e10vq
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 10-Q
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þ |
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QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For The Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2006
or
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o |
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the Transition Period from to
Commission File Number: 000-50767
Critical Therapeutics, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
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Delaware
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04-3523569 |
(State or Other Jurisdiction of
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(I.R.S. Employer |
Incorporation or Organization)
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Identification No.) |
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60 Westview Street |
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Lexington, Massachusetts
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02421 |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
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(Zip Code) |
(781) 402-5700
(Registrants 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 þ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated
filer or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of accelerated filer and large accelerated filer
in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large Accelerated Filer o Accelerated Filer þ Non-Accelerated Filer o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ
As
of November 7, 2006, the registrant had 42,005,530 shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par
value per share, outstanding.
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
FORM 10-Q
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 of 60
PART I. Financial Information
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This quarterly report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the Exchange
Act. For this purpose, any statements contained herein, other than statements of historical fact,
including statements regarding the expected timing and outcome of the New Drug Application, or
NDA, submission for the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, or zileuton CR, the expected
timing and amounts of restructuring charges, possible therapeutic benefits and market acceptance of
ZYFLO® (zileuton tablets), and, if approved, zileuton CR, the progress and timing of our drug
development programs and related trials, the efficacy of our drug candidates, our strategy, future
operations, financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives
of management, may be forward-looking statements under the provisions of The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We may, in some cases, use words such as anticipate, believe,
could, estimate, expect, intend, may, plan, project, should, will, would or
other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking
statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including our critical accounting estimates
and risks relating to: the expected timing and outcome of the NDA for zileuton CR and related
discussions with the FDA; our ability to transition our management team effectively; our ability
to rely on historical data in seeking marketing approval for zileuton CR, including
the sufficiency and acceptability of the results of the pharmacokinetic studies of zileuton CR for
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, purposes; our ability to develop and maintain the
necessary sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities to commercialize ZYFLO,
and, if approved, zileuton CR; our ability to successfully market and sell ZYFLO with a reduced
sales force; patient physician and third-party payor acceptance of ZYFLO and, if approved, zileuton
CR, as a safe and effective therapeutic product; adverse side effects experienced by patients
taking ZYFLO and, if approved, zileuton CR; the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials
with respect to our products under development and whether such results will be indicative of
results obtained in later clinical trials; our heavy dependence on the
commercial success of ZYFLO and, if approved, zileuton CR; our ability to obtain the substantial
additional funding required to conduct our research, development and commercialization activities;
our dependence on our strategic collaboration with MedImmune, Inc; and our ability to obtain,
maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for ZYFLO, our discoveries
and drug candidates. These and other risks are described in greater detail below under the caption
Risk Factors in Part II, Item 1A. If one or more of these factors materialize, or if any
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary
materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. In addition, any forward-looking statements in this quarterly report
represent our views only as of the date of this quarterly report and should not be relied upon as
representing our views as of any subsequent date. We anticipate that subsequent events and
developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these
forward-looking statements publicly at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any
obligation to do so, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Our
forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers,
dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.
3 of 60
Item 1. Financial Statements
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)
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September 30, |
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December 31, |
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in thousands, except share data |
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2006 |
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2005 |
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Assets: |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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$ |
35,557 |
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$ |
57,257 |
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Accounts receivable, net |
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895 |
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1,024 |
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Amount due under collaboration agreements |
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250 |
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205 |
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Short-term investments |
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4,638 |
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25,554 |
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Inventory, net |
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2,863 |
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1,869 |
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Prepaid expenses and other |
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1,086 |
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2,179 |
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Total current assets |
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45,289 |
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88,088 |
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Fixed assets, net |
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3,143 |
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3,563 |
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Other assets |
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168 |
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168 |
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Total assets |
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$ |
48,600 |
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$ |
91,819 |
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Liabilities and Stockholders Equity: |
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Current liabilities: |
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Current portion of long-term debt and capital lease obligations |
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$ |
1,106 |
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$ |
1,179 |
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Accounts payable |
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1,508 |
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4,615 |
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Accrued expenses |
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4,639 |
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4,876 |
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Revenue deferred under collaboration agreements |
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1,010 |
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5,706 |
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Deferred product revenue |
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1,262 |
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1,707 |
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Total current liabilities |
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9,525 |
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18,083 |
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Long-term debt and capital lease obligations, less current portion |
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663 |
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1,489 |
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Stockholders equity: |
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Preferred stock, par value $0.001; authorized 5,000,000 shares; no shares issued and outstanding |
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Common stock, par value $0.001; authorized 90,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 34,295,866
and 34,126,977 shares at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively |
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34 |
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34 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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184,209 |
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181,718 |
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Deferred stock-based compensation |
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(155 |
) |
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(3,794 |
) |
Accumulated deficit |
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(145,647 |
) |
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(105,617 |
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Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
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(29 |
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(94 |
) |
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Total stockholders equity |
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38,412 |
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72,247 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders equity |
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$ |
48,600 |
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$ |
91,819 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
4 of 60
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
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Three Months Ended |
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Nine Months Ended |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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in thousands except share and per share data |
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2006 |
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2005 |
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2006 |
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2005 |
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Revenues: |
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Net product sales |
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$ |
1,879 |
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$ |
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$ |
4,710 |
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$ |
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Revenue under collaboration agreements |
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2,499 |
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1,335 |
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5,446 |
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4,125 |
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Total revenues |
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4,378 |
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1,335 |
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10,156 |
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4,125 |
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Costs and expenses: |
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Cost of products sold |
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267 |
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1,662 |
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Research and development |
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6,736 |
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8,873 |
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23,063 |
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22,188 |
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Sales and marketing |
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3,906 |
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4,049 |
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16,476 |
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7,042 |
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General and administrative |
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2,907 |
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3,103 |
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10,916 |
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8,777 |
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Total costs and expenses |
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13,816 |
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16,025 |
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52,117 |
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38,007 |
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Operating loss |
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(9,438 |
) |
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(14,690 |
) |
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(41,961 |
) |
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(33,882 |
) |
Other income (expense): |
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Interest income |
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612 |
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794 |
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2,100 |
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1,619 |
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Interest expense |
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(54 |
) |
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(61 |
) |
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(169 |
) |
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(140 |
) |
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Total other income |
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558 |
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733 |
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1,931 |
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1,479 |
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Net loss |
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($ |
8,880 |
) |
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($ |
13,957 |
) |
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($ |
40,030 |
) |
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($ |
32,403 |
) |
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Net loss per share |
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($ |
0.26 |
) |
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($ |
0.41 |
) |
|
($ |
1.17 |
) |
|
($ |
1.17 |
) |
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Basic and
diluted weighted-average common shares
outstanding |
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34,251,656 |
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33,976,026 |
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34,184,551 |
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|
27,664,953 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
5 of 60
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
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September 30, |
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in thousands |
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2006 |
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2005 |
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Cash flows from operating activities: |
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Net loss |
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($ |
40,030 |
) |
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($ |
32,403 |
) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
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Depreciation and amortization expense |
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745 |
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|
566 |
|
Amortization of premiums on short-term investments and other |
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(72 |
) |
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791 |
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Loss on disposal of fixed assets |
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51 |
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Reserve for inventory |
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757 |
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Stock-based compensation expense |
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|
6,009 |
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|
1,983 |
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Changes in assets and liabilities: |
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Accounts receivable |
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129 |
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Amount due under collaboration agreements |
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(45 |
) |
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|
(423 |
) |
Inventory |
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|
(1,751 |
) |
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|
(1,309 |
) |
Prepaid expenses and other |
|
|
1,093 |
|
|
|
(131 |
) |
Accounts payable |
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|
(3,107 |
) |
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|
434 |
|
Accrued expenses |
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|
(237 |
) |
|
|
2,682 |
|
Revenue deferred under collaboration agreements |
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(4,696 |
) |
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|
(2,580 |
) |
Deferred product revenue |
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(445 |
) |
|
|
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Net cash used in operating activities |
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(41,599 |
) |
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(30,390 |
) |
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Cash flows from investing activities: |
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Purchases of fixed assets |
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(376 |
) |
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(1,674 |
) |
Proceeds from sales and maturities of short-term investments |
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|
32,855 |
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|
55,423 |
|
Purchases of short-term investments |
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|
(11,802 |
) |
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|
(31,261 |
) |
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|
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Net cash provided by investing activities |
|
|
20,677 |
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|
|
22,488 |
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Cash flows from financing activities: |
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|
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Net proceeds from private placement of common stock |
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51,362 |
|
Proceeds from exercise of stock options |
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|
121 |
|
|
|
66 |
|
Repayments of long-term debt and capital lease obligations |
|
|
(899 |
) |
|
|
(300 |
) |
|
|
|
|
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Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities |
|
|
(778 |
) |
|
|
51,128 |
|
|
|
|
|
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Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
|
|
(21,700 |
) |
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|
43,226 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
|
|
57,257 |
|
|
|
11,980 |
|
|
|
|
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
|
$ |
35,557 |
|
|
$ |
55,206 |
|
|
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Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information: |
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Cash paid during the period for: |
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Interest |
|
$ |
173 |
|
|
$ |
140 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
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|
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Non-cash investing and financing activities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Fixed assets acquired under capital lease obligation |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
125 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized gain on investments |
|
$ |
65 |
|
|
$ |
184 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
6 of 60
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
(1) Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of
Critical Therapeutics, Inc. and its subsidiary (the Company), and have been prepared in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for
interim financial information and with Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not
include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America for complete financial statements. The Company believes that all
adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair
presentation, have been included. The information included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q
should be read in conjunction with Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations and the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in
the Companys annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.
Operating results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 are
not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that
affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and
liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and
expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates or
assumptions. The more significant estimates reflected in these financial statements include certain
judgments regarding revenue recognition, inventory valuation, accrued and prepaid expenses and
valuation of stock-based compensation.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In July 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Interpretation No. 48,
Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 (FIN 48),
which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprises
financial statements in accordance with FAS 109 and prescribes a recognition threshold and
measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position
taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance on derecognition,
classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition.
FIN 48 will be effective beginning with the first annual period after December 15, 2006. The
Company is evaluating what impact, if any, the adoption of this standard will have on its financial
position or results of operations.
(2) Revenue Recognition
Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue
The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commissions
Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101, Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements, or SAB 101, as
amended by SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, Revenue Recognition, or SAB 104. Specifically,
revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or
services have been rendered, the price is fixed and determinable and collectibility is reasonably
assured. The Companys revenue is currently derived from product sales of its only commercial
product, ZYFLO, and its collaboration agreements. These collaboration agreements provide for
various payments, including research and development funding, license fees, milestone payments and
royalties.
The Company sells ZYFLO, a tablet formulation of zileuton, to wholesalers, distributors and
pharmacies, which have the right to return purchased product. In accordance with SFAS No. 48,
Revenue Recognition When Right of Return Exists, the Company cannot recognize revenue on product
shipments until it can reasonably estimate returns relating to these shipments. Under SFAS No. 48,
the Company defers recognition of revenue on product shipments of ZYFLO to its customers until the
product is dispensed through patient prescriptions. The Company estimates prescription units
dispensed based on distribution channel data provided by external, independent sources. ZYFLO
received by patients through prescription is not subject to return. For the quarter ended September
30, 2006, product sales, net of discounts and rebates, were $1.9 million. Product shipments not
recognized are included in deferred product revenue on the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.
The Company will continue to recognize revenue upon prescription units dispensed until it can
reasonably estimate product returns based on its product returns experience. At that time, the
7 of 60
Company will record a one-time increase in net product sales related to the recognition of
revenue previously deferred. In addition, the Companys product sales are subject to various
rebates, discounts and incentives that are customary in the pharmaceutical industry.
Under the Companys collaboration agreements with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter, the Company
is entitled to receive non-refundable license fees, milestone payments and other research and
development payments. Payments received are initially deferred from revenue and subsequently
recognized in the Companys statement of operations when earned. The Company must make significant
estimates in determining the performance period and periodically review these estimates, based on
joint management committees and other information shared by the Companys collaborators. The
Company recognizes these revenues over the estimated performance period as set forth in the
contracts based on proportional performance and adjusted from time to time for any delays or
acceleration in the development of the product. For example, a delay or acceleration of the
performance period by the Companys collaborator may result in further deferral of revenue or the
acceleration of revenue previously deferred. Because MedImmune and Beckman Coulter can each cancel
its agreement with the Company, the Company does not recognize revenues in excess of cumulative
cash collections. In September 2006, the Company revised its cost estimate to reflect lower than
expected costs to be incurred over the remainder of the MedImmune contract. The change in estimate
resulted in an increase in revenue recognized of approximately $1.3 million in the third quarter of
2006.
At
September 30, 2006, the Companys account receivable
balance was net of cash allowances of
$18,000.
(3) Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
The Company considers all highly-liquid investments with original maturities of three months
or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
Short-term investments consist primarily of U.S. government treasury and agency notes,
corporate debt obligations, municipal debt obligations, auction rate securities and money market
funds, each of investment-grade quality, which have a maturity date greater than 90 days that can
be sold within one year. These securities are held until such time as the Company intends to use
them to meet the ongoing liquidity needs to support its operations. These investments are recorded
at fair value and accounted for as available-for-sale securities. The unrealized gain (loss) during
the period is recorded as an adjustment to stockholders equity. The Company recorded unrealized
gains on investments of $2,000 and $65,000 during the three and nine months ended September 30,
2006, respectively. The Company recorded unrealized gains on investments of $83,000 and $184,000
during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. The cost of the debt
securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. The
amortization or accretion is included in interest income (expense) in the corresponding period. The
Company has concluded that the unrealized gain (loss) on investments is temporary and therefore no
impairment as of September 30, 2006.
(4) Inventory
Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market with cost determined under the first-in,
first-out (FIFO) method. As of September 30, 2006, the Company held $2.9 million in inventory to be
used for sales related to its commercial product, ZYFLO. The Company analyzes its inventory levels
quarterly and writes-down inventory that has become obsolete, inventory that has a cost basis in
excess of its expected net realizable value and inventory in excess of expected requirements.
Expired inventory or inventory that does not meet certain Company specifications is disposed of and
the related costs are written off. In the third quarter of 2006, the Company recorded a reserve of
approximately $55,000 related to costs associated with the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or
API, not meeting the Companys manufacturing specifications and inventory that is unlikely to be
sold. In addition, in the third quarter of 2006, the Company received a credit of $132,000 for
product which failed during manufacturing in the third quarter and for product reserved for in the
8 of 60
second quarter of 2006 that did not meet certain Company specifications for which the Company
negotiated a settlement in the third quarter of 2006. This credit was recorded
as a reduction to cost of products sold and a reduction to inventory
reserve in the third quarter of 2006. At September 30, 2006, the inventory related to these lots has
not yet been disposed.
Inventory consisted of the following at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively (in
thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 30, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
Raw material |
|
$ |
3,366 |
|
|
$ |
1,425 |
|
Work in process |
|
|
|
|
|
|
332 |
|
Finished goods |
|
|
534 |
|
|
|
392 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total inventory |
|
|
3,900 |
|
|
|
2,149 |
|
Less: reserve |
|
|
(1,037 |
) |
|
|
(280 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventory, net |
|
$ |
2,863 |
|
|
$ |
1,869 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Company currently purchases the API for its commercial requirements for ZYFLO from a
single source. In addition, the Company currently manufactures ZYFLO with a single third-party
manufacturer. The disruption or termination of the supply of API, a significant increase in the
cost of the API from this single source or the disruption or termination of the manufacturing of
the commercial product could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business, financial
position and results of operations.
(5) Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive loss is the total of net loss and all other non-owner changes in equity. The
difference between net loss, as reported in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of
operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, and comprehensive loss
is the unrealized gain (loss) on short-term investments for the period. Total comprehensive loss
was $8.9 million and $40.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006,
respectively, and was $13.9 million and $32.2 million for the three and nine months ended September
30, 2005, respectively. The unrealized gain (loss) on investments is the only component of
accumulated other comprehensive loss in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet.
(6) Stock-Based Compensation
Prior to January 1, 2006, the Company accounted for stock-based awards to employees using the
intrinsic-value method as prescribed by APB No. 25 and related interpretations. Accordingly, no
compensation expense was recorded for options issued to employees in fixed amounts and with fixed
exercise prices at least equal to the fair market value of the Companys common stock at the date
of grant. Conversely, when the exercise price for accounting purposes was below fair value of the
Companys common stock on the date of grant, a non-cash charge to compensation expense was recorded
ratably over the term of the option vesting period in an amount equal to the difference between the
value calculated using the exercise price and the fair value. The Company issued options prior to
March 19, 2004, the date it filed its initial registration statement on Form S-1, or S-1, with the
SEC, at values less than deemed fair market value. This resulted in recording deferred
compensation. Effective January 1, 2006, the Company adopted the fair value recognition provisions
of SFAS No. 123(R), using the modified prospective application method, which allows the Company to
recognize compensation cost for granted, but unvested, awards, new awards and awards modified,
repurchased, or cancelled after the required effective date. Options granted prior to the date of
the initial S-1 filing continue to be accounted for under APB No. 25.
All stock-based awards to non-employees are accounted for at their fair market value in
accordance with SFAS 123(R) and Emerging Issues Task Force No. 96-18, Accounting for Equity
Instruments That Are Issued to Other Than Employees for Acquiring, or in Conjunction with Selling,
Goods or Services, or EITF No. 96-18. The Company periodically remeasures the fair value of the
unvested portion of stock-based awards to non-employees, resulting in charges or credits
9 of 60
to operations in periods when such remeasurement results in differences between the fair value
of the underlying common stock and the exercise price of the options that is greater than or less
than the differences, if any, between the fair value of the underlying common stock and the
exercise price of the options at their respective previous measurement dates. For the three and
nine months ended September 30, 2006 the Company reduced its previously recorded deferred
stock-based compensation by approximately $85,000 and $370,000, respectively.
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, had employee compensation expense been
determined based on the fair value at the date of grant consistent with SFAS No. 123(R), the
Companys pro forma net loss and pro forma net loss per share would have been as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months |
|
|
Nine Months |
|
|
|
Ended |
|
|
Ended |
|
|
|
September 30, |
|
|
September 30, |
|
(in thousands, except loss per share data) |
|
2005 |
|
|
2005 |
|
Net loss as reported |
|
$ |
(13,957 |
) |
|
$ |
(32,403 |
) |
Add: Stock-based compensation expense included in reported net loss |
|
|
439 |
|
|
|
1,335 |
|
Deduct: Stock-based compensation expense determined under fair value method |
|
|
(982 |
) |
|
|
(2,655 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss pro forma |
|
$ |
(14,500 |
) |
|
$ |
(33,723 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss per share (basic and diluted): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As reported |
|
$ |
(0.41 |
) |
|
$ |
(1.17 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pro forma |
|
$ |
(0.43 |
) |
|
$ |
(1.22 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005
was as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average |
|
|
|
Number of |
|
|
Exercise Price |
|
|
Number of |
|
|
Exercise Price |
|
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Per Share |
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Per Share |
|
OutstandingJanuary 1 |
|
|
6,200,106 |
|
|
$ |
5.03 |
|
|
|
4,500,270 |
|
|
$ |
4.23 |
|
Granted |
|
|
741,250 |
|
|
|
6.97 |
|
|
|
358,500 |
|
|
|
7.27 |
|
Exercised |
|
|
(89,204 |
) |
|
|
0.46 |
|
|
|
(13,668 |
) |
|
|
1.50 |
|
Cancelled |
|
|
(62,594 |
) |
|
|
6.34 |
|
|
|
(3,540 |
) |
|
|
5.28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OutstandingMarch 31 |
|
|
6,789,558 |
|
|
$ |
5.29 |
|
|
|
4,841,562 |
|
|
$ |
4.46 |
|
Granted |
|
|
1,661,250 |
|
|
|
3.99 |
|
|
|
311,000 |
|
|
|
5.64 |
|
Exercised |
|
|
(21,609 |
) |
|
|
1.04 |
|
|
|
(1,383 |
) |
|
|
5.86 |
|
Cancelled |
|
|
(1,020,344 |
) |
|
|
5.85 |
|
|
|
(58,000 |
) |
|
|
6.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OutstandingJune 30 |
|
|
7,408,855 |
|
|
|
4.93 |
|
|
|
5,093,179 |
|
|
$ |
4.51 |
|
Granted |
|
|
93,000 |
|
|
|
3.52 |
|
|
|
695,250 |
|
|
|
6.54 |
|
Exercised |
|
|
(58,076 |
) |
|
|
0.89 |
|
|
|
(34,811 |
) |
|
|
6.16 |
|
Cancelled |
|
|
(396,392 |
) |
|
|
6.12 |
|
|
|
(86,914 |
) |
|
|
3.35 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OutstandingSeptember 30 |
|
|
7,047,387 |
|
|
$ |
4.88 |
|
|
|
5,666,704 |
|
|
$ |
4.78 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ExercisableSeptember 30 |
|
|
2,700,177 |
|
|
$ |
4.29 |
|
|
|
1,388,238 |
|
|
$ |
3.04 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The weighted average remaining contractual term and the aggregate intrinsic value for
options outstanding at September 30, 2006 were 8.5 years and $1.8 million, respectively. The
weighted average remaining contractual term and the aggregate intrinsic value for options
exercisable at September 30, 2006 were 7.8 years and $1.5 million, respectively. The total
intrinsic value of the options exercised during the three months ended September 30, 2006 was
approximately $69,000.
As of September 30, 2006,
$155,000 of deferred compensation, relating to awards granted prior to the Companys S-1, has yet to be recognized. Such
amounts will be recognized over the next 39 months. The Company expenses this deferred stock-based
compensation to operations over the vesting period of the options and recorded stock-based
compensation expense of $105,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and $2.0 million for
the nine months ended September 30, 2005. For the three and nine
months ended September 30, 2006, in accordance
with the adoption of SFAS No. 123(R), the Company recorded incremental stock-based compensation expense of $1.5 million and $5.9 million, respectively.
The total fair value of the shares vested (other than pre S-1 shares vested) and expensed
during the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $407,000. As of September 30, 2006 there was
$15.4 million of total unrecognized compensation
10 of 60
expense (including the pre S-1 shares) related to unvested share-based compensation awards
granted under the Companys stock incentive plans, which is expected to be recognized over a
weighted average period of 1.5 years.
The Company anticipates recording additional stock-based compensation expense of $1.7 million
in the fourth quarter of 2006, $6.3 million in 2007, $4.4 million in 2008 and $3.0 million
thereafter relating to the amortization of unrecognized compensation expense as of September 30,
2006. These anticipated compensation expenses do not include any adjustment for new or additional
options to purchase common stock granted to employees. These amounts
are expected to be reduced as a result of the Companys
restructuring plan announced in October of 2006 and as described in
Note 10.
Option valuation models require the input of highly subjective assumptions. Because changes in
subjective input assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate, in managements
opinion, the calculated fair value may not necessarily be indicative of the actual fair value of
the stock options. The Company has computed the impact under SFAS No. 123(R) for options granted
using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 and has
computed the pro forma disclosures required under the modified prospective method for the quarter
ended September 30, 2005. The Company increased its assumption for the three and nine months ended
September 30, 2006 regarding expected volatility to 61% and 60%, respectively, from 59% and 58% in
the corresponding periods of 2005. The revised rate is based on the Companys actual historical
volatility since its initial public offering. In addition, the Company increased its assumption for
the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 regarding expected life to 6.25 years from 4
years in prior years. The expected life of options granted was estimated using the simplified
method calculation as prescribed by SFAS No. 123(R). The assumptions used and weighted-average
information are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
Nine Months Ended |
|
|
September 30, |
|
September 30, |
|
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
Risk free interest rate |
|
|
4.7 |
% |
|
|
4.1 |
% |
|
|
4.9 |
% |
|
|
4.0 |
% |
Expected dividend yield |
|
|
0 |
% |
|
|
0 |
% |
|
|
0 |
% |
|
|
0 |
% |
Expected forfeiture rate |
|
|
4.2 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.2 |
% |
|
|
|
|
Expected life |
|
6.25 years |
|
|
4 years |
|
|
6.25 years |
|
|
4 years |
|
Expected volatility |
|
|
61 |
% |
|
|
59 |
% |
|
|
60 |
% |
|
|
58 |
% |
Weighted-average fair value of options granted |
|
$ |
2.17 |
|
|
$ |
3.20 |
|
|
$ |
2.96 |
|
|
$ |
3.11 |
|
The Company has had three stock option plans since its inception: the 2004 Stock
Incentive Plan (the 2004 Stock Plan), the 2003 Stock Incentive Plan (the 2003 Stock Plan) and
the 2000 Equity Incentive Plan (the 2000 Equity Plan). These plans permit the granting of stock
awards to key employees, directors, consultants, and vendors of the Company and its affiliates.
Awards under the 2004 Stock Plan, the 2003 Stock Plan and the 2000 Equity Plan may include
incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, and restricted common stock. Awards can only
be made currently under the 2004 Stock Plan.
In April 2006, the stockholders of the Company approved the Companys 2006 Employee Stock
Purchase Plan (the 2006 Stock Purchase Plan). The 2006 Stock Purchase Plan was adopted by the
Companys board of directors in February 2006. The 2006 Stock Purchase Plan provides for the
issuance of up to 400,000 shares of the Companys common stock to participating employees and is
implemented by offering periods with a duration of six months. Offerings begin each June 1 and
December 1, or the first business day thereafter, and first commenced June 1, 2006.
On the first day of an offering period, the Company will grant to each eligible employee who
has elected to participate in this plan a purchase right for shares of common stock. The employee
may authorize up to 15% of his or her compensation to be deducted during the offering period. On
the last business day of the offering period, the employee will be deemed to have exercised the
purchase right, at the applicable purchase price per share, to the extent of accumulated payroll
deductions. The purchase price per share under this plan will be 85% of the lesser of the closing
price per share of the common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on the first day of the offering
period or the last business day of the offering period. The 2006 Stock Purchase Plan may be
terminated at any time by the Companys board of directors.
11 of 60
(7) May 2006 Restructuring
In May 2006, the Company recorded charges of $499,000 for a restructuring of its operations
that was intended to better align costs with revenue and operating expectations. The restructuring
charges, which included $95,000 in general and administrative expense, $231,000 in research and
development expense and $173,000 in sales and marketing expense, pertain to employee severance
benefits, outplacement services, automobile lease termination fees
and impairment of assets. The restructuring charges were recorded in accordance with SFAS No. 146, Accounting for Costs
Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities, and SFAS No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or
Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.
In connection with the May 2006 restructuring plan, the Company terminated 27 employees or
approximately 16% of the Companys workforce at the time, resulting in a severance charge of
$383,000, which was accrued in May 2006. None of these employees remained employed as of May 31,
2006. As a result of terminating these employees, the Company recorded an automobile lease
termination fee of $54,000, an outplacement service fee of $39,000 and an impairment charge of
$23,000 for computer equipment for which the future use is currently uncertain. In the second
quarter of 2006 the Company paid $203,000 of severance and other related charges which include
$35,000 in general and administrative expense, $111,000 in research and development expense and
$57,000 in sales and marketing expense. At September 30, 2006, the Company had $10,000 remaining in
accrued expense related to its May restructuring.
In addition, at September 30, 2006, the Company had $976,000 of accrued severance and bonus
expense related to the resignation of its former President and Chief Executive Officer and its
former Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, which is not included in the restructuring
charges above. These amounts are expected to be paid in December 2006 in accordance with the
contractual terms of the severance and release agreements signed by the individuals.
(8) Basic and Diluted Loss per Share
Basic and diluted net loss per common share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the
weighted-average number of unrestricted common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net
loss per common share is the same as basic net loss per common share, since the effects of
potentially dilutive securities are anti-dilutive for all periods presented. Anti-dilutive
securities that are not included in the diluted net loss per share calculation aggregated
10,541,881 and 9,214,279 as of September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. These anti-dilutive
securities consist of outstanding stock options, warrants, and unvested restricted common stock as
of September 30, 2006 and 2005.
The following table reconciles the weighted-average common shares outstanding to the shares
used in the computation of basic and diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended September 30, |
|
|
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
|
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
Weighted-average common shares
outstanding |
|
|
34,268,407 |
|
|
|
34,052,961 |
|
|
|
34,216,576 |
|
|
|
27,816,918 |
|
Less: weighted-average
restricted
common shares
outstanding |
|
|
(16,751 |
) |
|
|
(76,935 |
) |
|
|
(32,025 |
) |
|
|
(151,965 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic and diluted
weighted-average
common shares
outstanding |
|
|
34,251,656 |
|
|
|
33,976,026 |
|
|
|
34,184,551 |
|
|
|
27,664,953 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(9) Commitments and Contingencies
The Company has entered into various agreements with third parties and certain related parties
in connection with the research and development activities of its existing product candidates as
well as discovery efforts on potential new product candidates. These agreements include costs for
research and development and license agreements that represent the Companys fixed obligations
payable to sponsor research and minimum royalty payments for licensed patents. These
12 of 60
amounts do not include any additional amounts that the Company may be required to pay under
its license agreements upon the achievement of scientific, regulatory and commercial milestones
that may become payable depending on the progress of scientific development and regulatory
approvals, including milestones such as the submission of an investigational new drug application
to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, similar submissions to foreign regulatory
authorities and the first commercial sale of the Companys products in various countries. These
agreements include costs related to manufacturing, clinical trials and preclinical studies
performed by third parties. The estimated amount that may be incurred in the future under these
agreements totals approximately $13.3 million as of September 30, 2006. The amount and timing of
these commitments may change, as they are largely dependent on the rate of enrollment in and timing
of the development of the Companys product candidates. As of September 30, 2006, the Company has
$55,000 and $496,000 included in prepaid expenses and accrued expenses, respectively, related to
these agreements on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet. These agreements are
accounted for under the percentage of completion method.
The Company is also party to a number of agreements that require it to make milestone
payments, royalties on net sales of the Companys products and payments on sublicense income
received by the Company. In addition, the Company entered into a manufacturing and supply agreement
with Rhodia Pharma Solutions, which was assigned to Shasun Pharma Solutions Ltd. or Shasun, for
commercial production of the API for ZYFLO, subject to specified limitations, through December 31,
2009. Under this agreement, the Company committed to purchase minimum amounts of API in the fourth
quarter of 2006, in the first quarter of 2007 and in the first quarter of 2008. The API purchased
from Shasun currently has a shelf-life of 24 months. The Company evaluates the need to provide
reserves for contractually committed future purchases of inventory that may be in excess of
forecasted future demand. In making these assessments, the Company is required to make judgments as
to the future demand for current or committed inventory levels and as to the expiration dates of
its product. As of September 30, 2006, no reserves have been recorded for purchase commitments.
From time to time, the Company may have certain contingent liabilities that arise in the
ordinary course of business. The Company accrues for liabilities when it is probable that future
expenditures will be made and such expenditures can be reasonably estimated. For all periods
presented, the Company is not a party to any pending material litigation or other material legal
proceedings.
(10) Subsequent Events
On October 31, 2006, the Company sold 7,455,731 shares of common stock and warrants to
purchase 3,727,865 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $20.0 million, which
resulted in net proceeds of $18.5 million. The warrants to purchase common stock have an exercise
price of $2.62 per share and are exercisable at any time on or before October 26, 2011.
On October 26, 2006, the Company announced its plan to focus its resources on the
commercialization of its controlled-release formulation of zileuton, or zileuton CR, for the
chronic treatment of asthma and on the clinical development of the intravenous formulation of
zileuton and to significantly reduce its net cash expenditures through lower spending on its
existing sales force as well as on its discovery and research programs. As part of this new
business strategy, the Company eliminated 63 positions, or approximately 52% of the
Companys workforce. The headcount reduction reflects a downsizing of 36 of its sales and marketing
employees. The Company retained a respiratory sales force of approximately 18 representatives who will
be focused on continued promotion to prescribing physicians within major markets across the
United States and increasing prescriptions from its existing base of prescribers. The headcount
reductions also include 19 employees in its research and development
group and 8 employees in its general and
administrative group. The Company expects to complete its restructuring by December 31, 2006, at
which point the Company expects to have approximately 59 employees.
In connection with the implementation of its restructuring plan, the Company expects to record
a charge of $3 million to $4 million in the fourth quarter of
2006
13 of 60
which will
consist of severance benefits of approximately $1.6 million, an automobile lease termination fee of
approximately $252,000, an outplacement service fee of $28,000 and an
impairment charge and other related charges of approximately
$1.0 million to $2.0 million for laboratory equipment, computer
equipment and furniture and fixtures for which the future use is currently uncertain. The restructuring charges will be recorded in accordance with SFAS No.
146, Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities, and SFAS No. 144, Accounting
for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.
14 of 60
Item 2. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the following discussion together with our financial statements and
accompanying notes included in this quarterly report and our audited financial statements
included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 which is on
file with the SEC. In addition to historical information, the following discussion contains
forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual
results could differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements due
to important factors and risks including, but not limited to, those set forth under Risk
Factors in Part II, Item 1A.
Financial Operations Overview
We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization
of products designed to treat respiratory, inflammatory and critical care diseases linked to the
bodys inflammatory response. Our marketed product is ZYFLO, an immediate-release tablet
formulation of zileuton, which the FDA approved in 1996 for the prevention and chronic treatment
of asthma in adults and children 12 years of age or older. We licensed from Abbott Laboratories
exclusive worldwide rights to ZYFLO and other formulations of zileuton for multiple diseases and
conditions. We began selling ZYFLO in the United States in October 2005, and are developing
zileuton CR and an intravenous formulation of zileuton. In connection with the restructuring
announced in October 2006, we determined to focus our resources on these formulations.
We are currently developing zileuton CR, a tablet designed to be taken twice daily, two
tablets per dose. We have submitted an NDA for zileuton CR that was accepted for filing by the FDA
as of September 29, 2006. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, guidelines, the PDUFA
date for our NDA is May 31, 2007, which is the date by which we expect to receive an action letter
from the FDA on this filing. If we receive regulatory approval on a timely basis, we expect to
launch zileuton CR in the second half of 2007. We are currently exploring strategic alternatives
for the marketing and sale of zileuton CR if approved and plan to pursue a co-promotion arrangement
with a third party with respect to the marketing and sale of zileuton CR. If we are unable to enter
into a co-promotion arrangement or other strategic alternative with a third party on terms that are
favorable to us, we may determine to market and sell zileuton CR independently.
In addition, we are developing an intravenous formulation of zileuton initially for use in
emergency room or urgent care centers for patients who suffer acute exacerbations of asthma. In
August 2006, we announced results from our Phase I/II clinical trial designed to evaluate safety,
tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the intravenous formulation of zileuton in patients with
asthma. We plan to initiate a Phase IIb clinical trial in the first half of 2007 with our
intravenous formulation of zileuton in asthma patients, while continuing to seek a co-development
arrangement for this product candidate.
We are also developing other product candidates to regulate the excessive inflammatory
response that can damage vital internal organs and, in the most severe cases, result in multiple
organ failure and death. The inflammatory response occurs following stimuli such as infection or
trauma. Our product candidates target the production and release into the bloodstream of proteins
called cytokines that play a fundamental role in the bodys inflammatory response. We are
collaborating with MedImmune, Inc. on preclinical development of monoclonal antibodies directed
toward a cytokine called HMGB1, or high mobility group box protein 1, which we believe may be an
important target for the development of products to treat inflammation-mediated diseases. In
addition, we are collaborating with Beckman Coulter, Inc. on the development of a diagnostic
directed toward measuring HMGB1 in the bloodstream. In connection with the restructuring, we have
determined to seek to enter into collaboration arrangements with respect to our other product
candidates and do not plan to conduct any clinical studies on these product candidates prior to
entering into such arrangements.
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We were incorporated in July 2000 as Medicept, Inc. and changed our name to Critical
Therapeutics, Inc. in March 2001. We completed an initial public offering of our common stock in
June 2004 and our common stock is currently traded on the Nasdaq Global Market.
Since our inception, we have incurred significant losses each year. As of September 30, 2006,
we had an accumulated deficit of $145.7 million. We expect to incur significant losses for the
foreseeable future and we may never achieve profitability at all. Although the size and timing of
our future operating losses are subject to significant uncertainty, we expect our operating losses
to continue over the next several years as we fund our development programs, market and sell ZYFLO
and prepare for the potential commercial launch of our product candidates.
In June 2006, we announced that Paul D. Rubin, M.D. had stepped down from his position as our
President and Chief Executive Officer and resigned from our board of directors and that Frederick
Finnegan had resigned from his position as our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In
October 2006, Walter Newman, Ph.D. resigned from his position as our Senior Vice President of
Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer. In connection with these departures, we are
obligated to make aggregate lump sum cash severance payments of approximately $1.3 million to these
former executives which we expect to pay in 2006. At September 30, 2006, we had accrued $976,000 of the
$1.3 million that we are obligated to pay and will accrue and pay the remaining balance related to Dr.
Newman in the fourth quarter of 2006.
In May 2006, we recorded charges of $499,000 for a restructuring of our operations that
was intended to better align costs with revenue and operating expectations. The restructuring
charges, which included $95,000 in general and administrative expense, $231,000 in research and
development expense and $173,000 in sales and marketing expense, pertain to employee severance
benefits, outplacement services, automobile lease termination fees and impairment of assets.
In October 2006, we announced a restructuring plan to focus our resources on the
commercialization of zileuton CR and on the clinical development of the intravenous formulation of
zileuton and to significantly reduce our net cash expenditures through lower spending on our
existing sales force as well as on our discovery and research programs. As part of this new
business strategy, we eliminated 63 positions, or approximately 52% of our workforce. The
headcount reduction reflects a downsizing of 36 of our sales and
marketing employees. We retained a
respiratory sales force of approximately 18 representatives who will be focused on continued
promotion to prescribing physicians within the major markets across the United States and
increasing prescriptions from our existing base of prescribers. The headcount reductions also
include 19 employees in our research and development group and eight
employees in our general and administrative
group. We expect to complete this restructuring by December 31, 2006, at which point we expect to
have approximately 59 employees.
On October 31, 2006, we sold 7,455,731 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase
3,727,865 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $20.0 million, which resulted
in net proceeds of $18.5 million. The warrants to purchase common stock have an exercise price of
$2.62 per share and are exercisable at any time on or before October 26, 2011.
Since inception, we have raised proceeds to fund our operations through public offerings and
private placements of equity securities, debt financings, the receipt of interest income, payments
from our collaborators MedImmune and Beckman Coulter, and, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2005,
revenues from sales of ZYFLO.
In July 2003, we entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with MedImmune
for the discovery and development of novel drugs for the treatment of acute and chronic
inflammatory diseases associated with HMGB1. Under this collaboration, MedImmune paid us initial
fees of $10.0 million in late 2003 and $2.5 million early 2004, an additional $750,000 in the
first nine months of 2006, $2.75 million in 2005 and $1.5 million in 2004 for milestone payments
and to fund certain research expenses incurred by us for the HMGB1 program.
In January 2005, we entered into a license agreement with Beckman Coulter relating to the
development of diagnostics for measuring HMGB1. In consideration for the license, Beckman Coulter
paid us a product evaluation license fee of $250,000 in February 2005.
Revenues. From our inception on July 14, 2000 through the third quarter of 2005, we derived
all of our revenues from license fees, research and development payments and milestone payments
that we have received from our collaboration agreements with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter. In the
fourth quarter of 2005, we began shipping our first
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commercial product, ZYFLO. We recorded $4.7 million in net product sales for the nine months
ended September 30, 2006. As part of our October 2006 restructuring plan, we eliminated 36
positions in our sales and marketing group. This reduction could have a substantial impact on
revenue derived from product sales.
Cost of products sold. Cost of products sold consists of manufacturing, distribution and other
costs related to our commercial product, ZYFLO. In addition, it includes royalties to third parties
related to ZYFLO and any write-offs to reserve for excess or obsolete inventory. Most of our
manufacturing and distribution costs are paid to third party manufacturers. However, there are some
internal costs reflected in cost of products sold, including salaries and expenses related to
managing our supply chain and for quality assurance and release testing.
Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred
in identifying, developing and testing product candidates. These expenses consist primarily of
salaries and related expenses for personnel, fees paid to professional service providers for
monitoring and analyzing clinical trials, milestone payments to third parties, costs related to the
development of our NDA for zileuton CR, costs of contract research and manufacturing and the cost
of facilities. In addition, research and development expenses include the cost of our medical
affairs and medical information functions, which educate physicians on the scientific aspects of
our commercial products and the approved indications, labeling and the costs of monitoring adverse
events. After FDA approval of a product candidate, manufacturing expenses associated with a product
will be recorded as cost of products sold rather than research and development expenses. We expense
research and development costs and patent related costs as incurred. Because of our ability to
utilize resources across several projects, many of our research and development costs are not tied
to any particular project and are allocated among multiple projects. We record direct costs on a
project-by-project basis. We record indirect costs in the aggregate in support of all research and
development. Development costs for later stage programs such as the intravenous formulation of
zileuton tend to be higher than earlier stage programs such as our HMGB1 and alpha-7 programs, due
to the costs associated with conducting clinical trials and large-scale manufacturing.
We expect that research and development expenses relating to our development portfolio will
fluctuate depending primarily on the timing of clinical trials, milestone payments to third
parties, and manufacturing initiatives. We expect to incur additional expenses over the next
several years for clinical trials of our product development candidates, including the
controlled-release and intravenous formulations of zileuton and alpha-7. As a result of our October
restructuring plan. we anticipate that our research and development expense will decrease in 2007.
We also expect manufacturing expenses for some programs included in research and development
expenses to increase as we complete registration activities relating to the manufacturing of
zileuton CR and scale up production of the intravenous formulation of zileuton for a phase IIb
clinical trial. We also expect to initiate clinical trials related to zileuton CR to examine its
potential clinical benefits in certain populations of asthma patients, which, if conducted, would
be included in research and development expenses.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and other
related costs for personnel in sales and marketing functions as well as other costs related to
ZYFLO. Other costs reflected in sales and marketing include the cost of product samples of ZYFLO,
promotional materials, market research and sales meetings. We expect to continue to incur sales and
marketing costs associated with our sales force to support ZYFLO. If zileuton CR is approved for
marketing, we expect to incur additional expenses related to enhancing our sales and marketing
functions and adding sales representatives.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of
salaries and other related costs for personnel in executive, finance, accounting, legal, business
development, information technology and human resource functions. Other costs reflected in general
and administrative expenses include certain facility costs as well as professional fees for legal
and accounting services.
Deferred Stock-Based Compensation Expense. As discussed more fully in Note 6 to our condensed
consolidated financial statements included herein and in Notes 7 and 8 to our consolidated
financial statements in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, in
lieu of cash payments, we granted options to purchase 120,000
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shares of common stock to non-employees during the nine months ended September 30, 2005. We
recorded these grants at fair value when granted. We periodically remeasure the fair value of the
unvested portion of these grants, resulting in charges or credits to operations in periods when
such remeasurement results in differences between the fair value of the underlying common stock and
the exercise price of the options that is greater than or less than the differences, if any,
between the fair value of the underlying common stock and the exercise price of the options at
their respective previous measurement dates. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we
granted no options to purchase shares of our common stock to non-employees. For the nine months
ended September 30, 2006, we reduced our previously recorded deferred stock-based compensation by
approximately $370,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005, we
granted options to purchase 86,250 and 75,000 shares of common stock, respectively, to members of
our board of directors.
As discussed more fully in Note 6 to our condensed consolidated financial statements included
herein and Notes 7 and 8 to our consolidated financial statements in our annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2005, we granted options to purchase 2,495,500 and 1,138,750 shares
of our common stock to employees during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and September 30,
2005, respectively. In addition, certain of the employee options granted during 2004 and prior
years were deemed for accounting purposes to have been granted with exercise prices below their
then-current market value. We recorded the value of these differences as deferred stock-based
compensation and amortized the deferred amounts as charges to operations over the vesting periods
of the grants, resulting in stock-based compensation expense. We recorded stock-based compensation
expense of $33,000 and $439,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and September 30,
2005, respectively, and $476,000 and $1,335,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and
September 30, 2005, respectively, related to stock options granted to employees at exercise prices
below their current market value on the date of grant.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In July 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Interpretation No. 48,
Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 (FIN 48),
which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprises
financial statements in accordance with FAS 109 and prescribes a recognition threshold and
measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position
taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance on derecognition,
classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition.
FIN 48 will be effective beginning with the first annual period after December 15, 2006. We are
evaluating what impact, if any, the adoption of this standard will have on our financial position
or results of operations.
Critical Accounting Policies
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on
our unaudited consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these
financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect our reported assets
and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and other financial information. Actual results may differ
significantly from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions. In addition, our
reported financial condition and results of operations could vary due to a change in the
application of a particular accounting standard.
We regard an accounting estimate or assumption underlying our financial statements as a
critical accounting estimate where:
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the nature of the estimate or assumption is material due to the level of subjectivity and
judgment necessary to account for highly uncertain matters or the susceptibility of such
matters to change; and |
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|
the impact of the estimates and assumptions on financial condition or operating
performance is material. |
Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in the Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations Critical Accounting Policies in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2005. Not all of these significant accounting policies, however, fit the definition of
critical accounting estimates. We have discussed our accounting policies with the audit committee
of our board of directors, and we believe that our estimates relating to revenue recognition,
accrued expenses, stock-based compensation and income taxes described under the caption
Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Critical
Accounting Policies in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, fit
the definition of critical accounting estimates.
Revenue Recognition. In the fourth quarter of 2005, we launched our first commercial product,
ZYFLO. We sell ZYFLO to wholesalers, distributors and pharmacies, which have the right to return
purchased product. In accordance with
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Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 48, Revenue Recognition When Right of Return
Exists, or SFAS No. 48, we defer revenue on product shipments until we can reasonably estimate
returns relating to these shipments. Because ZYFLO is a new product for us and this is our first
commercial product launch, we do not currently have an objective measurement or history to allow us
to estimate returns. Accordingly, we are deferring the recognition of revenue on product shipments
of ZYFLO to our customers until the product is dispensed through patient prescriptions. Since
product dispensed to patients through prescription is not subject to return, there is no remaining
contingency that would prohibit revenue recognition. We currently estimate prescription units
dispensed based on distribution channel data provided by external sources. We will continue to
recognize revenue based upon prescriptions dispensed until we can reasonably estimate product
returns based on our product returns experience. When a reasonable estimate can be determined, we
will likely record a one-time increase in net product sales related to the recognition of revenue
previously deferred, net of an estimate for remaining product returns. In order to match the cost
of products shipped to customers with the underlying revenue, we have deferred the recognition of
costs related to shipments that have not been recognized as revenue.
Under our collaboration agreements with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter, we are entitled to
receive non-refundable license fees, milestone payments and other research and development
payments. Payments received are initially deferred from revenue and subsequently recognized in our
statement of operations when earned. We must make significant estimates in determining the
performance period and periodically review these estimates, based on joint management committees
and other information shared by our collaborators with us. We recognize these revenues over the
estimated performance period as set forth in the contracts based on proportional performance and
adjusted from time to time for any delays or acceleration in the development of the product. For
example, a delay or acceleration of the performance period by our collaborator may result in
further deferral of revenue or the acceleration of revenue previously deferred. Because MedImmune
and Beckman Coulter can each cancel its agreement with us, we do not recognize revenues in excess
of cumulative cash collections. It is difficult to estimate the impact of the adjustments on the
results of our operations because, in each case, the amount of cash received would be a limiting
factor in determining the adjustment.
Inventory. Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market with cost determined under the
first-in, first-out, or FIFO, method. Our estimate of the net realizable value of our inventories
is subject to judgment and estimation. The actual net realizable value of our inventories could
vary significantly from our estimates and could have a material effect on our financial condition
and results of operations in any reporting period. In August 2006, ZYFLOs fifteen-month shelf life
was extended to a eighteen-month shelf life. As of September 30, 2006, inventory consists of
zileuton API, which is raw material in powder form, and finished ZYFLO tablets to be used for
commercial sale. On a quarterly basis, we analyze our inventory levels and write down inventory
that has become obsolete, inventory that has a cost basis in excess of our expected net realizable
value and inventory that is in excess of expected requirements to
cost of product revenues. In the third quarter of 2006, we recorded a
reserve of approximately $55,000 related to costs associated with the
active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, not meeting our
manufacturing specifications and inventory that is unlikely to be
sold. In addition, in the third quarter of 2006, we received a credit
of $132,000 for product that failed during manufacturing in the
third quarter and for product reserved for in the second quarter of
2006 that did not meet certain of our specifications for which we
negotiated a settlement in the third quarter of 2006. At September 30, 2006,
the inventory related to these lots has not yet been disposed.
Accrued Expenses. As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements,
we are required to estimate certain expenses. This process involves identifying services that have
been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost
incurred for such service as of each balance sheet date in our consolidated financial statements.
Examples of estimated expenses for which we accrue include professional service fees, such as fees
paid to lawyers and accountants, rebates to third parties, including government programs such as
Medicaid or private insurers, contract service fees, such as amounts paid to clinical monitors,
data management organizations and investigators in connection with
clinical trials, fees paid
to contract manufacturers in connection with the production of
clinical materials and restructuring charges. In connection
with rebates, our estimates are based on our estimated mix of sales to various third-party payors,
which either contractually or statutorily are entitled to certain discounts off our listed price of
ZYFLO. In the event that our sales mix to certain third-party payors is different from our
estimates, we may be required to pay more or less rebates to those parties than our estimates. In
connection with service fees, our estimates are most affected by our understanding of the status
and timing of services provided relative to the actual levels of services incurred by such service
providers. The majority of our service providers invoice us monthly in arrears for services
performed,
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however, certain service providers invoice us based upon milestones in the agreement. In the
event that we do not identify certain costs that we have begun to incur or we under- or
over-estimate the level of services performed or the costs of such services, our reported expenses
for such period would be too low or too high. The date on which certain services commence, the
level of services performed on or before a given date and the cost of such services are often
subject to judgment. We make these judgments based upon the facts and circumstances known to us in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Short-term investments. It is our intent to hold our short-term investments until such time as
we intend to use them to meet the ongoing liquidity needs to support our operations. However, if
the circumstances regarding an investment or our liquidity needs were to change, such as a change
in an investments external credit rating, we would consider a sale of the related security prior
to the maturity of the underlying investment to minimize any losses. We review the appropriateness
of all investment classifications at each reporting date.
Stock-Based Compensation. Prior to January 1, 2006, we elected to follow Accounting Principles
Board Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees, or APB 25, and related
interpretations, in accounting for our stock-based compensation plans, rather than the alternative
fair value accounting method provided for under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.
123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation Accounting Principles Board Opinion, or SFAS 123.
Accordingly, we did not record stock-based compensation expense for stock options issued to
employees in fixed amounts with exercise prices at least equal to the fair value of the underlying
common stock on the date of grant. Effective January 1, 2006, we adopted the fair value recognition
provisions of SFAS 123(R), using the modified prospective application method, which requires the
Company to recognize compensation cost for granted, but unvested, awards, new awards and awards
modified, repurchased, or cancelled after the required effective date. In the notes to our
consolidated financial statements included herein, we have provided pro forma disclosures for the
three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 in accordance with SFAS 123(R).
We account for transactions in which services are received in exchange for equity instruments
based on the fair value of such services received from non-employees or of the equity instruments
issued, whichever is more reliably measured, in accordance with SFAS 123(R) and Emerging Issues
Task Force Issue No. 96-18, or EITF 96-18, Accounting for Equity Instruments that Are Issued to
Other than Employees for Acquiring, or in Conjunction with Selling, Goods or Services.
The two factors which most affect charges or credits to operations related to stock-based
compensation are the fair value of the common stock underlying stock options for which stock-based
compensation is recorded and the volatility of such fair value. Accounting for equity instruments
granted or sold by us under SFAS 123(R) and EITF 96-18 requires fair value estimates of the equity
instrument granted or sold. If our estimates of the fair value of these equity instruments are too
high or too low, it would have the effect of overstating or understating expenses. When equity
instruments are granted or sold in exchange for the receipt of goods or services and the value of
those goods or services can be readily estimated, we use the value of such goods or services to
determine the fair value of the equity instruments. When equity instruments are granted or sold in
exchange for the receipt of goods or services and the value of those goods or services cannot be
readily estimated, as is true in connection with most stock options and warrants granted to
employees or non-employees, we estimate the fair value of the equity instruments based upon the
consideration of factors which we deem to be relevant at the time using cost, market or income
approaches to such valuations.
Income Taxes. As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial
statements, we are required to estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we
operate. This process involves us estimating our actual current tax exposure together with
assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatments of items for tax and accounting
purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities. In addition, as of
September 30, 2006, we had federal and state tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately
$124.1 million, which expire beginning in 2021 and 2006, respectively. We also have research and
experimentation credit carryforwards of approximately $1.6 million which expire beginning in 2021.
We have recorded a full valuation allowance as an offset against these otherwise recognizable net
deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty surrounding the timing of the realization of the tax
benefit. In the event that we determine in the future that we will be able to realize all or a
portion of its net deferred tax benefit, an
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adjustment to deferred tax valuation allowance would increase net income in the period in
which such a determination is made. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 contains provisions that may limit
the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards and credits available to be used in any given
year in the event of significant changes in ownership interest, as defined.
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005
Revenue from Product Sales. We recognized revenue from product sales, net of discounts and
rebates, of $1.9 million in the three months ended September 30, 2006 related to sales of ZYFLO.
Under SFAS No. 48, we cannot recognize revenue from product shipments until the right to return the
product has lapsed or until we can reasonably estimate returns relating to the shipments to third
parties. In accordance with SFAS No. 48, we are currently deferring recognition of revenue on
product shipments of ZYFLO to wholesalers, distributors and pharmacies until the product is
dispensed through patient prescriptions. Shipments of ZYFLO to third parties not recognized as
revenue are included in deferred product revenue on our balance sheet. This deferred revenue, which
amounted to $1.3 million at September 30, 2006, will be recognized as revenue as prescriptions are
filled in future periods, or will be reversed if the product is returned in future periods. The
deferred cost of product sold related to the ZYFLO deferred revenue
totaled $187,000 at September
30, 2006 and is included in prepaid expenses and other current assets on our balance sheet.
Revenue under Collaboration Agreements. We recognized collaboration revenues of $2.5 million
for the three months ended September 30, 2006 compared to $1.3 million in the three months ended
September 30, 2005. These revenues were primarily due to the portion of the $12.5 million of
initial fees MedImmune paid us that we recognized in each period, and a portion of the $750,000,
$2.75 million and $1.5 million billed to MedImmune for milestone payments and development support
in the first nine months of 2006, in 2005 and in 2004, respectively. Since we entered into the
agreement with MedImmune in 2003, we have billed a total of $17.5 million to MedImmune, consisting
of the $12.5 million up-front payment, a $1.25 million milestone payment and $3.8 million of
development support. We have recognized $16.5 million of these amounts as collaboration revenue to
date. We have reported the balance of the payments, totaling $1.0 million, as deferred
collaboration revenue and will recognize such amount over the remaining estimated research term of
our agreement with MedImmune based on the proportion of cumulative costs incurred as a percentage
of the total costs estimated for the performance period. We currently estimate that the balance in
deferred revenue will be recognized by the end of the second quarter of 2007. As of September 30,
2006, we had a total of $1.0 million in deferred collaboration revenue remaining to be recognized
under our collaboration agreements with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter. In September 2006, we
revised our cost estimate to reflect lower than expected costs to be incurred over the remainder of
the contract. The change in estimate resulted in an increase in revenue recognized of approximately
$1.3 million in the third quarter of 2006.
Cost of Products Sold. Cost of products sold in the three months ended September 30, 2006 was
$267,000. Cost of products sold consisted primarily of the expenses associated with manufacturing
and distributing ZYFLO, a royalty payment to Abbott from the license agreement for ZYFLO, a charge
of $55,000 to write-down excess finished goods inventory that we do not currently expect to be sold
in the future and a credit to cost of product sold of $132,000 for
product that failed during
manufacturing in the third quarter of 2006 and for product reserved for in the second quarter of
2006 that did not meet certain of our manufacturing specifications
for which we negotiated a settlement in the third quarter of 2006.
Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses for the three months
ended September 30, 2006 were $6.7 million compared to $8.9 million for the three months ended
September 30, 2005. The decrease of approximately $2.2 million was primarily due to an decrease in
expenses related to our research and development activities which are discussed in more detail
below. With the commercial launch of ZYFLO in October 2005, the costs of manufacturing ZYFLO are
now included in cost of products sold.
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The following table summarizes the primary components of our direct research and development
expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005:
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Three Months |
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Ended September 30, |
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2006 |
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2005 |
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(in thousands) |
|
Zileuton |
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$ |
3,749 |
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$ |
4,502 |
|
CTI-01 |
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|
450 |
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|
664 |
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HMGB1 |
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481 |
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|
423 |
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Alpha-7 |
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|
1,025 |
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|
833 |
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General research and development expenses |
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|
532 |
|
|
|
1,743 |
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Stock-based compensation expense |
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|
499 |
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|
708 |
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Total research and development expenses |
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$ |
6,736 |
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$ |
8,873 |
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We expect that research and development expenses relating to our development portfolio
will fluctuate depending primarily on the timing of clinical trials, milestone payments to third
parties, and manufacturing initiatives. We expect to incur additional expenses over the next
several years for clinical trials of our product development candidates, including the zileuton CR
and intravenous formulation of zileuton and alpha-7. As a result of our October restructuring plan
we anticipate that our research and development expense will decrease in 2007. The following
summarizes the expenses associated with our primary research and development programs:
Zileuton. During the three months ended September 30, 2006, we incurred $3.7 million of
expenses related to our zileuton program compared to $4.5 million during the three months ended
September 30, 2005. The decrease of approximately $800,000 was primarily due to a decrease in
preclinical and manufacturing costs related to our intravenous formulation of zileuton and a
decrease in manufacturing costs related to our zileuton CR and immediate-release formulation of
zileuton, offset, in part, by an increase in milestone payments made to third parties. The
increase in milestone payments made to third parties was due to a $1.5 million payment and a
$375,000 payment due to Abbott and SkyePharma, respectively, related to our July 31, 2006 filing
of the zileuton CR NDA in the three months ended September 30,
2006, as compared to a $750,000
milestone payment to Abbott related to FDA approval of ZYFLO and a $750,000 milestone payment to
SkyePharma related to the commencement of the manufacturing of our
NDA registration batches for zileuton CR in the three months ended September 30, 2005. The
actual costs and timing for the development and commercialization of our zileuton product
candidates are highly uncertain, subject to risk and will change depending upon the clinical
indication developed and the development strategy adopted.
CTI-01. During the three months ended September 30, 2006, expenses for CTI-01 decreased
compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005. This decrease was primarily due to lower
manufacturing costs, offset in part by higher clinical trial costs. In March 2006, we announced
our decision to discontinue the Phase II clinical trial of CTI-01 due to an issue related to the
durability of the stoppers used to seal the containers that potentially could have affected the
integrity of clinical supplies of the product candidate at the trial sites. We expect to incur
costs for this program for the remainder of 2006 as we review and finalize the
remaining documentation from the Phase II clinical trial. After reviewing the final data from the trial,
we decided to discontinue further development of ethyl pyruvate, which we had been developing as CTI-01.
In November 2006, we gave notice of termination effective February 6, 2007 of the license agreements
between us and the University of Pittsburgh and Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly Phenome Sciences,
Inc., related to certain patent rights related to ethyl pyruvate
controlled by University of Pittsburgh and Xanthus respectively.
HMGB1. Expenses for HMGB1 remained consistent in the three months ended September 30, 2006
compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005. Expenses related to HMGB1 are related to
laboratory supplies for our continued testing obligations under our collaboration agreement with
MedImmune. Our expenses for this program may vary from period to period depending on the
resources required for activities being performed by us and those performed by MedImmune. We
currently anticipate that most research and development costs relating to HMGB1 in 2006 will be
covered by funding from MedImmune under our collaboration agreement.
22 of 60
Because the HMGB1 program is still in preclinical development, the actual costs
and timing of preclinical development, clinical trials and associated activities are highly
uncertain, subject to risk and will change depending upon the clinical indication developed and
the development strategy adopted. A significant amount of these clinical costs will be incurred by MedImmune. The
expenses for HMGB1 are reflected in the accompanying statement of operations as part of research
and development expenses, while the funding received from MedImmune to fund our research efforts
is included in revenue under collaboration agreements.
Alpha-7. During the three months ended September 30, 2006, we incurred $1.0 million of
expenses related to our alpha-7 program as compared to $833,000 during the three months ended
September 30, 2005. This increase was primarily due to personnel costs, laboratory supplies and
contract research associated with our efforts to discover and develop small molecule product
candidates. We anticipate that significant additional expenditures will be required to advance
any product candidate through preclinical and clinical development, and we expect to incur
additional expenses to discover additional molecules under this program. However, because this
project is at a very early stage, the actual costs and timing of research, preclinical
development, clinical trials and associated activities are highly uncertain, subject to risk and
will change depending upon the project we choose to develop, the clinical indication developed
and the development strategy adopted. As a result, we are unable to estimate the costs or the
timing of advancing a small molecule from our alpha-7 program through clinical development.
Our general research and development expenses, which are not allocated to any specific
program, decreased by approximately $1.2 million in the three months ended September 30, 2006 as
compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005 primarily due to improved cost allocation
methods for our research and development personnel and the related laboratory and general
expenses for our existing research and development programs. Unallocated facility and related
costs for the three months ended September 30, 2006 were $165,000 as compared to $417,000 for the
three months ended September 30, 2005.
Our stock-based compensation expense decreased by $209,000 in the three months ended
September 30, 2006 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005. This decrease was
primarily due to the effects of the change in the market price of our common stock on unvested
non-employee options offset, in part, by the impact of adopting SFAS 123(R). The adjustment to
stock-based compensation expense is calculated based on the change in fair value of our common
stock during the period. The fair value of our common stock decreased during the three months
ended September 30, 2006, which resulted in an adjustment to our stock-based compensation expense
to non-employees of $85,000, while the fair value of our common stock increased during
the three months ended September 30, 2005, which resulted in $585,000 of stock-based compensation
expense.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses for the three months ended September 30,
2006 were $3.9 million compared to $4.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2005. This
decrease of approximately $100,000 in the three months ended September 30, 2006 was primarily
attributable to lower personnel related costs as a result of our May 2006 cost reductions and a
reduction of marketing research costs and recruiting and other employee related costs that were
related to our fourth quarter 2005 launch of ZYFLO. These reductions were offset in part by an
increase in stock-based compensation expense related to our adoption of SFAS 123(R) in 2006.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses for the three months
ended September 30, 2006 were $2.9 million compared to $3.1 million for the three months ended
September 30, 2005. This decrease of approximately $200,000 in the three months ended September
30, 2006 was primarily attributable to a reduction in accounting and audit fees related to
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and a lower franchise tax obligation, offset in part by an increase in
stock-based compensation expense related to our adoption of SFAS 123(R) in 2006.
23 of 60
Other Income. Interest income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $612,000
compared to $794,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2005. The decrease in the three
months ended September 30, 2006 was primarily attributable to lower average cash and investment
balances as a result of withdrawals to fund operations. Interest expense amounted to $54,000 and
$61,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005, respectively. The
interest expense relates to borrowings under our loan with Silicon Valley Bank for capital
expenditures.
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005
Revenue from Product Sales. We recognized revenue from product sales, net of discounts and
rebates, of $4.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 related to sales of ZYFLO
following our product launch in October 2005.
Revenue from Collaboration Agreements. We recognized collaboration revenues of $5.4 million
for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to $4.1 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2005. These revenues were primarily due to the portion of the $12.5 million of
initial fees MedImmune paid us that we recognized in each period and a portion of the $750,000,
$2.75 million and $1.5 million billed to MedImmune in the first nine months of 2006, in 2005 and in
2004, respectively, for milestone payments and development support. We have reported the balance of
the payments as deferred revenue and will recognize such amount over the estimated 47-month
research term of our agreement with MedImmune based on the proportion of cumulative costs incurred
as a percentage of the total costs estimated for the performance period. As of September 30, 2006,
we had $1.0 million in deferred revenue remaining to be recognized under our collaboration
agreements with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter. In September 2006, we
revised our cost estimate to reflect lower than expected costs to be
incurred over the remainder of the contract. The change in estimate
resulted in an increase in revenue recognized of approximately
$1.3 million in the third quarter of 2006.
Cost of Products Sold. Cost of products sold in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 were
$1.7 million. Cost of products sold consisted primarily of the expenses associated with
manufacturing and distributing ZYFLO, a royalty payment to Abbott from the license agreement for
ZYFLO and a charge of $757,000 to write-down excess finished goods inventory that we do not
currently expect to be sold in the future. The write-down resulted from excess inventory on-hand at
September 30, 2006 with an expiration date on or before January 2007 as well as API we believe will
not be sold.
Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses for the nine months ended
September 30, 2006 were $23.1 million compared to $22.2 million for the nine months ended September
30, 2005. This increase of approximately $900,000 was primarily due to an increase in expenses
related to our research and development activities which are discussed in more detail below. As a
result of the commercial launch of ZYFLO in October 2005, the costs of manufacturing ZYFLO are now
included in cost of products sold. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we paid $231,000 in
restructuring charges related to our May 2006 restructuring plan.
The following table summarizes the primary components of our direct research and development
expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nine Months |
|
|
|
Ended September 30, |
|
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
Zileuton |
|
$ |
12,467 |
|
|
$ |
11,311 |
|
CTI-01 |
|
|
2,823 |
|
|
|
1,896 |
|
HMGB1 |
|
|
1,506 |
|
|
|
1,411 |
|
Alpha-7 |
|
|
3,157 |
|
|
|
1,907 |
|
General research and development expenses |
|
|
2,011 |
|
|
|
4,638 |
|
Stock-based compensation expense |
|
|
1,099 |
|
|
|
1,025 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total research and development expenses |
|
$ |
23,063 |
|
|
$ |
22,188 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 of 60
The following summarizes the expenses associated with our primary research and
development programs:
Zileuton. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we incurred $12.5 million of
expenses related to our zileuton program compared to $11.3 million during the nine months ended
September 30, 2005. This increase of approximately $1.2 million was primarily due to increased
clinical costs related to our zileuton CR and intravenous formulation of zileuton, our continued
work related to the manufacturing of our NDA registration batches for our zileuton CR and
expenses incurred by our medical affairs and medical information functions related to scientific
support of ZYFLO. This increase was offset, in part, by a decrease in costs related to our Phase
II clinical trial of ZYFLO in patients with moderate to severe inflammatory acne, which we
completed in 2005.
CTI-01. Expenses for CTI-01 increased by $927,000 in the nine months ended September 30,
2006 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2005. This increase was primarily due to
higher clinical trial costs related to our Phase II clinical trial of CTI-01 in patients
undergoing major cardiac surgery including the use of a cardiopulmonary bypass machine offset by
lower preclinical and manufacturing costs.
HMGB1. Expenses for HMGB1 remained consistent in the nine months ended September 30, 2006
compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Expenses related to HMGB1 are related to
our continued testing under our collaboration agreement with MedImmune.
Alpha-7. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we incurred $3.2 million of
expenses in connection with our alpha-7 program compared to $1.9 million during the nine months
ended September 30, 2005. This increase was primarily due to personnel costs, laboratory supplies
and contract research associated with our efforts to discover and develop small molecule product
candidates as well as costs related to more advanced stages of
preclinical development of certain molecules.
Our general research and development expenses, which are not allocated to any specific
program, decreased by $2.6 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 as compared to the
nine months ended September 30, 2005 primarily due to improved cost allocation methods for our
research and development personnel and the related laboratory and general expenses for our
existing research and development programs. Unallocated facility and related costs for the nine
months ended September 30, 2006 were $448,000 as compared to $1.3 million for the nine months
ended September 30, 2005.
Our stock-based compensation expense increased $74,000 in the nine months ended September
30, 2006 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2005. This increase was primarily due
to the effects of our implementation of SFAS 123(R) and the change in the market price of our
common stock on unvested non-employee options.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2006
were $16.5 million compared to $7.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The
increase of approximately $9.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was primarily
attributable to the hiring of our sales management, the hiring and training of our specialty sales
force in August 2005 as well as an increase in marketing and other costs associated with ZYFLO. In
addition, in the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we incurred approximately $302,000 of
severance and $525,000 of additional stock-based compensation expense, related to the resignation
of our former Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we paid $173,000 in
restructuring charges related to our May 2006 restructuring plan.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses for the nine months
ended September 30, 2006 were $10.9 million compared to $8.8 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2005. The increase of
25 of 60
approximately $2.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was primarily
attributable to $749,000 of severance expense, of which $670,000 related to the resignation of our
former President and Chief Executive Officer, and an increase of $2.7 million in stock-based
compensation expense related to our adoption of SFAS 123(R), which included the accelerated vesting
of certain stock options upon the departure of our former President and Chief Executive Officer.
These increases were offset, in part, by expenses related to our September 2005 private placement
which were not recurring, lower personnel related costs as a result of our cost reduction program
in May 2006 and a reduction expenses related to Sarbanes- Oxley compliance and reduced franchise
tax obligation. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we paid $85,000 in restructuring charges related to
our May 2006 restructuring plan.
Other Income. Interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $2.1 million
compared to $1.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increase in the nine
months ended September 30, 2006 was primarily attributable to higher interest rates and higher
average cash and investment balances related to our June 2005 financing. Interest expense amounted
to $169,000 and $140,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005,
respectively.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
Since inception, we have raised proceeds to fund our operations through public offerings and
private placements of equity securities, debt financings, the receipt of interest income, payments
from our collaborators MedImmune and Beckman Coulter and, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2005,
revenues from sales of ZYFLO. As of September 30, 2006, we had $40.2 million in cash, cash
equivalents and short-term investments. We have invested our remaining cash balance in highly
liquid, interest-bearing, investment grade securities in accordance with our established corporate
investment policy.
On October 31, 2006, we sold 7,455,731 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase
3,727,865 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $20.0 million, which resulted
in net proceeds of $18.5 million. The warrants to purchase common stock have an exercise price of
$2.62 per share and are exercisable at any time on or before October 26, 2011.
In July 2003, we entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with MedImmune
for the discovery and development of novel drugs for the treatment of acute and chronic
inflammatory diseases associated with HMGB1, a newly discovered cytokine. Under this collaboration,
MedImmune paid us initial fees of $12.5 million and an additional $4.8 million through September
30, 2006 for milestone payments and to fund certain research expenses incurred by us for the HMGB1
program.
Under our collaboration with MedImmune, we may receive additional payments upon the
achievement of research, development and commercialization milestones up to a maximum of $124.0
million, after taking into account payments we are obligated to make to The Feinstein Institute for
Medical Research, formerly the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Research Institute, on milestone
payments we receive from MedImmune. We do not anticipate receiving any additional milestone
payments from MedImmune for the remainder of 2006.
Credit Agreement with Silicon Valley Bank. We finance the purchase of general purpose computer
equipment, office equipment, fixtures and furnishings, test and laboratory equipment and software
licenses and the completion of leasehold improvements through advances under our credit agreement
with Silicon Valley Bank which was most recently modified as of January 6, 2006. We have granted
Silicon Valley Bank a first priority security interest in substantially all of our assets,
excluding intellectual property, to secure our obligations under the credit agreement. As of
September 30, 2006, we had $1.7 million in debt outstanding under this credit agreement related to
equipment advances. As a result of our October 2006 restructuring
plan, we expect to incur restructuring charges that relate to the
impairment of certain assets. As a result of these charges, we may be
required to pay Silicon Valley Bank the outstanding balance owed for
those assets deemed impaired.
The equipment advances made prior to the modification of our credit agreement on September 30,
2004 accrue interest at a weighted-average effective interest rate of approximately 8.7% per year.
We are required to make equal monthly
26 of 60
payments of principal and interest with respect to each advance made prior to September 30,
2004. The total repayment term for equipment advances made prior to September 30, 2004 is 48
months. Upon the maturity of any advance made prior to September 30, 2004, we are required to make
a final payment in addition to the repayment of principal and interest. The final payment will be
in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the original advance amount up to 8.5% of the
original principal. As of September 30, 2006, we had $156,000 in outstanding equipment advances
made prior to September 30, 2004.
Advances made under the modified credit agreement accrue interest at a rate equal to the prime
rate plus 2% per year. As of September 30, 2006, outstanding equipment advances under the modified
credit agreement had a weighted-average effective interest rate of approximately 10.25% per year.
Advances made under the modified credit agreement are required to be repaid in equal monthly
installments of principal plus interest accrued through the repayment term, which range from 36 to
42 months. Repayment begins the first day of the month following the advance. As of September 30,
2006 we had no borrowing capacity available under the modified credit agreement. As of September
30, 2006, we had $1.5 million in outstanding advances under the modified credit agreement.
Cash Flows
Operating Activities. Net cash used in operating activities was $41.6 million for the nine
months ended September 30, 2006, compared to $30.4 million for the nine months ended September 30,
2005. Net cash used in operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 consisted of a net
loss of $40.0 million, depreciation and amortization expense and the amortization of premiums on
short-term investments of $673,000, a loss on the disposal of fixed assets of $51,000, stock-based
compensation expense of $6.0 million, reserve for inventory expense of $757,000 and a decrease in
working capital accounts of $9.1 million. Our cash used in operations decreased from $17.8 million
in the first quarter to $12.1 million in the second quarter and $11.7 million in the third quarter
of 2006 primarily as a result of our restructuring plan announced in May 2006.
Investing Activities. Investing activities provided $20.7 million of cash in the nine months
ended September 30, 2006, compared to $22.5 million of cash provided by investing activities in the
nine months ended September 30, 2005. In the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we made capital
expenditures of $376,000, mainly for laboratory equipment associated with our research and
development activities and software, and we sold $32.9 million of our short-term investments which
was offset by purchases of $11.8 million of short-term investments.
Financing Activities. In the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we used $778,000 of net
cash in financing activities, compared to $51.1 million of net cash provided by financing
activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Net cash used in financing activities for
the nine months ended September 30, 2006 principally related to our repayment of our long-term debt
offset, in part, by proceeds from stock option exercises. The net cash provided by financing
activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2005 related to our private placement of common
stock and warrants in September 2005 to certain institutional and other accredited investors.
Income Taxes
We have accumulated net operating losses and tax credits available to offset future taxable
income for federal and state income tax purposes as of September 30, 2006. If not utilized, federal
and state net operating loss carryforwards will begin to expire in 2021 and 2006, respectively. The
federal tax credits expire beginning in 2021. To date, we have not recognized the potential tax
benefit of our net operating loss carryforwards or credits on our balance sheet or statements of
operations. The future utilization of our net operating loss carryforwards may be limited based
upon changes in ownership pursuant to regulations promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code.
27 of 60
Funding Requirements
We expect to devote substantial resources to continue our research and development efforts,
including preclinical testing and clinical trials, support our sales and marketing efforts, achieve
regulatory approvals, commercialize ZYFLO and, subject to regulatory approval, commercially launch
of zileuton CR and any future product candidates. We do not expect to spend any material amounts
on capital expenditures for the remainder of 2006. Our funding requirements will depend on
numerous factors, including:
|
|
|
the costs and timing of the development, regulatory submission and approval and the
commercial launch of zileuton CR, if and when it is approved by regulatory authorities; |
|
|
|
|
the scope and results of our clinical trials on zileuton CR; |
|
|
|
|
if approved, the amount and timing of sales of zileuton CR; |
|
|
|
|
the scope and results of our clinical trials on the intravenous formulation of zileuton; |
|
|
|
|
the amount and timing of the October 2006 cost reduction program; |
|
|
|
|
the timing, receipt and amount of sales from ZYFLO; |
|
|
|
|
the costs of ongoing sales and marketing for ZYFLO; |
|
|
|
|
advancements of other product candidates into development; |
|
|
|
|
the time and costs involved in preparing, submitting, obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals; |
|
|
|
|
the timing, receipt and amount of milestone and other payments, if any, from MedImmune,
Beckman Coulter or future collaborators; |
|
|
|
|
the timing, receipt and amount of sales and royalties, if any, from our potential
products; |
|
|
|
|
continued progress in our research and development programs, as well as the magnitude of
these programs including milestone payments to third parties under our license agreements; |
|
|
|
|
the cost of manufacturing, marketing and sales activities; |
|
|
|
|
the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing patent claims; |
|
|
|
|
the cost of obtaining and maintaining licenses to use patented technologies; |
|
|
|
|
potential acquisition or in-licensing of other products or technologies; |
|
|
|
|
our ability to establish and maintain additional collaborative arrangements; and |
|
|
|
|
the ongoing time and costs involved in certain corporate governance requirements,
including work related to compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
Other than payments that we receive from our collaborations with MedImmune and Beckman
Coulter, we expect that sales of ZYFLO will represent our only source of revenue until we
commercially launch zileuton CR, if it is approved. In addition to the foregoing factors, we
believe that our ability to access external funds will depend upon the regulatory status of
zileuton CR, market acceptance of zileuton CR, if approved, market acceptance of ZYFLO, the success of our other preclinical and
clinical development programs, the receptivity of the capital markets to financings by
biopharmaceutical companies, our ability to enter into additional strategic collaborations with
corporate and academic collaborators and the success of such collaborations.
The extent of our future capital requirements is difficult to assess and will depend largely
on our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for and successfully commercialize zileuton CR and
to sell ZYFLO. Based on our operating plans, and the anticipated effects of the restructuring that
we announced in October 2006, we believe that our available cash and
28 of 60
cash equivalents and anticipated cash received from product sales and anticipated payments
received under collaboration agreements will be sufficient to fund anticipated levels of operations
into the second half of 2008. Our operating plans assume the effective implementation of the May
2006 and October 2006 cost reduction initiatives.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, our net cash used for operating activities was
$41.6 million and we had capital expenditures of $376,000. If our existing resources are
insufficient to satisfy our liquidity requirements, or if we acquire or license rights to
additional product candidates, we may need to raise additional external funds through collaborative
arrangements and public or private financings. Additional financing may not be available to us on
acceptable terms or at all. In addition, the terms of the financing may adversely affect the
holdings or the rights of our stockholders. For example, if we raise additional funds by issuing
equity securities, further dilution to our then-existing stockholders will result. If we are unable
to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly delay, limit or eliminate
one or more of our research, development or commercialization programs, which could harm our
financial condition and operating results. We also could be required to seek funds through
arrangements with collaborators or others that may require us to relinquish rights to some of our
technologies, product candidates or products which we would otherwise pursue on our own.
Contractual Obligations
We have summarized in the table below our fixed contractual obligations as of September 30,
2006.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments Due by Period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less than |
|
|
One to |
|
|
Three to |
|
|
After five |
|
Contractual Obligation |
|
Total |
|
|
One year |
|
|
Three years |
|
|
Five years |
|
|
Years |
|
(in thousands) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short and long term debt |
|
$ |
1,852 |
|
|
$ |
1,176 |
|
|
$ |
676 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
Research and license agreements |
|
|
7,142 |
|
|
|
121 |
|
|
|
606 |
|
|
|
714 |
|
|
|
5,701 |
|
Consulting agreements |
|
|
107 |
|
|
|
107 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manufacturing and clinical trial agreements |
|
|
6,080 |
|
|
|
4,276 |
|
|
|
1,804 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Severance agreements |
|
|
976 |
|
|
|
976 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lease obligations |
|
|
4,162 |
|
|
|
1,863 |
|
|
|
2,299 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total contractual cash obligations |
|
$ |
20,319 |
|
|
$ |
8,519 |
|
|
$ |
5,385 |
|
|
$ |
714 |
|
|
$ |
5,701 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The amounts listed for
short- and long-term debt represent the principal and interest amounts we owe
under our credit agreement with Silicon Valley Bank.
The amounts listed for research and license agreements represent our fixed obligations payable
to sponsor research and minimum royalty payments for licensed patents. These amounts do not include
any additional amounts that we may be required to pay under our license agreements upon the
achievement of scientific, regulatory and commercial milestones that may become payable depending
on the progress of scientific development and regulatory approvals, including milestones such as
the submission of an investigational new drug application to the FDA, similar submissions to
foreign regulatory authorities and the first commercial sale of our products in various countries.
We are party to a number of agreements that require us to make milestone payments. In
particular, under our license agreement with Abbott Laboratories for zileuton, we agreed to make
aggregate milestone payments of up to $13.0 million to Abbott upon the achievement of various
development and commercialization milestones relating to zileuton, including the completion of the
technology transfer from Abbott to us, filing and approval of a product in the United States and
specified minimum net sales of licensed products. Through September 30, 2006, we have paid an
aggregate of $5.75 million to Abbott under our license agreements related to the immediate and
controlled-release formulations of zileuton. In addition, under our manufacturing agreement with
SkyePharma, through its subsidiary Jagotec, for the controlled-release version of zileuton, we
agreed to make aggregate milestone payments of up to $6.6 million upon the achievement of various
development and commercialization milestones. Through September 30, 2006, we have paid and accrued
an aggregate of $2.4 million to SkyePharma under our agreement. In the fourth quarter of 2006, we
will pay SkyePharma $375,000, related to filing of our NDA with the FDA for our
controlled-release formulation of zileuton.
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The amounts shown in the table do not include royalties on net sales of our products and
payments on sublicense income that we may owe as a result of receiving payments under our
collaboration agreement with MedImmune. Our license agreements are described more fully in Note 11
of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2005.
The amounts listed for consulting agreements are for fixed payments due to our scientific and
business consultants.
The amounts listed for manufacturing and clinical trial agreements represent amounts due to
third parties for manufacturing, clinical trials and preclinical studies. As discussed in Note 8 to
our condensed consolidated financial statements included herein, we entered into a manufacturing
and supply agreement with Rhodia Pharma Solutions for commercial production of the zileuton API,
subject to specified limitations, through December 31, 2009. On June 30, 2006, Rhodia SA, the
parent company of Rhodia Pharma Solutions, sold the European assets of its pharmaceutical custom
synthesis business to Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd. As part of this transaction, Rhodia SA
assigned our contract with Rhodia Pharma Solutions Ltd. to Shasun Pharma Solutions Ltd., or Shasun.
Under this agreement, we are committed to purchase minimum amounts of API in the fourth quarter of
2006, in the first quarter of 2007 and in the first quarter of 2008. The API purchased from Shasun
currently has a shelf-life of 24 months. We evaluate the need to provide reserves for contractually
committed future purchases of inventory that may be in excess of forecasted future demand. In
making these assessments, we are required to make judgments as to the future demand for current or
committed inventory levels and as to the expiration dates of its product. While our purchase
commitment for API from Shasun exceeds our current forecasted demand in 2006, we expect that any
excess API purchased in 2006 under our agreement with Shasun will be used in commercial production
batches in 2007 and 2008 and sold before it requires retesting. Therefore no reserve for this
purchase commitment has been recorded as of September 30, 2006.
Significant differences between our current estimates and judgments and future estimated
demand for our product and the useful life of our inventory may result in significant charges for
excess inventory or unnecessary purchase commitments in the future. These differences could have a
material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations during the period in
which we recognize charges for excess inventory. For example, in the
third quarter of 2006 we
recorded a charge of $55,000, excluding amounts to be reimbursed, to reserve for excess inventory
that was unlikely to be sold. The charge was included in cost of products sold in the accompanying
statement of operations.
The amounts listed for research and license agreements, consulting agreements and
manufacturing and clinical trial agreements include amounts that we owe under agreements that are
subject to cancellation or termination by us under various circumstances, including a material
uncured breach by the other party, minimum notice to the other party or payment of a termination
fee.
The amounts listed for lease obligations represent the amount we owe under our office,
computer, vehicle and laboratory space lease agreements under both operating and capital leases.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates. Our current
investment policy is to maintain an investment portfolio consisting mainly of U.S. money market and
corporate notes, directly or through managed funds, with maturities of two years or less. Our cash
is deposited in and invested through highly-rated financial institutions in North America. Our
short-term investments are subject to interest rate risk and will fall in value if market interest
rates increase. If market interest rates were to increase immediately and uniformly by 10% from
levels at September 30, 2006, we estimate that the fair value of our investment portfolio would
decline by approximately $7,000. In addition, we could be exposed to losses related to these
securities should one of our counterparties default. We attempt to mitigate this risk through
credit monitoring procedures. Although we consider our investments to be available-for-sale
securities in order to fund operations, if necessary, we have the ability to hold our fixed income
investments until maturity, and therefore we
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would not expect our operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant
degree by the effect of a change in market interest rates on our investments.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of Frank E. Thomas, in his capacities as our principal
executive officer and principal financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure
controls and procedures as of September 30, 2006. The term disclosure controls and procedures, as
defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other
procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by
the company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed,
summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange
Commissions rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation,
controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company
in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to
the companys management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as
appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management recognizes that
any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable
assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in
evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on the
evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2006, Mr. Thomas, our
principal executive officer and principal financial officer, concluded that, as of such date, our
disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.
No change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and
15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2006 that
has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over
financial reporting.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
Not applicable.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
You should carefully consider the following risk factors, in addition to other information
included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q and the other reports that we file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, in evaluating Critical Therapeutics and our business. If any of
the following risks occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be
materially adversely affected. The following risk factors include any material changes to and
supersede the risk factors previously disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2005.
Risks Relating to Our Business
Our business depends heavily on obtaining approval for and the commercial success of zileuton CR.
ZYFLO is our only commercial product and it has not achieved broad market acceptance. Other
than zileuton CR, our product candidates are in early clinical, preclinical and research stages
of development and are a number of years away from commercialization. Our NDA for zileuton CR
was accepted for filing by the FDA as of September 29, 2006. Under PDUFA guidelines, the PDUFA
date for our NDA is May 31, 2007, which is the date by which we expect to receive an action
letter from the FDA on this filing. If zileuton CR is not approved on a timely basis or at all,
it would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of
operations. If approved for sale, we expect zileuton CR would account for a significant portion
of our revenues for the foreseeable future, and that sales of ZYFLO would decline as patients
converted to zileuton CR
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Research and development of product candidates is a lengthy and expensive process. Our
early-stage product candidates in particular will require substantial funding for us to complete
preclinical testing and clinical trials, initiate manufacturing and, if approved for sale,
initiate commercialization. If zileuton CR is not approved and commercially successful, we may
be forced to find additional sources of funding earlier than we anticipated. If we are not
successful in obtaining additional funding on acceptable terms, we may be forced to
significantly delay, limit or eliminate one or more of our research, development or
commercialization programs.
If we do not obtain the regulatory approvals or clearances required to market and sell zileuton
CR, our business may be unsuccessful.
We may not market zileuton CR in the United States, Europe or any other country without
marketing approval from the FDA or the equivalent foreign regulatory agency. We have submitted
an NDA to the FDA for zileuton CR, which was accepted for filing as of September 29, 2006.
Abbott Laboratories conducted the pivotal clinical trials on zileuton CR before we in-licensed
the product candidate. We are relying on the results of these prior pivotal clinical trials to
support our NDA. If the data at the clinical sites do not pass FDA audits, we could be required
to repeat some or all of the clinical trials, which would lead to unanticipated costs and
delays. To be able to rely on the results of Abbotts pivotal clinical trials, we conducted two
comparative bioavailability studies intended to show that the pharmacokinetic profile of the
controlled-release zileuton tablets that we have manufactured is similar to the pharmacokinetic
profile of the controlled-release zileuton tablets previously manufactured by Abbott and used in
Abbotts clinical trials. We conducted both a single-dose and a multiple-dose pharmacokinetic
study. The studies assessed the pharmacokinetics of zileuton CR in volunteers under both fed and
fasting conditions. We believe that the results of the bioavailability studies are sufficient to
allow us to bridge to the results of Abbotts prior clinical trials to support our NDA filing.
The FDA has confirmed that this is a significant review issue. If the FDA disagrees with our
conclusions regarding the sufficiency of the results from the bioavailability studies, we could
be required to conduct additional clinical trials to support our NDA, which could lead to
unanticipated costs and delays or to the termination of our program for zileuton CR. If we do
not receive required regulatory approval or clearance to market zileuton CR, our ability to
generate product revenues and achieve profitability, our reputation and our ability to raise
additional capital will be materially impaired.
If zileuton CR is not approved for sale or the market is not receptive to it, we may not be able
to generate significant revenues unless we are able to successfully develop and commercialize
other product candidates.
The commercial success of zileuton CR, if it is approved for sale, will depend upon its
acceptance by the medical community, third-party payors and patients. Physicians will prescribe
zileuton CR only if they determine, based on experience, clinical data, side effect profiles or
other factors, that this product either alone or in combination with other products is
appropriate for managing their patients asthma. If approved, we believe that the primary
advantage of zileuton CR over ZYFLO would relate to a more convenient dosing schedule, but this
advantage may not result in broad market acceptance of zileuton CR, and the difficulties we have
had with ZYFLO may be equally applicable to zileuton CR.
Despite being approved by the FDA since 1996, ZYFLO, our first marketed zileuton product,
has not achieved broad market acceptance. In the 12-month period ending September 2003, only
1,700 physicians prescribed the product. During the period between our commercial launch of
ZYFLO in October 2005 through the week ending September 30, 2006, prescription data for ZYFLO
indicates that approximately 3,115 physicians prescribed the product. For the nine months ended
September 30, 2006, we recorded revenue from the sale of ZYFLO
of only $4.7 million. We have had
difficulty expanding the prescriber and patient base for ZYFLO, in part we believe, because some
physicians view ZYFLO as less effective than other products on the market or view its clinical
data as outdated and because it requires dosing four times per day, which some physicians and
patients may find inconvenient compared to other available asthma therapies that require dosing
only once or twice daily. In addition, if patients do not comply with the dosing schedule and
take less than the prescribed number of tablets, our sales of zileuton CR would be limited and
our revenues would be adversely effected.
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Market perceptions about the safety of ZYFLO may limit the market acceptance of zileuton
CR. In the clinical trials that were reviewed by the FDA prior to its approval of ZYFLO, 3.2%
of the approximately 5,000 patients who received ZYFLO experienced increased levels of a liver
enzyme called alanine transaminase, or ALT, of over three times the levels normally seen in the
bloodstream. In these trials, one patient developed symptomatic hepatitis with jaundice, which
resolved upon discontinuation of therapy, and three patients developed mild elevations in
bilirubin, a protein. In clinical trials for zileuton CR, 1.94% of the patients taking zileuton
CR in the three-month efficacy trial and 2.6% of the patients taking zileuton CR in the
six-month safety trial experienced ALT levels greater than or equal to three times the level
normally seen in the bloodstream. Because ZYFLO can elevate liver enzyme levels, periodic liver
function tests are recommended for patients taking ZYFLO. Given the results of the zileuton CR
clinical trials, these periodic liver function tests also are likely to be advisable for
patients taking zileuton CR. Some physicians and patients may perceive liver function tests as
inconvenient or indicative of safety issues, which could make them reluctant to prescribe or
accept ZYFLO and other zileuton product candidates, including zileuton CR. As a result, many
physicians may have negative perceptions about the safety of ZYFLO and other zileuton product
candidates, including zileuton CR, which could limit their commercial acceptance. The absence of
ZYFLO from the market prior to our commercial launch in October 2005 may have exacerbated any
negative perceptions about ZYFLO if physicians believe the absence of ZYFLO from the market was
related to safety or efficacy issues.
The position of ZYFLO in managed care formularies, which are lists of approved products
developed by managed care organizations, has also made it more difficult to expand the current
market share for this product. As a result of a lack of a sustained sales and marketing effort
prior to our commercial launch in October 2005, in many instances ZYFLO had been relegated to a
third-tier status, which typically requires the highest co-pay for patients. We expect zileuton
CR to have third-tier status as well.
If any existing negative perceptions about ZYFLO persist, we will have difficulty achieving
market acceptance for zileuton CR, if approved. If we are unable to achieve market acceptance of
zileuton CR, we will not generate significant revenues unless we are able to successfully
develop and commercialize other product candidates.
If we do not have an adequate marketing and sales infrastructure and presence following our
October 2006 restructuring, our ability to market and sell our products will be impaired.
In October 2006, we determined to reduce the size of our sales force to 18. Previously, we
reduced the size of our sales force as part of the cost reduction program that we announced in
May 2006. In addition, our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing resigned in June 2006,
and our Vice President of Sales resigned in July 2006. Despite these changes, we plan to
continue to market and sell ZYFLO directly through our internal sales force. Because of the
reduced size of our sales force, our sales of ZYFLO may decrease. In addition, due to our
difficulty in achieving market acceptance of ZYFLO since its commercial launch in October 2005,
the reduction in the size of our sales force, and the resignations of our Senior Vice President
of Sales and Marketing and Vice President of Sales, it may be difficult for us to retain
qualified sales and marketing personnel and maintain an effective sales force.
We plan to pursue a co-promotion arrangement with a third party with respect to the
marketing and sales of zileuton CR. If we are unable to enter into a co-promotion arrangement on
terms that are favorable to us, we may determine to market and sell zileuton CR independently.
If we independently launch and market zileuton CR, we would need to rebuild our sales
force, which would involve significant expenses. In addition, we may not be able to attract,
hire, train and retain qualified sales and marketing personnel to rebuild the sales force. If we
are not successful in our efforts to build this sales force, our ability to independently launch
and market zileuton CR would be impaired.
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A failure to maintain appropriate inventory levels could harm our reputation and subject us to
financial losses.
We purchased quantities of raw materials and supplies of ZYFLO tablets in connection with
the commercial launch of ZYFLO. These purchases were made consistent with our forecasts of
inventory levels of ZYFLO that we based on our estimate of expected customer orders in
combination with limited historical information regarding actual sales. Because product demand
for ZYFLO has been less than we anticipated, our inventory levels of the API for ZYFLO have been
higher than anticipated. In addition, we are subject to minimum purchase obligations under our
supply agreements with our third-party manufacturers, which could require us to buy additional
inventory. We plan to use a portion of the API manufactured for ZYFLO in order to manufacture
zileuton CR. If ZYFLO demand does not increase or approval and commercial launch of zileuton CR
is delayed, we may not be able to reduce these inventories or use the additional inventory we
are required to acquire. Significant differences between our current estimates and judgments and
future estimated demand for our products and the useful life of inventory may result in
significant charges for excess inventory or unnecessary purchase commitments in the future. If
we are required to recognize charges for excess inventories, it could have a material adverse
effect on our financial condition and results of operations during the period in which we
recognize charges for excess inventory.
If we fail to maintain an adequate inventory of ZYFLO, zileutons API, or zileuton CR, if
it is approved, or if our inventory were to be destroyed or damaged or reached its expiration
date, patients may not have access to our products, our reputation and our brand could be harmed
and physicians may be less likely to prescribe our products in the future.
If
the market is not receptive to our product candidates, we will be unable to generate revenues
from sales of these products.
The probability of commercial success of each of our product candidates is subject to
significant uncertainty. Factors that we believe will materially affect market acceptance of our
product candidates under development include:
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the timing of our receipt of any marketing approvals, the terms of any approval and the
countries in which approvals are obtained; |
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the safety, efficacy and ease of administration; |
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the therapeutic benefit or other improvement over existing comparable products; |
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pricing and cost effectiveness; |
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the ability to be produced in commercial quantities at acceptable costs; |
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the availability of reimbursement from third-party payors such as state and Federal
governments, under programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and private insurance plans and
managed care organizations; and |
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the extent and success of our sales and marketing efforts. |
The failure of our product candidates to achieve market acceptance would prevent us from
ever generating meaningful revenues from sales of these product candidates.
We may not be successful in our efforts to advance and expand our portfolio of product
candidates.
An element of our strategy is to develop and commercialize product candidates that address
large unmet medical needs in the critical care market. We seek to do so through:
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internal research programs; |
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sponsored research programs with academic and other research institutions and individual
doctors, chemists and researchers; and |
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collaborations with other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies with complementary
clinical development or commercialization capabilities or capital to assist in funding
product development and commercialization. |
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A significant portion of the research that we are conducting involves new and unproven
technologies. Research programs to identify new product candidates, whether conducted by us or
by academic or other research institutions under sponsored research agreements, require
substantial technical, financial and human resources. These research programs may initially show
promise in identifying potential product candidates, yet fail to yield product candidates for
clinical development for a variety of reasons, including:
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the research methodology used may not be successful in identifying potential product
candidates; |
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the time, money and other resources that we devote to our research programs may not be
adequate, including as a result of the May 2006 and October 2006 cost reduction programs;
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potential product candidates may, on further study, be shown to have harmful side
effects or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to be effective
products. |
In addition, subject to having sufficient resources, cash and otherwise, to develop or
commercialize additional products, we may seek to in-license or acquire product candidates or
approved products. However, we may be unable to license or acquire suitable product candidates
or products from third parties for a number of reasons. In particular, the licensing and
acquisition of pharmaceutical products is competitive. A number of more established companies
are also pursuing strategies to license or acquire products in the critical care market. These
established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cash resources
or greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. Other factors that may
prevent us from licensing or otherwise acquiring suitable product candidates or approved
products include the following:
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we may be unable to license or acquire the relevant technology on terms that would allow
us to make an appropriate return from the product; |
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companies that perceive us as a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license their product rights to us; |
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we may be unable to identify suitable products or product candidates within our areas of expertise; and |
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we may have inadequate cash resources or may be unable to access public or private
financing to obtain rights to suitable products or product candidates from third parties. |
If we are unable to develop suitable potential product candidates through internal research
programs, sponsored research programs or by obtaining rights from third parties, we will not be
able to increase our revenues in future periods, which could result in significant harm to our
financial position and adversely impact our stock price.
We face substantial competition. If we are unable to compete effectively, ZYFLO and our product
candidates may be rendered noncompetitive or obsolete.
The development and commercialization of new drugs is highly competitive. We will face
competition with respect to the development of product candidates and for ZYFLO, zileuton CR, if
approved, and any other products that we commercialize in the future from pharmaceutical
companies, biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, companies selling
low-cost generic substitutes, academic institutions, government agencies or research
institutions. A number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies currently market and
sell products to treat asthma that compete with ZYFLO and will compete with, if approved for
sale, zileuton CR. Many established therapies currently command large market shares in the mild
to moderate asthma market, including Merck & Co., Inc.s Singulair®, GlaxoSmithKline plcs
Advair® and inhaled corticosteroid products. We will also face competition in the severe asthma
market. The severe asthma market is currently served by the therapies developed for mild to
moderate asthma, as these therapies (Singulair®, Advair® and inhaled corticosteroids) are used
in combination or add-on therapies in severe asthma, along with oral and injectable steroid
treatments. One product, Xolair®, developed jointly by Novartis AG, Genentech, Inc. and Tanox,
Inc., was approved in 2004 for severe allergic asthma and had U.S. sales of $320.6 million in
2005. In addition, we may face competition from pharmaceutical companies seeking to develop new
drugs for the asthma market. For example, in July 2006, AstraZeneca announced the approval of
Symbicort®, a twice-daily asthma therapy combining budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid, and
formoterol, a beta2-agonist, that is expected
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to compete in the moderate and severe asthma markets. AstraZeneca has stated it expects to
launch Symbicort® in mid-2007.
Zileuton will also face intense competition if we are able to develop it as a treatment for
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. COPD is currently treated predominantly with
drugs that are indicated for use in asthma only or asthma and COPD, anti-cholinergic drugs and
lung reduction surgery. Spiriva®, a once daily muscarinic antagonist from Boehringer Ingleheim
GmbH and Pfizer, has been approved in Europe and the United States. Other novel approaches are
also in the development process.
Our therapeutic programs directed toward the bodys inflammatory response will compete
predominantly with therapies that have been approved for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis,
like Amgen, Inc.s Enbrel®, Johnson & Johnsons Remicade®, and Abbott Laboratories Humira®, and
diseases such as sepsis, like Eli Lilly and Companys Xigris®.
Our competitors products may be safer, more effective, or more effectively marketed and
sold, than any of our products. Many of our competitors have:
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significantly greater financial, technical and human resources than we have and may be
better equipped to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize products; |
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more extensive experience than we have in conducting preclinical studies and clinical
trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical
products; |
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competing products that have already received regulatory approval or are in late-stage development; and |
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collaborative arrangements in our target markets with leading companies and research institutions. |
We will face competition based on the safety and effectiveness of our products, the timing
and scope of regulatory approvals, the availability and cost of supply, marketing and sales
capabilities, reimbursement coverage, price, patent position and other factors. Our competitors
may develop or commercialize more effective, safer or more affordable products, or obtain more
effective patent protection, than we are able to. Accordingly, our competitors may commercialize
products more rapidly or effectively than we are able to, which would adversely affect our
competitive position, the likelihood that our product candidates will achieve initial market
acceptance and our ability to generate meaningful revenues from our product candidates. Even if
our product candidates achieve initial market acceptance, competitive products may render our
products obsolete or noncompetitive. If our product candidates are rendered obsolete, we may not
be able to recover the expenses of developing and commercializing those product candidates.
Our operating results may be harmed if our restructuring plans and cost reduction measures do not
achieve the anticipated results or cause undesirable consequences.
In May 2006, we implemented cost reduction measures and in the fourth quarter of 2006 we
are implementing additional cost reduction measures, which have included or will include, among
other things, significant workforce reductions. Because of the nature and extent of the
restructuring actions we have taken and are taking, we may have difficulty marketing and
promoting ZYLFLO or zileuton CR, if approved. If we fail to achieve the desired results of our
cost reduction measures, we may suffer material harm to our business.
Our cost reduction initiatives may yield unintended consequences, such as attrition beyond
our planned reduction in workforce, reduced employee morale and reduced support from physicians.
As a result of these factors, our employees may seek alternate employment. Attrition beyond our
planned reduction in workforce could have a material adverse effect on our financial
performance. In addition, as a result of these cost reduction programs and the reduction in our
workforce, we face an increased risk of employment litigation.
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If we are unable to retain key personnel and hire additional qualified management and scientific
personnel, we may not be able to successfully achieve our goals.
We depend on the principal members of our management and scientific staff, including Frank
E. Thomas, our President, Dana Hilt, M.D., our Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President
of Clinical Development, and Trevor Phillips, Ph.D., our Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice
President of Operations. The loss of any of these individuals services would diminish the
knowledge and experience that we, as an organization, possess and might significantly delay or
prevent the achievement of our research, development or commercialization objectives and could
cause us to incur additional costs to recruit replacement executive personnel. We do not
maintain key person life insurance on any of these individuals or any of our other scientific
and management staff.
In June 2006, Paul D. Rubin, M.D. stepped down from his position as our President and Chief
Executive Officer and resigned from our board of directors and Frederick Finnegan resigned from
his position as our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In July 2006, Anne M. Fields
resigned from her position of Vice President of Sales. In October 2006, Walter Newman, Ph.D.
resigned from his position as our Senior Vice President of Research and Development and Chief
Scientific Officer. We have not yet determined the impact that the departure of these executives
may have on our ability to achieve our research, development and commercialization objectives.
We put in place a new management structure, with a smaller management team that does not include
a chief executive officer or a chief scientific officer, and have promoted individuals already
employed by us to assume additional responsibilities. If we are unable to successfully
transition our management staff to compensate for the loss of these executives, the achievement
of our research, development and commercialization objectives could be significantly delayed or
prevented. In addition, our focus on transitioning to our new management structure could divert
our managements attention from other business concerns. Furthermore, if we decide to recruit
new executive personnel, we will incur additional costs.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to attract and retain qualified scientific
and management personnel. Any expansion into areas and activities requiring additional
expertise, such as clinical trials, governmental approvals, contract manufacturing and sales and
marketing, will place additional requirements on our management, operational and financial
resources. These demands may require us to hire additional management and scientific personnel
and will require our existing management personnel to develop additional expertise. We face
intense competition for personnel. As we transition to our new management structure, we may have
difficulty attracting and retaining personnel. The failure to retain and attract personnel or to
develop such expertise could delay or halt the research, development, regulatory approval and
commercialization of our product candidates.
We will spend considerable time and money complying with Federal and state laws and regulations,
and, if we are unable to fully comply with such laws and regulations, we could face substantial
penalties.
We are subject to extensive regulation by Federal and state governments. The laws that
directly or indirectly affect our business include, but are not limited to, the following:
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Federal Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback laws, which prohibit persons from knowingly
and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or
indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce either the referral of an individual, or
furnishing or arranging for a good or service, for which payment may be made under Federal
healthcare programs such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs; |
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other Medicare laws and regulations that establish the requirements for coverage and
payment for our products, including the amount of such payments; |
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the Federal False Claims Act, which imposes civil and criminal liability on individuals
and entities who submit, or cause to be submitted, false or fraudulent claims for payment to
the government; |
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the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which
prohibits executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private
payors and, further, requires us to comply with standards regarding privacy and security of
individually identifiable health information and conduct certain electronic transactions
using standardized code sets; |
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the Federal False Statements Statute, which prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying,
concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in
connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services; |
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the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which regulates development, manufacturing,
labeling, marketing, distribution and sale of prescription drugs and medical devices; |
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the Federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987, which regulates the distribution of
drug samples to physicians and other prescribers who are authorized under state law to
receive and dispense drug samples; |
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state and foreign law equivalents of the foregoing; |
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state food and drug laws, pharmacy acts and state pharmacy board regulations, which
govern sale, distribution, use, administration and prescribing of prescription drugs; and |
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state laws that prohibit practice of medicine by non-physicians and fee-splitting
arrangements between physicians and non-physicians, as well as state law equivalents to the
Federal Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback laws, which may not be limited to government
reimbursed items or services. |
If our past or present operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described
above or other laws or governmental regulations to which we or our customers are subject, we may
be subject to the applicable penalty associated with the violation, including civil and criminal
penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid programs and curtailment or
restructuring of our operations. Similarly, if our customers are found non-compliant with
applicable laws, they may be subject to sanctions, which could also have a negative impact on
us. In addition, if we are required to obtain permits or licenses under these laws that we do
not already possess, we may become subject to substantial additional regulation or incur
significant expense. Any penalties, damages, fines, curtailment or restructuring of our
operations would adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
Healthcare fraud and abuse regulations are complex, and even minor irregularities can
potentially give rise to claims of a violation. The risk of our being found in violation of
these laws is increased by the fact that many of them have not been fully interpreted by the
regulatory authorities or the courts, and their provisions are open to a variety of
interpretations, and additional legal or regulatory change.
If our promotional activities fail to comply with the FDAs regulations or guidelines, we
may be subject to enforcement action by the FDA. For example, we received a warning letter from
the FDA in November 2005 relating to certain promotional material that included an illustration
of the mechanism of action for ZYFLO. The FDA asserted that the promotional material
incorporating the illustration was false or misleading because it presented efficacy claims for
ZYFLO, but failed to contain fair balance by not communicating the risks associated with its use
and failing to present the approved indication for ZYFLO. In response to the warning letter, and
as requested by the FDA, we stopped disseminating the promotional material containing the
mechanism of action and we provided a written response to the FDA. As part of our response, we
provided a description of our plan to disseminate corrective messages about the promotional
material to those who received this material. We revised the promotional material containing the
mechanism of action to address the FDAs concerns regarding fair balance. If our promotional
activities fail to comply with the FDAs regulations or guidelines, we could be subject to
additional regulatory actions by the FDA, including product seizure, injunctions, and other
penalties and our reputation and the reputation of ZYFLO in the market could be harmed.
Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against
it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses, divert our managements attention from
operating our business and damage our reputation or our brands. If there is a change in law,
regulation or administrative or judicial interpretations, we may have to change or discontinue
our business practices or our existing business practices could be challenged as unlawful, which
could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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State pharmaceutical marketing and promotional compliance and reporting requirements may expose
us to regulatory and legal action by state governments or other government authorities.
In recent years, several states, including California, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico,
Vermont and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation requiring
pharmaceutical companies to establish marketing and promotional compliance programs and file
periodic reports with the state on sales, marketing, pricing, reporting pricing and other
activities. For example, a California statute effective July 1, 2005 requires pharmaceutical
companies to adopt and post on their public web site a comprehensive compliance program that is
in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Code on Interactions
with Healthcare Professionals and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health
and Human Services Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. In addition,
such compliance program must establish a specific annual dollar limit on gifts or other items
given to individual healthcare professionals in California.
Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, West Virginia and the District of Columbia have also
enacted statutes of varying scope that impose reporting and disclosure requirements upon
pharmaceutical companies pertaining to drug pricing and payments and costs associated with
pharmaceutical marketing, advertising and promotional activities, as well as restrictions upon
the types of gifts that may be provided to healthcare practitioners. Similar legislation is
being considered in a number of other states. Many of these requirements are new and uncertain,
and available guidance is limited. We are in the process of identifying the universe of state
laws applicable to pharmaceutical companies and are taking steps to ensure that we come into
compliance with all such laws. Unless and until we are in full compliance with these laws, we
could face enforcement action and fines and other penalties, and could receive adverse
publicity, all of which could materially harm our business.
Our corporate compliance and corporate governance programs cannot guarantee that we are in
compliance with all potentially applicable regulations.
The development, manufacturing, pricing, marketing, sales and reimbursement of ZYFLO,
zileuton CR and our other product candidates, together with our general operations, are subject
to extensive regulation by federal, state and other authorities within the United States and
numerous entities outside of the United States. We are a relatively small company and expect to
have approximately 59 employees after the completion of our October 2006 restructuring. We rely
heavily on third parties to conduct many important functions. While we have developed and
instituted a corporate compliance program based on what we believe are the current best
practices and continue to update the program in response to newly implemented and changing
regulatory requirements, it is possible that we may not be in compliance with all potentially
applicable regulations. If we fail to comply with any of these regulations, we could be subject
to a range of regulatory actions, including significant fines, litigation or other sanctions.
Any action against us for a violation of these regulations, even if we successfully defend
against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses, divert our managements
attention and harm our reputation.
As a publicly traded company, we are subject to significant legal and regulatory
requirements, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related regulations, some of which
have either only recently been adopted or are subject to change. For example, we are incurring
additional expenses and devoting significant management time and attention to evaluating our
internal control systems in order to allow our management to report on, and our registered
public accounting firm to attest to, our internal controls over financial reporting, as required
by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If the controls and procedures that we implement do
not comply with all of the relevant rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, or SEC, and The Nasdaq Global Market, we may be subject to sanctions or
investigation by regulatory authorities, including the SEC or The Nasdaq Global Market. This
type of action could adversely affect our financial results or investors confidence in our
company and our ability to access the capital markets. If we fail to develop and maintain
adequate controls and procedures, we may be unable to provide the required financial information
in a timely and reliable manner, which could cause a decline in our stock price.
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Our sales depend on payment and reimbursement from third-party payors, and a reduction in payment
rate or reimbursement could result in decreased use or sales of our products.
Our sales of ZYFLO are, and sales of our product candidates including zileuton CR will be,
dependent, in part, on the availability of reimbursement from third-party payors such as state
and Federal governments, under programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and private insurance
plans. There have been, there are and we expect there will continue to be, state and Federal
legislative and administrative proposals that could limit the amount that state or Federal
governments will pay to reimburse the cost of pharmaceutical and biologic products. The Medicare
Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, or the MMA, was signed into law in
December 2003. We cannot predict the full impact of the MMA and its regulatory requirements on
our business. However, legislative or administrative acts that reduce reimbursement for our
products could adversely impact our business. In addition, we believe that private insurers,
such as managed care organizations, or MCOs, may adopt their own reimbursement reductions in
response to legislation. Any reduction in reimbursement for our products could materially harm
our results of operations. In addition, we believe that the increasing emphasis on managed care
in the United States has and will continue to put pressure on the price and usage of our
products, which may adversely impact our product sales. Furthermore, when a new drug product is
approved, governmental and private reimbursement for that product, and the amount for which that
product will be reimbursed, are uncertain. We cannot predict the availability or amount of
reimbursement for ZYFLO or our product candidates, including zileuton CR, and current
reimbursement policies for marketed products may change at any time.
The MMA also establishes a prescription drug benefit beginning in 2006 for all Medicare
beneficiaries. We cannot be certain that our products will be included in the Medicare
prescription drug benefit. Even if our products are included, the MCOs, health maintenance
organizations, or HMOs, preferred provider organizations, or PPOs, and private health plans that
administer the Medicare drug benefit have the ability to negotiate price and demand discounts
from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that may implicitly create price controls on
prescription drugs. On the other hand, the drug benefit may increase the volume of
pharmaceutical drug purchases, offsetting at least in part these potential price discounts. In
addition, MCOs, HMOs, PPOs, healthcare institutions and other government agencies continue to
seek price discounts. Because MCOs, HMOs and PPOs and private health plans will administer the
Medicare drug benefit, managed care and private health plans will influence prescription
decisions for a larger segment of the population. In addition, certain states have proposed and
certain other states have adopted various programs to control prices for senior citizen and drug
programs for people with low incomes, including price or patient reimbursement constraints,
restrictions on access to certain products, and bulk purchasing of drugs.
If we succeed in bringing products in addition to ZYFLO to the market, these products may
not be considered cost effective and reimbursement to the patient may not be available or
sufficient to allow us to sell our product candidates on a competitive basis to a sufficient
patient population. Because our product candidates other than zileuton CR are in the development
stage, we are unable at this time to determine the cost-effectiveness of these product
candidates. We may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic trials in order to demonstrate
their cost-effectiveness. Sales of prescription drugs are highly dependent on the availability
and level of reimbursement to the consumer from third-party payors, such as government and
private insurance plans. These third-party payors frequently require that drug companies provide
them with predetermined discounts or rebates from list prices, and third-party payors are
increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products. Because our product candidates
other than zileuton CR are in the development stage, we do not know the level of reimbursement,
if any, we will receive for those product candidates if they are successfully developed. If the
reimbursement we receive for any of our product candidates is inadequate in light of our
development and other costs, our ability to realize profits from the affected product candidate
would be limited. If reimbursement for our marketed products changes adversely or if we fail to
obtain adequate reimbursement for our other current or future products, health care providers
may limit how much or under what circumstances they will prescribe or administer them, which
could reduce use of our products or cause us to reduce the price of our products.
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If our Medicaid rebate program practices are investigated or if the Medicaid portion of our ZYFLO
sales grows, the costs could be substantial and our operating results could be adversely
affected.
On January 1, 2006, we became a participant in the Medicaid rebate program established by
the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended, effective in 1993. Under the Medicaid
rebate program, we pay a rebate for each unit of our product reimbursed by Medicaid. The amount
of the rebate for each product is set by law. We are also required to pay certain statutorily
defined rebates on Medicaid purchases for reimbursement on prescription drugs under state
Medicaid plans. Both the Federal government and state governments have initiated investigations
into the rebate practices of many pharmaceutical companies to ensure compliance with these
rebate programs. Any investigation of our rebate practices could be costly, could divert the
attention of our management and could damage our reputation.
In addition, because ZYFLO was previously marketed by Abbott prior to our licensing it, the
rebate that we are required to pay to Medicaid for prescriptions filled by patients covered
under a Medicaid program could be substantial. The calculation of the Medicaid rebate is based
on the initial pricing set by Abbott with adjustments for inflation each year. Since the price
set by Abbott for ZYFLO is below the price we are currently charging, we are subject to a
Medicaid rebate of greater than 75% of our selling price. Based on historical prescribing
patterns since our launch in October 2005, our Medicaid business has represented less than 5% of
total ZYFLO prescriptions. However, if the Medicaid portion of our ZYFLO sales were to increase
such that Medicaid represented a larger than expected percentage of the mix of sales for ZYFLO,
the increased level of rebates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition
and results of operations.
Our business has a substantial risk of product liability claims. If we are unable to obtain
appropriate levels of insurance, a product liability claim against us could interfere with the
development and commercialization of our product candidates or subject us to unanticipated
damages or settlement amounts.
Our business exposes us to significant potential product liability risks that are inherent
in the development, manufacturing and marketing and sale of drugs. If the use of ZYFLO, zileuton
CR or one or more of our other product candidates harms people, we may be subject to costly and
damaging product liability claims. We currently have a $20.0 million annual aggregate limit for
insurance covering both product liability claims for ZYFLO and clinical trial liability claims
for our product candidates. We may seek additional product liability insurance prior to
marketing zileuton CR or any of our other product candidates. However, our insurance may not
provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. Furthermore, product liability and
clinical trial insurance is becoming increasingly expensive. As a result, we may be unable to
maintain current amounts of insurance coverage, obtain additional insurance or obtain sufficient
insurance at a reasonable cost to protect against losses that we have not anticipated in our
business plans. Any product liability claim against us, even if we successfully defend against
it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses, divert our managements attention and
harm our reputation.
We handle hazardous materials and must comply with laws and regulations, which can be expensive
and restrict how we do business. If we are involved in a hazardous waste spill or other accident,
we could be liable for damages, penalties or other forms of censure.
Our research and development work involves, and any future manufacturing processes that we
conduct may involve, the use of hazardous, controlled and radioactive materials. We are subject
to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage,
handling and disposal of these materials. Despite precautionary procedures that we implement for
handling and disposing of these materials, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental
contamination or injury. In the event of a hazardous waste spill or other accident, we could be
liable for damages, penalties or other forms of censure.
In addition, we may be required to incur significant costs to comply with laws and
regulations in the future, or we may be materially and adversely affected by current or future
laws or regulations.
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While we have a property insurance policy that covers bio-contamination up to a $25,000
per-occurrence limit and covers radioactive contamination up to a $25,000 per-occurrence limit,
this policy may not provide adequate coverage against potential losses, damages, penalties or
costs relating to accidental contamination or injury as a result of hazardous, controlled or
radioactive materials.
Risks Relating to Development, Clinical Testing and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates
If we do not obtain the regulatory approvals or clearances required to market and sell our
product candidates under development, our business may be unsuccessful.
Neither we nor any of our collaborators may market any of our products in the United
States, Europe or in any other country without marketing approval from the FDA or the equivalent
foreign regulatory agency. ZYFLO is our only commercial product and can only be marketed in the
United States.
The regulatory process to obtain market approval or clearance for a new drug or biologic
takes many years, requires expenditures of substantial resources, is uncertain and is subject to
unanticipated delays. We have had only limited experience in preparing applications and
obtaining regulatory approvals and clearances. Adverse side effects of a product candidate in a
clinical trial could result in the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities refusing to approve or
clear a particular product candidate for any or all indications for use.
The FDA and foreign regulatory agencies have substantial discretion in the drug approval
process and can deny, delay or limit approval of a product candidate for a variety of reasons.
If we do not receive required regulatory approval or clearance to market zileuton CR or any of
our other product candidates under development, our ability to generate product revenue and
achieve profitability, our reputation and our ability to raise additional capital will be
materially impaired.
If clinical trials for our product candidates are not successful, we may not be able to develop,
obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize these product candidates successfully.
Our product candidates are still in development and remain subject to clinical testing and
regulatory approval or clearance. In order to obtain regulatory approvals or clearances for the
commercial sale of our product candidates, we and our collaborators will be required to complete
extensive clinical trials in humans to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product
candidates. We may not be able to obtain authority from the FDA, institutional review boards or
other regulatory agencies to commence or complete these clinical trials. If permitted, such
clinical testing may not prove that our product candidates are safe and effective to the extent
necessary to permit us to obtain marketing approvals or clearances from regulatory authorities.
One or more of our product candidates may not exhibit the expected therapeutic results in
humans, may cause harmful side effects or have other unexpected characteristics that may delay
or preclude submission and regulatory approval or clearance or limit commercial use if approved
or cleared. Furthermore, we, one of our collaborators, institutional review boards, or
regulatory agencies may hold, suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time if it is believed
that the subjects or patients participating in such trials are being exposed to unacceptable
health risks or for other reasons.
For example, in March 2006, we announced that we had discontinued a Phase II clinical trial
of CTI-01, a small molecule product candidate that we had been developing for prevention of
complications that can occur in patients after cardiopulmonary bypass, a procedure commonly
performed during heart surgery. We discontinued the trial after routine testing revealed some
swelling in the butyl rubber stoppers used to seal the vials that stored the drug. We determined
that the durability of the stopper could have affected the integrity of clinical supplies of the
product candidate at the trial sites. Preliminary data from the trial, which was not powered for
efficacy, showed no signal or positive trends in efficacy. We
analyzed the final
safety and efficacy data from the patients who received our drug
before we discontinued the trial. After reviewing the final data from the trial, we decided to
discontinue further development of CTI-01. In November 2006, we gave notice of termination
effective February 6, 2007 of the license agreements between us and the University of
Pittsburgh and Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly Phenome Sciences, Inc., related to
certain patent rights related to ethyl pyruvate controlled by
University of Pittsburgh and Xanthus respectively.
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Preclinical testing and clinical trials of new drug and biologic candidates are lengthy and
expensive and the historical failure rate for such candidates is high. We may not be able to
advance any more product candidates into clinical trials. Even if we do successfully enter into
clinical trials, the results from preclinical testing of a product candidate may not predict the
results that will be obtained in human clinical trials. In addition, positive results
demonstrated in preclinical studies and clinical trials that we complete may not be indicative
of results obtained in additional clinical trials. Clinical trials may take several years to
complete, and failure can occur at any stage of testing.
Adverse or inconclusive clinical trial results concerning any of our product candidates
could require us to conduct additional clinical trials, result in increased costs and
significantly delay the submission for marketing approval or clearance for such product
candidates with the FDA or other regulatory authorities or result in a submission or approval
for a narrower indication. If clinical trials fail, our product candidates would not become
commercially viable.
If clinical trials for our product candidates are delayed, we would be unable to commercialize
our product candidates on a timely basis, which would require us to incur additional costs and
delay the receipt of any revenues from product sales.
We cannot predict whether we will encounter problems with any of our completed, ongoing or
planned clinical trials that will cause regulatory authorities, institutional review boards or
us to delay or suspend those clinical trials, or delay the analysis of data from our ongoing
clinical trials.
Any of the following could delay the completion of our ongoing and planned clinical trials:
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ongoing discussions with the FDA or comparable foreign authorities regarding the scope
or design of our clinical trials; |
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delays or the inability to obtain required approvals from institutional review boards or
other governing entities at clinical sites selected for participation in our clinical
trials; |
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delays in enrolling patients and volunteers into clinical trials; |
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lower than anticipated retention rates of patients and volunteers in clinical trials; |
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the need to repeat clinical trials as a result of inconclusive or negative results or poorly executed testing; |
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insufficient supply or deficient quality of product candidate materials or other
materials necessary to conduct our clinical trials; |
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unfavorable FDA inspection and review of a clinical trial site or records of any
clinical or preclinical investigation; |
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serious and unexpected drug-related side effects experienced by participants in ongoing
or past clinical trials for the same or a different indication; |
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serious and unexpected drug-related side effects observed during ongoing or past preclinical studies; or |
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the placement of a clinical hold on a trial. |
Our ability to enroll patients in our clinical trials in sufficient numbers and on a timely
basis will be subject to a number of factors, including the size of the patient population, the
nature of the protocol, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the availability of
effective treatments for the relevant disease, competing trials with other product candidates
and the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial. Delays in patient enrollment can result in
increased costs and longer development times. In addition, subjects may drop out of our clinical
trials and thereby impair the validity or statistical significance of the trials.
We expect to rely on academic institutions and clinical research organizations to supervise
or monitor some or all aspects of the clinical trials for the product candidates we advance into
clinical testing. Accordingly, we have less control over the timing and other aspects of these
clinical trials than if we conducted them entirely on our own.
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As a result of these factors, we or third parties on whom we rely may not successfully
begin or complete our clinical trials in the time periods we have forecasted, if at all. If the
results of our ongoing or planned clinical trials for our product candidates are not available
when we expect or if we encounter any delay in the analysis of data from our preclinical studies
and clinical trials, we may be unable to submit for regulatory approval or clearance or conduct
additional clinical trials on the schedule we currently anticipate.
If clinical trials are delayed, the commercial viability of our product candidates may be
reduced. If we incur costs and delays in our programs, or if we do not successfully develop and
commercialize our products, our future operating and financial results will be materially
affected.
Even if we obtain regulatory approvals or clearances, our product candidates will be subject to
ongoing regulatory requirements and review. If we fail to comply with continuing U.S. and
applicable foreign regulations, we could lose permission to manufacture and distribute our
products and the sale of our product candidates could be suspended.
Our product candidates are subject to continuing regulatory review after approval,
including the review of spontaneous adverse drug experiences and clinical results from any
post-market testing required as a condition of approval that are reported after our product
candidates become commercially available. The manufacturer and the manufacturing facilities we
use to make any of our product candidates will also be subject to periodic review and inspection
by the FDA. The subsequent discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, manufacturer
or facility may result in restrictions on the product or manufacturer or facility, including
withdrawal of the product from the market. Our product promotion and advertising will also be
subject to regulatory requirements and continuing FDA review.
If we or our third-party manufacturers or service providers fail to comply with applicable laws
and regulations, we or they could be subject to enforcement actions, which could affect our
ability to market and sell our product candidates and may harm our reputation.
If we or our third-party manufacturers or service providers fail to comply with applicable
federal, state or foreign laws or regulations, we could be subject to enforcement actions, which
could affect our ability to develop, market and sell our product candidates successfully and
could harm our reputation and lead to less market acceptance of our product candidates. These
enforcement actions include:
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product seizures; |
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voluntary or mandatory recalls; |
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suspension of review or refusal to approve pending applications; |
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voluntary or mandatory patient or physician notification; |
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withdrawal of product approvals; |
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restrictions on, or prohibitions against, marketing our product candidates; |
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restrictions on applying for or obtaining government bids; |
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fines; |
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restrictions on importation of our product candidates; |
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injunctions; and |
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civil and criminal penalties. |
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Risks Relating to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We depend on MedImmune and Beckman Coulter and expect to depend on additional collaborators in
the future for a portion of our revenues and to develop, conduct clinical trials with, obtain
regulatory approvals for, and manufacture, market and sell some of our product candidates. These
collaborations may not be successful.
We are relying on MedImmune to fund the development of and to commercialize product
candidates in our HMGB1 program. We are relying on Beckman Coulter to fund the development and
to commercialize diagnostics in our HMGB1 program. All of our revenues for the years ended
December 31, 2003 and 2004 were derived from fees paid to us by MedImmune. Our revenues for the
year ended December 31, 2005 and the nine months ended September 30, 2006 were derived from fees
paid to us by MedImmune and Beckman Coulter under our collaboration agreements with them and
revenue from the sale of ZYFLO beginning in the fourth quarter of 2005; however, a significant
portion of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2005 and the nine months ended September
30, 2006 continued to be derived from our collaboration agreements with MedImmune and Beckman
Coulter. Additional payments due to us under the collaboration agreements with MedImmune and
Beckman Coulter are generally based on our achievement of specific development and
commercialization milestones that we may not meet. In addition, the collaboration agreements
entitle us to royalty payments that are based on the sales of products developed and marketed
through the collaborations. These future royalty payments may not materialize or may be less
than expected if the related products are not successfully developed or marketed or if we are
forced to license intellectual property from third parties. Accordingly, we cannot predict if
our collaborations with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter will continue to generate revenues for us.
Our collaboration agreement with MedImmune generally is terminable by MedImmune at any time
upon six months notice or upon our material uncured breach of the agreement. Under the
collaboration agreement, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable, good faith efforts to
conduct the collaboration in accordance with rolling three-year research plans that describe and
allocate between MedImmune and us responsibility for, among other things, the proposed research,
preclinical studies, toxicology formulation activities and clinical studies for that time
period. In addition, we and MedImmune agreed to work exclusively in the development and
commercialization of HMGB1-inhibiting products for a period of four years, and, after such time,
we have agreed to work exclusively with MedImmune in the development of HMGB1-inhibiting
products for the remaining term of the agreement. If MedImmune were to terminate or breach our
arrangement, and we were unable to enter into a similar collaboration agreement with another
qualified third party in a timely manner or devote sufficient financial resources or
capabilities to continue development and commercialization on our own, the development and
commercialization of our HMGB1 program likely would be delayed, curtailed or terminated. The
delay or termination of our HMGB1 program could significantly harm our future prospects. We
intend to enter into collaboration agreements with other parties in the future that relate to
other product candidates, and we are likely to have similar risks with regard to any such future
collaborations.
Our license agreement with Beckman Coulter relating to diagnostic assays for HMGB1 will
terminate if Beckman Coulter does not exercise its option to continue the license by a future
date. In addition, Beckman Coulter has the right to terminate the license agreement on 90-days
written notice. Each party has the right to terminate the license agreement upon the occurrence
of a material uncured breach by the other party. If Beckman Coulter were to terminate or breach
our arrangement, and we were unable to enter into a similar agreement with another qualified
third party in a timely manner or devote sufficient financial resources or capabilities to
continue development and commercialization on our own, the development and commercialization of
a diagnostic based on the detection of HMGB1 likely would be delayed, curtailed or terminated.
In addition, our collaborations with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter and any future
collaborative arrangements that we enter into with third parties may not be scientifically or
commercially successful. Factors that may affect the success of our collaborations include the
following:
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our collaborators may be pursuing alternative technologies or developing alternative
products, either on their own or in collaboration with others, that may be competitive with
the product on which they are collaborating with us or that could affect our collaborators
commitment to us; |
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reductions in marketing or sales efforts or a discontinuation of marketing or sales of
our products by our collaborators would reduce our revenues, which we expect will be based
on a percentage of net sales by collaborators; |
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our collaborators may terminate their collaborations with us, which could make it
difficult for us to attract new collaborators or adversely affect how we are perceived in
the business and financial communities; |
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our collaborators may not devote sufficient time and resources to any collaboration with
us, which could prevent us from realizing the potential commercial benefits of that
collaboration; and |
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our collaborators may pursue higher priority programs or change the focus of their
development programs, which could affect their commitments to us. |
We rely on third parties to manufacture and supply the zileuton API, ZYFLO and our product
candidates. We expect to continue to rely on these sole source suppliers for these purposes and
would incur significant costs to independently develop manufacturing facilities.
We have no manufacturing facilities and limited manufacturing experience. In order to
continue to develop product candidates, apply for regulatory approvals and commercialize
products, we need to develop, contract for or otherwise arrange for the necessary manufacturing
capabilities. We currently rely on third parties for production of the zileuton API and zileuton
CR and commercial supplies of ZYFLO and the production of our product candidates for preclinical
and clinical testing purposes. These third parties are currently our sole source suppliers, and
we expect to continue to rely on them for these purposes for the foreseeable future.
We have contracted with Shasun Pharma Solutions Ltd. for commercial production of the
zileuton API, subject to specified limitations, through December 31, 2009. On March 31, 2006,
Rhodia SA, the parent company of Rhodia Pharma Solutions, sold the European assets of its
pharmaceutical custom synthesis business to Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd. As part of this
transaction, Rhodia SA assigned our contract with Rhodia Pharma Solutions Ltd. to Shasun Pharma
Solutions. The manufacturing process for the zileuton API involves an exothermic reaction that
generates heat and, if not properly controlled by the safety and protection mechanisms in place
at the manufacturing sites, could result in unintended combustion of the product. The
manufacture of the zileuton API could be disrupted or delayed if a batch is discontinued or
damaged, if the manufacturing sites are damaged, or if local health and safety regulations
require a third-party manufacturer to implement additional safety procedures or cease
production. In addition, Sumitomo is currently the only qualified supplier of a chemical known
as 2-ABT one of the starting materials for zileuton, and if Sumitomo stops manufacturing, is
unable to manufacture 2-ABT or is unwilling to manufacture 2-ABT on commercially reasonable
terms or at all, Shasun may be unable to manufacture ZYFLO and zileuton CR.
We have contracted with Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the manufacture of commercial
supplies of ZYFLO tablets. We have contracted with Patheon for a technology transfer program to
enable Patheon to coat and package the core tablets of zileuton CR for clinical trials and
regulatory review, and, subject to negotiation of a commercial manufacturing agreement,
commercial supplies.
We have contracted with SkyePharma PLC, through its subsidiary Jagotec AG, for the
manufacture of tablets of zileuton CR for clinical trials, regulatory review and, subject to
negotiation of a commercial manufacturing agreement, commercial supplies. SkyePharma announced
that it was the target of an unsolicited acquisition bid in November 2005. SkyePharma
subsequently announced that it had retained an investment bank to consider strategic options,
including the sale of the company. In February 2006, SkyePharma announced a new senior
management team and the conclusion of its strategic review, deciding to concentrate on oral and
pulmonary products and divest its injectable business. The sale of SkyePharma as a whole or in
parts may impact our ability to produce zileuton CR or to enter into a manufacturing agreement.
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We have not secured a long-term commercial supply arrangement for any of our product
candidates other than the zileuton API. The manufacturing process for our product candidates is
an element of the FDA approval process. We will need to contract with manufacturers who can meet
the FDA requirements, including current Good Manufacturing Practices, on an ongoing basis. As
part of obtaining regulatory approval for zileuton CR, we are required to engage a commercial
manufacturer to produce registration and validation batches of the drug consistent with
regulatory approval requirements. In addition, if we receive the necessary regulatory approval
for our product candidates, we also expect to rely on third parties, including our
collaborators, to produce materials required for commercial production. We may experience
difficulty in obtaining adequate manufacturing capacity or timing for our needs. If we are
unable to obtain or maintain contract manufacturing of these product candidates, or to do so on
commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to successfully develop and commercialize our
product candidates.
We are dependent upon Shasun Pharma Solutions, Patheon and SkyePharma as sole providers,
and will be dependent on any other third parties who manufacture our product candidates, to
perform their obligations in a timely manner and in accordance with applicable government
regulations. For example, during the quarter ended June 30, 2006, one of our contract
manufacturers failed to meet our manufacturing specifications relating to certain manufacturing
batches of ZYFLO. If third-party manufacturers with whom we contract fail to perform their
obligations, we may be adversely affected in a number of ways, including the following:
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we may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials of our product candidates that are under development; |
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we may be delayed in submitting applications for regulatory approvals for our product candidates; |
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we may be required to cease distribution or issue recalls; and |
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we may not be able to meet commercial demands. |
If we were required to change manufacturers for the zileuton API, ZYFLO or zileuton CR, we
would be required to verify that the new manufacturer maintains facilities and procedures that
comply with quality standards and all applicable regulations and guidelines, including FDA
requirements and approved NDA product specifications. Any delays associated with the
verification of a new manufacturer could adversely affect our production schedule or increase
our production costs.
Any failure to manage and maintain our distribution network could compromise ZYFLO sales and harm
our business.
We rely on third parties to distribute ZYFLO to pharmacies. We have contracted with
Integrated Commercialization Services, Inc., or ICS, a third-party logistics company, to
warehouse ZYFLO and distribute it to three primary wholesalers, AmerisourceBergen Corporation,
Cardinal Health and McKesson Corporation, and a number of smaller wholesalers. The wholesalers
in turn distribute it to chain and independent pharmacies. ICS is our exclusive supplier of
commercial distribution logistics services. We rely on Phoenix Marketing Group LLC to distribute
ZYFLO samples to our sales representatives, who in turn distribute samples to physicians and
other prescribers who are authorized under state law to receive and dispense samples. We have
contracted with RxHope, Inc. to implement a patient assistance program for ZYFLO. We rely on
RxHope to administer our patient assistance program and to distribute ZYFLO to physicians and
other prescribers who are authorized under state law to receive and dispense samples.
This distribution network requires significant coordination with our supply chain, sales
and marketing and finance organizations. Failure to maintain our contracts with our logistics
company, the wholesalers, Phoenix and RxHope, or the inability or failure of any of them to
adequately perform as agreed under their respective contracts with us, could negatively impact
us. We do not have our own warehouse or distribution capabilities, and moreover we lack the
resources and experience to establish any of these functions and do not intend to do so in the
foreseeable future. We would be unable to replace ICS, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal, McKesson,
Phoenix or RxHope in a timely manner in the event of a natural disaster, failure to meet FDA and
other regulatory requirements, business failure, strike or any other difficulty affecting any of
them, and the distribution of ZYFLO could be delayed or interrupted, damaging our results of
operations
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and market position. Failure to coordinate financial systems could also negatively impact
our ability to accurately report and forecast product sales and fulfill our regulatory
obligations. If we are unable to effectively manage and maintain our distribution network, sales
of ZYFLO could be severely compromised and our business could be harmed.
If we are unable to enter into additional collaboration agreements, we may not be able to
continue development of our product candidates.
Our drug development programs and potential commercialization of our product candidates
will require substantial additional cash to fund expenses to be incurred in connection with
these activities. We may seek to enter into additional collaboration agreements with
pharmaceutical companies to fund all or part of the costs of drug development and
commercialization of product candidates. For example, we have determined to seek to enter into
a collaboration arrangement with respect to the development of alpha-7 and do not plan to
proceed with development without entering into such arrangement. We may not be able to enter
into future collaboration agreements, and the terms of the collaboration agreements, if any, may
not be favorable to us. If we are not successful in efforts to enter into a collaboration
arrangement with respect to a product candidate, we may not have sufficient funds to develop any
of our product candidates internally. If we do not have sufficient funds to develop our product
candidates, we will not be able to bring these product candidates to market and generate
revenue. In addition, our inability to enter into collaboration agreements could delay or
preclude the development, manufacture and/or commercialization of a product candidate and could
have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations because:
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we may be required to expend our own funds to advance the product candidate to commercialization; |
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revenue from product sales could be delayed; or |
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we may elect not to commercialize the product candidate. |
We plan to rely significantly on third parties to market some product candidates, and these third
parties may not successfully commercialize these product candidates.
For product candidates with large target physician markets, we plan to rely significantly
on sales, marketing and distribution arrangements with third parties. For example, we plan to
rely on MedImmune for the commercialization of any anti-HMGB1 products that we develop, and we
plan to rely on Beckman Coulter for the commercialization of any diagnostic assay for HMGB1. We
may not be successful in entering into additional marketing arrangements in the future and, even
if successful, we may not be able to enter into these arrangements on terms that are favorable
to us. In addition, we may have limited or no control over the sales, marketing and distribution
activities of these third parties. If these third parties are not successful in commercializing
the products covered by these arrangements, our future revenues may suffer.
Risks Relating to Intellectual Property and Licenses
If we or our licensors are not able to obtain and enforce patent and other intellectual property
protection for our discoveries or discoveries we have in-licensed, our ability to prevent third
parties from using our inventions and proprietary information will be limited and we may not be
able to operate our business profitably.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect proprietary products, methods and
technologies that we invent, develop or license under the patent and other intellectual property
laws of the United States and other countries, so that we can prevent others from using our
inventions and proprietary information. The composition of matter patent for zileuton in the
United States will expire in 2010. The patent for zileuton CR will expire in 2012 and relates
to the controlled-release technology used to control the release of zileuton. We are exploring
strategies to extend and expand the patent protection for our zileuton products, but we may not
be able to obtain additional patent protection.
Because certain U.S. patent applications are confidential until patents issue, such as
applications filed prior to November 29, 2000, or applications filed after such date that will
not be filed in foreign countries and for which a request
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for non-publication is filed, and because even patent applications for which no request for
non-publication is made are not published until approximately 18 months after filing, third
parties may have already filed patent applications for technology covered by our pending patent
applications, and our patent applications may not have priority over any such patent
applications of others. There may also be prior art that may prevent allowance of our patent
applications or enforcement of our or our licensors issued patents.
Our patent strategy depends on our ability to rapidly identify and seek patent protection
for our discoveries. 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 or successful manner. Moreover, the mere issuance of a patent does not guarantee that it
is valid or enforceable. As a result, even if we obtain patents, they may not be valid or
enforceable against third parties.
Our pending patent applications and those of our licensors may not result in issued
patents. In addition, the patent positions of pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies,
including ours, are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual considerations.
The standards that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and its foreign counterparts use to
grant patents are not always applied predictably or uniformly and can change. There is also no
uniform, worldwide policy regarding the subject matter and scope of claims granted or allowable
in pharmaceutical or biotechnology patents. Accordingly, we do not know the degree of future
protection for our proprietary rights or the breadth of claims that will be allowed in any
patents issued to us or to others with respect to our products in the future.
We also rely on trade secrets, know-how and technology, which are not protected by patents,
to maintain our competitive position. If any trade secret, know-how or other technology not
protected by a patent were to be disclosed to, or independently developed by a competitor, any
competitive advantage that we may have had in the development or commercialization of our
product candidates would be minimized or eliminated.
Litigation regarding patents, patent applications and other proprietary rights is expensive and
time consuming. If we are unsuccessful in litigation or other adversarial proceedings concerning
patents or patent applications, we may not be able to protect our products from competition or we
may be precluded from selling our products. If we are involved in such litigation, it could cause
delays in, or prevent us from, bringing products to market and harm our ability to operate.
Our success will depend in part on our ability to uphold and enforce the patents or patent
applications owned or co-owned by us or licensed to us that cover our products and product
candidates. Litigation, interferences or other adversarial proceedings relating to our patents
or patent applications could take place in the United States or foreign courts or in the United
States or foreign patent offices or other administrative agencies. Proceedings involving our
patents or patent applications could result in adverse decisions regarding:
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the patentability of our applications, including those relating to our products; or |
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the enforceability, validity or scope of protection offered by our patents, including
those relating to our products. |
These proceedings are costly and time consuming. We may not have sufficient resources to
bring these actions or to bring such actions to a successful conclusion. Even if we are
successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial cost and divert time and attention of
our management and scientific personnel in pursuit of these proceedings, which could have a
material adverse effect on our business.
If it is determined that we do infringe a patent right of another, we may be required to
seek a license, defend an infringement action or challenge the validity of the patent in court.
In addition, if we are not successful in infringement litigation brought against us and we do
not license or develop non-infringing technology, we may:
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incur substantial monetary damages, potentially including treble damages, if we are found
to have willfully infringed on such parties patent rights; |
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encounter significant delays in bringing our product candidates to market; or |
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be precluded from participating in the manufacture, use or sale of our products or methods of treatment. |
If any parties should successfully claim that our creation or use of proprietary
technologies infringes upon their intellectual property rights, we might be forced to pay
damages. In addition to any damages we might have to pay, a court could require us to stop the
infringing activity. Moreover, any legal action against us or our collaborators claiming damages
and seeking to enjoin commercial activities relating to the affected products and processes
could, in addition to subjecting us to potential liability for damages, require us or our
collaborators to obtain a license in order to continue to manufacture or market the affected
products and processes. Any such required license may not be made available on commercially
acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, some licenses may be non-exclusive and, therefore, our
competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us.
If we fail to obtain a required license or are unable to design around a patent, we may be
unable to effectively market some of our technology or products, which could limit our ability
to generate revenues or achieve profitability and possibly prevent us from generating revenue
sufficient to sustain our operations. In addition, our MedImmune collaboration provides that a
portion of the royalties payable to us by MedImmune for licenses to our intellectual property
may be offset by amounts paid by MedImmune to third parties who have competing or superior
intellectual property positions in the relevant fields, which could result in significant
reductions in our revenues.
Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property
litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources.
Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could limit our
ability to continue our operations.
We in-license a significant portion of our principal proprietary technologies, and if we fail to
comply with our obligations under any of the related agreements, we could lose license rights
that are necessary to develop and market our zileuton products, our HMGB1 products and some of
our other product candidates.
We are a party to a number of licenses that give us rights to third-party intellectual
property that is necessary for our business. In fact, we acquired the rights to each of our
product candidates under licenses with third parties. These licenses impose various development,
commercialization, funding, royalty, diligence and other obligations on us. If we breach these
obligations, our licensors may have the right to terminate the licenses or render the licenses
non-exclusive, which would result in our being unable to develop, manufacture and sell products
that are covered by the licensed technology, or at least to do so on an exclusive basis.
Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of
trade secrets and other proprietary information.
In order to protect our proprietary technology and processes, it is our general practice to
enter into confidentiality agreements with our collaborators, employees, consultants, outside
scientific collaborators and sponsored researchers and other advisors. These agreements may not
effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate
remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others
may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information and, in such cases, we
could not assert any trade secret rights against such parties. Costly and time-consuming
litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and
failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive
business position.
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Risks Relating to Our Financial Results and Need for Additional Financing
We have incurred losses since inception and we anticipate that we will continue to incur losses
for the foreseeable future. If we do not generate significant revenues, we will not be able to
achieve profitability.
We have experienced significant operating losses in each year since our inception in 2000.
We had net losses of $40.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and $47.1 million
in the year ended December 31, 2005. As of September 30, 2006, we had an accumulated deficit of
approximately $145.7 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we recorded $4.7
million of revenue from the sale of ZYFLO and have not recorded revenue from any other product.
We expect that we will continue to incur substantial losses for the foreseeable future as we
spend significant amounts to fund our research, development and commercialization efforts. We
expect that the losses that we incur will fluctuate from quarter to quarter and that these
fluctuations may be substantial. We will need to generate significant revenues to achieve
profitability. Until we are able to generate such revenues, we will need to raise substantial
additional capital to fund our operations.
We will require substantial additional capital to fund our operations. If additional capital is
not available, we may need to delay, limit or eliminate our development and commercialization
processes.
We expect to devote substantial resources to obtain regulatory approval for zileuton CR, to
support the anticipated commercial launch of zileuton CR, to fund addition clinical trials and
pilot studies on zileuton CR and to fund the development of our other product candidates. Our
funding requirements will depend on numerous factors, including:
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the costs and timing of the development, regulatory submission and approval and the
commercial launch of zileuton CR, if and when it is approved by regulatory authorities; |
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the scope and results of our clinical trials on zileuton CR; |
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if approved, the amount and timing of sales of zileuton CR; |
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the scope and results of our clinical trials on the intravenous formulation of zileuton; |
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the amount and timing of the October 2006 cost reduction program; |
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the timing, receipt and amount of sales from ZYFLO; |
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the costs of ongoing sales and marketing for ZYFLO; |
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advancements of other product candidates into development; |
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the time and costs involved in preparing, submitting, obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals; |
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the timing, receipt and amount of milestone and other payments, if any, from MedImmune,
Beckman Coulter or future collaborators; |
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the timing, receipt and amount of sales and royalties, if any, from our potential
products; |
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continued progress in our research and development programs, as well as the magnitude of
these programs including milestone payments to third parties under our license agreements; |
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the cost of manufacturing, marketing and sales activities; |
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the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing patent claims; |
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the cost of obtaining and maintaining licenses to use patented technologies; |
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potential acquisition or in-licensing of other products or technologies; |
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our ability to establish and maintain additional collaborative arrangements; and |
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the ongoing time and costs involved in certain corporate governance requirements,
including work related to compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
Other than payments that we receive from our collaborations with MedImmune and Beckman
Coulter, we expect that sales of ZYFLO will represent our only source of revenue until we
commercially launch zileuton CR if it is approved. We believe that our ability to access
external funds will depend upon the regulatory status of zileuton CR, market acceptance of
zileuton CR, if approved, market acceptance of ZYFLO, the success of our other preclinical and
clinical development programs, the receptivity of the capital markets to financings by
biopharmaceutical companies, our ability
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to enter into additional strategic collaborations with corporate and academic collaborators
and the success of such collaborations.
The extent of our future capital requirements is difficult to assess and will depend
largely on our ability to obtain regulatory approval for and successfully commercialize zileuton
CR and to sell ZYFLO. Based on our operating plans, we believe that our available cash and cash
equivalents and anticipated cash received from product sales and anticipated payments received
under collaboration agreements, together with the proceeds we receive from the recently
announced offering, will be sufficient to fund anticipated levels of operations into the second
half of 2008. Our operating plans assume the effective implementation of the May 2006 and
October 2006 cost reduction initiatives.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, our net cash used for operating activities
was $41.6 million, and we had capital expenditures of $376,000. If our existing resources are
insufficient to satisfy our liquidity requirements or if we acquire or license rights to
additional product candidates, we may need to raise additional external funds through
collaborative arrangements and public or private financings. Additional financing may not be
available to us on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, the terms of the financing may
adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders. For example, if we raise
additional funds by issuing equity securities, further dilution to our then-existing
stockholders will result. If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be
required to significantly delay, limit or eliminate one or more of our research, development or
commercialization programs, which could harm our financial condition and operating results. We
also could be required to seek funds through arrangements with collaborators or others that may
require us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies, product candidates or products
which we would otherwise pursue on our own.
If the estimates we make, or the assumptions on which we rely, in preparing our financial
statements prove inaccurate, our actual results may vary from those reflected in our projections.
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires
us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of our assets, liabilities,
revenues and expenses, the amounts of charges accrued by us and related disclosure of contingent
assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other
assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. We cannot assure you,
however, that our estimates, or the assumptions underlying them, will be correct. If our
estimates are inaccurate, this could adversely affect our stock price.
Changes in or interpretations of accounting rules and regulations, such as expensing of employee
stock options, could result in unfavorable accounting charges or require us to change our
compensation policies.
Accounting methods and policies for business and market practices of biopharmaceutical
companies are subject to review, interpretation and guidance from relevant accounting
authorities, including the SEC. For example, a new accounting rule, which became effective for
us on January 1, 2006, requires us to record stock-based compensation expense for the fair value
of stock options granted to employees. We rely heavily on stock options to compensate existing
employees and attract new employees. Adoption of the new accounting rule on stock-based
compensation expense is expected to increase net losses or reduce net income in future periods.
Because we are now required to expense stock options, we may reduce our reliance on stock
options as a compensation tool. If we reduce our reliance on stock options, it may be more
difficult for us to attract and retain qualified employees. If we do not reduce our reliance on
stock options, our reported losses would increase.
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Risks Relating to Our Common Stock
Our stock price is subject to fluctuation, which may cause an investment in our stock to suffer a
decline in value.
The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to factors
that are beyond our control. The stock market in general has recently experienced extreme price
and volume fluctuations. The market prices of securities of pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies have been extremely volatile, and have experienced fluctuations that often have been
unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These broad
market fluctuations could result in extreme fluctuations in the price of our common stock, which
could cause a decline in the value of our common stock.
If our quarterly results of operations fluctuate, this fluctuation may subject our stock price to
volatility, which may cause an investment in our stock to suffer a decline in value.
Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated in the past and are likely to fluctuate in
the future. A number of factors, many of which are not within our control, could subject our
operating results and stock price to volatility, including:
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the regulatory status of zileuton CR; |
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if approved, the amount and timing of sales of zileuton CR; |
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the amount and timing of sales of ZYFLO; |
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the timing of operating expenses, including selling and marketing expenses and the costs
of maintaining a direct sales force; |
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the availability and timely delivery of a sufficient supply of ZYFLO; |
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the amount of rebates, discounts and chargebacks to wholesalers, Medicaid and managed
care organizations related to ZYFLO; |
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the amount and timing of product returns for ZYFLO; |
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achievement of, or the failure to achieve, milestones under our development agreement
with MedImmune, our license agreement with Beckman Coulter and, to the extent applicable,
other licensing and collaboration agreement; |
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the results of ongoing and planned clinical trials of our product candidates; |
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production problems occurring at our third party manufacturers; |
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the results of regulatory reviews relating to the development or approval of our product candidates; and |
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general and industry-specific economic conditions that may affect our research and development expenditures. |
Due to the possibility of significant fluctuations, we do not believe that quarterly
comparisons of our operating results will necessarily be indicative of our future operating
performance. If our quarterly operating results fail to meet the expectations of stock market
analysts and investors, the price of our common stock may decline.
If significant business or product announcements by us or our competitors cause fluctuations in
our stock price, an investment in our stock may suffer a decline in value.
The market price of our common stock may be subject to substantial volatility as a result
of announcements by us or other companies in our industry, including our collaborators.
Announcements which may subject the price of our common stock to substantial volatility include
announcements regarding:
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the regulatory status of zileuton CR; |
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if approved, the amount and timing of sales of zileuton CR; |
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our operating results, including the amount and timing of sales of ZYFLO; |
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our licensing and collaboration agreements and the products or product candidates that
are the subject of those agreements; |
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the results of discovery, preclinical studies and clinical trials by us or our competitors; |
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the acquisition of technologies, product candidates or products by us or our competitors; |
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the development of new technologies, product candidates or products by us or our competitors; |
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regulatory actions with respect to our product candidates or products or those of our competitors; and |
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significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors. |
Insiders have substantial control over us and could delay or prevent a change in corporate
control, including a transaction in which our stockholders could sell or exchange their shares
for a premium.
As of November 1, 2006, our directors, executive officers and 10% or greater stockholders,
together with their affiliates, to our knowledge, beneficially owned, in the aggregate,
approximately 40.3% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, our directors, executive
officers and 10% or greater stockholders, together with their affiliates, if acting together,
may have the ability to affect the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for
approval, including the election and removal of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale
of all or substantially all of our assets. In addition, these persons, acting together, may have
the ability to control the management and affairs of our company. Accordingly, this
concentration of ownership may harm the market price of our common stock by:
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delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company; |
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impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving our company; or |
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discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to
obtain control of our company. |
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could prevent or
frustrate attempts by our stockholders to change our management or our board and hinder efforts
by a third party to acquire a controlling interest in us.
We are incorporated in Delaware. Anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law and our charter
documents may make a change in control more difficult, even if the stockholders desire a change
in control. For example, our anti-takeover provisions include provisions in our by-laws
providing that stockholders meetings may be called only by the president or the majority of the
board of directors and a provision in our certificate of incorporation providing that our
stockholders may not take action by written consent.
Additionally, our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of
preferred stock and to determine the terms of those shares of stock without any further action
by our stockholders. The rights of holders of our common stock are subject to the rights of the
holders of any preferred stock that we issue. As a result, our issuance of preferred stock could
cause the market value of our common stock to decline and could make it more difficult for a
third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock.
Delaware law also prohibits a corporation from engaging in a business combination with any
holder of 15% or more of its capital stock until the holder has held the stock for three years
unless, among other possibilities, the board of directors approves the transaction. The board
may use this provision to prevent changes in our management. Also, under applicable Delaware
law, our board of directors may adopt additional anti-takeover measures in the future.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.
Not applicable.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.
Not applicable.
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Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Other Information.
Termination of Agreements with University of Pittsburgh and Xanthus Pharmaceuticals
On
November 6, 2006, we gave notice of termination of our License
Agreement with the University of Pittsburgh (UPitt),
dated as of November 15, 2002 (the UPitt Agreement). In accordance with the License Agreement, the termination will be effective as of February 7, 2007. This UPitt Agreement provided for an exclusive worldwide license, under specified patent rights controlled by UPitt and North Shore Long Island
Jewish Research Institute relating to the small molecule ethyl pyruvate, which we had been developing as CTI-01, to make, use and sell products covered by the licensed patent rights.
On
November 6, 2006, we gave notice of termination of our License
Agreement with Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly known as
Phenome Sciences, Inc.) (Xanthus), dated as of December
15, 2000 (the Xanthus Agreement). The Xanthus Agreement provided for an exclusive worldwide license, under specified patent rights and know-how controlled by Xanthus, relating to ethyl pyruvate to make, use and sell products covered by the
licensed patent rights and know-how. In accordance with the License Agreement, the termination will be effective as of February 7, 2007.
We terminated the UPitt Agreement and Xanthus Agreement to bring our licensing portfolio in line with our current objectives. We do not plan to pursue further development of ethyl pyruvate or CTI-01. We will not incur any material termination penalty as a result of terminating the UPitt Agreement or the Xanthus Agreement.
Retention Bonuses for Executive Officers
On November 30, 2005, based on the recommendations of the compensation committee of our board
of directors, our independent directors approved annual maximum cash bonus amounts for our
executive officers for 2006. Actual cash bonus awards for 2006 were to be determined based on
overall corporate performance and individual performance. On November 9, 2006, our compensation
committee, pursuant to authority granted by our board of directors, determined that, in light of
our October 2006 restructuring of operations, annual cash bonuses to our executive officers for
2006 would be paid as flat sum retention bonus payments. Under this revised bonus program, each of
our executive officers would receive:
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if they are employed by us as of January 15, 2007, a bonus payment equal to 50% of
their annual maximum cash bonus for 2006, subject to payroll taxes and tax
withholding; and |
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if they are employed by us on the Prescription Drug User Fee Act Date for the New
Drug Application for the controlled-release formulation of zileuton (currently May 31,
2007), a bonus payment equal to the remaining 50% of their annual maximum cash bonus
for 2006, subject to payroll taxes and tax withholding. |
In addition, if we terminate the employment of any executive officer without cause (as determined
by us in good faith) prior to either of the bonus payment dates, we will pay such executive officer
such retention bonuses as if such executive officer continued to be employed on such dates, and if
there is a change of control (as defined in our 2004 Stock Incentive Plan) of our company prior to
either of the bonus payment dates, we will pay each executive officer that continues to be
employed by us, a bonus payment equal to 100% of their annual maximum cash bonus for 2006 less any
retention payments previously made to such executive officer pursuant to this retention program.
Item 6. Exhibits.
The exhibits listed in the accompanying exhibit index are filed as part of this Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
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CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
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Date: November 9, 2006 |
/s/ Frank E. Thomas
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Frank E. Thomas President |
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(Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer) |
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Date: November 9, 2006 |
/s/ Jeffrey E. Young
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Jeffrey E. Young |
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Vice President of Finance,
Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer
(Principal Accounting Officer) |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit |
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Number |
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Description |
3.1
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Second Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant dated October 22, 2006 (Incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrants Current Report on Form 8-K dated October 25, 2006 (SEC
File No. 000-50767)). |
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10.1
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Placement Agent Agreement by and between the Company and Lazard Capital Markets LLC dated October
26, 2006 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 to the Registrants Current Report on Form 8-K
dated October 25, 2006 (SEC File No. 000-50767)). |
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10.2
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Warrant Agreement dated October 31, 2006 by and between the Registrant and Mellon Investor Services. |
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10.3
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Consulting Agreement by and between the Registrant and M. Cory Zwerling, dated as of October 25,
2006 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrants Current Report on Form 8-K
dated October 25, 2006 (SEC File No. 000-50767)). |
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10.4
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Separation Agreement between the Registrant and Walter Newman, Ph.D. dated October 25, 2006
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrants Current Report on Form 8-K dated
October 25, 2006 (SEC File No. 000-50767)). |
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31
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Certification of the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32
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Certification of the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18
U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
57 of 60