recombinant human beta-glucuronidase or rhGUS) in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis 7 (MPS 7), a rare lysosomal storage disease, and is conducting a Phase 3 study of aceneuramic acid extended-release (Ace-ER) in patients with GNE myopathy, a progressive muscle-wasting disorder; Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies of burosumab (KRN23 or UX023), an antibody targeting fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), in pediatric and adult patients with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) and a Phase 2 study in tumor induced osteomalacia (TIO), both rare diseases that impair bone mineralization; a Phase 3 study for UX007 in patients with glucose transporter type-1 deficiency syndrome (Glut1 DS), a brain energy deficiency, who are experiencing movement disorders; and a Phase 2 clinical study of UX007 in patients severely affected by long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders (LC-FAOD), a genetic disorder in which the body is unable to convert long chain fatty acids into energy. The Company operates as one reportable segment.

     

2.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the amounts of the Company and our wholly-owned subsidiaries and have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for interim financial information and in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the annual financial statements. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the preceding fiscal year contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 17, 2017 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016 has been derived from audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information required by GAAP for complete financial statements.

Use of Estimates

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent liabilities and the reported amounts of expenses in the consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates, including those related to clinical trial accruals, fair value of assets and liabilities, income taxes, and stock-based compensation. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other market-specific and relevant assumptions that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606), to supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under GAAP. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is to recognize revenues when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration that is expected to be received for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 defines a five-step process to achieve this core principle and, in doing so, it is possible more judgment and estimates may be required within the revenue recognition process than are required under existing GAAP, including identifying performance obligations in a contract, estimating the amount of variable consideration to include in the transaction price and allocating the transaction price to each separate performance obligation. In March, April, May and December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Principal versus Agent Considerations, ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients to provide supplemental adoption guidance and clarification to ASU 2014-09, and ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, respectively. The effective date for these new standards is the same as the effective date and transition requirements for ASU 2014-09. The Company has early adopted the new revenue standard as of January 1, 2017 using a full retrospective application to each prior reporting period presented. Through January 1, 2017, the

6


Company had recorded a cumulative inception to date total of $0.1 million of revenues. The adoption did not have an effect on the Consolidated Financial Statements on the adoption date and no adjustment to prior year consolidated financial statements was required.

 

Product sales revenue

The Company recognizes revenue from sales of vestronidase alpha (UX003) on a “named patient” basis, which is allowed in certain countries prior to the commercial approval of the product in the territory. Under ASC 606, revenue from product sales is recognized at the point in time when the product is shipped to the customer. Prior to recognizing revenue, the Company makes estimates of the transaction price, including variable consideration that is subject to a constraint. Amounts of variable consideration are included in the transaction price to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.

 

License and collaboration revenue

The Company has license and collaboration agreements with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. (KHK) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda). The license and collaboration agreements are within the scope of ASC 808, Collaborative Agreements, which provides guidance on the presentation and disclosure of collaborative arrangements. Funding received related to research and development services and pre-commercialization costs are classified as a reduction of research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses, respectively in the consolidated statement of operations because the provision of such services for collaborative partners are not considered to be part of the Company’s ongoing major or central operations.  

Stock-Based Compensation

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payments, including income tax consequences, application of award forfeitures to expense, classification on the statement of cash flows, and classification of awards as either equity or liabilities. The Company adopted ASU 2016-09 as of January 1, 2017. On January 1, 2017, there was $19.7 million of cumulative unrecognized excess tax benefits which was fully offset by a corresponding increase in the valuation allowance. The adoption did not have any other impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements on the adoption date.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires an entity that is a lessee to record a right of use asset and a corresponding lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. This guidance also requires disclosures about the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those annual periods, using a modified retrospective approach, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on its Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes - Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory, which requires entities to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of a fiscal year. The new standard must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition method which is a cumulative-effective adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first effective reporting period. The Company is evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on its Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures.


7


3.

Fair Value Measurements

Financial assets and liabilities are recorded at fair value. The carrying amount of certain financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to their relatively short maturities. Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis in the balance sheets are categorized based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair values. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The authoritative guidance on fair value measurements establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements as follows:

Level 1—Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date;

Level 2—Inputs are observable, unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the related assets or liabilities; and

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities that are supported by little or no market data.

The following tables set forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets remeasured on a recurring basis based on the three-tier fair value hierarchy (in thousands):

 

 

June 30, 2017

 

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Level 3

 

 

Total

 

 

Financial Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money market funds

$

75,956

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

75,956

 

 

Corporate bonds

 

 

 

 

153,928

 

 

 

 

 

 

153,928

 

 

Commercial paper

 

 

 

 

5,984

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,984

 

 

Asset-backed securities

 

 

 

 

6,001

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,001

 

 

U.S. Government Treasury and agency securities

 

 

 

 

200,786

 

 

 

 

 

 

200,786

 

 

Total financial assets

$

75,956

 

 

$

366,699

 

 

$

 

 

$

442,655

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2016

 

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Level 3

 

 

Total

 

 

Financial Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money market funds

$

123,536

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

123,536

 

 

Corporate bonds

 

 

 

 

207,726

 

 

 

 

 

 

207,726

 

 

Commercial paper

 

 

 

 

11,970

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,970

 

 

Asset-backed securities

 

 

 

 

27,713

 

 

 

 

 

 

27,713

 

 

U.S. Government Treasury and agency securities

 

 

 

 

111,931

 

 

 

 

 

 

111,931

 

 

Total financial assets

$

123,536

 

 

$

359,340

 

 

$

 

 

$

482,876

 

 

 

4.

Balance Sheet Components

Cash Equivalents and Investments

The fair values of cash equivalents, short-term investments, and long-term investments classified as available-for-sale securities, consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

June 30, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross Unrealized

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amortized

Cost

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

Estimated

Fair Value

 

Money market funds

$

75,956

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

75,956

 

Corporate bonds

 

154,039

 

 

 

13

 

 

 

(124

)

 

 

153,928

 

Commercial paper

 

5,984

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,984

 

Asset-backed securities

 

6,002

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

6,001

 

U.S. Government Treasury and agency securities

 

201,168

 

 

 

 

 

 

(382

)

 

 

200,786

 

Total

$

443,149

 

 

$

13

 

 

$

(507

)

 

$

442,655

 

8


 

 

December 31, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross Unrealized

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amortized

Cost

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

Estimated

Fair Value

 

Money market funds

$

123,536

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

123,536

 

Corporate bonds

 

207,909

 

 

 

14

 

 

 

(197

)

 

 

207,726

 

Commercial paper

 

11,970

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,970

 

Asset-backed securities

 

27,712

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

(2

)

 

 

27,713

 

U.S. Government Treasury and agency securities

 

112,166

 

 

 

10

 

 

 

(245

)

 

 

111,931

 

Total

$

483,293

 

 

$

27

 

 

$

(444

)

 

$

482,876

 

 

At June 30, 2017, the remaining contractual maturities of available-for-sale securities were less than two years. There have been no significant realized gains or losses on available-for-sale securities for the periods presented. All marketable securities with unrealized losses at June 30, 2017 have been in a loss position for less than twelve months or the loss is not material and were temporary in nature. The Company does not intend to sell the investments that are in an unrealized loss position before recovery of their amortized cost basis.

Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

 

 

June 30,

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Research and clinical study expenses

 

$

17,461

 

 

$

18,593

 

Payroll and related expenses

 

 

15,396

 

 

 

17,226

 

Repayment and contract liability under collaboration agreement

 

 

11,205

 

 

 

13,650

 

Other

 

 

6,068

 

 

 

5,085

 

Total accrued liabilities

 

$

50,130

 

 

$

54,554

 

 

5.

License and Research Agreements

Kyowa Hakko Kirin Collaboration and License Agreement

In August 2013, the Company entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. (KHK). Under the terms of this collaboration and license agreement, as amended, the Company and KHK will collaborate on the development and commercialization of certain products containing burosumab in the field of orphan diseases in the United States and Canada, or the profit share territory, and in the European Union and Switzerland, or the European territory, and the Company will have the right to develop and commercialize such products in the field of orphan diseases in Mexico and Central and South America, or Latin America. In the field of orphan diseases, and except for ongoing studies being conducted by KHK, the Company will be the lead party for development activities in the profit share territory and in the European territory until the applicable transition date; the Company will also be the lead party for core development activities conducted in Japan and Korea, for which the core development plan is limited to clinical trials mutually agreed to by the Company and KHK. The Company will share the costs for development activities in the profit share territory and the European territory conducted pursuant to the development plan before the applicable transition date equally with KHK, and KHK shall be responsible for 100% of the costs for development activities in Japan and Korea. On the applicable transition date in the profit share territory and the European territory, KHK will become the lead party and be responsible for the costs of the development activities. However, the Company will continue to share the costs of the studies commenced prior to the applicable transition date equally with KHK. The Company has the primary responsibility for conducting certain research and development services. If burosumab is approved, the Company and KHK will share commercial responsibilities and profits in the profit share territory until the applicable transition date and KHK will commercialize burosumab in the European territory. The Company will develop and commercialize burosumab in Latin America.

KHK will manufacture and supply burosumab for clinical use globally and will manufacture and supply burosumab for commercial use in the profit share territory and Latin America. The remaining profit or loss from commercializing products in the profit-share territory, until the applicable transition date, will be shared between the Company and KHK on a 50/50 basis. Thereafter, the Company will be entitled to receive a tiered double-digit revenue share in the mid-to-high 20% range in the profit share territory. The Company will also be entitled to receive a royalty of up to 10% on net sales in the European territory. In Latin America, the Company will pay to KHK a low single-digit royalty on net sales.

In May 2017, Ultragenyx signed an agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of KHK pursuant to which Ultragenyx was granted the right to commercialize burosumab in Turkey. KHK’s subsidiary has the option to assume responsibility for commercialization efforts from Ultragenyx, after a certain minimum period.      

9


The Company’s expenses were reduced by $7.9 million and $5.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, and $15.3 million and $10.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, for KHK’s share of the research and development expenses and were reduced by $0.6 million and $0.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, and $1.1 million and $0.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, for KHK’s share of the general and administrative expenses. As of June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had receivables in the amount of $8.5 million and $8.6 million, respectively, for this collaboration arrangement.

 

Takeda License and Collaboration and Purchase Agreements

In June 2016, the Company executed a collaboration and license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda). Pursuant to the agreement, which became effective in July 2016, the Company obtained an exclusive license for a pre-clinical compound from Takeda in a pre-determined field of use, which includes an option to an additional field of use for this product with the terms to be negotiated, and an option to a specified product candidate (identified option product). The Company is responsible for the development costs for the pre-clinical compound and the identified option product pursuant to an initial development plan. Because the license to the pre-clinical compound has no alternative future use, the estimated fair value of $0.7 million was recorded as a research and development expense upon acquisition. Under the license for the pre-clinical compound, the Company may be required to make future milestone payments to Takeda of up to $7.5 million if certain development milestones are met, $75.0 million if certain regulatory milestones are met, and $150.0 million if certain commercial milestones are met, as well as royalties with respect to net sales in the high-single digits to low-teens. Any products resulting from the pre-clinical compound or the identified option product is referred to in this report as the “licensed product.”

As part of the agreement, the Company and Takeda established a five-year research collaboration whereby the parties may mutually agree to add additional option products candidates to the collaboration, in which case the Company will bear the cost of the development activities, with certain exceptions.  

 In July 2016, the Company consummated a common stock purchase agreement, executed in conjunction with the collaboration and license agreement, whereby Takeda purchased 374,590 shares of the Company’s common stock for $40.0 million in cash. The fair market value of the common stock issued to Takeda was $27.3 million, based on the closing stock price of $72.95 on the date of issuance, resulting in a $12.7 million premium paid to the Company. The Company also received a put option to require Takeda to purchase an additional $25.0 million in shares of the Company’s common stock at the then-current 30-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP). The put option was exercised in October 2016, whereby Takeda purchased 352,530 shares of the Company’s common stock for $25.0 million in cash. Takeda is subject to a five-year standstill (subject to customary exceptions or release). The Company estimated the fair value of the put options to be $0.9 million and recorded the put options in additional paid-in capital.

The Company also granted Takeda an exclusive option for Asian rights, for a limited period, to any licensed products and any additional products resulting from the collaboration, as well as an option to exclusively license one of the Company’s products for development and commercialization in Japan. If Takeda exercises any of its option rights to license a product pursuant to the agreement, Takeda will pay for the development costs within the licensed territory, will share in a portion of the global development costs, and will make a milestone payment upon regulatory approval. Takeda will also owe royalties on net sales in the licensed territory for any licensed product, depending on the development stage when the product is licensed as well as sales levels. The royalties related to the option to license the Company’s product, as well as the additional product are subject to future good faith negotiations at the time that the option is exercised.  

The research and license agreement and the stock purchase agreement are being accounted for as one arrangement because they were entered into at the same time with interrelated financial terms. The Company analogized to ASC 606 for the accounting for the arrangements. The Company concluded that there are multiple promised goods and services under the collaboration agreement, including obligations related to research and development services with respect to licensed products as well as committee participation, which were determined to represent distinct performance obligations. The total consideration received from Takeda was $14.3 million and was comprised of the $12.7 million premium on the sale of the common stock, the $0.9 million estimated fair value of the put options, and the $0.7 million estimated fair value of the pre-clinical compound.

The Company is responsible for the costs under the initial development plan. A significant portion of this work is expected to be performed by Takeda which has an estimated cost of approximately $10.0 million to $13.7 million and is subject to changes as development activities are adjusted and cost estimates are refined. The Company concluded that the payment to Takeda is not in return for a distinct service that Takeda transfers to the Company, therefore, the payment made to Takeda is accounted for as a reduction in the transaction price. As of June 30, 2017, the Company concluded that $0.6 million of the estimated transaction price should not be constrained because it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount to be recognized will not occur. The unconstrained transaction price was allocated to the distinct performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price basis, and $0.3 million was recognized as a reduction of research and development expenses by measuring the progress toward complete satisfaction of the individual performance obligation using an input measure. The performance obligations are estimated to be substantially complete by March 2018.

Based on the high level of uncertainty in the amount of transaction price that is refundable to Takeda, the Company concluded that the remaining transaction price should continue to be constrained as of June 30, 2017. The Company will continue to re-evaluate the application of the constraint to the transaction price at each reporting period end date.

10


Costs incurred by the Company associated with co-development activities performed under this collaboration are included in research and development expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. As of June 30, 2017, the Company recorded a repayment liability under a collaboration agreement in the amount of $12.5 million and a contract liability in the amount of $0.3 million. The Company acknowledges that the FASB added a project to its agenda in November 2016 to evaluate the interaction between ASC 808 and ASC 606, which may result in changes to the conclusions reached by the Company if new guidance is issued by the FASB.  

  

6.

Stock-Based Awards

The 2014 Incentive Plan (the 2014 Plan) provides for automatic annual increases in shares available for grant, beginning on January 1, 2015 through January 1, 2024. As of June 30, 2017, there were 1,785,639 shares reserved under the 2014 Plan for the future issuance of equity awards and 1,816,052 shares reserved for the 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

The table below sets forth the functional classification of stock-based compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, for the periods presented (in thousands):

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Research and development

$

10,034

 

 

$

6,495

 

 

$

18,577

 

 

$

13,070

 

 

General and administrative

 

6,760

 

 

 

4,365

 

 

 

12,716

 

 

 

8,007

 

 

Total stock-based compensation

$

16,794

 

 

$

10,860

 

 

$

31,293

 

 

$

21,077

 

 

 

7.Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share has been computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock and potential dilutive securities outstanding during the period.

 

The following weighted-average outstanding common stock equivalents were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share for the periods presented because including them would have been antidilutive:

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Options to purchase common stock and restricted

   stock units

 

5,767,660

 

 

 

4,489,875

 

 

 

5,536,816

 

 

 

4,264,589

 

Employee stock purchase plan

 

6,760

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,399

 

 

 

 

Common stock warrants

 

149,700

 

 

 

149,700

 

 

 

149,700

 

 

 

149,700

 

 

 

5,924,120

 

 

 

4,639,575

 

 

 

5,689,915

 

 

 

4,414,289

 

 

 

8.

Equity Transactions

In July 2016, the Company entered into an At-The-Market, or ATM, sales agreement, with Cowen and Company, LLC (Cowen), whereby the Company could sell up to $150.0 million in aggregate proceeds of common stock from time to time, through Cowen as its sales agent. During the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company sold 912,351 shares of common stock, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $67.6 million, after commissions and other offering costs, which completed the sales of the total amount authorized in the agreement.

On July 27, 2017, the Company entered into an additional ATM sales agreement with Cowen whereby the Company can sell up to $150.0 million in aggregate proceeds of common stock from time to time, through Cowen as its sales agent.

 


11


9.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Total accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

December 31, 2016

 

 

June 30, 2017

 

Unrealized loss on securities available-for-sale

 

$

(417

)

 

$

(494

)

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

 

1,322

 

 

 

(3,729

)

Total accumulated other comprehensive income

   (loss)

 

$

905

 

 

$

(4,223

)

 

12


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

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes in Item 1 and with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (the “Annual Report”).

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the identification, acquisition, development, and commercialization of novel products for the treatment of serious rare and ultra-rare diseases, with a focus on serious, debilitating genetic diseases. We target diseases for which the unmet medical need is high, the biology for treatment is clear, and for which there are no currently approved therapies. Since our inception in 2010, we have in-licensed potential treatments for multiple rare genetic disorders. Our strategy, which is predicated upon time- and cost-efficient drug development, allows us to pursue multiple programs in parallel with the goal of delivering safe and effective therapies to patients with the utmost urgency.

Clinical Product Candidates

Our current clinical-stage pipeline consists of two product categories: biologics (including a monoclonal antibody and an enzyme replacement therapy) and small-molecule substrate replacement therapies. Enzymes are proteins that the body uses to process materials needed for normal cellular function, and substrates are the materials upon which enzymes act. When enzymes or substrates are missing, the body is unable to perform its normal cellular functions, often leading to significant clinical disease. Several of our therapies are intended to replace deficient enzymes or substrates.

Our biologics pipeline includes the following product candidates in clinical development for the treatment of three diseases:

 

Burosumab (KRN23 or UX023) is an antibody targeting fibroblast growth factor 23, or FGF23, in development for the treatment of X-linked hypophosphatemia, or XLH, a rare genetic disease that impairs bone growth. We are developing burosumab pursuant to our collaboration with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., or KHK. We announced positive 64-week data from a Phase 2 study in pediatric patients in April 2016, and we have an ongoing Phase 3 pediatric study with data expected in 2018. We also announced positive topline data from a Phase 3 study in adult XLH patients in April 2017. We plan to submit a biologics license application, or BLA, for adult and pediatric patients, to the FDA for burosumab in August 2017. In July 2017, we announced that our partners, KHK/KKI, decided to separate the adult and pediatric indications. A filing for adults is planned after a decision is first reached on the pediatric indication. An opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, on the pediatric indication is expected around the end of 2017.

 

Burosumab is also being developed for the treatment of tumor-induced osteomalacia, or TIO. TIO results from typically benign tumors that produce excess levels of FGF23, which can lead to severe hypophosphatemia, osteomalacia, fractures, fatigue, bone and muscle pain, and muscle weakness. We expect data from a Phase 2 study of burosumab in adult inoperable TIO patients in the second half of 2017.

 

Vestronidase alpha, or recombinant human beta-glucuronidase, or rhGUS or UX003, is an enzyme replacement therapy we are developing for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis 7, or MPS 7, a rare lysosomal storage disease that often leads to multi-organ dysfunction, pervasive skeletal disease, and death. We announced positive 24-week data from a pivotal Phase 3 study in July 2016. In May 2017 we announced that the BLA and MAA for vestronidase alpha were accepted for review. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for the BLA is November 16, 2017 and a CHMP opinion is expected in the first half of 2018.

Our substrate replacement therapy pipeline includes the following product candidates in clinical development for the treatment of three diseases:

 

UX007 is a synthetic triglyceride with a specifically designed chemical composition being studied in an open-label Phase 2 study for the treatment of long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders, or LC-FAOD. LC-FAOD is a set of rare metabolic diseases that prevents the conversion of fat into energy and can cause low blood sugar, muscle rupture, and heart and liver disease. We continue to plan for discussions with regulatory authorities regarding the Phase 3 study.

 

UX007 is also being studied for the treatment of glucose transporter type-1 deficiency syndrome, or Glut1 DS, a rare metabolic disease of brain energy deficiency that is characterized by seizures, developmental delay, and movement disorder. Topline data from the Phase 2 seizure study, which we announced in the first quarter of 2017, indicated that the study did not meet the primary endpoint of reducing the frequency of the total number of observable and absence seizures among patients treated from baseline to Week 8 with UX007 compared to placebo. When evaluating seizure type independently, UX007 treatment did reduce absence seizures captured on EEG, but not observable seizures captured by diary. Based on these results, we are evaluating our plans in the seizure indication. We also screened the first patient in a Phase 3 study in movement disorders in April 2017. If positive, the movement disorder study could serve as the basis for regulatory submissions.

13


 

Aceneuramic acid extended-release, or Ace-ER or UX001, is an extended-release form of aceneuramic acid in a fully enrolled Phase 3 study for the treatment of GNE myopathy, a neuromuscular disorder that causes muscle weakness and wasting. Data from the Phase 3 study are expected in the second half of 2017.

The following table summarizes our current clinical-stage product candidate pipeline:

 

Recent program updates

Burosumab for the treatment of XLH

In June 2017 we announced that we had reached agreement with the FDA at a pre- BLA meeting on the clinical package to support the burosumab BLA filing for XLH. At the meeting, the FDA agreed that the BLA can be submitted based on available clinical data and confirmed that both pediatric and adult indications would be included in the review. Specifically for pediatric patients the filing will include the 64-week data from our Phase 2 study in 5-12 year olds and 24-week data from the phase 2 study in 1-4 year olds. The FDA confirmed that data from the ongoing pediatric Phase 3 study would not be required. To support the adult indication, the submission will include the 24-week placebo-controlled data from the adult Phase 3 study. Additionally, FDA agreed to accept any available bone biopsy data from the 48 week open label bone quality study in adults as supportive evidence.

The BLA submission will also include two new pieces of data on adult patients, the bone biopsy results from the first two patients in the bone quality study, and statistical analyses of bone fracture healing in the adult Phase 3 placebo-controlled study. In the bone quality study in adults, baseline biopsies obtained from 11 patients confirmed that a majority of the patients had severe osteomalacia with a mean osteoid volume/bone volume of 26% vs. normal range of 0.3%-3.1%. These data verify that adult XLH patients have severe underlying bone disease even many years past puberty. Follow-up biopsies after 48 weeks of burosumab treatment are available from the first two patients. For these two patients, osteoid volume/bone volume was decreased from 24% and 29% to 9% and 7%, respectively. Osteomalacia was characterized by the pathologist as improving from severe to mild disease. Additionally, a post-hoc statistical analysis of bone fracture healing in the recently announced adult Phase 3 placebo-controlled study showed an odds ratio of 7.76 for complete healing of fractures and pseudofractures in the burosumab group compared to the placebo group (p=0.0004) at 24 weeks.


14


  We also announced that in order to ensure the expeditious availability of burosumab for pediatric XLH patients in Europe and avoid any potential delays in the review procedure due to the large amount of recent data from the adult XLH Phase 3 study to be filed, our partners Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. (Kyowa Hakko Kirin) and Kyowa Kirin International PLC have decided to separate the adult and pediatric indications and submit a Type II Variation to the MAA for adults after a decision is first reached on the pediatric indication. A filing for the adult indication is planned after a decision is first reached on the pediatric indication.

The FDA’s Office of Orphan Drug Development (OOPD) has recently designated burosumab for the treatment of XLH as a drug for a “rare pediatric disease”. Under FDA's Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher program, companies who receive approval for a new drug application or BLA for a rare pediatric disease may be eligible to receive a voucher for a Priority Review of a subsequent marketing application for a different product. The Priority Review Voucher may be used by the company or sold to a third party.

UX003 for the treatment of Mucopolysaccharidosis VII

In May 2017 we announced that the BLA and MAA filings for vestronidase alpha were accepted for review. The FDA granted vestronidase alpha Priority Review status, which is available for drugs that offer major advances in treatment or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. The PDUFA goal date for a decision is November 16, 2017 and an opinion from the CHMP is expected in the first half of 2018. The review process with the FDA is moving along normally and we do not expect an Advisory Committee meeting at this time.

Preclinical Pipeline

rhPPCA (UX004) for the treatment of galactosialidosis

Recombinant human protective protein cathepsin-A, or rhPPCA, which we in-licensed from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or St. Jude, in September 2012, is in preclinical development as an enzyme replacement therapy for galactosialidosis, a rare lysosomal storage disease for which there are no currently approved drug therapies. Similar to MPS patients, patients with galactosialidosis present with both soft tissue storage in the liver, spleen, and other tissues, as well as connective tissue (bone and cartilage) related disease. As with MPS 7, an enzyme deficiency results in accumulation of substrates in the lysosomes, causing skeletal and organ dysfunction, and death. We are continuing preclinical development of rhPPCA. Please see “—License and Collaboration Agreements—St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital” in our Annual Report for a description of our license agreement with St. Jude.

Collaboration with Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. for mRNA therapeutics

We signed a research collaboration and license agreement with Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. to develop mRNA therapeutics for select rare disease targets in October 2015. The Arcturus collaboration may help us address a wider range of rare diseases than possible with current approaches. As part of the collaboration, Arcturus will utilize its UNA Oligomer™ chemistry and LUNAR™ nanoparticle delivery platform to initially design and optimize mRNA therapeutics for two targets selected by us; we also have the option to add up to eight additional targets during the collaborative research period.

Collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

We entered into a strategic partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, or Takeda, to develop and commercialize therapies to treat rare genetic diseases in June 2016. As part of the collaboration, we received an exclusive license to one preclinical Takeda product candidate in a pre-determined field of use, and we have an exclusive option to co-develop and co-commercialize the product candidate in additional therapeutic areas. We have also established a five-year research collaboration with Takeda in which we will have the option to license up to five additional Takeda product candidates for rare diseases.

Other preclinical programs

We continue to work on other compounds in various preclinical stages of development.

Financial Operations Overview

We are a clinical-stage company and have only a limited operating history. To date, we have invested substantially all of our efforts and financial resources in identifying, acquiring, and developing our product candidates, including conducting clinical studies and providing general and administrative support for these operations. To date, we have funded our operations primarily from the sale of equity securities.

We have never been profitable and have incurred net losses in each year since inception. Our net losses were $72.9 million and $56.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, and $141.2 and $109.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Substantially all of our net losses have resulted from costs incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations.

15


Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported expenses incurred during the reporting periods. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. There have been no significant and material changes in our critical accounting policies during the six months ended June 30, 2017, as compared to those disclosed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates” in our Annual Report.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017 to the three months and six months ended June 30, 2016:

Revenue (dollars in thousands)

 

 

Three and Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

Revenue

$

 

 

$

17

 

 

$

(17

)

 

*

* not meaningful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No revenue was recognized during the three and six months ended June 30, 2017. We recognized revenue for a nominal amount of named patient sales of UX003 in Europe for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016.

Research and Development Expenses (dollars in thousands)

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

 

 

Development candidate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

burosumab

$

10,698

 

 

$

8,787

 

 

$

1,911

 

 

 

22%

 

 

vestronidase alpha

 

9,218

 

 

 

7,010

 

 

 

2,208

 

 

 

31%

 

 

UX007

 

8,853

 

 

 

7,246

 

 

 

1,607

 

 

 

22%

 

 

Ace-ER

 

10,949

 

 

 

7,710

 

 

 

3,239

 

 

 

42%

 

 

Other research costs and preclinical costs

 

18,718

 

 

 

12,579

 

 

 

6,139

 

 

 

49%

 

 

Total research and development expenses

$

58,436

 

 

$

43,332

 

 

$

15,104

 

 

 

35%

 

 

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

 

Development candidate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

burosumab

$

20,392

 

 

$

15,530

 

 

$

4,862

 

 

 

31%

 

vestronidase alpha

 

17,644

 

 

 

14,095

 

 

 

3,549

 

 

 

25%

 

UX007

 

19,596

 

 

 

16,365

 

 

 

3,231

 

 

 

20%

 

Ace-ER

 

17,186

 

 

 

15,507

 

 

 

1,679

 

 

 

11%

 

Other research costs and preclinical costs

 

34,887

 

 

 

22,250

 

 

 

12,637

 

 

 

57%

 

Total research and development expenses

$

109,705

 

 

$

83,747

 

 

$

25,958

 

 

 

31%

 

 

Research and development expenses increased $15.1 million and $26.0 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2016. The increase in research and development expenses shown above is primarily due to:

 

for burosumab, an increase of $1.9 million and $4.9 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, related to the continued development of our clinical program, the enrollment of our Phase 3 adult and pediatric studies, regulatory filing preparation costs, and other development planning activities, net of KHK reimbursement;

 

for vestronidase alpha, an increase of $2.2 million and $3.5 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, related to regulatory filing preparation costs and the timing of manufacturing-related costs;

16


 

for UX007, an increase of $1.6 million and $3.2 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, primarily related to the initiation of our Phase 3 movement disorder study and support of investigator-sponsored studies across multiple diseases;

 

for Ace-ER, an increase of $3.2 million and $1.7 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, primarily related to the timing of manufacturing-related expenses, the continued development of our clinical program, and the enrollment of our Phase 3 and extension studies; and

 

an increase of $6.1 million and $12.6 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, in other research and development costs including expenses in support of our clinical product candidate pipeline, expenses related to our research stage programs and research collaborations, and certain cost allocations.

We expect our research and development expenses to increase in the future as we advance our product candidates through clinical development. The timing and amount of expenses incurred will depend largely upon the outcomes of current or future clinical studies for our product candidates as well as the related regulatory requirements, manufacturing costs, and any costs associated with the advancement of our preclinical programs.

General and Administrative Expenses (dollars in thousands)

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

 

General and administrative

$

20,005

 

 

$

14,738

 

 

$

5,267

 

 

 

36

%

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

 

General and administrative

$

38,690

 

 

$

27,945

 

 

$

10,745

 

 

 

38

%

 

General and administrative expenses increased $5.3 million and $10.7 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2016. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to increases in commercial planning costs, professional services costs, stock-based compensation, and personnel costs resulting from an increase in the number of employees in support of our activities.

We expect general and administrative expenses to increase to support our organizational growth and for our expected staged build out of our commercial organization over the next several years related to multiple late-stage product candidates.

Interest Income (dollars in thousands)

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

 

Interest income

$

1,151

 

 

$

971

 

 

$

180

 

 

 

19

%

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

 

Interest income

$

2,233

 

 

$

1,955

 

 

$

278

 

 

 

14

%

 

Interest income increased $0.2 million and $0.3 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2016, primarily due to an increase in investment yields on our invested funds.

Other Income (Expense), net (dollars in thousands)

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

Other income (expense), net

$

4,413

 

 

$

159

 

 

$

4,254

 

 

*

*not meaningful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

Other income (expense), net

$

4,995

 

 

$

40

 

 

$

4,955

 

 

*

* not meaningful

Other income (expense), net increased $4.3 million and $5.0 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2016. The increase was primarily due to the fluctuations of exchange rates related to intercompany loans with foreign subsidiaries that are denominated in our reporting currency and the strengthening of the respective

17


foreign exchange rates. The intercompany amounts are largely offset by the translation gains (losses) reported in other comprehensive income (loss).

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have funded our operations primarily with net proceeds from our equity financings and equity sales pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements. On July 27, 2017, we entered into an At-The-Market, or ATM, sales agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC, or Cowen, under which we may offer and sell from time to time common stock having aggregate gross proceeds of up to $150.0 million.

As of June 30, 2017, we had $457.5 million in available cash, cash equivalents, and investments. Our cash, cash equivalents and investments are held in a variety of interest-bearing accounts, corporate debt securities, asset-backed securities, U.S government securities, and money market accounts. Cash in excess of immediate requirements is invested with a view toward liquidity and capital preservation, and we seek to minimize the potential effects of concentration and credit risk.

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands):

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Cash used in operating activities

$

(110,027

)

 

$

(84,550

)

Cash provided by (used in) investing activities

 

(30,476

)

 

 

45,761

 

Cash provided by financing activities

 

70,495

 

 

 

289

 

Effect of exchange rate changes

 

(361

)

 

 

 

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

$

(70,369

)

 

$

(38,500

)

Cash Used in Operating Activities

Our primary use of cash is to fund operating expenses, which consist primarily of research and development expenditures. Due to our significant research and development expenditures, we have generated significant operating losses since our inception. Cash used to fund operating expenses is affected by the timing of when we pay these expenses, as reflected in the change in our outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses.

Cash used in operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $110.0 million and reflected a net loss of $141.2 million, offset by non-cash charges of $31.3 million for stock-based compensation, $1.1 million for the amortization of premium paid on purchased investments, and $2.2 million for depreciation and amortization. There was also $4.6 million of non-cash foreign currency remeasurement gains due to increases in intercompany loans with foreign subsidiaries that are denominated in the reporting currency and the strengthening of the respective foreign exchange rates. Cash used in operating activities also reflected a $0.5 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets, a $0.1 million decrease in other assets, and a $6.4 million increase in accounts payable primarily due to the timing of payments and receipt of invoices, offset by a $5.7 million decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities primarily as a result of a decrease in accrued bonus due to the payout of the 2016 annual bonus and accrued expenses due to the receipt of invoices.

Cash used in operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $84.6 million and reflected a net loss of $109.7 million, offset by non-cash charges of $21.1 million for stock-based compensation, $3.2 million for the amortization of premium paid on purchased investments, and $1.2 million for depreciation and amortization. Cash used in operating activities also reflected a $4.6 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets primarily due to an increase in deferred rent for the commencement of a new lease and increases in KHK receivable, prepaid manufacturing costs, and prepaid clinical costs. There was also a $0.9 million increase in other assets primarily due to an increase in prepaid clinical costs, a $2.8 million increase in accounts payable primarily due to higher collaboration and research costs, and a $2.2 million increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities as a result of increases in clinical study, manufacturing, and related costs as we continued to increase our research and development activities.

Cash Provided by or Used in Investing Activities

Cash used in investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $30.5 million and related to purchases of investments of $207.2 million and purchases of property and equipment of $0.9 million, offset by proceeds from maturities of investments of $154.7 million, the sale of investments of $21.6 million, and a decrease of $1.2 million in restricted cash related to line of credit reductions under our current lease agreements.

18


Cash provided by investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $45.8 million and related to purchases of investments of $223.1 million, purchases of property and equipment of $6.5 million and an increase of $1.5 million in restricted cash for the expansion of the space under our current lease agreement, offset by proceeds from maturities of investments of $222.6 million and the sale of investments of $54.3 million.

Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities

Cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $70.5 million and was comprised of $67.6 million from the sale of common stock in our ATM offering, and $2.9 million in net proceeds from the issuance of common stock pursuant to equity awards.

Cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $0.3 million and was comprised of net proceeds from the issuance of common stock from the exercise of stock options.

Funding Requirements

We anticipate that we will continue to generate losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect the losses to increase as we continue the development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates, and begin to commercialize any approved products. We will likely require additional capital to fund our operations, complete our ongoing and planned clinical studies and commercialize our products, and funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce the scope of, or terminate one or more of our clinical studies, research and development programs, future commercialization efforts, or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including the following:

 

the scope, rate of progress, results and cost of our clinical studies, nonclinical testing, and other related activities;

 

the cost of manufacturing clinical supplies, and establishing commercial supplies, of our product candidates and any products that we may develop;

 

the number and characteristics of product candidates that we pursue;

 

the cost, timing, and outcomes of regulatory approvals;

 

the cost and timing of establishing our commercial infrastructure, and distribution capabilities; and

 

the terms and timing of any collaborative, licensing, and other arrangements that we may establish, including any required upfront milestone and royalty payments thereunder.

We expect to satisfy future cash needs through existing capital balances and through some combination of public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements, and other marketing and distribution arrangements. Please see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements.”

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

We have contractual obligations from our operating leases, manufacturing and service contracts, licenses, royalties, development and collaboration arrangements, and other research and development activities. The following table summarizes our significant binding contractual obligations at June 30, 2017 (in thousands):

 

Payments due by period

 

 

Less than 1 year

 

 

1 to 3 years

 

 

3 to 5 years

 

 

More than 5 years

 

 

Total

 

Operating leases

$

4,495

 

 

$

7,272

 

 

$

4,987

 

 

$

10,250

 

 

$

27,004

 

Manufacturing and services contracts

 

6,138

 

 

 

4,690

 

 

 

21

 

 

 

 

 

 

10,849

 

Total

$

10,633

 

 

$

11,962

 

 

$

5,008

 

 

$

10,250

 

 

$

37,853

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

19


Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Interest Rate Risk

Our exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to interest earned on our cash equivalents and investments. The primary objective of our investment activities is to preserve our capital to fund operations. A secondary objective is to maximize income from our investments without assuming significant risk. Our investment policy provides for investments in low-risk, investment-grade debt instruments. As of June 30, 2017, we had cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaling $457.5 million which includes bank deposits, money market funds, asset-backed securities, and investment-grade corporate bonds which are subject to default, changes in credit rating, and changes in market value. The securities in our investment portfolio are classified as available for sale and are subject to interest rate risk and will decrease in value if market interest rates increase. A hypothetical 100 basis point change in interest rates during any of the periods presented would not have had a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. To date, we have not experienced a loss of principal on any of our investments.

Foreign Currency Risk

We face foreign exchange risk as a result of entering into transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars. Due to the uncertain timing of expected payments in foreign currencies, we do not utilize any forward exchange contracts. All foreign transactions settle on the applicable spot exchange basis at the time such payments are made. An adverse movement in foreign exchange rates could have a material effect on payments made to foreign suppliers and for license agreements. Our primary exposure to currency risk is related to intercompany balances with our foreign subsidiaries, resulting in the foreign currency translation gains and losses generated on the remeasurement of our intercompany balances with our foreign subsidiaries, which are reported in other income (expense), net. The intercompany amounts are largely offset by the translation gains (losses) reported in other comprehensive income (loss), resulting in immaterial impact on stockholders’ equity. A hypothetical 10% change in foreign exchange rates during any of the periods presented would not have had a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.  

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our “disclosure controls and procedures” as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report, pursuant to Rules 13a-15(b) and 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). In connection with that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective and designed to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms as of June 30, 2017. For the purpose of this review, disclosure controls and procedures means controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. These disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, our management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during our second quarter ended June 30, 2017, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.


20


PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

We are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings. We may, however, in the ordinary course of business face various claims brought by third parties and we may, from time to time, make claims or take legal actions to assert our rights, including intellectual property rights as well as claims relating to employment matters and the safety or efficacy of our products. Any of these claims could subject us to costly litigation and, while we generally believe that we have adequate insurance to cover many different types of liabilities, our insurance carriers may deny coverage, may be inadequately capitalized to pay on valid claims, or our policy limits may be inadequate to fully satisfy any damage awards or settlements. If this were to happen, the payment of any such awards could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated operations, cash flows and financial position. Additionally, any such claims, whether or not successful, could damage our reputation and business.

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors  

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks, together with all the other information in this report, including our financial statements and notes thereto, before deciding to invest in our common stock. If any of the following risks actually materializes, our operating results, financial condition, and liquidity could be materially adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.

The following description of the risk factors associated with our business includes any material changes to and supersedes the description of the risk factors associated with our business previously disclosed in Part II, Item 1A of our Quarterly Report filed with the SEC on May 5, 2017.

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements

We are a clinical-stage company and have a limited operating history on which to assess our business, have incurred significant losses since our inception, and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future.

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. We have incurred net losses in each year since our inception in April 2010, including net losses of $72.9 million and $56.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, and net losses of $141.2 million and $109.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

We have devoted substantially all of our financial resources to identifying, acquiring, and developing our product candidates, including conducting clinical studies, developing manufacturing processes, manufacturing product candidates for clinical studies, and providing general and administrative support for these operations. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through the sale of equity securities. The amount of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of our future expenditures and our ability to obtain funding through equity or debt financings, strategic collaborations, or grants. Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. Our product candidates are in clinical development, and we may never have a product candidate approved for commercialization. If we obtain regulatory approval to market a product candidate, our future revenue will depend upon the size of any markets in which our product candidates may receive approval, and our ability to achieve sufficient market acceptance, pricing, reimbursement, and adequate market share for our product candidates in those markets. However, even if we obtain adequate market share for our product candidates, because the potential markets in which our product candidates may ultimately receive regulatory approval are very small, and our expenses may be greater than expected, we may never become profitable despite obtaining such market share and acceptance of our products.

We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

 

continue our research and nonclinical and clinical development of our product candidates;

 

expand the scope of our current clinical studies for our product candidates;

 

advance our programs into more expensive clinical studies;

 

initiate additional nonclinical, clinical, or other studies for our product candidates;

 

pursue preclinical and clinical development for additional indications for existing product candidates;

 

change or add additional manufacturers or suppliers;

 

seek regulatory and marketing approvals for our product candidates that successfully complete clinical studies;

 

establish a marketing and distribution infrastructure and field force to commercialize any products for which we may obtain marketing approval;

 

continue to establish our international subsidiaries;

 

continue to operate as a public company and comply with legal, accounting and other regulatory requirements;

 

seek to identify, assess, license, acquire, and/or develop other product candidates, technologies, and/or businesses;

21


 

make milestone or other payments under any license or other agreements;

 

seek to maintain, protect, and expand our intellectual property portfolio;

 

seek to attract and retain skilled personnel;

 

create additional infrastructure, including facilities and systems, to support the growth of our operations, our product development, and our planned future commercialization efforts; and

 

experience any delays or encounter issues with any of the above, including, but not limited to, failed studies, complex results, safety issues, inspection outcomes, or other regulatory challenges that require longer follow-up of existing studies, additional major studies, or additional supportive studies in order to pursue marketing approval.

Further, the net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year, such that a period-to-period comparison of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance.

We have not generated any significant revenue from product sales and we may never be profitable.

We have no products approved for commercialization and have not generated any significant revenue from product sales. Our ability to generate significant revenue and achieve profitability depends on our ability, alone or with strategic collaboration partners, to successfully complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory and marketing approvals necessary to commercialize, one or more of our product candidates. We do not anticipate generating significant revenue from product sales in the near future. Our ability to generate substantial future revenue from product sales, including named patient sales, and to potentially be profitable depends heavily on our success in many areas, including but not limited to:

 

completing research and nonclinical and clinical development of our product candidates;

 

obtaining regulatory and marketing approvals for product candidates for which we complete clinical studies;

 

developing a sustainable and scalable manufacturing process for any approved product candidates and establishing and maintaining supply and manufacturing relationships with third parties that can conduct the processes and provide adequate (in amount and quality) product supply to support clinical development and the market demand for our product candidates, if approved;

 

launching and commercializing product candidates for which we obtain regulatory and marketing approval, either directly or with a collaborator or distributor;

 

obtaining market acceptance of our product candidates as viable treatment options;

 

obtaining adequate reimbursement and pricing for our product candidates;

 

our ability to sell our product candidates on a named patient basis or through an equivalent mechanism and the amount of revenue generated from such sales;

 

addressing any competing technological and market developments;

 

identifying, assessing, licensing, acquiring, and/or developing new product candidates, technologies, and/or businesses;

 

negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing, or other arrangements into which we may enter, any amendments thereto or extensions thereof;

 

maintaining, protecting, and expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, and know-how; and

 

attracting, hiring, and retaining qualified personnel.

Even if one or more of the product candidates that we develop is approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing any approved product candidate. Our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we are required by the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory agencies, domestic or foreign, to change our manufacturing processes or assays, or to perform clinical, nonclinical, or other types of studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate. In cases where we are successful in obtaining regulatory approvals to market one or more of our product candidates, our revenue will be dependent, in part, upon the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval, the accepted price for the product, the approved indication(s), the ability to obtain reimbursement at any price, and whether we own the commercial rights for that territory. If the number of our addressable rare disease patients is not as significant as we estimate, the indication approved by regulatory authorities is narrower than we expect, or the reasonably accepted population for treatment is narrowed by competition, physician choice, or treatment guidelines, we may not generate significant revenue from sales of our products, even if approved. For example, the development of burosumab, vestronidase alpha, and UX007 is an important part of our current business strategy; if we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for the target product profile, our business may suffer.

22


We expect we will need to raise additional capital to fund our activities. This additional financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit, or terminate our product development efforts or other activities.

As we continue to advance our product candidates through preclinical and clinical development and prepare for commercialization, we expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities.

As of June 30, 2017, our available cash, cash equivalents, and investments were $457.5 million. We will likely require additional capital to obtain regulatory approval for, and to commercialize, all of our product candidates. In addition, our operating plans may change as a result of many factors that may currently be unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to:

 

the scope, rate of progress, results, and cost of our clinical studies, nonclinical testing, and other related activities;

 

the cost of manufacturing clinical supplies, and establishing commercial supplies, of our product candidates and any products that we may develop;

 

the number and characteristics of the product candidates that we pursue;

 

the cost, timing, and outcomes of regulatory approvals;

 

the cost and timing of establishing and operating our international subsidiaries;

 

the cost and timing of establishing field forces, marketing, and distribution capabilities;

 

the cost and timing of other activities needed to commercialize our products; and

 

the terms and timing of any collaborative, licensing, acquisition, and other arrangements that we may establish, including any required milestone, royalty, and other payments thereunder.

Any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management’s attention from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. In addition, we cannot guarantee that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Moreover, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. The sale of additional equity or convertible securities would dilute all of our stockholders. If we incur debt, it could result in increased fixed payment obligations and we may be required to agree to certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell, or license intellectual property rights, and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to seek funds through collaborative partnerships, strategic alliances, and licensing or other arrangements and we may be required to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates, future revenue streams, research programs, and other product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and prospects. Even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans, we may seek additional capital if market conditions are favorable or if we have specific strategic considerations.

If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis or at all, we may be required to significantly curtail, delay, or discontinue one or more of our research or development programs or the commercialization of any product candidates or be unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities, as desired, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Risks Related to the Discovery and Development of Our Product Candidates

Clinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcomes and the potential for substantial delays, and the results of earlier studies may not be predictive of future study results.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of our product candidates, we must conduct extensive clinical studies to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, time consuming, and uncertain as to outcome. We cannot guarantee that any clinical studies will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. A failure of one or more clinical studies can occur at any stage of testing, and our future clinical studies may not be successful. Product candidates that have shown promising results in early-stage clinical studies may still suffer significant setbacks in subsequent clinical studies. The safety or efficacy results generated to date in clinical studies for burosumab, vestronidase alpha, UX007, and Ace-ER do not ensure that later clinical studies will demonstrate similar results. For example, efficacy results from our Phase 2 study of UX007 in Glut1 DS patients with seizures did not meet the primary endpoint of reducing the frequency of total number of observable and absence seizures among patients treated from baseline to week 8 with UX007 compared to placebo. Results from investigator-sponsored studies or compassionate-use studies may not be confirmed in company-sponsored studies or may negatively impact the prospects for our programs. Additionally, given the nature of the rare diseases we are seeking to treat, we often have to devise newly-defined endpoints to be tested in our studies, which can lead to some subjectivity in interpreting study results and could result in regulatory agencies not agreeing with the validity of our endpoints, or our interpretation of the clinical data, and therefore denying approval. For example, for our Glut1 DS Phase 3 clinical trial, we have proposed utilizing a patient diary to track movement disorder events. Based on FDA feedback expressing concern about the clinical meaningfulness of all such events

23


tracked, we modified the clinical endpoint. Even so, there is no guarantee that these modifications to the endpoint will be acceptable to the FDA. Given the illness of the subjects in our studies and the nature of their rare diseases, we may also be required or choose to conduct certain studies on an open-label basis. Additionally, we have in the past, and may in the future elect to review interim clinical data at multiple time points during the studies, which could introduce bias into the study results and potentially result in denial of approval.

In the biopharmaceutical industry, there is a high failure rate for drugs and biologics proceeding through clinical studies, and product candidates in later stages of clinical studies may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy despite having progressed through nonclinical studies and initial clinical studies. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical studies due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier studies.

Scenarios that may prevent successful or timely completion of clinical development include but are not limited to:

 

delays or failures in generating sufficient preclinical, toxicology, or other in vivo or in vitro data to support the initiation or continuation of human clinical studies or filings for regulatory approval;

 

delays or failures in reaching a consensus with regulatory agencies on study design;

 

delays in reaching agreement on acceptable terms with contract research organizations, or CROs, clinical study sites, and other clinical trial-related vendors;

 

failure or delays in obtaining required regulatory agency approval and/or IRB or EC approval at each clinical study site or in certain countries;

 

failure to correctly design clinical studies at initiation, which may result in those studies failing to meet their endpoints;

 

changes in clinical study design or development strategy resulting in delays related to obtaining approvals from IRBs or ECs and/or regulatory agencies to proceed with clinical studies;

 

imposition of a clinical hold by regulatory agencies after review of an IND application or amendment, another equivalent application or amendment, or an inspection of our clinical study operations or study sites;

 

delays in recruiting suitable patients to participate in our clinical studies;

 

difficulty collaborating with patient groups and investigators;

 

failure by our CROs, other third parties, or us to adhere to clinical study requirements;

 

failure to perform in accordance with the FDA’s and/or ICH’s good clinical practices requirements or applicable regulatory guidelines in other countries;

 

delays in patients’ completion of studies or their returns for post-treatment follow-up;

 

patients dropping out of a study;

 

adverse events associated with the product candidate occurring that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits;

 

changes in regulatory requirements and guidance that require amending or submitting new clinical protocols;

 

greater than anticipated costs associated with clinical studies of our drug candidates;

 

clinical studies of our drug candidates producing negative or inconclusive results, which may result in us deciding, or regulators requiring us, to conduct additional clinical or nonclinical studies or to abandon drug development programs;

 

competing clinical studies of potential alternative product candidates or investigator-sponsored studies of our product candidates; and

 

delays in manufacturing, testing, releasing, validating, or importing/exporting sufficient stable quantities of our product candidates for use in clinical studies or the inability to do any of the foregoing.

Any inability to successfully complete nonclinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to us or negatively impact our ability to generate revenue. In addition, if we make manufacturing or formulation changes to our product candidates, we may need to conduct additional studies to bridge our modified product candidates to earlier approved versions. Clinical study delays could also shorten any periods during which our products have commercial exclusivity and may allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which could negatively impact our ability to obtain orphan exclusivity and to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations.

If we do not achieve our projected development goals in the timeframes we announce and expect, the commercialization of our products may be delayed and the credibility of our management may be adversely affected and, as a result, our stock price may decline.

For planning purposes, we estimate the timing of the accomplishment of various scientific, clinical, regulatory, and other product development goals, which we sometimes refer to as milestones. These milestones may include the commencement or

24


completion of scientific studies and clinical trials, the submission of regulatory filings, and the potential approval of such regulatory filings. We periodically make public announcements about the expected timing of some of these milestones. All of these milestones are based on a variety of assumptions, but the actual timing of these milestones can vary dramatically from our estimates. If we do not meet these publicly announced milestones, the commercialization of our products may be delayed and the credibility of our management may be adversely affected and, as a result, our stock price may decline.

We are heavily dependent on the success of our product candidates, some of which are in the early stages of clinical development, which is a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcomes and the potential for substantial delays. We cannot give any assurance that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval, which is necessary before they can be commercialized.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of our product candidates, we must conduct extensive clinical studies to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product candidates in humans. To date, we have focused substantially all of our efforts and financial resources on identifying, acquiring, and developing our product candidates, including conducting clinical studies and providing general and administrative support for these operations. We cannot be certain that any clinical studies will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. Our inability to successfully complete nonclinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to us and negatively impact our ability to generate revenue. Our future success is dependent on our ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and then successfully commercialize our product candidates. We currently generate no significant revenue from sales of drugs, and we may never be able to develop or commercialize a marketable drug.

Each of our product candidates is in development and will require additional clinical development; management of nonclinical, clinical, and manufacturing activities; regulatory approval; obtaining adequate manufacturing supply; building a commercial organization; significant marketing efforts; and reimbursement before we generate any significant revenue from commercial product sales, if ever. We have multiple programs that are currently in clinical studies. Three of our product candidates have advanced into pivotal studies, but such studies may not result in approval. For burosumab, we filed for conditional marketing authorization in the EU in late 2016 based on Phase 1/2 and Phase 2 data, and for vestronidase alpha, we filed a BLA in the United States and a MAA in the EU, both of which were accepted for review in the first half of 2017, based on Phase 3 data. There can be no assurance that we will be able to secure approval with the current filings, for the specified indications, or within projected time periods. For example, in November 2016, we withdrew our first filing application for regulatory approval that sought conditional marketing authorization in the EU for Ace-ER based on feedback received during the CHMP meeting indicating that the Phase 2 study was encouraging but did not provide a sufficient amount of evidence to support an approval at that time. Even if we obtain regulatory approval, it may be withdrawn under certain circumstances. In addition, confirmatory clinical studies could be required for a conditional marketing authorization and could fail to demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy to obtain full approval.

Some of our product candidates are in the early-stage translational research phases of development. Such early-stage programs will require substantial investment to reach clinical studies and regulatory approval, and their risk of failure is high. For example, our collaboration with Arcturus focuses on an advanced but less established technology platform that will require significant effort and investment. A failure in that collaboration or our other early-stage programs may negatively affect our operational results.

We generally plan to seek regulatory approval to commercialize our product candidates in the United States, the EU, and in additional foreign countries where we have commercial rights. To obtain regulatory approval in other countries, we must comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of such other countries regarding safety, efficacy, chemistry, manufacturing, and controls, clinical studies, commercial sales, pricing, and distribution of our product candidates. Even if we are successful in obtaining approval in one jurisdiction, we cannot ensure that we will obtain approval in any other jurisdiction. If we are unable to obtain approval for our product candidates in multiple jurisdictions, our revenue and results of operations could be negatively affected.

We cannot be certain that any of our product candidates will be successful in clinical studies or receive regulatory approval. Further, our product candidates may not receive regulatory approval even if they are successful in clinical studies. If we do not receive regulatory approvals for our product candidates, we may not be able to continue our operations.

The regulatory approval processes of the FDA and comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time consuming, and inherently unpredictable. Even if we achieve positive results in our pre-clinical and clinical studies, if we are ultimately unable to obtain timely regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business will be substantially harmed.

Our future success is dependent on our ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and then successfully commercialize one or more product candidates. We are not permitted to market or promote any of our product candidates before we receive regulatory approval from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, and we may never receive such regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. We have not obtained regulatory approval for any product candidate, and it is possible that none of our existing product candidates or any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future will ever obtain regulatory approval.

25


To obtain regulatory approval in the United States and other jurisdictions, we must comply with numerous and varying requirements regarding safety, efficacy, chemistry, manufacturing and controls, clinical studies (including good clinical practices), commercial sales, pricing, and distribution of our product candidates. Even if we are successful in obtaining approval in one jurisdiction, we cannot ensure that we will obtain approval in any other jurisdictions. In addition, approval policies, regulations, positions of the regulatory agencies on study design and/or endpoints, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development, which may cause delays in the approval or the decision not to approve an application. Communications with the regulatory agencies during the approval process are also unpredictable; favorable communications early in the process do not ensure that approval will be obtained and unfavorable communications early on do not guarantee that approval will not be obtained. If we are unable to obtain approval for our product candidates in multiple jurisdictions, our revenue and results of operations could be negatively affected. Applications for our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval, or could be delayed in receiving regulatory approval, for many reasons, including but not limited to the following:

 

the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design, implementation, or conduct of our clinical studies;

 

the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may change their guidance or requirements for a development program for a product candidate;

 

the population studied in the clinical program may not be sufficiently broad or representative to assure efficacy and safety in the full population for which we seek approval;

 

the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from nonclinical studies or clinical studies;

 

the data collected from clinical studies of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission of an NDA, or biologics license application, or BLA, or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere;

 

we may be unable to demonstrate to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that a product candidate’s risk-benefit ratio for its proposed indication is acceptable;

 

the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve the manufacturing processes, test procedures and specifications, or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies;

 

failure of our nonclinical or clinical development to comply with an agreed upon Pediatric Investigational Plan (PIP), which details the designs and completion timelines for nonclinical and clinical studies and is a condition of marketing authorization in the EU; and

 

the approval policies or regulations of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.

Furthermore, the disease states we are evaluating often will not have clear regulatory paths for approval and/or do not have validated outcome measures. In these circumstances, we work closely with the regulatory authorities to define the approval path and may have to qualify outcome measures as part of our development programs. For example, for patients with XLH there is no available regulatory precedent describing requirements for obtaining approval to treat this disease, and there are no validated patient-reported outcome measures that are specific to this disease. Additionally, many of the disease states we are targeting are highly heterogeneous in nature, which may impact our ability to determine the treatment benefit of our potential therapies. For example, patients with FAOD, Glut1 DS, and MPS 7 have a highly heterogeneous disease course, which may impact our ability to determine the true treatment benefit of our product candidates in these patients.

This lengthy and uncertain approval process, as well as the unpredictability of the clinical and nonclinical studies, may result in our failure to obtain regulatory approval to market any of our product candidates, or delayed regulatory approval, which would significantly harm our business, results of operations, and prospects.

We may find it difficult to enroll patients in our clinical studies given the limited number of patients who have the diseases for which our product candidates are being studied. Difficulty in enrolling patients could delay or prevent clinical studies of our product candidates.

Identifying and qualifying patients to participate in clinical studies of our product candidates is critical to our success. The timing of our clinical studies depends in part on the speed at which we can recruit patients to participate in testing our product candidates, and we may experience delays in our clinical studies if we encounter difficulties in enrollment.

Each of the conditions for which we plan to evaluate our current product candidates is a rare genetic disease. Accordingly, there are limited patient pools from which to draw for clinical studies. For our current product candidates:

 

we estimate that several thousand patients in the United States suffer from XLH, for which burosumab is being studied;

 

we estimate that several hundred patients in the United States suffer from TIO, for which burosumab is being studied;

26


 

we estimate that up to approximately 200 patients in the developed world may suffer from MPS 7, for which vestronidase alpha is being studied;

 

we estimate that several thousand patients in the United States suffer from LC-FAOD, for which UX007 is being studied;

 

we estimate that several thousand patients in the United States suffer from Glut1 DS, for which UX007 is being studied; and

 

we estimate that approximately 2,000 patients in the developed world suffer from GNE myopathy, for which Ace-ER is being studied.

In addition to the rarity of these diseases, the eligibility criteria of our clinical studies will further limit the pool of available study participants as we will require patients to have specific characteristics that we can measure or to assure their disease is either severe enough or not too advanced to include them in a study. For example, enrolling patients in the UX007 Glut1 DS Phase 3 movement disorder study could face delays if a higher than expected number of patients that we identify for the study are on the ketogenic diet. Additionally, the process of finding and diagnosing patients may prove costly, especially since the rare diseases we are studying are commonly under diagnosed. We also may not be able to identify, recruit, and enroll a sufficient number of patients to complete our clinical studies because of the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study, the proximity and availability of clinical study sites for prospective patients, and the patient referral practices of physicians. The availability and efficacy of competing therapies and clinical studies can also adversely impact enrollment. If patients are unwilling to participate in our studies for any reason, the timeline for recruiting patients, conducting studies, and obtaining regulatory approval of potential products may be delayed, the commercial prospects of our product candidates will be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenue from any of these product candidates could be delayed or prevented. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical studies will increase our costs, slow down our product candidate development and approval process, and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition, and prospects significantly. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical studies may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates.

Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if any.

Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay, or halt clinical studies or further development, and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable foreign authorities. Some of our product candidates are in the early stages of development and the safety profile has not been established. For example, in completed Phase 1, four-month Phase 1/2, and long-term twelve-month Phase 1/2 studies, adult patients treated with burosumab experienced drug-related side effects including injection site reaction, arthralgia, diarrhea, restless legs syndrome, injection site erythema, injection site pain, upper abdominal pain, headache, and decreased neutrophil count. Most of these adverse events were mild and no treatment-related serious adverse events were observed. In interim Phase 2 data in pediatric patients, the most common treatment-related adverse event by preferred term was injection site reaction. There were no deaths and there was one serious adverse event of fever and muscle pain in a patient that was considered possibly treatment-related. In a completed Phase 2 study, LC-FAOD patients treated with UX007 experienced treatment-related adverse events, the most common of which were diarrhea, abdominal/gastrointestinal pain and vomiting. There were no deaths, but there was one treatment-related serious adverse event of moderate gastroenteritis with vomiting. In a completed Phase 2 seizure study, Glut1 DS patients with seizures treated with UX007 experienced treatment-related adverse events, the most common of which were vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. There were no deaths, and no treatment-related serious adverse events. In a completed Phase 2 study, patients treated with Ace-ER experienced adverse events, the most common of which were gastrointestinal in nature and pain related to muscle biopsy procedures. No serious adverse events were observed. Additionally, in a completed Phase 3 study, patients treated with UX003 experienced treatment emergent adverse events, including infusion associated reactions, or IARs. Two patients experienced hypersensitivity type IARs, including a Grade 3 treatment-related anaphylactoid serious adverse event caused by an infusion rate error and mild fever and diaphoresis. There were no deaths. Enzyme replacement therapies, like UX003, have been associated with infusion-associated reactions due to developing an allergy to the product, which can cause rashes, pain, significant clinical disease, or even death. Future product candidates may also cause these or similar side effects as development proceeds. Results of our studies or investigator-sponsored trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of these or other side effects. In such an event, our studies could be suspended or terminated, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny or withdraw approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications.

27


Drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment and the ability of enrolled patients to complete a study. Such side effects could also result in potential product liability claims. We currently carry product liability insurance in the amount of $10.0 million per incident and $10.0 million in the aggregate, and we are required to maintain product liability insurance pursuant to certain of our agreements. We believe our product liability insurance coverage is sufficient in light of our current clinical programs; however, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability, or losses may exceed the amount of insurance that we carry. A product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could adversely affect our results of operations and business. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in impairment of our business reputation, withdrawal of clinical study participants, costs due to related litigation, distraction of management’s attention from our primary business, initiation of investigations by regulators, substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants, the inability to commercialize our product candidates, and decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale.

Additionally, if our product candidates receive marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including but not limited to:

 

regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals of such product;

 

regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the product’s label or restrict the product’s approved use;

 

we may be required to create a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, plan, which could include a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients, restricted distribution, a communication plan for healthcare providers, and/or other elements to assure safe use;

 

patients and physicians may elect not to use our products, or reimbursement authorities may elect not to reimburse for them; and

 

our reputation may suffer.

Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular product candidate, if approved, and could significantly harm our business, results of operations, and prospects.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, our products will remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.

If our product candidates are approved, they will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, advertising, promotion, sampling, record-keeping, conduct of post-marketing studies, and submission of safety, efficacy, and other post-market information, including both federal and state requirements in the United States and requirements of comparable foreign regulatory authorities.

Manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authority, requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regulations. As such, we and our contract manufacturers will be subject to continual review and inspection to assess compliance with GMP and adherence to commitments made in any NDA, BLA, MAA, or other comparable application for approval in another jurisdiction. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money, and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, and quality control.

Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or other conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase IV clinical studies, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. We could also be asked to conduct post-marketing clinical studies to verify the safety and efficacy of our products in general or in specific patient subsets. If original marketing approval were obtained via the accelerated approval or conditional marketing authorization pathways, we would be required to conduct a successful post-marketing clinical study to confirm clinical benefit for our products. An unsuccessful post-marketing study or failure to complete such a study could result in the withdrawal of marketing approval. We will be required to report certain adverse events and manufacturing problems, if any, to the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Any new legislation addressing drug safety issues could result in delays in product development or commercialization, or increased costs to assure compliance. We will have to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product’s approved label. As such, we may promote our products only for indications or uses for which they have approval. The holder of an approved NDA, BLA, MAA, or other comparable application must submit new or supplemental applications and obtain approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling, or manufacturing process.

If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, or there are safety or efficacy problems with a product, a regulatory agency or enforcement authority may, among other things:

 

issue warning or notice of violation letters;

 

impose civil or criminal penalties;

 

suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;

28


 

suspend any of our ongoing clinical studies;

 

refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications submitted by us;

 

impose restrictions on our operations, including closing our contract manufacturers’ facilities;  

 

seize or detain products, or require a product recall; or

 

require entry into a consent decree.

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response, and could generate negative publicity. Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to commercialize and generate revenue from our products. If regulatory sanctions are applied or if regulatory approval is withdrawn, the value of our company and our operating results will be adversely affected.

Risks Related to our Reliance on Third Parties

We rely on third parties to conduct our nonclinical and clinical studies and perform other tasks for us. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines, or comply with regulatory requirements, we may be exposed to sub-optimal quality and reputational harm, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates, and our business could be substantially harmed.

We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third parties, including CROs and collaborative partners, to analyze, collect, monitor, and manage data for our ongoing nonclinical and clinical programs. We rely on third parties for execution of our nonclinical and clinical studies, and for estimates regarding costs and efforts completed, and we control only certain aspects of their activities. For example, we will rely on our partner Arcturus for the design and optimization of initial product candidates under our messenger RNA collaboration. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory, and scientific standards, and our reliance on the CROs and other third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our CROs and other vendors and partners are required to comply with GMP, GCP, and GLP, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in development. Regulatory authorities enforce these regulations through periodic inspections of study sponsors, principal investigators, study sites, and other contractors. If we or any of our CROs or other vendors and partners, including the sites at which clinical studies are conducted, fail to comply with applicable regulations, the data generated in our nonclinical and clinical studies may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may deny approval and/or require us to perform additional nonclinical and clinical studies before approving our marketing applications, which would delay the approval process. We cannot make assurances that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical studies comply with GCP regulations or that nonclinical studies comply with GLP regulations. In addition, our clinical studies must be conducted with products produced under GMP regulations. If the regulatory authorities determine that we have failed to comply with GLP, GMP, or GCP regulations, they may deny approval of our product candidates and/or we may be required to repeat clinical or nonclinical studies, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

Our CROs and other vendors and partners are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such third parties, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our on-going nonclinical and clinical programs. If our vendors and partners do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced, or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols, regulatory requirements, or for other reasons, our clinical studies may be extended, delayed, or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates. CROs and other vendors and partners may also generate higher costs than anticipated as a result of changes in scope of work or otherwise. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase, and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.

If any of our relationships with these third parties terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative vendors or do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional vendors involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new vendor commences work. As a result, delays may occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our vendors and partners, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and business prospects.

We also rely on third parties in other ways, including efforts to support patient identification, to assist our finance and legal departments, and to provide other resources for our business. Use of these third parties could expose us to sub-optimal quality, missed deadlines, and non-compliance with applicable laws, all of which could result in reputational harm to us and negatively affect our business.

29


We are dependent on KHK for the clinical and commercial supply of burosumab for all major markets and for the development and commercialization of burosumab in certain major markets, and KHK’s failure to provide an adequate supply of burosumab or to commercialize burosumab in those markets could result in a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Under our agreement with KHK, KHK has the sole right to commercialize burosumab in Europe and, at a specified time, in the United States, Canada, and Turkey, subject to a limited promotion right we retained. Our development partnership with KHK may not be successful, and we may not realize the expected benefits from such partnership, due to a number of important factors, including but not limited to the following:

 

KHK has no obligation under our agreement to use diligent efforts to commercialize burosumab in Europe. The timing and amount of any royalty payments we may receive under our agreement will depend on, among other things, the efforts, allocation of resources, and successful commercialization of burosumab by KHK in Europe. Additionally, if KHK were to decide not to commercialize burosumab in Europe, and we nevertheless wished to commercialize burosumab in Europe, we would need to renegotiate with KHK certain terms of our agreement, which we may be unable to do on reasonable terms in a timely manner, or at all;

 

the timing and amount of any royalty payments we may receive under our agreement with KHK will depend on, among other things, the efforts, allocation of resources, and successful commercialization of burosumab by KHK in the United States and Canada under our agreement;

 

KHK may change the focus of its commercialization efforts or pursue higher-priority programs;

 

KHK may make decisions regarding the indications for our product candidates in countries where it has the sole right to commercialize the product candidates that limit commercialization efforts in those countries or in countries where we have the right to commercialize our product candidates;

 

KHK may make decisions regarding market access and pricing in countries where it has the sole right to commercialize our product candidates which can negatively impact our commercialization efforts in countries where we have the right to commercialize our product candidates;

 

KHK may fail to manufacture or supply sufficient drug product of burosumab in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or otherwise for our development and clinical use, which could result in program delays;

 

KHK may fail to manufacture or supply sufficient drug product of burosumab in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or otherwise for our commercial use, if approved, which could result in lost revenue;

 

KHK may elect to develop and commercialize burosumab indications with a larger market than XLH and at a lower price, thereby reducing the profit margin on sales of burosumab for any orphan indications, including XLH;

 

if KHK were to breach or terminate the agreement with us, we would no longer have any rights to develop or commercialize burosumab or such rights would be limited to non-terminated countries;

 

KHK may terminate its agreement with us, adversely affecting our potential revenue from licensed products; and

 

the timing and amounts of expense reimbursement that we may receive are uncertain, and the total expenses for which we are obligated to reimburse KHK may be greater than anticipated.

We rely completely on third parties to manufacture our product candidates. Our business could be harmed if those third parties fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of drug product, or fail to do so at acceptable quality levels or prices.

We do not currently have, nor do we plan to acquire, the infrastructure or capability internally to manufacture our product candidates, and we lack the resources and the capability to manufacture any of our product candidates on a clinical or commercial scale. We rely on our manufacturers to purchase from third-party suppliers the materials necessary to produce our product candidates for our clinical studies. There are a limited number of suppliers for raw materials that we use to manufacture our drugs, placebos, or active controls, and there may be a need to identify alternate suppliers to prevent a possible disruption of the manufacture of the materials necessary to produce our product candidates for our clinical studies, and, if approved, ultimately for commercial sale. We do not have any control over the process or timing of the acquisition of these raw materials by our manufacturers. Although we generally do not begin a clinical study unless we believe we have a sufficient supply of a product candidate to complete such study, any significant delay or discontinuity in the supply of a product candidate, or the raw material components thereof, for an ongoing clinical study due to, among other things, the failure of a manufacturer to provide a drug substance or drug product of sufficient quantity or quality, or the need to replace a third-party manufacturer could considerably delay completion of our clinical studies, product testing, and potential regulatory approval of our product candidates, and could also impair named patient sale supply of our product candidates, which could harm our business and results of operations.

30


We are subject to a multitude of manufacturing risks, any of which could substantially increase our costs and limit the supply of our product candidates.

The process of manufacturing our product candidates is complex, highly regulated, and subject to several risks, including but not limited to those listed below.

 

The process of manufacturing our product candidates is extremely susceptible to product loss due to contamination, equipment failure or improper installation or operation of equipment, or vendor or operator error. Even minor deviations from normal manufacturing processes for any of our product candidates could result in reduced production yields, product defects, and other supply disruptions. If microbial, viral, or other contaminations are discovered in our product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities in which our product candidates are made, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination.

 

The manufacturing facilities in which our product candidates are made could be adversely affected by equipment failures, labor shortages, raw material shortages, natural disasters, power failures, and numerous other factors.

Any adverse developments affecting manufacturing operations for our product candidates may result in shipment delays, inventory shortages, lot failures, withdrawals or recalls, or other interruptions in the supply of our product candidates. Due to their stage of development, small volume requirements, and infrequency of batch production runs, we carry limited amounts of safety stock for our product candidates. We may also have to take inventory write-offs and incur other charges and expenses for product candidates that fail to meet specifications, undertake costly remediation efforts, or seek more costly manufacturing alternatives.

The drug substance and drug product for most of our product candidates are currently acquired from single-source suppliers. The loss of these suppliers, or their failure to supply us with the necessary drug substance or drug product, could materially and adversely affect our business.

We acquire most of the drug substances and drug products for our product candidates from single sources. The drug substance and drug product for burosumab are made by KHK pursuant to our license and collaboration agreement with KHK. The drug substance and drug product for vestronidase alpha are manufactured by Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH under a development and clinical supply agreement and accompanying purchase orders. The pharmaceutical-grade drug substance for UX007 is manufactured by IOI Oleo GmbH, or IOI Oleo, pursuant to our supply agreement with IOI Oleo, and the drug product for UX007 is prepared by Haupt Pharma AG and CPM pursuant to purchase orders. The drug substance for Ace-ER is manufactured by Sanyo Fine Co., Ltd. under our license agreement and accompanying purchase orders with Nobelpharma Co., Ltd. and under our clinical supply agreement with Evonik Corporation, and the drug product for Ace-ER is manufactured by Alcami pursuant to our license agreement and accompanying purchase orders with Alcami. We have not currently secured any other suppliers for the drug substance or drug product of our product candidates and, although we believe that there are alternate sources of supply that could satisfy our clinical and commercial requirements, we cannot provide assurance that identifying alternate sources and establishing relationships with such sources would not result in significant delay in the development of our product candidates. Additionally, we may not be able to enter into supply arrangements with alternative suppliers on commercially reasonable terms or at all. A delay in the development of our product candidates or having to enter into a new agreement with a different third-party on less favorable terms than we have with our current suppliers could have a material adverse impact upon on our business.

31


We and our collaborators and contract manufacturers are subject to significant regulation with respect to manufacturing our product candidates. The manufacturing facilities on which we rely may not continue to meet regulatory requirements or may not be able to meet supply demands.

All entities involved in the preparation of therapeutics for clinical studies or commercial sale, including our existing contract manufacturers and collaboration partners for our product candidates, are subject to extensive regulation. Components of a finished therapeutic product approved for commercial sale or used in clinical studies must be manufactured in accordance with GMP. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures (including record keeping) and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational products and products approved for sale. Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of contaminants or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of our product candidates that may not be detectable in final product testing. We, our collaborators, or our contract manufacturers must supply all necessary documentation in support of an NDA, BLA, MAA, or other application for regulatory approval, on a timely basis and must adhere to GLP, GMP, and similar regulations enforced by the FDA and other regulatory agencies through their facilities inspection programs. Some of our contract manufacturers have never produced a commercially approved pharmaceutical product and therefore have not obtained the requisite regulatory authority approvals to do so. The facilities and quality systems of some or all of our collaborators and third-party contractors must pass a pre-approval inspection for compliance with the applicable regulations as a condition of regulatory approval of our product candidates or any of our other potential products. In addition, the regulatory authorities may, at any time, audit or inspect a manufacturing facility involved with the preparation of our product candidates or our other potential products or the associated quality systems for compliance with the regulations applicable to the activities being conducted. Although we oversee the contract manufacturers, we cannot control the manufacturing process of, and are substantially dependent on, our contract manufacturing partners for compliance with the regulatory requirements. If these facilities cannot schedule manufacturing to meet inspectional demands or do not pass a pre-approval plant inspection, regulatory approval of the products may not be granted or may be substantially delayed until any violations are corrected to the satisfaction of the regulatory authority, if ever.

The regulatory authorities also may, at any time following approval of a product for sale, audit the manufacturing facilities of our collaborators and third-party contractors. If any such inspection or audit identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations or if a violation of our product specifications or applicable regulations occurs independent of such an inspection or audit, we or the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time consuming for us or a third-party to implement, and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical study or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business.

If we, our collaborators, or any of our third-party manufacturers fail to maintain regulatory compliance, the FDA or other applicable regulatory authority can impose regulatory sanctions including, among other things, refusal to approve a pending application for a new drug product or biologic product, withdrawal of an approval, or suspension of production. As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially harmed.

Additionally, if supply from one approved manufacturer is interrupted, an alternative manufacturer would need to be qualified through an NDA or BLA supplement or MAA variation, or equivalent foreign regulatory filing, which could result in further delay. The regulatory agencies may also require additional studies if a new manufacturer is relied upon for commercial production. Switching manufacturers may involve substantial costs and is likely to result in a delay in our desired clinical and commercial timelines.

These factors could cause us to incur higher costs and could cause the delay or termination of clinical studies, regulatory submissions, required approvals, or commercialization of our product candidates. Furthermore, if our suppliers fail to meet contractual requirements and we are unable to secure one or more replacement suppliers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, our clinical studies may be delayed or we could lose potential revenue.

The actions of distributors could affect our ability to sell or market products profitably. Fluctuations in buying or distribution patterns by such distributors could adversely affect our revenues, financial condition, or results of operations

We intend to rely on commercial distributors for a considerable portion of our product sales and we expect such sales to be concentrated within a small number of distributors. The financial failure of any of these distributors could adversely affect our revenues, financial condition or results of operations. Our revenues, financial condition or results of operations may also be affected by fluctuations in distributor buying or distribution patterns. These fluctuations may result from seasonality, pricing, wholesaler inventory objectives, or other factors.

32


Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed.

Because we rely on third parties in connection with the development and manufacture of our product candidates and will likely rely on third parties in connection with the commercialization of our approved products, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements, letters of engagement, or other similar agreements with our collaborators, advisors, employees, and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, such as trade secrets. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business.

Risks Related to Commercialization of Our Product Candidates

If the market opportunities for our product candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our revenue may be adversely affected, and our business may suffer. Because the target patient populations of our product candidates are small, and the addressable patient population potentially even smaller, we must be able to successfully identify patients and acquire a significant market share to achieve profitability and growth.

We focus our research and product development on treatments for rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases. Given the small number of patients who have the diseases that we are targeting, it is critical to our ability to grow and become profitable that we continue to successfully identify patients with these rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases. Some of our current clinical programs may be most appropriate for patients with more severe forms of their disease. For instance, our Phase 2 study of UX007 in LC-FAOD enrolled patients with more severe disease. In addition, while adults make up the majority of the XLH patients, they often have less severe disease that may reduce the penetration of burosumab in the adult population relative to the pediatric population. Given the overall rarity of the diseases we target, it is difficult to project the prevalence of the more severe forms, or the other subsets of patients that may be most suitable to address with our product candidates, which may further limit the addressable patient population to a small subset. Our projections of both the number of people who have these diseases, as well as the subset of people with these diseases who have the potential to benefit from treatment with our product candidates, are based on our beliefs and estimates. These estimates have been derived from a variety of sources, including the scientific literature, surveys of clinics, patient foundations, or market research, and may prove to be incorrect. Further, new studies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence of these diseases. The number of patients may turn out to be lower than expected. The effort to identify patients with diseases we seek to treat is in early stages, and we cannot accurately predict the number of patients for whom treatment might be possible. Additionally, the potentially addressable patient population for each of our product candidates may be limited or may not be amenable to treatment with our product candidates, and new patients may become increasingly difficult to identify or access, which would adversely affect our results of operations and our business. Further, even if we obtain significant market share for our product candidates, because the potential target populations are very small we may never become or remain profitable nor generate sufficient revenue growth to sustain our business.

We intend to rely on third-party manufacturers to produce our product candidates. Additionally, these manufacturers do not have experience producing our product candidates at commercial levels and may not achieve the necessary regulatory approvals or produce our product candidates at the cost, quality, quantities, locations, and timing needed to support profitable commercialization.

We have not yet secured manufacturing capabilities for commercial quantities of our product candidates. Although we intend to rely on third-party manufacturers for commercialization, we have only entered into agreements with such manufacturers to support our clinical studies. We may be unable to negotiate binding agreements with the manufacturers to support our commercialization activities on commercially reasonable terms.

Manufacturers may not have the experience or ability to produce our product candidates at commercial levels. We may run into technical or scientific issues related to manufacturing or development that we may be unable to resolve in a timely manner or with available funds. We also have not completed all of the characterization and validation activities necessary for commercialization and regulatory approvals. If our manufacturing partners are not able to conduct all such necessary activities in accordance with applicable regulations, our commercialization efforts will be harmed.

Even if our third-party product manufacturers develop an acceptable manufacturing process, if such third-party manufacturers are unable to produce the necessary quantities of our product candidates, are unable to comply with GMP or other pertinent regulatory requirements, or are unable to produce our product candidates within our planned timeframe and cost parameters, the development and sales of our products, if approved, may be materially harmed.

33


Additionally, the cost to us for the supply of our product candidates manufactured by such third parties may be high and could limit our profitability, even if our third-party product manufacturers develop acceptable manufacturing processes that provide the necessary quantities of our product candidates in a compliant and timely manner. Furthermore, KHK is our sole supplier of commercial quantities of burosumab. The supply price to us for commercial sales of burosumab, which will be determined on a fixed double-digit percentage of net sales, will be higher than the typical cost of goods sold by companies focused on rare diseases.

We face intense competition and rapid technological change and the possibility that our competitors may develop therapies that are similar, more advanced, or more effective than ours, which may adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates.

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. We are currently aware of various existing therapies that may compete with our product candidates. For example, XLH is currently treated with oral phosphate and vitamin D therapy, which may compete with burosumab. Furthermore, B. Braun Medical Inc., or B. Braun, has received orphan drug designation for triheptanoin in Europe for certain LC-FAOD indications and we do not know if B. Braun is planning to initiate clinical development. Triheptanoin is also available in food-grade form, which may compete with our pharmaceutical-grade product. Investigator-sponsored trials evaluating triheptanoin in multiple indications are ongoing. LC-FAOD is currently treated with diet therapy and medium-chain triglyceride oil, which may compete with UX007. Glut1 DS is currently treated primarily with the ketogenic diet and anti-epileptic drugs, which may also compete with UX007. Additionally, we are aware of a program at the National Institutes of Health that is investigating the use of another metabolite in the sialic acid pathway, ManNAc, for the treatment of GNE myopathy, which could compete with Ace-ER. Data from a Phase 2 study of ManNAc for the treatment of GNE myopathy was presented at the 2016 International Congress of the World Muscle Society. The intellectual property rights for ManNAc are licensed to Escala Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Fortress Biotech, Inc., which acquired the rights from a company in New Zealand that manufactures ManNAc. Escala has received orphan designation for ManNAc in the United States and Europe for GNEM. ManNAc may have a potential advantage over Ace-ER in that it is not a charged molecule like sialic acid, which might improve ManNAc’s distribution and uptake. MAnNac is also available for purchase from chemical supply and other companies, which may compete with Ace-ER. Gene therapy, gene correction, RNA-based therapies, and other approaches may also emerge for the treatment of any of the disease areas in which we focus.

We have competitors both in the United States and internationally, including major multinational pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, and biotechnology companies. Some of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies we expect to compete with include Shire, Sanofi, BioMarin, Alexion, and Roche, as well as other companies ranging from startups to large multinational companies. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical, and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations. Additional mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. As a result, these companies may obtain regulatory approval more rapidly than we are able to and may be more effective in selling and marketing their products as well. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring, or licensing on an exclusive basis, products that are more effective or less costly than any product candidate that we may develop, or achieve earlier patent protection, regulatory approval, product commercialization, and market penetration than we do. Additionally, technologies developed by our competitors may render our potential product candidates uneconomical or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing our product candidates against competitors.

We continue to build an integrated commercial organization. If we are unable to establish sufficient field forces and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our product candidates, we may be unable to generate significant revenue.

Although our employees may have sold other similar products in the past while employed at other companies, we, as a company, have no experience selling and marketing our product candidates and we currently have minimal marketing and field force capacity. To successfully commercialize any products that may result from our development programs, we will need to develop these capabilities, either on our own or with others. If our product candidates receive regulatory approval, we intend to establish a marketing organization and field forces with technical expertise, as well as the ability to support distribution capabilities, to commercialize our product candidates in major markets, which will be expensive, difficult, and time consuming. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal field forces, marketing, and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of our products.

34


Further, given our lack of prior experience in marketing and selling biopharmaceutical products, our initial estimate of the size of the required field force may be materially more or less than the size of the field force actually required to effectively commercialize our product candidates. As such, we may be required to hire large teams to adequately support the commercialization of our product candidates or we may incur excess costs as a result of hiring more commercial personnel than necessary. With respect to certain geographical markets, we may enter into collaborations with other entities to utilize their local marketing and distribution capabilities, but we may be unable to enter into such agreements on favorable terms, if at all. If our future collaborators do not commit sufficient resources to commercialize our future products, if any, and we are unable to develop the necessary marketing capabilities on our own, we will be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to sustain our business. We may be competing with companies that currently have extensive and well-funded marketing and sales operations. Without an internal team or the support of a third-party to perform key commercial functions, we may be unable to compete successfully against these more established companies.

The commercial success of any current or future product candidate will depend upon the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors, and others in the medical community.

Even with the requisite approvals from the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, the commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on the medical community, patients, and payors accepting our product candidates as medically useful, cost-effective, and safe. Any product that we bring to the market may not gain market acceptance by physicians, patients, payors, and others in the medical community. The degree of market acceptance of any of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:

 

the efficacy of the product as demonstrated in clinical studies and potential advantages over competing treatments;

 

the prevalence and severity of any side effects, including any limitations or warnings contained in a product’s approved labeling;

 

the clinical indications for which approval is granted;

 

relative convenience and ease of administration;

 

the cost of treatment, particularly in relation to competing treatments;

 

the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies;

 

the effectiveness of our field forces and marketing efforts;

 

the strength of marketing and distribution support and timing of market introduction of competitive products;

 

publicity concerning our products or competing products and treatments; and

 

sufficient third-party insurance coverage and reimbursement.

Even if a potential product displays a favorable efficacy and safety profile in nonclinical and clinical studies, market acceptance of the product will not be fully known until after it is launched. Our efforts to educate the medical community and payors on the benefits of the product candidates may require significant resources and may never be successful. If our product candidates are approved but fail to achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients, payors, and others in the medical community, we will not be able to generate sufficient revenue to become or remain profitable.

The insurance coverage and reimbursement status of newly approved products is uncertain. Failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for new or current products could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.

Our target patient populations are small, and accordingly the pricing, coverage, and reimbursement of our product candidates, if approved, must be adequate to support our commercial infrastructure. Our per-patient prices must be sufficient to recover our development and manufacturing costs and potentially achieve profitability. Accordingly, the availability and adequacy of coverage and reimbursement by governmental and private payors are essential for most patients to afford expensive treatments such as ours, assuming approval. Sales of our product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be paid for by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit, and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government authorities, private health insurers, and other payors. If coverage and reimbursement are not available, or are available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to sustain our overall enterprise.

There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, decides whether and to what extent a new drug will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare. Private payors tend to follow the coverage reimbursement policies established by CMS to a substantial degree. It is difficult to predict what CMS or private payors will decide with respect to reimbursement for products such as ours.

35


Outside the United States, international operations are generally subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations, and we believe the increasing emphasis on cost-containment initiatives in Europe, Canada, and other countries will put pressure on the pricing and usage of our product candidates. In many countries, the prices of medical products are subject to varying price control mechanisms as part of national health systems. Other countries allow companies to fix their own prices for medicinal products, but monitor and control company profits. Additional foreign price controls or other changes in pricing regulation could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for our product candidates. Accordingly, in markets outside the United States, the reimbursement for our products may be reduced compared with the United States and may be insufficient to generate commercially reasonable revenue and profits.

Moreover, increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payors in the United States and abroad to cap or reduce healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and the level of reimbursement for new products approved and, as a result, they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our product candidates. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of any of our product candidates due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations, and additional legislative changes. For example, recently, several states in the U.S. have introduced legislation to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose their costs to justify the prices of their products, and an “Affordable Drug Pricing Task-Force” has been formed in the U.S. House of Representatives with the goal of combating the increased costs of prescription drugs. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, and with respect to prescription drugs, surgical procedures, and other treatments in particular, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain effective patent rights for our product candidates or any future product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection, and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our technologies and product candidates. Our success depends in large part on our and our licensors’ ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the United States and in other countries with respect to our proprietary technology and products.

We have sought to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel technologies and products that are important to our business. This process is expensive and time consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.

The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions for which legal principles remain unsolved. The patent applications that we own or in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our product candidates in the United States or in other foreign countries. There is no assurance that all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found, which can invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing from a pending patent application. Even if patents do successfully issue, and even if such patents cover our product candidates, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability, or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed, found unenforceable, or invalidated. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property, provide exclusivity for our product candidates, or prevent others from designing around our claims. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have an adverse impact on our business.

We, independently or together with our licensors, have filed several patent applications covering various aspects of our product candidates. We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue, the breadth of any such patent or whether any issued patents will be found invalid and unenforceable or will be threatened by third parties. Any successful opposition to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us after patent issuance could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any product candidates that we may develop. Further, if we encounter delays in regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market a product candidate under patent protection could be reduced.

Although we have a number of patents or applications covering methods of use and certain compositions of matter, we do not have complete patent protection for our product candidates. For example, there are no issued patents and very limited pending applications for burosumab in Latin America, where we have rights to commercialize the compound. Therefore, a competitor could develop the same antibody or a similar antibody as well as other approaches that target FGF23. Additionally, there are currently no issued patents that cover the rhPPCA composition of matter or the use of rhPPCA for the treatment of galactosialidosis. Therefore, it is possible that a competitor could develop the same enzyme or a similar enzyme with respect to rhPPCA and its use in the treatment of galactosialidosis, subject to any regulatory exclusivities. With respect to Ace-ER, none of the patents or applications relating to Ace-ER cover the sialic acid composition of matter. Therefore, it is possible that a competitor could develop the same or similar molecule. If we cannot obtain and maintain effective patent rights for our product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively and our business and results of operations would be harmed.

36


We may not have sufficient patent terms to effectively protect our products and business.

Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after it is filed. Although various extensions may be available, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product, we may be open to competition from generic medications.

While patent term extensions under the Hatch-Waxman Act in the United States and under supplementary protection certificates in Europe may be available to extend the patent exclusivity term for burosumab, vestronidase alpha, UX007, and Ace-ER, we cannot provide any assurances that any such patent term extension will be obtained and, if so, for how long. In addition, upon issuance in the United States, any patent term can be adjusted based on certain delays caused by the applicant(s) or the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). For example, a patent term can be reduced based on certain delays caused by the patent applicant during patent prosecution. If we do not have sufficient patent terms or regulatory exclusivity to protect our products, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

Patent policy and rule changes could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.

Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection. The laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. We therefore cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make the invention claimed in our owned and licensed patents or pending applications, or that we or our licensor were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, in the United States prior to March 15, 2013, the first to make the claimed invention is entitled to the patent, while outside the United States, the first to file a patent application is entitled to the patent. After March 15, 2013, under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, enacted on September 16, 2011, the United States has moved to a first to file system. The Leahy-Smith Act also includes a number of significant changes that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. The effects of these changes are currently unclear as the USPTO must still implement various regulations, the courts have yet to address any of these provisions and the applicability of the act and new regulations on specific patents discussed herein have not been determined and would need to be reviewed. In general, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

If we are unable to maintain effective proprietary rights for our product candidates or any future product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable or that we elect not to patent, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our product candidate discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information, or technology that is not covered by patents. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, and contractors. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors.

Although we expect all of our employees and consultants to assign their inventions to us, and all of our employees, consultants, advisors, and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information, or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot provide any assurances that all such agreements have been duly executed or that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure of our trade secrets could impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating the trade secret.

37


Claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.

Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement of the patents and proprietary rights of others. There have been many lawsuits and other proceedings involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions, and reexamination proceedings before the USPTO and corresponding foreign patent offices. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by other parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing product candidates. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of these other parties.

Other parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. There may be patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture, or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our product candidates. We have conducted freedom to operate analyses with respect to only certain of our product candidates, and therefore we do not know whether there are any patents of other parties that would impair our ability to commercialize all of our product candidates. We also cannot guarantee that any of our analyses are complete and thorough, nor can we be sure that we have identified each and every patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant or necessary to the commercialization of our product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may infringe. For example, we are aware of a pending U.S. patent application by the Japan Health Sciences Foundation. Although we do not believe any valid and enforceable claim covering our product candidate will be issued from this U.S. application, we cannot guarantee that such claim will not issue.

In addition, other parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any of these patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our formulations, the manufacturing process of any of our product candidates, methods of use, any molecules formed during the manufacturing process or any final product itself, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such product candidate unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, pay royalties, redesign our infringing products, or obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.

We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to our product candidates through acquisitions and in-licenses.

We currently have rights to the intellectual property, through licenses from third parties and under patents that we own, to develop our product candidates. Because our programs may require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, the growth of our business will likely depend in part on our ability to acquire, in-license, or use these proprietary rights. For example, our product candidates may require specific formulations to work effectively and efficiently and the rights to these formulations may be held by others. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes, or other third-party intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for our product candidates. The licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cash resources, and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. We also may be unable to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment.

We sometimes collaborate with U.S. and foreign academic institutions to accelerate our preclinical research or development under written agreements with these institutions. Typically, these institutions provide us an option to negotiate a license to any of the institution’s rights in technology resulting from the collaboration. Regardless of such option, we may be unable to negotiate a license within the specified timeframe or under terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to do so, the institution may offer the intellectual property rights to other parties, potentially blocking our ability to pursue our program.

If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have, we may have to abandon development of that program and our business and financial condition could suffer.

38


We may face competition from biosimilars, which may have a material adverse impact on the future commercial prospects of burosumab, vestronidase alpha, and rhPPCA.

Even if we are successful in achieving regulatory approval to commercialize a product candidate faster than our competitors, we may face competition from biosimilars with respect to burosumab, vestronidase alpha, and rhPPCA. In the United States, the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCI Act, was included in the Affordable Care Act and created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that are demonstrated to be “highly similar,” or biosimilar, to or “interchangeable” with an FDA-approved biological product. The BPCI Act prohibits the FDA from approving a biosimilar or interchangeable product that references a brand biological product until 12 years after the licensure of the reference product, but permits submission of an application for a biosimilar or interchangeable product to the FDA four years after the reference product was first licensed. The BPCI Act does not prevent another company from developing a product that is highly similar to the innovative product, generating its own data, and seeking approval. The BPCI Act is complex and is only beginning to be interpreted and implemented by the FDA. Moreover, it is not known whether the BPCI Act will survive in whole or in part if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. As a result, its ultimate impact, implementation, meaning, and long-term existence are subject to uncertainty. Elimination or modification of the BPCI Act, or changes to the FDA’s interpretation or implementation of the BPCI Act, could have a material adverse effect on the future commercial prospects for burosumab, vestronidase alpha, and rhPPCA.

In Europe, the European Commission has granted marketing authorizations for several biosimilars pursuant to a set of general and product class-specific guidelines for biosimilar approvals issued over the past few years. In Europe, a competitor may reference data supporting approval of an innovative biological product, but will not be able to get on the market until 10 years after the time of approval of the innovative product. This 10-year marketing exclusivity period will be extended to 11 years if, during the first eight of those 10 years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an approval for one or more new therapeutic indications that bring significant clinical benefits compared with existing therapies. In addition, companies may be developing biosimilars in other countries that could compete with our products.

If competitors are able to obtain marketing approval for biosimilars referencing our products, our products may become subject to competition from such biosimilars, with the attendant competitive pressure and consequences.

Additional competitors could enter the market with generic versions of our small-molecule product candidates, which may result in a material decline in sales of UX007 and Ace-ER.

Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, a pharmaceutical manufacturer may file an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, seeking approval of a generic copy of an approved innovator product. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, a manufacturer may also submit an NDA under section 505(b)(2) that references the FDA’s finding of safety and effectiveness of a previously approved drug. A 505(b)(2) NDA product may be for a new or improved version of the original innovator product. Innovative small molecule drugs may be eligible for certain periods of regulatory exclusivity (e.g., five years for new chemical entities, three years for changes to an approved drug requiring a new clinical study, and seven years for orphan drugs), which preclude FDA approval (or in some circumstances, FDA filing and review of) an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA relying on the FDA’s finding of safety and effectiveness for the innovative drug. In addition to the benefits of regulatory exclusivity, an innovator NDA holder may have patents claiming the active ingredient, product formulation or an approved use of the drug, which would be listed with the product in the “Orange Book.” If there are patents listed in the Orange Book, a generic applicant that seeks to market its product before expiration of the patents must include in the ANDA or 505(b)(2) what is known as a “Paragraph IV certification,” challenging the validity or enforceability of, or claiming non-infringement of, the listed patent or patents. Notice of the certification must be given to the innovator, too, and if within 45 days of receiving notice the innovator sues to protect its patents, approval of the ANDA is stayed for 30 months, or as lengthened or shortened by the court.

Accordingly, if UX007 and Ace-ER are approved, competitors could file ANDAs for generic versions of UX007 and Ace-ER, or 505(b)(2) NDAs that reference UX007 and Ace-ER, respectively. If there are patents listed for UX007 and Ace-ER in the Orange Book, those ANDAs and 505(b)(2) NDAs would be required to include a certification as to each listed patent indicating whether the ANDA applicant does or does not intend to challenge the patent. We cannot predict whether any patents issuing from our pending patent applications will be eligible for listing in the Orange Book, how any generic competitor would address such patents, whether we would sue on any such patents, or the outcome of any such suit.

We may not be successful in securing or maintaining proprietary patent protection for products and technologies we develop or license. Moreover, if any patents that are granted and listed in the Orange Book are successfully challenged by way of a Paragraph IV certification and subsequent litigation, the affected product could more immediately face generic competition and its sales would likely decline materially. Should sales decline, we may have to write off a portion or all of the intangible assets associated with the affected product and our results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

39


The patent protection and patent prosecution for some of our product candidates is dependent on third parties.

While we normally seek and gain the right to fully prosecute the patents relating to our product candidates, there may be times when patents relating to our product candidates are controlled by our licensors. This is the case with our agreement with KHK, who is primarily responsible for the prosecution of patents and patent applications licensed to us under the collaboration agreement. If KHK or any of our future licensing partners fail to appropriately prosecute and maintain patent protection for patents covering any of our product candidates, our ability to develop and commercialize those product candidates may be adversely affected and we may not be able to prevent competitors from making, using, and selling competing products. In addition, even where we now have the right to control patent prosecution of patents and patent applications we have licensed from third parties, we may still be adversely affected or prejudiced by actions or inactions of our licensors and their counsel that took place prior to us assuming control over patent prosecution.

If we fail to comply with our obligations in the agreements under which we license intellectual property and other rights from third parties or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

We are a party to a number of intellectual property license agreements that are important to our business and expect to enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our existing license agreements impose, and we expect that future license agreements will impose, various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our obligations under these agreements, or we are subject to a bankruptcy, we may be required to make certain payments to the licensor, we may lose the exclusivity of our license, or the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to develop or market products covered by the license. Additionally, the milestone and other payments associated with these licenses will make it less profitable for us to develop our drug candidates. See “Business—License and Collaboration Agreements” in our Annual Report for a description of our license agreements with KHK, Baylor Research Institute, Nobelpharma, Alcami, HIBM Research Group, Saint Louis University, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, which include descriptions of the termination provisions of these agreements.  

In certain cases, we control the prosecution of patents resulting from licensed technology. In the event we breach any of our obligations related to such prosecution, we may incur significant liability to our licensing partners. Licensing of intellectual property is of critical importance to our business and involves complex legal, business, and scientific issues. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including but not limited to:

 

the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;

 

the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;

 

the sublicensing of patent and other rights;

 

our diligence obligations under the license agreement and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;

 

the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our collaborators; and

 

the priority of invention of patented technology.

If disputes over intellectual property and other rights that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.

Although we are not currently involved in any litigation, we may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensors. Although we are not currently involved in any litigation, if we or one of our licensing partners were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid and/or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable.

40


Interference proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us or declared by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Our defense of litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. In addition, the uncertainties associated with litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise sufficient capital to continue our clinical studies, continue our research programs, license necessary technology from third parties, or enter into development partnerships that would help us bring our product candidates to market.

Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties or that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.

We employ certain individuals who were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants, and independent contractors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, and we are not currently subject to any claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties, we may in the future be subject to such claims. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel, which could adversely impact our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and distract management and other employees.

We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patents and other intellectual property.

Although we are not currently experiencing any claims challenging the inventorship of our patents or ownership of our intellectual property, we may in the future be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators, or other third parties have an interest in our patents or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. For example, we may have inventorship disputes arise from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved in developing our product candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship. If we fail to successfully defend against such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and distract management and other employees.

Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biotechnology industry involves both technological and legal complexity. Therefore, obtaining and enforcing biotechnology patents is costly, time consuming, and inherently uncertain. In addition, the United States has recently enacted and is currently implementing wide-ranging patent reform legislation. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty about our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Further, licensing partners such as KHK may not prosecute patents in certain jurisdictions in which we may obtain commercial rights, thereby precluding the possibility of later obtaining patent protection in these countries. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and may also export infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

41


Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations

Our future success depends in part on our ability to retain our Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer and to attract, retain, and motivate other qualified personnel.

We are dependent on Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D., our Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, the loss of whose services may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives. Dr. Kakkis could leave our employment at any time, as he is an “at will” employee. Recruiting and retaining other qualified employees, consultants, and advisors for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will also be critical to our success. There is currently a shortage of skilled personnel in our industry, which is likely to continue. As a result, competition for skilled personnel is intense and the turnover rate can be high. We may not be able to attract and retain personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for individuals with similar skill sets. In addition, failure to succeed in preclinical or clinical studies may make it more challenging to recruit and retain qualified personnel. The inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel, or the loss of the services of Dr. Kakkis, may impede the progress of our research, development, and commercialization objectives.

If we fail to obtain or maintain orphan drug exclusivity for our products, our competitors may sell products to treat the same conditions and our revenue will be reduced.

Our business strategy focuses on the development of drugs that are eligible for FDA and EU orphan drug designation. In the United States, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical study costs, tax advantages, and user-fee waivers. In addition, if a product receives the first FDA approval for the indication for which it has orphan designation, the product is entitled to orphan drug exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application to market the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority over the product with orphan exclusivity or where the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient product quantity. In the EU, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers and ten years of market exclusivity following drug or biological product approval. This period may be reduced to six years if the orphan drug designation criteria are no longer met, including where it is shown that the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify maintenance of market exclusivity.

Because the extent and scope of patent protection for our products may in some cases be limited, orphan drug designation is especially important for our products for which orphan drug designation may be available. For eligible drugs, we plan to rely on the exclusivity period under the Orphan Drug Act to maintain a competitive position. If we do not obtain orphan drug exclusivity for our drug products and biologic products that do not have broad patent protection, our competitors may then sell the same drug to treat the same condition sooner than if we had obtained orphan drug exclusivity, and our revenue will be reduced.

Even though we have orphan drug designation for UX007 for the treatment of fatty acid oxidation disorders in the United States, as well as for UX007 for the treatment of Glut1 DS, burosumab, vestronidase alpha, and Ace-ER in the United States and Europe, we may not be the first to obtain marketing approval for any particular orphan indication due to the uncertainties associated with developing pharmaceutical products. Further, even if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a product, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition because different drugs with different active moieties can be approved for the same condition or the same drug can be approved for a different indication unless there are other exclusivities such as new chemical entity exclusivity preventing such approval. Even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA or EMA can subsequently approve the same drug with the same active moiety for the same condition if the FDA or EMA concludes that the later drug is safer, more effective, or makes a major contribution to patient care. Orphan drug designation neither shortens the development time or regulatory review time of a drug nor gives the drug any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process.

42


We will need to expand our organization and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth, which could disrupt our operations.

As our development and commercialization plans and strategies develop, we expect to need additional managerial, operational, field forces, marketing, financial, legal, and other resources. Our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees, and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of additional product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate and/or grow revenue could be reduced, and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize product candidates and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.

We may not be successful in our efforts to identify, license, discover, develop, or commercialize additional product candidates.

Although a substantial amount of our effort will focus on the continued clinical testing, potential approval, and commercialization of our existing product candidates, the success of our business also depends upon our ability to identify, license, discover, develop, or commercialize additional product candidates. Research programs to identify and develop new product candidates, such as those under our collaboration with Arcturus, require substantial technical, financial, and human resources. We may focus our efforts and resources on potential programs or product candidates that ultimately prove to be unsuccessful. Our research programs or licensing efforts may fail to yield additional product candidates for clinical development and commercialization for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the following:

 

our research or business development methodology or search criteria and process may be unsuccessful in identifying potential product candidates;

 

we may not be able or willing to assemble sufficient technical, financial or human resources to acquire or discover additional product candidates;

 

we may face competition in obtaining and/or developing additional product candidates;

 

our product candidates may not succeed in research, discovery, preclinical or clinical testing;

 

our potential product candidates may be shown to have harmful side effects or may have other characteristics that may make the products unmarketable or unlikely to receive marketing approval;

 

competitors may develop alternatives that render our product candidates obsolete or less attractive;

 

product candidates we develop may be covered by third parties’ patents or other exclusive rights;

 

the market for a product candidate may change during our program so that such a product may become unreasonable to continue to develop;

 

a product candidate may not be capable of being produced in commercial quantities at an acceptable cost or at all; and

 

a product candidate may not be accepted as safe and effective by regulatory authorities, patients, the medical community, or payors.

If any of these events occur, we may be forced to abandon our development efforts for a program or programs, or we may not be able to identify, license, discover, develop, or commercialize additional product candidates, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and could potentially cause us to cease operations.

If we are unable to maintain and further develop effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our stock may decrease.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we are required to perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We are also subject to the compliance requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which results in us incurring substantial expenses and expending significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group. We may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404(b) or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identify deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by NASDAQ, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

43


Changes to healthcare and FDA laws, regulations, and policies may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

United States

In the United States, there have been and continue to be a number of legislative initiatives to contain healthcare costs and to modify the regulation of drug and biologic products. For example, the Affordable Care Act, as amended, substantially changed the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacts the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The Affordable Care Act, among other things, subjects biologic products to potential competition by lower-cost biosimilars, addresses a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted, or injected, increases the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and extends the rebate program to individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, and establishes annual fees and taxes on manufacturers of certain branded prescription drugs. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act remains ongoing, and there remains uncertainty as to how the law’s various provisions will ultimately affect the industry and whether the law will remain in place.

Other legislative changes have been adopted in the United States, including the Cures Act and the Budget Control Act of 2011, or the Budget Act, signed into law on August 2, 2011. The Cures Act introduces a wide range of reforms and the Budget Act, among other things, required reductions in federal spending, which eventually triggered Medicare sequestration—the requirement to reduce Medicare payments to providers up to 2% per fiscal year. In 2013, the 2% Medicare payment reductions were applied to fee-for-service claims with dates of service or dates of discharge on or after April 1, 2013. Sequestration was initially set to expire in fiscal year 2021 but has been extended to 2025.

We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures and regulations will be adopted in the future, including proposals to reduce the exclusivity protections provided to already approved biological products and to provide biosimilar and interchangeable biologic products an easier path to approval. Any of these measures and regulations could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures and affect our product development, testing, marketing approvals and post-market activities.

European Union

In the EU, the European Commission has adopted detailed rules for the safety features appearing on the packaging of medicinal products for human use. The regulations set forth the rules for the features appearing on the packaging of these medicinal products, including, inter alia, the characteristics and technical specifications of the unique identifier that enables the authenticity of medicinal products to be verified and individual packs to be identified, the modalities for the verification of the safety features, and the list of medicinal products and product categories subject and not subject to prescription which shall not bear and bear (respectively) safety features.

The European Commission has also launched a series of public consultations that are aimed at the adoption of notices and guidelines which will serve the interpretation of currently applicable regulations and directives. For example, between August 2015 and December 2016, the European Commission launched public consultations which concerned good manufacturing practices, clinical trials for human medicinal products, and orphan medicinal products. The purpose of the consultation on orphan medicinal products (which will be replaced with a Notice) is to streamline the regulatory framework and to adapt the applicable regulations to technical progress. The consultation focuses on a variety of elements of Regulation (EC) No 141/2000, which include the encouragement of development of orphan medicinal products for communicable diseases and the simplification of the procedure for the reassessment of orphan criteria when two authorization application procedures are pending in parallel for two orphan medicinal products.

We may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, and health information privacy and security laws. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.

If we obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates and begin commercializing those products in the United States, our operations may be directly, or indirectly through our customers, subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act, and physician sunshine laws and regulations. These laws may impact, among other things, our proposed field marketing and education programs. In addition, we may be subject to patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The laws that may affect our ability to operate are described under “Business—Government Regulation” in our Annual Report. Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the 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, exclusion from participation in government health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, imprisonment, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

44


International expansion of our business exposes us to business, regulatory, political, operational, financial, and economic risks associated with doing business outside of the United States.

We currently have limited international operations, but our business strategy incorporates significant international expansion, particularly in anticipation of approval of our product candidates. We currently conduct physician and patient association outreach activities, as well as clinical studies, outside of the United States and plan to maintain field forces representatives internationally in the future. 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 to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for the use of our products in various countries;

 

additional potentially relevant third-party patent rights;

 

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 in 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, outbreak of disease, boycotts, curtailment of trade, 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, its books and records provisions, or its anti-bribery provisions, including those under 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 and operations and, consequently, our results of operations.

We may incur additional tax liabilities related to our operations.

We have a multinational tax structure and are subject to income tax in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate is influenced by many factors including changes in our operating structure, changes in the mix of our earnings among countries, our allocation of profits and losses among our subsidiaries, our intercompany transfer pricing agreements and rules relating to transfer pricing, the availability of U.S. research and development tax credits, and future changes in tax laws and regulations in the U.S. and foreign countries. Significant judgment is required in determining our tax liabilities including management’s judgment for uncertain tax positions. The Internal Revenue Service, other domestic taxing authorities, or foreign taxing authorities may disagree with our interpretation of tax laws as applied to our operations. Our reported effective tax rate and after-tax cash flows may be materially and adversely affected by tax assessments in excess of amounts accrued for our financial statements. This could materially increase our future effective tax rate thereby reducing net income and adversely impacting our results of operations for future periods.

Failure to comply with laws and regulations could harm our business and our reputation.

Our business is subject to regulation by various federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies, including agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing employment and labor laws, workplace safety, and tax laws and regulations. In certain jurisdictions, these regulatory requirements may be more stringent than those in the United States, and in other circumstances these requirements may be more stringent in the United States. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to investigations, sanctions, mandatory recalls, enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, fines, damages, civil and criminal penalties, or injunctions. If any governmental sanctions, fines or penalties are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation, our business, operating results, financial condition and our reputation could be harmed. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and an increase in professional fees. Enforcement actions and sanctions could further harm our business, operating results, financial condition, and our reputation.

45


In particular, our research and development activities and our third-party manufacturers’ and suppliers’ activities involve the controlled storage, use, and disposal of hazardous materials, including the components of our product candidates and other hazardous compounds, which subjects us to laws and regulations governing such activities. In some cases, these hazardous materials and various wastes resulting from their use are stored at our or our manufacturers’ facilities pending their use and disposal. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination, which could cause an interruption of our commercialization efforts, research and development efforts, and business operations or environmental damage that could result in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling, and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. We cannot guarantee that the safety procedures utilized by us and our third-party manufacturers for handling and disposing of these materials comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, or eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In such an event, we may be held liable for any resulting damages—and such liability could exceed our resources—and state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of certain materials and/or interrupt our business operations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently, and have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance. We do not currently carry biological or hazardous waste insurance coverage.

Risks generally associated with a company-wide implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system may adversely affect our business and results of operations or the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting.

We are in the process of implementing a company-wide ERP system to upgrade certain existing business, operational, and financial processes. Our ERP implementation is a complex and time-consuming project that we expect will require multiple years to complete. Our results of operations could be adversely affected if we experience time delays or cost overruns during the ERP implementation process, or if the ERP system or associated process changes do not give rise to the benefits that we expect. This project has required and may continue to require investment of capital and human resources, the re-engineering of processes of our business, and the attention of many employees who would otherwise be focused on other aspects of our business. Any deficiencies in the design and implementation of the new ERP system could result in potentially much higher costs than we had incurred and could adversely affect our ability to develop and launch solutions, provide services, fulfill contractual obligations, file reports with the SEC in a timely manner, operate our business or otherwise affect our controls environment. Any of these consequences could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our business and operations may be materially adversely affected in the event of computer system failures or security breaches.  

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of our CROs and other third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, fire, terrorism, war, and telecommunication and electrical failures. If such an event were to occur and interrupt our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our drug development programs. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from ongoing or planned clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach results in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, loss of trade secrets or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, including protected health information or personal data of employees or former employees, access to our clinical data, or disruption of the manufacturing process, we could incur liability and the further development of our drug candidates could be delayed. We may also be vulnerable to cyber-attacks by hackers or other malfeasance. This type of breach of our cybersecurity may compromise our confidential information and/or our financial information and adversely affect our business or result in legal proceedings.

We or the third parties upon whom we depend may be adversely affected by earthquakes or other natural disasters and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans may not adequately protect us from a serious disaster.

Our corporate headquarters and laboratory are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and our collaboration partner for burosumab, KHK, is located in Japan, which have both in the past experienced severe earthquakes and other natural disasters. We do not carry earthquake insurance. Earthquakes or other natural disasters could severely disrupt our operations or those of our collaborators, and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects. If a natural disaster, power outage, or other event occurred that prevented us from using all or a significant portion of our headquarters, that damaged critical infrastructure (such as the manufacturing facilities of our third-party contract manufacturers) or that otherwise disrupted operations, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. The disaster recovery and business continuity plans we have in place currently are limited and are unlikely to prove adequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event. We may incur substantial expenses as a result of the limited nature of our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, which, particularly when taken together with our lack of earthquake insurance, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

46


We may acquire other companies or products or engage in strategic transactions, which could divert our management’s attention and cause us to incur various costs and expenses.

We may acquire or invest in businesses or products that we believe could complement or expand our business or otherwise offer growth opportunities. The pursuit of potential acquisitions or investments may divert the attention of management and may cause us to incur various costs and expenses in identifying, investigating, and pursuing them, whether or not they are consummated. We may not be able to identify desirable acquisitions or investments or be successful in entering into an agreement for such transactions.

In addition, we may receive inquiries relating to potential strategic transactions, including collaborations, licenses, and acquisitions. Such potential transactions may divert the attention of management and may cause us to incur various costs and expenses in investigating and evaluating such transactions, whether or not they are consummated.

Litigation may substantially increase our costs and harm our business.

We may become party to lawsuits in the future, including, without limitation, actions and proceedings in the ordinary course of business relating to our stockholders, intellectual property, and employment matters, which will cause us to incur legal fees and other costs related thereto, including potential expenses for the reimbursement of legal fees of officers and directors under indemnification obligations. The expense of defending against such litigation may be significant and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in any defense. Further, the amount of time that may be required to resolve such lawsuits is unpredictable, and these actions may divert management’s attention from the day-to-day operations of our business, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and cash flows. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in such matters that may arise from time to time could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile.

The market price of our common stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile, including for reasons unrelated to changes in our business. Our stock price could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including but not limited to the following:

 

adverse results or delays in preclinical or clinical studies;

 

any inability to obtain additional funding;

 

any delay in filing an IND, NDA, BLA, MAA, or other regulatory submission for any of our product candidates and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory agency’s review of that IND, NDA, BLA, MAA, or other regulatory submission;

 

the perception of limited market sizes or pricing for our product candidates;

 

decisions by our collaboration partners with respect to the indications for our product candidates in countries where they have the right to commercialize the product candidates;

 

decisions by our collaboration partners regarding market access and pricing in countries where they have the right to commercialize our product candidates;

 

failure to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates;

 

the level of any revenue we receive from named patient sales;

 

post-marketing safety issues;

 

failure to maintain our existing strategic collaborations or enter into new collaborations;

 

failure by us or our licensors and strategic collaboration partners to prosecute, maintain, or enforce our intellectual property rights;

 

changes in laws or regulations applicable to our products;

 

any inability to obtain adequate product supply for our product candidates or the inability to do so at acceptable prices;

 

adverse regulatory decisions;

 

introduction of new products, services, or technologies by our competitors;

 

failure to meet or exceed financial projections we may provide to the public;

 

failure to meet or exceed the financial projections of the investment community;

 

the perception of the pharmaceutical industry by the public, legislatures, regulators, and the investment community;

 

the perception of the pharmaceutical industry’s approach to drug pricing;

47


 

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

 

disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters, and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;

 

additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;

 

significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;

 

securities or industry analysts’ reports regarding our stock, or their failure to issue such reports;

 

changes in the market valuations of similar companies;

 

general market or macroeconomic conditions;

 

sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders in the future; and

 

trading volume of our common stock.

In addition, biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies in particular have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.

Future sales and issuances of our common stock or rights to purchase common stock, including pursuant to our equity incentive plans, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to fall.

We will need additional capital in the future to continue our planned operations. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may sell common stock, convertible securities, or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell common stock, convertible securities, or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. These sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to our existing stockholders.

Pursuant to our 2014 Incentive Plan, or the 2014 Plan, our management is authorized to grant stock options and other equity-based awards to our employees, directors, and consultants. At June 30, 2017, 1,785,639 shares were available for future grants under the 2014 Plan. The number of shares available for future grant under the 2014 Plan will automatically increase on January 1 of each year by the lesser of 2,500,000 shares or 4% of all shares of our capital stock outstanding as of December 31 of the prior calendar year, subject to the ability of our compensation committee to take action to reduce the size of the increase in any given year.

Pursuant to our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or 2014 ESPP, eligible employees can acquire shares of our common stock at a discount to the prevailing market price. At June 30, 2017, 1,816,052 shares were available for issuance under the 2014 ESPP. The number of shares available for issuance under the 2014 ESPP will automatically increase on January 1 of each year by the lesser of 1,200,000 shares or 1% of all shares of our capital stock outstanding as of December 31 of the prior calendar year, subject to the ability of our compensation committee to take action to reduce the size of the increase in any given year.

Currently we plan to register the increased number of shares available under the 2014 Plan and the 2014 ESPP each year. If our board of directors elects to increase the number of shares available for future grant under the 2014 Plan or the 2014 ESPP, our stockholders may experience additional dilution, which could cause our stock price to fall.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

We have incurred substantial losses during our history and do not expect to become profitable in the near future nor may we ever achieve profitability. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused taxable losses will, subject to certain limitations, carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards, or NOL carryforwards, and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research tax credits) to offset its post-change income may be limited. An analysis to determine limitations upon our NOL carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes for ownership changes that have occurred previously has been performed, resulting in a permanent decrease of federal and state NOL carryforwards in the amount of $7.2 million and a permanent decrease in federal research tax credit carryforwards in the amount of $0.2 million. As a result of these decreases and others that may occur as a result of future ownership changes, our ability to use our pre-change NOL carryforwards and other tax attribute carryforwards to offset U.S. federal taxable income and tax liabilities is limited and may become subject to even greater limitations, which could potentially accelerate or permanently increase future federal tax liabilities for us. In addition, there may be periods during which the use of state income tax NOL carryforwards and other state tax attribute carryforwards (such as state research tax credits) are suspended or otherwise limited, which could potentially accelerate or permanently increase future state tax liabilities for us.

48


We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings, if any, for the development, operation, and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders, or remove our current management.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated by-laws, and Delaware law contain provisions that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of us or changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws include provisions that:

 

authorize “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our board of directors without stockholder approval and may contain voting, liquidation, dividend, and other rights superior to our common stock;

 

create a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms;

 

specify that special meetings of our stockholders can be called only by our board of directors or the chairperson of our board of directors;

 

prohibit stockholder action by written consent;

 

establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder approvals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors;

 

provide that our directors may be removed only for cause;

 

provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a resolution adopted by the board of directors;

 

expressly authorize our board of directors to modify, alter or repeal our amended and restated by-laws; and

 

require holders of 75% of our outstanding common stock to amend specified provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws.

These provisions, alone or together, could delay, deter, or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management.

In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which limits the ability of stockholders owning in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock to merge or combine with us. Further, no stockholder is permitted to cumulate votes at any election of directors because this right is not included in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.

Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated by-laws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, or other employees to us or to our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law or under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (4) any action against us asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

49


Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

 On July 27, 2017, we entered into a sales agreement, or the Sales Agreement, with Cowen, pursuant to which we may, from time to time, sell shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, or the Shares, having an aggregate offering price of up to $150,000,000, or the ATM Offering, through Cowen, acting as our agent and/or principal. We will pay Cowen a commission of up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of Shares pursuant to the ATM Offering. In the Sales Agreement, the Company agrees to indemnify Cowen against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, or to contribute payments that Cowen may be required to make because of such liabilities.

The ATM Offering is being made under a prospectus supplement to be filed on July 27, 2017, and related prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to our automatically effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-201838).

A copy of the Sales Agreement is attached as Exhibit 1.1 to this Quarterly Report. The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to Exhibit 1.1.

A copy of the opinion of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP relating to the validity of the securities issued in the ATM Offering is filed as Exhibit 5.1 to this Quarterly Report.

Item 6. Exhibits

 

 

 

 

 

Incorporated by Reference

 

 

Exhibit Number

 

Exhibit Description

 

Form

 

Date

 

Number

 

Furnished or Filed Herewith

1.1

 

Sales Agreement, dated as of July 27, 2017, between Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. and Cowen and Company, LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

3.1

 

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation

 

8-K

 

2/5/2014

 

3.1

 

 

3.2

 

Amended and Restated Bylaws

 

8-K

 

2/5/2014

 

3.2

 

 

5.1

 

Opinion of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

23.1

 

Consent of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (contained in Exhibit 5.1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

31.1

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer Required Under Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) of the Exchange Act

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

31.2

 

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Required Under Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) of the Exchange Act

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

32.1*

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer Required Under Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) of the Exchange Act and 18 U.S.C. 1350

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.INS

 

XBRL Instance Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.SCH

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.CAL

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.DEF

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.LAB

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.PRE

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

 

*The certification attached as Exhibit 32.1 that accompanies this Quarterly Report is furnished to, and not deemed filed with, the SEC and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Registrant under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date of this Form 10-Q, irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.

 

  

 

50


 

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.

 

 

 

ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

 

 

 

Date: July 27, 2017

 

By:

/s/ Emil D. Kakkis

 

 

 

Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D.

 

 

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

(Duly Authorized Officer)

 

 

 

 

Date: July 27, 2017

By:

/s/ Shalini Sharp

 

 

 

Shalini Sharp

 

 

 

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

 

 

 

 

Date: July 27, 2017

By:

/s/ Theodore A. Huizenga

 

 

 

Theodore A. Huizenga

 

 

 

Vice President and Corporate Controller

(Principal Accounting Officer)

 

51

rare-ex11_260.htm

Exhibit 1.1

ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

$150,000,000



SALES AGREEMENT

July 27, 2017

 

Cowen and Company, LLC

599 Lexington Avenue 

New York, NY 10022 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”), as follows:

1.  Issuance and Sale of Shares.  The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through Cowen, acting as agent and/or principal, shares (the “Placement Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $150,000,000.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the number of shares of Common Stock issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and Cowen shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.  The issuance and sale of Common Stock through Cowen will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement (as defined below) to issue the Common Stock.  

The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-201838), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Common Stock, to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement.  The Company has furnished or made available to Cowen, for use by Cowen, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement Shares.  Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, as amended when it became effective, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the

EAST\42430474.3


 

Securities Act or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B or 462(b) of the Securities Act, is herein called the “Registration Statement.”  The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the Securities Act regulations (“Rule 433”), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g), is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”).

2.  Placements.  Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell the Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify Cowen by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires the Placement Shares to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the number of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined in Section 3) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made, a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters necessary is attached hereto as Schedule 1.  The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from Cowen set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by Cowen unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, Cowen declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares thereunder have been sold, (iii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Company suspends or terminates the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (iv) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding those on the earlier dated Placement Notice, or (v) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 11.   The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Cowen in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3.  It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor Cowen will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to Cowen and Cowen does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms

 


 

specified therein and herein.  In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.

3.  Sale of Placement Shares by Cowen.  Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Company’s delivery of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, Cowen, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice.  Cowen will provide written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold on such day, the compensation payable by the Company to Cowen pursuant to Section 2 with respect to such sales, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company.  Cowen may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act, including without limitation sales made through Nasdaq, on any other existing trading market for the Common Stock or to or through a market maker.  If expressly authorized by the Company in a Placement Notice, Cowen may also sell Placement Shares by any other method permitted by law, including but not limited to negotiated transactions.  Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(oo), Cowen shall not purchase Placement Shares for its own account as principal unless expressly authorized to do so by the Company in a Placement Notice.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that Cowen will be successful in selling Placement Shares, and (ii) Cowen will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by Cowen to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Section 3.  For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the Company’s Common Stock is purchased and sold on Nasdaq.

4.  Suspension of Sales.  

(a)The Company or Cowen may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice.  Each of the Parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto, as such schedule may be amended from time to time.

(b)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information, the Company and Cowen agree

 


 

that (i) no sale of Placement Shares will take place, (ii) the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and (iii) Cowen shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.

 

(c)If either Cowen or the Company has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Common Stock, it shall promptly notify the other party, and Cowen may, at its sole discretion, suspend sales of the Placement Shares under this Agreement.

 

5.  Settlement.

(a) Settlement of Placement Shares.  Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the third (3rd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date” and the first such settlement date, the “First Delivery Date”).  The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by Cowen at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction for (i) Cowen’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to Cowen hereunder pursuant to Section 7(g) (Expenses) hereof, and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.  

(b) Delivery of Placement Shares.  On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting Cowen’s or its designee’s account (provided Cowen shall have given the Company written notice of such designee at least one (1) Trading Day prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System (“DWAC”) or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form.  On each Settlement Date, Cowen will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date.  The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized Placement Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) (Indemnification and Contribution) hereto, it will (i) hold Cowen harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or reasonable documented expense (including reasonable and documented legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company and (ii) pay to Cowen any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.

6.  Representations and Warranties of the Company.  The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, Cowen that as of the date of this Agreement, each Representation Date (as defined below), each date on which a Placement Notice is given, and any date on which Placement Shares are sold hereunder:

(a) Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Registration Statement and any registration statement filed under Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act (a “Rule 462(b) Registration

 


 

Statement”) have been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act.  The Company has complied, to the Commission’s satisfaction, with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information.  No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated or threatened by the Commission.  The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S‑3 under the Securities Act.  The sale of the Placement Shares hereunder meets the requirements or General Instruction I.B.1. of Form S-3.

(b)  No Misstatement or Omission.  The Prospectus when filed complied and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act.  Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any post-effective amendments or supplements thereto, at the time it became effective or its date, as applicable, and as of each of the Settlement Dates, if any, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and (other than the Prospectus and any amendments and supplements thereto, which are addressed in the next sentence) did not and, as of each Settlement Date, if any, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date, did not and, as of each of the Settlement Dates, if any, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the two immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to Cowen furnished to the Company in writing by Cowen expressly for use therein.  There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required.

(c) Offering Materials Furnished to Cowen. The Company has delivered to Cowen one complete copy of the Registration Statement and a copy of each consent and certificate of experts filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits) and the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as Cowen has reasonably requested.

(d) Not an Ineligible Issuer. The Company currently is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 of the rules and regulation of the Commission.  The Company agrees to notify Cowen promptly upon the Company becoming an “ineligible issuer.”

(e) Distribution of Offering Material By the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of Cowen’s distribution of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares other than the Prospectus or the Registration Statement.

(f) The Sales Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by, and is a valid and binding agreement of, the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as rights to indemnification hereunder may be limited by applicable law and

 


 

except as the enforcement hereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights and remedies of creditors or by general equitable principles.  

(g) Authorization of the Common Stock. The Placement Shares, when issued and delivered, will be duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

(h) No Applicable Registration or Other Similar Rights. There are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, except for such rights as have been duly waived.  

(i) No Material Adverse Change.  Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus: (i) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, operations or prospects, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity (any such change is called a “Material Adverse Change”); (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity, have not incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent, not in the ordinary course of business nor entered into any material transaction or agreement not in the ordinary course of business: and (iii) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company or, except for regular quarterly dividends publicly announced by the Company or dividends paid to the Company or other subsidiaries, by any of its subsidiaries on any class of capital stock or repurchase or redemption by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any class of capital stock.

(j) Independent Accountants.  Ernst & Young LLP, who has expressed its opinion with respect to the financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto) and supporting schedules filed with the Commission or incorporated by reference as a part of the Registration Statement and included in the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.  

(k) Preparation of the Financial Statements. The financial statements filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement or incorporated by reference therein and included in the Prospectus present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as of and at the dates indicated and the results of their operations and cash flows for the periods specified.  Such financial statements and supporting schedules have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto.  No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in or incorporated in the Registration Statement.  

(l) XBRL. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called

 


 

for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

(m) Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company and its Subsidiaries. The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The entities listed on Schedule 4 hereto are the Company’s only significant subsidiaries (as defined in Rule 1-02 (w) of Regulation S-X of the Exchange Act) (the “Significant Subsidiaries”).  The Significant Subsidiaries have been duly organized and are validly existing as corporations in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of their organization and have the requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate their properties and to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus.  Each of the Company and each of the Significant Subsidiaries are duly qualified as a foreign corporation or foreign partnership to transact business and is in good standing in the State of California and each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except for such jurisdictions (other than the State of California) where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Change.  Except as described in the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of each of the Significant Subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned by the Company or its subsidiaries free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or claim.  The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than (i) the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year; (ii) those subsidiaries not required to be listed on Exhibit 21.1 by Item 601 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act; and (iii) those subsidiaries formed since the last day of the most recently ended fiscal year.

(n) Capital Stock Matters. The Common Stock conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus.  All of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and have been issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws.  None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock were issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company.  There are no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries other than those accurately described in all material respects in the Prospectus.  The description of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Prospectus accurately and fairly presents in all material respects the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.  

(o) Non-Contravention of Existing Instruments; No Further Authorizations or Approvals Required.   Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its charter or by-laws or is in default (or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, would be in default) (“Default”) under any indenture, mortgage, loan or credit agreement, note, contract, franchise, lease or other instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which it

 


 

or any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (each, an “Existing Instrument”), except for such Defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.  The Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Prospectus (i) have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and will not result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws of the Company or any subsidiary, (ii) will not conflict with or constitute a breach of, or Default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, or require the consent of any other party to, any Existing Instrument, except for such conflicts, breaches, Defaults, liens, charges or encumbrances as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change and (iii) will not result in any violation of any law, administrative regulation or administrative or court decree applicable to the Company or any subsidiary, except for such violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.  No consent, approval, authorization or other order of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental or regulatory authority or agency, is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Prospectus, except such as have been obtained or made by the Company under the Securities Act and are in full force and effect or that may be required under applicable state securities or blue sky laws and from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or Nasdaq.  

(p) No Material Actions or Proceedings.  Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental actions, suits or proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened (i) against the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) which has as the subject thereof any officer or director of, or property owned or leased by, the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) relating to environmental or discrimination matters, where in any such case (A) there is a reasonable possibility that such action, suit or proceeding might be determined adversely to the Company or such subsidiary and (B) any such action, suit or proceeding, if so determined adversely, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change or adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.  No material labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the Company’s knowledge, is threatened or imminent.  

(q) All Necessary Permits, etc.  The Company and each subsidiary possess such valid and current certificates, authorizations or permits issued by the appropriate state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, other than those the failure to possess or own would not result in a Material Adverse Change, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of, or non-compliance with, any such certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, could result in a Material Adverse Change.  

(r) Tax Law Compliance.  Subject to permitted extensions, the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries have filed all necessary federal, state and foreign income, property and franchise tax returns (or have properly requested extensions thereof) and have paid all taxes required to be paid by any of them and, if due and payable, any related or similar assessment, fine

 


 

or penalty levied against any of them except as may be being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings.  The Company has made adequate charges, accruals and reserves in the applicable financial statements referred to in Section 6(k) above in respect of all federal, state and foreign income, property and franchise taxes for all periods as to which the tax liability of the Company or any of its consolidated subsidiaries has not been finally determined.  

(s) Company Not an “Investment Company”. The Company has been advised of the rules and requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).  The Company is not, and after receipt of payment for the Common Stock will not be, an “investment company” within the meaning of Investment Company Act.

(t) Insurance.  Except as otherwise described in the Prospectus, each of the Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility with policies in such amounts and with such deductibles and covering such risks as are generally deemed prudent and customary for their businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  The Company has no reason to believe that it or any subsidiary will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.  

(u) No Price Stabilization or Manipulation.  The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares.  

(v) Related Party Transactions.  There are no business relationships or related-party transactions involving the Company or any subsidiary or any other person required to be described in the Prospectus which have not been described as required.

(w) Exchange Act Compliance.  The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, at the Settlement Dates, will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  

(x) No Unlawful Contributions or Other Payments.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended; or (iv) made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment.  

 


 

(y) Compliance with Money Laundering Laws.  The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(z) Compliance with OFAC.  None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Office Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”); and the Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering of the Placement Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

(aa) Internal Controls. The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls, including, but not limited to, internal controls over accounting matters and financial reporting, an internal audit function and legal and regulatory compliance controls (collectively, “Internal Controls”), that comply with the Securities Laws (as defined below) and sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Internal Controls are, or upon consummation of the offering of the Common Stock will be, overseen by the Audit Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) in accordance with Exchange Rules (as defined below). The Company has not publicly disclosed or reported to the Audit Committee or the Board, and within the next 90 days the Company does not reasonably expect to publicly disclose or report to the Audit Committee or the Board, a significant deficiency, material weakness, change in Internal Controls or fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in Internal Controls (each, an “Internal Control Event”), any violation of, or failure to comply with, the Securities Laws, or any matter which, if determined adversely, would have a Material Adverse Change.  Securities Laws” means, collectively, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley”), the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations of the Commission, the auditing principles, rules, standards and practices applicable to auditors of “issuers” (as defined in Sarbanes-Oxley) promulgated or approved by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as applicable, the rules of the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Exchange Rules”).

(bb) Disclosure Controls. The Company has established and maintains “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a−15(e) and 15d−15(e) of the Exchange Act); the

 


 

Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” are reasonably designed to ensure that all information (both financial and non−financial) required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or furnishes under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and regulations of the Commission, and that all such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to make the certifications of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company required under the Exchange Act with respect to such reports.

(cc) Compliance with Environmental Laws. Except as otherwise described in the Prospectus, and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any applicable federal, state, local or foreign law or regulation relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including without limitation, applicable laws and regulations relating to emissions, discharges, releases or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened releases of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum and petroleum products (collectively, “Materials of Environmental Concern”), or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Materials of Environmental Concern (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), which violation includes, but is not limited to, noncompliance with any permits or other governmental authorizations required for the operation of the business of the Company or its subsidiaries under applicable Environmental Laws, or noncompliance with the terms and conditions thereof, nor has the Company or any of its subsidiaries received any written communication, whether from a governmental authority, citizens group, employee or otherwise, that alleges that the Company or any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any Environmental Law; (ii) there is no claim, action or cause of action filed with a court or governmental authority, no investigation with respect to which the Company has received written notice, and no written notice by any person or entity alleging potential liability for investigatory costs, cleanup costs, governmental responses costs, natural resources damages, property damages, personal injuries, attorneys’ fees or penalties arising out of, based on or resulting from the presence, or release into the environment, of any Material of Environmental Concern at any location owned, leased or operated by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, now or in the past (collectively, “Environmental Claims”), pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any person or entity whose liability for any Environmental Claim the Company or any of its subsidiaries has retained or assumed either contractually or by operation of law; and (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no past or present actions, activities, circumstances, conditions, events or incidents, including, without limitation, the release, emission, discharge, presence or disposal of any Material of Environmental Concern, that would reasonably be expected to result in a violation of any Environmental Law or form the basis of a potential Environmental Claim against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or against any person or entity whose liability for any Environmental Claim the Company or any of its subsidiaries has retained or assumed either contractually or by operation of law.

(dd) Intellectual Property.  The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess the valid right to use all (i) patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark registrations, service marks, service mark registrations, Internet domain name registrations, copyrights, copyright registrations,

 


 

licenses, trade secret rights (“Intellectual Property Rights”) and (ii) inventions, software, works of authorships, trademarks, service marks, trade names, databases, formulae, know how, Internet domain names and other intellectual property (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary confidential information, systems, or procedures) (collectively, "Intellectual Property Assets") necessary to conduct their respective businesses as currently conducted, and as proposed to be conducted and described in the Prospectus, except to the extent that the failure to own or possess valid rights to use such Intellectual Property Rights or Intellectual Property Assets would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.  The Company and its subsidiaries have not received any opinion from their legal counsel concluding that any activities of their respective businesses infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate, valid and enforceable Intellectual Property Rights of any other person, and have not received written notice of any challenge, which is to their knowledge still pending, by any other person to the rights of the Company and its subsidiaries with respect to any Intellectual Property Rights or Intellectual Property Assets owned or used by the Company or its subsidiaries.  To the knowledge of the Company, the Company and its subsidiaries’ respective businesses as now conducted do not give rise to any material infringement of, any material misappropriation of, or other material violation of, any valid and enforceable Intellectual Property Rights of any other person.  To the Company’s knowledge, all licenses for the use of the Intellectual Property Rights described in the Prospectus are valid, binding upon, and enforceable by or against the parties thereto in accordance to its terms.  The Company has complied in all material respects with, and is not in breach nor has received any asserted or threatened claim of material breach of any Intellectual Property license, and the Company has no knowledge of any material breach or anticipated material breach by any other person to any Intellectual Property license to which the Company is a party.  Except as described in the Prospectus, no claim has been made against the Company alleging the material infringement by the Company of any patent, trademark, service mark, trade name, copyright, trade secret, license in or other intellectual property right or franchise right of any person.  The Company has taken all reasonable steps to protect, maintain and safeguard its Intellectual Property Rights, including the execution of appropriate nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, except to the extent that failure to take such steps or execute such agreements would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.  The consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in the loss or impairment of or payment of any additional amounts with respect to, nor require the consent of any other person in respect of, the Company's right to own, use, or hold for use any of the Intellectual Property Rights as owned, used or held for use in the conduct of the business as currently conducted.  

(ee) Listing. The shares of Common Stock are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and listed on Nasdaq; the Company has taken no action designed to, or reasonably likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Stock from Nasdaq, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or FINRA is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.

(ff) Regulatory Compliance. The conduct of business by the Company and each of the Significant Subsidiaries complies, and at all times has complied, in all material respects with federal, state, local and foreign laws, statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, decrees, orders, Permits and other similar items (“Laws”) applicable to its business, including, without limitation:

 


 

(a) the U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.), the Public Health Services Act (“PHSA”) ( 42 U.S.C. § 262), the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws, each as may be amended from time to time, and similar federal, state, local and foreign Laws; (b) the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Toxic Substance Control Act and similar federal, state, local and foreign Laws applicable to hazardous or regulated substances and radioactive or biologic materials; (c) the federal Antikickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the Stark Law (42 U.S.C. §§ 1395nn), any applicable state fraud and abuse prohibitions, including those that apply to all payors (governmental, commercial insurance and self-payors), the Anti-Inducement Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a(a)(5)), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq.), the administrative False Claims Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), the civil monetary penalty laws (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a), the Program Fraud and Civil Remedies Act (31 U.S.C. § 3801 et seq.), the criminal false claims statutes (e.g., 18 U.S.C. §§ 287 and 1001), the exclusion laws (42 U.S.C. § 1320a- 7), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. § 1320d et seq.), as amended by the Health Information, Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, the exclusion laws (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7), any federal or state billing or reimbursement laws or related guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or any applicable state Medicaid agency, and any comparable state or local laws, and the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws, each as amended from time to time; and (d) licensing, permitting, authorizing, approving and certification Laws covering any aspect of the business of the Company or any of the Significant Subsidiaries, except where such noncompliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of the Significant Subsidiaries has received any notification asserting, or has knowledge of, any present or past failure to comply with or violation of any such Laws nor has the Company nor any of the Significant Subsidiaries received any notification of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any license, permit, approval, certification, authorization or other governmental license. Except to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the pending and completed clinical, pre-clinical and other studies, tests and research conducted by the Company or any of the Significant Subsidiaries or on behalf of the Company or any of the Significant Subsidiaries that are disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, if still pending, are and, if completed, were conducted in compliance, in all material respects, with, to the extent applicable, the FDCA and the regulations and guidelines promulgated thereunder, including Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and other U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulations and guidelines governing clinical studies, current good laboratory practices and good clinical practices, the International Conference on Harmonisation Guidelines, the protocols submitted to the FDA, and applicable institutional review board and independent ethics committee requirements; the drug substances used in the clinical trials have been manufactured under current Good Manufacturing Practices; the descriptions of the preclinical and clinical studies and results thereof, conducted by or, on behalf of the Company or any of the Significant Subsidiaries, contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects; neither the Company nor any of the Significant Subsidiaries are in receipt of any written communications from the FDA or any foreign, state or local governmental body exercising comparable authority that reasonably call into question the results of the studies described or referred to in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; and neither the Company nor any of the Significant Subsidiaries have received any notice or correspondence from the FDA or any foreign, state or local governmental body exercising comparable authority requiring the termination, suspension, or clinical hold of any tests or

 


 

preclinical or clinical studies, or such written notice or correspondence from any Institutional Review Board or comparable authority requiring the termination or suspension of a clinical study, conducted by or on behalf of the Company or any of the Significant Subsidiaries, which termination, suspension, or clinical hold would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change. No filing or submission to the FDA or any other regulatory body, to the knowledge of the Company, contains any material omission or, material false information.

(gg) Title to Property. To the knowledge of the Company, the Company and the Significant Subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all of the properties and assets reflected in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, including the financial statements contained therein, subject to no lien, mortgage, pledge, charge or encumbrance of any kind except those reflected in such financial statements (or as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus) or which are not material in amount. To the knowledge of the Company, the Company and the Significant Subsidiaries occupy their material leased properties under valid and binding leases conforming in all material respects to the descriptions thereof set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus with no terms or provisions that would materially interfere with the use made or to be made thereof by them.

(hh)    Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate.

(ii) Brokers.  Except for commissions payable to Cowen as described in Schedule 3, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.  

(jj) Forward-Looking Statements. The information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus regarding the Company’s expectations, plans and intentions, and any other information that constitutes “forward-looking” information within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act were made by the Company on a reasonable basis and reflect the Company’s good faith belief and/or estimate of the matters described therein.

(kk) Exchange Act Reporting. The Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

(ll) ERISA Compliance. The Company is in compliance in all respects with all presently applicable provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (“ERISA”), except for any noncompliance that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change; no “reportable event” (as defined in ERISA) has occurred with respect to any “pension plan” (as defined in ERISA) subject to Title IV of ERISA for which the Company would have any material liability; the Company has not incurred and does not reasonably expect to incur any material liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any “pension plan” or (ii) Sections 412 or 4971 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations

 


 

thereunder (the “Code”); and each “pension plan” for which the Company would have any liability that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified in all material respects and, to the Company’s knowledge, nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification.

(mm) Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. The Company and the Board are in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and all applicable Exchange Rules. There are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees of indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the executive officers or directors of the Company or any of their respective family members, except as disclosed in the Prospectus. The Company has not directly or indirectly extended or maintained credit, arranged for the extension of credit, or renewed an extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan to or for any director or executive officer of the Company.

(nn)     No Reliance.  The Company has not relied upon Cowen or legal counsel for Cowen for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.

(oo) Cowen Purchases.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that Cowen has informed the Company that Cowen may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and this Agreement, purchase and sell shares of Common Stock for its own account while this Agreement is in effect, provided, that (i) no such purchase or sales shall take place while a Placement Notice is in effect (except to the extent Cowen may engage in sales of Placement Shares purchased or deemed purchased from the Company as a “riskless principal” or in a similar capacity) and (ii) the Company shall not be deemed to have authorized or consented to any such purchases or sales by Cowen.

Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to Cowen or to counsel for Cowen in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to Cowen as to the matters set forth therein.

The Company acknowledges that Cowen and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 7 hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to Cowen, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.

7.  Covenants of the Company.  The Company covenants and agrees with Cowen that:

(a) Registration Statement Amendments.  After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), (i) the Company will notify Cowen promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference or amendments not related to the Placement Shares, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus related to the Placement Shares has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement (insofar as it relates to the transactions contemplated hereby) or Prospectus or for additional information, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon Cowen’s request, any amendments or

 


 

supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in Cowen’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by Cowen (provided, however, that the failure of Cowen to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Cowen’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and, provided further, that the only remedy Cowen shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to make such filing shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to Cowen within a reasonable period of time before the filing and Cowen has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that (A) the failure of Cowen to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Cowen’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, (B) the Company has no obligation to provide Cowen any advance copy of such filing or to provide Cowen an opportunity to object to such filing if the filing does not name Cowen or does not relate to the transaction herein provided and (C) the only remedy Cowen shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to provide Cowen with such copy or the filing of such amendment or supplement despite Cowen’s objection shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to Cowen at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR, and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act.

(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders.  The Company will advise Cowen, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued.

(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes.  During any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares, (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports (taking into account any extensions available under the Exchange Act) and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act.  If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify Cowen to suspend the offering of

 


 

Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.

(d) Listing of Placement Shares.  During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on Nasdaq and to qualify the Placement Shares for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as Cowen reasonably designates and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or dealer in securities or file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.

(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus.  The Company will furnish to Cowen and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as Cowen may from time to time reasonably request and, at Cowen’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to Cowen to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.  

(f) Earnings Statement.  The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act.

(g) Expenses.  The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereunder, will pay the following expenses all incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of each Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto, (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(d) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for Cowen in connection therewith shall be paid by Cowen except as set forth in (vii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to Cowen of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on Nasdaq, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, of the Commission, and (vii) the filing fees for filings with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department.    

 


 

(h) Use of Proceeds.  The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”

(i) Notice of Other Sales.  During the pendency of any Placement Notice given hereunder, and for 5 trading days following the termination of any Placement Notice given hereunder, the Company shall provide Cowen notice as promptly as reasonably possible before it offers to sell, contracts to sell, sells, grants any option to sell or otherwise disposes of any shares of Common Stock (other than Placement Shares offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Stock; provided, that such notice shall not be required in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Common Stock, options to purchase shares of Common Stock or Common Stock issuable upon the vesting or exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to the any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement described in the Prospectus, (ii) the issuance of securities in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets or (iii) the issuance or sale of Common Stock pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan that the Company may adopt from time to time provided the implementation of such is disclosed to Cowen in advance or (iv) any shares of common stock issuable upon the exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding.

(j) Change of Circumstances.  The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Shares, advise Cowen promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided to Cowen pursuant to this Agreement.

(k) Due Diligence Cooperation.  During the term of this Agreement, the Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by Cowen or its agents in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as Cowen may reasonably request.

(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares.  The Company agrees that on such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (each and every filing under Rule 424(b), a “Filing Date”), which prospectus supplement will set forth, to the extent required, within the relevant period, the amount of Placement Shares sold through Cowen, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to Cowen with respect to such Placement Shares, and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market.

(m) Representation Dates; Certificate.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date and, thereafter, each time the Company (i) files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) of this Agreement) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares; (ii) files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act; (iii)

 


 

files its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or (iv) files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release) under the Exchange Act (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a Representation Date); the Company shall furnish Cowen with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) within three (3) Trading Days of any Representation Date.  The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be automatically waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date); provided, however, that such waiver shall not apply for any Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide Cowen with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or Cowen sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide Cowen with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of the Placement Notice.

(n) Legal Opinion.  (i) On or prior to the First Delivery Date, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Cowen a written opinion and negative assurance statement of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP (“Company Counsel”), or other counsel reasonably satisfactory to Cowen, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered and (ii) within the later of (A) three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) or (B) the date a Placement Notice is first delivered by the Company following a Representation Date, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Cowen a negative assurance statement of Company Counsel, dated the date that the negative assurance statement is required to be delivered, provided, however, with respect to a Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K the Company shall not be required to furnish any such negative assurance statement if the Company does not intend to deliver a Placement Notice in such calendar year until such time as the Company delivers its next Placement Notice; provided, further, that in lieu of such negative assurance statements for subsequent Representation Dates, counsel may furnish Cowen with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that Cowen may rely on a prior negative assurance statement delivered under this Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior negative assurance statements shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).

(o) Comfort Letter.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within the later of (A) three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) or (B) the date a Placement Notice is first delivered by the Company following a Representation Date, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish Cowen letters (the Comfort Letters), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to Cowen in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the Initial Comfort Letter) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any

 


 

information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.

(p) Market Activities.  The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase the Placement Shares to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than Cowen; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase shares of its common stock in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.

(q) Insurance.  The Company and its subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for the business for which it is engaged.

(r) Compliance with Laws.  The Company and each of its subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental permits, licenses and other authorizations required by applicable federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus, and the Company and each of its subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations and with applicable environmental laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.

(s) Investment Company Act.  The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor its subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act, assuming no change in the Commission’s current interpretation as to entities that are not considered an investment company.

(t) Securities Act and Exchange Act.  The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.

(u) No Offer to Sell.  Other than a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) approved in advance by the Company and Cowen in its capacity as principal or agent hereunder, neither Cowen nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than Cowen in its capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder

(v) Sarbanes-Oxley.  The Company and the subsidiaries will use commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all effective applicable provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley.

 


 

8.  Conditions to Cowen’s Obligations. The obligations of Cowen hereunder with respect to a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by Cowen of a due diligence review satisfactory to Cowen in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by Cowen in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:

(a) Registration Statement Effective.  The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for (i) all sales of Placement Shares issued pursuant to all prior Placement Notices and (ii) the sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice.

(b) No Material Notices.  None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing:  (i) receipt by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, related Prospectus or such documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission.  Cowen shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in Cowen’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in Cowen’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

(d) Material Changes.  Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any Material Adverse Change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Change or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change, or any downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities) by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of Cowen

 


 

(without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.

(e) Company Counsel Legal Opinion.  Cowen shall have received the opinions of Company Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n).

(f) Cowen Counsel Legal Opinion.  Cowen shall have received from Goodwin Procter LLP, counsel for Cowen, such opinion or opinions, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as Cowen may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.

(g) Comfort Letter.  Cowen shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(o) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(o).

(h) Representation Certificate.  Cowen shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(m).

(i) Secretary’s Certificate.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date, Cowen shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its corporate Secretary, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel.

(j) No Suspension.  Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended on Nasdaq.

(k) Other Materials.  On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m), the Company shall have furnished to Cowen such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as Cowen may have reasonably requested. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company will furnish Cowen with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as Cowen shall have reasonably requested.

(l) Securities Act Filings Made.  All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.

(m) No Termination Event.  There shall not have occurred any event that would permit Cowen to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).

9.  Indemnification and Contribution.

(a) Company Indemnification.  The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Cowen, the directors, officers, partners, employees and agents of Cowen and each person, if any, who (i) controls Cowen within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with Cowen (a “Cowen

 


 

Affiliate”) from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including, but not limited to, any and all reasonable investigative, legal and other expenses  incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with Section 9(c)) of, any action, suit or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), as and when incurred, to which Cowen, or any such person, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based, directly or indirectly, on (x) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any free writing prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Company or based on written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Common Stock under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document, other than the Prospectus and any amendments and supplements thereto, a material fact required to be stated in it or necessary to make the statements in it not misleading or the omission or alleged omission to state in the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto a material fact necessary in order to make the statements in it, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading or (z) any breach by any of the indemnifying parties of any of their respective representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement; provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and is caused directly or indirectly by an untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to Cowen and furnished to the Company by Cowen expressly for inclusion in the Registration Statement or Prospectus. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.

(b) Cowen Indemnification. Cowen agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company that signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 9(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to Cowen and furnished to the Company by Cowen expressly for inclusion in the Registration Statement or Prospectus.

(c) Procedure.  Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 9 will, promptly after receipt of written notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 9, notify in writing each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the failure to so notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 9 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 9 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission

 


 

results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly as they are incurred. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent.  No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 9 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding.

(d) Contribution.  In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or Cowen, the Company and Cowen will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than Cowen, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and Cowen may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and Cowen on the other. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand

 


 

and Cowen on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total Net Proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by Cowen from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company.  If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and Cowen, on the other, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or Cowen, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and Cowen agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 9(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 9(c) hereof.  Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(d), Cowen shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 9(d), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees or agents of Cowen, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer and each director of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 9(d), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 9(d) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 9(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof.

10.  Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery.  The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 9 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of Cowen, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.

 


 

11.  Termination.

(a) Cowen shall have the right by giving notice as hereinafter specified at any time to terminate this Agreement if (i) any Material Adverse Change, or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change has occurred that, in the reasonable judgment of Cowen, may materially impair the ability of Cowen to sell the Placement Shares hereunder, (ii) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder; provided, however, in the case of any failure of the Company to deliver (or cause another person to deliver) any certification, opinion, or letter required under Sections 7(m), 7(n), or 7(o), Cowen’s right to terminate shall not arise unless such failure to deliver (or cause to be delivered) continues for more than thirty (30) days from the date such delivery was required; (iii) any other condition of Cowen’s obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, or (iv), any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement Shares or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g) (Expenses), Section 9 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 10 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 16 (Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction) and Section 17 (Waiver of Jury Trial) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If Cowen elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), Cowen shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12 (Notices).

(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

(c) Cowen shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

(d) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 11, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement Shares through Cowen on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 11(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect.

(f) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by Cowen or the Company, as the case may be. If

 


 

such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

(g) Subject to the additional limitations set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement, in the event of termination of this Agreement prior to the sale of any Placement Shares, Cowen shall be entitled only to reimbursement of its reasonable out of pocket expenses actually incurred.

12.  Notices.  All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, and if sent to Cowen, shall be delivered to Cowen at Cowen and Company, LLC, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022, fax no. 646-562-1124, Attention:  General Counsel with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to Goodwin Procter LLP, fax no. 212-355-3333, attention:  Michael D. Maline, or if sent to the Company, shall be delivered to Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., fax no. 415-483-8810, attention: Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, fax no. 415-374-8430, attention: Ryan A. Murr. Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose.  Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally, by e-mail or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day (as defined below), or, if such day is not a Business Day on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier and (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Nasdaq and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.

13.  Successors and Assigns.  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and Cowen and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 9 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that Cowen may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of Cowen without obtaining the Company’s consent.

14.  Adjustments for Share Splits.  The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any share split, share dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Common Stock.

15.  Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability.  This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and Cowen.  In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or

 


 

unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement.

16.  Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any transaction contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper.  Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof.  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.

17.  Waiver of Jury Trial.  The Company and Cowen each hereby irrevocably waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby.

18.  Absence of Fiduciary Relationship.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

(a) Cowen has been retained solely to act as sales agent in connection with the sale of the Common Stock and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and Cowen has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether Cowen has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

(b) the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

(c) the Company has been advised that Cowen and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that Cowen has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and

(d) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against Cowen, for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that Cowen shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, partners, employees or creditors of the Company.

 


 

19.  Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by electronic or facsimile transmission.

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]

 

 


 

If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and Cowen, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and Cowen.  

Very truly yours,

 

COWEN AND COMPANY, LLC

 

 

By:      _/s/ Robert Sine___________

Name:  Robert Sine

Title:  Managing Director

 

 

 

ACCEPTED as of the date

first-above written:

 

ULTRAGENYX PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

 

 

By:  __/s/ Emil D. Kakkis   _______

Name:  Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D.

Title:  Chief Executive Officer and President

 

 

 

Signature Page to Sales Agreement


 

SCHEDULE 1

form of PLACEMENT NOTICE

 

From:

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.

To:

Cowen and Company, LLC

Subject: Cowen At The Market Offering—Placement Notice

Gentlemen:

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (the “Company”), and Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”) dated July 27, 2017 (the “Agreement”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that Cowen sell up to [●] shares of the Company’s common stock, par value 0.001 per share, at a minimum market price of $[●] per share.  Sales should begin on the date of this Notice and shall continue until [DATE] [all shares are sold] [the aggregate sales price of the shares reaches $[●]].

 

 

 


 

SCHEDULE 2

 

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.:
Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D.                 Chief Executive Officer and President

Shalini SharpChief Financial Officer

 

Cowen and Company, LLC:

Rob SineManaging Director

William FollisDirector

 

 

 

 

 


 

SCHEDULE 3

 

Compensation

Cowen shall be paid compensation of up to 3.00% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Common Stock pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 


 

SCHEDULE 4

Significant Subsidiaries

None

 


 

Exhibit 7(m)

 

 

 

OFFICER CERTIFICATE

 

 

The undersigned, the duly qualified and appointed _______________________, of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (“Company”), a Delaware corporation, does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 7(m) of the Sales Agreement dated July 31, 2017 (the “Sales Agreement”) between the Company and Cowen and Company, LLC, that to the knowledge of the undersigned.

 

(i)

The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the Sales Agreement (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Change, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications or exceptions, are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date; and

(ii)

The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sales Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.

 

 

 

 

By:

Name:

Title:

 

 

Date:

 

2

rare-ex51_346.htm

Exhibit 5.1

 

Client: 93631-00001

 

July 27, 2017

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
60 Leveroni Ct.
Novato, CA 94949

Re:

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
Registration Statement on Form S‑3 (File No. 333-201838)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have examined the Registration Statement on Form S-3, File No. 333-201838 (the “Registration Statement”), of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the prospectus supplement thereto dated July 27, 2017 (the “Prospectus Supplement”), in connection with the offering by the Company of up to $150,000,000 of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, (the “Shares”).

In arriving at the opinion expressed below, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction as being true and complete copies of the originals, of specimen Common Stock certificate and such other documents, corporate records, certificates of officers of the Company and of public officials and other instruments as we have deemed necessary or advisable to enable us to render the opinions set forth below.  In our examination, we have assumed without independent investigation the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations set forth herein, we are of the opinion that the Shares, when issued against payment therefor as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus Supplement thereto, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

We consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and we further consent to the use of our name under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus Supplement.  In giving these consents, we do not thereby admit

 


Page 2

that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission.

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

/s/ GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP

 

GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP

 

rare-ex311_8.htm

 

Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Emil D. Kakkis, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.;

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

a)

Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b)

Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

c)

Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

d)

Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a)

All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b)

Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Dated: July 27, 2017

 

/s/ Emil D Kakkis

 

 

Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D.

 

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

rare-ex312_6.htm

 

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Shalini Sharp, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.;

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

a)

Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b)

Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

c)

Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

d)

Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a)

All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b)

Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Dated: July 27, 2017

 

/s/ Shalini Sharp

 

 

Shalini Sharp

 

 

Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President

 

 

(Principal Financial Officer)

 

 

rare-ex321_7.htm

 

Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF

THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002 (18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350)

In connection with the accompanying Quarterly Report of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 (the “Report”), I, Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Shalini Sharp, as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

 

(1)

The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

 

(2)

The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

Dated: July 27, 2017

 

/s/ Emil D. Kakkis

 

 

Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D.

 

 

President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

 

Dated: July 27, 2017

 

/s/ Shalini Sharp

 

 

Shalini Sharp

 

 

Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President

(Principal Financial Officer)