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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

For the transition period from _________ to _________

Commission File Number: 001-36721

Coherus BioSciences, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

333 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 600

Redwood City, California94065

(650) 649 - 3530

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

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

Title of each class TradingSymbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share CHRS The Nasdaq Global Market

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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 than 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). Yes☒ No ☐

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

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant 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. ☒

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

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock, held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2020 (which is the last business day of registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) based upon the closing market price of such stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on that date, was approximately $0.9 billion. For purposes of this disclosure, shares of common stock held by each officer and director have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be “affiliates” as that term is defined under the Rules and Regulations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily conclusive.

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock issued and outstanding as of January 31, 2021 was 72,793,660.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III incorporates by reference certain information from the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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COHERUS BIOSCIENCES, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

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Page

PART I

ITEM 1. Business 2

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors 19

ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 64

ITEM 2. Properties 64

ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings 64

ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 65

PART II

ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data 66

ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 84

ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 85

ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures 124

ITEM 9B. Other Information 127

PART III

ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 128

ITEM 11. Executive Compensation 128

ITEM 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 128

PART IV

ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 129

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This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “attempt,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seek,” “should,” “strive,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology variations of such words and similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding overall trends, operating cost and revenue trends, liquidity and capital needs and other statements of expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions.

We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations about future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results may differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements for various reasons, including those identified in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors.” Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this report are made only as of the date hereof. Except as required under federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), we do not undertake, and specifically decline, any obligation to update any of these statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements after the distribution of this report, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K also contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business, and the markets for certain diseases, including data regarding the estimated size of those markets, and the incidence and prevalence of certain medical conditions. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, market research or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business, market and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by market research firms and other third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data, and similar sources.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

We are a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a mission to increase patient access to cost-effective medicines that can have a major impact on their lives and to deliver significant savings to the health care system. Our first product, UDENYCA® (pegfilgrastim-cbqv), a biosimilar to Neulasta®, a long-acting granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, was launched commercially in the United States in January 2019. Biosimilars are a class of protein-based therapeutics with high similarity to approved originator products on the basis of various structural and biologic properties, as well as in terms of safety and efficacy. We have become a leader in the biosimilar market by leveraging our team’s collective expertise in key areas such as process science, analytical characterization, protein production, clinical-regulatory development and commercialization. In addition to UDENYCA®, we have a product candidate pipeline that includes biosimilars of Humira®, Avastin® and Lucentis®.

We are investing cash flows generated by our commercial biosimilars business to build a leading immuno-oncology franchise in the United States and Canada. In February 2021, we in-licensed Junshi Biosciences’ toripalimab, a novel anti-PD-1 antibody, which was first approved in 2018 for second-line treatment of melanoma in China, where it is marketed by Shanghai Junshi Biosciences, Co., Ltd. (“Junshi Biosciences”). Toripalimab has been extensively evaluated in late-stage clinical trials for the treatment of multiple tumor types. We and Junshi Biosciences expect to submit the first biologic license application (“BLA”) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in 2021 for the treatment of third-line nasopharyngeal carcinoma, an indication for which the FDA has granted toripalimab Breakthrough Therapy designation. Within the next several years, we and Junshi Biosciences anticipate submitting BLAs for multiple additional indications for rare and highly prevalent tumor types, including non-small cell lung cancer. We have also acquired options to license two pipeline immuno-oncology product candidates from Junshi Biosciences, an anti-TIGIT antibody and a next-generation engineered IL-2 cytokine, which we plan to evaluate in combination with toripalimab.

With our UDENCYA commercialization efforts, we have built a strong, oncology-focused commercial capability in the United States. We expect to leverage this commercial capability as we build our immuno-oncology franchise if we are successful with the development and registration of toripalimab and potential combination product candidates.

Our pipeline includes the following product candidates:

Oncology Pipeline

In the United States, toripalimab was granted the Breakthrough Therapy designation for the treatment of recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma by the FDA in September 2020. The FDA has also granted toripalimab Fast Track designation for the treatment of mucosal melanoma and orphan drug designations for treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, mucosal melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma.

We expect the first toripalimab Biologics License Application (“BLA”) to be submitted to the FDA for recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 2021. In addition to nasopharyngeal carcinoma, we and Junshi Biosciences plan to submit BLAs

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to the FDA for toripalimab within the next two years for the treatment of several rare and highly prevalent cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer.

We are performing a three-way pharmacokinetic (“PK”) study using Avastin drug products from the United States, Avastin drug products from China and Innovent’s biosimilar to bevacizumab, as well additional analytical similarity exercises prior to submitting a BLA for a biosimilar product candidate, or a 351(k) BLA, to the FDA.

Immunology Pipeline

Ophthalmology Pipeline

The Bioeq ranibizumab biosimilar candidate demonstrated similar binding and bioactivity as Lucentis (ranibizumab) and met its primary endpoint in a wet age-related macular degeneration (“wet AMD”) Phase 3 study. At the request of a national European health authority addressed to Bioeq’s drug substance contract manufacturer, the manufacturer moved a piece of processing equipment to a different location within the same site after the production of the Bioeq ranibizumab biosimilar candidate qualification batches was completed. The FDA requested additional manufacturing data for the equipment in its new location in the context of its review of the 351(k) BLA. As a result, Bioeq decided to withdraw its 351(k) BLA for this candidate and provide the requested data. During the first quarter of 2021, Bioeq received positive pre-BLA filing feedback from the FDA on the requested manufacturing data, and the FDA indicated support of Bioeq’s current plans to proceed with the resubmission of its 351(k) BLA during 2021.

Small Molecule Pipeline

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Market Opportunity for Biosimilars

According to Evaluate Pharma, total U.S. annual revenues of Neulasta, Avastin, Lucentis and Humira, which are the reference drugs of our commercialized or late stage biosimilar candidates of pegfilgrastim, bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and adalimumab, respectively, and other commercial biosimilar drugs for those compounds are expected to reach approximately $22.0 billion in 2020. We intend to pursue a branded biosimilar strategy to address this potential commercial opportunity, emphasizing a high level of similarity of our biosimilar products to the originators, while offering significantly more value to the U.S. healthcare system.

The global market opportunity for biosimilars is large and growing because of several factors. First, many of the top-grossing biologic drugs in the world faced, or are facing the expiry of their patent protection. Second, regulatory agencies around the world have responded to these upcoming patent expirations by establishing biosimilar approval pathways. We believe regulatory agencies will help streamline the approval process across various international regulatory agencies and encourage growth of the overall biosimilar market. Third, implementation of more stringent cost containment practices on the part of governments and insurers has increased demand for high-quality biosimilars, which we believe will result in substantial market growth over time. Further, in the U.S., the largest market for biologics, we believe that government policy mandating healthcare insurance coverage of treatments for pre-existing conditions will continue for the foreseeable future and will increase demand for high-quality biosimilars.

While the potential market opportunity is significant, biosimilar product development poses a number of scientific, regulatory and technical challenges that distinguish it from traditional, small-molecule generic product development. We believe our world-class team of biologic therapeutic developers and renowned scientists gives us the critical capabilities to address successfully the complexities underlying these challenges. We have also assembled a distinguished scientific advisory board of leading scientists who are acknowledged experts in their respective fields. With the approval and successful commercial launch of UDENYCA®, we believe we have demonstrated our core capabilities and expertise in product development in the United States and EU, and commercialization in the United States.

Our business model places our internal team at the center of a coordinated development effort in which our senior team of experts focuses on the highly specialized, strategic and technical aspects of biosimilar development. For other aspects of our operations that require greater scale or more capital-intensive investments, we have established a network of relationships with highly competent external organizations and strategic partnerships that we believe will provide the competitive scale required to address the global biosimilar market opportunity. For example, in December 2015, we entered into a strategic manufacturing agreement with KBI Biopharma, Inc. (“KBI Biopharma”), based in Boulder, Colorado, for long-term commercial manufacturing of UDENYCA®. In November 2018, we extended our partnership with KBI until December 31, 2023. In addition, our dynamic organization allows us to respond to the rapidly evolving biosimilar landscape. We also seek to become a partner of choice to maximize the U.S. commercial biosimilar opportunity, as exemplified by our recent licensing agreements with Bioeq and Innovent.

Oncology Franchise Opportunity

UDENYCA® (pegfilgrastim-cbqv)

UDENYCA®(pegfilgrastim-cbqv) is a biosimilar to Neulasta, a long-acting granulocyte stimulating colony factor. The production of granulocytes (a type of white blood cell, which includes leukocytes) promotes the body’s ability to fight infections. UDENYCA® is a leukocyte growth factor indicated to decrease the incidence of infection, as manifested by febrile neutropenia, in patients with non-myeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs associated with a clinically significant incidence of febrile neutropenia.

We initiated U.S. sales of UDENYCA® in January 2019. According to Evaluate Pharma, the 2020 U.S. sales for all pegfilgrastim products represent an estimated $2.6 billion.

Bevacizumab (Avastin) Biosimilar Opportunity

Avastin is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively binds circulating VEGF, thereby inhibiting the binding of VEGF to its cell surface receptors. This inhibition leads to a reduction in microvascular growth of tumor blood vessels and thus limits the blood supply to various types of tumor tissues. Avastin was first approved in 2004 by the FDA for combination use with standard chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic kidney cancer, advanced cervical cancer, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and recurrent glioblastoma.

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Evaluate Pharma estimated that the 2020 U.S. sales for Avastin were $1.9 billion. In January 2020, we acquired the right to commercialize Innovent’s Avastin biosimilar candidate in the United States and Canada.

Toripalimab Opportunity

In February 2021, we acquired exclusive rights in the United States and Canada for the co-development and commercialization of Junshi Biosciences’ toripalimab. Toripalimab is a humanized IgG4 anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody selected for its potential to block PD-1 interactions with its ligands, PD-(L)1 and PD-(L)2, and for its potential to provide enhanced receptor endocytosis function. PD-(L)1 and PD-(L)2 are tumor checkpoint proteins that recognize the PD-1 receptor on T cells and exhaust their anti-tumor activity. Blocking PD-1 interactions with PD-(L)1 and PD-(L)2 allows T cells to attack and kill tumor cells that display PD-(L)1 or PD-(L)2.

According to Evaluate Pharma, total anti-PD-1 antibody U.S. annual revenues in 2020 were approximately $15.0 billion and are projected to grow to approximately $30.0 billion by 2026. Non-small cell lung cancer accounted for approximately 50% of all anti-PD-1 antibody U.S. revenues in 2020 and is expected to remain the largest tumor segment in the foreseeable future.

Ophthalmology Franchise Opportunity

Ranibizumab (Lucentis) Biosimilar Candidate

Lucentis is a monoclonal antibody fragment (“Fab”) created from the same parent mouse antibody as bevacizumab and produced through a microbial culture. It blocks angiogenesis by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor A. Lucentis is approved in the United States for indications including wet AMD, macular edema following retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic retinopathy.

According to Evaluate Pharma, Lucentis achieved approximately $1.5 billion in U.S. sales in 2020. In November 2019, we in-licensed U.S. commercial rights to Bioeq’s ranibizumab (Lucentis) biosimilar.

Immunology Franchise Opportunity

Our biosimilar candidate, CHS-1420 (adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar) binds to tumor necrosis factor (“TNF”), which belongs to a family of soluble protein mediators (“cytokines”) that play an important role in disease progression across a number of inflammatory and chronic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. Cytokines, such as TNF, are substances produced by cells in the body that can cause a biological effect on other cells in the body. TNF is generally understood as the “master regulator” of the body’s immune response and is the key initiator of immune-mediated inflammation in multiple organ systems.

CHS-1420 (Our Adalimumab (Humira) Biosimilar Candidate)

Humira, which is the reference product for CHS-1420, is a monoclonal antibody that can bind to TNF, thereby inhibiting the known effect of this substance as a potent mediator of inflammation. Humira thus provides a therapeutic benefit for treatment of various inflammatory diseases characterized by increased production of TNF in the body.

Evaluate Pharma estimated that 2020 U.S. sales of Humira reached approximately $16.0 billion in 2020. Our settlement and license agreements with AbbVie grant us global, non-exclusive worldwide rights under AbbVie’s intellectual property to manufacture and commercialize CHS-1420 starting on July 1, 2023. We believe that a targeted commercial strategy against certain anti-TNF segments may enable us to achieve substantial topline sales for CHS-1420 in the United States, if approved.

Deprioritized pipeline programs

In February 2020, we announced that we would seek strategic alternatives for CHS-131, a PPARγ small molecule being evaluated for the treatment of NASH.

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In February 2021, we announced discontinuation of the development of CHS-2020, a biosimilar of Eylea® as part of a realignment of research and development resources toward the development of immuno-oncology assets including toripalimab.

Sales and Marketing

Our strategy is to invest cash flows from our commercial biosimilars business to build a leading immuno-oncology franchise in the United States and Canada.

The sales call points to oncologists in the United States are highly concentrated and addressable by our relatively small commercial organization. If we are successful in gaining approval of our bevacizumab biosimilar or of toripalimab and other immuno-oncology assets, we will plan to commercialize these products alongside UDENYCA through our oncology sales and marketing team. Similarly, for our ophthalmology franchise, we anticipate that the number of accounts to drive 90% of sales volume is approximately four- to five-fold smaller than that for the oncology support of care market. As a result, we anticipate a relatively small incremental investment in additional sales force will be needed to address the ophthalmology marketplace. For a discussion of risks related to sales and marketing, please see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Launch and Commercialization of UDENYCA® and our Other Product Candidates.”

Manufacturing

We have entered into agreements with several contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) for the manufacture and clinical drug supply of our commercial and products candidates. We continue to screen other contract manufacturers to meet our clinical, commercial and regulatory supply requirements on a product-by-product basis. For a discussion of risks related to our sources and availability of supplies, please see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Ability to Hire and Retain Highly Qualified Personnel and Risks Related to Manufacturing and Supply Chain.”

Competition

The development and commercialization of protein-based therapeutics is highly competitive. While we believe that our biologics platform, knowledge, experience and scientific resources provide us with competitive advantages, we face potential competition from many different sources. Such competition includes larger and better-funded pharmaceutical, generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as originator companies and any other firms developing the biosimilars that would compete with the product candidates in our pipeline and other novel products with similar indications.

UDENYCA®(pegfilgrastim-cbqv) faces competition in the United States from Amgen (“Amgen”), Viatris Inc. (“Viatris”), Mylan N.V. (“Mylan”), Sandoz International GmbH (“Sandoz”), Pfizer Inc., and may face competition from Amneal and Fresenius, each of which has announced the development of a pegfilgrastim biosimilar.

Toripalimab, if approved, will enter a competitive market in the United States where a number of anti-PD-1 or PD-(L)1 antibody drugs have been approved by the FDA including the following marketed products from several competitors: Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) from Merck & Company, Inc. (“Merck”), Opdivo® (nivolumab) from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (“BMS”), Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) from Genentech USA, Inc. (“Genentech”), Imfinzi® (durvalumab) from AstraZeneca, Bavencio® (avelumab) from EMD Serono and Pfizer, and Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc) from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Regeneron”) and Sanofi. In addition to toripalimab, multiple other competitors are seeking to develop and approve novel anti-PD-1 or PD-(L)1 antibody drugs in the United States in the coming years, including but not limited to BeiGene, Ltd. (in collaboration with Novartis), GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Innovent.

Innovent’s bevacizumab (Avastin) may face competition in the United States from Genentech, Inc. (“Genentech,” the holder of rights to Avastin), as well as Amgen (MvasiTM (bevacizumab-awwb)) and Pfizer (ZirabevTM (bevacizumab-bvzr)), each of which have initiated the commercial launch of an Avastin biosimilar. We may also face competition from several other companies with Avastin biosimilar candidates in development or in registration, including Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. (Samsung Bioepis”) and Viatris.

Bioeq’s ranibizumab (Lucentis) biosimilar candidate may face competition in the United States from Genentech (the manufacturer of Lucentis). Biogen Inc. (“Biogen”) with collaborator Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. (Samsung Bioepis), and Xbrane Biopharma AB (in collaboration with STADA Arzneimittel AG and Bausch + Lomb) have each disclosed the development of a Lucentis biosimilar candidate.

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CHS-1420, our adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar candidate, may face competition in the U.S. from AbbVie (the holder of rights to Humira), Amgen (AmjevitaTM (adalimumab-atto)), Sandoz (HyrimozTM (adalimumab-adaz)), Samsung Bioepis (HadlimaTM (adalimumab-bwwb)), Pfizer (AbriladaTM (adalimumab-afzd)), Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (“Boehringer Ingelheim”) (CyltezoTM (adalimumab-adbm)) as well as Fujifilm, Alvotech and Fresenius, companies that have each disclosed development plans for a Humira biosimilar candidate.

We expect any products that we develop and commercialize directly or with partners to compete on the basis of, among other things, price and the availability of reimbursement from government and other third-party payers. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. For a discussion of risks related to our competition, please see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Competitive Activity.”

Collaboration and License Agreements

Distribution Agreement with Orox Pharmaceuticals B.V.

In December 2012, we entered into a distribution agreement with Orox Pharmaceuticals B.V. (“Orox”), for the commercialization of biosimilar versions of our internally developed biosimilars. Under this agreement, we granted to Orox an exclusive license to commercialize UDENYCA® in Latin America, except Brazil and Argentina, and CHS-1420 and CHS-0214 (our etanercept (Enbrel®) biosimilar candidate, which we discontinued development) in Latin America, except Brazil. Under this agreement, Orox has an option, exercisable within a defined time period, to obtain an exclusive license to commercialize certain additional biosimilar products in the same field and territory. We are obligated to manufacture and supply licensed products to Orox.

We are obligated to develop licensed products and achieve regulatory approval for such products outside of the Caribbean and Latin American countries covered by the agreement by specified dates in order to support Orox’s activities under the agreement in its licensed territory. We are eligible to receive from Orox a share of gross profits in the low twenty percent range from the sale of licensed products, on a product-by-product basis.

Our agreement with Orox will expire on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis ten years after regulatory approval of such product in such country, subject to automatic three-year extensions unless Orox notifies us in writing at least 18 months in advance of the date upon which the term would otherwise expire that it does not wish to extend the term for such product in such country. Either party may terminate the agreement for material breach by the other party that is not cured within a specified time period. Orox may terminate the Agreement for convenience on a product-by-product basis at any time upon 12-months prior written notice. Each party may terminate the agreement upon bankruptcy or insolvency of the other party, and we may terminate the agreement immediately upon written notice to Orox if Orox challenges the licensed patents or commits a breach of specified provisions of the agreement.

License Agreements with Selexis SA

In April 2011 and June 2012, we entered into license agreements with Selexis SA (“Selexis”), under which Selexis granted to us royalty-bearing, non-exclusive, sublicensable licenses under Selexis’s intellectual property rights to manufacture, use and commercialize two of our biosimilar products using Selexis cell lines. In consideration for the rights granted to us under the agreements, we made cash upfront payments to Selexis and are required to make payments based upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones for such biosimilar products, totaling up to €210,000 for each of the two products, or a total aggregate amount of €420,000. In addition, we are also required to pay a royalty as a percentage of revenue on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis in the low-single digits.

We may terminate each agreement at any time upon 60 days written notice to Selexis. Either we or Selexis may terminate an agreement for any material breach by the other party that is not cured within a specified time period or in the event of the other party’s insolvency. Absent earlier termination, the agreements with Selexis terminate on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis on the expiration of the last-to-expire or lapse of the valid patent claims covering such product in such country.

Settlement and License Agreements with AbbVie, Inc.

On January 24, 2019, we entered into three settlement and license agreements with AbbVie that grant Coherus global, royalty-bearing, non-exclusive license rights under AbbVie’s intellectual property to commercialize CHS-1420, our proposed adalimumab (Humira)

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biosimilar. The global settlements resolve all pending disputes between the parties related to our adalimumab biosimilar. Under the U.S. settlement, our license period in the U.S. commences on July 1, 2023.

Settlement and License Agreements with Pfizer, Inc.

In October 2019, we entered into a license and settlement agreement with Pfizer relating to Coherus’ patents and applications for patents directed to Humira (adalimumab) formulations.

License Agreement with Bioeq AG

On November 4, 2019, we entered into a license agreement with Bioeq for the commercialization of a biosimilar version of ranibizumab (Lucentis) in certain dosage forms in both a vial and pre-filled syringe presentation (the “Bioeq Licensed Products”). Under this agreement, Bioeq granted to us an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to commercialize the Bioeq Licensed Products in the field of ophthalmology (and any other approved labelled indication) in the United States. Bioeq will supply to us the Bioeq Licensed Products in accordance with terms and conditions specified in the agreement and a manufacturing and supply agreement to be executed by the parties in accordance therewith.

Under the Bioeq Agreement, Bioeq must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and obtain regulatory approval of the Bioeq Licensed Products in the United States in accordance with a development and manufacturing plan, and we must use commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize the Bioeq Licensed Products in accordance with a commercialization plan. Additionally, we must commit certain pre-launch and post-launch resources to the commercialization of the Bioeq Licensed Products for a limited time as specified in the agreement. The development, manufacturing, and commercialization of the Bioeq Licensed Products in the United States is governed by a governance committee as described in more detail in the agreement.

We paid Bioeq an upfront payment of €5.0 million and a milestone payment of €5.0 million. Additionally, we are obligated to pay Bioeq in the future an aggregate of up to €25.0 million in milestone payments in connection with the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones with respect to the Bioeq Licensed Products in the United States. We will share a percentage of gross profits on sales of Bioeq Licensed Products in the United States with Bioeq in the low to mid fifty percent range.

The Bioeq Agreement’s initial term continues in effect for ten years after the first commercial sale of a Bioeq Licensed Product in the United States, and thereafter renews for an unlimited period of time unless otherwise terminated in accordance with its terms. Either party may terminate the Bioeq Agreement for the other party’s material breach which is not cured within a specified time period or for the other party’s bankruptcy or insolvency-related events. Bioeq may terminate the Bioeq Agreement in certain limited circumstances for failure to obtain specified minimum market share requirements during certain windows of time, if we conduct certain commercial or advanced pre-commercial activities with respect to certain competitive products, if we challenge the validity or enforceability of the patent rights licensed to us under the Bioeq Agreement, or if we undergo a change of control with a competitor of Bioeq and do not divest certain competitive products in connection therewith. We may terminate the Bioeq Agreement for convenience with 18 months advance written notice (provided that such termination shall not become effective prior to 12 months after the first commercial sale of the first Bioeq Licensed Product in the United States). We may also terminate the Bioeq Agreement in certain circumstances of delays, or anticipated delays, in the achievement of regulatory approval of the first Bioeq Licensed Product in the United States, or if Bioeq receives certain adverse regulatory feedback from the FDA for the Bioeq Licensed Products.

The Bioeq ranibizumab biosimilar candidate demonstrated similar binding and bioactivity as ranibizumab (Lucentis) and met its primary endpoint in a wet AMD Phase 3 study. At the request of a national European health authority addressed to Bioeq’s drug substance contract manufacturer, the manufacturer moved a piece of processing equipment to a different location within the same site after the production of the Bioeq ranibizumab biosimilar candidate qualification batches was completed. In February 2020, the FDA requested additional manufacturing data for the equipment in its new location in the context of its review of the 351(k) BLA, and Bioeq withdrew its BLA. During the first quarter of 2021, Bioeq received positive pre-BLA filing feedback from the FDA on the requested manufacturing data, and the FDA indicated it was supportive of Bioeq’s current plans to proceed with the resubmission of its 351(k) BLA during 2021.

License Agreement with Innovent Biologics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.

On January 13, 2020, we entered into a license agreement with Innovent (the “Innovent Agreement”) for the development and commercialization of a biosimilar version of bevacizumab (Avastin) in any dosage form and presentations (the “bevacizumab Licensed

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Product”) in the United States and Canada (the “Territory”). Under the Innovent Agreement, Innovent granted us an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to develop and commercialize the bevacizumab Licensed Product in the field of treatment, prevention or amelioration of any human diseases and conditions as included in the label of Avastin. We also acquired an option for twelve months to develop and commercialize Innovent’s biosimilar version of rituximab (Rituxan®) in any dosage form and presentations (the “rituximab Licensed Product” and together with the bevacizumab Licensed Product, the “Innovent Licensed Products”) in the Territory. Subject to the terms of the Innovent Agreement, we may exercise our option within 12 months of receiving certain regulatory materials from Innovent. Following our option exercise, Innovent’s biosimilar version of rituximab would be deemed an Innovent Licensed Product and Innovent would grant us an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to develop and commercialize Innovent’s biosimilar version of rituximab in the field of treatment, prevention or amelioration of any human diseases and conditions as included in the label of Rituxan®.

Innovent will supply the Innovent Licensed Products to us in accordance with a manufacturing and supply agreement to be executed by the parties. Under the Innovent Agreement, we acquired the right to require Innovent to perform technology transfer for the manufacturing of the Innovent Licensed Products in the Territory and, upon completion of such technology transfer, we will have the exclusive right to manufacture the Innovent Licensed Products in the Territory.

We paid Innovent an upfront payment of $5.0 million and a milestone payment of $2.5 million. Additionally, we are obligated to pay Innovent an aggregate of up to $37.5 million in milestone payments in connection with the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales milestones with respect to the bevacizumab Licensed Product and, if we exercise our option to license Innovent’s rituximab biosimilar, an aggregate of up to $40.0 million in milestone payments in connection with the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales milestones with respect to the rituximab Licensed Product. We will share a percentage of net sales of Innovent Licensed Products with Innovent in the mid-teens to low twenty percent range. If we exercise our option, we would be required to pay an option exercise fee of $5.0 million. Subject to the terms of the Innovent Agreement, if we request Innovent to perform technology transfer for the manufacturing of the Innovent Licensed Products, we would be required to pay up to $10.0 million for fees related thereto.

For the bevacizumab Licensed Product, the initial term continues in effect for ten years after the effective date of the Innovent Agreement, and thereafter renews for successive two-year periods upon mutual agreement by the parties, unless otherwise terminated in accordance with its terms. For the rituximab Licensed Product, the initial term would continue in effect for ten years after the effective date of the option effective date and thereafter would renew for successive two-year periods upon mutual agreement by the parties, unless otherwise terminated in accordance with its terms. Either party may terminate the Innovent Agreement for the other party’s material breach that is not cured within a specified time period or for the other party’s bankruptcy or insolvency-related events. Innovent may terminate the Innovent Agreement if we undergo a change of control with a competitor of Innovent and does not assign the Innovent Agreement to a third party within a certain period of time. On an Innovent Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis, we may terminate the Innovent Agreement based on certain market conditions beginning 12 months after the first commercial sale of such Innovent Licensed Product with 18 months advance written notice. Also on an Innovent Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis, we may terminate the Innovent Agreement in certain circumstances of delays, or anticipated delays, in the achievement of regulatory approval of such Innovent Licensed Product in the United States, if we receive certain adverse regulatory feedback from the FDA for such Innovent Licensed Product, or if we receive written FDA meeting minutes indicating that the FDA recommends an additional Phase 3 clinical trial efficacy comparability study to support the regulatory approval of such Innovent Licensed Product in the United States. The bevacizumab Licensed Product demonstrated PK bioequivalence and showed equivalent clinical efficacy to Avastin (bevacizumab) in a non-small cell lung carcinoma Phase 3 study.

License Agreement with Junshi Biosciences

On February 1, 2021, we entered into an Exclusive License and Commercialization Agreement (the “Collaboration Agreement”) with Junshi Biosciences for the co-development and commercialization of toripalimab, Junshi Biosciences’ anti-PD-1 antibody in the United States and Canada (the “Collaboration”).

Under the terms of the Collaboration Agreement, we will pay $150.0 million upfront for exclusive rights to toripalimab in the United States and Canada, options in these territories to Junshi Biosciences’ anti-TIGIT antibody and next-generation engineered IL-2 cytokine, and certain negotiation rights to two undisclosed preclinical immuno-oncology drug candidates. We will have the right to conduct all commercial activities of toripalimab in the United States and Canada. We will be obligated to pay Junshi Biosciences a 20% royalty on net sales of toripalimab and up to an aggregate $380.0 million in one-time payments for the achievement of various milestones, including up to $290.0 million for attainment of certain sales thresholds. If we exercise our options, we will be obligated to pay an option exercise fee for each of the anti-TIGIT antibody and the IL-2 cytokine of $35.0 million per program. Additionally, for each exercised option, we will

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be obligated to pay Junshi Biosciences an 18% royalty on net sales and up to an aggregate $255.0 million for the achievement of various milestones, including up to $170.0 million for attainment of certain sales thresholds. Under the Collaboration Agreement, we retain the right to collaborate in the development of toripalimab and the other licensed compounds, and will pay for a portion of these co-development activities up to a maximum of $25.0 million per licensed compound per year.

Closing of the Collaboration Agreement is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (the “HSR Act”).

In connection with the Collaboration Agreement, we entered into a stock purchase agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with Junshi Biosciences agreeing, subject to customary conditions, to acquire certain equity interests in the Company. Pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement, we have agreed to issue 2,491,988 unregistered shares of our common stock, at a price per share of $20.0643, for an aggregate value of approximately $50.0 million, to Junshi Biosciences as a portion of the consideration for the Collaboration.

Intellectual Property

Our commercial success depends in part on our ability to avoid infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. Additionally, our commercial success may depend on our ability to obtain and maintain proprietary protection for our technologies where applicable and to prevent others from infringing our proprietary rights. We seek to protect our proprietary technologies by, among other methods, filing U.S. and international patent applications on these technologies, inventions and improvements that are important to our business. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our proprietary position.

The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term of the patents in countries in which they are obtained. In most countries, including the U.S., the patent term is generally 20 years from the earliest date of filing a non-provisional patent application in the applicable country. In the U.S., a patent’s term may, in certain cases, be lengthened by patent term adjustment, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in examining and granting a patent or may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over a commonly owned patent or a patent naming a common inventor and having an earlier expiration date.

In the normal course of business, we pursue patent protection for inventions related to our product candidates. We own a patent portfolio of 25 patent families related to our biosimilar product candidates. Each patent family includes United States patent applications and/or issued patents, and some include foreign counterparts to certain of the U.S. patents and patent applications. Our patent portfolio includes issued or pending claims directed to formulations, methods of manufacturing biological proteins, and drug products and devices, including their methods of use and methods of manufacture.

In a merger completed February 12, 2014, we acquired InteKrin Therapeutics Inc. (“InteKrin”) and its small molecule PPAR-g modulator, CHS-131, which is being developed for the treatment of NASH.

InteKrin has an exclusive license from Amgen to a portfolio of four patent families related to CHS-131, each of which includes U.S. patents and some include foreign counterparts to certain of the U.S. patents. The licensed patent portfolio includes issued claims directed to PPAR-γ modulating molecules and therapeutic product compositions that are expected to expire in 2020 and 2021, as well as certain salt forms and polymorphic forms directed to PPAR-g modulating molecules that are expected to expire in 2024. Additionally, we and our subsidiary InteKrin own a portfolio of 23 patent families related to CHS-131, each of which includes U.S. patent applications and/or issued patents, and some include foreign counterparts to certain of the U.S. patents and patent applications. This patent portfolio includes issued or pending claims directed to PPAR-g agonist pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of treating disorders including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, blood cancers, bone disorders, Huntington’s disease, and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Upon the first FDA approval for a CHS-131 product, we intend to seek a Hatch-Waxman patent term extension of CHS-131 related patents. A Hatch-Waxman patent term extension can only be applied to a patent that is not expired at the time of FDA approval. Additionally, any such extension cannot be longer than five years and the total patent term, including the extension period, must not exceed fourteen years following FDA approval. For a discussion of risks related to our proprietary technology and processes, please see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Intellectual Property.”

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Government Regulation

Our operations and activities are subject to extensive regulation by numerous government authorities in the U.S., the European Union and other countries, including laws and regulations governing the testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, labeling, storage, record keeping, approval, advertising and promotion of our products. As a result of these regulations, product development and product approval processes are very expensive and time consuming. The regulatory requirements applicable to drug development and approval are subject to change. Any legal and regulatory changes may impact our operations in the future. A country’s regulatory agency, such as the FDA in the United States and the EMA or the European Commission for the European Union, must approve a drug before it can be sold in the respective country or countries. The general process for biosimilar approval in the United States is summarized below. Many other countries, including countries in the European Union, have similar regulatory structures.

FDA Approval Process for Drugs and Biologics

All of our current product candidates are subject to regulation in the U.S. by the FDA as biological products (“biologics”), except for CHS-131, which is regulated as a drug product candidate. The FDA subjects drugs and biologics to extensive pre- and post-market regulation pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FFDCA”) and its implementing regulations, and in the case of biologics, the FFDCA and the Public Health Service Act (“PHSA”) and their implementing regulations. In addition, we are subject to other federal and state statutes and regulations. These laws and regulations govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling and import and export of drugs and biologics. Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve a pending BLAs or NDAs, withdrawal of approvals, clinical holds, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties or criminal penalties.

The process required by the FDA before a new biologic or drug may be marketed in the U.S. is long, expensive and inherently uncertain. Biologic and drug development in the U.S. typically involves the completion of preclinical laboratory and animal tests in accordance with good laboratory practices (“GLP”), the submission to the FDA of an investigational new drug (“IND”) application, which must become effective before clinical testing may commence, the performance of adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of the biologic or drug for each indication for which FDA approval is sought in compliance with good clinical practice (“GCP”) requirements, the submission to the FDA of an original BLA under Section 351(a) of the PHSA (“original BLA”) or an NDA, as appropriate, satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the drug or biologic is produced, and FDA approval and review of the original BLA or NDA. Developing the data to satisfy FDA pre-market approval requirements typically takes many years and the actual time required may vary substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product or disease.

Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, formulation and toxicity, as well as animal trials to assess the characteristics and potential safety and efficacy of the product. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements, including GLP. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational new drug or biologic to humans. The central focus of an IND submission is on the general investigational plan and the protocol(s) for human studies, although the IND must also include the results of preclinical testing and animal testing assessing the toxicology, PK, pharmacology and PD characteristics of the product along with other information, including information about product chemistry, manufacturing and controls and a proposed clinical trial protocol. Long-term preclinical tests, such as animal tests of reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity, may continue after the IND is submitted.

An IND must become effective before U.S. clinical trials may begin. A 30-day waiting period after the submission of each IND is required prior to the commencement of clinical testing in humans. If during the 30-day waiting period the FDA raises concerns or questions related to the proposed clinical studies, the sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns or questions before clinical studies can begin. If the FDA has neither commented on nor questioned the IND within this 30-day period, the clinical trial proposed in the IND may begin.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug or biologic to healthy volunteers or patients with the condition under investigation, all under the supervision of a qualified investigator. Clinical trials must be conducted: (i) in compliance with federal regulations; (ii) in compliance with GCP requirements, which are designed to protect the rights and health of patients and to define the roles of clinical trial sponsors, administrators and monitors; as well as (iii) under protocols detailing the objectives of the trial, the

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parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Each protocol involving testing on U.S. patients and subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND.

Human clinical trials for novel drugs and biologics are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined.

Post-approval trials, sometimes referred to as “Phase 4” clinical trials, may be conducted after initial marketing approval. These trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication. In certain instances, FDA may mandate the performance of such “Phase 4” clinical trials.

The FDA may order the temporary or permanent discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time or impose other sanctions if it believes that the clinical trial either is not being conducted in accordance with FDA requirements or presents an unacceptable risk to the clinical trial patients. The study protocol and informed consent information for patients in clinical trials must also be submitted to an institutional review board (“IRB”), for approval. An IRB may also require the clinical trial at the site to be halted, either temporarily or permanently, for failure to comply with the IRB’s requirements or may impose other conditions. The study sponsor may also suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a determination that the subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk.

Concurrent with clinical trials, sponsors usually complete additional animal safety studies, develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the product candidate and finalize a process for manufacturing commercial quantities of the product candidate in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the quality, purity and potency of the product candidate. To help reduce the risk of the introduction of adventitious agents with use of biological products, the PHSA emphasizes the importance of manufacturing control for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other criteria, the sponsor must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality, potency and purity of the final biological product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the biological product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life. Additionally, for both NDA and BLA products, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its proposed shelf-life.

Assuming successful completion of all required testing in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, detailed information regarding the investigational product is submitted to the FDA in the form of a BLA or NDA requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. The BLA or NDA must include all relevant data available from pertinent preclinical and clinical trials, including negative or ambiguous results as well as positive findings, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacturing, controls, and proposed labeling, among other things. Data can come from company-sponsored clinical studies intended to test the safety and effectiveness of a use of the product, or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”) as amended, each original BLA or NDA must be accompanied by a significant user fee. Fee waivers or reductions are available in certain circumstances, such as where a waiver is necessary to protect the public health, where the fee would present a significant barrier to innovation, or where the applicant is a small business submitting its first human therapeutic application for review.

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Within 60 days following submission of the application, the FDA reviews an original BLA or NDA submitted to determine if it is substantially complete before the agency accepts it for filing. The FDA may refuse to file any original BLA or NDA that it deems incomplete or not properly reviewable at the time of submission, and may request additional information. In this event, the original BLA or NDA must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application also is subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review of the original BLA or NDA. The FDA reviews the original BLA to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe, pure and potent for its intended use, and has an acceptable purity profile, and in the case of an NDA, whether the product is safe and effective for its intended use, and in each case, whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP. The FDA may refer applications for novel products or products that present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.

During the product approval process, the FDA also will determine whether a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (“REMS”) is necessary to assure the safe use of the product. If the FDA concludes a REMS plan is needed, the sponsor of the original BLA or NDA must submit a proposed REMS plan. The FDA will not approve an original BLA or NDA without a REMS plan, if required. In determining whether a REMS plan is necessary, the FDA must consider the size of the population likely to use the drug or biologic, the seriousness of the disease or condition to be treated, the expected benefit of the drug or biologic, the duration of treatment, the seriousness of known or potential adverse events, and whether the drug or biologic is a new molecular entity. A REMS plan may be required to include various elements, such as a medication guide or patient package insert, a communication plan to educate health care providers of the risks, limitations on who may prescribe or dispense the drug or biologic, or other measures that the FDA deems necessary to assure the safe use of the drug or biologic. In addition, the REMS plan must include a timetable to assess the strategy at 18 months, three years, and seven years after the strategy’s approval.

The FDA will not approve the application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving an original BLA or NDA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with cGCP. After the FDA evaluates an original BLA or NDA and conducts inspections of manufacturing facilities where the investigational product and/or its drug substance will be produced, the FDA may issue an approval letter or a complete response letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the product with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A complete response letter indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete and the application is not ready for approval. A complete response letter may require additional clinical data and/or an additional pivotal Phase 3 trial or trials, and/or other significant, expensive and time-consuming requirements related to clinical trials, preclinical trials or manufacturing. Even if such additional information is submitted, the FDA may ultimately decide that the original BLA or NDA does not satisfy the criteria for approval.

Even if a product receives regulatory approval, the approval may be significantly limited to specific indications and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited, which could restrict the commercial value of the product. Further, the FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling. The FDA may impose restrictions and conditions on product distribution, prescribing, or dispensing in the form of a risk management plan, or otherwise limit the scope of any approval. In addition, the FDA may require post marketing clinical trials, sometimes referred to as “Phase 4” clinical trials, designed to further assess a biological product’s safety and effectiveness, and testing and surveillance programs to monitor the safety of approved products that have been commercialized.

Abbreviated Licensure Pathway of Biological Products as Biosimilar under 351(k)

The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (“BPCIA”), amended the PHSA and created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products shown to be highly similar to a FDA-licensed reference biological product. The BPCIA attempts to minimize duplicative testing and thereby lower development costs and increase patient access to affordable treatments. Thus, an application for licensure of a biosimilar product pursuant to a Section 351(k) BLA must include information demonstrating biosimilarity based upon the following, unless the FDA determines otherwise:

● animal studies (including the assessment of toxicity); and

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In addition, an application submitted under the 351(k) pathway must include information demonstrating that:

Biosimilarity is defined to mean that the proposed biological product is highly similar to the reference product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive components and that there are no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of the safety, purity and potency of the product. In addition, biosimilar may also be determined to be “interchangeable” with the reference products, whereby the biosimilar may be substituted for the reference product without the intervention of the health care provider who prescribed the reference product. The higher standard of interchangeability must be demonstrated by information sufficient to show that:

● the proposed product is biosimilar to the reference product;

FDA approval is required before a biosimilar may be marketed in the U.S. However, complexities associated with the large and intricate structures of biological products and the process by which such products are manufactured pose significant hurdles to the FDA’s implementation of the 351(k) approval pathway that are still being worked out by the FDA. For example, the FDA has discretion over the kind and amount of scientific evidence — laboratory, preclinical and/or clinical — required to demonstrate biosimilarity to a licensed biological product. The FDA intends to consider the totality of the evidence, provided by a sponsor to support a demonstration of biosimilarity, and recommends that sponsors use a stepwise approach in the development of their biosimilar products. Biosimilar product applications thus may not be required to duplicate the entirety of preclinical and clinical testing used to establish the underlying safety and effectiveness of the reference product. However, the FDA may refuse to approve a biosimilar application if there is insufficient information to show that the active ingredients are the same or to demonstrate that any impurities or differences in active ingredients do not affect the safety, purity or potency of the biosimilar product. In addition, as with original BLAs, biosimilar product applications will not be approved unless the product is manufactured in facilities designed to assure and preserve the biological product’s safety, purity and potency.

The submission of an application via the 351(k) pathway does not guarantee that the FDA will accept the application for filing and review, as the FDA may refuse to accept applications that it finds are incomplete. The FDA will treat a biosimilar application or supplement as incomplete if, among other reasons, any applicable user fees assessed under the Biosimilar User Fee Amendment of 2017 have not been paid. In addition, the FDA may accept an application for filing but deny approval on the basis that the sponsor has not demonstrated

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biosimilarity, in which case the sponsor may choose to conduct further analytical, preclinical or clinical studies to demonstrate such biosimilarity under Section 351(k) or submit an original BLA for licensure as a new biological product under section 351(a) of the PHSA.

The timing of final FDA approval of a biosimilar for commercial distribution depends on a variety of factors, including whether the manufacturer of the branded product is entitled to one or more statutory exclusivity periods, during which time the FDA is prohibited from approving any products that are biosimilar to the branded product. The FDA cannot approve a biosimilar application for 12 years from the date of first licensure of the reference product. Additionally, a biosimilar product sponsor may not submit an application under the 351(k) pathway for four years from the date of first licensure of the reference product. In certain circumstances, a regulatory exclusivity period can extend beyond the life of a patent and thus block Section 351(k) BLA from being approved on or after the patent expiration date. In addition, the FDA may under certain circumstances extend the exclusivity period for the reference product by an additional six months if the FDA requests, and the manufacturer undertakes, studies on the effect of its product in children, a so-called pediatric extension.

The first biological product determined to be interchangeable with a branded product for any condition of use is also entitled to a period of exclusivity, during which time the FDA may not determine that another product is interchangeable with the reference product for any condition of use. This exclusivity period extends until the earlier of: (1) one year after the first commercial marketing of the first interchangeable product; (2) 18 months after resolution of a patent infringement suit instituted under 42 U.S.C. § 262(l)(6) against the applicant that submitted the application for the first interchangeable product, based on a final court decision regarding all of the patents in the litigation or dismissal of the litigation with or without prejudice; (3) 42 months after approval of the first interchangeable product, if a patent infringement suit instituted under 42 U.S.C. § 262(l)(6) against the applicant that submitted the application for the first interchangeable product is still ongoing; or (4) 18 months after approval of the first interchangeable product if the applicant that submitted the application for the first interchangeable product has not been sued under 42 U.S.C. § 262(l)(6).

Advertising and Promotion

Once an NDA, original BLA, or 351(k) BLA is approved, a product will be subject to continuing post-approval regulatory requirements, including, among other things, requirements relating to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, advertising and promotion and reporting of adverse experiences with the product. For instance, the FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of biologics, including standards and regulations for direct-to-consumer advertising, off-label promotion, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and promotional activities involving the internet. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in significant penalties, including the issuance of warning letters directing a company to correct deviations from FDA standards, a requirement that future advertising and promotional materials be pre-cleared by the FDA and federal and state civil and criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Biologics and drugs may be marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. After approval, most changes to the approved product, including changes in indications, labeling or manufacturing processes or facilities, require submission and FDA approval of a new marketing application or supplement to the approved marketing application before the change can be implemented. A supplement for a new indication typically requires clinical data similar to that in the original application, and the FDA uses the same procedures and actions in reviewing supplements as it does in reviewing original application. There are also continuing annual program user fee requirements for marketed products.

Adverse Event Reporting and GMP Compliance

Adverse event reporting and submission of periodic reports are required following FDA approval of a marketing application. The FDA also may require post-market testing, including Phase 4 testing, a REMS, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product, or the FDA may place conditions on an approval that could restrict the distribution or use of the product. In addition, manufacture, packaging, labeling, storage and distribution procedures must continue to conform to cGMPs after approval. Manufacturers and certain of their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies. Registration with the FDA subjects entities to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA, during which the agency inspects manufacturing facilities to assess compliance with cGMPs. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money and effort in the areas of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMPs. Regulatory authorities may withdraw product approvals, request product recalls or impose marketing restrictions through labeling changes or product removals if a company fails to comply with regulatory standards, if it encounters problems following initial marketing or if previously unrecognized problems are subsequently discovered.

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The FDA may withdraw approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency or with manufacturing processes or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information; imposition of post-market studies or clinical studies to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:

● fines, warning letters or holds on post-approval clinical trials;

● injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

Other Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements

We are subject to healthcare regulation and enforcement by the federal government and the states and foreign governments in which we conduct our business. These laws include, without limitation, state and federal anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, false claims, privacy and security and transparency laws and regulations.

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, any person from knowingly and willfully offering, soliciting, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce either the referral of an individual, for an item or service or the purchasing or ordering of a good or service, for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute is subject to evolving interpretations. In the past, the government has enforced the Anti-Kickback Statute to reach large settlements with healthcare companies based on sham consulting and other financial arrangements with physicians. Further, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statutes or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. The majority of states also have anti-kickback laws, which establish similar prohibitions and in some cases may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payer, including commercial insurers.

Additionally, federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the civil False Claims Act, prohibit knowingly presenting or causing the presentation of a false, fictitious or fraudulent claim for payment to the U.S. government. Actions under the False Claims Act may be brought by the Attorney General or as a qui tam action by a private individual in the name of the government. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal False Claims Act. Violations of the False Claims Act can result in very significant monetary penalties and treble damages. The federal government is using the False Claims Act, and the accompanying threat of significant liability, in its investigation and prosecution of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies throughout the country, for example, in connection with the promotion of products for unapproved uses and other sales and marketing practices. The government has obtained multi-million and multi-billion dollar settlements under the False Claims Act in addition to individual criminal convictions under applicable criminal statutes. Given the significant size of actual and potential settlements, it is expected that the government will continue to devote substantial resources to investigating healthcare providers’ and manufacturers’ compliance with applicable fraud and abuse laws.

The federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law prohibits, among other things, the offering or transferring of remuneration to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary that the person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular supplier of Medicare or Medicaid payable items or services. Noncompliance with such beneficiary inducement provision of the federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law can result in civil money penalties for each wrongful act, assessment of three times the amount claimed for each item or service and exclusion from the federal healthcare programs.

Federal and state government price reporting laws require manufacturers to calculate and report complex pricing metrics to government programs. Such reported prices may be used in the calculation of reimbursement and/or discounts on marketed products.

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Participation in these programs and compliance with the applicable requirements subject manufacturers to potentially significant discounts on products, increased infrastructure costs, and potentially limit the ability to offer certain marketplace discounts.

In addition, there has been a recent trend of increased federal and state regulation of payments made to physicians and other healthcare providers. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the “ACA”), among other things, imposed new reporting requirements on drug manufacturers for payments made by them to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members. Beginning in 2022, these reporting obligations will extend to include payments and transfers of value made during the previous year to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologist assistants, and certified nurse midwives. Failure to submit required information may result in significant civil monetary penalties for any payments, transfers of value or ownership or investment interests that are not timely, accurately and completely reported in an annual submission, and additional penalties for “knowing failures.” Certain states also mandate implementation of commercial compliance programs, impose restrictions on pharmaceutical manufacturer marketing practices and/or require the tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation and other remuneration to physicians.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit among other actions, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private third‐party payers, knowingly and willfully embezzling or stealing from a healthcare benefit program, willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense, and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. Similar to the federal Anti‐Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.

We may also be subject to data privacy and security regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) and their respective implementing regulations, imposes specified requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Among other things, HITECH makes HIPAA’s privacy and security standards directly applicable to “business associates,” defined as independent contractors or agents of covered entities that create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information in connection with providing a service for or on behalf of a covered entity. HITECH also increased the civil and criminal penalties that may be imposed against covered entities, business associates and possibly other persons, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorney’s fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. In addition, state laws govern the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways, thus complicating compliance efforts. By way of example, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the CCPA, effective January 1, 2020, gives California residents expanded rights to access and delete their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches that is expected to increase data breach litigation. Further, the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) recently passed in California. The CPRA will impose additional data protection obligations on covered businesses, including additional consumer rights processes, limitations on data uses, new audit requirements for higher risk data, and opt outs for certain uses of sensitive data. It will also create a new California data protection agency authorized to issue substantive regulations and could result in increased privacy and information security enforcement. The majority of the provisions will go into effect on January 1, 2023, and additional compliance investment and potential business process changes may be required. The CCPA and the CPRA may increase our compliance costs and potential liability.

Some states also require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government and require manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to healthcare providers and institutions as well as marketing expenditures and pricing information.

The shifting commercial compliance environment and the need to build and maintain robust systems to comply with different compliance and/or reporting requirements in multiple jurisdictions increase the possibility that a healthcare company may violate one or more of the requirements. A violation of any of such laws or any other applicable governmental regulations may result in penalties, including, without limitation, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, additional reporting obligations and oversight if the government requires a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and/or imprisonment.

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Pharmaceutical Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement

In the U.S. and other countries, sales of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale will depend in part on the availability of coverage and reimbursement from third-party payers, including government health administrative authorities, managed care providers, private health insurers and other organizations. Third-party payers are increasingly examining the medical necessity and cost effectiveness of medical products and services in addition to safety and efficacy and, accordingly, significant uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly approved therapeutics. In addition, the U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have continued implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on coverage and reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. Adoption of price controls and cost-containment measures and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures could further limit our net revenue and results. Decreases in third-party reimbursement for our product candidates or a decision by a third-party payer to not cover our product candidates could reduce physician utilization of our products and have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations and financial condition.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) adopted, effective January 1, 2018, a Medicare Part B rule on biosimilar payment and coding, which requires that each biosimilar to the same reference product be issued a unique Q-code for Medicare reimbursement purposes and that the payment amount for a billing code that describes a biosimilar is based on the average sales price (“ASP”) specific to each biosimilar.

Healthcare Reform

In March 2010, the ACA was enacted, which substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers in the United States, and significantly affected the pharmaceutical industry. The ACA contained a number of provisions, including those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement adjustments and fraud and abuse changes. Additionally, the ACA subjected biologic products to potential competition by lower-cost biosimilars; increased the minimum level of Medicaid rebates payable by manufacturers of brand name drugs from 15.1% to 23.1%; imposed a non-deductible annual fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell “branded prescription drugs” to specified federal government programs; and addressed a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected.

Since its enactment, there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. For example, on December 14, 2018, a U.S. District Court Judge in the Northern District of Texas, or Texas District Court Judge, ruled that the entire Affordable Care Act is invalid based primarily on the fact that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 repealed the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA, on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year, which is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate.” On December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the District Court’s decision that the individual mandate was unconstitutional but remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the ACA are invalid as well. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the case, although it is unclear how the Supreme Court will rule. It is also unclear how other efforts, if any, to challenge, repeal or replace the ACA will impact the law.

Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted, including aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year, which was temporarily suspended from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, and reduced payments to several types of Medicare providers.

Moreover, there has recently been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. Individual states in the U.S. have also become increasingly active in implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

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Environment

We are subject to a number of laws and regulations that require compliance with federal, state, and local regulations for the protection of the environment. The regulatory landscape continues to evolve, and we anticipate additional regulations in the near future. Laws and regulations are implemented and under consideration to mitigate the effects of climate change mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Our business is not energy intensive. Therefore, we do not anticipate being subject to a cap and trade system or other mitigation measure that would materially impact our capital expenditures, operations or competitive position.

Employees and Human Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2020, we had 317 employees. We believe we have good relations with our employees. Our human capital resources objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and additional employees. The principal purposes of our equity incentive plans are to attract, retain and motivate selected employees, consultants and directors through the granting of equity awards and cash-based performance bonus awards.

Additional Information

We view our operations and measure our business as one reportable segment operating primarily in the U.S. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information. Additional information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors.”

We were incorporated in Delaware in September 2010. We completed the initial public offering of our common stock in November 2014. Our common stock is currently listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “CHRS.”

Our principal executive offices are located at 333 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 600, Redwood City, CA 94065, and our telephone number is (650) 649-3530.

You may find on our website at http://www.coherus.com electronic copies of our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such filings are placed on our website as soon as reasonably possible after they are filed with the SEC. Our most recent charter for our audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics are available on our website as well. Any waiver of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics may be made only by our board of directors. Any waiver of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for any of our directors or executive officers must be disclosed on a Current Report on Form 8-K within four business days, or such shorter period as may be required under applicable regulation.

You can read our SEC filings over the Internet at the SEC’s web-site at www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its public reference facilities at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain copies of the documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at (202) 551-8090 or (800) 732-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference facilities.

Item 1A.

Risk Factor Summary

Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. 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 Annual

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Report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements and related notes thereto, before making investment decisions regarding our common stock.

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Risk Factors

Investing in the common stock of a biotherapeutics company is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements and related notes thereto. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks described below are not the only risks facing the Company. Risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations and/or prospects.

Risks Related to COVID-19

Our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth could be harmed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are subject to risks related to public health crises such as the global pandemic associated with the novel coronavirus and the associated disease (“COVID-19”). In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. Since then, SARS-CoV-2, and the resulting disease COVID-19, has spread to most countries, and all 50 states within the United States. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have experienced and may continue to experience disruptions that could severely impact our business, clinical trials and preclinical studies, including, but not limited to:

● decreased sales of UDENYCA®;

These and other factors arising from the COVID-19 pandemic could result in us not being able to maintain UDENYCA®’s market position or increase its penetration against all Neulasta’s dosage forms, and could result in our inability to meet development milestones for our product candidates, each of which would harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth.

Numerous state and local jurisdictions have imposed, and others in the future may impose, “shelter-in-place” orders, quarantines, executive orders and similar government orders and restrictions for their residents to control the spread of COVID-19. Starting in mid-March 2020, the governor of California, where our headquarters and laboratory facilities are located, issued a “shelter-in-place” order restricting non-essential activities, travel and business operations for an indefinite period of time, subject to certain exceptions for necessary activities. Such orders or restrictions, have resulted in our headquarters closing, slowdowns and delays,

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travel restrictions and cancellation of events, among other effects, thereby negatively impacting our operations. Such orders or restrictions may be extended or re-instated, thereby causing additional negative impact on our operations.

While the long-term economic impact and the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic may be difficult to assess or predict, the widespread pandemic has resulted in, and may continue to result in, significant disruption of global financial markets, which could reduce our ability to access capital and could negatively affect our liquidity and the liquidity and stability of markets for our common stock and the notes. In addition, a recession, further market correction or depression resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of our notes and our common stock.

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements

We have a limited operating history in an emerging regulatory environment on which to assess our business and we have a limited history of profitability.

We are a biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history in an emerging regulatory environment. We incurred net losses in each year from our inception in September 2010 through December 31, 2018, including net losses of $209.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. However, while we did generate net income of $132.2 million and $89.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, it is uncertain that we will remain profitable every quarter or every year going forward as research and development is expensive and risky. The amount of our future net losses or net income will depend, in part, on the amount of our future expenditures offset by the amount of future product sales. Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk.

For example, as of December 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $762.8 million. The losses and accumulated deficit were primarily due to the substantial investments we made to identify, develop or license our product candidates, including conducting, among other things, analytical characterization, process development and manufacturing, formulation and clinical studies and providing general and administrative support for these operations.

For example, we completed several clinical studies with our lead product, UDENYCA® (pegfilgrastim-cbqv), before the FDA approved UDENYCA® as a biosimilar to Neulasta on November 2, 2018. We have completed several clinical studies with CHS-1420 (our adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar candidate), which is still investigational. We also completed several clinical studies for CHS-0214 (our etanercept (Enbrel) biosimilar candidate), which we then subsequently discontinued.

We have not yet initiated clinical trials for toripalimab or any other future products which may be developed. We anticipate we will incur certain development and pre-commercial expenses for the Lucentis biosimilar candidate, which we licensed from Bioeq in November 2019, and for the Avastin biosimilar candidate, which we licensed from Innovent in January 2020.

If we obtain regulatory approval to market a biosimilar product candidate, our future revenue will depend upon the size of any markets in which our product candidates may receive approval and our ability to achieve sufficient market acceptance, pricing, reimbursement from third-party payers, and adequate market share for our product candidates which include all product candidates for which we obtained commercial rights, in those markets. However, even additional product candidates beyond UDENYCA® gain regulatory approval and are commercialized, we may not remain profitable.

Our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

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

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

● advance our programs into more expensive clinical studies;

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● seek to attract and retain skilled personnel;

Further, the net loss or net income we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year such that a period-to-period comparison of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year due to factors including the timing of clinical trials, any litigation that we may initiate or that may be initiated against us, the execution of collaboration, licensing or other agreements and the timing of any payments we make or receive thereunder.

We may be unable to maintain or increase profitability.

Although we reported net income of $132.2 million and $89.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability, and we are unable to predict the extent of our long-range future profits or losses. The amount of net income or net loss will depend, in part, on the level of sales of UDENYCA® in the United States and the level of our expenses as we expand our product pipeline. To offset these expenses, we will need to generate substantial revenue. If expenses exceed our expectations, or if we fail to achieve expected revenue targets, the market value of our common stock may decline.

We continue to be dependent on the ability to raise funding. This additional funding may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development and commercialization efforts or other operations.

As of December 31, 2020, our cash and cash equivalents were $541.2 million. We expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents and cash collected from our UDENYCA® sales will be sufficient to fund our current operations for the foreseeable future. We have financed our operations primarily through the sale of equity securities, convertible notes, credit facilities, license agreements and through recent product sales of UDENYCA®.

However, our operating or investing plans may change as a result of many factors that may currently be unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to:

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

● the cost, timing and outcomes of regulatory approvals;

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

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

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

To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership by certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period), such corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research tax credits) to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. We have experienced ownership changes in the past and may experience ownership changes in the future (some of which changes are outside our control). As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change NOLs to offset such taxable income may be subject to limitations. Similar provisions of state tax law may also apply to limit our use of accumulated state tax attributes. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed. As a result, even as we attained profitability, we may be unable to use a material portion of our NOLs and other tax attributes, which could adversely affect our future cash flows.

Risks Related to Launch and Commercialization of UDENYCA® and our Other Product Candidates

We have a limited operating history in an emerging regulatory environment on which to assess our business.

We are a biotherapeutics company with a limited operating history in an emerging regulatory environment of biosimilar products. Although we have received upfront payments, milestone and other contingent payments and/or funding for development from some of

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our collaboration and license agreements, UDENYCA® (pegfilgrastim-cbqv) is our only product approved for commercialization in the United States and E.U., and we have no products approved in any other territories.

Our ability to generate meaningful revenue and remain profitable depends on our ability, alone or with strategic collaboration partners, to successfully market and sell UDENYCA®, and to complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory and marketing approvals necessary to commercialize, one or more of our other product pipeline candidates, which include:

● Toripalimab;

● Bioeq’s ranibizumab (Lucentis) biosimilar candidate;

● Innovent’s bevacizumab (Avastin) biosimilar candidate;

● CHS-1420 (our adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar candidate); and

● CHS-131 (our NASH small molecule drug candidate).

We may not be able to continue to generate meaningful revenue from product sales, as this depends heavily on our success in many areas, including but not limited to:

● our ability to continue to successfully commercialize UDENYCA®;

● competing against current and future pegfilgrastim products;

● obtaining adequate third-party coverage and reimbursements for our products;

● completing nonclinical and clinical development of our product candidates;

● developing and testing of our product formulations;

● attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel;

● addressing any competing technological and market developments;

Even if one or more of the product candidates that we develop is approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs to commercialize any such product. Our expenses could increase beyond our expectations if we are required by the FDA, the EMA, other regulatory agencies, domestic or foreign, or by any unfavorable outcomes in intellectual property litigation filed against us, to change our manufacturing processes or assays or to perform clinical, nonclinical or other types of studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate. In cases where we are successful in obtaining additional regulatory approvals to market one or more of our product candidates, our revenue will be dependent, in part, upon the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval, the number of biosimilar competitors in such markets, the accepted price for the product, the ability to get reimbursement at any price, the nature

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and degree of competition from originators and other biosimilar companies (including competition from large pharmaceutical companies entering the biosimilar market that may be able to gain advantages in the sale of biosimilar products based on brand recognition and/or existing relationships with customers and payers) and whether we own (or have partnered) the commercial rights for that territory. If the market for our product candidates (or our share of that market) is not as significant as we expect, the indication approved by regulatory authorities is narrower than we expect or the reasonably accepted population for treatment is narrowed by competition, physician choice or treatment guidelines, we may not generate significant revenue from sales of such products, even if approved. If we are unable to successfully complete development and obtain additional regulatory approval for our products, our business may suffer.

The commercial success of UDENYCA®, or any future product candidate, will depend upon the degree of market acceptance and adoption by healthcare providers, patients, third-party payers and others in the medical community.

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

● the clinical indications for which approval is granted;

● relative convenience and ease of administration;

● policies and practices governing the naming of biosimilar product candidates;

● prevalence of the disease or condition for which the product is approved;

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

● publicity concerning our products or competing products and treatments;

● the price at which we sell our products;

● our ability to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.

Market acceptance of UDENYCA®, and our other future product candidates, if approved, will not be fully known until after it is launched and may be negatively affected by a potential poor safety experience and the track record of other biosimilar product candidates. Our efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payers on the benefits of the product candidates may require significant resources, may be under-resourced compared to large well-funded pharmaceutical entities and may never be successful. If our product candidates are approved but fail to achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payers and others in the medical community, we will not be able to generate sufficient revenue to remain profitable.

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The third-party coverage and reimbursement status of UDENYCA® (or our other product candidates, if approved) is uncertain. Failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for new or current products could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.

Pricing, coverage and reimbursement of UDENYCA®, or any of our biosimilar product candidates, if approved, may not be adequate to support our commercial infrastructure. Our per-patient prices may not continue to be sufficient to recover our development and manufacturing costs, and as a result, we may not be profitable in the future. Accordingly, the availability and adequacy of coverage and reimbursement by governmental and private payers are essential for most patients to be able to afford expensive treatments such as ours. Sales will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our products will be paid for by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations or reimbursed by government authorities, private health insurers and other third-party payers. If coverage and reimbursement are not available, or are available only to limited levels, or become unavailable, we may not be able to successfully commercialize UDENYCA® or any of our product candidates, if approved. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be adequate to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a return on our investment.

There is significant uncertainty related to third-party coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, third-party payers, including private and governmental payers such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs, play an important role in determining the extent to which new drugs and biologics will be covered and reimbursed. The Medicare program covers certain individuals aged 65 or older or those who are disabled or suffering from end-stage renal disease. The Medicaid program, which varies from state to state, covers certain individuals and families who have limited financial means. The Medicare and Medicaid programs increasingly are used as models for how private payers and other governmental payers develop their coverage and reimbursement policies for drugs and biologics. It is difficult to predict what third-party payers will decide with respect to the coverage and reimbursement for any newly approved product. In addition, in the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for biologics exists among third-party payers. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for biologics can differ significantly from payer to payer. As a result, the process for obtaining favorable coverage determinations often is time-consuming and costly and may require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payer separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be obtained.

Effective January 2019, CMS assigned a product specific Q-Code to UDENYCA®, which is necessary to allow UDENYCA® to have its own reimbursement rate and average selling price with Medicare or other third-party payers. However, reimbursement is not guaranteed and rates may vary based on product life cycle, site of care, type of payer, coverage decisions, and provider contracts. Furthermore, while a large majority of payers have adopted the Q-Code assigned by CMS for UDENYCA®, there remains uncertainty as to whether such payers will continue to cover and pay providers for the administration and use of the product with each patient or may favor a competing product. If UDENYCA®, or any of our future product candidates, are not covered or adequately reimbursed by third-party payers, including Medicare, then the cost of the relevant product may be absorbed by healthcare providers or charged to patients. If this is the case, our expectations of the pricing we expect to achieve for such product and the related potential revenue, may be significantly diminished.

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

Increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payers in the United States and abroad to control healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and the level of reimbursement for new products approved and, as a result, they may not cover or provide adequate payment for UDENYCA® or any of our product candidates. While cost containment practices generally benefit biosimilars, severe cost containment practices may adversely affect our product sales. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of UDENYCA® and any of our product candidates due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative changes.

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UDENYCA® and our other product candidates, even if approved, will remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.

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

Manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authority, requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”), regulations. As such, we and our contract manufacturers will be subject to continual review and inspections to assess compliance with cGMP and adherence to commitments made in any NDA, original BLA, 351(k) BLA or MAA. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control.

Any regulatory approvals that we or our collaboration partners receive for our product candidates may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval or may contain requirements for potentially costly additional clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. We will be required to report certain adverse events and production problems, if any, to the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Any new legislation addressing drug safety issues could result in delays in product development or commercialization or increased costs to assure compliance. We will have to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product’s approved label. As such, we may not promote our products for indications or uses for which they do not have approval. If our product candidates are approved, we must submit new or supplemental applications and obtain approval for certain changes to the approved products, product labeling or manufacturing process. We or our collaboration partners could also be asked to conduct post-marketing clinical studies to verify the safety and efficacy of our products in general or in specific patient subsets. If original marketing approval is obtained via an accelerated biosimilar approval pathway, we could be required to conduct a successful post-marketing clinical study to confirm clinical benefit for our products. An unsuccessful post-marketing study or failure to complete such a study could result in the withdrawal of marketing approval.

If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured or disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of a product, such regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency or enforcement authority may, among other possibilities:

● issue warning letters;

● impose civil or criminal penalties;

● suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;

● suspend any of our ongoing clinical studies;

● seize or detain products or require a product recall.

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

The FDA’s and other regulatory authorities’ policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing

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approval that we may have obtained and we may not sustain profitability, which would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

We also cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative or executive action, either in the United States or abroad. For example, the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election may impact our business and industry. Namely, the Trump administration took several executive actions, including the issuance of a number of executive orders, that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, the FDA’s ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities such as implementing statutes through rulemaking, issuance of guidance, and review and approval of marketing applications. It is difficult to predict whether or how these executive actions will be implemented, or whether they will be rescinded and replaced under the Biden administration. The policies and priorities of a new administration are unknown and could materially impact the regulations governing our product candidates.

Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by funding shortages or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel, or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, or approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.

The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, statutory, regulatory, and policy changes, the FDA’s ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees, and other events that may otherwise affect the FDA’s ability to perform routine functions. Average review times at the FDA have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new biologics or modifications to approved biologics to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, including for 35 days beginning on December 22, 2018, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical FDA employees and stop critical activities.

Separately, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 10, 2020 the FDA announced its intention to postpone most foreign inspections of manufacturing facilities and products through April 2020, and on March 18, 2020, the FDA temporarily postponed routine surveillance inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities. Subsequently, on July 10, 2020, the FDA announced its intention to resume certain on-site inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities subject to a risk-based prioritization system. The FDA intends to use this risk-based assessment system to identify the categories of regulatory activity that can occur within a given geographic area, ranging from mission critical inspections to resumption of all regulatory activities. Regulatory authorities outside the United States may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if global health concerns continue to prevent the FDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA or other regulatory authorities to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Risks Related to Competitive Activity

UDENYCA®, or our other biosimilar product candidates, if approved, will face significant competition from the reference products and from other biosimilar products or pharmaceuticals approved for the same indication as the originator products. Our failure to effectively compete may prevent us from achieving significant market penetration and expansion.

We operate in highly competitive pharmaceutical markets. Successful competitors in the pharmaceutical market have demonstrated the ability to effectively discover, obtain patents, develop, test and obtain regulatory approvals for products, as well as an ability to effectively commercialize, market and promote approved products. Numerous companies, universities and other research institutions are engaged in developing, patenting, manufacturing and marketing of products competitive with those that we are developing. Many of these potential competitors are large, experienced multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that enjoy significant competitive advantages, such as substantially greater financial, research and development, manufacturing, personnel, marketing resources, and the benefits of mergers and acquisitions.

Specifically, some of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies we expect to compete with include: Sandoz International GmbH (“Sandoz”), Amgen Inc. (“Amgen”), Pfizer Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (“Boehringer Ingelheim”), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (“Teva”), and Samsung Bioepis, Ltd. (“Samsung Bioepis”), (a Merck/Biogen/Samsung biosimilar venture), Mylan N.V.

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(“Mylan”), and Cinfa Biotech S.L. (“Cinfa,” a subsidiary of Mundipharma), as well as other smaller companies. We are currently aware that such competitors are engaged in the development and commercialization of biosimilar product candidates to pegfilgrastim (Neulasta), ranibizumab (Lucentis), bevacizumab (Avastin), adalimumab (Humira) and aflibercept (Eylea).

UDENYCA® faces competition in the United States from Amgen, Mylan (with partner Biocon Ltd.), Sandoz, Pfizer, and may face completion from Amneal and Fresenius, companies that announced the development of a pegfilgrastim biosimilar.

Our ranibizumab (Lucentis) biosimilar candidate licensed from Bioeq may face competition in the United States from Genentech (the manufacturer of Lucentis). Biogen Inc. (“Biogen”) with collaborator Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. (Samsung Bioepis), and Xbrane Biopharma AB (in collaboration with STADA Arzneimittel AG and Bausch + Lomb) have each disclosed the development for a Lucentis biosimilar candidate.

Our bevacizumab (Avastin) biosimilar candidate licensed from Innovent may face competition in the United States from Genentech (the manufacturer of Avastin) as well as Amgen and Pfizer, each of which have initiated the commercial launch of an Avastin biosimilar.

Similarly, CHS-1420, our adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar may face competition from AbbVie (the manufacturer of Humira) as well as manufacturers of Humira biosimilars such as Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Amgen, Sandoz and Samsung Bioepis. There are five adalimumab biosimilar products FDA-approved in the United States and Fujifilm and Fresenius are companies that have each disclosed development plans for a Humira biosimilar candidate. As a result of number of potential adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar competitors, we may not be able to achieve substantial topline sales for CHS-1420 in the United States, if approved.

These companies may also have greater brand recognition and more experience in conducting preclinical testing and clinical trials of product candidates, obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of products and marketing and commercializing products once approved.

Additionally, many manufacturers of originator products have increasingly used legislative, regulatory and other means, such as litigation, to delay regulatory approval and to seek to restrict competition from manufacturers of biosimilars. These efforts may include or have included:

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UDENYCA® and our other biosimilar product candidates, if approved, could face price competition from other biosimilars of the same reference products for the same indication. This price competition could exceed our capacity to respond, detrimentally affecting our market share and revenue as well as adversely affecting the overall financial health and attractiveness of the market for the biosimilar.

Competitors in the biosimilar market have the ability to compete on price with healthcare providers, and through payers and their third-party administrators, who exert downward pricing pressure on our price offerings. It is possible our biosimilar competitors’ compliance with price discounting demands in exchange for market share or volume requirements could exceed our capacity to respond in kind and reduce market prices beyond our expectations. Such practices may limit our ability to increase market share and may also impact profitability.

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

Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations. Additional mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. As a result, these companies may obtain regulatory approval more rapidly than we are able to and may be more effective in selling and marketing their products. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis, products that are more effective or less costly than any product candidate that we may develop; they may also obtain patent protection that could block our products; and they may obtain regulatory approval, product commercialization and market penetration earlier than we do. Biosimilar product candidates developed by our competitors may render our potential product candidates uneconomical, less desirable or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing our product candidates against competitors.

If other biosimilars of bevacizumab (Avastin), ranibizumab (Lucentis), aflibercept (Eylea) or adalimumab (Humira), are approved and successfully commercialized before our product candidates for these originator products, our business would suffer.

We expect other companies to seek approval to manufacture and market biosimilar versions of Avastin, Lucentis, Eylea or Humira. If other biosimilars of these branded biologics are approved and successfully commercialized before our biosimilar candidates, we may never achieve meaningful market share for these products, our revenue would be reduced and, as a result, our business, prospects and financial condition could suffer. For instance, Mylan received FDA approval for its pegfilgrastim biosimilar in June 2018, and in July 2018, Mylan initiated the commercialization in the United States of this biosimilar. Furthermore, in September 2018, the EC granted marketing authorization to UDENYCA® and to a pegfilgrastim biosimilar candidate from Intas. In November and December 2018, the EC granted marketing authorizations to three additional pegfilgrastim biosimilar candidates from Sandoz, Mylan and Cinfa. In June 2019, the E.U. granted marketing authorization to a pegfilgrastim biosimilar candidate from USV Biologics.

If an improved version of an originator product, such as Neulasta, Humira, Lucentis or Eylea, is developed or if the market for the originator product significantly declines, sales or potential sales of our biosimilar product candidates may suffer.

Originator companies may develop improved versions of a reference product as part of a life cycle extension strategy and may obtain regulatory approval of the improved version under a new or supplemental BLA submitted to the applicable regulatory authority. Should the originator company succeed in obtaining an approval of an improved biologic product, it may capture a significant share of the collective reference product market in the applicable jurisdiction and significantly reduce the market for the reference product and thereby the potential size of the market for our biosimilar product candidates. In addition, the improved product may be protected by additional patent rights that may subject our follow-on biosimilar to claims of infringement.

Biologic reference products may also face competition as technological advances are made that may offer patients a more convenient form of administration or increased efficacy or as new products are introduced. As new products are approved that compete with the reference product to our biosimilar product candidates, sales of the reference originator product may be adversely impacted or rendered obsolete. If the market for the reference product is impacted, we may lose significant market share or experience limited market potential for our approved biosimilar products or product candidates, and the value of our product pipeline could be negatively impacted. As a result of the above factors, our business, prospects and financial conditioncould suffer.

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Risks Related to Our Ability to Hire and Retain Highly Qualified Personnel

We are highly dependent on the services of our key executives and personnel, including our President and Chief Executive Officer, Dennis M. Lanfear, and if we are not able to retain these members of our management or recruit additional management, clinical and scientific personnel, our business will suffer.

We are highly dependent on the principal members of our management and scientific and technical staff. The loss of service of any of our management or key scientific and technical staff could harm our business. In addition, we are dependent on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified additional management, clinical and scientific personnel. If we are not able to retain our management, particularly our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lanfear, and to attract, on acceptable terms, additional qualified personnel necessary for the continued development of our business, we may not be able to sustain our operations or grow.

Our future performance will also depend, in part, on our ability to successfully integrate newly hired executive officers into our management team and our ability to develop an effective working relationship among senior management. Our failure to integrate these individuals and create effective working relationships among them and other members of management could result in inefficiencies in the development and commercialization of our product candidates, harming future regulatory approvals, sales of our product candidates and our results of operations. Additionally, we do not currently maintain “key person” life insurance on the lives of our executives or any of our employees.

We will need to expand and effectively manage our managerial, scientific, operational, financial, commercial and other resources in order to successfully pursue our clinical development and commercialization efforts. Our success also depends on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management and scientific personnel. We may not be able to attract or retain qualified management and scientific and clinical personnel in the future due to the intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. If we are not able to attract, retain and motivate necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience constraints that will significantly impede the achievement of our development objectives, our ability to raise additional capital and our ability to implement our business strategy.

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

As of December 31, 2020, we had 317 employees. As our development and commercialization plans and strategies develop, we expect to need additional managerial, operational, sales, marketing, financial, legal and other resources. Our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of our current and potential future product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate and/or grow revenue could be reduced and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize product candidates and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.

Risks Related to Reliance on Third-Party Vendors

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

We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third-party CROs to monitor and manage data for our ongoing nonclinical and clinical programs. We rely on these parties for execution of our nonclinical and clinical studies and control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our CROs and other vendors are required to comply with cGMP, good clinical practices (“GCP”), and Good Laboratory Practices (“GLP”), which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the EEA and comparable foreign

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regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these regulations through periodic inspections of study sponsors, principal investigators, study sites and other contractors. If we, any of our CROs, service providers or investigators fail to comply with applicable regulations or GCPs, the data generated in our nonclinical and clinical studies may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional nonclinical and clinical studies before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical studies comply with GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical studies must be conducted with product generated under cGMP regulations. Failure to comply by any of the participating parties or ourselves with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical studies, which would delay the regulatory approval process. Moreover, our business may be implicated if our CRO or any other participating parties violate federal or state fraud and abuse or false claims laws and regulations or healthcare privacy and security laws.

If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or do so on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, our CROs are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such CROs, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our on-going nonclinical and clinical programs. If CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical studies may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates. CROs may also generate higher costs than anticipated. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.

Switching or adding additional CROs involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, a transition period is necessary when a new CRO commences work, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we strive to carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, prospects and financial condition.

We rely on third parties, and in some cases a single third party, to manufacture nonclinical, clinical and commercial drug supplies of our product candidates and to store critical components of our product candidates for us. Our business could be harmed if those third parties fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of product candidates or fail to do so at acceptable quality levels or prices.

We do not currently have the infrastructure or capability internally to manufacture supplies of our product candidates for use in our nonclinical and clinical studies, and we lack the resources and the capability to manufacture any of our product candidates on a clinical or commercial scale. We rely on third party manufacturers to manufacture and supply us with our product candidates for our preclinical and clinical studies as well as to establish commercial supplies of our product candidates. Successfully transferring complicated manufacturing techniques to contract manufacturing organizations and scaling up these techniques for commercial quantities is time consuming and we may not be able to achieve such transfer or do so in a timely manner. Moreover, the availability of contract manufacturing services for protein-based therapeutics is highly variable and there are periods of relatively abundant capacity alternating with periods in which there is little available capacity. If our need for contract manufacturing services increases during a period of industry-wide production capacity shortage, we may not be able to produce our product candidates on a timely basis or on commercially viable terms. Although we will plan accordingly and generally do not begin a clinical study unless we believe we have a sufficient supply of a product candidate to complete such study, any significant delay or discontinuation in the supply of a product candidate for an ongoing clinical study due to the need to replace a third-party manufacturer could considerably delay completion of our clinical studies, product testing and potential regulatory approval of our product candidates, which could harm our business and results of operations.

Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails additional risks, including reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance and quality assurance, the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party and the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us. In addition, third party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMP or similar regulatory requirements outside the U.S. Our failure or the failure of our third party manufacturers to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our product candidates or any other product candidates or products that we may develop. Any failure or refusal to supply the components for our product candidates that we may develop could delay, prevent or impair our clinical development or commercialization efforts. If our contract manufacturers were to breach or terminate their manufacturing

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arrangements with us, the development or commercialization of the affected products or product candidates could be delayed, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Any change in our manufacturers could be costly because the commercial terms of any new arrangement could be less favorable and because the expenses relating to the transfer of necessary technology and processes could be significant.

If any of our product candidates are approved, in order to produce the quantities necessary to meet anticipated market demand, any contract manufacturer that we engage may need to increase manufacturing capacity. If we are unable to build and stock our product candidates in sufficient quantities to meet the requirements for the launch of these candidates or to meet future demand, our revenue and gross margins could be adversely affected. Although we believe that we will not have any material supply issues, we cannot be certain that we will be able to obtain long-term supply arrangements for our product candidates or materials used to produce them on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to arrange for third-party manufacturing, or to do so on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to complete development of our product candidates or market them.

We are dependent on Bioeq, Innovent and Orox for the commercialization of our biosimilar product candidates in certain markets and we intend to seek additional commercialization partners for major markets, and the failure to commercialize in those markets could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

We have an exclusive license from Bioeq to commercialize Bioeq’s ranibizumab (Lucentis) biosimilar in the United States. We have an exclusive license from Innovent to develop and commercialize Innovent’s bevacizumab (Avastin) biosimilar in the United States and Canada. Our licensors are responsible for supplying us with drug substance and final drug products as well as, in the case of Innovent, the necessary regulatory data to submit a 351(k) BLA for Innovent’s bevacizumab candidate in the United States and Canada.

Our exclusive licensee, Orox, is responsible for commercialization of certain of our products and product candidates, including UDENYCA® and CHS-1420, in certain Caribbean and Latin American countries (excluding Brazil, and in the case of UDENYCA®, also excluding Argentina). We intend to seek commercialization partners for all products in Europe and other jurisdictions outside the U.S. (excluding certain Caribbean and Latin American countries).

Our licenses with Bioeq, Innovent, Orox, or other future license or collaboration agreements, may not be successful. Factors that may affect the success of our licenses and collaborations include, but are not limited to, the following:

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CHRS · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

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