e10vq
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 10-Q
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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 March 31, 2006
or
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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
(State or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation or Organization)
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04-3523569
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
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60 Westview Street
Lexington, Massachusetts
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
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02421
(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 £ Accelerated Filer R Non-Accelerated Filer £
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes £ No R
As of May 1, 2006, the registrant had 34,237,537 shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par value per
share, outstanding.
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
FORM 10-Q
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2
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 regarding possible therapeutic benefits and
market acceptance of ZYFLO® (zileuton tablets), 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, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements
made 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 extent of market
acceptance of ZYFLO; our ability to rely on historical data in seeking marketing approval for the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton, including the sufficiency and acceptability of the results of the
pharmacokinetic studies of the controlled-release formulation of
zileuton for U.S. Food and
Drug Administration, or FDA, purposes; the expected timing and outcome of the new drug application,
or NDA, for the controlled-release formulation of zileuton and related discussions with the FDA;
our ability to maintain regulatory approval to market and sell ZYFLO; our ability to develop and
maintain the necessary sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities to
commercialize ZYFLO; patient, physician and third-party payor acceptance of ZYFLO as a safe and
effective therapeutic product; adverse side effects experienced by patients taking ZYFLO; 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; the
timing and success of submission, acceptance and approval of regulatory filings, including the new
drug application for the controlled-release formulation of zileuton; our heavy dependence on the
commercial success of ZYFLO and the controlled-release formulation of zileuton; 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
Item 1. Financial Statements
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)
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March 31, |
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December 31, |
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in thousands |
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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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$ |
56,819 |
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$ |
57,257 |
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Accounts receivable |
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489 |
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1,024 |
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Amount due under collaboration agreements |
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455 |
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205 |
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Short-term investments |
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7,744 |
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25,554 |
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Inventory, net |
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1,710 |
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1,869 |
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Prepaid expenses and other |
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1,667 |
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2,179 |
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Total current assets |
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68,884 |
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88,088 |
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Fixed assets, net |
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3,521 |
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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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$ |
72,573 |
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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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$ |
1,170 |
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$ |
1,179 |
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Accounts payable |
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2,713 |
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4,615 |
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Accrued expenses |
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4,358 |
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4,876 |
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Revenue deferred under collaboration agreements |
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4,705 |
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5,706 |
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Deferred product revenue |
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1,429 |
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1,707 |
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Total current liabilities |
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14,375 |
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18,083 |
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Long-term debt and capital lease obligations, less current portion |
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1,205 |
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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 $0.001; authorized 90,000,000 shares; issued
and outstanding 34,216,181 and 34,126,977 shares at March 31,
2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively |
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34 |
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34 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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182,344 |
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181,718 |
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Deferred stock-based compensation |
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(2,956 |
) |
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(3,794 |
) |
Accumulated deficit |
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(122,364 |
) |
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(105,617 |
) |
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
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(65 |
) |
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(94 |
) |
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Total stockholders equity |
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56,993 |
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72,247 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders equity |
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$ |
72,573 |
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$ |
91,819 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
4
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
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Three Months Ended |
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March 31, |
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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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Revenues: |
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Net product sales |
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$ |
1,022 |
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$ |
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Revenue under collaboration agreements |
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1,251 |
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1,359 |
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Total revenues |
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2,273 |
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1,359 |
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Costs and expenses: |
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Cost of products sold |
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504 |
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Research and development |
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9,393 |
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6,574 |
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Sales and marketing |
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6,907 |
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1,237 |
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General and administrative |
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2,928 |
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3,022 |
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Total costs and expenses |
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19,732 |
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10,833 |
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Operating loss |
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(17,459 |
) |
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(9,474 |
) |
Other income (expense): |
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Interest income |
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772 |
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398 |
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Interest expense |
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(60 |
) |
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(43 |
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Total other income |
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712 |
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355 |
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Net loss |
( |
$ |
16,747 |
) |
( |
$ |
9,119 |
) |
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Net loss per share |
( |
$ |
0.49 |
) |
( |
$ |
0.38 |
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Basic and diluted weighted-average common
shares outstanding |
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34,096,625 |
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23,862,407 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
5
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
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Three Months Ended |
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March 31, |
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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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$ |
(16,747 |
) |
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$ |
(9,119 |
) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash
used in operating activities: |
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Depreciation and amortization expense |
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248 |
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160 |
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Amortization of premiums on short-term investments and other |
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30 |
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285 |
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Reserve for inventory |
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144 |
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Stock-based compensation expense |
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1,423 |
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318 |
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Changes in assets and liabilities: |
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Accounts receivable |
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535 |
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Amount due under collaboration agreements |
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(250 |
) |
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(348 |
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Inventory |
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15 |
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Prepaid expenses and other |
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512 |
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458 |
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Accounts payable |
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(1,902 |
) |
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(1,285 |
) |
Accrued expenses |
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(518 |
) |
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170 |
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Revenue deferred under collaboration agreements |
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(1,001 |
) |
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(745 |
) |
Deferred product revenue |
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(278 |
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Net cash used in operating activities |
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(17,789 |
) |
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(10,106 |
) |
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Cash flows from investing activities: |
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Purchases of fixed assets |
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(206 |
) |
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(527 |
) |
Proceeds from sales and maturities of short-term investments |
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20,126 |
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19,525 |
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Purchases of short-term investments |
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(2,317 |
) |
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(9,899 |
) |
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Net cash provided by investing activities |
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17,603 |
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|
9,099 |
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Cash flows from financing activities: |
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Proceeds from exercise of stock options |
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41 |
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20 |
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Repayments of long-term debt and capital lease obligations |
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(293 |
) |
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(295 |
) |
|
Net cash used in financing activities |
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|
(252 |
) |
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|
(275 |
) |
|
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
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|
(438 |
) |
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|
(1,282 |
) |
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
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57,257 |
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|
|
11,980 |
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
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$ |
56,819 |
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$ |
10,698 |
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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 |
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$ |
62 |
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$ |
42 |
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Non-cash investing and financing activities: |
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Adjustment to deferred stock-based compensation for services to be performed |
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$ |
443 |
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$ |
193 |
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Unrealized gain (loss) on investments |
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$ |
29 |
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$ |
(30 |
) |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
6
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-month periods ended March 31, 2006 and 2005 are not
necessarily indicative of the results for the full year. Certain amounts in the condensed
consolidated statement of operations and condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the
three months ended March 31, 2005 have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.
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.
Change in Accounting Principle
Prior to January 1, 2006, the Company elected to follow Accounting Principles Board
Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees, or APB 25, and related interpretations,
in accounting for its 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, the Company 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, the Company adopted the
fair value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123(R), Share-Based Payment, or SFAS 123(R), using
the modified prospective application method. In accordance with SFAS 123(R), the Company recognizes
compensation cost for granted, but unvested, awards, new awards and awards modified, repurchased,
or cancelled after the required effective date. Under the modified prospective method, prior period
amounts have not been restated.
(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
7
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
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 March 31,
2006, product sales, net of discounts and rebates, was $1.0 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
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.
At March 31, 2006, the Companys account receivable balance was net of allowances of $12,000.
(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 a $29,000
unrealized gain on investments during the three-month period ended March 31, 2006 and a $30,000
unrealized loss on investments during the three-month period ended March 31, 2005. 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 exists during the three-month period ended March 31, 2006.
8
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
(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 March 31, 2006, the Company held $1.7 million in inventory to be
used for commercial 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 is disposed of and the related costs are written off. In the
quarter ended March 31, 2006, the Company reserved for inventory of approximately $144,000 related
to finished goods with an expiration date that would make it unlikely to be sold. Inventory
consisted of the following at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively (in thousands):
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|
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|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
Raw material |
|
$ |
1,478 |
|
|
$ |
1,425 |
|
Work in process |
|
|
|
|
|
|
332 |
|
Finished goods |
|
|
656 |
|
|
|
329 |
|
|
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|
|
|
|
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Total inventory |
|
|
2,134 |
|
|
|
2,149 |
|
Less: reserve |
|
|
(424 |
) |
|
|
(280 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventory, net |
|
$ |
1,710 |
|
|
$ |
1,869 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(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-month periods ended March 31, 2006 and 2005, and comprehensive loss is the
unrealized gain (loss) on short-term investments for the period. Total comprehensive loss was $16.7
million and $9.1 million for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2006 and 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
fair market. 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 initial S-1
filing continue to be accounted for under APB No. 25. The adoption of SFAS 123(R) resulted in an incremental stock-based
compensation expense of $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006.
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.
9
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
For the three months ended March 31, 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 |
|
|
Ended |
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
2005 |
|
|
(in thousands,
except loss per share data) |
Net loss as reported |
|
$ |
(9,119 |
) |
Add: Stock-based compensation expense included in reported net loss |
|
|
448 |
|
Deduct: Stock-based compensation expense determined under fair value method |
|
|
(825 |
) |
|
|
|
|
Net loss pro forma |
|
$ |
(9,496 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss per
share (basic and diluted): |
|
|
|
|
As reported |
|
$ |
(0.38 |
) |
|
|
|
|
Pro forma |
|
$ |
(0.40 |
) |
|
|
|
|
Stock option activity for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2006 and March 31, 2005 are
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 |
|
|
741,000 |
|
|
|
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 |
|
|
6,789,308 |
|
|
$ |
5.29 |
|
|
|
4,841,562 |
|
|
$ |
4.46 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercisable March 31 |
|
|
1,948,758 |
|
|
$ |
3.76 |
|
|
|
791,791 |
|
|
$ |
1.29 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The weighted average remaining contractual term and the aggregate intrinsic value for options
outstanding at March 31, 2006 were 8.6 years and $6.0 million, respectively. The weighted average
remaining contractual term and the aggregate intrinsic value for options exercisable at March 31,
2006 were 8.0 years and $3.8 million, respectively. The total intrinsic value of the options
exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2006 was approximately
$425,000.
As described above, the Company had previously recorded deferred compensation for below fair value
options granted prior to the date of its initial S-1 filing. As of March 31, 2006 $3.0 million of
deferred compensation has yet to be recognized. Such amounts will be recognized over the next
23 months. The Company expensed this deferred stock-based compensation to operations over the
vesting period of the options and recorded $262,000 and $318,000 as stock-based compensation
expense for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and March 31, 2005, respectively.
The total fair
value of the shares vested (other than pre S-1 shares) and expensed during the three months ended
March 31, 2006 was $1.3
million. As of March 31, 2006 there
was $17.6 million of total
unrecognized compensation expense (including the pre S-1 shares) related to unvested share-based compensation awards granted under
the Companys stock plans, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.6
years.
We anticipate recording additional stock-based compensation expense of $4.9 million in the
remaining three quarters of 2006, $6.2 million in 2007, $3.8 million in 2008 and $2.7 million
thereafter relating to the amortization of unrecognized compensation expense as of March 31, 2006.
These anticipated compensation expenses do not include any adjustment for new or additional options
to purchase common stock granted to employees.
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 March 31, 2006 and has computed
the pro forma disclosures required under the modified prospective method for the quarter ended
March 31, 2005. The Company increased its assumption for the three months ended March 31, 2006
regarding expected volatility to 59% from 54% in the corresponding period of 2005. The revised rate
is based on the
10
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
Companys actual historical volatility since its initial public offering. In addition, the
Company increased its assumption for the three months ended March 31, 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 |
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
Risk free interest rate |
|
|
4.5 |
% |
|
|
4.1 |
% |
Expected dividend yield |
|
|
0 |
% |
|
|
0 |
% |
Expected forfeiture rate |
|
|
4.2 |
% |
|
|
|
|
Expected life |
|
6.25 years |
|
4 years |
Expected volatility |
|
|
59 |
% |
|
|
54 |
% |
Weighted-average fair value of options granted equal to fair value |
|
$ |
4.21 |
|
|
$ |
3.38 |
|
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.
11
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
On April 25, 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 on February 23, 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 will begin each June 1 and
December 1, or the first business day thereafter, commencing 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 National 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.
(7) 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
10,312,480 and 5,035,439 as of March 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively. These anti-dilutive
securities consist of outstanding stock options, warrants, and unvested restricted common stock as
of March 31, 2006 and outstanding stock options and unvested restricted common stock as of March
31, 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 |
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
|
|
Weighted-average common shares outstanding |
|
|
34,143,741 |
|
|
|
24,095,750 |
|
Less: weighted-average restricted common shares outstanding |
|
|
47,116 |
|
|
|
233,342 |
|
|
|
|
Basic and diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding |
|
|
34,096,625 |
|
|
|
23,862,407 |
|
|
|
|
(8) 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 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
$18.5 million as of March 31, 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 March 31, 2006, the Company has $112,000 and $1.1 million included
12
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
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 Shasun Pharma Solutions Ltd. (formerly Rhodia Pharma Solutions), or Shasun, for commercial
production of the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, of ZYFLO, subject to specified
limitations, through December 31, 2009. Under this agreement, the Company committed to purchase a
minimum amount of API by December 31, 2006. 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 March
31, 2006, no reserves have been recorded for purchase commitments.
In 2005, the Company also entered into a capital lease arrangement primarily for computers for
its sales force totaling $125,000. Assets acquired under capital lease agreements are recorded at
the present value of the future minimum rental payments using interest rates appropriate at the
inception of the lease. Property and equipment subject to capital lease agreements are amortized
over the shorter of the life of the lease or the estimated useful life of the asset unless the
lease transfers ownership or contains a bargain purchase option.
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.
13
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 and have devoted substantially all of our efforts since
inception to the commercialization of our product, ZYFLO, research and development and in-licensing
of product candidates designed to treat respiratory, inflammatory and critical care diseases linked
to the bodys inflammatory response. ZYFLO is approved by the FDA for the prevention and chronic
treatment of asthma in adults and children 12 years of age and older. 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 National Market.
We began selling ZYFLO in the United States in October 2005. In addition, we believe that
zileuton has potential therapeutic benefits in a range of other diseases and conditions, such as
acute asthma exacerbations, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and nasal polyposis. We
are currently incurring costs to expand the potential applications of zileuton through development
of additional formulations, including controlled-release and intravenous formulations. In April
2006, the FDA accepted our proposal to submit a new drug application, or NDA, for our
controlled-release formulation of zileuton with six months of primary and accelerated stability
data and to provide additional stability data during the NDA review period, without impacting the
action date by the FDA. Based on our anticipated completion of the six-month stability assessment
of the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, we expect to submit the NDA to the FDA in August
2006.
We are also developing 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.
|
|
|
HMGB1. We believe that a cytokine called HMGB1, or high mobility group box protein 1,
may be an important target for the development of products to treat inflammation-mediated
diseases because of the timing and the duration of its release from cells into the
bloodstream. We are currently collaborating with MedImmune, Inc. on preclinical development
of monoclonal antibodies directed towards HMGB1 in a number of animal models. We believe
these antibodies could act to neutralize circulating HMGB1 and be used to target diseases
such as sepsis or rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, we are currently collaborating with
Beckman Coulter, Inc. on development of a diagnostic directed towards measuring HMGB1 in
the bloodstream. |
|
|
|
|
Alpha-7. We are developing small molecules designed to inhibit the bodys inflammatory
response by acting on the nicotinic alpha-7 cholinergic target, which is a cell receptor associated
with the production of the cytokines that play a fundamental role in the inflammatory response. We
believe that successful development of a product candidate targeting the nicotinic alpha-7
cholinergic target could lead to an oral anti-cytokine therapy for acute and chronic inflammatory
diseases |
|
|
|
|
CTI-01. On March 15, 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. We plan to analyze the safety and efficacy data from the 102 patients
who received medication before we discontinued the trial. We expect to complete our
analysis of the trial data in the second half of 2006. Decisions on the future development
of CTI-01 will depend upon the outcome of the analysis of the data. |
14
Since our inception, we have incurred significant losses each year. As of March 31, 2006, we
had an accumulated deficit of $122.4 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.
On May 4, 2006, we announced that we
are undertaking a comprehensive review of our cost structure to reduce expenses for 2006 and
2007. These reductions are intended to provide additional capital to support the anticipated
2007 launch of the controlled-release formulation of zileuton. After a preliminary review of
our operating budget, we identified approximately $15 million to $20 million in potential cost
reductions for 2006, which we expect to finalize and implement by the end of the second quarter
of 2006. We anticipate these reductions to come primarily from lower spending on early stage
discovery and research programs, reduced headcount and a deferral of some manufacturing initiatives.
In addition, based on an evaluation of all our sales territories for performance and market potential, we have identified 15 territories for consolidation or elimination, which would reduce our sales force to 65 representatives from 80 representatives.
Since inception, we have
raised proceeds to fund our operations through our initial public offering of common stock, 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 $12.5 million in 2003 and an additional $250,000 in the first quarter 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 commercial product, ZYFLO. We recorded $1.0
million in net product sales for the quarter ended March 31, 2006.
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. 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, costs related to the development of our NDA
for the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, 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 and manufacturing initiatives.
We expect to incur increased
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. 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 the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton and scale up production of the intravenous formulation
of zileuton for late phase clinical trials. We also expect to initiate a post-marketing, Phase IV
program for ZYFLO to examine its potential clinical benefits in certain populations of asthma
patients, which, if conducted, would be included in research and development expenses.
15
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
significant sales and marketing costs associated with our sales force and the
continued enhancement of the sales and marketing infrastructure to support ZYFLO. If any of our
other product candidates are approved for marketing, we expect to incur additional expenses related
to enhancing our sales and marketing functions and adding additional 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. We anticipate that our general and
administrative expenses will be comparable for 2006 to 2005.
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 120,000 shares of common stock and options to purchase common
stock to non-employees during the three months ended March 31, 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. We did not grant any shares of common stock or options to purchase common stock to
non-employees during the three months ended March 31, 2006.
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 741,000 and 238,500 shares of
our common stock to employees during the three months ended March 31, 2006 and March 31, 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
$407,000 and $448,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and March 31, 2005, respectively,
related to stock options granted to employees at exercise prices below their current market value
on the date of grant.
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:
|
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
the impact of the estimates and assumptions on financial condition or operating
performance is material. |
16
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 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. ZYFLO has a twelve-month shelf life as of March
31, 2006. As of March 31, 2006, inventory consists of zileuton API, which is raw material in powder
form and finished 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. During the quarter ended March 31, 2006, we recorded a
reserve to cost of products sold for short-dated ZYFLO commercial product of $144,000 that will
expire on or before December 2006.
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
17
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, and fees paid to contract manufacturers in connection with the production of clinical
materials. 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, 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 months ended March 31, 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 March
18
31, 2006, we had federal and state tax net operating loss carryforwards of approximately
$102.3 million, which expire beginning in 2021 and 2006, respectively. We also have research and
experimentation credit carryforwards of approximately $1.4 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 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 March 31, 2006 and 2005
Revenue from Product Sales. We recognized revenue from product sales of $1.0 million in the
three months ended March 31, 2006 related to sales of ZYFLO following our product launch in October
2005. 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. In the three months ended March 31, 2006, product sales,
net of discounts and rebates, was $1.0 million. Shipments of ZYFLO to third parties not recognized
as revenue are included in deferred product revenue on our balance sheet. This deferred revenue
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 $215,000 at
March 31, 2006 and is included in prepaid expenses and other current assets on our balance sheet.
Revenue under Collaboration Agreements. We recognized collaboration revenues of $1.3 million
in the three months ended March 31, 2006 compared to $1.4 million in the three months ended March
31, 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 $250,000, $2.75 million
and $1.5 million billed to MedImmune for milestone payments and development support in the first
quarter of 2006, in 2005 and in 2004, respectively. Since we entered into the agreement with
MedImmune in 2003, we have billed a total of $17.0 million to MedImmune, consisting of the $12.5
million up-front payment, a $1.25 million milestone payment and $3.25 million of development
support. We have recognized $12.3 million of these amounts as collaboration revenue to date. We
have reported the balance of the payments, totaling $4.7 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 during 2006 and 2007. As of March 31, 2006, we had a total of $4.7 million in
deferred collaboration revenue remaining to be recognized under our collaboration agreements with
MedImmune and Beckman Coulter.
Cost of products sold. Cost of products sold in the three months ended March 31, 2006 were
$504,000. 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 and a
charge of $144,000 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 March 31, 2006 with
an expiration date on or before December 2006.
Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses for the three months
ended March 31, 2006 were $9.4 million compared to $6.6 million for the three months ended March
31, 2005. The increase of approximately $2.8 million was primarily due to higher expenses
associated with the growth in the number of employees performing research and development functions
and their related stock-based compensation expense and increased facilities, equipment and
laboratory charges associated with our increased research and development activities. With the
commercial launch of ZYFLO in October 2005, the costs of manufacturing ZYFLO are now included in
cost of products sold.
19
The following table summarizes the primary components of our direct research and development
expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005:
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Three Months |
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Ended March 31, |
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2006 |
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2005 |
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(in thousands) |
|
Zileuton |
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$ |
5,000 |
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|
$ |
3,404 |
|
CTI-01 |
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|
1,542 |
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|
|
695 |
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HMGB1 |
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|
506 |
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|
|
507 |
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Alpha-7 |
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|
1,147 |
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|
487 |
|
General research and development expenses |
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|
845 |
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|
1,480 |
|
Stock-based compensation expense |
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353 |
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1 |
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|
Total research and development expenses |
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$ |
9,393 |
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|
$ |
6,574 |
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|
We anticipate that our research and development expenses will continue to increase as we
further advance our research and development projects. The following summarizes the expenses
associated with our primary research and development programs:
Zileuton. During the three months ended March 31, 2006, we incurred $5.0 million of
expenses related to our zileuton program as compared to $3.4 million during the three months
ended March 31, 2005. This increase was primarily due to increased clinical costs related to
our intravenous and controlled release formulations of zileuton, our continued work related
to the manufacturing of our NDA registration batches for our controlled-release formulation
of zileuton and additional expenses incurred by our medical affairs and medical information
functions related to scientific support of ZYFLO, our only product approved for marketing in
the United States. The increase was partially offset by a decrease in clinical trial costs
related to our Phase II clinical trial in patients with moderate to severe inflammatory
acne, which we completed in 2005. In the second quarter of 2006, we expect our research and
development expenses for zileuton will relate to the controlled-release formulation of
zileuton and the anticipated clinical trials of the controlled-release and intravenous
formulations of zileuton. We also expect to incur expenses related to additional clinical
studies of zileuton in certain patient populations and continued operation of our medical
affairs function. 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. As a
result, we are unable to estimate the costs or the timing of advancing our zileuton product
candidates through clinical development and commercialization.
CTI-01. Expenses for CTI-01 increased in the three months ended March 31, 2006 as
compared to the three months ended March 31, 2005. This increase was primarily due to
higher clinical trial costs, offset by lower preclinical and manufacturing costs. On March
15, 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 additional costs for this program for the remainder
of 2006 to collect and analyze the safety and efficacy data from the patients who received
medication in the trial. Decisions on the future development of CTI-01 will depend upon the
outcome of the analysis of the data. As a result, we are unable to estimate any additional
costs that may be required to advance this program.
HMGB1. Expenses for HMGB1 remained consistent in the three months ended March 31, 2006
as compared to the three months ended March 31, 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.
In December 2005, MedImmune agreed to fund an additional $1.0 million of research work
performed by our full time employees in 2006. However, we expect to undertake some internal
research and preclinical testing of HMGB1, and we cannot be certain that the research
payments received from MedImmune will fully cover the costs associated with these
activities. Because our HMGB1 program is still in preclinical development, the actual costs
and timing of preclinical development, clinical trials and
20
associated activities are highly uncertain, subject to risk and will change depending
upon the clinical indication developed and the development strategy adopted. As a result, we
are not able to estimate the costs or the timing of advancing any HMGB1-inhibiting product
candidate or candidates through clinical development. 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 March 31, 2006, we incurred $1.1 million of
expenses related to our alpha-7 program as compared to $487,000 during the three months
ended March 31, 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 $635,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2006 as compared to the
three months ended March 31, 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 March 31, 2006 were $135,000 as compared to $693,000 for the three months
ended March 31, 2005.
In
addition, our stock-based compensation expense increased $352,000 in the three
months ended March 31, 2006 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 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. 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 March 31, 2006 and 2005, which resulted in an adjustment to
our stock-based compensation expense to non-employees of $128,000 and $129,000 during each
of those periods, respectively.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2006
were $6.9 million compared to $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2005. The $5.7
million increase in the three months ended March 31, 2006 was primarily attributable to the hiring
of additional sales management and our specialty sales force in late 2005 as well as an increase in
marketing and other costs associated with our commercial product, ZYFLO. In addition, we incurred
approximately $1.4 million of expense to perform market research for ZYFLO in the three months
ended March 31, 2006 following the recent launch of ZYFLO. The number of employees performing
sales and marketing functions increased from 21 employees at March 31, 2005 to 99 employees at
March 31, 2006.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses for the three months
ended March 31, 2006 were $2.9 million compared to $3.0 million for the three months ended March
31, 2005. Although our general and administrative cost in total remained unchanged, we experienced
fluctuations in certain expenses. We experienced an increase of $432,000 in stock-based
compensation expense related to our adoption of SFAS 123(R) and an increase in our personnel costs as a
result of hiring three additional employees performing general and administrative functions. These
increases were offset in part by a $134,000 decrease in legal and related fees, a $95,000 decrease
in travel and related expenses and a $240,000 decrease in our Delaware franchise tax and our sales
and use tax expense, which was primarily related to our sales and use tax obligation for prior
years. The number of employees performing general and administrative functions increased from 23
employees at March 31, 2005 to 26 employees at March 31, 2006.
Other Income. Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2006 was $772,000 compared
to $398,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2005. The increase in the three months ended March
31, 2006 was primarily
21
attributable to higher interest rates and a higher average cash and investment balance
primarily due to our June 2005 private placement. Interest expense amounted to $60,000 and $43,000
for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and March 31, 2005, respectively. The interest expense
relates to borrowings under our loan with Silicon Valley Bank for capital expenditures.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
Since our inception on July 14, 2000, we have financed our operations through the sale of
common and preferred stock, debt financings, the receipt of interest income, payments from our
collaborators MedImmune and Beckman Coulter and, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2005, revenue
generated from sales of ZYFLO. As of March 31, 2006, we had $64.6 million in cash, cash equivalents
and short-term investments. We have invested the net proceeds from our financings and
collaborations in highly liquid, interest-bearing, investment grade securities in accordance with
our established corporate investment policy.
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 $4.5 million through March 31,
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 on
milestone payments we receive from MedImmune. We anticipate that by the end of 2006, in addition to
payments already received, we will receive $1.0 million in aggregate milestone payments from
MedImmune, after taking into account payments we are obligated to make to The Feinstein Institute.
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 March
31, 2006, we had $2.4 million in debt outstanding under this credit agreement related to equipment
advances.
The equipment advances made prior to the modification of our credit agreement on June 30, 2004
accrue interest at a weighted-average effective interest rate of approximately 8.7% per year. We
are required to make equal monthly payments of principal and interest with respect to each advance
made prior to June 30, 2004. The total repayment term for equipment advances made prior to June 30,
2004 is 48 months. Upon the maturity of any advance made prior to June 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 March 31, 2006, we had $289,000 in outstanding equipment advances made
prior to June 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 March 31, 2006, outstanding equipment advances under the modified
credit agreement had a weighted-average effective interest rate of approximately 8.8% 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 March 31, 2006
we had no borrowing capacity available under the modified credit agreement.
Cash Flows
Operating Activities. Net cash used in operating activities was $17.8 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2006, compared to $10.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2005.
Net cash used in operations for the three months ended March 31, 2006 consisted of a net loss of
$16.7 million, depreciation and amortization expense and the
22
amortization of premiums on short-term investments of $278,000, stock-based compensation
expense of $1.4 million, reserve for inventory expense of $144,000 and a decrease in working
capital accounts of $2.9 million.
Investing Activities. Investing activities provided $17.6 million of cash in the three months
ended March 31, 2006, compared to $9.1 million of cash used in investing activities in the three
months ended March 31, 2005. In the three months ended March 31, 2006, we made capital expenditures
of $206,000, mainly for laboratory equipment associated with our research and development
activities and software, and we sold $20.1 million of our short-term investments which was offset
by purchases of $2.3 million of short-term investments.
Financing Activities. In the three months ended March 31, 2006, we used $252,000 of net cash
in financing activities, compared to $275,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2005. Net cash
used in financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2006 principally related to our
repayment of our long-term debt offset in part by proceeds from stock option exercises.
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 March 31, 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.
Funding Requirements
We expect to devote substantial resources to continue our research and development efforts,
including preclinical testing and clinical trials, continue our sales
and marketing efforts,
achieve regulatory approvals, commercialize ZYFLO and, subject to regulatory approval, commercially
launch the controlled-release formulation of zileuton and any future product candidates. We also
expect to spend approximately $300,000 in capital expenditures in the remainder of 2006 for the
purchase of software, computer equipment, manufacturing equipment and equipment for our
laboratories. Our funding requirements will depend on numerous factors, including:
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the costs of ongoing sales and marketing for ZYFLO; |
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the timing, receipt and amount of sales from ZYFLO; |
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the costs and timing of the development, regulatory submission and approval and the
commercial launch of the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, if and when it is
approved by regulatory authorities; |
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the amount and timing of the cost reductions that we
announced in May 2006; |
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the scope and results of our clinical trials; |
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advancements of other product candidates into development; |
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potential acquisition or in-licensing of other products or technologies; |
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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; |
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the cost of manufacturing, marketing and sales activities; |
23
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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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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 the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, if it is approved. In addition
to the foregoing factors, we believe that our ability to access external funds will depend upon the
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 sell ZYFLO and obtain regulatory approval for and successfully commercialize the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton. 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 will be sufficient to fund anticipated
levels of operations into the third quarter of 2007. Our operating
plans assume the effective implementation of the cost reductions that
we announced in May 2006. After a preliminary review of our operating budget, we identified approximately $15 million to
$20 million in potential cost reductions for 2006, which we expect to finalize and implement
by the end of the second quarter of 2006.
For the three months ended March 31, 2006, our net cash used for operating activities was
$17.8 million and we had capital expenditures of $206,000. 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 March 31, 2006.
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Payments Due by Period |
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Less than |
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One to |
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Three to |
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|
After five |
|
Contractual Obligation |
|
Total |
|
|
One year |
|
|
Three years |
|
|
Five years |
|
|
Years |
|
(in thousands) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short and long term debt |
|
$ |
2,518 |
|
|
$ |
1,302 |
|
|
$ |
1,216 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
Research and license agreements |
|
|
7,280 |
|
|
|
154 |
|
|
|
201 |
|
|
|
384 |
|
|
|
6,541 |
|
Consulting agreements |
|
|
324 |
|
|
|
324 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manufacturing and clinical trial agreements |
|
|
10,915 |
|
|
|
10,265 |
|
|
|
650 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lease obligations |
|
|
5,824 |
|
|
|
2,193 |
|
|
|
3,631 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total contractual cash obligations |
|
$ |
26,861 |
|
|
$ |
14,238 |
|
|
$ |
5,698 |
|
|
$ |
384 |
|
|
$ |
6,541 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
24
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 March 31, 2006, we have paid an aggregate
of $4.25 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 March 31, 2006, we have paid and accrued an
aggregate of $2.0 million to SkyePharma under our agreement.
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 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 Ltd., or Shasun. Under this agreement, we committed to purchase a minimum amount of API by December 31,
2006. 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 March 31, 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, we recorded a charge of $144,000 in
the first quarter of 2006 to reserve for excess inventory that had an expiration date such that the
product 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.
25
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 March 31, 2006, we estimate that the fair value of our investment portfolio would decline
by approximately $18,000. 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 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 our chief executive officer and chief financial
officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31,
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
March 31, 2006, our chief executive officer and chief 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 March 31, 2006 that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over
financial reporting.
26
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
Not applicable.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Relating to Our Business
If the market is not receptive to ZYFLO or, if approved for sale, the controlled-release
formulation of zileuton, we will be unable to generate significant revenues unless we are able to
successfully develop and commercialize other product candidates.
The FDA approved our sNDA to manufacture and market ZYFLO for commercial sale on September 28,
2005. In late October 2005, we commercially launched ZYFLO. The commercial success of ZYFLO and, if
approved for sale, the controlled-release formulation of zileuton will depend upon their acceptance
by the medical community, third-party payors and patients. Physicians will prescribe ZYFLO and the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton only if they determine, based on experience, clinical
data, side effect profiles or other factors, that these products either alone or in combination
with other products are appropriate for managing their patients asthma.
Despite being approved
by the FDA since 1996, ZYFLO 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 in October 2005 through
the week ending April 21, 2006.
prescription data for ZYFLO indicates that approximately 1,800 physicians prescribed the product.
We may have difficulty expanding the prescriber and patient base for ZYFLO if physicians view the
product as less effective than other products on the market or view its clinical data as outdated.
In addition, ZYFLO 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.
Moreover, perceptions about the safety of ZYFLO could limit the market acceptance of ZYFLO and
the controlled-release formulation of zileuton. In the placebo-controlled clinical trials that
formed the basis for FDA approval of the NDA for ZYFLO, 1.9% of patients taking ZYFLO experienced
increased levels of a liver enzyme called alanine transaminase, or ALT, of over three times the
levels normally seen in the bloodstream, compared to 0.2% of patients receiving placebo. In
addition, prior to FDA approval, a long-term trial was conducted in 2,947 patients to evaluate the
safety of ZYFLO, particularly in relation to liver enzyme effects. In this safety trial, 4.6% of
the patients taking ZYFLO experienced increased levels of ALT of over three times the levels
normally seen in the bloodstream, compared to 1.1% of patients receiving placebo. The overall
percentage of patients that experienced increases in ALT of over three times the levels normally
seen in the bloodstream was 3.2% in approximately 5,000 asthma patients who received ZYFLO in the
clinical trials that were reviewed by the FDA prior to its approval of ZYFLO. 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. Furthermore, because
ZYFLO can elevate liver enzyme levels, periodic liver function tests are recommended for patients
taking ZYFLO and may be advisable for patients taking our other zileuton product candidates. 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. As a result, many physicians may have negative perceptions about the safety of ZYFLO
and other zileuton product candidates, 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 products approved by
managed care organizations, may also make it difficult to expand the current market for this
product. As a result of a lack of a sustained sales and marketing effort prior to our commercial
launch in October 2005, ZYFLO had been removed from some formularies or relegated to third-tier
status, which requires the highest co-pay for patients. In addition, ZYFLO may have been removed
from some managed care formularies as a result of the absence of ZYFLO from the market prior to our
commercial launch.
27
If we are unable to expand the use of ZYFLO or if any existing negative perceptions about
ZYFLO persist, we will have difficulty achieving market acceptance for our other oral zileuton
product candidates, such as the controlled-release formulation of zileuton. If we are unable to
achieve market acceptance of ZYFLO or the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, we will not
generate significant revenues unless we are able to successfully develop and commercialize other
product candidates.
Our business will depend heavily on the commercial success of ZYFLO and, if approved for sale, the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton.
ZYFLO is our only commercial product. Other than the controlled-release formulation of
zileuton, our product candidates are in early clinical, preclinical and research stages of
development and are a number of years away from commercialization. As a result, ZYFLO and, if
approved for sale, the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, will account for almost all of
our revenues for the foreseeable future. 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 ZYFLO and the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton are not 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. In addition, we
may be forced to dismantle or redeploy the sales force that we built in connection with the launch
of ZYFLO and the anticipated launch of other product candidates.
If
we do not successfully build and maintain an effective internal sales
force and an adequate marketing and sales infrastructure, our ability to independently
launch and market our product candidates, including ZYFLO, will be impaired.
We are independently selling and marketing ZYFLO. If approved for sale, we intend to
independently launch and market the controlled-release formulation of zileuton and other product
candidates. As of May 8, 2006, we had a sales force of
approximately 65 sales
representatives. The majority of these sales representatives joined
us in second half of 2005. We reduced our sales force to
approximately 65 sales representatives as part of the cost reduction
program that we announced in May 2006. For
the three months ended March 31, 2006, we had incurred sales and marketing costs of approximately
$6.9 million, which included costs related to our launch of ZYFLO. We expect to incur additional
costs as we further expand our sales and marketing efforts. We may not be able to attract, hire,
train and retain qualified sales and marketing personnel to build and maintain a significant or
effective sales force. If we are not successful in our efforts to develop and maintain an effective
internal sales force, our ability to independently launch and market our product candidates,
including ZYFLO and the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, will be impaired.
We are investing significant amounts of money and management resources to develop internal
sales and marketing capabilities. We are using a third party for distribution of ZYFLO. If we are
unable to successfully commercialize ZYFLO, we will have incurred significant unrecoverable
expenses. Likewise, if we expand our sales force in anticipation of approval of the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton or our other product candidates, we will incur
significant costs.
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. In addition, we could be required to buy excess inventory to meet our
minimum purchase obligations under our supply agreements with our third-party manufacturers. If we
fail to successfully commercialize ZYFLO, our inventories could be materially impaired and their
value diminished, and we will have incurred significant unrecoverable expenses.
We have limited experience managing commercial supplies of ZYFLO since the launch in October
2005. Our current forecasting of inventory levels is based on our estimate of expected customer
orders in combination with limited historical information regarding actual sales. In the first
quarter of 2006, we made an adjustment to inventory of approximately $144,000 related to short
dated product in our inventory. Significant differences between our current estimates and
judgments and future estimated demand for our product and the useful life of inventory may result
in
28
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. If we fail to
maintain an adequate inventory or if our inventory were to be destroyed or damaged or reached its
expiration date, patients might not have access to ZYFLO, our reputation and our brand could be
harmed and physicians may be less likely to prescribe ZYFLO in the future. Conversely, if we are
unable to sell our inventory in a timely manner, we could experience cash flow difficulties and
additional financial losses.
If the market is not receptive to our other 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:
|
|
|
the timing of our receipt of any marketing approvals, the terms of any approval and the
countries in which approvals are obtained; |
|
|
|
|
the safety, efficacy and ease of administration; |
|
|
|
|
the therapeutic benefit or other improvement over existing comparable products; |
|
|
|
|
pricing and cost effectiveness; |
|
|
|
|
the ability to be produced in commercial quantities at acceptable costs; |
|
|
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
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.
A key 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:
|
|
|
internal research programs; |
|
|
|
|
sponsored research programs with academic and other research institutions and
individual doctors, chemists and researchers; |
|
|
|
|
in-licensing or acquisition of product candidates or approved products for the critical
care market; and |
|
|
|
|
collaborations with other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies with complementary
clinical development or commercialization capabilities or capital to assist in funding
product development and commercialization. |
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:
|
|
|
the research methodology used may not be successful in identifying potential product
candidates; or |
29
|
|
|
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. |
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:
|
|
|
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; |
|
|
|
|
companies that perceive us as a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license their product rights to us; |
|
|
|
|
we may be unable to identify suitable products or product candidates within our areas of expertise; and |
|
|
|
|
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 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, if approved for sale, the controlled-release formulation of zileuton. 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 from other pharmaceutical companies seeking to develop
drugs for the severe asthma market. The severe asthma market is currently served by the therapies
developed for mild to moderate asthma and 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.
Zileuton will also face intense competition if we are able to develop it as a treatment for
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:
30
|
|
|
significantly greater financial, technical and human resources than we have and may be
better equipped to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize products; |
|
|
|
|
more extensive experience than we have in conducting preclinical studies and clinical
trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical
products; |
|
|
|
|
competing products that have already received regulatory approval or are in late-stage development; and |
|
|
|
|
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.
If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business and our operating results could be
adversely affected.
We
may need to expand our administrative and operational infrastructure to
support the growth in our business. As we advance our product candidates through clinical trials,
we will need to continue to expand our development, regulatory and sales capabilities or contract
with third parties to provide these capabilities for us. As our operations expand, we expect that
we will need to manage additional relationships with various collaborators, suppliers and other
third parties. Our need to manage our operations and growth will require us to continue to improve
our operational, financial and management controls, our reporting systems and our procedures in the
United States and the other countries in which we operate. We may not be able to implement
improvements to our management information and control systems in an efficient or timely manner, or
we may discover deficiencies in existing systems and controls that could expose us to an increased
risk of incurring financial or accounting irregularities or fraud.
If we are unable to retain key personnel and hire additional qualified scientific and other
management personnel, we may not be able to successfully achieve our goals.
We depend on the principal members of our scientific and management staff, including Paul D.
Rubin, M.D., our President and Chief Executive Officer, Frederick Finnegan, our Senior Vice
President of Sales and Marketing, Walter Newman, Ph.D., our Chief Scientific Officer and Senior
Vice President of Research and Development, Trevor Phillips, Ph.D., our Chief Operating Officer and
Senior Vice President of Operations and Frank E. Thomas, our Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice
President of Finance and Treasurer. 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.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to attract and retain qualified scientific
and management personnel such as these individuals. We expect that our potential 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. We expect these demands will 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. The failure
to attract and retain 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.
31
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:
|
|
|
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; |
|
|
|
|
other Medicare laws and regulations that establish the requirements for coverage and
payment for our products, including the amount of such payments; |
|
|
|
|
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; |
|
|
|
|
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; |
|
|
|
|
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; |
|
|
|
|
the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which regulates development, manufacturing,
labeling, marketing, distribution and sale of prescription drugs and medical devices; |
|
|
|
|
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; |
|
|
|
|
state and foreign law equivalents of the foregoing; |
|
|
|
|
state food and drug laws, pharmacy acts and state pharmacy board regulations, which
govern sale, distribution, use, administration and prescribing of prescription drugs; and |
|
|
|
|
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 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
on November 8, 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
32
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.
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,
California has enacted a statute effective July 1, 2005 requiring 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 and our
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, with 177 employees as of March 31, 2006, the
majority of whom joined us in 2005. 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
33
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 independent 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 and the Nasdaq National Market, we may be subject to sanctions
or investigation by regulatory authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission or the
Nasdaq National 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.
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 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 those at a late stage of development, 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 the controlled-release formulation of zileuton 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 the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton 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.
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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.
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, we expect
Medicaid business to be approximately 8% to 12% 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 or one or more
of our 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 the controlled-release
formulation of zileuton 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 the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton or our other 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.
Based on
our anticipated completion of a six-month stability assessment of the controlled-release
formulation of zileuton, we expect to submit an NDA to the FDA for this product candidate in
August 2006. Abbott conducted the pivotal clinical trials on the controlled-release formulation
of zileuton before we in-licensed the product candidate. We intend to
rely 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. We conducted
both a single-dose and a multiple-dose pharmacokinetic study. The studies assessed the
pharmacokinetics of the controlled-release formulation of zileuton in volunteers under
both fed and fasted 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. If the FDA disagrees with our conclusions regarding the sufficiency
of the results from the bioavailability studies, then we could be required to conduct
additional clinical trials to support our NDA, which could lead to unanticipated costs and delays.
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 the controlled-release
formulation of zileuton 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.
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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, on March 15, 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. We plan to analyze the safety and
efficacy data from the patients who received medication before we
discontinued the trial. We expect to complete our
analysis of the trial data in the second half of 2006. Decisions on the future development
of CTI-01 will depend upon the outcome of the analysis of the data.
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 may 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 prelinical 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.
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.
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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. |
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 quarter ended March 31, 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 quarter ended March 31, 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
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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 third parties 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 commercial supplies of the zileuton API and ZYFLO
and the production of our product candidates for preclinical and clinical testing purposes. We
expect to continue to rely on third parties 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. Based on discussions with Shasun Pharma Solutions, we
expect that the manufacture of zileuton API will not be affected by the sale. The manufacturing
process for the zileuton API involves an exothermic reaction that generates heat and, if not
properly controlled by the safety
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and protection mechanisms in place at the manufacturing sites, could result in unintended
combustion of the product. The manufacture of the API could be disrupted or delayed if a batch is
discontinued or damaged, if the manufacturing sites were damaged, or if local health and safety
regulations require a third-party manufacturer to implement additional safety procedures or cease
production.
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 the controlled-release formulation of
zileuton 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 the controlled-release formulation of zileuton 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 the controlled-release formulation of zileuton and may
affect our schedule for the submission of the NDA for the controlled-release formulation of
zileuton.
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 the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, 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. 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 the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton, 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.
We rely on a single source supplier for one of the starting materials for zileuton, and the loss
of that supplier could prevent us from selling ZYFLO.
Sumitomo is currently the only qualified supplier of a chemical known as 2-ABT, one of the
starting materials for the zileuton API. Shasun Pharma Solutions, which supplies us with the
zileuton API, has an agreement with
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Sumitomo for the supply of 2-ABT to meet our current orders of zileuton API. If Sumitomo stops
manufacturing or is unable to manufacture 2-ABT, or if Shasun is unable to procure 2-ABT from
Sumitomo on commercially reasonable terms, we may be unable to continue to sell ZYFLO on
commercially viable terms, if at all. In addition, Shasuns inability to procure 2-ABT could also
impact our ability to commercialize the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, if it is
approved by the FDA. Furthermore, because Sumitomo is currently the sole supplier of 2-ABT,
Sumitomo has unilateral control over the price of 2-ABT. Any increase in the price for 2-ABT may
reduce our gross margins.
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 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. 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. |
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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 are not able to obtain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for our
discoveries, 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 and develop 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. 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 for non-publication is filed,
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 patent applications
of others. There may also be prior art that may prevent allowance of our patent applications.
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 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
which 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 concerning patents or patent applications
owned or co-owned by us or licensed to us, 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
applications could take place in the United States in a federal court or in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office or other administrative agencies. These proceedings could also take place in a
43
foreign country, in either the court or the patent office of that country. Proceedings
involving our patents or patent applications could result in adverse decisions regarding:
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the patentability of our inventions, 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 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.
Our success will also depend in part on our ability to avoid infringement of the patent rights
of others. For example, we are aware of third-party patents and patent applications that relate to
a class of chemicals known as pyruvates, of which CTI-01, one of our product candidates, is a
member. We believe that our anticipated uses of CTI-01 do not infringe any valid third-party
patents. If any use of CTI-01 that we pursue for a particular indication were found to infringe a
valid third-party patent, we could be precluded from selling CTI-01 for that indication and be
forced to pay damages.
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 HMGB1 products and some of our other product candidates.
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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.
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 $16.8 million in the three months ended March 31, 2006 and $47.1 million in the
year ended December 31, 2005. As of March 31, 2006, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately
$122.4 million. For the three months ended March 31, 2006, we recorded $1.0 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 and to enhance our core technologies.
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 continue our research and development efforts,
including preclinical testing and clinical trials, expand our sales and marketing infrastructure,
achieve regulatory approvals, commercialize ZYFLO and, subject to regulatory approval, commercially
launch the controlled-release formulation of zileuton and any future product candidates. Our
funding requirements will depend on numerous factors, including:
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the costs of ongoing sales and marketing for ZYFLO; |
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the timing, receipt and amount of sales from ZYFLO; |
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the costs and timing of the development, regulatory submission and approval and the
commercial launch of the controlled-release formulation of zileuton, if and when it is
approved by regulatory authorities; |
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the amount and timing of the cost reductions that we announced in
May 2006; |
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the scope and results of our clinical trials; |
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advancements of other product candidates into development; |
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potential acquisition or in-licensing of other products or technologies; |
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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; |
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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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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 operating income until we
commercially launch the controlled-release formulation of zileuton if it is approved. In addition
to the foregoing factors, we believe that our ability to access external funds will depend upon the
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 sell ZYFLO and obtain regulatory approval for and successfully commercialize the
controlled-release formulation of zileuton. 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 will be sufficient to fund anticipated
levels of operations into the third quarter of 2007. Our operating
plans assume the effective implementation of the cost reductions
that we announced in May 2006.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2006, our net cash used for operating activities was $17.8
million and we had capital expenditures of $206,000. 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 these 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.
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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 Securities and Exchange Commission, or 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 will be 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. Although we believe that our accounting
practices are consistent with current accounting pronouncements, changes to or interpretations of
accounting methods or policies in the future may require us to reclassify, restate or otherwise
change or revise our financial statements.
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 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 be 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 agreements; |
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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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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 May 1, 2006, our directors, executive officers and 5% or greater stockholders, together
with their affiliates, to our knowledge, beneficially owned, in the aggregate, approximately 64.7%
of our outstanding common stock. As a result, our directors, executive officers and 5% or greater
stockholders, together with their affiliates, if acting together, may have the ability to determine
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.
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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.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
Not applicable.
Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
In June 2004, we sold 6,110,000 shares of our common stock in our initial public offering,
including 110,000 shares upon the exercise of an over-allotment option by the underwriters,
pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-113727), which was declared
effective by the SEC on May 26, 2004. Our net proceeds from the offering equaled approximately
$37.8 million. Through March 31, 2006, we have used:
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approximately $15.4 million of these net proceeds to establish sales and marketing
capabilities and manufacturing and distribution arrangements to launch ZYFLO; and |
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approximately $16.4 million of these net proceeds to fund preclinical and clinical
development of our product candidates. |
We have not used any of the net proceeds from the offering to make payments, directly or
indirectly, to any of our directors or officers, or any of their associates, to any person owning
10 percent or more of our common stock or to any affiliate of ours. The balance of the net proceeds
of the offering is invested in short-term investment grade corporate and U.S. government
securities.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Other Information.
On May 8, 2006, we gave notice of termination of our Standard Exclusive License Agreement with
the University of Florida Research Foundation, or UFRF, dated as of September 2, 2004, which we
refer to as the UFRF Agreement. The UFRF Agreement grants us a right to terminate the UFRF
Agreement upon 60-days notice to UFRF. Pursuant to the terms of the UFRF Agreement, this
termination will be effective as of July 15, 2006.
This UFRF Agreement provided for an exclusive worldwide license, under specified patent rights
controlled by UFRF relating to a family of compounds known as cinnamylidene-anabaseines, to make,
use and sell products covered by the licensed patent rights. In consideration for the license, we
agreed to pay an initial license fee and milestone payments upon the achievement of specified
development and regulatory milestones for the licensed product. We also agreed to make certain
minimum royalty payments during the term of the agreement and royalty payments based on net sales
of a licensed product by us and our sublicensees.
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We terminated the UFRF Agreement to bring our licensing portfolio in line with our current
objectives for the Alpha-7 project. We do not plan to commercialize any of the members of the
cinnamylidene-anabaseine chemical family claimed in UFRFs patent rights and we are focusing
instead on novel compounds derived from our internal discovery efforts. We will not incur any
material termination penalty as a result of terminating the UFRF Agreement.
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: May 10, 2006
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/s/ Paul D. Rubin |
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Paul D. Rubin, M.D. |
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President and Chief Executive Officer |
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(Principal Executive Officer) |
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Date: May 10, 2006
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/s/ Frank E. Thomas |
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Frank E. Thomas |
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Senior Vice President of Finance, |
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Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
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(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit |
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Number |
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Description |
10.1
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Fourth Loan Modification Agreement, dated January 6, 2006, between the Company and Silicon Valley Bank. |
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31.1
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Certification of the Chief Executive 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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31.2
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Certification of the Chief 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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32.1
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Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant
to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.2
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Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant
to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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