eols-20201231
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
_____________________________
FORM 10-K
_____________________________
☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
or
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-38381
_____________________________
EVOLUS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
_____________________________
_____________________________
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.00001 par value per share EOLS The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
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 that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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 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. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was approximately $120.0 million, based on the closing price of the registrant’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market of $5.30 per share for such date.
As of March 25, 2021, 43,733,316 shares of the registrant’s sole class of common stock were outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant's Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the extent stated herein. Such proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Table of Contents
EVOLUS, INC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PART I
Item 1 Business 3
Item 1A Risk Factors 16
Item 1B Unresolved Staff Comments 45
Item 2 Properties 45
Item 3 Legal Proceedings 45
Item 4 Mine Safety Disclosures 47
PART II
Item 6 Selected Financial Data 48
Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 62
Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 63
Item 9A Controls and Procedures 99
Item 9B Other Information 99
PART III
Item 10 Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 101
Item 11 Executive Compensation 102
Item 14 Principal Accounting Fees and Services 104
PART IV
Item 15 Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 105
Signatures
i
Table of Contents
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K, or Annual Report, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about future events, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, our industry and the regulatory environment in which we operate. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of those terms, or other comparable terms intended to identify statements about the future. The forward-looking statements included herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond our control, include, but are not limited to, those made below under “Summary of Risk Factors” and in Item 1A Risk Factors in this Annual Report.
You should carefully consider these risks, as well as the additional risks described in other documents we file with the SEC in the future, including subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which may from time to time amend, supplement or supersede the risks and uncertainties we disclose. We also operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements included herein are based on current expectations of our management based on available information and are believed to be reasonable. In light of the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that such results will be achieved, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other documents we file with the SEC with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by the cautionary statements referenced above.
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves various risks and you are urged to carefully consider the risks discussed under Item 1A “Risk Factors,” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K prior to making an investment in our securities. If any of the risks below or in Item 1A “Risk Factors” occurs, our business could be materially and adversely affected. As more fully described in Item 1A “Risk Factors”, the principal risks and uncertainties that may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations include, but are not limited to, the following:
•We will require additional financing to fund our future operations, and a failure to obtain additional capital when so needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our operations and as a result, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
•We currently depend entirely on the successful commercialization of our only product, Jeuveau®. If we are unable to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®, we may never generate sufficient revenue to continue our business.
•We have a limited operating history and have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. We have only one product and limited commercial sales, which, together with our limited operating history, make it difficult to assess our future viability.
•If we or our counterparties do not comply with the terms of our settlement agreements with Medytox, Inc., or Medytox, and Allergan Limited, Allergan, Inc. and Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland, or, collectively, Allergan, we may face litigation or lose our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® which would materially and adversely affect our ability to carry out our business, and our financial condition and ability to continue as a going concern.
1
Table of Contents
•The terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements with Medytox and Allergan will reduce our profitability and may affect the extent of any discounts we may offer to our customers.
•Our business, financial condition and operations may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak or other similar outbreaks.
•We rely on the license and supply agreement, as amended, with Daewoong, which we refer to as the Daewoong Agreement, to provide us exclusive rights to distribute Jeuveau® in certain territories. Any termination or loss of significant rights, including exclusivity, under the Daewoong Agreement would materially and adversely affect our development or commercialization of Jeuveau®.
•Our failure to successfully in-license, acquire, develop and market additional product candidates or approved products would impair our ability to grow our business.
•Jeuveau® faces, and any of our future product candidates will face, significant competition and our failure to effectively compete may prevent us from achieving significant market penetration and expansion.
•Jeuveau® may fail to achieve the broad degree of physician adoption and use or consumer demand necessary for commercial success.
•Our ability to market Jeuveau® is limited to use for the treatment of glabellar lines, and if we want to expand the indications for which we market Jeuveau®, we will need to obtain additional regulatory approvals, which will be expensive and may not be granted.
•Third party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our commercialization efforts and interrupt our supply of products.
•If we or any of our current or future licensors, including Daewoong, are unable to maintain, obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.
•We may need to increase the size of our organization, including our sales and marketing capabilities in order to further commercialize Jeuveau® and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth.
•We rely on our digital technology and applications and our business and operations would suffer in the event of system failures or breach by hackers.
•We are subject to extensive government regulation, and we may face delays in or not obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates and our compliance with ongoing regulatory requirements may result in significant additional expense, limit or delay regulatory approval or subject us to penalties if we fail to comply.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, as used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the terms “Evolus,” “company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Evolus, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and our subsidiaries taken as a whole, unless otherwise noted.
EVOLUSTM, Jeuveau®, EvoluxTM are three of our trademarks that are used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Jeuveau® is the trade name in the United States for our approved product with non-proprietary name, prabotulinumtoxinA-xvfs. The product has different trade names outside of the United States, but is referred to throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K as Jeuveau®. This Annual Report on Form 10-K also includes trademarks, trade names and service marks that are the property of other organizations, such as BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic, which we refer to throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K as BOTOX. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may appear without the ® and TM symbols, but those references are not intended to indicate that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights, or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights, to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
2
Table of Contents
Part I
Item 1. Business.
Overview
We are a performance beauty company with a customer-centric approach focused on delivering breakthrough products in the self-pay aesthetic market.
Our first commercial product is Jeuveau®, which is a proprietary 900 kilodalton, or kDa, purified botulinum toxin type A formulation indicated for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines, also known as “frown lines,” in adults. Our primary market is the self-pay aesthetic market, which includes medical products purchased by physicians and other customers that are then sold to consumers or used in procedures for aesthetic indications that are not reimbursed by any third-party payor, such as Medicaid, Medicare or commercial insurance. We believe we offer customers and consumers a compelling value proposition with Jeuveau®. Currently, BOTOX (onabotulinumtoxinA) is the neurotoxin market leader, and prior to the approval of Jeuveau®, was the only known 900 kDa botulinum toxin type A complex approved in the United States. We believe aesthetic physicians generally prefer the performance characteristics of the complete 900 kDa neurotoxin complex and are accustomed to injecting this formulation.
United States
In February 2019, we received the approval of our first product Jeuveau® (prabotulinumtoxinA-xvfs) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. In May 2019, we commercially launched Jeuveau® in the United States, and our net sales totaled $56.5 million for fiscal year 2020 and $20.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2020.
International
In August 2018, we received approval from Health Canada for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adult patients under 65 years of age. We began marketing Jeuveau® in Canada in October 2019 through our distribution partner, Clarion Medical Technologies, Inc., or Clarion.
In September 2019, we received approval from the European Commission, to market Jeuveau® in all 28 EU member states, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. In January 2021, we received a positive decision from the European Commission, to add the 50 unit product to the existing approval obtained in September 2019. We plan to launch Jeuveau® in Europe in early 2022.
Our Market
Our primary market is self-pay aesthetic healthcare, which includes medical products purchased by physicians that are then sold to consumers or used in procedures for aesthetic indications that are not reimbursed by any third-party payor, such as Medicaid, Medicare or commercial insurance. By focusing on the self-pay medical aesthetics market, we believe we are not exposed to reimbursement risk associated with a reliance on payments from such third-party payors, and we are subject to fewer regulations that place limits on the types of marketing and other interactions we have with physicians.
Within the self-pay aesthetic market, the global aesthetic neurotoxin market was estimated to generate approximately $2.5 billion of revenue in 2020 and is estimated to grow to approximately $3.8 billion in 2023. The U.S. aesthetic neurotoxin market was estimated to generate $1.3 billion in sales in 2020 and is expected to grow to approximately $2.1 billion in 2023.
We believe the growth in the medical aesthetics market is driven by a number of factors, including:
•increased use by millennials who are increasingly seeking medical aesthetic treatments and utilizing neurotoxins as an entry point for aesthetic procedures due to their minimally invasive nature;
•an aging population together with an increasing life expectancy, which is resulting in more consumers with a desire for improved appearance and well-being over a longer period of time;
•rising disposable income, with the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reporting that real disposable income in the United States increased approximately 21% from December 2012 to December 2020;
•growing awareness, utilization and acceptance of elective or minimally invasive aesthetic procedures; and
3
Table of Contents
•continued innovation and improved accessibility to these treatments due to an increase in the number of physicians who perform these procedures.
Within the multiple age groups that receive aesthetic neurotoxin treatments, we strategically focus our marketing efforts on the millennial segment which is the largest cohort in the U.S. population. In 2019 there were estimated to be approximately 73 million millennials, defined as individuals born between 1981 and 1996. We believe that approximately 1.7 million females between the age of 30 and 39, which includes many individuals we define as millennials, are considering neurotoxins in the next twelve months.
Our Competitive Strengths
We offer physicians and consumers a compelling value proposition because:
•Jeuveau® offers the U.S. market the first known 900 kDa neurotoxin alternative to BOTOX. The manufacture of both Jeuveau® and BOTOX starts with a 900 kDa complex, includes adding the excipients human serum albumin, or HSA, and sodium chloride, and finishes by vacuum drying. We believe Jeuveau® is the only known neurotoxin product in the United States with a 900 kDa neurotoxin complex other than BOTOX. We also believe an important component of competitiveness in the neurotoxin market relates to the characteristics associated with the 900 kDa complex and the potential of the accessory proteins to increase the effectiveness of the active toxin portion of the complex.
•Results from our TRANSPARENCY global clinical program in more than 2,100 patients provides robust data to physicians evaluating the purchase of Jeuveau®. We believe the comprehensive TRANSPARENCY clinical data set, including a head-to-head Phase III study comparing Jeuveau® and BOTOX, provides physicians with confidence in recommending Jeuveau® to their patients.
•We offer a unique technology platform. We provide a simple, personal and connected experience for physicians utilizing our proprietary technology platform. We have built and continue to improve our platform with the goal of limiting friction and enhancing the overall experience for physicians and ultimately consumers. We are modernizing the customer engagement with our proprietary “Evolus Practice” app. We not only leverage technology for operational efficiency, but more importantly, to enhance a customer’s experience. The combination of a highly specialized sales force and our technology platform is an effective and competitive model.
•Enhanced level of physician-customer interaction through a self-pay, aesthetic-only marketing strategy. We have elected to specifically target the self-pay aesthetic market. With a reduced regulatory burden compared to third-party payor reimbursed therapeutic products, there is a number of benefits that market participants in reimbursed markets are unable to achieve, such as an enhanced level of interaction with our physician-customers. Jeuveau® is the only U.S. neurotoxin without a therapeutic indication. We believe pursuing an aesthetic-only non-reimbursed product strategy creates meaningful strategic advantages in the United States, including pricing and marketing flexibility. We utilize this flexibility to drive market adoption through programs such as promotional events, experience product programs and pricing strategies.
•We have strong relationships with aesthetic key opinion leaders, or KOLs. We have established relationships with aesthetic KOLs as a result of our management team’s industry experience and engagement of our clinical trial investigators. KOLs are important information resources to the general physician-customer market due to their clinical expertise, academic reputations, active clinical practices and their status as medical innovators. The broader physician community often looks to KOLs for their experience with products and procedures as part of their new product and procedure adoption process.
•Our management team has significant experience and expertise in medical aesthetics. Our management team has extensive experience in self-pay healthcare markets, in the development, market launch and commercialization of major medical products, execution and integration of business development transactions, identification of and partnerships with KOLs, and understanding of the regulatory environment of the healthcare markets. Key members of our leadership team have also served in relevant senior leadership positions with leading aesthetic companies.
Our Strategy
In May 2019, we launched Jeuveau® in the United States with our own specialty sales organization now consisting of over 70 positions between representatives, management and other sales employees and in Canada through our distribution partner,
4
Table of Contents
Clarion.We plan to expand our product offerings over time through in-licensing, partnerships and acquisitions and by launching our products internationally. The key components of our strategy are:
•Pursue an aesthetic-only strategy to enhance marketing and pricing flexibility along with improving transparency for our customers.
•Leverage our strong KOL relationships to assist in scientific presentations, publications, and other methods to drive success of our commercial launch of Jeuveau®.
•Launch directly or partner outside of the United States to reach and serve physicians and consumers in those territories.
•Leverage our differentiated digital platform to efficiently open new accounts, personalize the purchasing process and efficiently deploy marketing programs at scale.
•Establish a leading medical aesthetics company with a diversified product offering by in-licensing technology, developing partnerships and potentially acquiring products.
Final Ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Subsequent Settlement Agreements
On January 30, 2019, Allergan, plc (now Allergan Limited) and Allergan, Inc., who we refer to collectively as Allergan, and Medytox, Inc., or Medytox, filed a complaint against us and Daewoong Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., or Daewoong in the International Trade Commission, or ITC, alleging that Jeuveau® is manufactured based on misappropriated trade secrets of Medytox and therefore the importation of Jeuveau® is an unfair act. The ITC matter, which we refer to as the ITC Action, is entitled In the Matter of Certain Botulinum Toxin Products. The ITC instituted an investigation as ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1145.
On December 16, 2020, the ITC issued a final determination in the ITC Action and issued (1) a limited exclusion order prohibiting the importation of Jeuveau® into the United States for a period of 21 months and (2) a cease and desist order preventing the Company from, among other things, selling, marketing, or promoting such imported Jeuveau® in the United States for a period of 21 months. We refer to the limited exclusion order and the cease and desist order collectively as the remedial orders. The Final Determination was subject to a 60-day presidential review period before taking effect. During the presidential review period, the Company was permitted to continue importation and sales of Jeuveau® subject to payment of a bond of $441 per vial.
Effective February 18, 2021, we entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Medytox and Allergan, which we refer to as the U.S. Settlement Agreement and another Settlement and License Agreement with Medytox, which we refer to as the ROW Settlement Agreement. We refer to the U.S. Settlement Agreement and the ROW Settlement Agreement collectively as the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.
Under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we obtained (i) a license to commercialize, manufacture and to have manufactured for us certain products identified in the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, including Jeuveau® (the “Licensed Products”) in the United States and other territories where we license Jeuveau®, (ii) the dismissal of outstanding litigation against us, including the ITC Action, a rescission of the related remedial orders, and the dismissal of a civil case in the Superior Court of California against us, which we refer to together with any claims (including claims brought in Korean courts) with a common nexus of fact as the Medytox/Allergan Actions, and (iii) releases of claims against us for the Medytox/Allergan Actions. In exchange, we agreed to (i) make cash payments of $35.0 million in multiple payments over two years to Allergan and Medytox, (ii) pay to Allergan and Medytox certain royalties on the sale of Jeuveau®, based on a certain dollar amount per vial sold of Licensed Product by or on our behalf in the United States, from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, (iii) from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, pay to Medytox a low-double digit royalty on net sales of Jeuveau® sold by us or on our behalf in territories we have licensed outside the United States; (iv) from September 16, 2022 to September 16, 2032, pay to Medytox a mid-single digit royalty percentage on net sales of Jeuveau® in the United States and all territories we have licensed outside the United States, (v) issue to Medytox of 6,762,652 shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, which we issued on February 18, 2021, and (vi) enter into a Registration Rights Agreement pursuant to which we granted certain registration rights to Medytox with respect to such shares of common stock
5
Table of Contents
beginning as of March 31, 2022. In addition, under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we made certain representations and warranties and agreed to positive and negative covenants.
On March 23, 2021, we entered into a Confidential Settlement and Release Agreement with Daewoong Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., or Daewoong, which we refer to as the Daewoong Settlement Agreement, a Convertible Promissory Note Conversion Agreement, which we refer to as the Conversion Agreement and the Third Amendment to the Supply Agreement (which amends the Daewoong Agreement), which we refer to as the Daewoong Agreement Amendment. We refer to the Daewoong Settlement Agreement, the Conversion Agreement and the Daewoong Agreement Amendment collectively as the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement.
Under the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement, (i) Daewoong agreed to (a) pay us an amount equal to $25.5 million, (b) pay certain reasonable legal fees incurred by our litigation counsel in connection with its defense of the ITC Action (including any appeal of the resulting remedial orders), (c) cancel up to $10.5 million in aggregate milestone payments under our Daewoong Agreement, and (d) reimburse us certain amounts (calculated on a dollar amount per vials sold basis in the United States) for sales of certain products with respect to which we are required to pay Medytox and Allergan royalties pursuant to the U.S. Settlement Agreement; and (ii) we agreed to (y) release certain claims we may have against Daewoong or certain of its affiliates and representatives related to the allegations made in or the subject matter of the Medytox/Allergan Actions, or any orders, remedies and losses resulting from the Medytox/Allergan Actions, and (z) coordinate with Daewoong on certain matters related to the Medytox/Allergan Actions. In the Conversion Agreement, among other things, the parties agreed that (i) the principal balance of the $40.0 million aggregate principal amount convertible promissory note we issued to Daewoong on July 30, 2020, which we refer to as the Daewoong Convertible Note, and accrued and unpaid interest thereon shall be automatically converted, at the conversion price of $13.00 per share, into 3,136,869 shares of our common stock; and (ii) the Daewoong Convertible Note shall be deemed cancelled and satisfied in full in connection with such conversion.
Under the Daewoong Agreement Amendment, the parties agreed to amend the Daewoong Agreement to: (i) expand the territory within which we may distribute Jeuveau® to certain countries in Europe; (ii) reduce the period of time with respect to which we are required to deliver binding forecasts to Daewoong; (iii) introduce certain limitations on Daewoong’s ability to convert our exclusive license for certain territories to a non-exclusive license in the event we fail to meet certain minimum purchase requirements for such territory; (iv) adjust the minimum purchase requirements and reduce the transfer price per vial of Jeuveau® applicable to various territories; (v) require that any Jeuveau® supplied by Daewoong match certain shelf-life thresholds; and (vi) prohibit us from sharing certain confidential information regarding Daewoong with Medytox or its affiliates or representatives.
For additional information on the final ruling by the ITC and the subsequent Settlement Agreements, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations— Impact on Our Business of Final Ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Subsequent Settlement.”
Jeuveau® Overview
Jeuveau® is an injectable formulation of a 900 kDa botulinum toxin type A complex designed to address the needs of the large and growing facial aesthetics market. We completed the TRANSPARENCY global clinical program which enrolled over 2,100 adult subjects. The results of the TRANSPARENCY global clinical program were used to support our applications for regulatory approvals in the United States, EU and Canada.
As demonstrated in the figure below, Jeuveau® contains a 900 kDa botulinum toxin type A complex produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The active part of the neurotoxin is the 150 kDa component, and the remaining 750 kDA of the complex is made up of accessory proteins that we believe help with the function of the active portion of the toxin. Jeuveau® has the same mechanism of action as other type A botulinum toxins. When injected intramuscularly at therapeutic doses, botulinum toxin causes a chemical denervation of the muscle resulting in localized reduction of muscle activity. Botulinum toxin type A specifically blocks peripheral acetylcholine release at presynaptic cholinergic nerve terminals by cleaving SNAP-25, a protein integral to the successful docking and release of acetylcholine from vesicles situated within the nerve endings leading to denervation and relaxation of the muscle.
6
Table of Contents
Diagram of Botulinum Toxin Type A
TRANSPARENCY: Evolus Clinical Development for Glabellar Lines
TRANSPARENCY was a comprehensive five-study clinical development program for Jeuveau® and was used to meet the regulatory requirements for a Biologics License Application, or BLA, in the United States, a Marketing Authorisation Application, or MAA, in the EU, and a New Drug Submission, or NDS, in Canada, for the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar lines. The TRANSPARENCY program, which was developed in consultation with the FDA, Canadian, and European regulatory bodies, included three multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, controlled, single dose Phase III studies titled EV-001, EV-002 and EVB-003. Each Phase III study lasted 150 days. The TRANSPARENCY program also included two open label, multiple dose, long-term Phase II studies titled EV-004 and EV-006, each lasting one year. Between September 2014 and August 2016, over 2,100 adult male and female subjects with moderate to severe glabellar lines at maximum frown participated in this program.
In our clinical trials, subjects received intramuscular injections in five target sites in muscles that contribute to the formation of glabellar lines: the midline of the procerus, the inferomedial aspect of each corrugator, and the superior middle aspect of each corrugator. Each of the five target sites was injected with 0.1 milliliters, or mL, for a total of 0.5mL. Subjects assigned (in the open label studies) or randomized (in the controlled studies) to Jeuveau® received a total of 20 units per treatment, administered as 4 units per 0.1mL and those subjects who were randomized to the placebo group received 0.5mL saline. In our EVB-003 Phase III trial, the only study of the five with both a placebo and active control arm, subjects randomized to the active control received a total of 20 units of BOTOX administered as 4 units per 0.1mL.
All five studies contributed data to the evaluation of efficacy and safety of Jeuveau®.
Phase III U.S. Based Clinical Trials. The two identical U.S. Phase III studies, EV-001 and EV-002, enrolled subjects who were selected from a population of healthy adults, at least 18 years of age, who had moderate to severe glabellar lines at maximum frown, as independently assessed by the investigator and subject using the 4-point photonumeric Glabellar Line Scale, or GLS, where 0=no lines, 1=mild lines, 2=moderate lines and 3=severe lines. On Day 0, eligible subjects were randomly assigned in a 3:1 ratio to receive a single treatment of either Jeuveau® or placebo. Subjects were followed for 150 days after treatment.
The primary efficacy endpoint was defined as the proportion of subjects classified as responders on Day 30. This was a composite endpoint in which a responder was a subject with a 2 point improvement or greater on the GLS from Day 0 to Day 30 at maximum frown, only if independently agreed by both investigator and subject assessment.
Both studies met the primary endpoint of superiority over placebo. The percentages of responders in the intent to treat population for the composite primary endpoint, a two point or greater score composite improvement, in each of the two controlled single dose studies were:
•EV-001: 1.2% placebo, 67.5% Jeuveau®, with an absolute difference between the groups of 66.3%, 95% CI (59.0, 72.4)
7
Table of Contents
•EV-002: 1.3% placebo, 70.4% Jeuveau®, with an absolute difference between the groups of 69.1%, 95% CI (61.5, 75.1)
In the EV-002 study, the adverse event, or AE, rate was 26.9% in the placebo group and 28.5% in the Jeuveau® group. Placebo and Jeuveau® groups were similar in the overall incidence of subjects who experienced one or more AEs. Four Jeuveau® subjects (4/246, 1.6%) experienced a serious adverse event, or SAE, but none were assessed as study drug related. Placebo and Jeuveau® groups were also similar in the percentages of subjects who experienced an AE assessed by the investigator as study drug related: 7.7% of placebo subjects and 9.8% of Jeuveau® subjects. The drug related eyelid and eyebrow ptosis rates in the Jeuveau® arm were 1.2% and 0.4% respectively. Overall, AEs with an incidence of 1% or greater were headache at 9.3% in the Jeuveau® groups and 7.6% in the placebo groups and eyelid ptosis at 1% in the Jeuveau® groups and 0% in the placebo groups.
Phase III European and Canadian Clinical Trial for Glabellar Lines
The EVB-003 study was the third Phase III safety and efficacy study in the Jeuveau® clinical development program, and was conducted in Europe and Canada. 540 subjects with moderate to severe glabellar lines, or a GLS score of 2 or 3, as assessed by the investigator, were eligible to be enrolled provided that subjects also felt their glabellar lines had an important psychological impact, such as on their mood, anxiety or depressive symptoms. On Day 0, eligible subjects were randomly assigned in a 5:5:1 ratio to receive a single treatment of 20 units of Jeuveau®, 20 units of BOTOX or placebo.
The primary efficacy endpoint was defined as the proportion of subjects classified as responders on Day 30. A responder was a subject with a GLS score of 0 or 1, as assessed by the investigator at maximum frown. The primary analysis of the primary efficacy endpoint in the EVB-003 study showed the superiority of Jeuveau® over placebo, and established non-inferiority of Jeuveau® to BOTOX. The percentages of responders for the primary efficacy endpoint were:
•4.2% in the placebo group, 95% CI (0.0, 9.8);
•82.8% in the BOTOX group, 95% CI (78.1, 87.5); and
•87.2% in the Jeuveau® group, 95% CI (83.0, 91.5).
A confidence interval, or CI, is a range of values in which, statistically, there is a specified level of confidence where the result lies. As an example, in the results above for this Phase III study, the results indicate that there is a 95% level of confidence that the responder rate for placebo was between 0.0% and 9.8%, which we express as: 95% CI (0.0, 9.8).
The absolute differences between the treatment groups were:
•83.1% between Jeuveau® and placebo groups, 95% CI (70.3, 89.4), (p<0.001), indicating Jeuveau® was superior to placebo; and
•4.4% between Jeuveau® and BOTOX groups, 95% CI (-1.9, 10.8), with non‐inferiority of Jeuveau® versus BOTOX concluded based on the lower bound of the 95% CI for the absolute difference exceeding -10.0%.
8
Table of Contents
As presented in the table below, within each group, 32.7% of placebo subjects, 41.9% of BOTOX subjects and 37.6% of Jeuveau® subjects experienced AEs. One placebo subject (1/49, 2.0%), one BOTOX subject (1/246, 0.4%) and three Jeuveau® subjects (3/245, 1.2%) experienced a total of 11 SAEs and none were assessed as study drug related. The drug related eyelid ptosis rates were 1.6% in the Jeuveau® arm and 0% in the BOTOX arm and the eyebrow ptosis rates were 0% in the Jeuveau® arm and 0.4% in the BOTOX arm.
EU and Canadian Phase III Trial - Adverse Event Rate Summary
As presented in the table below, in EVB-003, we also assessed as a secondary endpoint ≥ 1 point improvement GLS at maximum frown for both investigator and patient satisfaction. The investigator assessment at Day 2, the beginning of the study, and at Day 150, at the end of the study, Jeuveau® is statistically superior to placebo as measured by a one-point improvement on the GLS scale by investigator assessment. We also looked at subject satisfaction on Day 30, and Jeuveau® was superior to placebo at 91% versus 6% in the placebo arm.
EU and Canadian Phase III Trial - Select Secondary Endpoints
*P-Value Placebo vs Jeuveau® <0.001
Manufacturing
Daewoong Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., or Daewoong, manufactures and supplies Jeuveau® to us. Daewoong has over 70 years of experience manufacturing pharmaceutical products and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in South Korea. Daewoong constructed a facility in South Korea where Jeuveau® is produced. We believe this facility will be sufficient to meet demand for Jeuveau® for the foreseeable future. The FDA conducted a current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, and pre-approval inspection of the facility in November 2017 in connection with our BLA for Jeuveau®. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, also completed an inspection of the manufacturing facility in February 2018 in connection with our MAA. The U.S. FDA approval of Jeuveau® in February 2019 included approval to manufacture Jeuveau® at Daewoong’s facility.
9
Table of Contents
Daewoong License and Supply Agreement
On September 30, 2013, we entered into the Daewoong Agreement with Daewoong, pursuant to which Daewoong agreed to manufacture and supply Jeuveau® and grant us an exclusive license to import, distribute, promote, market, develop, offer for sale and otherwise commercialize and exploit Jeuveau® for aesthetic indications in the United States, EU, Great Britain, European Economic Area, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, and South Africa, each, a covered territory. Provided that if we do not apply for approvals or commence clinical trials in certain covered territories within 12 months of the Daewoong Agreement Amendment, we may no longer have rights to that covered territory. Daewoong also granted us a non-exclusive license to do the same in Japan. In connection with our entry into the Daewoong Agreement, we made an upfront payment to Daewoong of $2.5 million and agreed to make milestone payments upon certain confidential development and commercial milestones, including payment to Daewoong upon each of FDA and EMA approval of Jeuveau®. Under the Daewoong Agreement, the maximum aggregate amount of milestone payments that could have been owed to Daewoong upon the satisfaction of all milestones is $13.5 million. Upon the FDA approval in February 2019 and EMA approval in September 2019, we paid $2.0 million and $1.0 million milestone payment, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, Daewoong was eligible to receive remaining contingent milestone payments of up to $10.5 million, all of which were cancelled in March 2021 as part of the Daewoong Settlement Agreement. Daewoong is responsible for all costs related to the manufacturing of Jeuveau®, including costs related to the operation and upkeep of its manufacturing facility, and we are responsible for all costs related to obtaining regulatory approval, including clinical expenses, and commercialization of Jeuveau®.
Under the Daewoong Agreement, Daewoong has agreed to supply us with Jeuveau® at an agreed-upon, transfer price, and we have agreed to make milestone payments upon completion of certain confidential development and commercial milestones. Our exclusivity is subject to certain minimum annual purchases for each covered territory upon commercialization and if we fail to meet these targets, Daewoong may, at its option, convert the exclusive license for such covered territory to a non-exclusive license. These potential minimum purchase obligations are contingent upon the occurrence of future events, including receipt of governmental approvals and our future market share in various jurisdictions. During the term of the Daewoong Agreement, we cannot purchase, sell or distribute any competing products in a covered territory or Japan or sell Jeuveau® outside a covered territory or Japan. We also have the option to negotiate first with Daewoong to secure a distribution license for any product that Daewoong directly or indirectly develops or commercializes that is classified as an injectable botulinum toxin (other than Jeuveau®) in a covered territory or Japan.
The initial term of the Daewoong Agreement expires September 30, 2023, and automatically renews for unlimited additional three-year terms if we meet certain performance requirements. The Daewoong Agreement will terminate (A) upon written notice by either us or Daewoong upon a continuing default that remains uncured within 90 days (or 30 days for a payment default) by the other party, or (B) without notice upon the bankruptcy or insolvency of our company.
We are the sole owner of any marketing authorization and clinical trial results we pursue in a covered territory. However, if we do not renew the Daewoong Agreement or upon termination of the Daewoong Agreement due to a breach by us, we are obligated to transfer our rights to Daewoong.
The Daewoong Agreement also provides that Daewoong will indemnify us for any losses arising out of (i) Daewoong’s willful misconduct or gross negligence in performing its obligations under the agreement, (ii) Daewoong’s breach of the agreement, or (iii) any allegation that Jeuveau® or Daewoong’s trademark infringes or misappropriates the rights of a third party, except, in each case, as a result of our willful misconduct or gross negligence. We have agreed to indemnify Daewoong for any losses arising out of (A) our willful misconduct or gross negligence in performing our obligations under the agreement, or (B) our breach of the agreement, except, in each case, as a result of Daewoong’s willful misconduct or gross negligence.
Competition
Our primary competitors in the pharmaceutical market are companies offering injectable dose forms of botulinum toxin. There are only four approved injectable botulinum toxin type A neurotoxins in the United States, including Jeuveau®. There are also other injectable botulinum toxin type A products being developed for the U.S. market. We believe the primary competing products in this market include BOTOX, Dysport and Xeomin:
•BOTOX, marketed by Allergan plc, or Allergan, received FDA approval in 2002 for glabellar lines. Allergan was the first company to market neurotoxins for aesthetic purposes.
•Dysport, marketed by Galderma S.A., or Galderma, received FDA approval in 2009 for glabellar lines.
10
Table of Contents
•Xeomin, marketed by Merz Pharma GmbH & Co., or Merz, received FDA approval in 2011 for glabellar lines.
We are also aware that Revance Therapeutics, Inc. has submitted a BLA to the FDA for an injectable botulinum toxin type A neurotoxin and received a target date action date of November 25, 2020 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act; however the FDA has deferred its decision on the BLA and the BLA has not yet been approved. If Revance’s BLA is approved, we expect the competition in the U.S. injectable botulinum toxin market to further increase.
In addition to the companies commercializing and developing neurotoxins, there are other products and treatments that may indirectly compete with Jeuveau®, such as dermal fillers, laser treatments, brow lifts, chemical peels, fat injections and cold therapy. We compete with various companies that have products in these medical aesthetic categories. Among these companies are Allergan, Sanofi, Sun Pharma, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., or Valeant, Mentor Worldwide LLC, a division of Johnson & Johnson, Merz, Galderma, and Skinceuticals, a division of L’Oreal SA. In addition, we are aware of other companies also developing and/or marketing products in one or more of our target markets, including competing injectable botulinum toxin type A formulations that are in various phases of development in North America for the treatment of glabellar lines.
Seasonality
We launched Jeuveau® into the U.S. aesthetic neurotoxin market in May 2019. Given the early stage of our launch of Jeuveau®, the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact of the ITC remedial orders, we have not observed significant seasonality in our net revenue to date. However, we are aware that historically the aesthetic neurotoxin market experiences higher revenue in the second and fourth calendar quarters as compared to the first and third calendar quarters.
Government Regulation in the United States
We operate in a highly regulated industry that is subject to significant federal, state, local and foreign regulation. Our business has been, and will continue to be, subject to a variety of laws including the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, or FFDCA, and the Public Health Service Act, or the PHS Act, among others. Biologics and medical devices are subject to regulation under the FFDCA and PHS Act.
In the United States, cosmetics, dietary supplements, biopharmaceutical products and medical devices are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. The FFDCA, PHS Act, and other federal and state statutes and regulations, govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, regulatory approval, license or clearance, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, and import and export of these products. Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve pending license or marketing applications, warning letters and other enforcement actions, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties and criminal prosecution.
FDA Marketing Approval
The process required by the FDA before a biological product may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:
•completion of nonclinical laboratory tests and animal studies according to good laboratory practices, or GLPs, and applicable requirements for the humane use of laboratory animals or other applicable regulations;
•submission to the FDA of an investigative new drug application, or IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;
•performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed biological product for its intended use, according to the FDA’s regulations, commonly referred to as good clinical practices, or GCPs, and any additional requirements including those for the protection of human research subjects and their health and other personal information;
•submission to the FDA of a BLA for marketing approval that includes substantive evidence of safety;
•purity and potency from results of nonclinical testing and clinical trials;
11
Table of Contents
•satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the biological product is produced to assess compliance with cGMP, to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the biological product’s identity, strength, quality and purity and, if applicable, the FDA’s current good tissue practices for the use of human cellular and tissue products;
•potential FDA audits of the nonclinical study and clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the BLA; and
•FDA review and approval of the BLA.
Post-Approval Requirements
Once a BLA is approved, a product is subject to certain post-approval requirements. For instance, the FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of biologics, including standards and regulations, off-label promotion, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and promotional activities involving the internet. Biologics may be marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. Adverse event reporting and submission of periodic reports is required following FDA approval of a BLA. The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, known as Phase IV testing, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies, or REMS, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product or place conditions on an approval that could restrict the distribution or use of the product. In addition, quality control as well as product manufacturing, packaging and labeling procedures must continue to conform to cGMP after approval. Manufacturers and certain of their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA during which the agency inspects manufacturing facilities to assess compliance with applicable regulations such as cGMP and the Quality System Regulation. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money and effort in the areas of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMP. Regulatory authorities may withdraw product approvals or request product recalls if a company fails to comply with regulatory standards, if it encounters problems following initial marketing, or if previously unrecognized problems are subsequently discovered.
Other Regulation of the Healthcare Industry
While we do not currently have plans for our neurotoxin product to be covered by insurance or government reimbursement programs, if we were to offer reimbursable products, we could be subject to federal laws and regulations covering reimbursable products, such as the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law and Physician Payment Sunshine Act. These laws that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to:
•The Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibit persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce either the referral of an individual, or furnishing or arranging for a good or service, for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program;
•The Federal False Claims Act which imposes civil and criminal liability on individuals and entities who submit, or cause to be submitted, false or fraudulent claims for payment to the government;
•the Federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which prohibits, among other things, offering or transferring remuneration to a federal healthcare beneficiary that a person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s decision to order or receive items or services reimbursable by the government from a particular provider or supplier;
•The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), which prohibits certain payments made to foreign government officials;
•the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud or to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by trick, scheme or device 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 relating to healthcare matters;
12
Table of Contents
•the Federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, and its implementing regulations, which require that certain manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, biologics, and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report to the CMS information related to certain payments or other transfers of value made or distributed to physicians, which is defined broadly to include other healthcare providers, teaching hospitals, and ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; and
•State and foreign law equivalents of the foregoing and state laws regarding pharmaceutical company marketing compliance, reporting and disclosure obligations.
If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws, regulations, rules or policies or any other law or governmental regulation, or if interpretations of the foregoing change, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations.
Government Regulation in Europe
In the European Economic Area, or EEA (which is composed of the 28 Member States of the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), medicinal products can only be commercialized after obtaining a Marketing Authorization, or MA.
There are two types of MAs:
•The Community MA, which is issued by the European Commission through the Centralized Procedure, based on the opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the EMA and which is valid throughout the entire territory of the EEA. The Centralized Procedure is mandatory for certain types of products, such as biotechnology medicinal products, orphan medicinal products, and medicinal products indicated for the treatment of AIDS, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, auto-immune and viral diseases. The Centralized Procedure is optional for products containing a new active substance not yet authorized in the EEA, or for products that constitute a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation or which are in the interest of public health in the EU.
•National MAs, which are issued by the competent authorities of the Member States of the EEA and only cover their respective territory, are available for products not falling within the mandatory scope of the Centralized Procedure.
Because we are a biotechnology medicinal products company, we are eligible for a Community MA under the Centralized Procedure.
Under the above described procedures, before granting the MA, the EMA or the competent authorities of the Member States of the EEA make an assessment of the risk-benefit balance of the product on the basis of scientific criteria concerning its quality, safety and efficacy.
Product Approval Process Outside the United States and Europe
In addition to regulations in the United States and EU, we may be subject to a variety of regulations in other jurisdictions governing manufacturing, clinical trials, commercial sales and distribution of our future products. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval or MA approval for a product candidate, we must obtain approval of the product by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries before commencing clinical trials or marketing in those countries. The approval process varies from country to country, and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval or MA approval. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary greatly from country to country.
Data Privacy and Security Laws and Regulations
We are also subject to data privacy and security regulation by the federal government, states and non-U.S. jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. For example, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, and its implementing regulations, imposes certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Among other things, HITECH makes HIPAA’s privacy and security standards directly applicable to “business associates,” those independent contractors or agents of covered entities that create, receive, maintain, transmit or obtain protected health information in connection with providing a service on behalf of a covered entity. HITECH also increased the civil and criminal penalties that may be imposed against covered entities, business associates and possibly other persons, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or
13
Table of Contents
injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorney’s fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. In addition, state and non-U.S. laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation adopted by the EU, govern the privacy and security of health and other personal information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts.
There are numerous other laws and legislative and regulatory initiatives at the federal and state levels addressing privacy and security concerns. We also remain subject to federal or state privacy-related laws that are more restrictive than the privacy regulations issued under HIPAA. These laws vary and could impose additional penalties. For example, the Federal Trade Commission uses its consumer protection authority to initiate enforcement actions in response to alleged privacy and data security violations. Further, certain states have proposed or enacted legislation that will create new data privacy and security obligations for certain entities, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, which came into effect January 1, 2020 and was recently amended and expanded by the California Privacy Rights Act, or the CRPA, passed on November 3, 2020. The CCPA and CPRA, among other things, create new data privacy obligations for covered companies and provides new privacy rights to California residents, including the right to opt out of certain disclosures of their information. The CCPA also created a private right of action with statutory damages for certain data breaches, thereby potentially increasing risks associated with a data breach. It remains unclear what, if any, additional modifications will be made to the CPRA by the California legislature or how it will be interpreted. Therefore, the effects of the CCPA and CPRA are significant and will likely require us to modify our data processing practices and may cause us to incur substantial costs and expenses to comply, particularly given our base of operations in California.
Environmental Regulation
We are subject to numerous foreign, federal, state, and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations relating to, among other matters, safe working conditions, manufacturing practices, fire hazard control, product stewardship and end-of-life handling or disposition of products, and environmental protection, including those governing the generation, storage, handling, use, transportation and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances and biological materials.
Our History
We were incorporated in November 2012 and are headquartered in Newport Beach, California. In a series of related transactions in 2013, Strathspey Crown Holdings Group, LLC (formerly known as Strathspey Crown Holdings, LLC), or SCH, acquired all of our outstanding equity in exchange for membership interests in SCH. In 2014, SCH contributed our equity that it had acquired in 2013 to its subsidiary operating entity, ALPHAEON Corporation, or Alphaeon. As a result of these transactions, prior to our initial public offering we were a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphaeon. In 2019 Alphaeon changed its name to AEON Biopharma, Inc. and contributed all of the shares it held in the Company to Alphaeon 1, LLC. The Company continues to refer to the renamed AEON Biopharma, Inc. as “Alphaeon” and Alphaeon 1, LLC as Alphaeon 1, LLC.
As of December 31, 2020 and March 25, 2021, Alphaeon owned 25.7% and 19.8% of our outstanding shares of common stock, respectively.
Human Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we had 119 employees, all of whom are full-time in the United States, and 63% of our full-time employees were women. None of our employees are represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements, and we have never experienced any work stoppage. We believe we have good relations with our employees.
We believe that our future success largely depends upon our continued ability to attract and retain highly qualified management and technical personnel. Talent management is critical to our ability to execute on our long-term growth strategy. To facilitate talent attraction and retention, we strive to make our company a safe and rewarding workplace, with opportunities for our employees to grow and develop in their careers, supported by strong compensation and benefits, and by programs that build connections among our employees. We continue to be committed to an inclusive culture which values equity, opportunity, and respect. In support of our inclusive culture, we offer competitive compensation and benefits, including stock awards; provide unconscious bias training to strengthen employee awareness; and strive to recruit a diverse talent pool across all levels of the organization. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented changes that we determined were in the best interest of our employees, as well as the communities in which we operate, and which comply with government regulations. This included implementing a work-from-home policy for all employees who are able to perform their duties remotely and restricting all nonessential travel.
14
Table of Contents
Corporate Information
We were incorporated in the State of Delaware in November 2012. Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Newport Center Drive, Suite 1200, Newport Beach, California 92660, and our telephone number is (949) 284-4555. Our website address is www.evolus.com. We do not incorporate the information on or accessible through our website into this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and you should not consider any information on, or that can be accessed through, our website a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any other filing we make with the SEC. We are an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and also a smaller reporting company, and therefore we are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
Available Information
We make available, free of charge, on our website at www.evolus.com our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to such reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. All such reports are also available free of charge via EDGAR through the SEC website at www.sec.gov. We do not incorporate the information on or accessible through these websites into this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and you should not consider any information on, or that can be accessed through, these websites a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any other filing we make with the SEC.
15
Table of Contents
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
An investment in our company involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Item 7“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and the related notes included in Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, revenue, and future prospects could be seriously harmed. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. Unless otherwise indicated, references to our business being seriously harmed in these risk factors will include harm to our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, revenue, and future prospects. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Strategy
We will require additional financing to fund our future operations, and a failure to obtain additional capital when so needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our operations and as a result, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
We believe that our current capital resources, after taking into account the repayment of the Oxford loan are not sufficient to meet our obligations and fund operations through at least the next 12 months. We will be required to raise additional capital to meet our operating, debt and settlement obligations coming due.
We have utilized substantial amounts of cash since our inception in order to conduct clinical development to support regulatory approval of Jeuveau® in the United States, EU and Canada and in connection with the launch of Jeuveau® in the United States and Canada. We expect that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future in order to pay costs associated with our settlement agreements with Medytox and Allergan, payments to the founders of our company under a promissory note issued to them in 2017 and for the continued commercialization of Jeuveau® in the United States and abroad.
As described in our notes to the financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have incurred recurring losses and negative cash flows from operations and have an accumulated deficit at December 31, 2020 of $376.1 million, which raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $102.6 million and short-term investments of $5.0 million. On January 4, 2021, we entered into a letter agreement with Oxford Finance, LLC, or Oxford , pursuant to which we paid Oxford $76.4 million to discharge in full all outstanding obligations, included accrued interest, under that certain Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of March 15, 2019.
In the near term, we expect expenditures associated with our settlement agreements with Medytox and Allergan, including a $15.0 million payment due in the second quarter of 2021, and a $20.0 million payment in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the founders of our company under a promissory note issued to them in 2017. This will be partially offset by a $25.5 million payment from Daewoong to us. Additionally, we expect to expend resources furthering the development and continuation of our marketing programs and commercialization infrastructure in connection with commercializing Jeuveau® within and outside of the United States. In the long term, our expenditures will include costs associated with the continued commercialization of Jeuveau® and any of our future product candidates, such as research and development, conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials and manufacturing and supplying as well as marketing and selling any products approved for sale. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise. Because the commercialization expenditures needed to meet our sales objectives are highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®. We expect to incur additional costs as we continue to operate as a public company, hire additional personnel and expand our operations.
If we raise additional capital through marketing and distribution arrangements, royalty financing arrangements, or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish certain valuable rights to our product candidates, technologies, future revenue streams or research programs or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we raise additional capital through public or private equity offerings or offerings of securities convertible into our equity, the ownership interest of our existing stockholders will be diluted and the terms of any such securities may have a preference over our common stock. Debt financing, receivables financing and royalty financing may also be coupled with an equity component, such as warrants to purchase our capital stock, which could also result in dilution
16
Table of Contents
of our existing stockholders’ ownership, and such dilution may be material. Additionally, if we raise additional capital through debt financing, we will have increased fixed payment obligations and may be subject to covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt or making capital expenditures to meet specified financial ratios, and other operational restrictions, any of which could restrict our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® or any future product candidates or operate as a business and may result in liens being placed on our assets. If we were to default on any of our indebtedness, we could lose such assets.
In the event we are unable to raise sufficient capital to fund our commercialization efforts to achieve specified minimum sales targets under the Daewoong Agreement, we will lose exclusivity of the license that we have been granted under the Daewoong Agreement. In addition, if we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we will be required to take actions to address our liquidity needs which may include the following: significantly reduce operating expenses and delay, reduce the scope of or discontinue some of our development programs, commercialization efforts or other aspects of our business plan, out-license intellectual property rights to our product candidates and sell unsecured assets, or a combination of the above. As a result, our ability to achieve profitability or to respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and/or our ability to fund our scheduled obligations on a timely basis or at all.
We currently depend entirely on the successful commercialization of our only product, Jeuveau®. If we are unable to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®, we may never generate sufficient revenue to continue our business.
We currently have only one product, Jeuveau®, and our business presently depends entirely on our ability to successfully commercialize it in a timely manner. While the product was commercially launched in the United States in May 2019 and through a distribution partner in Canada in October 2019, we have a limited history of generating revenue for Jeuveau®. Our near-term prospects, including our ability to generate revenue, as well as our future growth, depend entirely on the successful commercialization of Jeuveau®. The commercial success of Jeuveau® will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®, whether alone or in collaboration with others, including our ability to hire, retain and train sales representatives in the United States. Our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® is also dependent on the willingness of consumers to pay for Jeuveau® relative to other discretionary items, especially during economically challenging times. Additional factors necessary for the successful commercialization of Jeuveau® include the availability, perceived advantages, relative cost, relative safety of Jeuveau® and relative efficacy of competing products, the timing of new product introductions by our competitors, and the sales and marketing tactics of our competitors, including bundling of multiple products, in response to our launch of Jeuveau®.
If we do not achieve one or more of these factors, many of which are beyond our control, in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant issues commercializing Jeuveau®. Further, we may never be able to successfully commercialize Jeuveau® or any future product candidates. In addition, our experience as a commercial company is limited. Accordingly, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue through the sale of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates to continue our business.
We have a limited operating history and have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. We have only one product and limited commercial sales, which, together with our limited operating history, make it difficult to assess our future viability.
We are a performance beauty company with a limited operating history. To date, we have invested substantially all of our efforts and financial resources in the clinical development, regulatory approval, and commercial launch of Jeuveau®, which is currently our only product. We began selling Jeuveau® in the United States in May 2019 and through a distribution partner in Canada in October 2019 and have a limited history of generating revenue. We are not profitable and have incurred losses in each year since our inception in 2012. We have a limited operating history upon which you can evaluate our business and prospects. Consequently, any predictions about our future success, performance or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or greater experience commercializing a product. In addition, we have limited experience and have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully overcome many of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in the medical aesthetics field. We continue to incur significant expenses related to the commercialization of Jeuveau®. We have recorded net losses of $163.0 million and $90.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and had an accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2020 of $376.1 million. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we anticipate these losses will continue as we commercialize Jeuveau®. Our ability to achieve revenue and profitability is dependent on our ability to successfully market and commercialize Jeuveau®. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in
17
Table of Contents
subsequent periods. Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to raise capital and continue operations.
If we or our counterparties do not comply with the terms of our settlement agreements with Medytox, Inc., or Medytox, and Allergan Limited, Allergan, Inc. and Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland, or, collectively, Allergan, we may face litigation or lose our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® which would materially and adversely affect our ability to carry out our business, and our financial condition and ability to continue as a going concern.
Effective February 18, 2021, we entered into one Settlement and License Agreement with Allergan and Medytox, which we refer to as the U.S. Settlement Agreement and into another Settlement and License Agreement with Medytox which we refer to as the ROW Settlement Agreement. Collectively, we refer to the U.S. Settlement Agreement and the ROW Settlement Agreement as the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.
Under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements we obtained (i) a license to commercialize, manufacture and to have manufactured for us certain products identified in the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, including Jeuveau® (the “Licensed Products’), in the United States and other territories where we license Jeuveau®, (ii) the dismissal of outstanding litigation against us, including the ITC Action, a rescission of the related remedial orders, and the dismissal of a civil case in the Superior Court of California against us, which we refer to together with any claims (including claims brought in Korean courts) with a common nexus of fact as the Medytox/Allergan Actions, and (iii) releases of claims against us for the Medytox/Allergan Actions. In exchange, we agreed to (i) make payments of $35 million in multiple payments over two years to Allergan and Medytox, (ii) from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, pay to Allergan and Medytox certain royalties on the sale of Jeuveau®, based on a specified dollar amount per vial sold of Licensed Product by or on behalf of the Company in the United States, (iii) from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, pay to Medytox a low-double digit royalty on net sales of Jeuveau® sold by us or on our behalf in territories we have licensed outside the United States; (iv) from September 16, 2022 to September 16, 2032, pay to Medytox a mid-single digit royalty percentage on net sales of Jeuveau® in the United States and all territories we have licensed outside the United States, (v) issue to Medytox 6,762,652 shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, which we issued on February 18 2021, and (vi) enter into a Registration Rights Agreement pursuant to which we granted certain registration rights to Medytox with respect to such shares of common stock beginning as of March 31, 2022. In addition, under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements we made certain representations and warranties and agreed to positive and negative covenants.
In the event we fail to comply with the terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, subject to applicable cure periods, Allergan and Medytox would have the ability to terminate the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements and thereby cancel the licenses granted to us and re-institute litigation against us. Any litigation may result in remedies against our products, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties, any of which would materially and adversely affect our ability to generate revenue from Jeuveau®, to carry out our business, and to continue as a going concern.
Additionally, if Medytox or Allergan fail to comply with the terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements and do not dismiss the claims to be dismissed or grant the licenses or comply with the covenants and agreements under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, it would materially and adversely affect our ability to generate revenue from Jeuveau®, to carry out our business, and to continue as a going concern. We would also be required to engage in costly and time consuming litigation in order to enforce our rights under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.
The terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements will reduce our profitability and may affect the extent of any discounts we may offer to our customers.
As a result of the royalty payments that we are required to pay under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, our profitability will be impacted. We may be able to offset a portion of the loss of profitability by decreasing any discount to customers on Jeuveau® as compared to discounts we provided to customers prior to the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements. If we reduce discounts for any customers, their volume of purchases may decrease which would have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
18
Table of Contents
Our business, financial condition and operations may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak or other similar outbreaks.
The COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, known as COVID-19, or other similar outbreaks of contagious diseases may have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The COVID-19 outbreak, and restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, including quarantines, government-mandated actions, stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, has adversely affected our business in a number of ways. For example, the spread of COVID-19 in the United States has resulted and continues to result in travel restrictions impacting our sales professionals and closures of our customers’ businesses, which has adversely affected our sales and operations. In response, we have taken and will continue to take temporary precautionary measures intended to help minimize the risk of COVID-19 to our employees, including requiring our employees and sales professionals, to work remotely when required by local jurisdictions, suspending non-essential travel and restricting in-person work-related meetings. We significantly reduced our operating expenses during this uncertain period, including through meaningful headcount reductions and temporary reductions in executive salaries. As a result of the limitations on our sales force and our headcount reductions, we expect to increasingly depend on our proprietary digital platform to support sales. Other negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak or other similar outbreaks could include the availability of our key personnel, temporary closures of our office or the facilities of our business partners, customers, third party service providers or other vendors, and the interruption of our supply chain, distribution channels, liquidity and capital or financial markets. Any of these events may result in a period of business disruption and in reduced sales and operations. In addition, any disruption and volatility in the global capital markets may increase our cost of capital and adversely affect our ability to access financing when and on terms that we desire. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Moreover, Jeuveau® is utilized in elective procedures, the costs of which are borne by the consumer and not third-party payors. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions to slow its spread, these elective procedures have declined dramatically due to closures of our customers’ businesses and as many customers are deferring their procedures. Even after the current COVID-19 outbreak has subsided, we may continue to experience negative impacts to our business and financial results if consumers continue to defer or avoid altogether elective procedures to administer Jeuveau® due to the continued perceived risk of infection or concern of a resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak as well as COVID-19’s global economic impact, including decreases in consumer discretionary spending and any economic slowdown or recession that has occurred or may occur in the future.
Unfavorable global economic conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a global economic contraction that may last a long time. Significant increases in unemployment stemming from the pandemic have also occurred which will impact consumer discretionary spending. Furthermore, the market for aesthetic medical procedures may be particularly vulnerable to unfavorable economic conditions. We do not expect Jeuveau® for the treatment of glabellar lines to be reimbursed by any government or third-party payor and, as a result, our product will be ultimately paid for by the consumer. Demand for Jeuveau® is tied to discretionary spending levels of our targeted consumer population. A severe or prolonged economic downturn could result in a variety of risks to our business, including a decline in the discretionary spending of our target consumer population, which could lead to a weakened demand for Jeuveau® or any future product candidates. A severe or prolonged economic downturn may also affect our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all. A weak or declining economy could also strain our suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption, or cause our customers to delay making payments for our products. Any of the foregoing could harm our business. In addition, our business strategy was developed based on a number of important assumptions about the self-pay healthcare market. For example, we believe that the number of self-pay healthcare procedures will increase in the future. However, these trends are uncertain and limited sources exist to obtain reliable market data. Therefore, sales of Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates could differ materially from our projections if our assumptions are incorrect.
19
Table of Contents
Jeuveau® faces, and any of our future product candidates will face, significant competition and our failure to effectively compete may prevent us from achieving significant market penetration and expansion.
In May 2019, we commercially launched Jeuveau® into the highly competitive U.S. aesthetic neurotoxin market. In the long term, we expect to expand our focus to the broader self-pay healthcare market. Many of our potential competitors, including Allergan, and now AbbVie Inc., which acquired Allergan, who first launched BOTOX for cosmetic uses in 2002 and has since maintained the highest market share position in the aesthetic neurotoxin market with its BOTOX product, are large, experienced companies that enjoy significant competitive advantages, such as substantially greater financial resources enabling them to, among other things, market and discount aggressively. Competitors may also have greater brand recognition for their products, larger sales forces and larger aesthetic product portfolios allowing the companies to bundle products to provide customers more choices and to further discount their products. Additionally our competitors have greater existing market share in the aesthetic neurotoxin product market and long standing customer loyalty programs and sales contracts with large customers which creates established business and financial relationships with customers, aesthetic societies and universities.
These competitors may also try to compete with Jeuveau® on price both directly, through rebates and promotional programs to high volume physicians and coupons to consumers, and indirectly, through attractive product bundling with complimentary products, such as dermal fillers that offer convenience and an effectively lower price compared to the total price of purchasing each product separately. These companies may also seek to compete based on their longer operating history. Larger companies may be better capitalized than us and, accordingly, are able to offer greater customer loyalty benefits to encourage repeat use of their products and finance a sustained global advertising campaign to compete with our commercialization efforts at launch. A number of our larger competitors also have access to a significant amount of studies and publications that they could use to compete with us.
Competitors and other parties may also seek to impact regulatory approval of our future product applications through the filing of citizen petitions or other similar documents, which could require costly and time-consuming responses to the regulatory agencies. Larger competitors could seek to prevent or delay our commercialization efforts via costly litigation which can be lengthy and expensive and serve to distract our management team’s attention. We could face competition from other sources as well, including academic institutions, governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. In addition, we are aware of other companies also developing and/or marketing products in one or more of our target markets, including competing injectable botulinum toxin type A formulations that are currently in Phase III clinical development in North America for the treatment of glabellar lines. For example, Revance Therapeutics, Inc. has submitted a BLA to the FDA for an injectable botulinum toxin type A neurotoxin and received a target action date of November 25, 2020 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act; however, the FDA has deferred its decision on the BLA and the BLA has not yet been approved. If the BLA is approved, we expect the competition in the U.S. injectable botulinum toxin market to further increase. We would face similar risks with respect to any future product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the broader self-pay healthcare market. Successful competitors in that market have the ability to effectively discover, obtain patents, develop, test and obtain regulatory approvals for products, as well as the ability to effectively commercialize, market and promote approved products, including communicating the effectiveness, safety and value of products to actual and prospective customers and medical staff.
Our strategy of competing in the aesthetic neurotoxin market is dependent on the marketing and pricing flexibility that we believe is afforded to a company with a portfolio limited to self-pay healthcare, comprised of products and procedures that are not reimbursed by third-party payors. In the event that regulations applicable to reimbursed products are changed to apply to self-pay healthcare products, we would no longer have this flexibility and we may not be able to compete as effectively with our competitors which may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, as a result of the royalty payments that we are required to pay under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we may not be able to discount Jeuveau® to the extent that we previously provided discounts to customers without impacting our gross margins. If we increase prices for any customers, their volume of purchases may decrease which would have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The first use of Jeuveau® is in aesthetic medicine. The aesthetic product market, and the facial aesthetic market in particular, is highly competitive and dynamic and is characterized by rapid and substantial technological development and product innovations. We have received regulatory approval of Jeuveau® for the treatment of glabellar lines and launched commercially in the United States and through a distribution partner in Canada. We anticipate that Jeuveau® will face significant competition from other facial aesthetic products, such as other injectable and topical botulinum toxins and dermal fillers. Jeuveau® may also compete with unapproved and off-label treatments. In addition, competitors may develop new technologies within the aesthetic market that may be superior in safety and efficacy to Jeuveau® or offer alternatives to the
20
Table of Contents
use of toxins, including surgical and radio frequency techniques. To compete successfully in the aesthetic market, we will have to demonstrate that Jeuveau® is at least as safe and effective as current products sold by our competitors. Competition in the aesthetic market could result in price-cutting and reduced profit margins, any of which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Due to less stringent regulatory requirements, there are many more aesthetic products and procedures available for use in international markets than are approved for use in the United States. There are also fewer limitations on the claims that our competitors in international markets can make about the effectiveness of their products and the manner in which they can market them. As a result, we expect to face more competition in these markets than in the United States.
Our commercial opportunity could also be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, are more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than Jeuveau® or any other product that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for these products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for our products, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market, which may create additional barriers to successfully commercializing Jeuveau® and any future product candidates and attracting physician and consumer demand.
Jeuveau® may fail to achieve the broad degree of physician adoption and use or consumer demand necessary for commercial success.
Jeuveau® may fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, consumers and others in the medical aesthetics community. The commercial success of Jeuveau® and any future product candidates will depend significantly on the broad adoption and use of the resulting product by physicians for approved indications, including, in the case of Jeuveau®, the treatment of glabellar lines and other aesthetic indications that we may seek to pursue. We are aware that other companies are seeking to develop alternative products and treatments, any of which could impact the demand for Jeuveau®.
The degree and rate of physician adoption of Jeuveau® and any future product candidates depend on a number of factors, including the cost, profitability to our customers, consumer demand, characteristics and effectiveness of the product. Our success will also depend our ability to create compelling marketing programs, training of our customers and ability to overcome any biases physicians or consumers may have toward the use, safety and efficacy of existing products over Jeuveau®. Moreover, our competitors may utilize negative selling efforts or offer more compelling marketing or discounting programs than we are able to offer, including by bundling multiple aesthetic products to provide a more comprehensive offering than we can as Jeuveau® is currently our sole product.
In addition, in its clinical trials, Jeuveau® was clinically tested and compared to BOTOX. Jeuveau® is the only known neurotoxin product in the United States with a 900 kDa complex other than BOTOX. We believe that aesthetic physicians’ familiarity with the 900 kDa complex’s handling, preparation and dosing will more easily facilitate incorporation of Jeuveau® into their practices. However, the ease of integration of Jeuveau® into a physician’s practice may not be as seamless as we anticipate.
With respect to consumer demand, the treatment of glabellar lines with Jeuveau® is an elective procedure, the cost of which must be borne by the consumer, and we do not expect costs related to the treatment to be reimbursable through any third-party payor, such as Medicaid, Medicare or commercial insurance. The decision by a consumer to undergo treatment with Jeuveau® for the treatment of glabellar lines or other aesthetic indications that we may pursue may be influenced by a number of factors, including the cost, efficacy, safety, perception, marketing programs for, and physician recommendations of Jeuveau® versus competitive products or procedures. Moreover, consumer demand may flucuate over time as a result of consumer sentiment about the benefits and risks of aesthetic procedures generally and Jeuveau® in particular, changes in demographics and social trends, and general consumer confidence and consumer discretionary spending, which may be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, economic and political conditions.
If Jeuveau® or any future product candidates fail to achieve the broad degree of physician adoption necessary for commercial success or the requisite consumer demand, our operating results and financial condition will be adversely affected, which may delay, prevent or limit our ability to generate revenue and continue our business.
21
Table of Contents
Our ability to market Jeuveau® is limited to use for the treatment of glabellar lines, and if we want to expand the indications for which we market Jeuveau®, we will need to obtain additional regulatory approvals, which will be expensive and may not be granted.
We have received regulatory approval for Jeuveau® in the United States for the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar lines. The terms of that approval restrict our ability to market or advertise Jeuveau® for other indications, which could limit physician and consumer adoption. Under the U.S. Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, we may generally only market Jeuveau® for approved indications. Many of our competitors have received approval of multiple aesthetic and therapeutic indications for their neurotoxin products and may be able to market such products for use in a way we cannot. For example, we are aware that one of our competitors, Allergan (now AbbVie), has obtained and plans to obtain additional indications for its neurotoxin product within medical aesthetics and, therefore, is able to market its product across a greater number of indications than Jeuveau®. If we are unable to obtain approval for indications in addition to our approval for glabellar lines, our marketing efforts for Jeuveau® will be severely limited. As a result, we may not generate physician and consumer demand or approval of Jeuveau®
We rely on our digital technology and applications and our business and operations would suffer in the event of computer system failures or breach by hackers.
As part of the measures we took in April 2020, including reductions in the size of our sales force, we are more reliant on our digital technology, including our Evolus Practice App, which allows customers to open a new account, order Jeuveau®, pay invoices and engage with our customer experience team and medical affairs representatives. In the event that our digital technology is unable to function in the manner they were designed or at all, we would experience difficulty processing customer orders and requests in a timely manner or at all which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The systems underlying our digital technology may not be adequately designed or may not operate with the reliability and redundancy necessary to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our business. If our digital technology is unavailable when customers attempt to access them, or if they do not load as quickly as expected, users may not use our technology as often in the future, or at all, and our ability to sell Jeuveau® through a more limited sales force may be disrupted and we may not realize the efficiencies of leveraging our digital technology, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. As the number of users of our digital technology continues to grow we will need an increasing amount of technical infrastructure, including network capacity and computing power, to continue to satisfy our needs. It is possible that we may fail to continue to effectively scale and grow our technical infrastructure to accommodate these increased demands, which may adversely affect our customers’ experience with our digital technology which may decrease our revenue and harm our results of operations.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, malware, natural disasters, terrorism, war, telecommunication and electrical failures, cyberattacks or cyber intrusions over the internet, attachments to emails, persons inside our organization, or persons with access to systems inside our organization. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyberattacks or cyber intrusions, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyberterrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our current or future product development programs. The costs to us to mitigate network security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and while we have implemented security measures to protect our data security and information technology systems, our efforts to address these problems may not be successful, and these problems could result in unexpected interruptions, delays, cessation of service, government files or penalties and other harm to our business and our competitive position. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption in our relationship with our customers. For example, if our Evolus Practice App were rendered inoperable, we would have to process orders by telephone or otherwise which may result in slower processing times and harm to our reputation.
Moreover, if a computer security breach affects our systems or results in the unauthorized release of financial information, personally identifiable information, or PII, or other sensitive information our reputation could be materially damaged. In addition, such a breach may require notification to governmental agencies, the media or individuals pursuant to various international, federal and state privacy and security laws, if applicable, including the GDPR, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Clinical Health Act of 2009, and its implementing rules and regulations, as well as regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission and state breach
22
Table of Contents
notification laws. Additionally, the regulatory environment governing information, security and privacy laws is increasingly demanding and continues to evolve and a number of states have adopted laws and regulations that may affect our privacy and data security practices regarding the use, disclosure and protection of PII. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act, among other things, has created new individual privacy rights and imposes increased obligations on companies handling PII. We would also be exposed to a risk of loss or litigation and potential liability, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our liability insurance may not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to security breaches, cyberattacks and other related breaches.
Jeuveau® or any other product candidate for which we seek approval as a biologic may face competition sooner than anticipated.
With the enactment of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or the BPCI Act, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, an abbreviated pathway for the approval of biosimilar or interchangeable biological products was created. The abbreviated regulatory pathway establishes legal authority for the FDA to review and approve biosimilar biologics. Under the BPCI Act, an application for a biosimilar product cannot be approved by the FDA until twelve years after the original branded product was approved under a Biologics License Application, or BLA. The law is complex and is still being interpreted and implemented by the FDA. For example, one company has filed a Citizen Petition requesting that the FDA not apply the BPCI Act to pre-enactment BLAs. As a result, its ultimate impact, implementation and meaning are subject to uncertainty. While it is uncertain when such processes intended to implement the BPCI Act may be fully adopted by the FDA, any such processes could have a material adverse effect on the future commercial prospects for our biological products.
We believe that Jeuveau® should qualify for the twelve-year period of exclusivity. However, there is a risk that this exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action or otherwise, or that the FDA will not consider any of our product candidates to be a reference product for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for competition sooner than anticipated. Moreover, the extent to which a biosimilar product, once approved, will be substituted for any one of our reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biological products is not yet clear and will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing.
If we are found to have improperly promoted off-label uses, or if physicians misuse our products or use our products off-label, we may become subject to prohibitions on the sale or marketing of our products, significant fines, penalties, sanctions, or product liability claims, and our image and reputation within the industry and marketplace could be harmed.
The FDA and other regulatory agencies strictly regulate the marketing and promotional claims that are made about pharmaceutical products, such as Jeuveau®. In particular, a product may not be promoted for uses or indications that are not approved by the FDA or other similar regulatory authorities as reflected in the product’s approved labeling. Physicians could use Jeuveau® on their patients in a manner that is inconsistent with the approved label of the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar lines, potentially including for the treatment of other aesthetic or therapeutic indications. If we are found to have promoted such off-label uses, we may receive warning letters from and be subject to other enforcement actions by the FDA, the EMA and other regulatory agencies, and become subject to significant liability, which would materially harm our business. The federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion and has enjoined several companies from engaging in off-label promotion. If we become the target of such an investigation or prosecution based on our marketing and promotional practices, we could face similar sanctions, which would materially harm our business. In addition, management’s attention could be diverted from our business operations, significant legal expenses could be incurred, and our reputation could be damaged. The FDA has also required that companies enter into consent decrees or permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct is changed or curtailed in order to resolve FDA enforcement actions. If we are deemed by the FDA to have engaged in the promotion of our products for off-label use, we could be subject to FDA prohibitions or other restrictions on the sale or marketing of our products and other operations or significant fines and penalties, and the imposition of these sanctions could also affect our reputation and position within the industry. In addition, regulatory authorities outside the United States may impose similar fines, penalties or sanctions.
Physicians may also misuse Jeuveau® or any future product candidates or use improper techniques, potentially leading to adverse results, side effects or injury, which may lead to product liability claims. If Jeuveau® or any future product candidates are misused or used with improper techniques or are determined to cause or contribute to consumer harm, we may become subject to costly litigation by our customers or their patients. Product liability claims could divert management’s attention from our core business, be expensive to defend, result in sizable damage awards against us that may not be covered by insurance and subject us to negative publicity resulting in reduced sales of our products. Furthermore, the use of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates for indications other than those cleared by the FDA may not effectively treat such conditions,
23
Table of Contents
which could harm our reputation in the marketplace among physicians and consumers. Any of these events could harm our business and results of operations and cause our stock price to decline.
Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates may cause serious or undesirable side effects or possess other unexpected properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of approved labeling, result in post-approval regulatory action or in product liability lawsuits.
Unforeseen side effects from Jeuveau® or our future product candidates could arise either during clinical development or after marketing such product. Undesirable side effects caused by product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, modify, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, the EMA or similar regulatory authorities. Results of clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects. In such an event, trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA, the EMA or similar regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny approval of product candidates for any or all targeted indications. The drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
Additionally, if we or others identify undesirable side effects, or other previously unknown problems, caused by Jeuveau®, or any of our future product candidates, after obtaining regulatory approval in the United States or other jurisdictions, a number of potentially negative consequences could result, including regulatory authorities withdrawing approval or limiting the marketing of our products, requiring a recall of the product, requiring additional warnings on our product labeling or medication guides or instituting Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies, or REMS. In order to mitigate these risks, regulatory authorities may require additional costly clinical trials or costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product. As a result of any of these actions our sales of the product may decrease significantly, we may be required to expend material amounts to comply with any requirements of the regulatory authorities, we could be sued in a product liability lawsuit and held liable for harm caused to patients, and our brand and reputation may suffer.
We face an inherent risk of product liability as a result of the commercialization of Jeuveau® and any of our future product candidates. For example, we may be sued if any product we develop allegedly causes injury or is found to be otherwise unsuitable during product testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability and a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted against us under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our products. Even a successful defense would require significant financial and management resources and result in decreased demand for Jeuveau® or any future product candidates or products we may develop, termination of clinical trial sites or entire trial programs, injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention, withdrawal of clinical trial participants or cancellation of clinical trials and significant costs and diversion management’s time to defend the related litigation.
Our inability to obtain and maintain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost and scope of coverage to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of Jeuveau® or any future products that we develop. We currently carry product liability insurance covering our clinical trials. Although we maintain such insurance, any claim that may be brought against us could result in a court judgment or settlement in an amount that is not covered, in whole or in part, by our insurance or that is in excess of the limits of our insurance coverage. Our insurance policies also have various exclusions and deductibles, and we may be subject to a product liability claim for which we have no coverage. We will have to pay any amounts awarded by a court or negotiated in a settlement that exceed our coverage limitations or that are not covered by our insurance, and we may not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient capital to pay such amounts. Moreover, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses.
Any of the above events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product, negatively impact our revenues and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our products. The demand for Jeuveau® could also be negatively impacted by any adverse effects of a competitor’s product or treatment.
Our failure to successfully in-license, acquire, develop and market additional product candidates or approved products would impair our ability to grow our business.
Although most of our effort is focused on the commercialization of Jeuveau®, a key element of our long-term strategy is to in-license, acquire, develop, market and commercialize a portfolio of products to serve the self-pay aesthetic market. Because
24
Table of Contents
our internal research and development capabilities are limited, we may be dependent upon pharmaceutical and other companies, academic scientists and other researchers to sell or license products or technology to us. The success of this strategy depends partly upon our ability to identify and select promising pharmaceutical product candidates and products, negotiate licensing or acquisition agreements with their current owners and finance these arrangements.
The process of proposing, negotiating and implementing a license or acquisition of a product candidate or approved product is lengthy and complex. Other companies, including some with substantially greater financial, marketing, sales and other resources, may compete with us for the license or acquisition of product candidates and approved products. We have limited resources to identify and execute the acquisition or in-licensing of third-party products, businesses and technologies and integrate them into our current infrastructure. Moreover, we may devote resources to potential acquisitions or licensing opportunities that are never completed, or we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such efforts. We may not be able to acquire the rights to additional product candidates on terms that we find acceptable, or at all.
Further, any product candidates that we acquire may require additional development efforts prior to commercial sale, including preclinical or clinical testing and approval by the FDA, the EMA and other similar regulatory authorities. All product candidates are prone to risks of failure during pharmaceutical product development, including the possibility that a product candidate will not be shown to be sufficiently safe and effective for approval by regulatory authorities. In addition, any approved products that we acquire may not be manufactured or sold profitably or achieve market acceptance.
We may need to increase the size of our organization, including our sales and marketing capabilities in order to further commercialize Jeuveau® and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth.
As of December 31, 2020, we had 119 employees, all of whom constituted full-time employees. Our management and personnel, systems and facilities currently in place may not be adequate to support future growth. Our need to effectively execute our growth strategy requires that we identify, recruit, retain, incentivize and integrate any additional employees to effectively manage any future clinical trials, manage our internal development efforts effectively while carrying out our contractual obligations to third parties, and continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures.
We face risks in building and managing a sales organization whether internally or by utilizing third parties, including our ability to retain and incentivize qualified individuals, provide adequate training to sales and marketing personnel, generate sufficient sales leads, effectively manage a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team, adequately provide complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may otherwise put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines, and handle any unforeseen costs and expenses. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of these products.
Due to our limited financial resources and our limited experience in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The physical expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our development and strategic objectives or disrupt our operations.
Our international operations will expose us to risks, and failure to manage these risks may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We currently have operations in the United States and may have international operations in the future. International operations are subject to a number of inherent risks, and our future results could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including differences in demand for our products due to local requirements or preferences, the difficulty of hiring and managing employees with cultural and geographic differences and the costs of complying with differing regulatory requirements. Additionally, we may experience difficulties and increased costs due to differences in laws related to enforcing contracts, protecting intellectual property, taxes, tariffs and export regulations.
Our international operations will also subject us to risks related to multiple, conflicting and changing laws and regulations such as privacy regulations, including General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, tax laws, export and import restrictions, employment laws, immigration laws, labor laws, regulatory requirements and other governmental approvals, permits and licenses. Additionally, we will face heightened risk of unfair or corrupt business practices in certain geographies and of improper or fraudulent sales arrangements that may impact financial results and result in restatements of, or irregularities in,
25
Table of Contents
financial statements. These and other factors could harm our ability to gain future revenue and, consequently, materially impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
If we fail to attract and keep senior management and key scientific personnel, we may be unable to commercialize Jeuveau® successfully, or any future products we develop.
Our success depends in part on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management. We believe that our future success is highly dependent upon the contributions of our senior management, particularly David Moatazedi, our President, Chief Executive Officer and member of our board of directors, Lauren Silvernail, our Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Rui Avelar, our Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D, and Crystal Muilenburg, our Chief Marketing Officer, as well as other members of our senior management team. The loss of services of any of these individuals could delay or prevent the successful development of our product pipeline, completion of our planned clinical trials or the commercialization of Jeuveau® or any future products we develop.
In addition, we could experience difficulties attracting and retaining qualified employees in the future. For example, competition for qualified personnel in the pharmaceuticals and aesthetic medicine field is intense due to the limited number of individuals who possess the skills and experience required by our industry. We may not be able to attract and retain quality personnel on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, to the extent we hire personnel from competitors, we may be subject to allegations that they have been improperly solicited or that they have divulged proprietary or other confidential information or that their former employers own their research output.
Our strategy of focusing exclusively on the self-pay healthcare market may limit our ability to increase sales or achieve profitability.
Our strategy is to focus exclusively on the self-pay healthcare market. This focus may limit our ability to increase sales or achieve profitability. For example, to maintain our business model, we have chosen not to offer products or services available in the broader healthcare market that are reimbursed by third-party payors such as Medicare, Medicaid or commercial insurance. This eliminates our ability to offer a substantial number of products and indications for Jeuveau®.
For example, on December 18, 2017, we entered into the therapeutic agreement with Alphaeon, or the therapeutic agreement, relating to certain rights to the therapeutic indications of botulinum toxin products under the Daewoong Agreement. Pursuant to the therapeutic agreement, we agreed not to sell, sub-license or otherwise dispose in whole or in part the therapeutic option or the rights underlying the therapeutic option and hold the therapeutic option and the underlying rights in trust for Alphaeon. Our entry into the therapeutic agreement and the entry by Alphaeon into an agreement directly with Daewoong eliminate our ability to expand the permitted uses of botulinum toxin products for therapeutic indications.
Jeuveau® is the only U.S. neurotoxin without a therapeutic indication, although other companies may seek to develop a similar product in the future. We believe pursuing an aesthetic-only non-reimbursed product strategy allows for meaningful strategic advantages in the United States, including pricing and marketing flexibility. However, physicians may choose to not pass any cost benefits received by them due to such pricing flexibility to their patients. In addition, companies offering aesthetic products competitive to Jeuveau®, whether they pursue an aesthetic-only non-reimbursed product strategy or not, may nonetheless try to compete with Jeuveau® on price both directly through rebates, promotional programs and coupons and indirectly through attractive product bundling and customer loyalty programs. Our business, financial results and future prospects will be materially harmed if we cannot generate sufficient consumer demand for Jeuveau®.
Our business involves the use of hazardous materials, and we and our third-party manufacturer and supplier must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which can be expensive and restrict how we do business.
Our research and development and manufacturing activities in the future may, and Daewoong’s manufacturing and supplying activities presently do, involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, including botulinum toxin type A, a key component of Jeuveau®, and other hazardous compounds. We and Daewoong are subject to laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. In some cases, these hazardous materials and various wastes resulting from their use are stored at Daewoong’s facilities pending their use and disposal. We and Daewoong cannot eliminate the risk of contamination, which could cause an interruption of Daewoong’s manufacturing processes, our commercialization efforts, business operations and environmental damage resulting in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. Although we believe that the safety procedures utilized by Daewoong for handling and disposing of these materials generally comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, this may not eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In such an event, we may be held liable
26
Table of Contents
for any resulting damages and such liability could exceed our resources, and state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of certain materials and interrupt our business operations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent.
We may use third-party collaborators to help us develop, validate or commercialize any new products, and our ability to commercialize such products could be impaired or delayed if these collaborations are unsuccessful.
We may license or selectively pursue strategic collaborations for the development, validation and commercialization of Jeuveau® and any future product candidates. In any third-party collaboration, we would be dependent upon the success of the collaborators in performing their responsibilities and their continued cooperation. Our collaborators may not cooperate with us or perform their obligations under our agreements with them. Our collaborators may choose to pursue alternative technologies in preference to those being developed in collaboration with us. The development, validation and commercialization of our product candidates will be delayed if collaborators fail to conduct their responsibilities in a timely manner or in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements or if they breach or terminate their collaboration agreements with us. Disputes with our collaborators could also impair our reputation or result in development delays, decreased revenues and litigation expenses.
In addition, we may face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the design or results of clinical trials, the likelihood of approval by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States, the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to consumers, the potential of competing products, the existence of uncertainty with respect to our ownership of technology, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge and industry and market conditions generally. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product candidate. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document.
We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of such productcandidate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our productcandidates or bring them to market and generate revenue.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
We have incurred substantial losses during our history and do not expect to become profitable in the near future, and we may never achieve profitability. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire. Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income may be limited. As of December 31, 2020, we had $246.0 million of federal NOLs and $149.1 million of state NOLs available to offset our future taxable income, if any. As of December 31, 2020, we had federal research and development credit carryforwards of $1.5 million. These federal and state NOLs and federal research and development tax credit carryforwards expire at various dates beginning in 2034. We may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change NOLs to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed.
Risks Related to Our Relationship with Daewoong
We rely on the license and supply agreement, the Daewoong Agreement, with Daewoong to provide us exclusive rights to distribute Jeuveau® in certain territories. Any termination or loss of significant rights, including exclusivity, under the Daewoong Agreement would materially and adversely affect our development or commercialization of Jeuveau®.
27
Table of Contents
Pursuant to the Daewoong Agreement, we have secured an exclusive license from Daewoong, a South Korean pharmaceutical manufacturer, to import, distribute, promote, market, develop, offer for sale and otherwise commercialize and exploit Jeuveau® for aesthetic indications in the United States, EU, Canada, Australia, Russia, C.I.S. and South Africa, as well as co-exclusive distribution rights with Daewoong in Japan. The Daewoong Agreement imposes on us obligations relating to exclusivity, territorial rights, development, commercialization, funding, payment, diligence, sublicensing, intellectual property protection and other matters. We are obligated to conduct development activities, obtain regulatory approval of Jeuveau®, obtain from Daewoong all of our product supply requirements for Jeuveau® and pay to Daewoong regulatory milestone payments and other cash payments in connection with the net sales of Jeuveau®. In addition, under the Daewoong Agreement, we are required to submit our commercialization plan to a joint steering committee, or JSC, comprised of an equal number of development and commercial representatives from Daewoong and us, for review and input. Although the Daewoong Agreement provides us with final decision-making power regarding the marketing, promotion, sale and/or distribution of Jeuveau®, any disagreement among the JSC would be referred to Daewoong’s and our respective senior management for resolution if the JSC is unable to reach a decision within thirty days, which may result in a delay in our ability to implement our commercialization plan or harm our working relationship with Daewoong. If we fail to achieve minimum annual purchase targets of Jeuveau® under the Daewoong Agreement, Daewoong may, at its sole option, elect to convert the exclusive license to a non-exclusive license. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and the potential loss of our ability to discount the product to levels previously provided as a result of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, it may become more difficult for us to achieve the minimum annual purchase targets for Jeuveau® which may result in the license being converted to a non-exclusive license.
The initial term of the Daewoong Agreement will expire on September 30, 2023 in any of the aforementioned territories. The Daewoong Agreement will renew for unlimited additional three-year terms after the expiration of the initial term, only if we meet certain performance requirements during the initial term or preceding renewal term, as applicable. We or Daewoong may terminate the Daewoong Agreement if the other party breaches any of its duties or obligations and such breach continues without cure for ninety days, or thirty days in the case of a payment breach, or if we declare bankruptcy or assign our business for the benefit of creditors.
If we breach any material obligations, or use the intellectual property licensed to us in an unauthorized manner, we may be required to pay damages to Daewoong and Daewoong may have the right to terminate our license. In addition, if any of the regulatory milestones or other cash payments become due under the terms of the Daewoong Agreement, we may not have sufficient funds available to meet our obligations, which would allow Daewoong to terminate the Daewoong Agreement. Any termination or loss of rights, including exclusivity, under the Daewoong Agreement would materially and adversely affect our ability to commercialize Jeuveau®, which in turn would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects. If we were to lose our rights under the Daewoong Agreement, we believe it would be difficult for us to find an alternative supplier of a botulinum toxin type A complex. In addition, to the extent the alternative supplier has not secured regulatory approvals in a jurisdiction, we would have to expend significant resources to obtain regulatory approvals that may never be obtained or require several years to obtain, which could significantly delay commercialization. We may be unable to raise additional capital to fund our operations during this extended time on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, if we experience delays as a result of a dispute with Daewoong, the demand for Jeuveau® could be materially and adversely affected.
We currently rely solely on Daewoong to manufacture Jeuveau®, and as such, any production or other problems with Daewoong could adversely affect us.
We depend solely upon Daewoong for the manufacturing of Jeuveau®. Although alternative sources of supply may exist, the number of third-party suppliers with the necessary manufacturing and regulatory expertise and facilities is limited, and it could be expensive and take a significant amount of time to arrange for and qualify alternative suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Suppliers of any new product candidate would be required to qualify under applicable regulatory requirements and would need to have sufficient rights under applicable intellectual property laws to the method of manufacturing the product candidate. Obtaining the necessary FDA approvals or other qualifications under applicable regulatory requirements and ensuring non-infringement of third-party intellectual property rights could result in a significant interruption of supply and could require the new manufacturer to bear significant additional costs which may be passed on to us.
In addition, our reliance on Daewoong entails additional risks, including reliance on Daewoong for regulatory compliance and quality assurance, the possible breach of the Daewoong Agreement by Daewoong, and the possible termination or nonrenewal of the Daewoong Agreement at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us. Our failure, or the failure of Daewoong, to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions,
28
Table of Contents
civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of Jeuveau®. Our dependence on Daewoong also subjects us to all of the risks related to Daewoong’s business, which are all generally beyond our control. Daewoong’s ability to perform its obligations under the Daewoong Agreement is dependent on Daewoong’s operational and financial health, which could be negatively impacted by several factors, including changes in the economic, political and legislative conditions in South Korea and the broader region in general and the ability of Daewoong to continue to successfully attract customers and compete in its market. Furthermore, Daewoong’s recently constructed manufacturing facility is Daewoong’s only facility meeting FDA and European Medicines Agency, or EMA, cGMP requirements. Daewoong’s lack of familiarity with, or inability to effectively operate, the facility and produce products of consistent quality, may harm our ability to compete in our market.
Additionally, although we are ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements such as cGMPs, we are dependent on Daewoong for day-to-day compliance with cGMP for production of drug substance and finished products. Facilities used by Daewoong to produce the drug substance and materials or finished products for commercial sale must pass inspection and be approved by the FDA and other relevant regulatory authorities. If the safety of Jeuveau® is compromised due to a failure to adhere to applicable laws or for other reasons, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product and we may be held liable for injuries sustained as a result. In addition, the manufacturing facilities of certain of our suppliers are located outside of the United States. This may give rise to difficulties in importing our product into the United States or other countries as a result of, among other things, regulatory agency approval requirements, taxes, tariffs, local import requirements such as import duties or inspections, incomplete or inaccurate import documentation or defective packaging. Any of these factors could adversely impact our ability to effectively commercialize Jeuveau®.
Any failure or refusal by Daewoong or any other third party to supply Jeuveau® or any other product candidates or products that we may develop could delay, prevent or impair our clinical development or commercialization efforts.
Moreover, Daewoong developed the manufacturing process for Jeuveau® and manufactures Jeuveau® in a recently constructed facility located in South Korea. If this facility were to be damaged, destroyed or otherwise unable to operate or comply with regulatory requirements, whether due to earthquakes, fire, floods, hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, other natural disasters, public health emergencies (such as the COVID-19 outbreak) employee malfeasance, terrorist acts, power outages or otherwise, or if operations at the facility is disrupted for any other reason, such an event could jeopardize Daewoong’s ability to manufacture Jeuveau® as promptly as we or our customers expect or possibly at all. If Daewoong is unable to manufacture Jeuveau® within a timeframe that meets our and our customers’ expectations, our business, prospects, financial results and reputation could be materially harmed. Any disaster recovery and business continuity plans that we and Daewoong have in place or put in place may not be adequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event. We may incur substantial expenses as a result of our or Daewoong’s lack of disaster recovery and business continuity plans, or the adequacy thereof, which could have a material adverse effect on our business
We forecast the demand for commercial quantities of our products, and if our forecasts are inaccurate, we may experience delays in shipments, increased inventory costs or inventory levels, and reduced cash flow.
We purchase Jeuveau® from Daewoong. Pursuant to the Daewoong Agreement, we submit forecasts of anticipated product orders to Daewoong and may, from time to time, submit purchase orders on the basis of these forecasting requirements. Our limited historical experience may not provide us with enough data to accurately predict future demand. In addition, we expect Daewoong to manufacture its own product, Nabota, a botulinum toxin formulation, from this facility for sale in the South Korean market and other markets in which we do not have exclusive rights. If our business significantly expands, our demand for commercial products would increase and Daewoong may be unable to meet our increased demand. In addition, our product will have fixed future expiration dates. If we overestimate requirements for Jeuveau®, we will have excess inventory, which may have to be disposed of if such inventory exceeds approved expiration dates, which would result in lost revenues and increase our expenses. If we underestimate requirements for Jeuveau®, we may have inadequate inventory, which could interrupt, delay or prevent delivery of our products to our customers. Any of these occurrences would negatively affect our financial performance.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our commercialization efforts and interrupt our supply of products.
Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement of the proprietary rights of third parties. Competitors in the field of dermatology, aesthetic medicine and neurotoxins have developed large portfolios of patents and patent
29
Table of Contents
applications in fields relating to our business. In particular, there are patents held by third parties that relate to the treatment with neurotoxin-based products for the indication we are currently developing. There may also be patent applications that have been filed but not published that, when issued as patents, could be asserted against us. There is a substantial amount of litigation, both within and outside the United States, involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the technology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions and inter-party reexamination proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing Jeuveau®. As the technology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties.
Third parties may assert that we or any of our current or future licensors, including Daewoong, are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that Jeuveau® or any future product candidates may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover the manufacturing process of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such product candidate unless we obtain a license under the applicable patents or until such patents expire. Similarly, if any third-party patent were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our methods of use, the holders of any such patent may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the applicable product candidate unless we obtain a license or until such patent expires. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
In addition to claims of patent infringement, third parties may bring claims against us asserting misappropriation of proprietary technology or other information in the development, manufacture and commercialization of Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates. Defense of such a claim would require dedicated time and resources, which time and resources could otherwise be used by us toward the maintenance of our own intellectual property and the development and commercialization of Jeuveau® and any of our future product candidates or by any of our current or future licensors for operational upkeep and manufacturing of our products. For example, prior to entering into the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we were a defendant in a lawsuit brought by in the Superior Court of the State of California, or the Medytox Litigation, and a respondent in an action filed by Allergan and Medytox in the U.S. International Trade Commission, each alleging, among other things, that Daewoong stole Medytox’s botulinum toxin bacterial strain, or the BTX strain, that Daewoong misappropriated certain trade secrets of Medytox, including the process used to manufacture Jeuveau® (which Medytox claims is similar to its biopharmaceutical drug, Meditoxin) using the BTX strain, and that Daewoong thereby interfered with Medytox’s plan to license Meditoxin to us, or the Medytox Litigation. Each of the Medytox Litigation and the ITC Action diverted the attention of our senior management and were costly, in terms of legal costs and the ultimate payments and royalties to be paid under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.