Coherus BioSciences, Inc._December 31, 2024

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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, 2024

For the transition period from _________ to _________

Commission File Number: 001-36721

Coherus BioSciences, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).☐

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 28, 2024 (which was the last business day of the 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 $170.6 million. 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, as amended. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily conclusive.

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock issued and outstanding as of February 28, 2025 was 115,896,849.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III of this annual report on Form 10-K incorporates by reference certain information from the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.

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COHERUS BIOSCIENCES, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

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Page

PART I

ITEM 1. Business 3

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors 24

ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 71

ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity 71

ITEM 2. Properties 73

ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings 73

ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 73

PART II

ITEM 6. [Reserved] 74

ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 88

ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 90

ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures 136

ITEM 9B. Other Information 140

ITEM 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 140

PART III

ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 140

ITEM 11. Executive Compensation 140

ITEM 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 140

PART IV

ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 141

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As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless the context requires otherwise, references to “Coherus,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our,” and similar references refer to Coherus BioSciences, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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 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. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

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● the benefits of the use of our products and product candidates;

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, market opportunity estimates 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, publicly filed reports and similar sources.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

We are a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of innovative immunotherapies to treat cancer. Our commercial portfolio includes our first product, UDENYCA® (pegfilgrastim-cbqv), a biosimilar to Neulasta, a long-acting granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (“G-CSF”) and LOQTORZI® (toripalimab-tpzi), a novel next-generation programmed death receptor-1 (“PD-1”) inhibitor. We are developing an innovative immuno-oncology pipeline that we expect to bring forward new potential indications for LOQTORZI in the U.S. and the development of new product candidates.

UDENYCA was launched commercially in a pre-filled syringe presentation in the United States in January 2019, followed by the launch of UDENYCA in an autoinjector presentation in May 2023 and the launch of UDENYCA ONBODY® in February 2024. On December 2, 2024, we and Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (“Intas”), entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “UDENYCA Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which, and upon the terms and subject to the conditions thereof, we have agreed to divest the UDENYCA franchise (the “UDENYCA Business”) to Intas (the “UDENYCA Sale”). As consideration for the UDENYCA Sale, Intas has agreed to pay us $483.4 million in cash, inclusive of $118.4 million of UDENYCA product inventory (the “Inventory Target”), subject to downward adjustment by the amount of inventory delivered at the closing of the UDENYCA Sale less than the Inventory Target (the “Closing Consideration”). Intas has designated Accord BioPharma, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Intas (“Accord” and, together with Intas, the “Intas Parties”) to purchase the physical assets, including product inventory. In addition, the Company is also eligible to receive two additional payments of $37.5 million each (the “Earnout Payments,” together with the Closing Consideration, the “Consideration”), provided that certain minimum UDENYCA net sales (as defined in the UDENYCA Purchase Agreement, “Net Sales”) thresholds are met during specified periods after the closing of the UDENYCA Sale. We anticipate the transactions contemplated by the UDENYCA Purchase Agreement to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025. We expect to use proceeds from the UDENYCA Sale (a) to fully repay our outstanding $230.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 1.5% Convertible Senior Subordinated Notes due 2026 (the “2026 Convertible Notes”) and (b) to pay $47.7 million, assuming a closing late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025, to buy out the right to receive royalties on net sales of UDENYCA in accordance with our Revenue Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Revenue Purchase and Sale Agreement”) with Coduet Royalty Holdings, LLC and each buyer named in an annex thereto (collectively, the “Purchaser Group”), dated May 8, 2024. In addition, we will use the proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes, in connection with our continued business.

On October 27, 2023, we announced that LOQTORZI was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (“NPC"), and as monotherapy for the treatment of adults with recurrent unresectable, or metastatic NPC with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy. LOQTORZI is an anti-PD-1 antibody that we developed in collaboration with Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd. (“Junshi Biosciences”) that is currently the only immune checkpoint inhibitor approved by the FDA for the treatment of these indications. We announced the launch of LOQTORZI in the U.S. on January 2, 2024. Further evaluation of LOQTORZI is expected through multiple current and planned clinical studies by us, Junshi Biosciences and our biopharma partners.

Our pipeline is comprised of earlier stage clinical and preclinical immuno-oncology programs that we plan to develop in combination with LOQTORZI as well as in partnership with other companies with immune activating or cancer agents. Our lead clinical stage product candidate is casdozokitug (CHS-388, formerly SRF388), an investigational antagonist antibody targeting IL-27, an immune regulatory cytokine, that is overexpressed in certain cancers, including hepatocellular, lung and renal cell carcinoma. Casdozokitug received orphan drug designation from the FDA for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (“HCC”) in October 2020 and fast track designation from the FDA for the treatment of patients with HCC previously treated with standard therapies in November 2020. Casdozokitug is currently in three on-going clinical studies, including a Phase 1/2 study in patients with advanced solid tumors, including combination with toripalimab in non-small cell lung cancer (clinicaltrials.gov identifier# NCT04374877), and a Phase 2 study in HCC (clinicaltrials.gov identifier# NCT05359861). We initiated a randomized Phase 2 study in HCC evaluating casdozokitug in combination with toripalimab and bevacizumab in the fourth quarter of 2024 (clinicaltrials.gov identifier# NCT06679985).

Our second clinical-stage product candidate, CHS-114 (formerly SRF114), is an investigational IgG1 antibody targeting CCR8, a chemokine receptor highly expressed on regulatory T cells (“Treg cells”) in the tumor microenvironment (“TME”). We are enrolling patients with advanced solid tumors and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (“HNSCC”) in the U.S. in a clinical trial evaluating safety and pharmacokinetics of CHS-114 with and without LOQTORZI (clinicaltrials.gov identifier# NCT05635643). We plan to initiate a Phase 1b clinical study of CHS-114 in combination with toripalimab in second-line HNSCC (clinicaltrials.gov identifier# NCT05635643) and to initiate

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a Phase 1b clinical study of CHS-114 in combination with toripalimab and/or other treatments in participants with advanced solid tumors with the first cohort evaluating gastric cancer (clinicaltrials.gov identifier# NCT06657144), each in the first quarter of 2025.

We also have an early-stage development candidate, CHS-1000, an investigational antibody targeting human ILT4, designed to improve anti-PD-1 clinical benefit by transforming an unfavorable TME to a more favorable TME. Our investigational new drug application (“IND”) for CHS-1000 was allowed to proceed by the FDA in the second quarter of 2024 and initiating the first-in-human clinical study remains subject to further evaluation in our portfolio prioritization process.

In addition, we have a product candidate, GSK4381562, which is exclusively licensed to GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property No. 4 Limited (“GSK”). Through September 2033, we have an obligation to pay 70% of all milestone- and royalty-based payments that we or our affiliates receive from GSK4381562 to the holders of contingent value rights (“CVRs”).

We have a depth of scientific expertise, an experienced and robust manufacturing know-how and oncology clinical, regulatory, market access, sales, key account management and medical affairs capabilities in the United States, which has supported the commercialization of LOQTORZI. We expect to further leverage these capabilities as we continue to advance our immuno-oncology franchise.

We primarily operate in the United States and partner with companies that operate in other countries.

Products and Product Candidates

Our portfolio includes the following products and product candidates:

Oncology

On December 11, 2023 we announced that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (“NCCN”) updated the clinical practice guidelines for NPC to include LOQTORZI as a preferred, category 1 first-line treatment option for adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced NPC when used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine. On November 26, 2024, NCCN made a further update to the clinical practice guidelines for NPC to specify that LOQTORZI is the only preferred category 1 first-line treatment option for adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced NPC when used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine. The guidelines also recommend LOQTORZI monotherapy as the only preferred treatment in subsequent lines of therapy if disease progression on or after a platinum-containing therapy.

Further evaluation of LOQTORZI is expected through multiple current and planned clinical studies by us and our partners. We have a postmarketing commitment study active and enrolling patients in locations in the U.S. and Canada in order to further evaluate the efficacy of toripalimab in combination with chemotherapy (cisplatin and gemcitabine) in patients with advanced NPC (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT06457503). Junshi Biosciences is currently enrolling in a multiregional Phase 3 clinical study evaluating the treatment of LOQTORZI with its investigational anti-BTLA antibody in limited-stage small cell lung cancer (“LS-SCLC”) (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT06095583). INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. plans a randomized Phase 3 study of INO-3112 and toripalimab in locally advanced, high risk HPV16/18+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer Research Institute (“CRI”) plans to evaluate toripalimab in combination with ENB Therapeutics’ investigational agent ENB-003 in its

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Phase 2 trial titled, “Immunotherapy Platform Study in Platinum Resistant High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (IPROC)” (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT04918186) that is being performed in collaboration with Canadian Cancer Trials Group (“CCTG”). On June 27, 2024, we entered into an exclusive license and distribution agreement (the “Canada License Agreement”) with Apotex, Inc. (“Apotex”), pursuant to which, we granted to Apotex an exclusive license under our rights to toripalimab to commercialize toripalimab within Canada.

Immunology – Sold to Hong Kong King-Friend Industrial Company Ltd. (“HKF”) pursuant to the sale of our YUSIMRY franchise (the “YUSIMRY Sale”)

On June 26, 2024, we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “YUSIMRY Purchase Agreement”) with HKF, and we completed the sale of our YUSIMRY franchise for upfront, cash consideration of $40.0 million and the assumption of $17.0 million of inventory purchase commitments by HKF. We retained the rights to certain patents that were licensed to Pfizer

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Inc. (“Pfizer”) under the License and Settlement Agreement, dated as of October 21, 2019, between us and Pfizer (the “Pfizer License Agreement”).

Ophthalmology – Sold to Sandoz Inc. (“Sandoz”) pursuant to the sale of our CIMERLI ophthalmology franchise (the “CIMERLI Sale” and, together with the YUSIMRY Sale, the “Sale Transactions”)

On January 19, 2024, we entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “CIMERLI Purchase Agreement”) by and between us and Sandoz. Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the CIMERLI Purchase Agreement, on March 1, 2024, we completed the divestiture of our CIMERLI ophthalmology franchise through the sale of our subsidiary, Coherus Ophthalmology LLC (“Coherus Ophthalmology”), to Sandoz for upfront, all-cash consideration of $170.0 million plus an additional $17.8 million for CIMERLI product inventory and prepaid manufacturing assets.

Oncology Franchise Market Opportunity

LOQTORZI Opportunity

According to Clarivate/Decision Resource Group, the HNSCC therapy market was expected to increase 10.6% annually over the 2023-2033 forecast period. In 2023, sales of HNSCC therapies in the major pharmaceutical markets under study (United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, and Japan) totaled $1.4 billion, and sales were expected to increase to almost $4.8 billion in 2033. Fueling this growth is the label expansion of pembrolizumab in the locoregionally advanced setting, and the expected approval of four new therapies.

PD-1 inhibitors are expected by the Clarivate/Decision Resource Group to be the sales-leading drug class in 2033, garnering major-market sales of over $1.4 billion, and we expect these agents to be approved for both non-nasopharyngeal and nasopharyngeal drug-treatable patient populations. By the end of 2033, we expect them to be prescribed mostly in the large and commercially lucrative locoregionally advanced and recurrent or metastatic first-line setting.

Immuno-oncology agents, and the PD-1/PD-L1 class in particular, have shifted the treatment paradigm across a broad range of tumors, and across the continuum of cancer settings (metastatic to early stage). Clinical adoption of PD-1/PD-L1 therapies has been driven by the proven versatility of certain therapies within the class to be used as a monotherapy, as well as combination therapy with targeted agents such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors, chemotherapy, or other immunotherapy agents to achieve durable tumor responses and improved survival benefits, with acceptable toxicity profiles. The improved safety profile observed for approved PD-L1 therapies versus chemotherapy enables these therapies to be used as a backbone therapy in a broad array of combination regimens.

On October 27, 2023, we announced that LOQTORZI was approved by the FDA in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced NPC, and as monotherapy for the treatment of adults with recurrent, unresectable, or metastatic NPC with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy. LOQTORZI is an anti-PD-1 antibody that we developed in collaboration with Junshi Biosciences. We announced the launch of LOQTORZI in the U.S. on January 2, 2024.

LOQTORZI is a novel next-generation PD-1 monoclonal antibody that blocks PD-1 ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 with high potency at a unique site on the PD-1 receptor, enabling the immune system to activate and kill the tumor.

NPC is a type of aggressive cancer that starts in the nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat behind the nose and near the base of the skull. NPC is rare in the United States, with an annual incidence of fewer than one per 100,000 people. The five-year survival rate for all patients diagnosed with NPC is approximately 60%, however, those who are diagnosed with advanced disease have a five-year survival rate of approximately 49%.

Due to the location of the primary tumor, surgery is rarely an option, and, before the launch of LOQTORZI, patients with localized disease were treated primarily with radiation and chemotherapy. Patients treated with chemotherapy alone experience poor prognosis:

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only 20% experience one-year progression-free survival; up to 50% developed distant metastasis during their disease course; and low median overall survival (“OS”) of 29 months.

Based on SEER and DRG models, we estimate that the annual drug-treatable population in the United States for NPC is approximately 2,000 patients annually. Of this group, 60% have relapsed/metastatic disease and would be candidates for LOQTORZI. 40% have localized disease that can progress to relapsed/metastatic within a 12-24 month timeframe.

On December 11, 2023 we announced that NCCN updated the clinical practice guidelines for NPC to include LOQTORZI as a preferred, category 1 first-line treatment option for adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced NPC when used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine. On November 26, 2024, NCCN made a further update to the clinical practice guidelines for NPC to specify that LOQTORZI is the only preferred category 1 first-line treatment option for adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced NPC when used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine. The guidelines also recommend LOQTORZI monotherapy as the only preferred treatment in subsequent lines of therapy if disease progression on or after a platinum-containing therapy.

The NCCN recommendations were based on results of the JUPITER-02 Phase 3 study and the POLARIS-02 Phase 2 study. In the JUPITER-02 Phase 3 study, LOQTORZI combined with chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival, reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 48% compared to chemotherapy alone. LOQTORZI also demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in OS, with treatment resulting in a 37% reduction in the risk of death versus chemotherapy alone. In the POLARIS-02 clinical study, LOQTORZI demonstrated durable anti-tumor activity in patients with recurrent or metastatic NPC who failed previous chemotherapy, with an objective response rate of 20.5%, a disease control rate of 40%, and a median OS of 17.4 months with an acceptable safety profile.

LOQTORZI is the first FDA-approved therapy for NPC, and we believe could represent a new standard of care for treating the disease when used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine in the first line setting or as monotherapy in the second line or greater setting.

UDENYCA Biosimilar

We initiated United States sales of UDENYCA in January 2019, and in 2024 we recorded UDENYCA net product sales of $206.0 million. UDENYCA is currently approved by the FDA in three presentations: pre-filled syringe (“PFS”), autoinjector (“AI”) and UDENYCA ONBODY.

On December 2, 2024, we and Intas entered into the UDENYCA Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which, and upon the terms and subject to the conditions thereof, we have agreed to divest the UDENYCA Business to Intas. We anticipate the transactions contemplated by the UDENYCA Purchase Agreement to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025.

Sales and Marketing

Our strategy, following the closing of the UDENYCA Sale, is to focus our research, development and commercial resources on our innovative immuno-oncology portfolio in combination with our commercial product LOQTORZI.

Following the FDA approval of LOQTORZI for NPC, the commercial launch commenced in January 2024 with our existing Oncology commercial and medical affairs teams. As the UDENYCA transaction process unfolds, we plan to focus on maintaining business continuity for both our UDENYCA and LOQTORZI customers and ensure patients continue to access our products without disruption. Post-UDENYCA Sale, we will maintain a more focused commercial team fully enabled to continue momentum of our LOQTORZI launch and to maximize the commercial opportunity for LOQTORZI along with meeting the requirements of the transition services agreement that we are required to enter into with Intas (the “UDENYCA TSA”).

Our overarching strategy with LOQTORZI is to establish a new standard of care for eligible patients with NPC and our execution plan is anchored on three growth drivers: accelerating new patient share through strong healthcare professional and patient identification, ensuring LOQTORZI messaging is delivered at the time of treatment decision, and optimizing the duration of LOQTORZI treatment.

After the closing of the UDENYCA Sale, we will maintain an experienced sales force for LOQTORZI. An experienced set of Sales and Marketing personnel will transfer to Accord. We will maintain a focused set of field facing sales representatives and strategic account managers to support LOQTORZI and work directly with the largest accounts including group purchasing organizations, integrated delivery networks, and large clinic customers.

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We have an experienced market access and patient services team that will continue to support LOQTORZI and a set of personnel will also transfer to Accord to ensure the continued success of UDENYCA. This team is responsible for negotiating payer coverage with national and regional health plans and pension benefit managers (via a team of National Account Directors), servicing account specific questions regarding the billing, coding and reimbursement of our products (via a team of Field Reimbursement Managers), and managing our Coherus Solutions patient services hub which provides product specific coverage, reimbursement and co-pay support for patients and providers.

For a discussion of risks related to sales and marketing, please see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Launch and Commercialization of our Products and our Product Candidates.”

Scientific, Clinical and Regulatory

The Company has a depth of scientific, oncology clinical and regulatory expertise in the United States, which has supported the commercialization of LOQTORZI. The Company expects to further leverage these capabilities as it continues to advance its immuno-oncology franchise.

Manufacturing

We have entered into agreements with several contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) for the manufacture and clinical drug supply of our commercial products and product candidates. We continue to screen other contract manufacturers to meet our clinical, commercial and regulatory supply requirements on a product-by-product basis. On September 13, 2024, we announced that our third-party labeling and packaging CMO for UDENYCA delayed production of UDENYCA due to over-commitments and capacity constraints. These delays caused a temporary UDENYCA supply interruption that quickly took away our ability to sell our product UDENYCA, that makes up a large percentage of our total revenue, for a significant period of time. Production resumed in November 2024.

We have made significant progress in our efforts to diversify our labeling and packaging resources. An additional final packaging and labeling CMO started production testing and manufacturing saleable product. Commercial supply from that CMO is expected to commence late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025, subject to FDA authorization. For a discussion of risks related to manufacturing our products and our reliance on third parties, please see “Risk Factors— Risks Related to Manufacturing and Supply Chain” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Reliance on Third Parties.”

Competition

While we believe that our knowledge, experience and scientific resources provide us with competitive advantages, we face competition from many different sources. We operate in a highly competitive environment. Such competition includes larger and better-funded pharmaceutical, generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies commercializing and developing immuno-oncology and biosimilar products that would compete with our products and the product candidates in our pipeline.

LOQTORZI faces a competitive market in the United States where a number of anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody drugs have been approved by the FDA, although not in NPC, including the following marketed products from several competitors: Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) from Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”), Opdivo® (nivolumab) from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (“BMS”), Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) from Genentech, Inc. (“Genentech”), Imfinzi® (durvalumab) from AstraZeneca plc (“AstraZeneca”), Bavencio® (avelumab) from EMD Serono Inc. and Pfizer, Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc) from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Regeneron”), Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly) from GlaxoSmithKline plc (“GlaxoSmithKline”) and TEVIMBRA® (tislelizumab-jsgr) from BeiGene, Ltd. In addition to LOQTORZI, multiple other competitors are seeking to develop and approve novel anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody drugs in the United States in the coming years, including but not limited to camrelizumab from Elevar Therapeutics, Inc. (in collaboration with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.). As the only immunotherapy approved by the FDA for the treatment of NPC, we believe LOQTORZI addresses a potentially high unmet need.

UDENYCA faces competition in the United States from Amgen, Biocon Biologics Inc. (“Biocon”), Sandoz International GmbH, Pfizer, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Spectrum”), Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Amneal”) and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (“Fresenius”).

Casdozokitug is in development and is the only antagonist antibody in development known to us that is targeting the immune regulatory cytokine IL-27.

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CHS-114 is in development and, if approved, faces competition from programs in development specifically targeting CCR8, including those by BMS, Gilead Sciences, Inc. / Jounce Therapeutics, Inc., Shionogi Inc., AbbVie Inc. (“AbbVie”), Bayer AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Amgen Inc. (“Amgen”), LaNova Medicines Ltd. and Nanjing Immunophage Biotech Co., Ltd.

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. (“Orox”) / Laboratorio Gador S.A. (“Gador”)

In December 2012, we entered into a distribution agreement with Orox / Gador, for the commercialization of biosimilar versions of our internally developed biosimilars. Under this agreement, we granted to Orox / Gador an exclusive license to commercialize UDENYCA in Latin America, except Brazil and Argentina, and YUSIMRY (which we sold in 2024) and CHS-0214 (which we discontinued development in 2020) in Latin America, except Brazil. Under this agreement, Orox / Gador 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 / Gador.

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 / Gador’s activities under the agreement in its licensed territory. We are eligible to receive from Orox / Gador 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 / Gador 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 / Gador 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 / Gador if Orox / Gador challenges the licensed patents or commits a breach of specified provisions of the agreement.

Upon the closing of the UDENYCA Sale, all rights and benefits under our agreement with Orox / Gador will be assigned, conveyed, transferred and delivered to Intas.

Settlement and License Agreements with Pfizer

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 Junshi Biosciences

On February 1, 2021, we entered into 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 Agreement”).

Under the terms of the Collaboration Agreement, we paid $150.0 million upfront for exclusive rights to LOQTORZI in the United States and Canada, an option in these territories to Junshi Biosciences’ anti-TIGIT antibody CHS-006, an option in these territories to a next-generation engineered IL-2 cytokine, and certain negotiation rights to two undisclosed preclinical immuno-oncology drug candidates. We obtained the right to conduct all commercial activities of LOQTORZI in the United States and Canada. We are obligated to pay Junshi Biosciences up to an aggregate $380.0 million in one-time payments for the achievement of various regulatory and sales milestones, of which $12.5 million was paid as of December 31, 2024 and another $12.5 million was paid in January 2025, and a royalty in the low twenty

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percent range on net sales of LOQTORZI. On June 27, 2024, we entered into the Canada License Agreement pursuant to which, we granted to Apotex an exclusive license under our rights to toripalimab to commercialize toripalimab within Canada.

In March 2022, we paid $35.0 million for the exercise of our option to license CHS-006. Subsequent joint development consistent with the Collaboration Agreement commenced. On January 10, 2024, we announced that we had delivered a notice of termination of the TIGIT Program (as defined in the Collaboration Agreement) to Junshi Biosciences pursuant to the Collaboration Agreement. Under the Collaboration Agreement, we retain the right to collaborate in the development of LOQTORZI 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. Additionally, we are responsible for certain associated regulatory and technology transfer costs for LOQTORZI and other licensed compounds and will reimburse Junshi Biosciences for such costs.

We accounted for the licensing transaction as an asset acquisition under the relevant accounting rules. The $35.0 million payment for the option to license CHS-006 was reflected in our first quarter of 2022 financial statements. As of December 31, 2023, we accrued a $25.0 million milestone payment to Junshi Biosciences, of which we paid $12.5 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $12.5 million in January of 2025. The accrued royalty obligation to Junshi Biosciences was $1.5 million as of December 31, 2024 and immaterial at December 31, 2023. The additional milestone payments and royalties are contingent upon future events and, therefore, will be recorded if and when it becomes probable that a milestone will be achieved, or when an option fee or royalties are incurred.

Adimab Development and Option Agreement

In October 2018, Surface Oncology, Inc. (“Surface”), which we acquired in September 2023, and Adimab LLC (“Adimab”), entered into an amended and restated development and option agreement, (as amended by the amendments dated as of December 16, 2020, June 1, 2022 and July 18, 2022, the “A&R Adimab Agreement”), which amended and restated the development and option agreement with Adimab dated July 2014, as amended, (the “Original Adimab Agreement”), for the discovery and optimization of proprietary antibodies as potential therapeutic product candidates. Under the A&R Adimab Agreement, we will select biological targets against which Adimab will use its proprietary platform technology to research and develop antibody proteins using a mutually agreed upon research plan. The A&R Adimab Agreement, among other things, provided access to additional antibodies and expanded our right to evaluate and use antibodies that were modified or derived using Adimab technology for diagnostic purposes.

Adimab granted us an exclusive option to obtain a non-exclusive, worldwide, fully paid-up, sublicensable license under Adimab’s platform patents and other Adimab technology solely to research up to ten antibodies, chosen by us against a specific biological target for a specified period of time (the “Research Option”). In addition, Adimab granted us an exclusive option to obtain a worldwide, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license under Adimab platform patents and other Adimab technology to exploit, including commercially, 20 or more antibodies against specific biological targets (the “Commercialization Option”). Upon the exercise of a Commercialization Option, and payment of the applicable option fee to Adimab, Adimab will assign us the patents that cover the antibodies selected by such Commercialization Option. We will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, seek market approval of, and commercialize at least one antibody against the target covered by the Commercialization Option in specified markets upon the exercise of a Commercialization Option.

Under the A&R Adimab Agreement, we are obligated to make milestone payments and to pay specified fees upon the exercise of the Research Option or Commercialization Option. Upon exercise of a Research Option, we are obligated to pay a nominal research maintenance fee on each of the next four anniversaries of the exercise. Upon the exercise of each Commercialization Option, we will be required to pay an option exercise fee of a low seven-digit dollar amount, and we may be responsible for milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $13.0 million for each licensed product that receives marketing approval. For any licensed product that is commercialized, we are obligated to pay Adimab tiered royalties of a low to mid single-digit percentage on worldwide net sales of such product. We may also partially exercise a Commercialization Option with respect to ten antibodies against a biological target by paying 65% of the option fee and later either (i) paying the balance and choosing additional antibodies for commercialization, up to the maximum number under the Commercialization Option, or (ii) foregoing the Commercialization Option entirely. For any Adimab diagnostic product that is used with or in connection with any compound or product other than a licensed antibody or licensed product, we are obligated to pay Adimab up to a low seven digits in regulatory milestone payments and low single-digit royalties on net sales. No additional payment is due with respect to any companion diagnostic or any diagnostic product that does not contain any licensed antibody. Any payments payable to Adimab as a result of any product candidates being developed pursuant to the license agreement between Surface and GSK, dated December 16, 2020, which was subsequently amended in August 2021 (as amended, the “GSK Agreement”), will be payable to Adimab directly by GSK.

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GSK Out-licensing Agreement

In December 2020, Surface entered into the GSK Agreement. Pursuant to the GSK Agreement, Surface granted GSK a worldwide exclusive, sublicensable license to develop, manufacture and commercialize antibodies that target PVRIG, including the antibody GSK4381562 (the “Licensed Antibodies”). GSK is responsible for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of the Licensed Antibodies and a joint development committee was formed to facilitate information sharing. GSK is responsible for all costs and expenses of such development, manufacturing and commercialization and is obligated to provide us with updates on its development, manufacturing and commercialization activities through the joint development committee. In March 2022, Surface earned a $30.0 million milestone payment from GSK upon the dosing of the first patient in the Phase 1 trial of GSK4381562. We are eligible to receive up to $60.0 million in additional clinical milestones and $155.0 million in regulatory milestones. In addition, we may receive up to $485.0 million in sales milestone payments. We are also eligible to receive royalties on global net sales of any approved products based on the Licensed Antibodies, ranging in percentages from high single digits to mid-teens. Due to the uncertainty of pharmaceutical development and the historical failure rates generally associated with drug development, we may not receive any milestone payments or any royalty payments under the GSK Agreement. We have not recognized license-related revenue under the GSK Agreement to date.

Unless terminated earlier, the GSK Agreement expires on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis on the later of ten years from the date of first commercial sale or when there is no longer a valid patent claim or regulatory exclusivity covering such licensed product in such country. Either party may terminate the GSK Agreement for an uncured material breach by the other party or upon the bankruptcy or insolvency of the other party. GSK may terminate the GSK Agreement for its convenience. We may terminate the GSK Agreement if GSK institutes certain actions related to the licensed patents or if GSK ceases development activities, other than for certain specified technical or safety reasons. In the event of termination, we would regain worldwide rights to the terminated program.

License Agreement with Vaccinex

On March 23, 2021, Surface and Vaccinex, Inc. (“Vaccinex”) entered into an exclusive product license agreement (the “Vaccinex License Agreement”) to exclusively license certain antibodies, including CHS-114. Pursuant to the terms of the Vaccinex License Agreement, we have a worldwide, exclusive, sublicensable license to make, have made, use, sell, offer to sell, have sold, import and otherwise exploit licensed products that incorporate certain Vaccinex intellectual property which covers certain antibodies (each, a “Vaccinex Licensed Product”), including the antibody CHS-114 targeting CCR8.

Under the Vaccinex License Agreement, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, clinically test, achieve regulatory approval, manufacture, market and commercialize at least one Vaccinex Licensed Product and have the sole right to develop, manufacture and commercialize the licensed products worldwide. We are responsible for all costs and expenses of such development, manufacturing and commercialization. Pursuant to the Vaccinex License Agreement, Surface paid Vaccinex a one-time fee of $0.9 million. Vaccinex is eligible to receive up to an aggregate of $3.5 million based on achievement of certain clinical milestones and up to an aggregate of $11.5 million based on achievement of certain regulatory milestones per Vaccinex Licensed Product. We also owe low single-digit royalties on global net sales of any approved licensed products. Commencing on the third anniversary of the date of the Vaccinex License Agreement and continuing until the first dosing of a Vaccinex Licensed Product in a clinical trial, we will be required to pay Vaccinex a nominal yearly maintenance fee. Since a patient was dosed with a Vaccinex Licensed Product, CHS-114, in January 2023, no yearly maintenance fees are due under the Vaccinex License Agreement.

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 United States 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 United States, the patent term is generally 20 years from the earliest date of filing a non-provisional patent application in the applicable country. In the United States, a patent’s term may, in certain cases, be lengthened by patent term adjustment, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) in examining and

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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. Each patent family includes United States patent applications and/or issued patents, and some include foreign counterparts to certain of the United States 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.

For a discussion of risks related to our proprietary technology and processes, please see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Intellectual Property.”

Government Regulation

Our operations and activities are subject to extensive regulation by numerous government authorities in the United States, the European Union (the “E.U.”) 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, 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 E.U., have similar regulatory structures.

FDA Approval Process for Drugs and Biologics

Our products and product candidates are subject to regulation in the United States by the FDA as biological products or as drug product candidates. 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 United States requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve a pending biologics license application (“BLA”) or new drug application (“NDA”), 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 United States is long, expensive and inherently uncertain. Biologic and drug development in the United States typically involves the completion of certain preclinical laboratory and animal tests in accordance with good laboratory practices (“GLP”), the submission to the FDA of an IND, 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, when applicable, animal studies 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 allowance from the FDA to administer an investigational 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, pharmacokinetic, pharmacology and pharmacodynamic 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 United States 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

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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 parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Each protocol involving testing on United States patients and subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. While the IND is active, progress reports summarizing the results of the clinical trials and nonclinical studies performed since the last progress report, among other information, must be submitted at least annually to the FDA, and written IND safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and investigators for serious and unexpected suspected adverse events, findings from other studies suggesting a significant risk to humans exposed to the same or similar drugs, findings from animal or in vitro testing suggesting a significant risk to humans, and any clinically important increased incidence of a serious suspected adverse reaction compared to that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure.

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, the 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 current Good Manufacturing Practices (“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.

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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 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, where the product candidate has received orphan drug designations for the sought indication or where the applicant is a small business submitting its first human therapeutic application for review.

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. The FDA’s goal is to review standard applications within ten months after the filing date, or, if the application qualifies for Priority Review, six months after the FDA accepts the application for filing. A BLA or NDA is eligible for Priority Review if the product or the product candidate has the potential to provide a significant improvement in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a serious disease or condition compared to marketed products. In both standard and Priority Reviews, the review process may also be extended for a three-month period by the FDA to review additional information deemed a major amendment to the application.

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, or at another frequency specified in the REMS.

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 ensure compliance with cGCP. After the FDA evaluates an original BLA or NDA and conducts any inspections in the U.S. or internationally that it deems necessary, the FDA may issue an approval letter or a CRL. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the product with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A CRL indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete, and the application is not ready for approval. A CRL may require additional clinical data and/or an additional clinical 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.

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Expedited Development and Review Programs

The FDA has a number of programs intended to expedite the development or review of a marketing application for an investigational drug or biologic. For example, the fast track designation program is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for developing and reviewing product candidates that meet certain criteria. Specifically, investigational drugs and biologics are eligible for fast track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the disease or condition. The sponsor of a fast track product candidate has opportunities for more frequent interactions with the applicable FDA review team during product development and, with regard to a fast track product candidate, the FDA may consider for review sections of the NDA or original BLA on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the NDA or original BLA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the NDA or original BLA and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the NDA or original BLA.

A product candidate can also receive breakthrough therapy designation if preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product candidate, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. The designation includes all of the fast track program features, as well as more intensive FDA interaction and guidance beginning as early as Phase 1 and an organizational commitment to expedite the development and review of the product candidate, including involvement of senior managers.

Separately, an NDA or original BLA is eligible for priority review if the product candidate is designed to treat a serious condition, and if approved, would provide a significant improvement in safety or efficacy compared to available therapies. The FDA will attempt to direct additional resources to the evaluation of a NDA or original BLA designated for priority review in an effort to facilitate the review. The FDA endeavors to review applications with priority review designations within six months of the filing date as compared to ten months for review of new molecular entity NDAs and original BLAs under its current PDUFA review goals.

In addition, depending on the design of the applicable clinical trials, a product candidate may be eligible for accelerated approval. Specifically, drugs and biologics intended to treat serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions may be eligible for accelerated approval upon a determination that the product candidate has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity, or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of approval, the FDA generally requires that a sponsor of a drug or biologic receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled confirmatory clinical trials, and may require that such confirmatory trials be underway prior to granting accelerated approval. Drugs or biologics receiving accelerated approval may be subject to expedited withdrawal procedures if the sponsor fails to conduct the required confirmatory trials in a timely manner or if such trials fail to verify the predicted clinical benefit. In addition, the FDA requires as a condition of accelerated approval pre-approval of promotional materials, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product.

Fast track designation, breakthrough therapy designation, priority review, and accelerated approval do not change the standards for approval but may expedite the development or approval process. Even if a product candidate qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened.

Orphan drug designation

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biologic intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States or, if it affects more than 200,000 individuals in the United States, there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the product available in the United States for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product. Orphan designation must be requested before submitting an NDA or BLA. After the FDA grants orphan designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.

If a product that has orphan designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications –including full NDAs or BLAs– to market the same drug for the same disease or condition for seven years, except in limited circumstances,

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such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity or inability to manufacture the product in sufficient quantities. The designation of such drug or biologic also entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers. However, competitors, may receive approval of different products for the disease or condition for which the orphan product has exclusivity, or obtain approval for the same product but for a different disease or condition for which the orphan product has exclusivity. Orphan exclusivity also could block the approval of a competing product for seven years if a competitor obtains approval of the “same drug,” as defined by the FDA, or if the active ingredient of the product candidate is determined to be contained within the competitor’s product for the same disease or condition. In addition, if an orphan designated product receives marketing approval for a disease or condition broader than what is designated, it may not be entitled to orphan exclusivity.

Abbreviated Licensure Pathway of Biological Products as Biosimilar under Section 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 an 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

In addition, an application submitted under the Section 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, a 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;

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FDA approval is required before a biosimilar may be marketed in the United States. 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 Section 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 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 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 Section 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 the 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).

FDA Regulation of Combination Products

Certain products or product candidates, such as the OBI presentation of UDENYCA we developed, may be composed of components, such as drug components and device components that would normally be regulated under different types of regulatory authorities, and frequently by different centers at the FDA. These products are known as combination products. Specifically, under regulations issued by the FDA, a combination product may be:

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Under the FFDCA and its implementing regulations, the FDA is charged with assigning a center with primary jurisdiction, or a lead center, for review of a combination product. The designation of a lead center generally eliminates the need to receive approvals from more than one FDA component for combination products, although it does not preclude consultations by the lead center with other components of the FDA. The determination of which center will be the lead center is based on the “primary mode of action” of the combination product. Thus, if the primary mode of action of a drug-device combination product is attributable to the drug product, the FDA center responsible for premarket review of the drug product would have primary jurisdiction for the combination product. The FDA has also established an Office of Combination Products to address issues surrounding combination products and provide more certainty to the regulatory review process. That office serves as a focal point for combination product issues for agency reviewers and industry. It is also responsible for developing guidance and regulations to clarify the regulation of combination products, and for assignment of the FDA center that has primary jurisdiction for review of combination products where the jurisdiction is unclear or in dispute.

A combination product with a biologic primary mode of action generally would be reviewed and approved pursuant to the biologic licensure processes under the PHSA. In reviewing the BLA or Section 351(k) BLA for such a product, however, FDA reviewers in the drug center could consult with their counterparts in the device center to ensure that the device component of the combination product met applicable requirements regarding safety, purity, potency, durability and performance. In addition, under FDA regulations, combination products are subject to cGMP requirements applicable to both drugs and devices, including the Quality System regulations applicable to medical devices.

Advertising and Promotion

Once an NDA, original BLA, or Section 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, implementation of a REMS, and/or 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, manufacturing, 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,

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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.

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 United States 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

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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. 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, chiropractors, certain non-physician practitioners (physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologist assistants, and certified nurse midwives) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members. 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.

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.

Data Privacy and Security

Numerous state, federal and foreign laws, regulations and standards govern the collection, use, access to, confidentiality and security of health-related and other personal information, and could apply now or in the future to our operations or the operations of our partners. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including data breach notification laws, health information privacy and security laws and consumer protection laws and regulations govern the collection, use, disclosure and protection of health-related and other personal information. In addition, certain foreign laws govern the privacy and security of personal data, including health-related data. Privacy and security laws, regulations and other obligations are constantly evolving, may conflict with each other to complicate compliance efforts and can result in investigations, proceedings or actions that lead to significant civil or criminal penalties or both and restrictions on data processing.

Pharmaceutical Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement

In the United States and other countries, sales of UDENYCA and LOQTORZI and any other 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

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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 United States 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. A significant portion of our sales are subject to substantial discounts to list price, including rebates we may be required to pay to Medicaid agencies or discounts we may be required to pay to 340B covered entities. Decreases in third-party reimbursement for UDENYCA and LOQTORZI or other products for which we receive regulatory approval or a decision by a third-party payer to not cover our products could reduce physician utilization of our products and have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations and financial condition.

Government Price Reporting

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program for low-income and disabled beneficiaries. Medicare is a federal program that is administered by the federal government covering individuals age 65 and over as well as those with certain disabilities. Under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (“MDRP”), as a condition of having federal funds available for our covered outpatient drugs under Medicaid and under Medicare Part B, we must enter into, and have entered into, an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to pay a rebate to state Medicaid programs for each unit of our covered outpatient drugs dispensed to a Medicaid beneficiary and paid for by the state Medicaid program. Medicaid rebates are based on pricing data that we are required to report on a monthly and quarterly basis to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), the federal agency that administers the MDRP and Medicare programs. For the MDRP, these data include the average manufacturer price (“AMP”) for each drug and, in the case of innovator products, the Best Price, which represents the lowest price available from us to any wholesaler, retailer, provider, health maintenance organization, nonprofit entity, or governmental entity in the United States in any pricing structure, calculated to include all applicable sales and associated rebates, discounts and other price concessions. In connection with Medicare Part B, we must provide CMS with Average Sales Price (“ASP”) information on a quarterly basis. CMS uses this information to compute Medicare Part B payment rates, which consist of ASP plus a specified percentage. If we become aware that our MDRP submissions for a prior period were incorrect or have changed as a result of recalculation of the pricing data, we must resubmit the corrected data for up to three years after those data originally were due. If we fail to provide information timely or are found to have knowingly submitted false information to CMS, we may be subject to civil monetary penalties and other sanctions, including termination from the MDRP.

Federal law requires that a manufacturer that participates in the MDRP also participate in the Public Health Service’s 340B drug pricing program in order for federal funds to be available for the manufacturer’s drugs under Medicaid and Medicare Part B. The 340B program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) and requires us to agree to charge statutorily defined covered entities no more than the 340B “ceiling price” for our covered outpatient drugs when used in an outpatient setting. 340B covered entities include a variety of community health clinics and other entities that receive health services grants from the Public Health Service, as well as hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients. The 340B ceiling price is calculated using a statutory formula, which is based on the AMP and rebate amount for the covered outpatient drug as calculated under the MDRP. In general, products subject to Medicaid price reporting and rebate liability are also subject to the 340B ceiling price requirement. We must report 340B ceiling prices to HRSA on a quarterly basis, and HRSA publishes them to 340B covered entities. HRSA has finalized regulations regarding the calculation of the 340B ceiling price and the imposition of civil monetary penalties on manufacturers that knowingly and intentionally overcharge covered entities for 340B eligible drugs. HRSA has also finalized an administrative dispute resolution process through which 340B covered entities may pursue claims against participating manufacturers for overcharges.

In order to be eligible to have drug products paid for with federal funds under Medicaid and Medicare Part B and purchased by certain federal agencies and grantees, a manufacturer must also participate in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS”) pricing program. Under the VA FSS program, we must report the Non-Federal Average Manufacturer Price (“Non-FAMP”) for our covered drugs to the VA and charge certain federal agencies no more than the Federal Ceiling Price, which is calculated based on Non-FAMP using a statutory formula. These four agencies are the VA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Public Health Service (including the Indian Health Service). We must also pay rebates on products purchased by military personnel and dependents through the TRICARE retail pharmacy program. If a manufacturer participating in the FSS program fails to provide timely information or is found to have knowingly submitted false information, the manufacturer may be subject to civil monetary penalties.

Individual states continue to consider and have enacted legislation to limit the growth of healthcare costs, including the cost of prescription drugs and combination products. A number of states have either implemented or are considering implementation of drug price transparency legislation. Requirements under such laws include advance notice of planned price increases, reporting price increase amounts and factors considered in taking such increases, wholesale acquisition cost information disclosure to prescribers, purchasers, and

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state agencies, and new product notice and reporting. Such legislation could limit the price or payment for certain drugs, and a number of states are authorized to impose civil monetary penalties or pursue other enforcement mechanisms against manufacturers for the untimely, inaccurate, or incomplete reporting of drug pricing information or for otherwise failing to comply with drug price transparency requirements.

Healthcare Reform, including the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”)

The United States federal and state governments continue to propose and pass legislation designed to regulate the healthcare industry, including legislation that seeks to indirectly or directly regulate pharmaceutical drug pricing. Most significantly, on August 16, 2022, the IRA was signed into law. Among other things, the IRA requires manufacturers of certain drugs to engage in price negotiations with Medicare (beginning in 2026), with prices that can be negotiated subject to a cap; imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation (first due in 2023); and replaces the Part D coverage gap discount program with a new manufacturer discounting program (which began in 2025). The IRA permits the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to implement many of these provisions through guidance, as opposed to regulation, for the initial years. HHS has issued and will continue to issue guidance implementing the IRA. CMS has published the negotiated prices for the initial ten drugs, which will first be effective in 2026, and the list of the subsequent 15 drugs that will be subject to negotiation, although the Medicare drug price negotiation program is currently subject to legal challenges. While the impact of the IRA on our business and the pharmaceutical industry cannot yet be fully determined, it is likely to be significant. In particular, if a product becomes subject to the IRA negotiation provision and related price cap, that may significantly alter the economic rationale for developing and commercializing a biosimilar.

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, carbon emissions tax or other mitigation measure that would materially impact our capital expenditures, operations or competitive position. The building where our headquarters is located in Redwood City, California, has been awarded LEED Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council.

Human Capital Management

As of December 31, 2023, we had 306 full-time and part-time employees. In addition to our 35 former employees who transferred to Sandoz in connection with the closing of the CIMERLI Sale, on March 11, 2024 we committed to a plan to reduce our workforce (the “Plan”) by approximately 26 employees effective March 18, 2024 to focus resources on strategic priorities including the research, development and commercialization of innovative cancer treatments and the commercialization of our portfolio of FDA-approved oncology products. The Plan was completed in 2024.

As of December 31, 2024, we had 228 full-time and part-time employees. All were located in the United States and none of our employees were represented by a labor union. We have not experienced any work stoppages and believe we have good relations with our employees and contractors. Our guiding principles are anchored on the goals of being able to recruit, incentivize, retain and integrate talented employees who can develop, implement, and drive long-term value creation strategies.

Pursuant to the UDENYCA Purchase Agreement, approximately 50 of our employees are expected to transfer employment to Accord, with the transfer of employment effective at the closing of the UDENYCA Sale, which we expect to occur late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025. None of our executive officers are expected to transfer to Intas.

Compensation and Benefits

We believe our base salaries are fair and competitive with the external labor markets in which our employees work and are reviewed on a regular basis. We offer incentive programs that provide bonus opportunities to encourage and reward participants for our achievement of financial and other key performance metrics and strengthen theconnection between pay and performance. We also grant equity compensation awards that vest over time through our long-term incentive plan to employees to align such employees’ incentives with our long-term strategic objectives and the interests of our stockholders.

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We also offer competitive benefits to our employees, including paid vacation and holidays, family leave, disability insurance, life insurance, healthcare, dental and vision coverage, dependent care flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) plan with a company match, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Additionally, we offer an Employee Assistance Program that includes professional support for employees to balance the stress of personal and professional demands.

Inclusion and Diversity

People are a critical component of our efforts to drive growth and deliver value for stockholders. One of the ways we have put people at the center of our business is by continuing to work toward a more inclusive and diverse workplace where each person feels respected, valued and seen and can be the best version of themselves. We believe that having a truly diverse workplace helps our company to achieve the best results, including by valuing diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity, nationality, disability status, veteran status and other factors. We donate to non-profit organizations such as Life Science Cares, an organization focused on eliminating the impact of poverty on our neighbors. Our Chief Executive Officer also serves on the Board of Advisors of Life Science Cares.

Health and Safety

We are committed to a safe workplace for our employees and have implemented health and safety management processes, including training and awareness, into our operations. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented additional safety measures for the protection of our employees, including work-from-home measures for applicable employees and additional cleaning and protective measures. We have an incident reporting plan to respond to injuries and emergencies on an ongoing basis to protect our employees and comply with all Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements.

Training, Development and Engagement

Through our online learning platform, we deliver a variety of required learning modules, including those modules tied to our Code of Business Conduct, cybersecurity, unlawful harassment, workplace violence prevention and anti-corruption policies, which are completed periodically by all team members. We also have Performance Management, Leadership and Interview Training programs for our managers. We have a highly collaborative, engaging company environment.

Additional Information

We view our operations and measure our business as one reportable segment operating primarily in the United States. See “Note 1. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of 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 electronic copies of our annual reports 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 on our website at https://www.coherus.com free of charge. We also periodically release and publicize press releases to the public that are also available on our website’s section entitled “News” which we use as a recognized channel of distribution for our investors and other people interested in our company. The SEC maintains a website (https://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. 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 at https://www.coherus.com. Any waiver of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics may be made only by our board of directors (“Board”). 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 law.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

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 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 biopharmaceutical company, including one with significant international partnerships and multiple products in development, is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. The risks described below are not the only risks facing us. 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, results of operations and/or prospects.

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements

We have a limited history of profitability, which we have not maintained and may not achieve again, and only two products that have been approved and marketed, one of which we have agreed to sell, and with multiple products that are not approved and still in development.

With the exception of generating net income of $28.5 million, $132.2 million and $89.8 million in 2024, 2020 and 2019, respectively, we incurred net losses in each year from our inception in September 2010 through December 31, 2024, including net losses of $237.9 million and $291.8 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively. It is uncertain that we will be profitable in future periods, particularly if the UDENYCA Sale is consummated, as research and development is expensive and risky. The amount of our future net losses or any future net income will depend, in part, on the amount of our future expenditures offset by the amount of future product sales, including sales of our current products or any other products that may receive regulatory approval. Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk.

For example, as of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.6 billion. 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.

We have incurred and anticipate we will continue to incur certain development and commercial expenses for LOQTORZI, the anti-PD-1 antibody we licensed from Junshi Biosciences in 2021, and have agreed to pay up to $90.0 million for the achievement of certain regulatory approvals and up to $290.0 million for the attainment of certain sales thresholds. The recent launch of this product and future work to advance our other product candidates through clinical development in combination with toripalimab will be expensive and could result in us continuing to experience future net losses.

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For UDENYCA and LOQTORZI, which are launched products, and if we obtain regulatory approval to market any other 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 if additional product candidates in addition to our current products 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;

● seek to attract and retain skilled personnel;

In addition, the UDENYCA Sale may make it more difficult or make it take more time for us to become profitable at any point in the future. UDENYCA is our largest product that contributes significantly more revenue to our business than LOQTORZI currently. LOQTORZI may not increase its revenue contribution to our business as quickly as we project or at all and for our clinical trials for our product candidates may be delayed, may be unsuccessful or may take more time and expense to complete than we currently anticipate. The inherent risk involved in divesting a major business could make it difficult for us to replace the revenue lost by selling UDENYCA or by becoming profitable in the future.

Further, the net loss or net income we achieve 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 as well as any settlements or judgments from such litigation, the execution of collaboration, licensing or other agreements and the timing of any payments we make or receive thereunder.

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We continue to be dependent on the ability to raise funds. 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, 2024, our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $126.0 million. We expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents, investments, cash collected from our product sales and cash proceeds from the UDENYCA Sale (assuming it is consummated) 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, divestitures, license agreements and through recent product sales of our products.

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:

● our ability to consummate the UDENYCA Sale;

● our ability to continue to successfully commercialize our products;

● our ability to maintain continuity for the supply of our products;

● 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, such as the sales from time to time through our sales agreement dated November 8, 2022 (the “Sales Agreement”) with Cowen and Company, LLC (“TD Cowen”) pursuant to which we may issue and sell from time to time up to $150.0 million of our common stock, including the common stock already sold, through or to TD Cowen as our sales agent or principal in an at-the-market offering (“ATM Offering”), may 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 those contained in the loan agreement (the “2029 Loan Agreement”), dated as of May 8, 2024 (the “2029 Term Loan Effective Date”), by and among us, Ankura Trust Company, LLC, as administrative agent (in such capacity, the “Agent”), and the lenders signatory thereto (collectively, the “2029 Lenders”) governing the senior secured term loan facility of up to $38.7 million (the “2029 Term Loan”) we entered into on the 2029 Term Loan Effective Date, including 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 such as a financial covenant which requires us to maintain certain levels of cash and cash equivalents. We could also be required to seek funds through arrangements with collaborative partners or otherwise at an earlier stage or for a lower

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price 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 or at all, stay profitable or generate any 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 products or 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.

Risks Related to Launch and Commercialization of our Products and our Product Candidates

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

We are a biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history in an emerging regulatory environment of biosimilar and immuno-oncology products. Although we have received upfront payments, milestone and other contingent payments and/or funding for development from some of our collaboration and license agreements, our only approved products are UDENYCA and LOQTORZI which are approved for commercialization in the United States, 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 our products, and to complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commercialize, one or more of our product pipeline candidates, which include:

● casdozokitug;

● toripalimab in non-NPC indications.

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 procure and commercialize our biosimilar product;

● 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;

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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 European Medical Agency (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 or immuno-oncology competitors in such markets, the accepted price for the product, the ability to get reimbursement at any price, the nature and degree of competition from originators and other biosimilar or immuno-oncology companies (including competition from large pharmaceutical companies entering the biosimilar market or possessing large established positions in the immuno-oncology market that may be able to gain advantages in the sale of biosimilar or immuno-oncology products based on brand recognition or existing relationships with customers and payers) and whether we own (or have partnered with companies owning) the commercial rights for that territory. If the market for our products and product candidates (or our share of that market) is not as significant as we expect, the price of our products is not what we project, 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 our existing products or any future products will depend upon the degree of market acceptance and adoption by prescribing physicians, healthcare providers and the patients to whom our medicines are prescribed. Additionally, obtaining placement on national and/or local clinical guidelines/pathways, as well as coverage on third-party payor formularies, can impact our short and long-term financial performance.

Even with the requisite approvals from the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, the commercial success of our products or product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on the medical community, patients and third-party payers accepting our products and 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 our product LOQTORZI, or 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;

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

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

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● 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 any future product candidates, if approved, will not be fully known until after they are launched and may be negatively affected by a potential poor safety experience and the track record of other biosimilar and immuno-oncology products and product candidates. Further, continued market acceptance of UDENYCA (prior to the UDENYCA Sale) and LOQTORZI, and any future product candidates that may be approved, depends on our efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payers on the benefits of our products and product candidates and will require significant resources from us and we have significantly less resources compared to large, well-funded pharmaceutical entities. Given the resource disparity, our outreach may have little success or may never be successful. If our products or any future product candidates that are approved 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 sustain profitability.

The third-party coverage and reimbursement status of our products are 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 our products, or any of our product candidates, if approved, may not be adequate to support our commercial infrastructure. The prices required to successfully compete 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 commercial payers are essential to enable provider/patient access to our products and our patient support services must be sufficiently scaled to meet the needs of patients receiving our products. 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 our products 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 enable providers to separately bill for UDENYCA to have its own reimbursement rate 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 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 competing products. If our products or any of our future product candidates, are not covered or adequately reimbursed by third-party payers, including

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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 of the United States, pharmaceutical businesses are generally subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations. 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 United States, the reimbursement for our products may be reduced compared with the United States and may be insufficient to generate commercially reasonable revenue and profits.

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 our products or any of our product candidates. While cost containment practices generally benefit biosimilars, severe cost containment practices may adversely affect our product sales. Furthermore, the impact of the IRA on our business and the pharmaceutical industry generally is currently unknown. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of our products and any of our product candidates due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative changes.

Our products and our product candidates, even if approved, will remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.

Our products and our product candidates, even If approved, 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 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 submitted under Section 351(a) of the PHSA, Section 351(k) BLA or marketing authorization application (“MAA”). Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to spend 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 ensure 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;

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● 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 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, China or other foreign countries.

Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by funding shortages, staffing limitations, government shut-downs or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel, and conduct inspections of manufacturing facilities, 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, government shut-downs, 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 drugs and biologics or modifications to approved drugs and biologics to be reviewed or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, the United States government has periodically shut down and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, had to furlough critical FDA employees and stop critical activities.

Separately, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA postponed most inspections of domestic and foreign manufacturing facilities at various points. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if funding shortages, staffing limitations or further global health concerns emerge, such events 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

Our biosimilar product faces significant competition from the reference product and from other biosimilar products or pharmaceuticals approved for the same indication as the originator products. Our product LOQTORZI and product candidate CHS-114, if approved, will face significant competition from other immuno-oncology biologics. If we fail to compete effectively, we may not achieve 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 molecules, 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, legal, governmental affairs, manufacturing, personnel, and marketing resources, with additional benefits of mergers and acquisitions.

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LOQTORZI entered a competitive market in the United States where a number of anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody drugs have been approved by the FDA, although not in NPC, including the following marketed products from several competitors: Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) from Merck, Opdivo® (nivolumab) from BMS, Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) from Genentech, Imfinzi® (durvalumab) from AstraZeneca, Bavencio® (avelumab) from EMD Serono Inc. and Pfizer, Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc) from Regeneron, Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly) from GlaxoSmithKline and TEVIMBRA® (tislelizumab-jsgr) from BeiGene, Ltd. In addition to LOQTORZI, multiple other competitors are seeking to develop and approve novel anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 antibody drugs in the United States in the coming years, including but not limited to camrelizumab from Elevar Therapeutics, Inc. (in collaboration with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.). As the only immunotherapy approved by the FDA for the treatment of NPC, we believe LOQTORZI addresses a potentially high unmet need.

UDENYCA faces competition in the United States from Amgen, Biocon, Sandoz, Pfizer, Spectrum, Amneal and Fresenius.

Casdozokitug is in development and is the only antagonist antibody in development known to us that is targeting the immune regulatory cytokine IL-27.

CHS-114 is in development and, if approved, faces competition from programs in development specifically targeting CCR8, including those by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Gilead/Jounce, Shionogi, AbbVie, Bayer, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Amgen, LaNova and Immunophage;

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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Our products and our product candidates, if approved, could face price competition from other products or biosimilars of the same reference product 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 through pharmacy benefit managers, payers and their third-party administrators, integrated delivery networks and hospitals who exert downward pricing pressure on our product 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. There could be similar price competition in the immuno-oncology market that could adversely affect our results in the future. 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, less costly, easier to administer 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, including larger research and development, marketing and manufacturing organizations. Additionally, 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. Our competitors may have products that are easier to administer than our products, which could adversely affect our results. Biosimilar or immuno-oncology 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 competitors to toripalimab (in indications besides those approved for LOQTORZI), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114 are approved and successfully commercialized before toripalimab (in indications besides those approved for LOQTORZI), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114, our business would suffer.

There are a number of companies that currently commercialize PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies or are developing such compounds for commercialization in the United States. If other competitors to toripalimab (in indications besides those approved for LOQTORZI), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114 are successfully commercialized before toripalimab (in indications besides those approved for LOQTORZI), casdozokitug, CHS-1000 and CHS-114, 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.

If an improved version of an originator product, such as Neulasta, is developed or if the market for the originator product significantly declines, sales of our biosimilar product 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. 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. External developments can also result in changing preferences for convenient forms of administration of products that may impact our business. As new products are approved that compete with the reference product to our biosimilar product, 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 for our biosimilar product. As a result of the above factors, our business, prospects and financial condition could suffer.

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Any product candidates for which we intend to seek approval as original biologic products may face competition sooner than anticipated.

CHRS US Equity

CHRS · 10-K · period ended 2024-12-31

Item 1. Business

Item 1A. Risk Factors

CHRS US Equity☆

CHRS · 10-K · period ended 2024-12-31

Item 1. Business

Item 1A. Risk Factors

CHRS US Equity