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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
____________________________________________________________________________
Form 10-K
____________________________________________________________________________
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year endedDecember 31, 2024
Or
For the transition period from____________ to______________
Commission File Number:001-36046
AXOGEN, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Minnesota
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
13631 Progress Blvd., Suite 400Alachua,FL
(Address of principal executive offices)
41-1301878
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
32615
(Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (386) 462-6800
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 par value AXGN The Nasdaq Stock Market
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of class)
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☐No☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☐
Accelerated filerx
Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. □
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b). Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of June 30, 2024, the last day of the registrant's most recently completed second quarter, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $186,789,502 based upon the last reported sale price of the common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock as of February 19, 2025, was 44,343,785 shares.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the Registrant’s fiscal year are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.
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TABLE OFCONTENTS
Page
PART I
Item 1. Business 5
Item 1A. Risk Factors 32
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 58
Item 1C. Cybersecurity 58
Item 2. Properties 61
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 61
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 61
PART II
Item 6. Reserved 63
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 72
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 73
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 100
Item 9B. Other Information 101
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 101
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 102
Item 11. Executive Compensation 102
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 102
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 104
Exhibit Index 104
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
From time to time, in reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) (including this Annual Report on Form 10-K), in press releases, and in other communications to shareholders or the investment community, Axogen, Inc. (including Axogen, Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiaries, Axogen Corporation, Axogen Processing Corporation, Axogen Europe GmbH, and Axogen Germany GmbH, (the “Company,” “Axogen,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) may provide forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning possible or anticipated future results of operations or business developments. These statements are based on management's current expectations or predictions of future conditions, events, or results based on various assumptions and management's estimates of trends and economic factors in the markets in which we are active, as well as its business plans. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “continue,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “goals,” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K include, but are not limited to the following:
•Our expectations regarding our ability to market Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix and our expectations that Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix will, and will continue to be, regulated solely under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act ("PHS Act");
•Statements regarding estimates of the total addressable market for our current portfolio, our belief that our total addressable market is comprised of four categories: (i) trauma ("Trauma"), (ii) oral maxillofacial ("OMF") and head and neck ("Head and Neck"), collectively ("OMF/H&N"), (iii) breast reconstruction neurotization ("Breast"), and (iv) Upper Extremity Compression, (together the "Total Addressable Market") and statements regarding estimates of the market for our current portfolio in each of the four categories;
•Statements regarding our belief that there is an additional 10-15% of the breast reconstructions done with implants that can also be neurotized and thus offer us expanded revenue opportunities;
•Statements regarding our beliefs that expanding our products into lower extremity surgery, urology, and the surgical treatment of pain could offer us expanded revenue opportunities;
•Our expectation that the Biologics License Application ("BLA") will be approved in September 2025;
•Our belief that we met the clinical end point required for our pivotal study to support the BLA and that only one study is sufficient to support the BLA;
•Our belief that further innovation and product development is needed to maintain our leadership position and provide expansion opportunities;
•Our belief that additional opportunities exist to develop or acquire complementary products in peripheral nerve repair as well as opportunities to expand our existing portfolio of products in new applications of peripheral nerve repair;
•Our belief that there is a global need for surgical repair of damaged or transected nerves and that a global market exists for our product; and
•Statements regarding our ability to monitor product utilization within accounts and generate improved estimates of our revenue by application.
The forward-looking statements are and will be subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect our business and its market, particularly those discussed in the risk factors and cautionary statements set forth in our filings with the SEC, including as described in “Risk Factors” included in Item 1A of this Form 10-K and “Risk Factor Summary” included in this Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on information that is currently available to us and expectations and assumptions that we deem reasonable at the time the statements were made. The forward-looking statements are representative only as of the date they are made and, except as required by applicable law, we assume no responsibility to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
We are the leading company focused specifically on the science, development, and commercialization of technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair. We are passionate about providing the opportunity to restore nerve function and quality of life for patients with peripheral nerve injuries. We provide innovative, clinically proven, and economically effective repair solutions for surgeons and healthcare providers. Peripheral nerves provide the pathways for both motor and sensory signals throughout the body. Every day, people suffer traumatic injuries or undergo surgical procedures that impact the function of their peripheral nerves. Physical damage to a peripheral nerve or the inability to properly reconnect peripheral nerves can result in the loss of muscle or organ function, the loss of sensory feeling, or the initiation of pain.
Our platform for peripheral nerve repair features a comprehensive portfolio of products, including:
•Avance® Nerve Graft, a biologically active off-the-shelf processed human nerve allograft for bridging severed peripheral nerves without the comorbidities associated with a second surgical site.
•Axoguard Nerve Connector®, a porcine (pig) submucosa extracellular matrix ("ECM") coaptation aid for tensionless repair of severed peripheral nerves.
•Axoguard Nerve Protector®, a porcine submucosa ECM product used to wrap and protect damaged peripheral nerves and reinforce the nerve reconstruction while minimizing soft tissue attachments.
•Axoguard HA+ Nerve ProtectorTM, a porcine submucosa ECM base layer coated with a proprietary hyaluronate-alginate gel, a next-generation technology designed to enhance nerve gliding and provide short- and long-term protection for peripheral nerve injuries.
•Axoguard Nerve Cap®, a porcine submucosa ECM product used to protect a peripheral nerve end and separate the nerve from the surrounding environment to reduce the development of symptomatic or painful neuroma.
•Avive+ Soft Tissue MatrixTM, a multi-layer amniotic membrane allograft used to protect and separate tissues in the surgical bed during the critical phase of tissue healing.
On June 24, 2024, we announced the launch of Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix. Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix is processed and distributed in accordance with United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") requirements for Human Cellular and Tissue-based Products ("HCT/P") under the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR") Title 21 ("21 CFR") Part 1271 regulations and United States PHS regulations as a Section 361 human tissue product. Products regulated solely under Section 361 of the PHS Act are a product category under close scrutiny by the FDA for compliance with the regulatory requirements and are potentially subject to regulatory change in the future.
Our portfolio of products is currently available in the United States ("U.S."), and 19 other countries including Canada, Germany, United Kingdom ("UK"), Spain, and several other European, Asian, and Latin American countries.
Revenue from the distribution of our nerve repair products, Avance Nerve Graft, Axoguard Nerve Connector, Axoguard Nerve Protector, Axoguard HA+ Nerve Protector, Axoguard Nerve Cap and Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix in the U.S. is the main contributor to our total reported sales and have been the key component of our growth to date.
Nerves can be damaged in several ways. When a nerve is cut due to a traumatic injury or inadvertently during a surgical procedure, functionality of the nerve may be compromised, causing the nerve to no longer carry the signals to and from the brain to the muscles and skin, thereby reducing or eliminating functionality. The loss of function can impact a person’s ability to work and perform daily tasks, to properly be aware and respond to their environment (e.g., heat, cold or other dangers), and could negatively impact their ability to experience and enjoy life.
Nerve damage or transection of the type described above generally requires a surgical repair. Traditionally, the standard has been to either suture the nerve ends together directly without tension or to bridge the gap between the nerve ends with a less important nerve surgically removed from elsewhere in the patient’s own body, referred to as a nerve autograft. More recently, synthetic or collagen conduits have been used for the repair of short gaps. Nerves that are not repaired or heal abnormally may result in a permanent loss of motor and/or sensory function. Additionally, abnormal healing can form a neuroma that may send
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altered signals to the brain resulting in the sensation of pain. This abnormal section of the nerve can, under certain circumstances, be surgically removed and the nerve can be managed by capping, burying, or surgically repairing the nerve.
In addition, compression on a nerve, blunt force trauma or other physical irritations to a nerve can cause nerve damage that may alter the signal conduction of the nerve, resulting in pain, and may, in some instances, require surgical intervention to address the resulting nerve compression. Finally, when a patient undergoes a mastectomy due to breast cancer or prophylactically due to a genetic predisposition for breast cancer, the nerves are cut to allow the removal of the breast tissue. This can result in a loss of sensation, the potential risk of a symptomatic neuroma, and could negatively impact the patient’s quality of life. When a patient chooses a breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, sensation and quality of life can, in certain cases, be returned through surgical nerve repair.
To improve the options available for the surgical repair and regeneration of peripheral nerves, we have developed and licensed regenerative medicine technologies. Our innovative approach to regenerative medicine has resulted in first-in-class products that we believe are redefining the peripheral nerve repair market. Our products are used by surgeons during surgical interventions to repair a wide variety of physical nerve damage throughout the body, which can range from a simple laceration of a finger to a complex brachial plexus injury (an injury to the network of nerves that control the movement and sensation of the shoulder, arm, and hand) as well as nerve injuries caused by dental, orthopedic, and other surgical procedures.
Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Market Overview
Peripheral nerve injury (“PNI”) through damage or transection is a major source of physical disability impairing the ability to move muscles or to feel normal sensations. Patients suffer traumatic bodily injuries every day that may result in damage or transection to peripheral nerves severe enough to require surgical treatment. We break our total addressable market into four categories: (i) Trauma, (ii) OMF and Head and Neck, collectively OMF/H&N, (iii) Breast, and (iv) Upper Extremity Compression, together the Total Addressable Market.
We previously estimated that U.S. PNI has a potential Total Addressable Market for our current product portfolio and believe it is presently at least $2.7 billion. Estimating the Total Addressable Market for nerve repair is challenging as there is not a simple data source for the incidence of peripheral nerve issues. This is further complicated by the fact that nerves can be injured through a variety of traumatic and surgical injuries and can impact a patient from head to toe. In addition, we believe nerves are often one of many structures injured in a trauma (e.g., amputation) or in surgery and the incidence of these nerve injuries are often not coded or tracked. Quantifying the procedures involving nerve repair may also be challenging. While selected trauma and surgical procedures are dedicated to the repair of nerves, most of the incidence of nerve repair is a step in a larger trauma or surgical procedure. Current Procedural Terminology ("CPT") codes exist for surgeons to code for nerve repair; however, we believe the data substantially underestimates the total number of nerves repaired. Physicians are encouraged to document all steps of procedures, but open trauma often involves many surgical steps, and CPT codes may be inclusive of each other or may not be documented or reported in billing records. As a result, we believe CPT coding underrepresents the total number of nerve repairs performed in trauma. Because we believe CPT claims are not fully representative of the true volumes of nerve repair surgery, we follow an “empirical” methodology to estimate the Total Addressable Market – using published clinical literature and procedure databases to make what we believe are the most objective assumptions.
Trauma
The Trauma portion of the Total Addressable Market encompasses traumatic PNI throughout the body, with approximately 95%of injuries affecting upper and lower extremity nerves. We previously estimated that the Trauma portion of the Total Addressable Market and presently believe it is at least $1.9 billion based upon epidemiological studies regarding the general number of trauma patients, clinical literature review reporting PNI incidence, and physician interviews. We have estimated the portion of these nerve repair procedures due to trauma that would require gap repair, primary repair and/or nerve protection and applied, as we believed was appropriate in each procedure segment, the number of units and average sales price of Avance Nerve Graft and the average market price for nerve connectors and nerve protectors to determine the probable Total Addressable Market.
OMF and Head and Neck
We previously estimated the OMF portion of the Total Addressable Market and presently believe it is at least $300 million annually, based upon research indicating that approximately 56,000 PNI occur in the U.S. each year related to third molar surgeries, anesthetic injections, dental implants, orthognathic surgery, and mandibular resection procedures. We have applied the average sales price of the Avance Nerve Graft, Axoguard Nerve Connector, and Axoguard Nerve Protector that address such PNI to derive the OMF portion of the estimated Total Addressable Market.
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In Head and Neck, we are focused on addressing nerve injuries in parotidectomy, thyroidectomy and radical neck dissections, which we believe presently represent a significant opportunity with more than 200,000 procedures performed annually, highly concentrated in large academic hospital centers.
Breast
We previously estimated the Breast portion of the Total Addressable Market based on autologous flap reconstructions (i.e. DIEP flaps) and presently believe it is at least $350 million annually. In 2023, we launched Resensation® to implant-based procedures with neurotization of the nipple area complex. We estimate that there is an additional 10-15% of the breast reconstructions done with implants that can also be neurotized which adds at least $250 million to increase the estimated Total Addressable Market to at least $600 million. Currently, when a patient undergoes autologous or implant-based breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, the patient receives the shape of a natural breast, but often times experiences little to no return of sensory feeling. In certain cases, sensation can be returned to the breast area with the use of our products through an innovative surgical technique called Resensation. We believe that the ideal breast reconstruction should restore breast size, shape, symmetry, and softness, as well as sensation, without the potential risks and comorbidity associated with autograft. We believe the Resensation technique incorporates a patient's desire for the opportunity to return sensation to their breasts with a reproducible and efficient surgical approach for reconstructive plastic surgery.
Upper Extremity Compression
PNI caused by recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome constitutes the "Upper Extremity Compression" portion of the Total Addressable Market. We believe the Upper Extremity Compression portion of the Total Addressable Market is approximately $350 million annually, or 145,000 procedures. We estimate there are approximately 488,000 primary carpal tunnel and 150,000 primary cubital tunnel relief surgeries performed annually in the U.S. We estimate that approximately 96,500 carpal tunnel revision surgeries and 51,600 total cubital tunnel procedures are addressable each year in the U.S. to mitigate the recurrence of symptoms. These revision and primary surgeries are required due to compression of the peripheral nerve associated with soft tissue attachments from the surrounding tissue or tissue infiltration entrapping the nerve. To prevent additional recurrences, surgeons will opt for a nerve protection which includes products such as the Axoguard Nerve Protector, Axoguard HA+ Nerve Protector ("HA+") and Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix. To derive the carpal and cubital tunnel revision portion of the Total Addressable Market, we multiplied the average market sales price of Axoguard Nerve Protectors by the number of estimated procedures.
Although distribution and sales of products in the Trauma, OMF/H&N, Breast and Upper Extremity Compression portions of the Total Addressable Market constitute our primary revenue sources today, market expansion opportunities in lower extremity surgery, urology, and the surgical treatment of pain could offer us expanded revenue opportunities. We have begun an expansion into the surgical treatment of pain with an initial focus in the treatment of neuroma in our existing call points. The size of the pain market opportunity is challenging to identify as the cause of the chronic pain is often not diagnosed and there has not historically been a surgical treatment to resolve the cause of the pain. We believe the market opportunity is sufficient to apply selected resources to the opportunity and there is a significant patient and societal need to reduce the use of pharmacologic solutions, including opioids.
Our Product Portfolio
Avance Nerve Graft
Avance Nerve Graft is a biologically active nerve implant with more than sixteen years of comprehensive clinical evidence and more than100,000 implants since launch.Avance Nerve Graft is processed nerve allograft intended for the surgical repair of peripheral nerve discontinuities to support regeneration across the defect. It is intended to act as a structural bridge in order to guide and support axonal regeneration across a peripheral nerve gap caused by traumatic injury or surgical intervention. Avance Nerve Graft is decellularized and sterile processed human peripheral nerve tissue. We developed Avance Nerve Graft by following the guiding principle that the human body created the optimalperipheral nerve structure. We, through our licensing efforts and research, developed our Avance Method®, a proprietary method for processing recovered human peripheral nerve tissue in a manner that preserves the essential structure of the ECM while cleansing away cellular and noncellular debris. Avance Nerve Graft provides the natural peripheral nerve structure of a nerve, including the native laminin, to guide the regenerating nerve fibers. The nerve ECM is additionally processed to remove a natural inhibitor to regeneration called chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan.
We believe that Avance Nerve Graft is the first off-the-shelf nerve allograft for bridging nerve transections. Avance Nerve Graft is comprised of bundles of small diameter endoneurial tubes that are held together by an outer sheath called the epineurium. Avance Nerve Graft has been processed to remove cellular and noncellular factors such as cells, fat, blood, and
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axonal debris, while preserving the three-dimensional laminin lined tubular bioscaffold (i.e., microarchitecture), epineurium, and microvasculature of the peripheral nerve. After processing, Avance Nerve Graft is flexible and pliable, and its epineurium can be sutured in place allowing for a tension-free approximation of the proximal and distal peripheral nerve stumps. During the healing process, the body revascularizes and gradually remodels the graft into the patient’s own tissue while allowing the processed peripheral nerve allograft to physically support axonal regeneration across the peripheral nerve discontinuities. Avance Nerve Graft does not require immunosuppression for use.
With lengths up to 70 mm and diameters up to 5 mm, Avance Nerve Graft allows surgeons to choose and trim the implant to the correct length for reconstructing the relevant peripheral nerve gap, as well as to match the diameter to the proximal and distal end of the severed peripheral nerve. Avance Nerve Graft is stored frozen and utilizes packaging that maintains the implant in a sterile condition. The packaging is typical for medical products, so the surgical staff is familiar with opening the package for transfer of Avance Nerve Graft into the sterile surgical field. The packaging also provides protection during shipment and storage and a reservoir for the addition of sterile fluid to aid in thawing the product. Avance Nerve Graft thaws in less than 10 minutes, and once thawed, it is ready for implantation.
Avance Nerve Graft provides the following key advantages:
•A three-dimensional bioscaffold for bridging a peripheral nerve gap;
•A biologically active nerve therapy with more than 10 years of comprehensive clinical evidence;
•No patient donor-nerve surgery, therefore no comorbidities associated with a secondary surgical site;
•Available in a variety of diameters up to 5mm to meet a range of anatomical needs;
•Available in a variety of lengths up to 70mm to meet a range of gap lengths;
•Decellularized and cleansed ECM;
•Implanted without the need for immunosuppression, remodels into patient’s own tissue;
•Structurally supports the body’s own regeneration process;
•Handles similar to an autograft, and is flexible and pliable;
•Alleviates tension at the repair site;
•Three-year shelf life; and
•Supplied sterile.
Axoguard Nerve Connector
Axoguard Nerve Connector is a coaptation aid used to align and connect severed peripheral nerve ends in a tensionless repair. The product is in a tubular shape with an open lumen on each end where the severed peripheral nerve ends are inserted. It is typically used when the gap between the peripheral nerve ends is 5mm or less in length. Axoguard Nerve Connector is made from a processed porcine ECM that allows the body’s natural healing process to repair the peripheral nerve while its tube shape isolates and protects the transected nerves during the healing process. During healing, the patient’s own cells incorporate into the ECM product to remodel and form a tissue similar to the outermost layer of the peripheral nerve (nerve epineurium). Axoguard Nerve Connector is provided sterile, for single use only, and in a variety of sizes to meet the surgeon’s needs.
Axoguard Nerve Connector can be used:
•As an alternative to direct suture repair;
•As a peripheral nerve coaptation; Connector-Assisted Repair®;
•To aid coaptation in direct repair, grafting, or cable grafting repairs; and
•To reinforce the coaptation site.
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Axoguard Nerve Connector has the following advantages:
•Processed intact porcine ECM with an open, porous structure that allows for cell infiltration and remodeling;
•Designed as a coaptation aid for tensionless repair of transected or severed peripheral nerves;
•Alleviates tension at the repair site;
•Remodels into the patient’s own tissue;
•Reduces the number of required sutures (versus direct repair with suture);
•Allows surgeon to move sutures away from the repair site which may minimize inflammation and aid nerve regeneration;
•Reduces potential for fascicular mismatch;
•Allows visualization of underlyingperipheral nerve ends;
•Available in seven different diameters and two different lengths to address a variety of nerve repair situations;
•Strong and flexible, easy to suture; and
•Stored at room temperature with a minimum of 18-month shelf life for the sizes with 6-layers and 24-month shelf life for those with 5-layers.
Axoguard Nerve Protector
Axoguard Nerve Protector is a product used to protect and wrap damaged peripheral nerves and reinforce reconstructed nerve gaps while minimizing soft tissue attachments. It is designed to protect and isolate the peripheral nerve during the healing process after surgery by creating a barrier between the nerve tissue and the surrounding tissue bed. The product is delivered in a slit tube format allowing it to be wrapped around peripheral nerve structures. Axoguard Nerve Protector is made from a processed porcine ECM. During healing, the ECM remodels allowing the protector to separate the peripheral nerve from the surrounding tissue. Axoguard Nerve Protector competes against off-the-shelf biomaterials such as reconstituted bovine collagen as well as the use of the patient’s own tissue such as vein and hypothenar fat pad wrapping. Axoguard Nerve Protector is provided sterile, for single use only, and in a variety of sizes to meet the surgeon’s needs.
Axoguard Nerve Protector can be used to:
•Separate and protect the nerve from the surrounding tissue during the healing process;
•Minimize risk of soft tissue attachments and entrapment in compressed peripheral nerves;
•Protect peripheral nerves in a traumatized wound bed; and
•Reinforce a coaptation site.
Axoguard Nerve Protector has the following advantages:
•Processed porcine submucosa ECM used to reinforce a coaptation site, wrap a partially severed peripheral nerve or protect peripheral nerve tissue;
•Creates a protective layer that isolates and protects the peripheral nerve in a traumatized wound bed;
•Remodels to form a new soft tissue layer;
•Easily conforms and provides 360-degree wrapping of damaged peripheral nerve tissue;
•Allows the body's natural healing process to repair the nerve;
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•Minimizes the potential for soft tissue attachments and peripheral nerve entrapment by physically isolating the nerve during the healing process;
•Allows peripheral nerve gliding;
•Strong and flexible, plus easy to suture;
•Is available in five different widths and two different lengths to address a variety of peripheral nerve repair situations; and
•Stored at room temperature with a minimum of 24-month shelf life.
HA+
HA+ is a surgical implant that provides non-constricting protection for peripheral nerves. HA+ is designed to be an interface between the nerve and the surrounding tissue. HA+ is comprised of an ECM and is fully remodeled during the healing process. The lubricant coating on HA+ is composed of sodium hyaluronate and sodium alginate. When hydrated, the lubricant coating reduces friction between the nerve and the surrounding tissue. HA+ is flexible to accommodate movement of the joint and associated tendons and has sufficient mechanical strength to hold sutures. HA+ is provided sterile, for single use only, and in a variety of sizes to meet surgeons’ needs.
HA+ can be used to:
•Separate and protect the nerve from the surrounding tissue during the healing process;
•Minimize risk of soft tissue attachments and entrapment in compressed peripheral nerves;
•Protect peripheral nerves in a traumatized wound bed; and
•Provide tension relief when used in aiding a coaptation.
HA+ has the following advantages:
•Processed porcine submucosa ECM layer is vascularized and remodeled by the patient into new site-specific tissue;
•Double-sided HA+ gel coating to reduce friction and enhance nerve gliding through traumatic tissue beds;
•Formulated for optimized handling and flexibility of surgical application—quick hydration, flat sheet configuration and is easy to suture if needed;
•Allows the body's natural healing process to repair the nerve;
•Minimizes the potential for soft tissue attachments and peripheral nerve entrapment by physically isolating the nerve during the healing process;
•Allows peripheral nerve gliding;
•Is available in five different sizes up to 4cm x 8cm to address a variety of peripheral nerve repair situations; and
•Stored at room temperature with a minimum of 24-month shelf life.
Axoguard Nerve Cap
Axoguard Nerve Cap is a proprietary porcine submucosa ECM product used to protect a peripheral nerve end and separate the nerve from the surrounding environment to reduce the development of symptomatic or painful neuroma.
Nerves are often cut in a variety of surgeries and a nerve that is cut and not reconstructed may form an entangled mass of disorganized nerve and fibrous tissue that could cause debilitating pain called a symptomatic neuroma. Neuromas are a potential cause of pain for those patients who complain of chronic post-surgical pain, including in amputees, which may lead to an inability to use their prosthesis. Despite more than 30 different treatment methods, it is our belief that neuromas continue to be an unresolved problem in microsurgery. We believe the Axoguard Nerve Cap can address these painful neuromas and
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address nerve pain without the complications of traditional methods, including pharmacotherapy and chemical injections, among others. Axoguard Nerve Cap can be used to reduce the development of symptomatic or painful neuroma formation.
Axoguard Nerve Cap has the following advantages:
•Separates the nerve end from surrounding tissue, neurotrophic factors and mechanical stimulation;
•Reduces painful neuroma formation;
•Allows for anchoring of a nerve end or stump to nearby tissue structure;
•Material gradually remodels into the patient’s own tissue to protect the nerve end;
•Semi-translucence allows for visualization of nerve ends or stumps and easy visualization for suture placement;
•Is available in six different sizes to address a variety of situations; and
•Stored at room temperature with a minimum of 18-month shelf life.
Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix
Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix, a multi-layer amniotic membrane allograft used to protect and separate tissues in the surgical bed during the critical phase of tissue repair.
Acroval Neurosensory and Motor Testing System
Effective November 2019, we discontinued all sales and effective October 15, 2024, we no longer perform maintenance or calibration of the Acroval Neurosensory and Motor Testing System.
Tissue Recovery and Processing
Avance Nerve Graft Processing Overview
We developed our Avance Method®, an advanced and proprietary technique to process Avance Nerve Graft from donated human peripheral nerve tissue. Our Avance Method requires special training over several months for each manufacturing associate who processes Avance Nerve Grafts. The processing and manufacturing system for Avance Nerve Graft has required significant capital investment, and we seek to continually improve our manufacturing and quality assurance processes and systems. Our Avance Method is depicted as follows:
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Tissue Processing
Our Avance Method comprises peripheral nerve tissue recovery/acquisition and testing, donor medical review and release, debridement and other processing steps, packaging, and sterilization to meet or exceed all applicable FDA, state, and international regulations and the American Association of Tissue Banks (“AATB”) standards. Our supply agreements with recovery and acquisition agencies for peripheral nerve tissue and our ability to enter into additional supply contracts, as necessary will provide us with the tissue volumes we require to meet the demand for our Avance implants. As an FDA registered tissue establishment, we use both our own personnel and subcontractors for recovery/acquisition, storage, testing, processing, and sterilization of the donated peripheral nerve tissue and placental tissues. Additionally, we and our subcontractors, have contracted with independent Good Manufacturing Practice ("GMP") and Good Laboratory Practice compliant laboratories to perform testing for product release. The safety of Avance Nerve Graft is supported by donor screening, process validation, process controls, and validated terminal sterilization methods. The Axogen Quality System has built in redundancies that are meant to ensure product release only after such product meets our quality control and product requirements.
Tissue Recovery and Processing Facilities
We partner with other FDA registered tissue establishments and AATB accredited recovery agencies or recovery agencies in compliance with FDA, state and international regulations and AATB standards for human tissue recovery. After consent for donation is obtained, donations are screened and tested in detail for safety in compliance with FDA, state and international regulations and AATB standards on communicable disease transmission.
In 2023, we successfully transferred the Avance Nerve Graft tissue processing and packaging from the Solvita facility to our Axogen Processing Center facility (the "APC Facility"), which is comprised of a 107,000 square foot building on approximately 8.6 acres of land located in Vandalia, Ohio. It is expected that the APC Facility, along with the ability for expansion, will provide processing capabilities that will meet our intended sales growth. We submitted the BLA for Avance Nerve Graft in September of 2024, and, on November 1, 2024, the FDA accepted the BLA for filing and assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of September 5, 2025. The APC Facility is expected to allow us to meet the current Good Manufacturing Practices ("cGMPs") required for processing a biologic product. Biologics manufacturing is highly regulated and subject to scrutiny and inspection by the FDA. Any quality or compliance issues, or manufacturing disruptions for any other reasons, may delay approval of the BLA.
We obtained certain economic development grants from state and local authorities totaling up to $2.7 million including $1.3 million of cash grants to offset costs to acquire and develop the APC Facility. Certain economic development grants were
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subject to fixed asset investments and job creation milestones by December 31, 2024, and have clawback clauses if we do not meet the minimum requirements for these milestones. We have not met the job creation milestones and have requested a reduction or waiver of clawbacks or extensions from the grant authorities to extend the job creation milestones evaluation date from December 31, 2024 and the expiration date to December 31, 2026. Certain grant authorities have not approved our request. We are continuing discussions with these grant authorities regarding the evaluation, expiration and clawbacks of the job creation milestones and expect to receive a response during 2025. We could be obligated to pay back up to approximately $950 thousand as of December 31, 2024 related to these grants. See "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note 15 - Commitments and Contingencies - Service Agreements."
We process and package Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix using our employees and equipment pursuant to a License and Services Agreement, as amended (the “Solvita Agreement”) with Community Blood Center (doing business as Solvita) ("Solvita"), in Dayton, Ohio at their facility ("Solvita facility"). We expect to continue to rely on the Solvita facility for the processing of Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix. Solvita is an FDA registered tissue establishment and an AATB accredited organization.
The current Solvita Agreement extends through December 31, 2026. Under the Solvita Agreement, we pay Solvita a facility fee for clean-room, manufacturing, storage, and office space. Solvita also provides services in support of our manufacturing such as routine sterilization of daily supplies, providing disposable supplies and microbial services, and office support. The service fee is based on a per donor batch rate. The Solvita facility provides a cost effective, quality controlled and licensed facility. Our processing methods and process controls have been developed and validated to ensure product uniformity and quality. Pursuant to the Solvita Agreement, we pay license fees on a monthly basis to Solvita. See "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements- Note 15 - Commitments and Contingencies - Service Agreements."
Tissue Packaging
After processing, the packaging operation for Avance Nerve Graft is performed in a controlled environment at the APC Facility and the packaging operation for Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix is performed in a controlled environment at the Solvita facility. Each Avance Nerve Graft and Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix are visually inspected and organized by size into finished product codes. The tissue implants are then packaged in primary packaging. The outer pouch acts as the primary sterility and moisture barrier.
Tissue Sterilization and Labeling
After being processed and packaged, Avance Nerve Graft and Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix are then terminally sterilized at a contract sterilization facility. After sterilization, Avance Nerve Graft and Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix are shipped back to Axogen where the product lots will undergo quality review to ensure the lots meets specifications and then final packaging and labeling. Orders for Avance Nerve Graft and Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix are placed with our customer care team, and the products are packaged and shipped from our distribution facilities.
Tissue Product Release
We have established quality procedures for review of tissue recovery, relevant donor medical record review, and release to processing that meet or exceed FDA requirements as defined in 21 CFR Part 1271, state regulations, international regulations, and AATB standards. The Axogen Quality System meets the requirements set forth under 21 CFR Part 1271 for HCT/Ps, including Good Tissue Practices (“GTP”) and is compliant with the 21 CFR Part 820 Quality System Regulation (“QSR”). Furthermore, we utilize validated processes for the handling of raw material components, environmental control, processing, packaging, and terminal sterilization. In addition to ongoing monitoring activities for product conformity to specifications and sterility, shipping methods have been validated in accordance with applicable industry standards.
Manufacturing of Our Medical Device Classified Products
Manufacturing for the Axoguard Product Line
Axoguard Nerve Connector, Axoguard Nerve Protector, HA+, and Axoguard Nerve Cap (the "Axoguard Product Line") is manufactured by Cook Biotech Incorporated (acquired on January 31, 2024 by RTI Surgical, Inc. and rebranded on December 17, 2024 as Evergen), in West Lafayette, Indiana (“Evergen”), which was established in 1995 to develop and manufacture implants utilizing porcine ECM. We do not expect this acquisition to have a material impact on our relationship with Evergen or on our operations. We decided to expand our portfolio of products and felt that the unique ECM material offered by Evergen provided the combination of properties needed in nerve reconstruction. Evergen’s ECM material is pliable, capable of being
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sutured, and translucent and allows the patient’s own cells to incorporate into the ECM to remodel and form a tissue similar to the nerve’s epineurium. Evergen has its own source of the raw material for the ECM material and manufactures Axoguard products from such sources.
Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector
In August 2008, we entered into an agreement with Evergen, amended in February 2012, October 10, 2014, February 26, 2018, and August 4, 2023 (the “Distribution Agreement”), to distribute its ECM technology in the form of the Surgisis® Nerve Cuff, the form of a nerve wrap or patch, or any other mutually agreed to configuration. The Surgisis products were rebranded under our Axoguard name and consist of the Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector. Our distribution rights are worldwide in the field of the peripheral and central nervous system but excluding use of the products in the oral cavity for endodontic and periodontal applications and OMF surgery solely as they relate to dental, soft or hard tissue repair, or reconstruction. We believe the exclusion does not limit our identified OMF market, but expansion into certain additional OMF market areas could be limited to our other products not subject to the Distribution Agreement.
The Distribution Agreement terminates on December 31, 2030. Although the agreement requires certain minimum purchases, through mutual agreement, the parties have not established such minimums and to date have not enforced such provision. The Distribution Agreement also establishes a formula for the transfer cost of the Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector.
Axoguard Nerve Cap and HA+
We developed, filed several patent applications, and, on August 8, 2017, obtained FDA 510(k) regulatory clearance for the Axoguard Nerve Cap. We developed, filed several patent applications, and, on April 7, 2023, obtained FDA 510(k) regulatory clearance for HA+ and a second 510(k) regulatory clearance expanding the indication for use of HA+ on October 12, 2023. These devices are made with Evergen’s ECM material. Pursuant to the Nerve End Cap Supply Agreement dated June 27, 2017, as amended on April 6, 2020 and August 4, 2023, (the "Amended Supply Agreement"), Evergen is the exclusive contract manufacturer of the Axoguard Nerve Cap and both parties have provided the other party the necessary licenses to their technologies for operation of the Amended Supply Agreement. The Amended Supply Agreement has a term through December 31, 2030. Pursuant to the HA+ Supply Agreement dated May 2, 2023, Evergen is the exclusive contract manufacturer of HA+ and both parties have provided the other party with the necessary licenses to their technologies for operation under the agreement. The HA+ Supply Agreement has a term through June 30, 2030. Consistent with the Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector products, we are able to sell the Axoguard Nerve Cap and HA+ worldwide in the field of the peripheral and central nervous system, but subject to the same exclusions as Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector.
Sales and Marketing
Overview
We are focused on developing the peripheral nerve repair and regeneration market, committed to improving awareness of new surgical peripheral nerve repair options and building additional scientific and clinical data to assist surgeons and patients in making informed choices with respect to the repair of peripheral nerve injuries. We believe that there is an opportunity to improve current approaches to peripheral nerve repair and that our approach will solidify our position as a leader in the field of peripheral nerve repair products. The following provides the key elements of our sales and marketing strategy.
Increase Awareness of Our Products
Prior to the introduction of our portfolio of peripheral nerve repair products, surgeons had a limited number of options available to surgically repair damaged or transected peripheral nerves. We entered the market to improve the standard of care for nerve injury patients. We intend to increase market penetration and share by increasing awareness of the impact of nerve damage on quality of life and improving the adoption of nerve repair techniques and our products through the continued use of educational conferences and presentations, training for surgical residents, fellows and attending physicians, scientific publications, digital communication, and a knowledgeable and professional sales team. We work to increase awareness and the use of our products within high potential accounts that include hospitals that are level 1 trauma centers, academic affiliated and have a large number of microsurgical trained surgeons and large procedural volumes across our focus clinical specialties. Our customer call points are focused on plastic reconstructive surgeons, orthopedic and plastic hand surgeons who perform surgeries on patients suffering traumatic nerve damage or transection, on oral maxillofacial and head and neck surgeons who repair damaged oral and facial nerves, and on plastic reconstructive surgeons who perform breast reconstruction and neurotization.
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Expand Clinical and Scientific Data Regarding the Performance of Our Products
Generating robust clinical and scientific data is a cornerstone of our marketing and product development strategy. As of December 31, 2024, there have been over two hundred and fifty peer reviewed clinical publications related to our products, with some publications including data on multiple product offerings. This body of evidence underscores the growing adoption and validation of our technologies in peripheral nerve repair.
Our RANGER® clinical study (defined below in “Government Regulations - Clinical Trials”), a comprehensive utilization registry of the Avance Nerve Graft, enrolled more than 2,800 Avance Nerve Graft repairs to date. Enrollment and follow-up in the primary RANGER arms and the MATCH arm - evaluating autograft and conduit repair options - were completed in December 2023. The analyses from these studies were integral to supporting our BLA submission. Another arm of the RANGER study, Sensation-NOW®, is currently tracking neurotization outcomes in breast reconstruction and continues to enroll patients. To date, the RANGER registry has generated eleven peer-reviewed publications and over 70 scientific conference presentations, reflecting the significant impact of these studies in advancing the field of nerve repair.
In December 2023, we initiated enrollment for COVERED, a multi-center series of protection with HA+ in protection applications. Additionally, several investigator-initiated studies, case reports, and publications have been completed, including breast neurotization, mandible reconstruction, compressive neuropathies, and the surgical treatment of pain. Ongoing case series are being developed for brachial plexus, breast reconstruction neurotization, compression injuries, and the surgical treatment of pain. We remain committed to supporting external research efforts and actively collaborate with investigators on grants with translational and clinical impact.
The RECON study (defined below in "Government Regulations - Clinical Trials"), a pivotal phase 3, multicenter, prospective, randomized, comparative study of hollow tube conduits and Avance Nerve Graft has successfully completed enrollment, follow-up, and analysis. The first peer reviewed publication from this study has been published, marking a significant milestone in transitioning the Avance Nerve Graft to a biologic product.
The REPOSE study pilot phase (defined below in "Government Regulations - Clinical Trials"), a multicenter, prospective, randomized, and subject blinded study of Axoguard Nerve Cap as compared to neurectomy alone for the treatment of symptomatic neuroma, has also been published. The comparative phase has completed enrollment and follow-up, providing critical data to guide treatment strategies. Additionally, enrollment in REPOSE XL was completed in January 2025. This study is evaluating the tolerability and feasibility of a large diameter Axoguard Nerve Cap for protecting and preserving terminated nerve ends.
By continuously generating and disseminating clinical and scientific data, we aim to solidify our leadership in the field of peripheral nerve repair, advance clinical practice, and support the adoption of innovative treatment solutions.
Commitment to the Education of Best Practices in Peripheral Nerve Repair
We have established educational conferences and presentations and surgical resident and fellow training that we believe have positioned us as a leader in providing peripheral nerve repair best practices. We have historically provided education on peripheral nerve repair through in-person national programs, including our “Advances and Best Practices in Nerve Repair” as well as local and regional educational events. In 2024, we offered multiple educational programs including virtual and in-person surgeon education programs.
Focused on developing deeper penetration with our existing accounts through development of long-term users of our algorithm in our largest market opportunity of extremity trauma
We provide full sales and distribution services. As of December 31, 2024, we had 114 direct sales professionals in the U.S. Our direct sales force continues to be supplemented by independent sales agencies that represent approximately 10% of our total revenue. We believe that near-term growth can be supported first through expanded productivity of our existing sales force as they go into more depth with existing accounts and then by adding additional accounts. We expect the number of direct sales professionals to increase over time. Additionally, we have successfully utilized a hybrid commercial approach that includes the use of independent agencies in more remote geographies to provide appropriate local support for surgeons, without the travel time required of a direct sales representative.
Our products are available and sold in 19 countries outside the U.S. through a number of independent in-country distributors. We provide support and resources for independent agencies and distributors both within and outside the U.S. We provide our products to hospitals, surgery centers and military hospitals, calling on surgeons, including plastic reconstructive surgeons, orthopedic and plastic hand surgeons, and certain oral and maxillofacial surgeons to review the benefits of our
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products. While surgeons make the decision to implant our products in appropriate patients, hospitals make the decision to purchase the products from us. In today’s budget constrained environment, hospital committees review new technologies for cost effectiveness as well as quality. We believe that we have been successful in meeting the needs of these hospital committees by demonstrating the cost/benefit of our products and providing a fair value to the hospital.
Expand the Product Pipeline and Applications in Peripheral Nerve Repair
We have developed and continue to develop new and next generation products to support surgeons in their needs for repairing damaged or transected peripheral nerves. We believe additional opportunities exist to develop or acquire complementary products in peripheral nerve repair. In addition, there are opportunities to expand the existing portfolio of products in new applications of peripheral nerve repair in applications such as lower extremity surgery, head and neck surgery, urology, and the surgical treatment of pain.
Avance Nerve Graft Performance
We have worked with leading institutions, researchers, and surgeons to support innovation in the field of surgical peripheral nerve repair. We believe our RANGER study is the largest multi-center clinical study conducted in peripheral nerve gap repair with over 2,800 enrolled repairs. We have completed the RECON study. This study was a phase 3 trial to support our BLA for Avance Nerve Graft. See “Government Regulations - Clinical Trials - Axogen Clinical Trials.”
International Opportunity for Revenue
We currently focus primarily on the U.S. market, with additional foreign distribution and sales in Canada, Germany, UK, Spain, and several other European, Asian and Latin American countries. The need for the surgical repair of damaged or transected nerves is a global opportunity. Through our revenue outside the U.S., we have demonstrated the capability to take our current peripheral nerve repair surgical portfolio into new geographical markets. We currently have European Union (“E.U.”) wide registration only for Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector as approval/registration for Avance Nerve Graft as human tissue is required in each individual country. Avance Nerve Graft was granted marketing authorization in Germany and direct commercial operations began in 2022. Currently, Axoguard Nerve Cap is available in the U.S. and New Zealand. Introduction of our products into foreign markets is subject to meeting the appropriate regulatory standards of particular countries and any appropriate regional regulation or directive. In addition to regulatory approval, reimbursement approval is necessary to achieve material product adoption in most countries. Avance Nerve Graft has achieved NICE approval in the UK for digital nerve repair and reimbursement approval in South Korea for repairs up to 50mm in length for sensory nerves when an autograft is not possible. To date, revenue from international distribution and sales have not been material, there are no material risks associated with foreign operations, and we do not have dependencies as to international revenue. See " Item 1A. Risk Factors – Our operations must comply with FDA and other governmental requirements."
Research and Development
We are committed to advancing the field of peripheral nerve repair and providing the most comprehensive portfolio of solutions for peripheral nerve injuries. Our development efforts are focused on expanding the clinical evidence base for nerve repair surgical applications, introducing product line extensions of the Avance and Axoguard products, and innovating new technologies and products to address unmet needs in peripheral nerve repair.
In collaboration with leading academic institutions, we actively support the development of novel treatment approaches for peripheral nerve injuries. Our research initiatives are supported by several government-funded grants that explore the application of our technologies in nerve repair and recovery.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we invested approximately $27.8 million in research and development activities. This investment includes costs associated with product development, clinical research, and the transition of Avance Nerve Graft to a biological product, reflecting our dedication to both scientific advancement and regulatory excellence.
Competition
The medical device and biotechnology industries are characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition, and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. As such, we cannot predict what products may be offered in the future that may compete with our products. In the peripheral nerve repair market, we compete primarily against all transected and non-transected peripheral nerve repair approaches, including direct suture repair, autograft, and hollow-tube nerve conduits and materials used to wrap and protect damaged peripheral nerve tissue.
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Because the requirements of the biomaterials used in peripheral nerve repair can vary based on the severity and location of the damaged nerve, the size and function of the nerve, surgical technique, and patient preference, our peripheral nerve repair products compete against both autograft materials (nerve in the case of a bridging repair and vein or fat in the case of a nerve protection repair), and a limited number of off-the-shelf alternatives for repairing and protecting. Competitive aspects of our products focus on their overall value proposition and suitability for specific applications and can include composition and structure of the material, ease of use, clinical evidence, handling, and price. Our major competitors' products include off-the-shelf repair options in hollow-tube conduits, coaptation aids and bio-absorbable wraps.
We believe any current or future competitors face the following important barriers to market entry as it relates to its peripheral nerve repair products. Our intellectual property (“IP”), and that of our partners, including patents, patents-pending, trade secrets, and unique, internal subject matter expertise, is believed to be an important barrier for our Avance Nerve Graft and Axoguard products. We have developed knowledge and experience in understanding and meeting FDA regulatory requirements for Avance Nerve Graft, including having made a substantial investment in conducting the pre-clinical and clinical testing necessary to support a submission for an FDA BLA. Additionally, we believe our ability to offer a portfolio of products focused on peripheral nerve repair and the breadth of clinical data associated with the products provides a unique competitive position versus other entities that do not have this breadth of product offering. However, due to our limited resources, our smaller size, and our relatively early stage, we believe we may face competitive challenges from larger entities and market factors that could negatively impact our growth, including competitors’ introduction of new products and competitors’ bundling of products to achieve pricing benefits. (See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Technological change and competition for newly developed products could reduce demand for our products”; “Risk Factors –– Our operating results could be adversely impacted if we are unable to effectively manage and sustain our future growth or scale our operations”).
Intellectual Property
Overview
We protect our IP through a combination of patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. In addition, we safeguard our trade secrets and other confidential know-how, and carefully protect these and other IP rights when engaging with third parties. For example, we require vendors, contract organizations, consultants, advisors, and employees to execute confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, and to appropriately protect any information disclosed to them by us so as to preserve confidential and/or trade secret status. We also require consultants, advisors, and employees to assign their rights to any relevant IP arising out of their relationship with us to us.
License Agreements
We have previously entered into license agreements with the University of Florida Research Foundation (the "UFRF") and the University of Texas at Austin ("UTA"). Under the terms of these license agreements, we hold exclusive worldwide licenses to underlying technologies used by us in our Avance Nerve Graft. The license agreements include the right to certain patents and patents pending in the U.S. and international markets. The effective term of the license agreements extends through the term of the related patents. The patents for which royalty obligations exist under the UFRF license agreement expired in December 2023, and the UTA license agreement expired when the last patents licensed thereunder expired in September 2023.
Patents
As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we own thirty-two issued U.S. patents, more than fifty pending U.S. patent applications (including those for which we have received a notice of allowance) and three hundred twenty international patents and patent applications with regard to our peripheral nerve products and other related technologies.
In connection with our Avance Nerve Graft, per Section 351(k)(7) and 351(i)(4) of the PHS Act, from the date of BLA approval, we believe we will have a period of 12 years of exclusivity in the U.S. from commercial competition from biosimilars using Avance Nerve Graft as the reference product. Finally, we have Enforcement Discretion from the FDA regarding continued distribution under controls applicable to HCT/Ps with an agreed transition plan to a BLA. We believe a competitive processed peripheral nerve allograft (non-biosimilar) would need to successfully complete BLA Phase I, II and III clinical studies prior to clinical release, the completion of which we believe would take at least eight years.
Each of Axogen’s other products in the U.S. and abroad, is also protected by multiple patents and local laws providing protection for IP, which provides further barriers to entry for potentially competitive products. Axogen’s Axoguard Nerve Cap is protected by numerous issued Axogen patents in the U.S. and globally. Additional allowed Axogen patent applications, as well as other pending Axogen patent applications that are expected to be issued in the U.S. and abroad, will provide further protection of Axoguard Nerve Cap and thus act as additional obstacles to the commercial introduction of competitive products.
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Our HA+ is also the subject of multiple pending Axogen patent applications in the U.S. and abroad. The potential for products competitive with Axogen’s Axoguard line of products, including our Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector, is further encumbered by the additional IP protections related to their methods of manufacture, as discussed further below in the Trade Secrets section.
Our policy is to seek patent protection for, or where strategically preferable, maintain as trade secret, the inventions that we consider important to our products and the development of our business. We have sought, and will continue to seek, patent protection for select proprietary technologies and other inventions emanating from our research and development ("R&D"), including with respect to uses, methods, and compositions, in an effort to further fortify our IP in areas of importance to us and our growing product portfolio. In instances that patent protection is not possible, product value to our portfolio can still be derived.
Trademarks, Trade Secrets and Copyrights
We hold a significant portfolio of hundreds of registered trademarks and applied-for trademarks in the U.S. and worldwide. Protection of our trademarks allows us to prevent competitors from, for example, using the same or a confusingly similar company name, or the same or confusingly similar product names within identified classes of goods that could otherwise wrongfully allow such competitors to capitalize on our brand, reputation, and goodwill, and thereby improperly bolster their sales or reputations through, for example, consumer confusion, a false indication of our endorsement, or of a false indication of corporate or contractual relationship with us. We police and enforce our marks.
We possess trade secrets and material know-how in the following general subject matters: nerve and tissue processing, nerve repair, product testing methods, and pre-clinical and clinical expertise. We have registered copyrights for training tools and artistic renderings. Additionally, we entered into the Distribution Agreement and Supply Agreement with Evergen for the Axoguard products. Evergen believes it has know-how and trade secrets with respect to its ECM technology that provides certain additional competitive obstacles to third parties, in addition to those obstacles existing in view of Axogen-owned IP.
Government Regulations
U.S. Government Regulation Overview
Our products are subject to regulation throughout their lifecycle by the FDA, as well as other federal and state regulatory bodies in the U.S. and comparable authorities in other countries. In addition, our Avance Nerve Graft must comply with the standards of the tissue bank industry’s accrediting organization, the AATB.
We distribute Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector products for Evergen, and Evergen is responsible for the regulatory compliance of these products. These Axoguard products are regulated as medical devices and subject to pre-market notification requirements under section 510(k) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FD&C Act”), 21 CFR Part 820 QSR, and related laws and regulations. Evergen has obtained a 510(k) pre-market clearance for Axoguard Nerve Connector from the FDA for the use of porcine small intestine submucosa for the repair of peripheral nerve transections where gap closure can be achieved by flexion of the extremity. Evergen has also obtained a 510(k) pre-market clearance for Axoguard Nerve Protector for the repair of peripheral nerve damage in which there is no gap or where a gap closure is achieved by flexion of the extremity. We sell the 510(k) cleared devices under the trade names Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector.
We are the specification developer and authorization holder of the Axoguard Nerve Cap product, which is classified by the FDA as a Class II device. The Axoguard Nerve Cap was cleared for market under 510(k) K163446. It is classified by FDA under 21 CFR § 882.5275 (Nerve Cuff, product code: JXI). Evergen is the contract manufacturer for our Axoguard Nerve Cap product, and we are responsible for the regulatory compliance, distribution, and sale of this product.
We are the specification developer and authorization holder of the HA+ product, which is classified by the FDA as a Class II device. HA+ was cleared for market under 510(k) K223640 on April 7, 2023, and a second 510(k) K231708 regulatory clearance was obtained on October 12, 2023, expanding the indication for use of HA+. The products are classified by the FDA under 21 CFR § 882.5275 (Nerve Cuff, product code: JXI). Evergen is the contract manufacturer, and we are responsible for the regulatory compliance, distribution, and sale of this product.
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Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix Regulation
We launched Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix in the second quarter of 2024 after engagement with the FDA through the Tissue Reference Group Rapid Inquiry Program, which resulted in feedback that the product appears to be regulated solely under section 361 of the PHS Act and the regulations in 21 CFR Part 1271. Products regulated solely under Section 361 of the PHS Act are a product category under close scrutiny by the FDA for compliance with the regulatory requirements and potentially subject to regulatory change in the future. Failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could expose us to potential compliance actions by the FDA or state regulators and could risk the commercial availability of the product.
FDA — General
FDA regulations govern nearly all the activities that we perform, or that are performed on our behalf, to ensure that medical products distributed domestically or exported internationally are safe and effective for their intended uses. The activities the FDA regulates include the following:
•Product design, development, and manufacture;
•Product safety, testing, labeling, and storage;
•Pre-clinical testing in animals and in the laboratory;
•Clinical investigations in humans;
•Pre-marketing clearance, approval, or licensing;
•Record-keeping and document-retention procedures;
•Advertising and promotion;
•The import and export of products;
•Product marketing, sales, and distribution;
•Post-marketing vigilance, surveillance and medical device reporting, including reporting of deaths, serious injuries, communicable diseases, device malfunctions, or other adverse events; and
•Corrective actions, removals and recalls.
Failure to comply with applicable FDA regulatory requirements may subject us to a variety of administrative or judicially imposed penalties or sanctions and/or prevent us from obtaining or maintaining required approvals, clearances, or licenses to manufacture and market our products. It could also subject us to enforcement actions or sanctions, such as agency refusal to approve pending applications, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution of products, injunctions, consent decrees or civil monetary penalties or criminal prosecution.
FDA’s Pre-market Clearance and Approval Requirements - Medical Devices
Unless an exemption applies, each medical device distributed commercially in the U.S. requires either a 510(k) pre-market notification submission or a Pre-Market Approval (“PMA”) Application to the FDA, or other FDA regulatory authorization. Medical devices are classified into one of three classes—Class I, Class II, or Class III—depending on the degree of risk, the level of control necessary to assure the safety and effectiveness of each medical device and how much is known about the type of device. For devices first intended for marketing after May 28, 1976, pre-market review and clearance by the FDA for Class I and II medical devices is accomplished through the 510(k) pre-market notification procedure by finding a device substantially equivalent to a legally marketed Class I or II device, unless the device is exempt. The majority of Class I medical devices are exempt from the 510(k) pre-market notification requirement. Devices deemed by the FDA to pose the greatest risk, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting, or implantable devices for which Class II controls are inadequate to assure safety or effectiveness, and novel devices, including devices deemed not substantially equivalent to a previously cleared 510(k) device, are placed in Class III. Class III devices generally require an approved PMA prior to marketing, unless classified into Class I or Class II through a de novo request.
A PMA must be supported by extensive data, including, but not limited to, technical, pre-clinical, clinical trials, manufacturing and labeling to demonstrate to the FDA’s satisfaction, and the safety and effectiveness of the device.
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Investigational New Drug Application for Drugs and Biologics
Federal law requires that a new drug be the subject of an approved marketing application and that a biological product be properly licensed before each is introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce. Because a sponsor often needs to ship an investigational drug or biological product to clinical investigators in many states, it must seek an exemption from that legal requirement. The Investigational New Drug ("IND") application is the means through which the sponsor obtains this exemption from the FDA. It is additionally the request from a clinical study sponsor to obtain authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational drug or biological product to humans.
There are two IND categories: Commercial and Research (non-commercial). The IND application must contain information in three broad areas:
•Animal Pharmacology and Toxicology Studies - Preclinical data to permit an assessment as to whether the product is reasonably safe for initial testing in humans. Also included are any previous experience with the drug in humans (often foreign use).
•Manufacturing Information - Information pertaining to the composition, manufacturer, stability, and controls used for manufacturing the drug substance and the drug product. This information is assessed to ensure that the company can adequately produce and supply consistent batches of the drug.
•Clinical Protocols and Investigator Information - Detailed protocols for proposed clinical studies to assess whether the initial-phase trials will expose subjects to unnecessary risks. Also, information on the qualifications of clinical investigators--professionals (generally physicians) who oversee the administration of the experimental compound--to assess whether they are qualified to fulfill their clinical trial duties. Finally, commitments to obtain informed consent from the research subjects, to obtain review of the study by an independent institutional review board ("IRB"), and to adhere to the investigational new drug regulations.
Once the IND is submitted, the sponsor must wait 30 calendar days before initiating any clinical trials. During this time, the FDA has an opportunity to review the IND for safety to assure that research subjects will not be subjected to unreasonable risk. An IND will automatically become effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions about issues such as the conduct of the trials and or supporting pre-clinical data as outlined in the IND. In that case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding FDA concerns or questions before clinical trials can proceed. Therefore, submission of an IND may not result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to commence.
The following regulations apply to the IND application process:
•21 CFR Part 201 Drug Labeling
•21 CFR Part 312 Investigational New Drug Application
•21 CFR Part 314 IND and NDA Applications for FDA Approval to Market a New Drug (New Drug Approval)
•21 CFR Part 316 Orphan Drugs
•21 CFR Part 50 Protection of Human Subjects
•21 CFR Part 54 Financial Disclosure by Clinical Investigators
•21 CFR Part 56 Institutional Review Boards
•21 CFR Part 58 Good Lab Practice for Nonclinical Laboratory Studies
Biological Product License Application Pathway
The BLA is a request for permission to introduce, or deliver for introduction, a biological product into interstate commerce (21 CFR Part 601.2). Form 356h specifies the requirements for a BLA. Biological products require FDA approval of a BLA to be marketed. The application must demonstrate the safety, purity, and potency of the product candidate based on results of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. A BLA must also contain extensive Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls ("CMC") and other manufacturing information, as well as labeling information. The applicant must pass an FDA pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the biological product is produced to assess compliance with the FDA’s current cGMP requirements. Satisfaction of FDA approval requirements for biologics typically takes several years and the actual time
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required may vary substantially based on the type, complexity, and novelty of the product. We cannot be certain that any BLA approvals for our products will be granted on a timely basis, or at all.
The steps for obtaining FDA approval of a BLA to market a biological product in the U.S. include:
•Completion of pre-clinical laboratory tests, animal studies, and formulation studies under the FDA’s good laboratory practices regulations;
•Submission to the FDA of an IND for human clinical testing, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin and which must include independent IRB approval at each clinical site before the trials may be initiated;
•Performance of an adequate and well-controlled clinical trial in accordance with Good Clinical Practices to establish the safety and efficacy of the product for each indication;
•Submission to the FDA of a BLA, which contains detailed information about the CMC for the product, reports of the outcomes and full data sets from the clinical trials, and proposed labeling and packaging for the product. With agreement from the FDA, sponsors can qualify to submit portions of an application as the information becomes available (“rolling submission”) as an alternative to providing all information in a single submission when it is available;
•Satisfactory review of the contents of the BLA by the FDA, including the satisfactory resolution of any questions raised during the review;
•Satisfactory completion of an FDA Advisory Committee review, if applicable;
•Satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the product is produced to assess compliance with cGMP regulations, to assure that the facilities, methods, and controls are adequate to ensure the product’s identity, strength, quality, and purity; and
•FDA approval of the BLA, including agreement on post-marketing commitments, if applicable.
Avance Nerve Graft Regulatory Classification and Regulatory Pathway
Avance Nerve Graft has been marketed domestically and internationally since 2007. In 2010, the FDA provided us with an enforcement discretion letter, regarding the marketing of Avance so long as we complied with certain terms that focused us on taking the necessary steps to support a BLA submission for the product. The FDA enforcement discretion letter states the FDA will end the period of enforcement discretion upon a final determination of our future BLA submission or if prior to the BLA submission, the FDA finds that we do not meet the conditions for the enforcement discretion terms or are not exercising due diligence in executing the transition plan. If final action on the BLA is negative or we are found to not meet the conditions for the transition plan or its execution, or if FDA were to revoke the enforcement discretion for any other reason, we may not be able to continue to distribute Avance Nerve Graft. We continue to work diligently to execute the transition plan, including maintaining regular communication with the FDA, and, in this context, continue to distribute Avance Nerve Graft.
We met with the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research ("CBER") in July 2010 and, between July 2010 and November 2010, provided information to CBER that resulted in the FDA issuing a letter stating the agency’s intent to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to the continued introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of Avance Nerve Graft assuming that certain conditions are met relating to the transition of Avance Nerve Graft from regulation as an HCT/P under Section 361 to a biological product under Section 351 of the PHS Act. Specifically, the FDA transition plan outlined that:
•We transition to compliance with Section 501(a)(2)(B) of the FD&C Act, the current cGMP regulations in 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211 and the applicable regulations and standards in 21 CFR Parts 600-610 prior to initiation of a phase 3 clinical trial designed to demonstrate the safety, purity, and potency of Avance Nerve Graft.
◦We have performed several gap analyses of our quality system for compliance with 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211 and 600-610 regulations. The gap analyses have identified areas in which our quality system could improve with respect to compliance with the regulations. We have created and implemented appropriate changes, including new quality procedures. Through our internal auditing process, we have assessed our compliance to the regulations. We have also retained an external former FDA consultant with experience in
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auditing to 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211 and 600-610 regulations to verify quality system compliance with the regulations.
•We conduct a phase 3 clinical trial to demonstrate safety, purity and potency of Avance Nerve Graft under a Special Protocol Assessment (“SPA”). We and the FDA agreed to the SPA in August 2011.
◦In accordance with FDA regulations in 21 CFR Part 312, we submitted IND #15419 to the FDA, and it became effective in March 2015.
◦The phase 3 clinical trial was initiated in the second quarter of 2015. The study completed initial enrollment in January 2019. As required by the SPA and agreed to by FDA and us, an independent statistical analysis was conducted to determine if greater study enrollment was appropriate to maintain the planned statistical power of the trial. As part of that review, the targeted enrollment was increased to 220 subjects, and the number of participating centers was increased to up to 25. The study completed subject enrollment in July 2020. Subject follow-up was completed in August 2021 with topline study data read-out completed during the second quarter of 2022. Topline results showed that this pivotal study met its primary endpoint for the return of nerve function as measured by static two-point discrimination. It also demonstrated that the safety profile was consistent with previously published data. RECON results demonstrated statistical superiority for return of sensory function, as measured by static two-point discrimination, as compared to conduits in gaps greater than 12 mm (p-value <0.05). Avance demonstrated statistical superiority for time to recover of static two-point discrimination over conduits in nerve gaps greater than 10mm (p-value <0.05).
•We continue to comply with the regulations and standards under 21 CFR Part 1271.
◦We were audited by the FDA at the Solvita facility in March 2013, March 2015, October 2016 and September 2022 and at the Avance distribution facility in October 2015 with respect to its Human Tissue Quality System under 21 CFR Part 1271 and in July 2022 with respect to Level 1 Quality System Inspection Technique Medical Device Inspection under 21 CFR Part 820. At each inspection, the quality systems were found to be in compliance with 21 CFR Part 1271, and no FDA Form 483 observations were issued.
◦In February 2018, we were audited by the FDA with respect to its Medical Device Quality System under 21 CFR Part 820 and its Human Tissue Quality System under 21 CFR Part 1271. Such audit resulted in two Form 483 observations on general procedures on our Medical Device Quality System and no Form 483 observations on our Human Tissue Quality System. We took corrective action to correct these observations, and the FDA accepted the corrective action plan.
◦In November 2018, we were inspected by the FDA at our Texas distribution facility with respect to our Human Tissue Quality System under 21 CFR Part 1271. Such inspection resulted in one Form 483 observation on tissue tracking. We took corrective action to correct this observation, and the FDA accepted the corrective action plan.
◦In July 2022, we were inspected by the FDA at our Texas distribution facility with respect to our Medical Device Quality System under 21 CFR Part 820. No FDA Form 483 observations were received.
◦In September 2022, we were inspected by the FDA at the Solvita facility with respect to our Human Tissue Quality System under 21 CFR Part 1271. No FDA Form 483 observations were received.
◦In August 2023, we were inspected by the FDA at our Alachua, Florida Human Tissue Establishment with respect to our Human Tissue Quality System under 21 CFR Part 1271. No FDA Form 483 observations were received.
◦In February 2024, we were inspected by the FDA at our Tampa facility with respect to our medical device specification development under 21 CFR Part 820. No FDA Form 483 observations were received.
◦In September 2024, we were inspected by the FDA at our Vandalia, Ohio APC Facility with respect to our Human Tissue Quality System under 21 CFR Part 1271. No FDA Form 483 observations were received.
In September 2018, the FDA granted a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy ("RMAT") designation for Avance Nerve Graft. A regenerative medicine therapy is eligible for the RMAT designation if it is intended to treat, modify, reverse, or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such a disease or condition. The RMAT designation provides access to a
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streamlined approval process for regenerative medicine technologies and informal meetings with the FDA in support of the BLA for Avance Nerve Graft, as appropriate. FDA can withdraw the RMAT designation if the designation criteria are no longer met. Notwithstanding the RMAT designation, on November 1, 2024, the FDA notified us it assigned our application a standard review classification.
Section 505(d) of the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires the FDA to find "substantial evidence" of a new biologic product effectiveness before it can be marketed. The FDA normally requires two adequately designed and well-controlled clinical investigations for the new biologic product. However, through a series of FDA Guidance for Industry documents including the July 1998 guidance "Guideline for the Format and Content of the Clinical and Statistical Sections of an Application" and, more recently, the September 2023 guidance "Demonstrating Substantial Evidence of Effectiveness with One Adequate and Well-Controlled Clinical Investigation and Confirmatory Evidence", the FDA has accepted a single adequate and well-controlled clinical investigation with supporting evidence through preclinical studies and literature to approve new biologic products. For Avance Nerve Graft, in the 2010 Enforcement Discretion letter, the FDA only required Axogen to perform a single phase 3 clinical study. It is Axogen's belief from the guidance documents and communications with the FDA, the phase 3 RECON clinical study as a single adequate and well-controlled clinical investigation with preclinical data, and literature and confirmatory data from the RANGER Registry will support Avance Nerve Graft's approval as a biologic product.
In 2024, we continued to maintain a collaborative dialogue with the FDA and engaged in a pre-BLA meeting in the first quarter. In the third quarter of 2024, we completed our rolling BLA submission, and on November 1, 2024, the FDA notified us that our application was sufficiently complete to permit substantive review and assigned a review goal date of September 5, 2025. The FDA also notified us that, as of November 1, 2024, it was not planning to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss our application. The FDA will review our regulatory compliance with GMP regulations during the pre-license inspection and Good Clinical Practices as part of the BLA review. If the FDA does not find us to be in compliance, the BLA might not be approved or approval could be delayed. If the FDA does not find the evidence submitted in the BLA supportive, the BLA might not be approved or approval could be delayed, or the FDA may approve a narrower indication than the present use of Avance Nerve Graft, may impose other limitations, or may require post-approval commitments or studies .
We believe that biologic licensing, which typically entails multiple clinical trials and takes many years, would be required for any future competitive peripheral nerve allograft. The FDA provided updated guidance, "Regulatory Considerations for Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products: Minimal Manipulation and Homologous Use" in November 2017, which it revised in July 2020. The guidance clarified the FDA's position that any processing that alters the biological characteristics of peripheral nerve tissue would be considered more than minimal manipulation, and therefore require a BLA prior to marketing.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are a category of clinical research designed to evaluate and test new interventions, medications, or procedures. Clinical trials are often conducted in four phases. The trials at each phase have a different purpose and help answer different questions.
•Phase I trials test an experimental drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time. The researchers evaluate the treatment’s safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
•In Phase II trials, the experimental drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
•In Phase III trials, the experimental study drug or treatment is given to large groups of people. Researchers aim to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the experimental drug or treatment to be used safely.
•Phase IV trials, also known as post-marketing studies, are conducted after a treatment is approved for use by the FDA and provide additional information including the treatment or drug’s risks, benefits, and best use.
Clinical trials are required to support a BLA or PMA and are sometimes required for 510(k) clearance or de novo classification. Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational product to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators. Clinical trials are conducted under strict requirements to ensure the protection of human subjects participating in the trial and under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in monitoring and safety, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Clinical trials for biological products require the submission and FDA acceptance of an IND and clinical trials for medical devices require the submission and FDA approval of an Investigational Device Exemption ("IDE") application unless the device regulations provide for an exemption from the IDE
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requirement. Clinical trials for significant risk devices may not begin until the IDE is approved by the FDA and the IRB overseeing the particular clinical trial. If the product is considered a non-significant risk device under FDA regulations, the trial must only be approved by an IRB prior to its initiation. A protocol for each clinical trial and any subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND or IDE, for significant risk devices. In addition, for these studies, an IRB at each site at which the study is conducted must approve the protocol, subject consent form and any amendments for each site at which the study is conducted. All research subjects must be informed, among other things, about the risks and benefits of the investigational product and provide their informed consent in writing.
Clinical trials under an IND typically are conducted in three sequential phases, but the phases may overlap or be combined. In our case, we believe that the phase 3 clinical trial study for Avance Nerve Graft represents the only prospective clinical data that will be required to evaluate safety and effectiveness. Phase 3 clinical trials usually further evaluate clinical efficacy and test further for safety in an expanded patient population. Phase 3 clinical trials usually involve comparison with placebo, standard treatments, or other comparators. Usually, multiple well-controlled large phase 3 or pivotal clinical trials demonstrating safety and efficacy are required to support a BLA. These trials are intended to establish the overall risk-benefit profile of the product and provide an adequate basis for physician labeling. Clinical testing may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. Furthermore, we or the FDA may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the subjects are exposed to an unacceptable health risk, have experienced a serious and unexpected adverse event, or that continued use in an investigational setting may be unethical. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of research, for example, if the research is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the research has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Additionally clinical data obtained from the observational study, RANGER, will be provided as supportive safety data and confirmatory data for Avance Nerve Graft.
Our Clinical Trials
We have an active clinical research program to gather data on our product portfolio. We have completed five clinical studies, are performing four ongoing clinical studies, and have plans to initiate further clinical studies. The ongoing studies are:
•“A Multicenter Retrospective Study of Avance Nerve Graft Utilization, Evaluations, and Outcomes in Peripheral Nerve Injury Repair" (“RANGER”) parent protocol and its Addendum 1 arm, "A Matched Autograft and Tube Conduit Case Control Cohort Arm of RANGER" ("MATCH"). Enrollment, follow-up, and analysis has been completed with reporting and close-out activities underway;
•"Breast Neurotization Outcomes for Women: A Registry Study of Recovery Outcomes, Quality of Life and Patient Satisfaction in Post-Mastectomy Autologous Breast Reconstruction" ("Sensation-NOW"). Enrollment is ongoing;
•"Nerve Protection Evaluation: Revision Cubital Tunnel Syndrome Decompression" ("COVERED"). Enrollment is ongoing; and
•"Tolerability and Feasibility Pilot Clinical Study of a Large-Diameter Nerve Cap for Protecting and Preserving Terminated Nerve Ends" ("REPOSE-XL"). Enrollment is ongoing.
Our completed studies are "A Multicenter, Prospective and Subject Blinded Comparative Study of Axoguard Nerve Cap and Neurectomy for the Treatment of Symptomatic Neuroma and Prevention of Recurrent End-Neuroma Pain" ("REPOSE")", "A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized, Patient and Evaluator Blinded Comparative Study of Nerve Cuffs and Avance Nerve Graft Evaluating Recovery Outcomes for the Repair of Nerve Discontinuities" (“RECON”)", “A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized, Comparative Study of Hollow Nerve Conduit and Avance Nerve Graft Evaluation Recovery Outcomes of the Nerve Repair in the Hand" (“CHANGE”) published by Means et al, a pilot study to evaluate the use of Avance Nerve Graft in the reconstruction of nerves following prostatectomy, and "Registry of Avive Soft Tissue Membrane Utilization in Selected Applications of Acute Trauma of the Upper Extremity" ("ASSIST"). As Avive Soft Tissue Membrane is no longer on the market, the registry closed with no planned analysis.
In addition to these clinical research programs, we are developing additional clinical trials in peripheral nerve repair, including nipple areolar complex neurotization, urology, protection, and pain.
Clinical trials are subject to extensive recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Our clinical trials must be conducted under the oversight of an IRB for the relevant clinical trial sites and must comply with FDA regulations, including but not limited to, those relating to Good Clinical Practices. We are also required to obtain the patients’ written, informed consent in a form and substance that complies with both FDA requirements and state and federal privacy and human subject protection regulations. We, the FDA or the IRB may suspend a clinical trial at any time for various reasons, including a belief that the risks to study subjects outweigh the anticipated benefits. Even if a trial is completed, the results of clinical testing may not
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adequately demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the biological product or device, or may otherwise not be sufficient to obtain FDA approval to market the product in the U.S. Similarly, in the E.U., the clinical study for a medicine product must be authorized by the Competent Authority in each Member State where the clinical trial is to be conducted and must receive a favorable opinion from an ethics committee. See "Risk Factors - Clinical trials can be long, expensive and results are ultimately uncertain, which could jeopardize our ability to obtain regulatory approval and continue to market our Avance Nerve Graft product."
RANGER
The RANGER study is an observational study and is a utilization registry of Avance Nerve Graft. As of December 31, 2023, eleven publications and more than 70 scientific conference presentations have been generated to date from the study. RANGER is designed to allow up to 2,500 subjects. An additional 500 subjects are allowed to be enrolled in Addendum 1, MATCH, and 2,000 enrolled in Addendum 2, Sensation-NOW. Sensation-NOW is a clinical study cohort, currently enrolling, designed to assess breast sensation following reconstruction with or without neurotization. We resumed enrollment in 2021 at select centers after pausing enrollment due to COVID-19 in 2020. The follow-up for the RANGER study is standard of care with a target of up to 36 months post peripheral nerve repair.
The RANGER study database is also utilized to monitor different nerve repair techniques. As part of this, we utilize the database to support additional regulatory submissions for the Axoguard products.
We have worked with leading institutions, researchers, and surgeons to support innovation in the field of surgical peripheral nerve repair. We believe that RANGER is currently the largest multi-center observational clinical study conducted in peripheral nerve gap repair. Various reviewers of the RANGER study have found Avance Nerve Graft nerve repairs resulted in meaningful motor and sensory recovery and reduced pain following neuroma excision and reconstruction with no safety concerns identified.
RECON
The RECON study is a prospective, randomized, controlled, patient and evaluator blinded, comparative study of Avance Nerve Graft and Collagen Nerve Cuffs (manufactured conduits) in the repair of peripheral nerve transections in digital nerves with gaps of 5 to 25mm. The study is designed to assess the outcomes of peripheral nerve repair in approximately 170 subjects in up to 20 centers. Subjects were intraoperatively randomized in a 1:1 ratio after stratification by length of the nerve injury by gap length into short gap (5-14mm) and long gap (15-25mm) categories. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Avance Nerve Graft for non-inferiority and if met, superiority, of static two-point discrimination, a measure of sensory function, at twelve months as compared to nerve cuffs. Given the pooled standard deviation assumptions and a non-inferiority margin of 2mm, approximately 88 patients per treatment group are required to assess non-inferiority with at least 83% power. In addition to non-inferiority, a minimum treatment effect is required to be demonstrated. Based on an agreement with the FDA in the original protocol and an independent statistical analysis of the pooled standard deviation, the number of subjects was increased to 220 in up to 25 centers. Subjects were followed over the course of 12 months (based on the agreed-upon protocol, subjects have up to an additional three months to complete trial requirements) to assess safety and efficacy outcomes with assessments performed at various defined intervals up to 12 months. The study completed subject enrollment in July 2020. Subject follow-up was completed in August 2021 with topline study data read-out completed during the second quarter of 2022. Topline results showed that this pivotal study met its primary endpoint for the return of nerve function as measured by static two-point discrimination. It also demonstrated that the safety profile was consistent with previously published data. RECON results demonstrated statistical superiority for return of sensory function, as measured by static two-point discrimination, as compared to conduits in gaps greater than 12 mm (p-value <0.05). Avance demonstrated statistical superiority for time to recover of static two-point discrimination over conduits in nerve gaps greater than 10mm (p-value <0.05). The data in this study supported our BLA submission which was completed in September 2024 and was accepted by the FDA for substantive review on November 1, 2024.
REPOSE
We are conducting a multicenter, prospective, randomized, and subject blinded study of Axoguard Nerve Cap as compared to neurectomy for the treatment of systematic neuroma. REPOSE is a two-phase study comparing standard neurectomy to Axoguard Nerve Cap, which leverages our chambered technology to aid in the management of symptomatic neuromas. The first phase, a non-randomized pilot, has completed enrollment and one-year follow-up. The second phase, a prospective, randomized controlled study, completed enrollment in 2022. Overall enrollment is designed to target 101 subjects with 15 in the first pilot phase followed by up to 86 in the randomized, comparative phase. The study assessed pain scores, quality of life, neuroma recurrence, and health outcomes over a 12-month follow-up period. Subject follow-up was completed in the third quarter of 2023 with topline analysis reported in January 2024.
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REPOSE XL
REPOSE-XL is a prospective, multi-center clinical pilot study evaluating the tolerability and feasibility of the Axoguard Large-Diameter Nerve Cap (sizes 5-7 mm) for protecting and preserving terminated nerve endings after limb trauma or amputation when immediate attention to the nerve injuries is not possible. Enrollment in REPOSE-XL started in 2022 and is underway.
COVERED
COVERED is a prospective, multi-center clinical case series evaluating HA+ in first revision cubital tunnel decompression. Enrollment in COVERED started in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Post-Market Regulatory Requirements
There are numerous regulatory requirements that apply after a product is cleared or approved. For medical devices, these include, but are not limited to the FDA’s regulations for device labeling (21 CFR Part 801), medical device reporting (21 CFR Part 803), reporting of corrections and removals (21 CFR Part 806), establishment of registration and device listing requirements (21 CFR Part 807), and compliance with the QSR per 21 CFR Part 820. Distribution of medical devices is also subject to license/registration requirements in some states. For tissue and biological products, the regulatory requirements include: the FDA’s registration and listing requirements, donor eligibility requirements and compliance with GTP in 21 CFR Part 1271 for human tissue products, compliance with the FDA’s cGMP in 21 CFR Parts 210, 211, and 600 for licensed biological products, and post-market BLA requirements (21 CFR Part 601), including The Drug Supply Chain Security Act. Among other things, these regulations require manufacturers, including third party manufacturers to:
•Follow stringent design, testing, control, documentation, and other quality assurance procedures during all aspects of the manufacturing process;
•Comply with labeling regulations and FDA prohibitions against the false or misleading promotion or the promotion of products for uncleared, unapproved or off-label uses, or indications;
•Comply with requirements to obtain clearance or approval for certain changes affecting the product, including changes to the product’s manufacturing, labeling, or intended use;
•Report to the FDA certain adverse events, adverse reactions, and deviations;
•Comply with post-approval restrictions or conditions, including post-approval study commitments and post-market safety and annual reporting requirements;
•Follow post-market surveillance regulations that may apply when necessary to protect the public health or to provide additional safety and effectiveness data for the device; and
•Follow requirements to issue notices of correction or removal, or conduct market withdrawals, or recalls where quality or other issues arise.
Safety Reporting and other Periodic Reporting
The Medical Device Reporting regulation 21 CFR Part 803 contains mandatory requirements for manufacturers, importers, and device user facilities to report certain device-related adverse events and product problems to the FDA.
In addition to the FDA, the advertising and promotion of medical products are also regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and in some instances by state regulatory and enforcement authorities. Recently, some promotional activities for FDA-regulated products have been the subject of enforcement action brought under healthcare reimbursement laws and consumer protection statutes. In addition, under the Federal Lanham Act and similar state laws, competitors, and others can initiate litigation relating to advertising claims.
Facilities Listing and Registrations
All of our facilities are properly registered with the FDA as tissue or medical device establishments. The FDA has broad post-market and regulatory enforcement powers. We are subject to unannounced inspections by the FDA to determine compliance with the GTP, cGMP, and other regulations, and these inspections may also include suppliers' manufacturing facilities.
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Failure by us or our suppliers to comply with applicable regulatory requirements can result in enforcement action by the FDA or other federal or state authorities, which may include any of the following sanctions, among others:
•Warning letters, fines, injunctions, consent decrees and civil penalties;
•Customer notifications, repair, replacement, refunds, recall or seizure of our products;
•Operating restrictions, partial suspension, or total shutdown of production;
•Suspension or termination of our clinical trials;
•Refusing our 510(k), de novo classification request, PMA or BLA for new products, new intended uses, or modifications to existing products;
•Withdrawing or suspending pre-market approvals that have already been granted; and
•Criminal prosecution.
Education Grants, U.S. Anti-kickback, False Claims and Other Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Laws
Educational Grants
A medical product manufacturer may provide financial or in-kind support, including support by way of grants, to third parties for the purpose of conducting medical educational activities. If these supported activities are considered by the FDA to be independent of the manufacturer, then the activities fall outside the FDA restrictions on promotion to which the manufacturer is subject.
We seek to ensure that the educational activities we support through our grants program are in accordance with the appropriate criteria for independent educational activities. However, we cannot provide assurance that the FDA or other government authorities would view the programs supported as being independent.
Fraud, Abuse and False Claims
We are directly and indirectly subject to various federal and state laws governing relationships with healthcare providers and pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse, including anti-kickback laws. In particular, the U.S. Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving, or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual, or the furnishing, arranging for or recommending a good or service for which payment may be made in whole or part under federal healthcare programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Penalties for violations could include criminal penalties and civil sanctions such as fines, imprisonment and possible exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs. In implementing the statute, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) has issued a series of regulations, known as “safe harbors.” These safe harbors set forth provisions that, if all their applicable requirements are met, will assure healthcare providers and other parties that they will not be prosecuted under the Anti-Kickback Statute for activities that fit within a safe harbor. The failure of a transaction or arrangement to fit precisely within one or more safe harbors does not necessarily mean that it is illegal or that prosecution will be pursued. However, conduct and business arrangements that do not fully satisfy each applicable element of a safe harbor may result in increased scrutiny by government enforcement authorities, such as the OIG, and may be “at risk” activities unless a favorable advisory opinion is obtained from the OIG.
The federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) imposes civil liability on any person or entity that submits, or causes the submission of, a false or fraudulent claim to the U.S. government. Damages under the FCA can be significant and consist of the imposition of fines and penalties. The FCA also allows a private individual or entity with knowledge of past or present fraud against the federal government to sue on behalf of the government to recover the civil penalties and treble damages. The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") has previously alleged that the marketing and promotional practices of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers including the off-label promotion of products or the payment of prohibited kickbacks to doctors violated the FCA resulting in the submission of improper claims to federal and state healthcare entitlement programs such as Medicaid.
AdvaMed is one of the primary voluntary U.S. trade associations for medical device manufacturers. PhRMA is another trade association focused on the pharmaceutical industry. These associations have established guidelines and protocols for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, respectively, in their relationships with healthcare professionals on matters, including research and development, product training and education, grants and charitable contributions, support of third-party educational conferences, and consulting arrangements. Adoption of the AdvaMed or PhRMA Codes by a medical device
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manufacturer is voluntary, and while the OIG and other federal and state healthcare regulatory agencies encourage its adoption, they do not view adoption of these codes as proof of compliance with applicable laws. Key to the underlying principles of the AdvaMed and PhRMA Codes is the need to focus the relationships between manufacturers and healthcare professionals on matters of training, education and scientific research, and limit payments between manufacturers and healthcare professionals to fair market value for legitimate services provided and payment of modest meal, travel, and other expenses for a healthcare professional under limited circumstances. We have incorporated these principles into our relationships with healthcare professionals under our consulting agreements, payment of travel and lodging expenses, research and educational grant procedures and sponsorship of third-party conferences. In addition, we have conducted and will continue to conduct training sessions on these principles. Finally, the Sunshine Act, as defined below, imposes additional reporting and disclosure requirements on us for any “transfer of value” made or distributed to physicians and teaching hospitals, as well as reporting of certain physician ownership interests. We cannot provide any assurance that regulatory, or enforcement authorities will view our relationships with physicians or policies as being in compliance with applicable regulations and laws.
Regulation Outside of the U.S.
Distribution and sales of medical products outside of the U.S. are subject to foreign governmental regulations that vary substantially from country to country.
There are restrictions under U.S. law on the export of medical devices and biological products that cannot be legally distributed in the U.S. The FDA has set forth certain requirements for the export of devices outside of the U.S. depending on the class of device and its FDA approval. We currently believe we comply with applicable regulations when exporting our products and we intend to continue such compliance in the event there are any regulatory changes regarding its products in the U.S.
The European Medicines Agency ("EMA" is the decentralized body of the E.U., located in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision, and safety monitoring of medicines for human and veterinary use in the E.U. The EMA serves the E.U. and three countries from the European Economic Area—Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein. The E.U. has adopted numerous directives, regulations, and promulgated voluntary standards regulating the design, manufacture and labeling of, and clinical trials and adverse event reporting for medicinal products including medical devices. Devices that comply with the requirements of a relevant regulation or directive will be entitled to bear CE marking, indicating that the device conforms to the essential requirements of the applicable regulation and directives and can be commercially distributed throughout the member states of the E.U. and other countries that comply. The method for assessing conformity varies depending on the type and class of the device, but normally involves an assessment by the manufacturer and a third-party assessment by a notified body, an independent and neutral institution appointed by a country to conduct the conformity assessment. This third-party assessment may consist of an audit of the manufacturer’s quality system and specific testing of the manufacturer’s device. Such an assessment is required for a manufacturer to commercially distribute the product throughout these countries. In the second quarter of 2014, Axogen’s Quality System became accredited to International Organization for Standardization ("ISO") 13485 for Receipt, Handling, Storage and Distribution of Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector. We intend to maintain this accreditation on an ongoing basis.
Evergen is responsible for all regulatory filings for the Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector products, including international registrations. We provide the countries for Evergen to register with, and Evergen prepares and submits the product filing documentation to the Ministry of Health (“MOH”) for the country. Each country or region has its own regulations, and the documentation required for submission varies. It typically takes less than nine months from the initiation of the project to obtain clearance in a given country or region. To date, the Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector product lines were registered in May 2013 in Canada for distribution and in April 2013 the product lines were awarded the CE Mark allowing distribution into the E.U. and other countries that accept the CE Mark. Evergen received the renewal of the CE Mark for Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector in May 2021.
In addition, the new European Medical Device Regulation 2017/745 (“E.U. MDR”) passed in the European Parliament on April 5, 2017, and went into effect on May 25, 2017. The E.U. MDR is an extensive reform of the rules governing the medical device industry in Europe. Under this regulation, manufacturers had through May 2021 to comply with a broad set of new rules for almost every kind of medical device. The E.U. MDR requires changes in the clinical evidence required for medical devices, post-market clinical follow-up evidence, annual reporting of safety information for Class IIb and Class III products, and bi-annual reporting for Class IIa products, Unique Device Identification (“UDI”) for all products, submission of core data elements to a European UDI database prior to placement of a device on the market, reclassification of medical devices, and multiple other labeling changes.
While eight years have passed since the adoption of E.U. MDR, the E.U. MDR's transitional provisions were amended in 2023 to give manufacturers and notified bodies more time to conduct the necessary conformity assessment procedures and to avert shortages of devices needed for the E.U. healthcare systems. European Regulation 2023/607 extended the transitional
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period according to the risk class of the legacy device until December 2027 or December 2028 if certain requirements are fulfilled (i.e., agreement with a notified body for conformity assessment in place, or a competent authority has granted a derogation from the conformity assessment procedure). European Regulation 2022/112 extended the transitional period for in vitro medical devices according to the risk class of the legacy device until May 2025 for devices already certified by a notified body under the Directive and class D devices, until May 2026 for class C devices and until May 2027 for class B and A sterile devices. Overall, medical device companies can continue to expect longer lead times to obtain product conformity assessments and registrations (i.e., CE Mark Certification) in the E.U. and a substantially costlier pathway to compliance in the E.U.
Evergen is responsible for registering and attaining MDR conformity for Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector in the E.U. As distributor of these two products in the E.U., we are not yet able to fully determine the costs of complying with these regulations, how the E.U. will continue interpreting and enforcing them, what the timelines for approvals of products will be and the overall effect of the E.U. MDR on the marketplace. Given the significant additional pre-market and post-market requirements imposed by the E.U. MDR, the overall impact of these new rules could have a material, adverse effect on our international revenue and expenses.
The UK left the E.U. in January 2020. We register our human tissue products in each individual E.U. country and our distributor in the UK has import authority for our human tissue product. It is expected that licensed UK establishments that import or export tissues or cells will need written agreements with the relevant E.U. licensed establishments to continue importing and exporting with the E.U. As we ship directly to the UK from the U.S., we did not experience and do not expect delays in shipment of human tissue products into the UK. Further, the RANGER clinical trial being performed at select hospitals in the UK was not affected by Brexit (defined below in "Risk Factors - Regulation Outside of the U.S.") as long as the products continue to come directly from the U.S. Beginning in January 2021, new changes became effective as the transition period for the UK’s exit from the E.U. ended. Specifically, all medical devices placed into the UK market had to be registered, subject to applicable grace periods, with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ("MHRA"), will need to appoint a UK Responsible Person, and comply with additional product marking and conformity assessment requirements. Medical devices must be registered with the MHRA if they are being placed in the UK market after May 1, 2021. Evergen is responsible for appointing the UK Responsible Person and registering Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector in the UK.
Tissue products are not currently regulated under the CE Mark
We are responsible for all regulatory filings for Avance Nerve Graft. To obtain international approvals, we prepare the product filing documentation and submit this documentation to the MOH for a country.
Although some standards of harmonization exist, each country in which we conduct business has its own specific regulatory requirements, which are dynamic in nature and continually changing. We procure and process our tissue for the Avance Nerve Graft in the U.S. and market the Avance Nerve Graft in Canada, the UK, and certain other countries under compliance with the individual country regulations. We conduct a regulatory review at the time of submission of the product dossier. This involves reviewing the appropriate MOH regulations, discussion with in-country distributors and use of consultants. It typically takes less than nine months from the initiation of the product to develop a product dossier (specific for that country), submission of the documentation and MOH review of the product filing. While we believe that we are in compliance with all existing pertinent international and domestic laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that changes in governmental administrations and regulations will not negatively impact our operations. The FDA and international regulatory bodies conduct periodic compliance inspections of our U.S. processing facilities. Axogen's processing and distribution locations are properly registered with CBER as tissue establishments. In 2023, AATB re-accredited Axogen for compliance to the AATB standards for tissue banking for all our facilities. Additionally, our facilities are appropriately licensed in the states of Florida, New York, California, Maryland, Delaware, Oregon, and Illinois as tissue establishments. We believe that worldwide regulation of tissue products is likely to intensify as the international regulatory community focuses on the growing demand for these implant products and the attendant safety and efficacy issues of recipients. Changes in governing laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Our management further believes that it can help to mitigate this exposure by continuing to work closely with government and industry regulators.
Environmental
As a biotech company of our size, we believe our impact on the environment is modest. However, we are continuously evaluating how we can be the best possible stewards of the environment, and follow local, state, and federal environmental regulations. We are taking steps in our operations and facilities to positively impact the environment wherever possible.
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Our products, as well as the chemicals used in processing these products, are handled and disposed of in accordance with country-specific, federal, state, and local environmental regulations. Since 2007, we have used outside third parties to perform all biohazard waste disposal.
We contract with independent, third parties to perform sterilization of our allografts. Because of the engagement of a third party to perform irradiation services, the requirements for compliance with radiation hazardous waste do not apply, and therefore we do not anticipate that this engagement will have any material adverse effect upon our capital expenditures, results of operations or financial condition. However, we are responsible for assuring that the service is performed in accordance with applicable regulations. Although we believe we are in compliance with all applicable environmental regulations, the failure to fully comply with any such regulations could result in the imposition of penalties, fines or sanctions that could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2024, we had 452 total employees, including approximately one part-time employee and 451 full-time employees. Of these employees, 158 work in sales and marketing, 122 work in corporate, 35 work in research and development and 137 work in operations. Approximately 46% of our employees were female and 54% were male. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K we have not had a work stoppage, and no employees are represented by a labor union.
We believe in creating and maintaining a culture that encourages and rewards honesty, openness, and passionate debate among our employees, respect is the foundation for communication and action, and patient safety is our first priority. We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture. Our corporate values support honest and open communication, mutual support, collaboration, passionate debate, empowerment, and respect. Our Equal Employment Policy includes specific training on preventing discrimination and harassment. We are committed to advertising our opportunities on each state's job boards in order to reach an increasingly diverse population of candidates, and we conduct routine audits of our existing job postings, advertisements and candidate communications for gender coding, and update any gender specific language to gender neutral language. Additionally, we have a policy that supports employees who are veterans that participate in Honors Guards, who are selected from partnerships with veteran organizations and participating companies and attend by invitation, and military funerals, the Honor Guards. Further, some of our recruitment efforts are to engage with the next generation of scientists and engineers through targeted awareness and internship programs. We work with Women in Life Sciences, Society for Asian Scientists and Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and BioFlorida to educate students and professionals about career opportunities available at our Company.
We strive to offer benefits plans that are viewed as attractive and beneficial to employees. In 2024 we maintained our offerings of diverse medical coverage that includes a consumer driven health plan ("CDHP") with a health savings account and the option of a limited flexible spending account for qualifying dental and vision expenses for those employees who select the CDHP. We continue to offer two options for dental (high or low preferred provider organization) plans and options for employees to select from two different vision plan providers, enabling employees to select the option that best fits their needs and includes their preferred physicians. The short-term disability offering pays 100% of the employee’s bi-weekly earnings for the first eight weeks of disability and 66.67% for the remaining disability period, up to twelve weeks. Axogen also offers supplemental benefits in the form of accidental insurance and critical illness insurance designed to help provide financial protection against expenses associated with accidents or illness not covered by medical insurance.
Employee safety is critical to our operations, and we follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration 29 CFR 1910, and use a series of company-wide policies, trainings, and procedures to protect all employees’ health and safety. We utilize an Environmental Health and Safety committee that meets monthly to analyze potential issues, review any incident data, and implement necessary process or procedural changes that can minimize the work-related injuries and occupational exposure to chemicals, biohazards, or illnesses, and eliminate any potential from serious injuries and fatalities.
The Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors has oversight over human capital management.
Available Information
Our website address is http://www.axogeninc.com. We have included our website address as an inactive textual reference only. We make available, free of charge through our website, our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file, or furnish such material to the SEC. We also similarly make available, free of charge on our website, the reports filed with the SEC by our executive officers, directors and 10% shareholders pursuant to Section 16 under the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after copies of those filings
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are provided to us by those persons. Reference to our website, or any other website, does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the site and should not be considered part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Item 1A. RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
Below is a summary of our risk factors. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below under the heading “Risk Factors” and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC before making an investment decision regarding our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Business and Strategy
•Approximately 60% of our total revenues are from sales of Avance Nerve Graft and any adverse decision from the FDA would negatively impact our operations and financial condition.
•Our revenue growth depends on our ability to increase distribution and sales to existing customers and develop new customers, domestically and abroad, and there can be no assurance that these efforts will result in significant increases in sales.
•Our revenue depends on a limited number of products.
•We are highly dependent on the continued availability of our facilities and could be harmed if we continue to experience operating challenges with our APC Facility or if any of our facilities are unavailable for any prolonged period of time.
•There may be significant fluctuations in our operating results.
•Macroeconomic trends, such as the inflationary pressure, and political instability could continue to have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, and capital investments.
•Our operating results could be adversely impacted if we are unable to effectively manage and sustain our future growth or scale our operations.
•We have a history of net losses and have not consistently experienced positive cash flow from operations, and our ability to achieve consistent positive cash flow will depend on increasing revenue from distribution of our products, which may not be achievable.
•Failure to successfully manage the transition associated with the recent management changes could have an adverse impact on our business.
•Loss of key members of management, who we need to succeed, could adversely affect our business.
•Our success will be dependent on continued acceptance of our products by the medical community.
•Delays, interruptions, or the cessation of production by our third-party suppliers, including products supplied by single suppliers, of important materials may prevent or delay our ability to manufacture or process the final products.
•Technological change and competition for newly developed products could reduce demand for our products.
•We may not be successful in our efforts to build a pipeline of additional product candidates.
•We must maintain high quality processing of our products.
•Our revenue depends upon prompt and adequate reimbursement from public and private insurers and national health systems.
•Negative publicity concerning methods of donating human tissue and screening of donated tissue may reduce demand for our products and negatively impact the supply of available donor tissue.
•The failure of third parties to perform many necessary services for the commercialization of our products, including services related to recovery/acquisition, sterilization, distribution, and transportation, would impair our ability to meet commercial demand.
•We are dependent on our relationships with independent agencies to generate a material portion of our revenue.
•If we do not manage product inventory in an effective and efficient manner, it could adversely affect profitability.
•We may be unsuccessful in commercializing our products outside the U.S.
•We may seek to expand our business in ways that could result in diversion of resources and extra expenses.
•We may be subject to future product liability litigation, which could be expensive, and our insurance coverage may not be adequate.
•We are currently operating in a period of economic uncertainty and capital markets disruption, which has been significantly impacted by geopolitical instability and tensions, Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories, and record inflation and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
•Changes in U.S. trade policy, threats of international tariffs, and changes to the U.S. political landscape may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.
•Our results of operations could be negatively affected by potential fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.
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•Our failure to protect our technology systems and comply with data protection laws and regulations could lead to government enforcement actions and significant penalties against us, and adversely impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.
•We are dependent on internal information and telecommunications systems, and any failure of these systems, including system security breaches, data protection breaches or other cybersecurity attacks, may negatively impact our business and results of operations.
•Our business and financial performance could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by natural or man-made disasters or other similar events.
•Changes in the tax code could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, and capital investments.
•We may have exposure to additional tax liabilities as a result of our foreign operations.
•Our business and stock price may be adversely affected if our internal controls are not effective.
•We incur costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to compliance initiatives.
•Our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by the effects of a focus on environmental, social and governance issues.
Risks Related to the Regulatory Environment in which WeOperate
•Our Avance Nerve Graft product is currently distributed pursuant to enforcement discretion and a transition plan with the FDA; however, we completed the rolling BLA submission for Avance Nerve Graft in September of 2024. If the FDA does not approve our BLA, approves a narrower indication than Avance Nerve Graft’s current use or otherwise limits use of our Avance Nerve Graft product, it would have a significant impact on our revenues and thus would have a material adverse effect on us.
•Even if we obtain regulatory approval for Avance Nerve Graft, we will remain subject to ongoing and new regulatory requirements. Maintaining compliance with ongoing regulatory requirements may result in significant additional expense to us, and any failure to maintain such compliance could subject us to penalties and cause our business to suffer.
•Our business is subject to continuing regulatory compliance by the FDA and other authorities, which is costly and could result in negative effects on our business.
•Failure to obtain regulatory and pricing approvals in foreign jurisdictions after BLA approval for Avance Nerve Graft or our other products could delay or prevent commercialization of our products abroad.
•The use, misuse or off-label use of our products may harm our reputation and the reputation of our products, which could result in injuries leading to product liability suits, and could be costly to our business, and/or result in FDA sanctions.
•U.S. governmental regulation could restrict the use of our Avance Nerve Graft product, restrict our procurement of tissue or increase costs.
•Failure to obtain regulatory or other approvals from certain states in which we operate after BLA approval for Avance Nerve Graft could delay, hinder, or prevent commercialization of our products.
•BLA approval for Avance Nerve Graft could result in different protocol to hospitals access for the product, as well as different reimbursement protocols, both of which may negatively affect surgeons’ access to, revenues derived from and profitability of Avance Nerve Graft.
•Our Axoguard products are subject to FDA and international regulatory requirements.
•Our operations must comply with FDA and other governmental requirements.
•Our business is subject to continuing compliance with standards set by various accreditation and registration bodies, which is costly, and loss of accreditation or registration could result in negative effects on our business.
•Defective products could lead to recall or other negative business conditions.
•Clinical trials can be long and expensive, and results are ultimately uncertain.
•We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, and they may not perform as contractually required or expected.
•Healthcare law and policy changes may have a material adverse effect on us.
•We could be subject to civil or criminal penalties if we are found to have violated laws protecting the confidentiality of health information, which could increase our liabilities and harm our reputation or our business.
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Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
•Failure to protect or maintain our IP rights could result in costly and time-consuming litigation and our loss of any potential competitive advantage.
•Future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain and may impact our ability to successfully compete in our industry.
•The patent protection for our products may expire before we are able to maximize their commercial value, which may subject us to increased competition and reduce or eliminate our opportunity to generate product revenue.
•Others may claim an ownership interest in our IP or claim that we infringe on their IP rights, which could expose us to litigation and have a significant adverse effect on our prospects.
•Our trademarks are valuable, and our business may be adversely affected if trademarks are not adequately protected.
•Patent reform legislation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.
Risks Related to Financing Our Business
•Our credit facility and payment obligations under the Revenue Participation Agreement with TPC Investments II LP and Argo SA LLC, each affiliates of Oberland Capital (collectively, “Oberland Capital”), contains operating and financial covenants that restrict our business and financing activities, require cash payments over an extended period of time and are subject to acceleration in specified circumstances, which may result in Oberland Capital taking possession and disposing of any collateral.
•We may need to raise additional funds to finance our future capital or operating needs, which could have adverse impacts on our business, results of operations, and the interests of our shareholders.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
•An active trading market in our common stock may not be maintained.
•The price of our common stock could be volatile due to a number of factors, which could lead to losses by investors and costly securities litigation.
•We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business and future operating results, which could cause a decline in our stock price.
•We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
•Anti-takeover provisions in Minnesota law may deter acquisition bids for us that you might consider favorable.
•Our management has broad discretion in the use and placement of our cash and cash equivalents and, despite management’s efforts, cash and cash equivalents may be used in a manner that does not increase the value of shareholders’ investments or placed in otherwise reputable financial institutions that fail.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business involves a number of risks, some of which are beyond our control. The risk and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Set forth below is a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that management believes to be material to us and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, growth prospects and the trading price of our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Business and Strategy
Approximately 60% of our total revenues are from sales of Avance Nerve Graft and any adverse decision from the FDA would negatively impact our operations and financial condition.
Approximately 60% of our total revenues are from sales of Avance Nerve Graft, which the FDA considers to be a biological product subject to BLA approval requirements. The product is currently distributed pursuant to a transition plan with the FDA as we await FDA’s decision on the BLA we submitted in September 2024. Any change in position by the FDA regarding its use of enforcement discretion regarding the sale of Avance Nerve Graft in the interim prior to FDA’s decision on the BLA, or if the BLA is not approved, or in the process of BLA approval, our indications for Avance Nerve Graft are narrowed or its use is curtailed in any other way, any such developments would have a material negative impact on our revenues and our operations. For additional information see: “Risk Factors – Our Avance Nerve Graft product is currently distributed pursuant to a transition plan with the FDA; we completed the rolling BLA submission for the Avance Nerve Graft in the third quarter of 2024 and are waiting for FDA approval of our BLA. If the FDA places limits on use of our Avance Nerve Graft product it would have a significant impact on our revenues and thus would have a material adverse effect on us.”
Our revenue growth depends on our ability to increase distribution and sales to existing customers and develop new customers, domestically and abroad, and there can be no assurance that these efforts will result in significant increases in sales.
Beginning in 2020, we adjusted our commercial strategy to focus on deeper penetration of our existing surgeon customers through the development of long-term users of our algorithm of nerve repair in our largest market opportunity of extremity trauma. We believe that near-term growth can be supported first through expanded productivity of our existing sales force with existing accounts and second by adding additional customers. We expect the number of direct sales professionals to increase over time. Additionally, we believe that we have successfully utilized a hybrid commercial approach that includes the use of independent agencies in more remote geographies to provide appropriate local support for customers, without the travel time required of a direct sales representative. We may also need to establish a regional distribution center or centers at some point in the future to account for growth. The incurrence of these expenses may impact our operating results, and there can be no assurance of their effectiveness. If we are unable to increase sales to existing customers and attract new customers, and develop our sales force, there could be a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects. Additionally, our growth margin is dependent on maintaining a diversified demand mix. If demand only grows in one use application, it could negatively impact gross margin. We are focusing on creating balanced revenue growth and yield improvements in product processing, but we may be unable to do so.
Our revenue depends on a limited number of products.
Substantially all of our revenue is currently derived from six products, Avance Nerve Graft, Axoguard Nerve Protector, Axoguard Nerve Connector, Axoguard HA + Nerve Protector, Axoguard Nerve Cap, and Avive+ Soft Tissue Matrix for the treatment of peripheral nerve damage. Of these six products, Avance Nerve Graft represents approximately 60% of our total revenue.Any disruption in our ability to generate revenue from the processing, distribution, and sale of products, especially Avance Nerve Graft, will have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.
Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector are only available through a distribution agreement with Evergen. The Distribution Agreement terminates on December 31, 2030. However, there are conditions for continuation of the agreement, including payment terms and minimum purchase requirements, that if breached could result in an earlier termination of the agreement. Through mutual agreement, the parties have not established such minimums and to date have not enforced such minimum purchase provision. Additionally, in the event that Evergen were to enforce minimum purchase quantities and we fail to reach an agreement as to such minimums, Evergen could terminate the agreement if we fail to generate commercially reasonable sales of Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axogen Nerve Protector as measured by sales similar to a competitive product at the same stage in its commercial launch as verified by a mutually acceptable third party. We distribute Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector for Evergen, and Evergen is the contract manufacturer for our HA+ and Axoguard Nerve Cap products. Although we believe we could develop or obtain products that would replace the Axoguard
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products obtained through the Evergen agreements, the loss of the ability to sell the Axoguard products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.
We are highly dependent on the continued availability of our facilities and could be harmed if we continue to experience operating challenges with our APC Facility or if any of our facilities are unavailable for any prolonged period of time.