10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

☐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: 001-36740

FIBROGEN, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

409 Illinois StreetSan Francisco, CA 94158

(Address of principal executive offices) (zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(415) 978-1200

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

Title of each class Trading Symbol Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $0.01 par value FGEN The Nasdaq Global Select Market

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

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐No☑

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☑ No ☐

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

Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☑

Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

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

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

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, June 30, 2023, was approximately $261.5 million. Shares of common stock held by each executive officer and director have been excluded since such persons may be deemed affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

The number of shares of common stock outstanding as of January 31, 2024 was 98,771,247.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Annual Report”) incorporate information by reference from the definitive proxy statement for the registrant’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A not later than after 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Forward-Looking Statements 2

Risk Factor Summary 3

China Operations and Related Risks 4

PART I 6

Item 1. Business 6

Item 1A. Risk Factors 30

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 66

Item 1C Cybersecurity 66

Item 2. Properties 67

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 68

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 68

Item 6. [Reserved] 70

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risks 93

Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 94

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 151

Item 9B. Other Information 152

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 152

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 153

Item 11. Executive Compensation 153

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 153

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 154

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (“Annual Report”) and the information incorporated herein by reference, particularly in the sections captioned “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business,” contains forward-looking statements, which involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In this Annual Report, all statements other than statements of historical or present facts contained in this Annual Report, including statements regarding our future financial condition, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “believe,” “will,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “should,” “plan,” “expect,” “predict,” “could,” “potentially” or the negative of these terms or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places throughout this Annual Report and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things, our ongoing and planned preclinical development and clinical trials, the timing of and our ability to make regulatory filings and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for roxadustat, pamrevlumab and our other product candidates, our intellectual property position, the potential safety, efficacy, reimbursement, convenience clinical and pharmaco-economic benefits of our product candidates, the potential markets for any of our product candidates, our ability to develop commercial functions, our ability to operate in the People’s Republic of China (“China”), expectations regarding clinical trial data, our results of operations, cash needs, spending of the proceeds from our initial public offering, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies, the industry in which we operate and the trends that may affect the industry or us. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in the section of this Annual Report captioned “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. A summary of these risk factors can be found in the following section, however, please refer to the full risk factors in Item 1A “Risk Factors.” These risks are not exhaustive. Other sections of this Annual Report may include additional factors that could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors 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.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We cannot assure you that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report are based on circumstances as of the date on which the statements are made. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this Annual Report or to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

This Annual Report also contains market data, research, industry forecasts and other similar information obtained from or based on industry reports and publications, including information concerning our industry, our business, and the potential markets for our product candidates, including data regarding the estimated size and patient populations of those and related markets, their projected growth rates and the incidence of certain medical conditions, as well as physician and patient practices within the related markets. Such data and information involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates.

You should read this Annual Report 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 these cautionary statements.

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

The success of FibroGen will depend on a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control and involve risks, including but not limited to the following:

Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of Our Product Candidates

•

We are substantially dependent on the success of our lead products pamrevlumab and roxadustat.

•

Drug development and obtainment of marketing authorization are very difficult endeavors, and we may ultimately be unable to obtain regulatory approval for our various product candidates in one or more jurisdictions and one or more indications.

•

Preclinical, Phase 1, and Phase 2 clinical trial results may not be indicative of the results that may be obtained in larger clinical trials.

•

We do not know whether our ongoing or planned clinical trials will need to be redesigned based on interim results or if we will be able to achieve sufficient patient enrollment or complete planned clinical trials on schedule.

•

Our product candidates may cause or have attributed to them undesirable side effects or have other properties that delay or prevent their regulatory approval or limit their commercial potential.

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If our manufacturers or we cannot properly manufacture the appropriate volume of product, we may experience delays in development, regulatory approval, launch, or successful commercialization.

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We face substantial competition in the discovery, development and commercialization of product candidates.

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Our product candidates may not achieve adequate market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors, and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.

Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties

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If our collaborations were terminated or if our partners were unwilling or unable to contribute or participate in these collaborations, our ability to successfully develop and commercialize the relevant product candidate would suffer.

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If our preclinical and clinical trial contractors do not properly perform their agreed-upon obligations, we may not be able to obtain or may be delayed in receiving regulatory approvals for our product candidates.

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We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct many aspects of our product manufacturing and distribution, and these third parties may terminate these agreements or not perform satisfactorily.

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We may have shortfalls, delays, or excesses in manufacturing.

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Certain components of our products are acquired from single-source suppliers or without long-term supply agreements. The loss of these suppliers, or their failure to supply, would materially and adversely affect our business.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

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If our efforts to protect our proprietary and exclusively licensed technologies are not adequate, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.

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Our reliance on third parties and agreements with collaboration partners requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor may discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed.

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The cost of maintaining our patent protection is high and requires continuous review and diligence. We may not be able to effectively maintain our intellectual property position throughout the major markets of the world.

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The laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as do the laws of the U.S., and we may encounter significant problems in securing and defending our intellectual property rights outside the U.S.

Risks Related to Government Regulation

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The regulatory approval process is highly uncertain and we may not obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates.

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Our current and future relationships with customers, physicians, and third-party payors are subject to healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, transparency laws, and other regulations. If we are unable to comply with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.

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We are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, rules, contractual obligations, industry standards, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation (including class claims) and mass arbitration demands; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; and other adverse business consequences.

Risks Related to Our International Operations

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We have established operations in China and are seeking approval to commercialize our product candidates outside of the U.S., and a number of risks associated with international operations could materially and adversely affect our business.

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The pharmaceutical industry in China is highly regulated and such regulations are subject to change.

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We use our own manufacturing facilities in China to produce roxadustat API and drug product for the market in China. There are risks inherent to operating commercial manufacturing facilities, and with these being our single source suppliers, we may not be able to continually meet market demand.

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We may experience difficulties in successfully growing and sustaining sales of roxadustat in China.

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The retail prices of any product candidates that we develop will be subject to pricing control in China and elsewhere.

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FibroGen Beijing would be subject to restrictions on paying dividends or making other payments to us, which may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.

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Our foreign operations, particularly those in China, are subject to significant risks involving the protection of intellectual property.

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Uncertainties with respect to the China legal system and regulations could have a material adverse effect on us.

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Changes in China’s economic, governmental, or social conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business.

CHINA OPERATIONS AND RELATED RISKS

We are incorporated in the state of Delaware. We operate within the Chinese market through FibroGen (China) Medical Technology Development Co., Ltd. (“FibroGen Beijing”), a wholly-owned subsidiary established in Beijing. FibroGen Beijing consists of development and commercialization operations as well as a drug product manufacturing facility. FibroGen Beijing holds the regulatory licenses issued by the Chinese regulatory authorities in respect of roxadustat. FibroGen Beijing has two branch offices located in Shanghai and Cangzhou, China. The branch office in Cangzhou operates a drug substance manufacturing facility. FibroGen Beijing also owns 51.1% of Beijing Falikang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (“Falikang”), a joint venture established by FibroGen and operated in conjunction with AstraZeneca Investment (China) Co., Ltd. for the purpose of distributing our sole drug product approved for sale in China, roxadustat. Falikang conducts distribution activities for roxadustat within China while AstraZeneca Investment (China) Co., Ltd., AstraZeneca AB (“AstraZeneca”) and AstraZeneca (Wuxi) Trading Co., Ltd. provide sales and marketing services in support of roxadustat. Thus, stockholders of FibroGen, Inc. have an ownership interest in the joint venture, Falikang, through the FibroGen, Inc. equity ownership in our subsidiaries, including FibroGen Beijing.

For a full discussion of our business in China, please see the section below titled “China - Roxadustat Commercial Program” as well as the sections titled “ANEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES” and “CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED ANEMIA.” We summarize certain risks associated with our operations in China in this section, however, please refer also to the section of this Annual Report captioned “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for additional risks related to our international operations.

To operate our business in China, each of our Chinese subsidiaries (and our joint venture with AstraZeneca, Falikang) is required to and does obtain a business license from the local counterpart of the State Administration for Market Regulation. Such business licenses list the business activities we are authorized to carry out and we would be noncompliant if we act outside of the scope of business activities set forth under the relevant business license. Due to China’s regulatory framework in general and for the pharmaceutical industry specifically, we are required to apply for and maintain many approvals or permits specific to many of our business activities, including but not limited to manufacturing, distribution, environmental protection, workplace safety and cybersecurity, from both national and local government agencies. For certain of our clinical trials conducted in China, we need to obtain, through the clinical sites, permits from the Human Genetic Resource Administrative Commission to collect samples that include human genetic resources, such as blood samples. We may also be required to obtain certain approvals from Chinese authorities before transferring certain scientific data abroad or to foreign parties or entities established or actually controlled by them. If we are unable to obtain the necessary approvals or permissions in order to operate our business in China, or if we inadvertently conclude that such approvals or permissions are not required, or if we are subject to additional requirements, approvals, or permissions, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, our ability to raise capital and the market price of our common stock.

Due to our operations in China and the United States (“U.S.”), any unfavorable government policies on cross-border relations and/or international trade (including increased scrutiny on companies with significant China-based operations, capital controls or tariffs) may affect the competitive position of our drug products, the hiring of personnel, the demand for our drug products, the import or export of products and product components, our ability to raise capital, the market price of our common stock, or prevent us from selling our drug products in certain countries. While we do not operate in an industry that is currently subject to foreign ownership limitations in China, China could decide to limit foreign ownership in our industry, in which case there could be a risk that we would be unable to do business in China as we are currently structured.

Our long-term plans for distributing cash flows from FibroGen Beijing may involve any number of scenarios including keeping the money onshore to fund future expansion of our China operations or paying down additional debt obligations. Our capital contributions to FibroGen Beijing and the liquidity position of FibroGen Beijing depend on many factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report.

Our independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, is headquartered in the U.S. and was not identified in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”)report dated December 16, 2021 as a firm that the PCAOB was unable to inspect. Therefore, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act does not apply to us.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

FibroGen, Inc. is developing and commercializing a diversified pipeline of novel therapeutics that work at the frontiers of cancer biology and anemia.

In 2023, we reported results from multiple Phase 3 trials, advanced our pancreatic cancer Phase 3 trials of pamrevlumab and our preclinical work on our product candidates FG-3165 and FG-3175, in-licensed a new product candidate (FG-3246), and we continued to see robust sales growth of roxadustat in China for anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (“CKD”).

In 2024, we look forward to an approval decision in China for roxadustat in chemotherapy-induced anemia (“CIA”) and presenting data from two pivotal pancreatic cancer trials of pamrevlumab, our first-in-class antibody targeting connective tissue growth factor (“CTGF”).

Through our new partnership with Fortis Therapeutics (“Fortis”), we are also developing FG-3246 in metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (“mCRPC”) and potentially other cancers, and we also look forward to advancing our late-stage pre-clinical programs: our anti-Gal9 antibody FG-3165 and our anti-CCR8 antibody FG-3175.

The following is an overview of our clinical, commercial, and research programs.

PAMREVLUMAB FOR THE TREATMENT OF PANCREATIC CANCER

Pamrevlumab is our first-in-class antibody developed to inhibit the activity of CTGF, a protein that has been shown to promote growth, survival, and spread of pancreatic tumors. To date, we have retained exclusive worldwide rights for pamrevlumab.

In clinical studies involving more than 1,000 pamrevlumab-treated patients (approximately half of whom were dosed for more than six months), pamrevlumab has been well-tolerated across the range of doses studied, and there have been no dose-limiting toxicities seen thus far.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has granted Fast Track designation to pamrevlumab for the treatment of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (“LAPC”). The FDA has granted orphan drug designation to pamrevlumab for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

In 2024, we expect to report topline results from our two ongoing pivotal studies of pamrevlumab, in LAPC and in metastatic pancreatic cancer.

PANCREATIC CANCER

Understanding Pancreatic Cancer and Current Therapies

Certain malignant solid tumors have a prominent fibrosis component consisting mostly of extracellular matrix (“ECM”) that contributes to metastasis and progressive disease. Fibrosis is an aberrant response of the body to tissue injury that may be caused by trauma, inflammation, infection, cell injury, or cancer. ECM is the connective tissue framework of an organ or tissue.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, or pancreatic cancer, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. Pancreatic cancer is typically not diagnosed until it is largely incurable; most patients are diagnosed after the age of 45. Approximately 64,000 people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S. in 2023, and approximately 50,000 people died of pancreatic cancer. Of all people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S. between 2012 and 2018, the 5-year survival rate was 12%. Globally, an estimated 495,000 people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020 and an estimated 466,000 people worldwide died from the disease. Because pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose, over 50% of new cases are metastatic, with a five-year survival rate of approximately 3%. An additional 15-20% of new pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed with localized resectable tumors, with the remaining 30-35% of newly diagnosed patients having localized, unresectable tumors. On average, patients with resectable tumors live for 2.5 years post-diagnosis and have a five-year survival rate of 20-30%. In its report of December 2017, Decision Resources Group estimated that the major market sales (U.S., Europe and Japan) of pancreatic cancer drugs would grow from $1.3 billion in 2016 to approximately $3.7 billion in 2026.

The majority of patients are treated with chemotherapy, but pancreatic cancer is highly resistant to chemotherapy. Approximately 15% to 20% of patients are treated with surgery; however, even for those with successful surgical resection, the median survival is approximately two years, with a five-year survival rate of 15% to 20% (Neesse et al. Gut (2011)). Radiation treatment may be used for locally advanced diseases, but it is not curative.

The duration of effect of approved anti-cancer agents to treat pancreatic cancer is limited. Gemcitabine demonstrated improvement in median overall survival from approximately four to six months, and erlotinib in combination with gemcitabine demonstrated an additional ten days of survival. Nab-paclitaxel in combination with gemcitabine was approved by the FDA in 2013 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, having demonstrated median survival of 8.5 months. The combination of folinic acid, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) was reported to increase survival to 11.1 months. These drugs illustrate that progress in treatment for pancreatic cancer has been modest, and there remains a need for substantial improvement in patient survival and quality of life.

The approved chemotherapeutic treatments for pancreatic cancer target the cancer cells themselves. Tumors are composed of cancer cells and associated non-cancer tissue, or stroma, of which ECM is a major component. In certain cancers such as pancreatic cancer, both the stroma and tumor cells produce CTGF which in turn promotes the proliferation and survival of stromal and tumor cells. CTGF also induces ECM deposition that provides advantageous conditions for tumor cell adherence and proliferation, promotes blood vessel formation, or angiogenesis, and promotes metastasis, or tumor cell migration, to other parts of the body.

Pancreatic cancers are generally resistant to powerful chemotherapeutic agents, and there is now growing interest in the use of an anti-fibrotic agent to diminish the supportive role of stroma in tumor cell growth and metastasis. The anti-tumor effects observed with pamrevlumab in preclinical models indicate that it has the potential to inhibit tumor expansion through effects on tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis as well as reduce metastasis.

Phase 3 Clinical Trial in Locally Advanced Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer

LAPIS is our double-blind placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial of pamrevlumab as a therapy for LAPC. We completed enrollment of 284 patients, who were randomized at a 1:1 ratio to receive either pamrevlumab or placebo, in each case in combination with chemotherapy (either FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel). We currently expect topline data for the primary endpoint of overall survival in mid-year 2024.

Phase 2/3 Clinical Trial in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

In June 2021, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s (PanCAN) Precision PromiseSM adaptive trial platform included pamrevlumab in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy treatments for pancreatic cancer (gemcitabine and Abraxane®), for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Drug candidates in the Precision Promise study will progress from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of this seamless Phase 2/3 study, unless stopped sooner for safety or futility. The objective of Precision Promise is to expedite the study and approval of promising therapies for pancreatic cancer by bringing multiple stakeholders together, including academic, industry, and regulatory entities.

In the third quarter of 2022, pamrevlumab graduated from Stage 1 to Stage 2, achieving a protocol pre-specified ≥ 35% predictive probability of success for the primary endpoint of overall survival at the completion of the trial. Pamrevlumab was the first experimental treatment arm to graduate to Stage 2 of the trial. The pamrevlumab combination therapy was offered to patients as either a first- or second-line treatment option.

In the first quarter of 2024, the pamrevlumab portion of the trial was completed, and we expect topline results in the second quarter of 2024. Precision Promise is a registration study, and the statistical design has been discussed by PanCAN with the FDA.

Completed Clinical Trials for Pancreatic Cancer

In addition to the aforementioned ongoing clinical trials, we have completed two other trials of pamrevlumab in pancreatic cancer.

Completed Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial in Locally Advanced Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer

We completed an open-label, randomized (2:1) Phase 1/2 trial (FGC004C-3019-069) of pamrevlumab combined with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy vs. the chemotherapy regimen alone in patients with inoperable LAPC that had not been previously treated. We enrolled 37 patients in this study and completed the six-month treatment period and surgical assessment at the end of 2017. The overall goal of the trial was to determine whether pamrevlumab in combination with chemotherapy can convert inoperable pancreatic cancer to operable, or resectable, cancer. Tumor removal is the best chance for cure of pancreatic cancer, but only approximately 15% to 20% of patients are eligible for surgery.

We reported updated results from this study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in June 2018. A higher proportion (70.8%) of pamrevlumab-treated patients whose tumors were previously considered unresectable became eligible for surgical exploration than patients who received chemotherapy alone (15.4%), based on pre-specified eligibility criteria at the end of six months of treatment. Furthermore, a higher proportion of pamrevlumab-treated patients (33.3%) achieved surgical resection than those who received chemotherapy alone (7.7%).

In addition, this data showed improved overall survival among patients whose tumors were resected vs. not resected (NE vs. 18.56 months, p-value=0.0141) and a trend toward improved overall survival in patients eligible for surgery vs. patients who were not (27.73 vs. 18.40 months, p-value=0.0766). No increase in serious adverse events was observed in the pamrevlumab arm and no delay in wound healing was observed post-surgery.

If pamrevlumab in combination with chemotherapy continues to demonstrate an enhanced rate of conversion from unresectable cancer to resectable cancer, it may support the possibility that pamrevlumab could provide a substantial survival benefit for LAPC patients.

Completed Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial in Pancreatic Cancer

We completed an open-label Phase 1/2 (FGCL-MC3019-028) dose finding trial of pamrevlumab combined with gemcitabine plus erlotinib in patients with previously untreated locally advanced (Stage 3) or metastatic (Stage 4) pancreatic cancer. These study results were published in the Journal of CancerClinical Trials (Picozzi et al., J Cancer Clin Trials 2017, 2:123). Treatment continued until progression of the cancer, or the patient withdrew for other reasons. Patients were then followed until death.

Seventy-five patients were enrolled in this study with 66 (88%) having Stage 4 metastatic cancer. The study demonstrated a drug exposure-related increase in survival. At the lowest doses, no patients survived for even one year while at the highest doses up to 31% of patients survived one year.

A post-hoc analysis found that there was a significant relationship between survival and trough levels of plasma pamrevlumab measured immediately before the second dose (Cmin). Cmin greater than or equal to 150 μg/mL was associated with significantly improved progression-free survival (p=0.01) and overall survival (p=0.03) vs. those patients with Cmin less than 150 μg/mL. For patients with Cmin >150 μg/mL median survival was 9.0 months compared to median survival of 4.4 months for patients with Cmin <150 μg/mL. Similarly, 34.2% of patients with Cmin >150 μg/mL survived for longer than one year compared to 10.8% for patients with Cmin <150 μg/mL. These data suggest that sufficient blockade of CTGF requires pamrevlumab threshold blood levels of approximately 150 μg/mL in order to improve survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

In the study, the majority of adverse events were mild to moderate, and were consistent with those observed for erlotinib plus gemcitabine treatment without pamrevlumab. There were 99 treatment-emergent serious adverse events, six of which were assessed as possibly related to the investigational drug by the principal investigator, and 93 as not related to study treatment. After investigation, it was our determination that there was no causal relationship between pamrevlumab and the treatment-emergent serious adverse events deemed possibly related by the principal investigator. We did not identify any evolving dose-dependent pattern, and higher doses of pamrevlumab were not associated with higher numbers of serious adverse events or greater severity of the serious adverse events observed.

IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS AND DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

In June 2023, we announced topline results from ZEPHYRUS-1, our first Phase 3 trial of pamrevlumab in 356 IPF patients. The study did not meet the primary endpoint of change from baseline in forced vital capacity (“FVC”) at week 48. Preliminary safety data showed that pamrevlumab was generally safe and well tolerated, with the majority of treatment-emergent adverse events being mild or moderate.

Given the results from ZEPHYRUS-1, we discontinued ZEPHYRUS-2, our second Phase 3 trial of pamrevlumab in approximately 340 IPF patients.

In 2023, we also announced topline results from LELANTOS-1 and LELANTOS-2, our double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trials evaluating pamrevlumab in non-ambulatory and ambulatory DMD, respectively. The studies did not meet their primary endpoints. Preliminary safety data showed that pamrevlumab was generally safe and well tolerated with the majority of treatment-emergent adverse events being mild or moderate.

ROXADUSTAT FOR THE TREATMENT OF ANEMIA

CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

In collaboration with our partners Astellas Pharma Inc. (“Astellas”) and AstraZeneca, we have completed 16 Phase 3 studies worldwide in over 11,000 patients to support our marketing approvals of roxadustat (爱瑞卓®️, EVRENZOTM) to treat anemia in chronic kidney disease in China, Europe, Japan, and numerous other countries.

Background of Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease

CKD is a progressive disease characterized by gradual loss of kidney function that may eventually lead to kidney failure or end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. CKD affects approximately 15% of the global adult population. CKD is more prevalent in developed countries but is also growing rapidly in emerging markets such as China.

Anemia is a complication of CKD and can be a serious medical condition in which patients have insufficient red blood cells and low levels of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body. Anemia becomes increasingly common as kidney function declines and is associated with increased risk of hospitalization, cardiovascular complications and death, and frequently causes significant fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and considerable reduction of quality of life.

China – Roxadustat Commercial Program

Since the launch of roxadustat (tradename: 爱瑞卓®) in 2019, the anemia of CKD market has expanded significantly. Roxadustat has captured the majority of this growth, benefiting from inclusion in the 2019, 2021, and 2023 National Reimbursement Drug Lists.

In 2023, roxadustat sales in China continued to see significant volume growth in the treatment of anemia caused by CKD in non-dialysis and dialysis patients. As of December 2023, roxadustat was the top CKD anemia brand in China with approximately 42% value share within the segment of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (“ESAs”) and HIF-PH inhibitors (roxadustat is currently the only HIF-PH inhibitor on the market in China). Roxadustat has seen broad adoption across the three segments of hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and non-dialysis.

In 2024, we expect continued growth of roxadustat sales in China due to continued adoption by patients and doctors and the recent two-year renewal on the 2023 National Reimbursement Drug List with a limited price reduction of 7%.

We have established significant clinical experience and market leadership in treating CKD anemia in China, and we believe roxadustat has become the standard of care for the treatment of anemia in CKD in China. In 2024, we will focus on expanding the population treated with roxadustat, as well as the duration of treatment, which we believe is important in effective management of anemia in CKD.

Europe - Roxadustat Commercial Program

In Europe, our partner Astellas continues the commercialization of EVRENZO® (roxadustat). EVRENZO is approved for the treatment of anemia associated with CKD in both non-dialysis and dialysis patients. In 2024, we expect sales of roxadustat for CKD anemia in Europe to accelerate as reimbursement has been achieved in most European countries.

Japan - Roxadustat Commercial Program

In Japan, our partner Astellas continues the commercialization of EVRENZO (roxadustat), targeting healthcare providers that care for approximately 330,000 dialysis patients across Japan. EVRENZO is approved for the treatment of anemia associated with CKD in both non-dialysis and dialysis patients. EVRENZO is one of five HIF-PH inhibitors currently on the market in Japan.

CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED ANEMIA

As blood cell production in bone marrow is highly prolific, it is particularly vulnerable to the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy used to treat cancer patients. Many chemotherapy agents directly impair hematopoiesis in bone marrow, including disruption of red blood cell production. The nephrotoxic effects of some cytotoxic agents, such as platinum-containing agents, can also result in decreased production of erythropoietin by the kidneys, further contributing to reduced red blood cell production. Radiation therapy has also been associated with hematologic toxicity.

There are approximately 10 million new cancer cases each year globally, 4.5 million in China. Of those, approximately half receive chemotheraphy, and half of those are anemic. The incidence and severity of CIA depend on a variety of factors, including the tumor type or the level of toxicity of the therapy, and further increases with each successive chemotherapy round. We believe the addressable population is approximately 500,000 in China.

ESAs have been recommended for patients who develop CIA with the desirable goals of improvement in anemia-related symptoms and the avoidance of blood transfusions, which increase risk of infections and the risk of complications such as heart failure and allergic reactions. However, not all CIA patients respond to ESA therapy, which may be due to the etiology of their CIA or inflammatory comorbidity. ESA use also has associated toxicities, including increased thrombotic events, possible decreased survival and accelerated tumor progression, as cited in randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses, that led to label restrictions and boxed warnings in the U.S. for ESAs in cancer populations in 2007, followed by the ESA Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program.

Phase 3 Clinical Trial in Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia

In May 2023, we announced positive topline data from our Phase 3 clinical study of roxadustat for treatment of anemia in patients receiving concurrent chemotherapy treatment for non-myeloid malignancies in China. Roxadustat demonstrated non-inferiority compared to recombinant erythropoietin alfa (SEPO ®) on the primary endpoint of change in hemoglobin (Hb) level from baseline to the average level during Weeks 9-13.

In the preliminary safety analysis, the adverse event profile of roxadustat was generally consistent with previous findings and supportive of a positive benefit risk in this patient population.

A total of 159 patients with non-myeloid malignancy (solid tumor) with a baseline hemoglobin level at or below 10 g/dL were enrolled into this Phase 3, randomized, open-label, active-controlled study investigating the efficacy and safety of roxadustat for treatment of CIA. Patients were randomly assigned roxadustat or erythropoietin alfa three times per week (TIW), during a treatment period of 12 weeks, with an additional 4-week follow-up period. We recently presented results from this study in an oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2023.

Our supplemental New Drug Application for roxadustat in CIA was accepted by the China Health Authority in August 2023, and we expect an approval decision mid-2024.

Although CIA is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy, it is frequently undertreated. CIA can adversely affect long-term patient outcomes, as anemia limits both quality of life and the ability of patients to continue chemotherapy treatment. The incidence and severity of CIA depends on a variety of factors. This includes the type of cancer and the treatment, including the type of chemotherapy, schedule, and intensity of therapy. It also depends on whether the patient has received prior myelosuppressive chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both.

Phase 2 Clinical Trial in Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia

The results of WHITNEY, the Phase 2 clinical trial of roxadustat in CIA in the U.S., was published by the American Journal of Hematology in January 2023. This study provided the basis for the study design for the China Phase 3 study.

ANEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES

Myelodysplastic syndromes (“MDS”) are a diverse group of bone marrow disorders characterized by ineffective production of healthy blood cells and premature destruction of blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to anemia. In most MDS patients, the cause of the disease is unknown.

The diagnosed prevalence of MDS in the U.S. is estimated to be between 60,000 and 170,000, and continues to rise as more therapies become available and patients are living longer with MDS. Annual incidence rates are estimated to be 4.9/100,000 adults in the U.S., and 1.51/100,000 adults in China.

Anemia is the most common clinical presentation in MDS, seen in approximately 80% of MDS patients, and produces symptoms of fatigue, weakness, exercise intolerance, shortness of breath, dizziness, and cognitive impairment.

Limitations of the Current Standard of Care for Anemia in Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Stem cell transplant is the only potentially curative therapy for MDS, but it is not feasible in most patients due to their advanced age and frailty. The high rate of severe anemia leaves recurring red blood cell transfusions as the mainstay of care in MDS patients. Transfusion can result in direct organ damage through transfusional iron overload. Transfusion-dependent MDS patients suffer higher rates of cardiac events, infections, and transformation to acute leukemia, a decreased overall survival rate when compared with non-transfused patients with MDS, and decreased survival compared to an age-matched elderly population. Patients receiving red blood cell transfusions may require an iron chelator in order to address toxic elements of iron overload such as lipid peroxidation and cell membrane, protein, DNA, and organ damage.

Lower-risk MDS patients represent approximately 77% of the total diagnosed MDS population. Most national and international guidelines recommend use of ESAs for anemia only in lower-risk MDS patients presenting with symptomatic anemia with serum EPO levels at or below 500 mU/mL.

The effectiveness of ESAs in treating anemia in lower-risk categories of MDS remains limited, with the best clinical study results showing 40% to 60% erythroid response rates, where significantly high doses of ESAs were used and enrolled patients had low serum EPO levels. New strategies to broaden the eligible population, improve anemia, and maintain adequate iron balance, as well as avoidance of transfusions, are highly desired in managing patients with MDS.

Market Opportunity for Roxadustat in Myelodysplastic Syndromes

We believe there is a significant need for a safer, more effective, and more convenient option to address anemia in patients with lower-risk MDS. Roxadustat, our orally administered small molecule HIF-PH inhibitor, stimulates the body’s natural mechanism of red blood cell production and iron hemostasis based on cellular-level oxygen-sensing and iron-regulation mechanisms. Unlike ESAs which are limited to providing exogenous EPO, roxadustat activates a coordinated erythropoietic response in the body that includes the stimulation of red blood cell progenitors, an increase in the body’s production of endogenous EPO, and an increase in iron availability for hemoglobin synthesis, which we believe is important in a broad range of MDS patients. Moreover, in anemia of CKD, roxadustat has demonstrated the ability in clinical trials to increase and maintain hemoglobin levels in the presence of inflammation as measured by CRP, where ESAs have shown limited effect. We believe that roxadustat has the potential to replicate this result in MDS anemia patients, where it is not uncommon for patients to present with autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.

Phase 3 Clinical Trial in Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Topline 28-week data from MATTERHORN, our Phase 2/3 placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial of roxadustat for the treatment of anemia in MDS, was presented in the fourth quarter of 2023 at the American Society of Hematology annual conference.

More patients in the roxadustat arm (47.5% of 80 patients) achieved transfusion independence for 56 consecutive days (within the first 28 weeks) than the placebo arm (33.3% of 57 patients); however, the p-value was not significant.

However, in a post-hoc analysis of patients with higher transfusion burden (2 or more units of packed red blood cells every 4 weeks), 36.1% of the 36 roxadustat patients achieved transfusion independence, versus 11.5% of the 26 patients in the placebo arm (p=0.047).

PROSTATE CANCER

FG-3246 for the Treatment of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

In May 2023 we obtained an exclusive license to develop FG-3246 (previously FOR46) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (“mCRPC”) and other cancer indications. FG-3246 is a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting a novel epitope on CD46 that is expressed at high levels in certain tumor types with limited expression in most normal tissues. The cytotoxic payload of FG-3246 is monomethyl auristatin E, an anti-mitotic agent that has been utilized in four commercially approved antibody-drug conjugate drugs.

FG-3246 showed monotherapy efficacy in a Phase 1 clinical study in patients with mCRPC. Interim efficacy results presented at ASCO 2022 showed a PSA50 response rate of 45% and an objective response rate of 19%. We expect additional data from this study by the first quarter of 2024.

An investigator-sponsored trial of FG-3246 plus enzalutimide is ongoing. Side effects have been manageable and are consistent with other monomethyl auristatin E-based antibody-drug conjugate drugs.

We anticipate the initiation of a PET biomarker-driven Phase 2 trial of FG-3246 for mCRPC in the second half of 2024. This trial is expected to have a dose-ranging lead-in portion prior to the biomarker-driven portion of the study. Development of the CD46-targeted PET biomarker is continuing with UCSF. We are also exploring additional potential tumor indications in which CD46 is commonly expressed.

PRECLINICAL PIPELINE

Our preclinical pipeline consists of two antibodies for immuno-oncology that are in investigational New Drug Application-enabling studies.

FG-3165: Anti-Gal9 Antibody

FG-3165 is a galectin-9 (“Gal9”) targeted antibody under development for treatment of solid tumors characterized by high Gal9 levels of expression. Gal9 has been reported to bind to multiple immune checkpoints on lymphocytes that suppress T and natural killer cell activation, and it is a driver of cancer progression in acute myeloid leukemia. In preclinical studies FG-3165 and its variants inhibit Gal9 mediated T cell death, and also promotes anti-tumor immune responses in combination with other immune checkpoint targeted drugs. We plan to submit an investigational new drug application (IND) in the first quarter of 2024.

FG-3175: Anti-CCR8 Antibody

FG-3175 is a c-c motif chemokine receptor 8 (“CCR8”) targeted antibody under development for treatment of solid tumors that are highly infiltrated by CCR8-positive T regulatory cells. T regulatory cells contribute to an immune suppressed tumor microenvironment, and multiple preclinical studies have demonstrated immune activation and tumor regression following depletion of this cell type from the tumor microenvironment. FG-3175 is a variant of our previous lead anti-CCR8 antibody, FG-3163, and was deemed to be a superior clinical candidate following extended characterization of both antibodies. FG-3175 has enhanced antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity activity and induces potent killing of CCR8 expressing cells by natural killer cells in in vitro assay systems. We plan to submit an investigational new drug application (IND) in 2025.

COLLABORATIONS

Collaboration Partnerships for Roxadustat

Our revenue to date has been generated primarily from our collaboration agreements with Astellas and AstraZeneca for the development and commercialization of roxadustat. In addition, we started roxadustat commercial sales in China in 2019. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, 25% of our revenue was related to our collaboration agreements, and 68% of our revenue was from roxadustat commercial sales in China. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, 40% of our revenue was related to our collaboration agreements, and 59% of our revenue was from roxadustat commercial sales in China. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, 76% of our revenue was related to our collaboration agreements, and 20% of our revenue was from roxadustat commercial sales in China.

Astellas

We have two agreements with Astellas for the development and commercialization of roxadustat, one for Japan, and one for Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and South Africa. Under these agreements, we provided Astellas the right to develop and commercialize roxadustat for anemia in these territories.

We share responsibility with Astellas for clinical development activities required for U.S. and Europe regulatory approval of roxadustat, and equally share those development costs under the agreed development plan for such activities. Astellas will be responsible for clinical development activities and all associated costs required for regulatory approval in all other countries in the Astellas territories. Astellas will hold and have responsibility for regulatory filings in its territories. We are responsible, either directly or through our contract manufacturers, for the manufacture and supply of all quantities of roxadustat to be used in development and commercialization under the agreements, other than roxadustat drug product for Japan. Astellas is responsible for roxadustat commercialization activities in the Astellas territories.

AstraZeneca

Our collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca for roxadustat for the treatment of anemia in the U.S. and all territories except for China and those territories previously licensed to Astellas (the “AstraZeneca U.S./RoW Agreement”) was terminated (except South Korea) on February 23, 2024.

However, our ongoing collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca for the development and commercialization of roxadustat for the treatment of anemia in China (the “AstraZeneca China Agreement”) continues in full force and is unaffected.

Under the AstraZeneca China Agreement, which is conducted through FibroGen China Anemia Holdings, Ltd., FibroGen Beijing, and FibroGen International (Hong Kong) Limited (collectively, “FibroGen China”), the commercial collaboration was structured as a 50/50 profit share, which was amended by the AstraZeneca China Amendment in the third quarter of 2020, as discussed and defined below.

In 2020, we entered into a Master Supply Agreement under the AstraZeneca U.S./RoW Agreement to define general forecast, order, supply, and payment terms for AstraZeneca to purchase roxadustat bulk drug product from FibroGen in support of commercial supplies.

In July 2020, FibroGen China and AstraZeneca entered into an amendment, effective July 1, 2020, to the AstraZeneca China Agreement, relating to the development and commercialization of roxadustat in China (the “AstraZeneca China Amendment”).

Under the AstraZeneca China Amendment, in September 2020, FibroGen Beijing and AstraZeneca completed the establishment of a jointly owned entity, Beijing Falikang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (“Falikang”), which performs roxadustat distribution, as well as conduct sales and marketing through AstraZeneca.

FibroGen Beijing manufactures and supplies commercial product to Falikang based on a gross transaction price, adjusted for the estimated profit share. Revenue is recognized upon the transfer of control of commercial products to Falikang in an amount that reflects the allocation of transaction price of the China manufacturing and supply obligation to the performance obligation satisfied during the reporting period.

Additional Information Related to Collaboration Agreements

Additional information related to our collaboration agreements is set forth in Item 7 of this Annual Report, and Note 3, Collaboration Agreements, License Agreement and Revenues, to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8 of this Annual Report. Information about collaboration partners that accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue or accounts receivable for the last three fiscal years is set forth in Note 17, Segment and Geographic Information, to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8 of this Annual Report.

Exclusive License from HiFiBiO

In June 2021, we entered into an exclusive license and option agreement with HiFiBiO (HK) Ltd. (d.b.a. HiFiBiO Therapeutics) (“HiFiBiO”), pursuant to which we exclusively licensed from HiFiBiO all product candidates in HiFiBiO’s Galectin-9 program and subsequently exclusively licensed all product candidates in HiFiBiO’s CCR8 program. In addition to the upfront payments we previously paid, HiFiBiO may receive up to a total of $345 million in future clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments for each program. HiFiBiO will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties based upon worldwide net sales.

Exclusive License and Option to Acquire Fortis Therapeutics

On May 5, 2023, we entered into an exclusive option agreement to acquire Fortis with its novel Phase 1 antibody-drug conjugate, FG-3246 (previously FOR46), that targets a novel epitope on CD46 preferentially expressed on certain cancer cells. FG-3246 is in development for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with potential applicability in other solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

Pursuant to an evaluation agreement entered into with Fortis concurrent with the option agreement, FibroGen has exclusively licensed FG-3246 and will control and fund future research and development, including a Phase 2 clinical study sponsored by FibroGen, and manufacturing of FG-3246 during the option period. As part of the clinical development strategy, we will continue the work to develop a PET-based biomarker utilizing a radiolabeled version of the targeting antibody for patient selection.

FibroGen is obligated to make four quarterly payments totaling $5.0 million to Fortis in support of its continued development obligations.

If we exercise the option to acquire Fortis, we will pay Fortis $80.0 million, and thereafter, Fortis would be eligible to receive from FibroGen up to $200.0 million in contingent payments associated with the achievement of various regulatory approvals. If we acquire Fortis, we would also be responsible to pay UCSF, an upstream licensor to Fortis, development milestone fees and a single digit royalty on net sales of therapeutic or diagnostic products arising from the collaboration. If FibroGen chooses not to acquire Fortis, its exclusive license to FG-3246 would expire.

Exclusive License with Eluminex

In July 2021, we exclusively licensed to Eluminex Biosciences (Suzhou) Limited (“Eluminex”) global rights to our investigational biosynthetic cornea derived from recombinant human collagen type III. FibroGen may receive up to a total of $64.0 million in future manufacturing, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments for the biosynthetic cornea program, as well as $36.0 million in commercial milestones for the first recombinant collagen III product that is not the biosynthetic cornea. FibroGen will be eligible to receive mid-single-digit to low double-digit royalties based upon worldwide net sales of cornea products, and low single-digit to mid-single-digit royalties based on worldwide net sales of other recombinant human collagen type III products that are not cornea products.

We received an $8.0 million upfront payment from Eluminex in 2022 and thereafter recognized a $3.0 million milestone payment based on Eluminex implanting a biosynthetic cornea in the first patient of its clinical trial in China, a $3.0 million manufacturing related milestone payment and a $1.0 million upfront payment. Additional information related to the Eluminex license revenue is set forth in Note 3, Collaboration Agreements,License Agreementand Revenues, to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8 of this Annual Report.

STRATEGIC FINANCING AGREEMENT

On November 4, 2022, we entered into a revenue interest financing agreement (“RIFA”) with an affiliate of NovaQuest Capital Management (“NovaQuest”) with respect to our revenues from Astellas’ sales of roxadustat in Europe, Japan and the other Astellas territories.

Pursuant to the RIFA, we received $49.8 million from NovaQuest, representing the gross proceeds of $50.0 million net of initial issuance costs, in consideration for a portion of future revenues we will receive from Astellas. For additional details about this financing transaction, see Note 10, Liability Related to Sale of Future Revenues, to the consolidated financial statements.

On April 29, 2023, we entered into a financing agreement (the “Financing Agreement”) with a $75.0 million senior secured term loan with investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value, as lenders, and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as the administrative agent. For additional details about this financing transaction, see Note 9, Senior Secured Term Loan Facilities, to the consolidated financial statements.

COMPETITION

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are highly competitive, particularly in some of the indications of our developing drug candidates, including pancreatic cancer and anemia in CKD. We face competition from multiple other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, many of which have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources and experience in product development, manufacturing and marketing. These potential advantages of our competitors are particularly a risk in pancreatic cancer, where we do not currently have a development or commercialization partner.

We expect any products that we develop and commercialize to compete based on, among other things, efficacy, safety, convenience of administration and delivery, price, the level of generic competition, and the availability of reimbursement from government and other third-party payors.

We expect that in many cases, the products that we commercialize will compete with existing marketed products, as well as product candidates that may be approved in the future, from companies that have large, established commercial organizations. In addition, we will likely face competition in patient recruitment and enrollment for clinical trials from other companies developing or seeking to pursue products or treatments in the same diseases or indications as us.

We also face competition from generics that could enter the market after expiry of our composition of matter patent. As of the end of 2023, the Chinese health authority has accepted abbreviated New Drug Applications (“NDAs”) for nineteen (19) generic roxadustat applicants. As these generic manufacturers would offer unpatented versions of roxadustat at a significantly reduced price, this competition could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

MANUFACTURE AND SUPPLY

We continue to enter into contractual arrangements with qualified third-party manufacturers to manufacture and package our products and product candidates. We believe this manufacturing strategy enables us to more efficiently direct financial resources to the research, development and commercialization of product candidates rather than diverting resources to establishing a significant internal manufacturing infrastructure, unless there is additional strategic value for establishing manufacturing capabilities, such as in China. As our product candidates proceed through development, we explore or enter into longer-term commercial supply agreements with key suppliers and manufacturers in order to meet the ongoing and planned clinical and commercial supply needs for ourselves and our partners. Our timing of entry into these agreements is based on the current development and commercialization plans.

Roxadustat

Roxadustat is a small-molecule drug manufactured from generally available commercial starting materials and chemical technologies and multi-purpose equipment available from many third-party contract manufacturers. We have entered into commercial supply arrangements with Shanghai SynTheAll Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“WuXi STA”) and Catalent Pharma Solutions, LLC (“Catalent”) as our primary manufacturers of roxadustat drug substance (also known as active pharmaceutical ingredient or “API”) and roxadustat drug product, respectively. WuXi STA is located in China and currently supplies our API globally except for China, for which it manufactures an intermediate to be further manufactured by FibroGen Beijing. WuXi STA has passed inspections by several regulatory agencies, including the FDA and NMPA, and is Current Good Manufacturing Practice (“cGMP”) compliant. Catalent is located in the U.S. and supplies our drug product tablets globally except for Japan, where they are manufactured by Astellas, and China, where they are manufactured by FibroGen Beijing. Catalent has passed several regulatory inspections, including by the FDA, and manufactures commercial products for other clients.

In China, our Beijing facility received the Good Manufacturing Practice license for API and drug product. We are manufacturing drug product at our FibroGen Beijing manufacturing facility for commercial supply, but we are not currently manufacturing API at this facility. We are manufacturing API at our Cangzhou manufacturing facility, which is fully qualified and licensed. We may also qualify a third-party manufacturer to produce commercial API under the Marketing Authorization Holder System program.

Pamrevlumab

We have entered into a clinical and commercial supply agreement for the manufacture of pamrevlumab with Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd., which passed several regulatory inspections, including by the FDA, and manufactures commercial products for other clients. We are transitioning our manufacturing of pamrevlumab from Boehringer Ingelheim to Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION

Our business activities and operations, including the clinical testing, manufacturing, labeling, storage, distribution, record keeping, advertising, promotion, import, export and marketing of our product candidates, among other things, are subject to extensive regulation by governmental authorities in the U.S., China, and other countries. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations, including in Europe and China, requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Compliance with environmental laws, rules, and regulations has not had, and is not expected to have, a material effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations, or competitive position, and we do not currently anticipate material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities.

Failure to comply with the applicable requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval may subject an applicant and/or sponsor to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, including refusal by the applicable regulatory authority to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, imposition of a clinical hold, issuance of warning letters and other types of letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement of profits, or civil or criminal investigations and penalties brought by FDA and the Department of Justice, or other governmental entities.

U.S. Product Approval Process

In the U.S., the FDA regulates drugs and biological products, or biologics, under the Public Health Service Act, as well as the FDCA, which is the primary law for regulation of drug products. Both drugs and biologics are subject to the regulations and guidance implementing these laws.

The results of the preclinical studies, together with manufacturing information and analytical data, are submitted to the FDA as part of the IND, which includes a protocol detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial. The IND will become effective automatically 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA raises concerns or questions about the conduct of the trials as outlined in the IND prior to that time. In this case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before clinical trials can proceed.

While we have an Exclusive Option Agreement and Evaluation Agreement with Fortis, Fortis currently holds the IND for FG-3246/FOR46.

Further, the protocol for each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an independent institutional review board, either centrally or individually at each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted.

The results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, together with detailed information on the manufacture, composition and quality of the product candidate, are submitted to the FDA in the form of an NDA (for a drug) or Biologics License Application (“BLA”) (for a biologic), requesting approval to market the product. The application must be accompanied by a significant user fee payment. The FDA has substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or decide that the data is insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical, clinical or other studies.

Review of Application

Once the NDA or BLA submission is accepted for filing, which occurs, if at all, 60 days after submission, the FDA informs the applicant of the specific date by which the FDA intends to complete its review. During the approval process, the FDA reviews NDAs and BLAs to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe and effective for its intended use, and whether the product is manufactured in accordance with cGMPs to assure and preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality and purity. The FDA may require Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to assure safe use of the product, and inspections of manufacturing facilities (for cGMP compliance) and clinical trial sites (for integrity of data supporting safety and efficacy). The FDA may also convene an advisory committee of external experts to review issues relating to risk, benefit and interpretation of clinical trial data. The FDA may require post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor safety or efficacy of a product. FDA will issue either an approval of the NDA or BLA or a CRL detailing the deficiencies and information required in order for reconsideration of the application.

Post-Approval Requirements

Even after approval, drugs and biologics manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to continuous regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, requirements relating to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product distribution, advertising and promotion and reporting of adverse experiences with the product.

In addition, entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drugs and biologics are required to register their establishments with the FDA and state agencies and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and these state agencies for compliance with cGMP requirements. The FDA requires prior approval before implementing any changes to the manufacturing process, investigations and corrections of any deviations from cGMP, and impose reporting and documentation requirements on the sponsor and any third-party manufacturer the sponsor may use. Accordingly, manufacturers must expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance.

The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Drugs may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company in violation may be subject to significant liability.

Federal and State Fraud and Abuse and Healthcare and Transparency Laws and Regulations

In addition to FDA restrictions on marketing of pharmaceutical products, federal and state healthcare laws restrict certain business practices in the biopharmaceutical industry. These laws include, but are not limited to, anti-kickback, false claims, data privacy and security, and transparency statutes and regulations.

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce, or in return for, purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for the purchase, lease or order of any good, facility, item or service reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. Although there are a number of statutory exemptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting certain common activities from prosecution, the exemptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly. The intent standard under the Anti-Kickback Statute was amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively “PPACA”), to a stricter intent standard such that a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or the specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. In addition, PPACA codified case law that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the civil False Claims Act (discussed below).

The federal false claims laws and federal civil monetary penalties statute prohibit, among other things, any person or entity from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval to the federal government or knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government. The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services.

In addition, we may be subject to federal and state healthcare privacy and security laws. For example, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and its implementing regulations, imposes certain requirements on covered entities, business associates and their covered subcontractors relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. In addition, state laws complicate compliance efforts by the way they govern the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and with varying effects.

Additionally, the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act within the PPACA, and its implementing regulations, require that certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report information related to certain payments or other transfers of value made or distributed to physicians, other healthcare professionals, and teaching hospitals, or to entities or individuals at the request of, or designated on behalf of, such healthcare professionals and teaching hospitals and to report annually certain ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members.

Also, many states have similar healthcare statutes or regulations that apply to items and services reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs, or, in several states, apply regardless of the payor. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the health regulatory laws described above or any other laws that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including potentially significant criminal, civil and/or administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, exclusion of products from reimbursement under government programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, administrative burdens, diminished profits and future earnings and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations. To the extent that any of our products will be sold in a foreign country, we may be subject to similar foreign laws and regulations, which may include, for instance, applicable post-marketing requirements, including safety surveillance, anti-fraud and abuse laws and implementation of corporate compliance programs and reporting of payments or transfers of value to healthcare professionals.

Data Privacy and Security

In the ordinary course of our business, we may process confidential, proprietary, and sensitive information, including personal data. Accordingly, we are, or may become, subject to numerous data privacy and security obligations, including federal, state, local, and foreign laws, regulations, guidance, and industry standards related to data privacy and security. Such obligations may include, without limitation, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“EU GDPR”), the EU GDPR as it forms part of United Kingdom (“UK”) law by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“UK GDPR”), China’s Personal Information Protection Law, the ePrivacy Directive, and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Several states within the United States have enacted or proposed data privacy and security laws. For example, Virginia passed the Consumer Data Protection Act, and Colorado passed the Colorado Privacy Act. Additionally, we are, or may become, subject to various U.S. federal and state consumer protection laws that require us to publish statements that accurately and fairly describe how we handle personal data and choices individuals may have about the way we handle their personal data.

The CCPA and EU GDPR are examples of the increasingly stringent and evolving regulatory frameworks related to personal data processing that may increase our compliance obligations and exposure for any noncompliance. For example, the CCPA imposes obligations on covered businesses to provide specific disclosures related to a business’s collection, use, and disclosure of personal data and to respond to certain requests from California residents related to their personal data (for example, requests to know of the business’s personal data processing activities, to delete the individual’s personal data, and to opt out of certain personal data disclosures). Also, the CCPA provides for civil penalties and a private right of action for data breaches which may include an award of statutory damages. In addition, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”), effective January 1, 2023, expanded the CCPA by, among other things, giving California residents the ability to limit use of certain sensitive personal data, establishing restrictions on personal data retention, expanding the types of data breaches that are subject to the CCPA’s private right of action, and establishing a new California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the new law.

Foreign data privacy and security laws (including but not limited to the EU GDPR and UK GDPR) impose significant and complex compliance obligations on entities that are subject to those laws. As one example, the EU GDPR applies to any company established in the EEA and to companies established outside the EEA that process personal data in connection with the offering of goods or services to data subjects in the EEA or the monitoring of the behavior of data subjects in the EEA. These obligations may include limiting personal data processing to only what is necessary for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes; requiring a legal basis for personal data processing; requiring the appointment of a data protection officer in certain circumstances; increasing transparency obligations to data subjects; requiring data protection impact assessments in certain circumstances; limiting the collection and retention of personal data; increasing rights for data subjects; formalizing a heightened and codified standard of data subject consents; requiring the implementation and maintenance of technical and organizational safeguards for personal data; mandating notice of certain personal data breaches to the relevant supervisory authority(ies) and affected individuals; and mandating the appointment of representatives in the UK and/or the EU in certain circumstances.

See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional information about the laws and regulations to which we may become subject and about the risks to our business associated with such laws and regulations.

Pharmaceutical Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement

In both domestic and foreign markets, our sales of any approved products will depend in part on the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors. Third-party payors include government health administrative authorities, managed care providers, private health insurers and other organizations. Patients who are prescribed treatments for their conditions and providers performing the prescribed services generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the associated healthcare costs. Patients are unlikely to use our products unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our products. Third-party payors are increasingly focused on containing healthcare costs by challenging the price and examining the cost-effectiveness of medical products and services. In addition, significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of newly approved healthcare product candidates.

Because each third-party payor individually approves coverage and reimbursement levels, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement is a time-consuming, costly and sometimes unpredictable process. We may be required to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of any product to each third-party payor separately with no assurance that approval would be obtained, and we may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies in order to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of our products. This process could delay the market acceptance of any product and could have a negative effect on our future revenues and operating results. We cannot be certain that our products and our product candidates will be considered cost-effective. If we are unable to obtain coverage of, and adequate reimbursement and payment levels for, our product candidates from third-party payors, physicians may limit how much or under what circumstances they will prescribe or administer them and patients may decline to purchase them. This in turn could affect our ability to successfully commercialize our products and impact our profitability, results of operations, financial condition and future success.

In addition, in many foreign countries, particularly the countries of the European Union and China, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to government control. In some non-U.S. jurisdictions, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing drug pricing vary widely from country to country. We may face competition for our product candidates from lower-priced products in foreign countries that have placed price controls on pharmaceutical products. In addition, there may be importation of foreign products that compete with our own products.

Healthcare Reform

In the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions, we expect there will continue to be a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system that could affect the future results of our operations as we directly commercialize our products. In particular, there continues to be a number of initiatives at the U.S. federal and state level that seek to reduce healthcare costs.

For example, as a cost containment measure, PPACA established: an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drugs and biologic agents; revised the methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers to the state and federal government for covered outpatient drugs under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated; increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by most manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program; and extended the Medicaid Drug Rebate program to utilization of prescriptions of individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations. There have been executive, judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the PPACA. In addition, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) into law, which among other things, extends enhanced subsidies for individuals purchasing health insurance coverage in PPACA marketplaces through plan year 2025. The IRA also eliminates the “donut hole” under the Medicare Part D program beginning in 2025 by significantly lowering the beneficiary maximum out-of-pocket cost and creating a new manufacturer discount program. It is possible that the PPACA will be subject to future judicial or Congressional challenges, other litigation, and healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration that may impact the PPACA and our business.

Further, in the U.S. there was heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which resulted in several Presidential executive orders, Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under government payor programs, and review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs. The IRA also, among other things, (1) directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS") to negotiate the price of certain single-source drugs and biologics covered under Medicare and (2) imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation. These provisions take effect progressively starting in fiscal year 2023. On August 29, 2023, HHS announced the list of the first ten drugs that will be subject to price negotiations, although the Medicare drug price negotiation program is currently subject to legal challenges. It is currently unclear how the IRA will be implemented but is likely to have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry. Further, on February 14, 2023, HHS released a report outlining three new models for testing by the CMS Innovation Center which will be evaluated on their ability to lower the cost of drugs, promote accessibility, and improve quality of care. It is unclear whether the models will be utilized in any health reform measures in the future. Further, on December 7, 2023, the Biden administration announced an initiative to control the price of prescription drugs through the use of march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act. On December 8, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology published for comment a Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights which for the first time includes the price of a product as one factor an agency can use when deciding to exercise march-in rights. While march-in rights have not previously been exercised, it is uncertain if that will continue under the new framework. It is unclear whether these or similar policy initiatives will be implemented in the future.

Some states implemented, and other states are considering, price controls or patient access constraints under the Medicaid program, and some states are considering price-control regimes that would apply to broader segments of their populations that are not Medicaid-eligible. Due to the volatility in the current economic and market dynamics, we are unable to predict the impact of any unforeseen or unknown legislative, regulatory, payor or policy actions, which may include cost containment and healthcare reform measures. Such policy actions could impact on our business.

Approval Process and Other Regulation in China

The pharmaceutical industry in China is highly regulated. The primary regulatory authority is the NMPA, including its provincial and local branches. As a developer, manufacturer and supplier of drugs, we are subject to regulation and oversight by the NMPA and its provincial and local branches. The Drug Administration Law of China provides the basic legal framework for the administration of the production and sale of pharmaceuticals in China and covers the manufacturing, distributing, packaging, pricing and advertising of pharmaceutical products. Its implementing regulations set forth detailed rules with respect to the administration of pharmaceuticals in China. In addition, we are, and we will be, subject to other Chinese laws and regulations that are applicable to business operators, manufacturers and distributors in general.

Pharmaceutical Clinical Development

A new drug must be approved by the NMPA before it can be manufactured and marketed for sale. To obtain NMPA approval, the applicant must conduct clinical trials, which must be approved by the NMPA and are subject to the NMPA’s supervision and inspection. There are four phases of clinical trials. Application for registration of new drugs requires completion of Phase 1, 2 and 3 of clinical trials, similar to the U.S. In addition, the NMPA may require the conduct of Phase 4 studies as a condition to approval.

Phase 4 studies are post-marketing studies to assess the therapeutic effectiveness of and adverse reactions to the new drug, including an evaluation of the benefits and risks, when used among the general population or specific groups, with findings used to inform adjustments to dosage, among other things.

NDA and Approval to Market

China requires approval of the NDA as well as the manufacturing facility before a drug can be marketed in China. Approval and oversight are performed at national and provincial levels of the NMPA, involve multiple agencies and consist of various stages of approval.

Under the applicable drug registration regulations, drug registration applications are divided into three different types, namely Domestic NDA, Domestic Generic Drug Application, and Imported Drug Application. Drugs fall into one of three categories, namely chemical medicine, biological product, or traditional Chinese or natural medicine.

Foreign Regulation Outside of China

In order to market any product outside of the U.S., we would need to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries and jurisdictions regarding quality, safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials, manufacturing, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of our products. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we would need to obtain the necessary approvals by the comparable foreign regulatory authorities before we can commence clinical trials or marketing of the product in foreign countries and jurisdictions. Although many of the issues discussed above with respect to the U.S. apply similarly in the context of other countries we are seeking approval in, including Europe and China, the approval process varies between countries and jurisdictions and can involve different amounts of product testing and additional administrative review periods. For example, in Europe and in China, a sponsor must submit a clinical trial application, much like an IND prior to the commencement of human clinical trials. A clinical trial application must be submitted to each national health authority and an independent ethics committee.

For other countries outside of the European Union, such as China and the countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America or Asia, the requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing, and reimbursement vary from country to country. Regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction may negatively impact the regulatory approval process in other countries.

Regulatory Exclusivity for Approved Products

U.S. Patent Term Restoration

Depending upon the timing, duration, and specifics of the FDA approval of our product candidates, some of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Act. The Hatch-Waxman Act permits a patent restoration term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. The patent term restoration period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an initial IND and the submission date of an NDA or BLA, plus the time between the submission date of the NDA or BLA and the approval of that product candidate application, to the extent such period occurs after grant of the patent. Patent term restoration cannot, however, extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. In addition, only one patent applicable to an approved product is eligible for the extension and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves applications for any patent term extension or restoration. In the future, we expect to apply for restoration of patent term for patents relating to each of our product candidates in order to add patent life beyond the current expiration date of such patents, depending on the length of the clinical trials and other factors involved in the filing of the relevant NDA or BLA.

Market exclusivity provisions under the U.S. federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act can also delay the submission or the approval of certain applications of companies seeking to reference another company’s NDA or BLA. The Hatch-Waxman Act provides a 5-year period of exclusivity to any approved NDA for a product containing a New Chemical Entity (“NCE”) never previously approved by FDA either alone or in combination with another active moiety. No application or abbreviated NDA directed to the same NCE may be submitted during the 5-year exclusivity period, except that such applications may be submitted after four years if they contain a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement of the patents listed with the FDA by the innovator NDA.

Biologic Price Competition and Innovation Act

The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (“BPCIA”) established an abbreviated pathway for the approval of biosimilar and interchangeable biological products. The abbreviated regulatory approval pathway establishes legal authority for the FDA to review and approve biosimilar biologics, including the possible designation of a biosimilar as “interchangeable” based on similarity to an existing branded product. Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product cannot be approved by the FDA until 12 years after the original branded product was approved under a BLA. However, an application may be submitted after four years if it contains a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement with respect to the patents listed with the FDA by the innovator BLA holder.

Orphan Drug Act

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

If a product that has orphan designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug or biological product for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity. The designation of such drugs also entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers. Competitors, however, may receive approval of different products for the indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity or obtain approval for the same product but for a different indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity. Orphan product exclusivity also could block the approval of one of our products for seven years if a competitor obtains approval of the same drug or biological product as defined by the FDA or if our drug candidate is determined to be contained within the competitor’s product for the same indication or disease. If a drug product designated as an orphan product receives marketing approval for an indication broader than what is designated, it may not be entitled to orphan product exclusivity in any indication.

Products receiving orphan designation in Europe can receive ten years of market exclusivity, during which time no similar medicinal product for the same indication may be placed on the market. The ten-year market exclusivity may be reduced to six years if, at the end of the fifth year, it is established that the product no longer meets the criteria for orphan designation; for example, if the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify maintenance of market exclusivity. Additionally, marketing authorization may be granted to a similar product for the same indication at any time if the second applicant can establish that its product, although similar, is safer, more effective or otherwise clinically superior; the initial applicant consents to a second orphan medicinal product application; or the initial applicant cannot supply enough orphan medicinal product. An orphan product can also obtain an additional two years of market exclusivity in Europe for pediatric studies. No extension to any supplementary protection certificate can be granted on the basis of pediatric studies for orphan indications.

Foreign Country Data Exclusivity

Europe also provides opportunities for additional market exclusivity. For example, in Europe, upon receiving marketing authorization, a NCE or new biologic generally receives eight years of data exclusivity and an additional two years of market exclusivity. If granted, data exclusivity prevents regulatory authorities in Europe from referencing the innovator’s data to assess a generic application. During the additional two-year period of market exclusivity, a generic marketing authorization can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but no generic product can be marketed until the expiration of the market exclusivity.

In China, there may also be an opportunity for data exclusivity for a period of six years for data included in an NDA applicable to a NCE. According to the Implementing Regulations of the China Drug Administration Law, the Chinese government would protect undisclosed data from drug studies and prevent the approval of an application made by another company that uses the undisclosed data for the approved drug. However, even though the NMPA issued a draft regulation on regulatory data protection on April 25, 2018 for public comment, the regulation has yet to be finalized and implemented. As such, data exclusivity is currently not enforced.

In addition, if an approved drug manufactured in China qualified as an innovative drug or an improved new drug before December 1, 2019, such drugs were eligible for a monitoring surveillance period for up to five years for the purpose of protecting public health. Under the regulations, during this post-marketing surveillance period, the NMPA would not accept marketing authorization applications filed by another company for the same product, nor approve marketing authorization applications filed by another company to produce, change dosage form of, or import the drug. The approved manufacturer was required to provide an annual report to the regulatory department of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where it is located during the surveillance period. Although this procedure was reportedly still active for drugs that had qualified prior to changes in the law ending the monitoring surveillance provisions, the CDE started accepting marketing authorization applications for generic forms of roxadustat, starting in May 2023.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

We own or license numerous patents in the U.S. and foreign countries primarily covering our products. We have also developed and are developing brand names and trademarks for our products. We consider the overall protection of our patents, trademarks, licenses, and other intellectual property rights to be of material value and act to protect these rights from infringement. Our success depends in part upon our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection for our product candidates including compositions-of-matter, dosages, and formulations, manufacturing methods, and novel applications, uses and technological innovations related to our product candidates and core technologies. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how and continuing technological innovation to further develop and maintain our competitive position.

Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary position by, among other methods, filing U.S. and foreign patent applications related to our proprietary technologies, inventions and any improvements that we consider important to the development and implementation of our business and strategy. Our ability to maintain and solidify our proprietary position for our products and technologies will depend, in part, on our success in obtaining and enforcing valid patent claims. Additionally, we may benefit from a variety of regulatory frameworks in the U.S., Europe, China, and other territories that provide periods of non-patent-based exclusivity for qualifying drug products. Refer to “Government Regulation — Regulatory Exclusivity for Approved Products.”

We cannot ensure that patents will be granted with respect to any of our pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications that may be filed by us in the future, nor can we ensure that any of our existing or subsequently granted patents will be useful in protecting our drug candidates, technological innovations, and processes. Additionally, any existing or subsequently granted patents may be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or infringed. We cannot guarantee that our intellectual property rights or proprietary position will be sufficient to permit us to take advantage of current market trends or otherwise to provide or protect competitive advantages. Furthermore, our competitors may be able to independently develop and commercialize similar products, or may be able to duplicate our technologies, business model, or strategy, without infringing our patents or otherwise using our intellectual property.

The protection afforded by any particular patent depends upon many factors, including the type of patent, scope of coverage encompassed by the granted claims, availability of extensions of patent term, availability of legal remedies in the particular territory in which the patent is granted, and validity and enforceability of the patent. Changes in either patent laws or in the interpretation of patent laws in the U.S. and other countries could diminish our ability to protect our inventions and to enforce our intellectual property rights. Accordingly, we cannot predict with certainty the enforceability of any granted patent claims or of any claims that may be granted from our patent applications.

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Our ability to maintain and solidify our proprietary position for our products and core technologies will depend on our success in obtaining effective claims and enforcing those claims once granted. We have been in the past and are currently involved in various legal proceedings with respect to our patents and patent applications and may be involved in such proceedings in the future. Additionally, we may claim that a third party infringes our intellectual property, or a third party may claim that we infringe its intellectual property. Such legal proceedings may be associated with significant expenses, damages, attorneys’ fees, costs of proceedings, and experts’ fees, and management and employees may be required to spend significant time in connection with these actions.

Because of the extensive time required for clinical development and regulatory review of a product candidate we may develop, it is possible that any patent related to our product candidates may expire before any of our product candidates can be commercialized, or may remain in force for only a short period of time following commercialization, thereby reducing the advantage afforded by any such patent.

The patent positions for our most advanced programs are summarized below.

Roxadustat Patent Portfolio

While the composition-of-matter patents covering roxadustat expire in 2024 (except in the U.S., where they expire in 2025), the roxadustat patent portfolio includes additional patents providing protection for roxadustat, including protection for the commercial crystalline form, pharmaceutical compositions, and key intermediates in roxadustat synthesis. Subject to the additional details outlined below for particular territories, and exclusive of any patent term extension, U.S. and foreign patents relating to crystalline forms of roxadustat and key intermediates in roxadustat synthesis are due to expire in 2033, and U.S. and foreign patents relating to photostable formulations of roxadustat are due to expire in 2034.

Supplemental Protection Certificates (SPCs) are pending or have been granted in European Union member states, where roxadustat has been granted marketing approval, on our European Patent No. 3470397 (the “`397 Patent”), which claims formulations comprising the commercial crystalline form of roxadustat, thereby extending patent protection to 2036. Patent term extensions (PTEs) have also been granted for several roxadustat-related patents in Japan, where roxadustat has been granted marketing approval, including on composition-of-matter and crystal form patents extending patent protection to 2029 and 2035, respectively.

In China, no photostable formulation patent has yet been granted (applications are pending). Our roxadustat China patent portfolio additionally includes a granted patent and pending patent applications directed to roxadustat particle size distribution (PSD) in commercial formulations and use of roxadustat to treat select CIA patient populations. These patents and patent applications, upon grant, could extend the exclusivity of the roxadustat franchise with respect to the claimed subject matter to 2043.

Several patents in our roxadustat patent portfolio have been challenged in Europe and China. In particular, patent challenges have been filed against our crystal form patents in Europe and China, and against our photostable formulations patent in Europe. While European Patent No. 2872488 (the “`488 Patent”), which claims the commercial crystalline form of roxadustat, was originally revoked in opposition, the decision is currently under appeal. While both the `397 Patent and our European Patent No. 3003284 (the “`284 Patent”), which claims photostable formulations of roxadustat, were upheld in opposition, the opponents have appealed the decision in the `284 Patent and we anticipate the opponents will appeal the decision in the `397 Patent. In China, three roxadustat crystal form patents were revoked in first-round proceedings and two revocations were upheld on first appeal; however, all decisions currently remain on appeal. Final resolution of these proceedings in Europe and China will take time and we cannot be assured that these patents will survive these proceedings as originally granted or at all.

Pamrevlumab Patent Portfolio

Our pamrevlumab patent portfolio includes U.S. and foreign patents providing composition-of-matter protection for pamrevlumab. Exclusive of any patent term extension, the last of the U.S. patents relating to pamrevlumab composition-of-matter is due to expire in 2025 and corresponding foreign patents are due to expire, exclusive of any patent term extension, in 2024. Therefore, in most jurisdictions, exclusivity for pamrevlumab will rely primarily on regulatory exclusivities, including a 12-year reference product exclusivity period from approval in the U.S. and a 10-year marketing protection period from approval in Europe. Similar regulatory exclusivities exist in other jurisdictions. Refer to “Government Regulation — Regulatory Exclusivity for Approved Products — Biologic Price Competition and Innovation Act” and “Government Regulation — Regulatory Exclusivity for Approved Products — Foreign Country Data Exclusivity.”

We also hold additional granted U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications directed to the use of pamrevlumab to treat pancreatic cancer. Upon marketing approval of pamrevlumab in most jurisdictions, we can request patent term extension on a non-expired patent in that jurisdiction that is relevant to the approved label. For example, we believe that if pamrevlumab is approved in the U.S. prior to expiration of the composition-of-matter patent, a full five-year patent term extension under the Hatch-Waxman Act will be available, extending the term of that patent to 2030.

FG-3246 Patent Portfolio

Our FG-3246 patent portfolio includes U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications providing, upon grant, composition-of-mater protection for FG-3246 that are due to expire in 2035 exclusive of any patent term extension.

Trade Secrets and Know-How

In addition to patents, we rely upon proprietary trade secrets and know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect our proprietary information, in part, using confidentiality and other terms in agreements with our commercial partners, collaboration partners, consultants, and employees. Such agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information and may also grant us ownership of technologies that are developed through a relationship with a third party, such as through invention assignment provisions. Agreements may expire and we could lose the benefit of confidentiality, or our agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors.

To the extent that our commercial partners, collaboration partners, employees and consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.

In-Licenses

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Medarex, Inc.)

Effective July 9, 1998, and as amended on June 30, 2001 and January 28, 2002, we entered into a research and commercialization agreement with Medarex, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary GenPharm International, Inc. (now, collectively, part of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (“Medarex”)) to develop fully human monoclonal antibodies for potential anti-fibrotic therapies. Under the agreement, Medarex was responsible for using its proprietary immunizable transgenic mice (“HuMAb-Mouse technology”) during a specified research period (the “Research Period”), to produce fully human antibodies against our proprietary antigen targets, including CTGF, for our exclusive use.

The agreement granted us an option to obtain an exclusive worldwide, royalty-bearing, commercial license to develop antibodies derived from Medarex’s HuMAb-Mouse technology, for use in the development and commercialization of diagnostic and therapeutic products. In December 2002, we exercised that option with respect to twelve antibodies inclusive of the antibody from which pamrevlumab is derived. We granted back to Medarex an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license, with the right to sublicense, to certain inventions created during the parties’ research collaboration, with such license limited to use by Medarex outside the scope of our licensed antibodies.

As a result of the exercise of our option to obtain the commercial license, Medarex is precluded from:

(i) knowingly using any technology involving immunizable transgenic mice containing unrearranged human immunoglobulin genes with any of our antigen targets that were the subject of the agreement,

(ii) granting to a third party a commercial license that covers such antigen targets or those antibodies derived by Medarex during the Research Period, and

(iii) using any antibodies derived by Medarex during the Research Period, except as permitted under the agreement for our benefit or to prosecute patent applications in accordance with the agreement.

Medarex retained ownership of the patent rights relating to certain mice, mice materials, antibodies and hybridoma cell lines used by Medarex in connection with its activities under the agreement, and Medarex also owns certain claims in patents covering inventions that arise during the Research Period, which claims are directed to (i) compositions of matter (e.g., an antibody) except formulations of antibodies for therapeutic or diagnostic use, or (ii) methods of production. We own the patent rights to any inventions that arise during the Research Period that relate to antigens, as well as claims in patents covering inventions directed to (a) methods of use of an antibody, or (b) formulations of antibodies for therapeutic or diagnostic use. Upon exercise of our option to obtain the commercial license, we obtained the sole right but not obligation to control prosecution of patents relating solely to the licensed antibodies or products. Medarex has back-up patent prosecution rights in the event we decline to further prosecute or maintain such patents.

In addition to research support payments by us to Medarex during the Research Period, and an upfront commercial license fee in the form of 181,819 shares of FibroGen Series D Convertible Preferred Stock paid upon exercise of our option, we committed development-related milestone payments of up to $11 million per therapeutic product containing a licensed antibody, and we have paid a $1 million development-related milestone, in the form of 133,333 shares of FibroGen Series G Convertible Preferred Stock, and a cash payment of $2 million, for pamrevlumab to date. At our election, the remaining milestone payments may be paid in common stock of FibroGen, Inc., or cash.

With respect to our sales and sales by our affiliates, the agreement also requires us to pay Medarex low single-digit royalties for licensed therapeutic products and low double-digit royalties plus certain capped sales-based bonus royalties for licensed diagnostic products. With respect to sales of licensed products by a sublicensee, we may elect to pay the foregoing royalties based on our sublicensee’s sales, or a percentage (in the high-teens) of all payments received by us from such sublicensee. We are also required to reimburse Medarex any pass-through royalties, if any, payable under Medarex’s upstream license agreements with Medical Research Council and DNX. Royalties payable by us under the agreement are on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis and subject to reductions in specified circumstances, and royalties are payable for a period until either expiration of patents covering the applicable licensed product or a specified number of years following the first commercial sale of such product in the applicable country.

Unless earlier terminated, the agreement will continue in effect for as long as there are royalty payment obligations by us or our sublicensees. Either party may terminate the agreement for certain material breaches by the other party, or for bankruptcy, insolvency or similar circumstances. In addition, we may also terminate the agreement for convenience upon written notice.

Fortis Therapeutics / University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Effective May 5, 2023, we entered into an Evaluation Agreement with Fortis Therapeutics, Inc., under which FibroGen was granted an exclusive license to certain Fortis intellectual property (IP) and additional IP in-licensed by Fortis from UCSF for the purpose of performing evaluation activities associated with use of FG-3246/FOR46 particularly for treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The IP includes know-how, patents, and patent applications related to FG-3246 composition-of-matter and variants thereof, anti-CD46 antibodies and immunoconjugates made therefrom, and formulations, dosing regimens, and uses thereof. Composition-of-matter patents for FG-3246 are due to expire in 2035, and formulation and dosing regimen patents are due to expire in 2041, in each case exclusive of any patent term extension or adjustment that may be available.

Under the agreement, we have first right to prepare, file, prosecute, and maintain patents and patent applications in the Fortis IP at our own expense and using mutually agreed-upon counsel. We are also obligated to reimburse Fortis for all payments made by Fortis to UCSF for expenses incurred by UCSF in prosecution and maintenance of the in-licensed patent portfolio, and other payments made by Fortis to UCSF under their license agreement during the term of the Evaluation Agreement.

Unless terminated according to terms in the Evaluation Agreement, the term of the license is subject to an Option Agreement and Plan of Merger by and between FibroGen, Fortis Therapeutics, and Shareholder Representative Services LLC dated May 5, 2023. If we exercise our merger option on or before the option exercise deadline, we will acquire Fortis Therapeutics and all benefits and obligations associated with the Fortis IP and license with UCSF, subject to contingent payments of up to $200 million based on certain milestones. If we do not exercise our merger option, the license will terminate at the option exercise deadline which is the earlier of 90 days from the receipt of end of phase 2 meeting minutes from FDA regarding FG-3246 or May 5, 2027 absent extension.

HiFiBiO Therapeutics

Effective June 16, 2021, we entered into an Exclusive License and Option Agreement with HiFiBiO (HK) Ltd. (d.b.a. HiFiBiO Therapeutics), under which FibroGen was granted an exclusive, worldwide license to HiFiBiO know-how and patent rights to all galectin-9 (Gal-9)-directed products for all uses, and a sublicense from HiFiBiO to in-licensed anti-Gal-9 antibodies from Société d’Accélération du Transfert de Technologie (“SATT-NORD”). The patent rights include U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications directed to specific anti-Gal-9 antibodies, fragments, and uses, and are due to expire in 2041 exclusive of any patent term extension or adjustment that may be available. The licensed patents relate to FG-3165 and related products.

We were also granted an option under the agreement to license a second program from HiFiBiO which we exercised on December 10, 2021, with respect to HiFiBiO know-how and patent rights to all CCR8-directed products for all uses. The patent rights include U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications directed to specific anti-CCR8 antibodies, fragments, and uses, and are due to expire in 2042 exclusive of any patent term extension or adjustment that may be available. The licensed patents relate to FG-3175 and related products.

Under the agreement, we have first right to prepare, file, prosecute, and maintain patents and patent applications in the HiFiBiO patent rights at our own expense and using mutually agreed-upon counsel. We are also obligated to pay an upfront licensing and option fee totaling $35 million and a subsequent option exercise payment of $35 million for the CCR8 program, all of which have been paid, and R&D and regulatory milestone payments of up to $175 million, as well as sales milestones of up to $170 million, and an escalating royalty based on calendar year aggregate net sales of licensed product capped at 10%, subject to certain reductions.

Unless earlier terminated, the agreement will continue in effect, on a country-by-country basis, until the expiration of all licensed patents in a country, after which the license will become perpetual, irrevocable, fully-paid up, and royalty free. HiFiBiO may terminate the agreement for our uncured material breach or bankruptcy. We may terminate the agreement for HiFiBiO’s uncured material breach, bankruptcy, or at any time on prior written notice to HiFiBiO.

HUMAN RESOURCES

We had a total of 486 employees at FibroGen as of December 31, 2023. None of our U.S. employees are represented by a labor union. The employees of FibroGen Beijing are represented by a labor union under the China Labor Union Law. None of our employees have entered into a collective agreement with us.

We are highly committed to building a diverse, dedicated, and impassioned team to deliver innovative therapies to patients facing serious unmet medical needs. Our core values of excellence, respect for people, integrity, and empowerment are fundamental to how we attract, grow, engage, and retain our people.

In 2023, we conducted a company-wide employee engagement survey. We had an overall participation rate of 96% with an 89% overall engagement score (China 96%. U.S. 79%). Just as in 2022, we exceeded our corporate goal of an 85% overall engagement score. Further, in 2022, an independent firm established a diversity, equity, and inclusion index based upon 10 employee questions within the survey to measure the effectiveness of, and employee sentiment about, our progress in nurturing a culture of diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion; our diversity index score was 89% (China 90%, U.S. 88%), an increase compared to 88% in 2022. These scores significantly exceed normative industry participation and engagement benchmarks.

The biotechnology industry is an extremely competitive labor market and recruiting and retaining employees is critical to the continued success of our business. We focus on recruiting, retaining, and developing employees from a diverse range of backgrounds to conduct our research, development, commercialization, and administrative activities. As in 2022, we have been able to contain regrettable turnover to less than 6%, and we closed 2023 with only 3.1% regrettable losses. We also believe that to be an employer of choice, we must support the communities in which we live and operate. In 2023, we doubled the size of our high school and college internship program (after re-launching the program in 2022), which provides opportunities for people of color and/or economically disadvantaged youth to contribute and learn for eight to twelve weeks at our U.S. operations.

We consistently review and evaluate our people practices to ensure that we attract, develop and retain a diverse, engaged and talented workforce. Our offerings include competitive, innovative and equitable pay practices, comprehensive health and wellness benefits, retirement and life insurance offerings, learning and giving programs, and flexible work arrangements. In addition to our employee and manager fundamentals programs, we offer personal coaching and resiliency sessions, as well as access to an on-demand global learning management system. In addition to annual compliance training on harassment prevention, our Code of Conduct, Anti-Bribery and data privacy, our employees are offered internal career development programs each year in addition to tuition reimbursement eligibility.

Our state-of-art, human capital management system, implemented in 2020, has significantly expanded our capabilities to develop and assess our employees. We build comprehensive development and succession plans at all levels in the organization to ensure that we have a strong pipeline of ready talent to meet our business outcomes.

Ensuring diversity in our workforce begins with role modeling and striving for diversity in senior management. On our Board of Directors, 3 of 9 members (33%) are female. Further, 2 of 9 members (22%) identify as Asian or Hispanic ethnicity. Notably, our U.S. workforce is 50% female. Our U.S. employees that self-report ethnicity are 58% Asian, Hispanic or Black. Of our U.S. Executive population (Vice President and above), 37.5% are female and of our U.S. executives that self-report ethnicity, 25% identify as Asian or Hispanic. Our China workforce is 57% female (largely unchanged), and of our China Executives (Vice President and above) 67% are female, an increase from 50% in 2022. Across our workforce and our leadership, we have increased our female and ethnicity representation year over year and continue to expand our efforts and corporate objectives accordingly. One of our goals in 2024 is to increase female diversity at the executive director level and above, which was 49% in the U.S. and 67% in China at the end of 2023.

In addition to furthering our investments in our human resources, we plan to continue our efforts in 2024 in critical environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) areas. In 2023, we performed an ESG assessment of our operations, finding that we accomplished most of our yearly goals, including high-impact goals such as providing disclosure on investor outreach and feedback on Say-on-Pay proposals and resulting changes, improving Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) disclosure, and adopting a policy to increase patient diversity in clinical trials. In 2023, we also determined a number of goals for 2024, including adopting a cybersecurity incidence response policy and committee charter, drafting a 2024 Equity Incentive Plan, and performing a climate impact analysis once the SEC adopts final climate disclosure regulations.

FACILITIES

Our corporate and research and development operations are located in San Francisco, California, where we lease approximately 234,000 square feet of office and laboratory space with approximately 12,000 square feet subleased. We are currently under contract to stay at our San Francisco headquarters until the end of 2028. We also lease approximately 67,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space in Beijing, China, and multiple office spaces in Beijing and Shanghai, China. Our leases in China expire in 2026. We have constructed a commercial manufacturing facility of approximately 5,500 square meters in Cangzhou, China, on approximately 33,000 square meters of land. Our right to use such land expires in 2068. We believe our facilities are adequate for our current needs and that suitable additional or substitute space would be available if needed.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our internet website address is www.fibrogen.com. In addition to the information about us and our subsidiaries contained in this Annual Report, information about us can be found on our website. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not part of, and is not incorporated into, this Annual Report.

Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally the Securities and Exchange Commission maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov.

CORPORATE INFORMATION

Our headquarters are located at 409 Illinois Street, San Francisco, California 94158 and our telephone number is (415) 978-1200. Our website address is www.FibroGen.com.

Our subsidiaries consist of the following: 1) FibroGen Europe Oy, a majority-owned entity incorporated in Finland in 1996; 2) Skin Sciences, Inc., a majority-owned entity incorporated in the State of Delaware in 1995; 3) FibroGen International (Cayman) Limited, a majority-owned entity incorporated in the Cayman Islands in 2011; 4) FibroGen China Anemia Holdings Ltd., a majority-owned entity incorporated in the Cayman Islands in 2012; 5) FibroGen International (Hong Kong) Limited, a majority-owned entity incorporated in Hong Kong in 2011; 6) FibroGen INTL LLC, a majority-owned entity incorporated in the State of Delaware in 2021; 7) FibroGen (China) Medical Technology Development Co., Ltd., a majority-owned entity incorporated in China in 2011; and 8) Beijing Falikang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., an unconsolidated variable interest entity incorporated in China in 2020.

“FibroGen,” the FibroGen logo and other trademarks or service marks of FibroGen, Inc. appearing in this Annual Report are the property of FibroGen, Inc. This Annual Report contains additional trade names, trademarks and service marks of others, which are the property of their respective owners. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other companies.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below in addition to the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (“Annual Report”), including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” before deciding whether to invest in our common stock. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. In such an event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Although we have discussed all known material risks, the risks described below are not the only ones that we may face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we deem immaterial may also impair our business operations.

Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of Our Product Candidates

We are substantially dependent on the success of our lead products pamrevlumab and roxadustat.

To date, we have invested substantially in the research and development of pamrevlumab and roxadustat.

The near-term value drivers for the Company depend in large part on pamrevlumab, which is in clinical development for locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer (“LAPC”) and metastatic pancreatic cancer. Even if one or both of the Phase 3 clinical trials are successful, pamrevlumab will require substantial further investment. At this time, we do not have a collaboration partner to support the development and commercialization of pamrevlumab. Additionally, as a monoclonal antibody, it will cost significantly more to manufacture pamrevlumab than it would for a typical small molecule drug.

Our near-term value drivers also include continued development and commercialization of roxadustat in the People’s Republic of China (“China”), Japan, Europe, and elsewhere. We continue to co-commercialize roxadustat in China with AstraZeneca AB (“AstraZeneca”) and develop roxadustat in China in chemotherapy-induced anemia (“CIA”).

After terminating (except for South Korea) our collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca for roxadustat for the treatment of anemia in the U.S. and all territories except for China and those territories previously licensed to Astellas Pharma Inc. (“Astellas”) (the “AstraZeneca U.S./RoW Agreement”) on February 23, 2024, we are currently investigating new licensing opportunities for roxadustat; however, there can be no assurance that we will find such a partner or be able to agree to a license on reasonable terms.

As we continue to fulfill our mission to develop novel therapeutics, we are investing in new drug programs to expand our early oncology pipeline. While we see great potential value in our early development oncology pipeline, these programs are years away from commercialization, and the success of any development program is not guaranteed. Our biggest value drivers in the near term rely on the success of pamrevlumab Phase 3 trials and roxadustat commercialization.

Drug development and obtaining marketing authorization is a very difficult endeavor and we may ultimately be unable to obtain regulatory approval for our various product candidates in one or more jurisdictions and in one or more indications.

The development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of our products and product candidates are and will continue to be subject to extensive and rigorous review and regulation by numerous government authorities in the U.S. and in other countries where we intend to develop and, if approved, market any product candidates. Before obtaining regulatory approval for the commercial sale of any product candidate, we must demonstrate through extensive preclinical trials and clinical trials that the product candidate is safe and effective for use in each indication for which approval is sought.

The drug development and approval processes are expensive and require substantial resources and time, and in general, very few product candidates that enter development ultimately receive regulatory approval. In addition, our collaboration partners for roxadustat have final control over development decisions in their respective territories and they may make decisions with respect to development or regulatory authorities that delay or limit the potential approval of roxadustat, or increase the cost of development or commercialization. Accordingly, we may be unable to successfully develop or commercialize any of our other product candidates in one or more indications and jurisdictions.

Moreover, for any clinical trial to support a New Drug Application (“NDA”)/Biologics License Application (“BLA”) submission for approval, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and foreign regulatory authorities require compliance with regulations and standards (including good clinical practices (“GCP”) requirements for designing, conducting, monitoring, recording, analyzing, and reporting the results of clinical trials) to ensure that (1) the data and results from trials are credible and accurate; and (2) that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of trial participants are protected. Although we rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, we as the sponsor remain responsible for ensuring that each of these clinical trials is conducted in accordance with its general investigational plan and protocol under legal and regulatory requirements, including GCP.

Regulatory authorities may take actions or impose requirements that delay, limit or deny approval of our product candidates for many reasons, including, among others:

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our failure to adequately demonstrate to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities or an independent advisory committee that our product candidate is safe and effective in a particular indication, or that such product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;

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our failure of clinical trials to meet the level of statistical significance required for approval;

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the determination by regulatory authorities that additional information (including additional preclinical or clinical data or trials) is necessary to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a product candidate,

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disagreement over the design or implementation of our clinical trials;

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our product candidates exhibiting an unacceptable safety signal at any stage of development;

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failure either by us or the clinical research organizations (“CROs”) or investigators that conduct clinical trials on our behalf, to comply with regulations or GCPs, clinical trial protocols, or contractual agreements, which may adversely impact our clinical trials;

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disagreement over whether to accept results from clinical trial sites in a country where the standard of care is potentially different from that in the U.S.;

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failure either by us or third-party contractors manufacturing our product candidates to maintain current good manufacturing practices (“cGMP”), successfully pass inspection, or meet other applicable manufacturing regulatory requirements;

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requirements by regulatory authorities to exclude the use of patient data from unreliable clinical trials, or disagreement with our interpretation of the data from our preclinical trials and clinical trials; or

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failure by collaboration partners to perform or complete their clinical programs in a timely manner, or at all.

Any of these factors, many of which are beyond our control, could delay or jeopardize our or our collaboration partners’ abilities to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates in one or more indications.

Even if we believe our clinical trials are successful, regulatory authorities may not agree that our completed clinical trials provide adequate data on safety or efficacy. Approval by one regulatory authority does not ensure approval by any other regulatory authority.

Even if we do obtain regulatory approval, our product candidates may be approved for fewer or more limited indications than we request, approval may be contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials, or approval may require labeling that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate. In addition, if our product candidates produce undesirable side effects or safety issues, the FDA may require the establishment of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (or other regulatory authorities may require the establishment of a similar strategy), that may restrict distribution of our approved products, if any, and impose burdensome implementation requirements on us.

Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for our product candidates.

Preclinical, Phase 1, and Phase 2 clinical trial results may not be indicative of the results that may be obtained in larger clinical trials.

Clinical development is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. Success in preclinical and early clinical trials, which are often highly variable and use small sample sizes, may not be predictive of similar results in humans or in larger, controlled clinical trials, and successful results from clinical trials in one indication may not be replicated in other indications.

Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in early-stage development, and we may face similar setbacks.

Clinical trials can be delayed, suspended, or terminated by us, by the relevant institutional review boards at the sites at which such trials are being conducted, or by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, for a variety of reasons or factors, including:

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delay or failure to address any physician or patient safety concerns that arise during the course of the trial, including unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, or a principal investigator’s determination that a serious adverse event could be related to our product candidates;

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delay or failure to obtain required regulatory or institutional review board approval or guidance;

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delay or failure to reach timely agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and clinical trial sites;

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delay or failure to recruit, enroll and retain patients through the completion of the trial;

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patient recruitment, enrollment, or retention, clinical site initiation, or retention problems associated with civil unrest or military conflicts around the world;

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delay or failure to maintain clinical sites in compliance with clinical trial protocols or to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols;

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delay or failure to initiate or add a sufficient number of clinical trial sites;

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delay or failure to manufacture sufficient quantities of product candidate for use in clinical trials;

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difficulty enrolling a sufficient number of patients to conduct our clinical trials as planned;

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inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, warning letter, or other regulatory action; and

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changes in laws or regulations.

In particular, identifying and qualifying patients to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates is critical to our success. The timing of our clinical trials depends on the rate at which we can recruit and enroll patients in testing our product candidates. Patients may be unwilling to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates for a variety of reasons, some of which may be beyond our control, including:

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severity of the disease under investigation;

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availability of alternative treatments;

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size and nature of the patient population;

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eligibility criteria for and design of the study in question;

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perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study;

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ongoing clinical trials of competitive agents;

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physicians’ and patients’ perceptions of the potential advantages of our product candidates being studied in relation to available therapies or other products under development;

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our CRO’s and our trial sites’ efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;

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patient referral practices of physicians; and

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ability to monitor patients and collect patient data adequately during and after treatment.

Any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase the costs of the trial, delay the product candidate development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence marketing and generate revenues. Any of these occurrences may materially and adversely harm our business, operations, and prospects.

Our product candidates may cause or have attributed to them undesirable side effects or have other properties that delay or prevent their regulatory approval or limit their commercial potential.

Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates or that may be identified as related to our product candidates by physician investigators conducting our clinical trials or even competing products in development that utilize a similar mechanism of action or act through a similar biological disease pathway could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities and potential product liability claims. If we determine that there is a likely causal relationship between a serious adverse event and our product candidate, and such safety event is material or significant enough, it may result in:

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our clinical trial development plan becoming longer and more expensive;

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terminating some of our clinical trials for the product candidates or specific indications affected;

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regulatory authorities increasing the data and information required to approve our product candidates and imposing other requirements; and

•

our collaboration partners terminating our existing agreements.

The occurrence of any or all of these events may cause the development of our product candidates to be delayed or terminated, which could materially and adversely affect our business and prospects.

Clinical trials of our product candidates may not uncover all possible adverse effects that patients may experience.

Clinical trials are conducted in representative samples of the potential patient population, which may have significant variability. Pamrevlumab is being studied in patient populations that are at high risk of death and adverse events, and even if unrelated to pamrevlumab, adverse safety findings in these trials may limit its further development or commercial potential. Clinical trials are by design based on a limited number of subjects and of limited duration for exposure to the product used to determine whether, on a potentially statistically significant basis, the planned safety and efficacy of any product candidate can be achieved. As with the results of any statistical sampling, we cannot be sure that all side effects of our product candidates may be uncovered, and it may be the case that only with a significantly larger number of patients exposed to the product candidate for a longer duration, that a more complete safety profile is identified. Further, even larger clinical trials may not identify rare serious adverse effects or the duration of such studies may not be sufficient to identify when those events may occur. Patients treated with our products, if approved, may experience adverse reactions and it is possible that the FDA or other regulatory authorities may ask for additional safety data as a condition of, or in connection with, our efforts to obtain approval of our product candidates. If safety problems occur or are identified after our product candidates reach the market, we may, or regulatory authorities may require us to amend the labeling of our products, recall our products or even withdraw approval for our products.

If our manufacturers or we cannot properly manufacture the appropriate volume of product, we may experience delays in development, regulatory approval, launch or successful commercialization.

Completion of our clinical trials and commercialization of our products require access to, or development of, facilities to manufacture and manage our product candidates at sufficient yields, quality and at commercial scale. Although we have entered into commercial supply agreements for roxadustat and pamrevlumab, we will need to enter into additional commercial supply agreements, including for backup or second source third-party manufacturers. We may not be able to enter into these agreements with satisfactory terms or on a timely manner. In addition, we may experience delays or technical problems associated with technology transfer of manufacturing processes to any new suppliers.

We have relatively limited experience manufacturing or managing third parties in manufacturing any of our product candidates in the volumes that are expected to be necessary to support large-scale clinical trials and sales. In addition, we have limited experience forecasting supply requirements or coordinating supply chain (including export and customs management) for launch or commercialization, which is a complex process involving our third-party manufacturers and logistics providers, and for roxadustat, our collaboration partners. We may not be able to accurately forecast supplies for commercial launch or do so in a timely manner and our efforts to establish these manufacturing and supply chain management capabilities may not meet our requirements as to quantities, scale-up, yield, cost, potency or quality in compliance with cGMP, particularly if the marketing authorization or market uptake is more rapid than anticipated or we have an unanticipated surge in demand.

KYNB US Equity

KYNB · 10-K · period ended 2023-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

KYNB US Equity☆

KYNB · 10-K · period ended 2023-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

KYNB US Equity