10-K
84,826,632
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
OR
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the Transition Period from to
Commission File Number: 001-37708
Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
35 Gatehouse Drive, Building D, Floor 3
Waltham, Massachusetts02451
(781) 419-1400
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock SNDX The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities 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 the 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 accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.) Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting of common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $1,452,441,662 as of June 30, 2023 based on the closing price of $20.93 as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on such date. Shares of the registrant's common stock held by executive officers, directors, and their affiliates have been excluded from this calculation. The determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.
As of February 19, 2024, there were 84,965,486 shares of common stock outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which the registrant intends to file pursuant to Regulation 14A with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ii
PART I
Item 1. Business 1
Item 1A. Risk Factors 22
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 56
Item 1C. Cybersecurity 56
Item 2. Properties 57
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 57
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 57
PART II
Item 6. [Reserved] 60
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 71
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 72
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 72
Item 9B. Other Information 74
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 75
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 76
Item 11. Executive Compensation 76
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 76
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules 77
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K, or Annual Report, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of this Annual Report. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expects,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative or plural of those terms, and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
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our estimates regarding our expenses, future revenues, anticipated capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;
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the initiation, cost, timing, progress and results of our research and development activities, clinical trials and preclinical studies;
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our ability to replicate results in future clinical trials;
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our expectations regarding the potential safety, efficacy or clinical utility of our product candidates as well as the potential use of our product candidates to treat various cancer indications and fibrotic diseases;
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our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our product candidates and the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals for such candidates;
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our ability to maintain our licenses with UCB Biopharma Sprl, and Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Allergan plc, which was acquired by AbbVie Inc.;
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the success of our collaboration with Incyte Corporation, or Incyte, to further develop and commercialize axatilimab;
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the potential milestone and royalty payments under certain of our license agreements;
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the implementation of our strategic plans for our business and development of our product candidates;
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the scope of protection we establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and our technology;
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the market adoption of our product candidates by physicians and patients;
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developments relating to our competitors and our industry; and
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the impact of geo-political actions, including war or the perception that hostilities may be imminent (such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the war in Israel), adverse global economic conditions, terrorism, public health crises or natural disasters on our operations, research and development and clinical trials and potential disruption in the operations and business of third-party manufacturers, contract research organizations, or CROs, other service providers, and collaborators with whom we conduct business.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those set forth in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” below and for the reasons described elsewhere in this Annual Report. Any forward-looking statement in this Annual Report reflects our current view with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Given these uncertainties, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, our information may be incomplete or limited and we cannot guarantee future results. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.
This Annual Report also contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business and the markets for certain drugs and consumer products, including data regarding the estimated size of
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those markets, their projected growth rates and the incidence of certain medical conditions. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained these industry, business, market and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data and similar sources and we have not independently verified the data from third party sources. In some cases, we do not expressly refer to the sources from which these data are derived.
In this Annual Report, unless otherwise stated or as the context otherwise requires, references to “Syndax,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar references refer to Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. This Annual Report also contains references to our trademarks and to trademarks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to, including logos, artwork and other visual displays, may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
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PART I
Item 1. BUSINESS
Our Company
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies. Our two lead product candidates are revumenib, and axatilimab. We are developing revumenib, a potent, selective, small molecule inhibitor of the menin-MLL binding interaction for the treatment of KMT2A rearranged, or KMT2Ar, also known as mixed lineage leukemia rearranged or MLLr, acute leukemias including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, and acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, and necleophosmin 1, also known as NPM1, mutant AML. We are also exploring the use of revumenib as a treatment in solid tumors, specifically its activity in metastatic colorectal cancer. We are developing axatilimab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor, or CSF-1R, in chronic graft-versus-host disease, or cGVHD, as well as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF. We plan to continue to leverage the technical and business expertise of our management team and scientific collaborators to license, acquire and develop additional therapeutics to expand our pipeline.
Our Strategy
We are developing revumenib for the treatment of acute leukemias and as a treatment for solid tumors, and axatilimab for use in cGVHD and other fibrotic-macrophage driven diseases, such as IPF, as single agents and in combination with approved drugs. Key elements of our strategy include:
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Develop and commercialize revumenib for the treatment of genetically defined leukemias. We believe that revumenib has the potential to treat at least two genetically defined acute leukemias: (i) KMT2Ar and (ii) mutations in NPM1, or mNPM1, AML. Our Phase 1/2 open-label AUGMENT-101 trial is nearing completion. The pivotal Phase 2 portion of the trial enrolled relapsed/refractory, or R/R, patients in three indication-specific expansion cohorts to determine the efficacy, short- and long-term safety, and tolerability of revumenib in KMT2Ar ALL, KMT2Ar AML and mNPM1 AML. We have submitted a New Drug Application, or NDA, for revumenib for the treatment of R/R KMT2Ar acute leukemia under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s, or FDA, Real-Time Oncology Review, or RTOR, program and we continue to enroll patients in the mNPM1 AML cohort. We are also concurrently expanding into the frontline and maintenance settings in AML with new clinical trials as well as in solid tumors.
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Develop and commercialize axatilimab for the treatment of cGVHD. We completed enrollment in the pivotal AGAVE-201 trial for the treatment of patients with cGVHD and, together with Incyte, have submitted a Biologics License Application, or BLA to the FDA. Also, our partner Incyte plans to initiate two combination trials with axatilimab in cGVHD in mid-2024, including a Phase 2 combination trial with ruxolitinib and a Phase 3 combination trial with steroids. We are further exploring the use of axatilimab to treat other fibrotic diseases where monocyte-derived macrophages have been shown to play a role, and have initiated a Phase 2 trial to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of axatilimab in patients with IPF.
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Leverage the technical, clinical, regulatory and business expertise of our management team and scientific collaborators to license, acquire and develop additional cancer therapies to expand our pipeline. We licensed the global rights to axatilimab and revumenib and are working closely with our collaboration partner, Incyte, on the development and commercialization of axatilimab. We are continuing to leverage the collective talent within our organization and network of advisors to guide our pipeline expansion and development plans.
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Our Pipeline
Revumenib
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Our first clinical-stage product candidate, revumenib, is a potent, orally active inhibitor of the high affinity interaction site on menin with the protein MLL1. This specific interaction is a key driver for two genetically defined acute leukemias: (i) KMT2Ar and (ii) mNPM1 AML. The R/R settings of both diseases have a poor prognosis. In preclinical testing, revumenib has demonstrated benefit in leukemic models of disease. Clinical evidence with revumenib also supports the hypothesis that disruption of the menin-MLL interaction can lead to responses in acute leukemias.
In 2019, we commenced AUGMENT-101, a global clinical trial consisting initially of a Phase 1 dose escalation portion to determine the maximum tolerated dose, or MTD, and recommended Phase 2 dose of revumenib in patients with R/R KMT2Ar or mNPM1 acute leukemia. As discussed below, we completed the Phase 1 portion of the trial. The three cohorts of the pivotal Phase 2 portion of the trial, enrolled R/R patients across each of three distinct trial populations: patients with NPM1 mutant AML, patients with KMT2Ar AML, and patients with KMT2Ar ALL to determine the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of revumenib. We completed enrollment of the KMT2Ar cohorts and the NPM1 cohort continues to accrue patients.
In October 2023, we announced data that the trial met its primary endpoint at the protocol-defined interim analysis stage with a complete remission, or a CR, with partial hematological recovery, or a CRh rate of 23% (13/57; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [12.7, 35.8, one-sided p-value = 0.0036]) in the pooled KMT2Ar acute leukemia cohort. The CR/CRh rate in patients with KMT2Ar AML was 24.5% (12/49). 39% (14/36) of patients who achieved a CR/CRh underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or HSCT; with eight of fourteen proceeding to transplant prior to achieving CR/CRh and could not be included in the reported CR/CRh rate. The CR/CRh responses in both the overall population and the AML subset were durable with a 6.4-month (95% CI: 3.4, NR) median duration of response and 46% (6/13) remaining in response, as of July 2023 data cut-off. Minimal residual disease, or MRD, status was assessed in 10 of the 13 patients who achieved a CR/CRh, 70% (7/10) of whom were MRD negative. Revumenib was well tolerated, and the overall safety profile was consistent with our previously reported data. Treatment-related adverse events, or TREAs, leading to dose reductions and treatment discontinuation were low. Grade 3 differentiation syndrome, DS, was observed in 15% (14/94) of patients while one patient (1%) experienced Grade 4 DS and no patients experienced a Grade 5. Grade 3 QTc prolongation was observed in 14% (13/94) of patients, with no Grade 4 or 5 events. There were no discontinuations related to DS or QTc prolongation on the trial. Further accrual in the KMT2Ar cohorts was halted based on the Independent Data Monitoring Committee recommendation.
We submitted an NDA to the FDA for revumenib for the treatment of adult and pediatric R/R KMT2Ar acute leukemia. The NDA submission is being reviewed under the FDA's RTOR program, and expects to receive a PDUFA action date from the FDA in the first quarter of 2024. RTOR allows for close engagement between the sponsor and the FDA throughout the submission process and enables the FDA to review individual modules of a drug application rather than requiring a complete application prior to initiating its review. We expect to complete
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enrollment in the AUGMENT-101 pivotal trial cohort of patients with R/R mNPM1 AML late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2024. We expect to report topline data for this cohort in the fourth quarter of 2024, which could support a supplemental NDA regulatory filing for revumenib in an additional indication of treatment of R/R mNPM1 AML.
In November 2023, we announced updated results from the R/R mNPM1 AML patients enrolled in the Phase 1 portion of the AUGMENT-101 trial, who met the RP2D criteria. The final dataset includes three additional patients, for a total of 14, that were enrolled in the Phase 1 trial to complete the pharmacokinetic characterization of revumenib. In this analysis, the overall response rate, or ORR, was 50% (7/14) with a CR/CRh rate of 36% (5/14); 100% (5/5) of CR/CRh patients were MRD negative. 43% (3/7) of responders proceeded to transplant, all after achieving a CR or CRh. 60% (3/5) of CR/CRh patients maintained a response beyond six months. At the time of the analysis, four patients remained in response, with two patients in response over 22 months, at the time of data cut-off. Revumenib was well tolerated, and the safety profile was consistent with what was previously reported in the AUGMENT-101 trial. There were no Grade 4 or 5 QTc prolongation or differentiation syndrome events, greater than Grade 2, and no patients discontinued due to TREAs.
We also announced data from patients in the AUGMENT-101 Phase 1 trial who received revumenib maintenance therapy, including some ongoing for more than one year after HSCT, that demonstrated revumenib duration of treatment in the maintenance setting at the time of this analysis ranged from 1 to 701 days, with treatment ongoing for nine of the 16 patients. CRc (CR + CRh + CRp + CRi + MLFS) was maintained in 12 patients after HSCT and maintenance revumenib. MRD negative remissions were maintained in 6 patients as of the data cutoff with one patient converting from an MRD+ to MRD- response. Three patients remain on revumenib maintenance therapy for more than one-year post-transplant.
At the 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in December 2023 and during the our accompanying investor event, investigators presented compelling data from multiple Phase 1 combination trials of revumenib in mNPM1 and KMT2Ar acute leukemia across the treatment landscape. The trials are expanding to validate recommended Phase 2 doses, with additional data expected in the second half of 2024. These trials include:
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BEAT-AML: Evaluating the combination of revumenib with venetoclax and azacitidine in front-line AML patients. This trial is being conducted as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Beat AML® Master Clinical Trial.
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SAVE: Evaluating the all-oral combination of revumenib with venetoclax and decitabine/cedazuridine in R/R AML or mixed phenotype acute leukemias. The trial is being conducted by investigators from the MD Anderson Cancer Center and continues to add patients.
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AUGMENT-102: Evaluating the combination of revumenib with fludarabine and cytarabine in patients with R/R acute leukemias.
We have initiated a Phase 1 trial of revumenib in combination with 7+3 chemotherapy followed by maintenance treatment in newly diagnosed patients with mNPM1 or KMT2Ar acute leukemias. We also plan to initiate a pivotal trial of revumenib in combination with venetoclax and azacitidine in newly diagnosed mNPM1 or KMT2Ar acute leukemia patients unable to tolerate intensive induction chemotherapy by year-end 2024. Additionally, enrollment is ongoing in a Phase 1 proof-of-concept clinical trial of revumenib in patients with unresectable metastatic microsatellite stable colorectal cancer. We expect to provide an update on the trial in the second quarter of 2024.
Rationale for Targeting MLLr
MLLr leukemias arise by rare, spontaneous translocations at the MLL1 locus (11q23). It is estimated that approximately 10% of AML and ALL harbor this MLL-re-arrangement with a worldwide incidence of approximately 5,000 to 7,000 cases per year. These translocations generate oncogenic fusion proteins with more than 90 different MLL fusions currently known. All MLL fusion proteins bind with high affinity to the chromatin associated protein menin through a conserved N-terminal sequence. This specific interaction with menin enables an aberrant transcription program that drives leukemic transformation. In pre-clinical animal models, small molecule inhibitors of the menin-MLL interaction have demonstrated deep and durable single agent treatment effects in multiple leukemic xenografts harboring MLL fusions. Inhibiting the menin-MLL1 interaction represents a novel
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targeted strategy for the treatment of MLLr leukemias. Today, the first choice therapy for both MLLr AML and MLLr ALL still relies heavily on intensive chemotherapy, if a patient can tolerate such treatment. Despite these patients being routinely diagnosed, there are currently no targeted therapies approved to treat patients with MLLr acute leukemias. Currently there are several other clinical-stage menin-inhibitors in development for the treatment of MLLr AML and MLLr ALL.
Rationale for Targeting Nucleophosmin 1 Mutant AML
NPM1 is among the most frequently mutated genes in AML, found in approximately 30% of AML cases for an incidence of approximately 20,000 cases per year. Recent preclinical research has demonstrated that mNPM1 works directly with the menin-MLL complex to induce a leukemic transcription program. As a result, mNPM1 harboring cells are sensitive to menin-MLL interaction inhibitors. In mNPM1 cells, inhibition of the menin-MLL interaction suppresses the leukemic transcription program, causing growth arrest, terminal differentiation and cell death. In animal models, small molecule inhibitors of the menin-MLL interaction have demonstrated deep and durable single agent treatment effects in multiple mNPM1 xenografts. Based on these findings, blocking the menin-MLL1 interaction represents a novel targeted strategy for the treatment of mNPM1 AML.
Like MLLr, NPM1 is readily diagnosed as part of the standard AML patient work-up today, and yet there are no targeted therapies specifically approved to treat patients with mNPM1 AML. There are several additional clinical stage agents currently advancing as potential treatments for mNPM1 AML.
Rational for Targeting CRC
CRC is the second most lethal cancer, the third most prevalent malignant tumor worldwide, and the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in the United States each year. In 2023, over 153,000 new CRC estimated cases arose, resulting in 52,500 estimated deaths, accounting for nearly 8% of new cancer cases and 9% of cancer deaths in the U.S. Meanwhile, the five-year survival rate for CRC is approximately 65% and drops to 15% for metastatic CRC.
Today, physicians can choose from a number of approved chemotherapies (Stivarga,® Lonsurf®), immunotherapies (Yervoy®, Keytruda®, Opdivo®) and targeted agents (Avastin®, Cyramza®, Zaltrap®, Erbitux®, Vectibix®, Braftovi®, FRUZAQLATM)) to treat CRC. Despite these advancements, there remains a critical need for more effective therapies to address metastatic CRC.
Nearly all colorectal tumors, harbor genetic mutations that lead to the hyperactivation of b-catenin signaling, which in turn initiate the expression of various downstream targets that promote proliferation and maintain a stem cell state, highlighting the potential value of developing treatments that target b-catenin signaling in cancer. b-catenin itself, however, is an intractable drug target and the mechanisms underlying b-catenin–driven transcription remains largely elusive, underscoring the need to identify therapeutically tractable components of b-catenin transcriptional output. Recently, several researchers have utilized functional genomic screens to uncover new targets of high relevance to the oncogenic property of b-catenin. Through this process they have validated the selective dependence of KMT2A for growth of b-catenin–active CRC cells and showed KMT2A expression to be associated with malignant CRC growth in vivo and shortened survival in patients with CRC. Targeting KMT2A using menin
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inhibitors has been shown to selectively reduce the viability of b-catenin–active cells and CRC organoids, but not b-catenin–inactive cells and normal organoids.
Axatilimab
We are also developing axatilimab a monoclonal antibody targeting the colony stimulating factor-1 receptor, or CSF-1R, a cell surface protein thought to control the survival and function of monocytes and macrophages. Axatilimab binds with high affinity to CSF-1R and blocks the binding of the two known CSF-1R ligands CSF-1 and IL-34. CSF-1R is expressed on the surface of specific immune cells known as macrophages and their precursor cells known as monocytes. CSF-1R signaling on these cells has been demonstrated in preclinical studies conducted in animal models of skin and lung cGVHD to be the key regulatory pathway involved in the expansion and infiltration of the macrophages that mediate fibrosis and the cGVHD disease process. Blocking CSF-1R activity with an experimental CSF-1R antibody in these studies was shown to prevent and treat the symptoms of cGVHD. We believe that by inhibiting CSF-1R activation on monocytes and macrophages, axatilimab has the potential to be used to treat cGVHD as well as other fibrotic diseases where monocyte-derived macrophages have been shown to play a significant role.
Our near-term focus is to rapidly establish that axatilimab can provide meaningful clinical benefit in patients with advanced cGVHD where prior therapies are no longer effective and to establish proof-of-concept of using axatilimab to treat other fibrotic diseases where monocyte-derived macrophages have been shown to play a role.
In July 2023, we and our partner, Incyte, announced positive topline data from the pivotal AGAVE-201 trial of axatilimab in patients with cGVHD following two or more prior lines of therapy. All three dose cohorts, 0.3 mg/kg every two weeks, 1.0 mg/kg every two weeks and 3.0 mg/kg every four weeks, met the primary endpoint. The ORR within the first six months of treatment at the 0.3 mg/kg dose was 74%, and 60% of these patients were still responding at one year. Furthermore, axatilimab was generally well tolerated, and the most common adverse events were consistent with on-target effects and prior trials. Results from the trial were featured in the Plenary Scientific Session at the 65th ASH Annual Meeting in December 2023. The FDA has accepted the BLA filing for axatilimab in adult and pediatric patients six years or older with cGVHD after failure of at least two prior lines of systemic therapy. The application has been granted Priority Review and assigned a PDUFA action date of August 28, 2024.
In January 2024, we announced that we exercised our option under the collaboration agreement and license agreement with Incyte described below under the heading "Collaborations - Incyte Collaboration and License Agreement" to co-commercialize axatilimab in the United States. We also announced the randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of axatilimab in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, is open for enrollment. Additionally, Incyte plans to initiate two combination trials with axatilimab in cGVHD in mid-2024, including both a Phase 2 combination trial with ruxolitinib and a Phase 3 combination trial with steroids.
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Axatilimab in GVHD
cGVHD, an immune response of the donor-derived hematopoietic cells against recipient tissues, is a serious, potentially life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or HSCT, that can last for years. cGVHD is estimated to develop in approximately 40% of transplant recipients and affects approximately 14,000 patients in the United States. cGVHD typically manifests across multiple organ systems, with the skin and mucosa being commonly involved, and is characterized by the development of fibrotic tissue.
The first line of therapy for cGVHD is typically corticosteroids, though approximately 50% of patients may require treatment with additional systemic therapies, such as extracorporeal photopheresis, cytostatic agents such as mycophenolate moftetil, methotrexate, and immunomodulators such as rituximab, IL-2. Imbruvica® (ibrutinib), a BTK inhibitor, was the first FDA-approved therapy for cGVHD and is indicated for use after one or more lines of therapy. Imbruvica received approval based on Phase 1/2 clinical trial data that showed a 68% overall response rate, with 48% of responses lasting 20 weeks or longer and reduced dependence on steroids for most patients. The FDA has approved two additional drugs, Rezurock® (belomosidil) and Jakafi® (ruxolitinib), for use in patients with cGVHD after failure of one or more lines of systemic therapy. While approved agents have shown a benefit in improving symptoms of this disease, none have demonstrated an improvement in long-term outcomes and a significant unmet medical need still remains for this patient population. Additionally, all currently approved agents are believed to exert their effect through T- and B-cells, with minimal impact on macrophages. By inhibiting the work of monocyte-derived macrophages, axatilimab, provides a differentiated way to treat cGVHD, which we expect is ultimately expected to have a more pronounced impact on the fibrotic process. We also believe that shifting CSF-1R inhibition earlier in the treatment phase of cGVHD, to minimize formation of fibrotic tissue, could have a meaningful long-term impact on the disease process itself.
Axatilimab in IPF
IPF is a specific form of chronic, fibrosing, interstitial pneumonia limited to the lungs with a median survival of approximately three to five years after diagnosis. IPF is a rare disease, with an estimated prevalence of 281,000 people among the seven major market countries. IPF incidence and prevalence increase with age and are higher among males. Although rare, the incidence of IPF is increasing, likely due to an increasing understanding of the disease and the recent development of uniform diagnostic criteria.
There are currently two approved therapies for IPF, nintedanib and pirfenidone. Despite these recent advances, the unmet medical need in IPF remains high, with a five-year mortality rate of 50% to 70% with deaths occurring mainly due to respiratory failure. Lung transplantation remains the only curative treatment option, but less than five percent of IPF patients undergo lung transplantation. There is an urgent need for new and more effective treatments for IPF that can address the limitations of current treatment options, improve mortality, and quality of life.
Growing evidence suggests macrophages are critical regulators of lung fibrosis. Recent work has established a role for monocyte-derived macrophages as the pathogenic population of cells required for the development of fibrosis and that drive the fibrotic process. Reducing the circulating levels of pathogenic monocyte-derived macrophage precursors or inhibiting their activation in tissues provides an opportunity to therapeutically intervene and directly inhibit fibrosis. Recent experiments have demonstrated that the monocyte-derived, pro-fibrotic macrophages are CSF-1-dependent and CSF-1R inhibition through anti-CSF-1R antibody can block fibrosis in fibrotic disease models. We believe that using axatilimab to inhibit the work of monocyte-derived macrophages may provide a differentiated way to treat IPF, and could result in a more pronounced impact on the fibrotic process.
Entinostat
Entinostat is our oral, small molecule product candidate that has direct effects on both cancer cells and immune regulatory cells, potentially enhancing the body’s immune response to tumors. We have deprioritized the development of entinostat, but maintain a license, development and commercialization agreement with Eddingpharm International Company Limited, or Eddingpharm, under which we granted Eddingpharm an exclusive license under our intellectual property rights to develop and commercialize entinostat in China and certain other Asian countries.
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Collaborations
Incyte Collaboration and License Agreement
In September 2021, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement, or the Incyte Collaboration Agreement, with Incyte for the development and commercialization of axatilimab. Additionally, in September 2021 we entered into a share purchase agreement with Incyte, or the Incyte Share Purchase Agreement. Under the terms of the Incyte Collaboration Agreement, Incyte received exclusive commercialization rights outside of the United States, and we and Incyte will, subject to the exercise of our co-promotion option, have co-commercialization rights in the United States, with respect to axatilimab. Incyte is responsible for leading commercialization strategy and booking all revenue from worldwide sales of axatilimab, subject to its royalty payment obligations set forth below. The parties will share equally the profits and losses from the co-commercialization efforts. We and Incyte are co-developing axatilimab and sharing development costs associated with global and U.S.-specific clinical trials, with Incyte responsible for 55% of such costs and we are responsible for 45% of such costs. Each company is responsible for funding any independent development activities. All development costs related to the collaboration are subject to a joint development plan. A joint development committee between us and Incyte will govern future development of axatilimab.
We are eligible to receive up to $220 million in future contingent development and regulatory milestones and up to $230 million in commercialization milestones under the Incyte Collaboration Agreement. In addition, we are eligible to receive tiered royalties on potential net sales of the licensed product comprising axatilimab ranging from the low to mid double-digit percentages. In December 2021, we received an upfront cash payment of $117 million and we issued 1,421,523 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $35 million, or $24.62 per share.
License Agreements
Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
We have a license agreement with Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of AbbVie plc, or the AbbVie License Agreement, under which Vitae granted us an exclusive, sublicensable, worldwide license to, preclinical, orally-available, small molecule inhibitors of the interaction of menin with the MLL protein, or the Menin Assets. We are solely responsible for the development and commercialization of the Menin Assets.
Subject to the achievement of certain milestone events, we may be required to pay Vitae up to an aggregate of $99.0 million in one-time development and regulatory milestone payments over the term of the AbbVie License Agreement. In the event that we or any of its affiliates or sublicensees commercializes the Menin Assets, we will also be obligated to pay Vitae low single to low double-digit royalties on sales, subject to reduction in certain circumstances, as well as up to an aggregate of $70.0 million in potential one-time, sales-based milestone payments based on achievement of certain annual sales thresholds. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to share a percentage of non-royalty income from sublicensees, subject to certain deductions, with Vitae. Since the inception of the agreement, we achieved certain development and regulatory milestones resulting in $8.0 million in milestone payments to Vitae, which includes $2.0 million paid in the first quarter of 2023.
Each party may terminate the AbbVie License Agreement for the other party’s uncured material breach or insolvency; and we may terminate the AbbVie License Agreement at will at any time upon advance written notice to Vitae. Vitae may terminate the AbbVie License Agreement if we or any of its affiliates or sublicensees institutes a legal challenge to the validity, enforceability, or patentability of the licensed patent rights. Unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms, the AbbVie License Agreement will continue on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis until the later of: (i) the expiration of all of the licensed patent rights in such country; (ii) the expiration of all regulatory exclusivity applicable to the product in such country; and (iii) 10 years from the date of the first commercial sale of the product in such country.
UCB
We have a license agreement with UCB, or the UCB license agreement, under which UCB granted us a worldwide, sublicensable, exclusive license to UCB6352, which we refer to as axatilimab. The UCB license agreement permits us to use axatilimab or other licensed products for all human uses, including treatment,
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prevention and diagnostic uses, in all indications, diseases, conditions or disorders, and we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, obtain regulatory approval and commercialize a certain licensed product. We are solely responsible for the development and commercialization of axatilimab, subject to our collaboration with Incyte.
Subject to the achievement of certain milestone events, we may be required to pay UCB up to $119.5 million in one-time development and regulatory milestone payments over the term of the UCB license agreement. In the event that we or any of our affiliates or sublicensees commercializes axatilimab, we will also be obligated to pay UCB low double-digit royalties on sales, subject to reduction in certain circumstances, as well as up to an aggregate of $250.0 million in potential one-time, sales-based milestone payments based on achievement of certain annual sales thresholds. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to share a percentage of non-royalty income from sublicensees, subject to certain deductions, with UCB. During the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, we were required to pay $2.0 million and $4.0 million, respectively, due to the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones. Additionally, in connection with its most recent amendment of the UCB license agreement, in the second quarter of 2022 we paid UCB $5.8 million, which was recognized as a milestone expense. In the fourth quarter of 2023, we achieved certain development and regulatory milestones, resulting in a $10.0 million expense, which has been recorded in accrued expenses as of December 31, 2023.
Each party may terminate the UCB license agreement for the other party’s uncured material breach or insolvency; and we may terminate the UCB license agreement at will at any time upon advance written notice to UCB. UCB may terminate the UCB license agreement if we or any of our affiliates or sublicensees institutes a legal challenge to the validity, enforceability, or patentability of the licensed patent rights. Unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms, the UCB license agreement will continue on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis until the later of: (i) the expiration of all of the licensed patent rights in such country; (ii) the expiration of all regulatory exclusivity applicable to the product in such country; and (iii) 10 years from the date of the first commercial sale of the product in such country.
Bayer Pharma AG
We have a license agreement with Bayer Pharma AG, or Bayer, pursuant to which we obtained a worldwide, exclusive license to develop and commercialize entinostat and any other products containing the same active ingredient. The Bayer license agreement, as amended, permits us to use entinostat or other licensed products for the treatment of any human disease, and we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, manufacture and commercialize licensed products for all commercially reasonable indications. Initially, Bayer manufactured and supplied our requirements of entinostat, but effective May 2012, manufacturing rights and responsibility for entinostat was transferred to us, by mutual agreement of the parties.
We are obligated to pay up to approximately $50.0 million in the aggregate upon obtaining certain milestones in the development and marketing approval of entinostat, assuming that we pursue at least two different indications for entinostat or any other licensed product. We are also obligated to pay Bayer up to $100.0 million in aggregate sales milestones, and a tiered single-digit royalty on net sales by us, our affiliates and sublicensees of entinostat and any other licensed products under the Bayer license agreement. We are obligated to pay Bayer these royalties on a country-by-country basis for the life of the relevant licensed patents covering such product or 15 years after the first commercial sale of such product in such country, whichever is longer. We cannot determine the date on which our royalty payment obligations to Bayer would expire because no commercial sales of entinostat have occurred and the last-to-expire relevant patent covering entinostat in a given country may change in the future.
The Bayer license agreement will remain in effect until the expiration of our royalty obligations under the agreement in all countries. Upon expiration of the agreement our licenses become fully paid-up and irrevocable. Either party may terminate the Bayer license agreement in its entirety or with respect to certain countries in the event of an uncured material breach by the other party. Either party may terminate the Bayer license agreement if voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy proceedings are instituted against the other party, if the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or upon the occurrence of other specific events relating to the insolvency or dissolution of the other party. Bayer may terminate the Bayer license agreement if we seek to revoke or challenge the validity of any patent licensed to us by Bayer under the Bayer license agreement or if we procure or assist a third party to take any such action.
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Sales and Marketing
Given our stage of development, we have recently started building a commercial infrastructure to support sales of our product candidates in the United States. We expect that our targeted sales force will focus on a well-defined group of medical oncologists, and transplant physicians, primarily in the non-hospital and academic settings, who are responsible for the care and treatment of cancer patients. For revumenib, we expect to manage sales, marketing and distribution through internal resources and third-party relationships. In accordance with our agreement, Incyte will lead the commercialization of axatilimab globally and we have elected to co-promote axatilimab in the United States. While we may commit significant financial and management resources to commercial activities, we would also consider collaborating with one or more pharmaceutical companies to enhance our commercial capabilities. Outside the United States, we plan to rely on our current partners and may seek additional pharmaceutical partners for development as well as sales and marketing activities.
Manufacturing
We do not own or operate manufacturing facilities for the production of axatilimab, revumenib or entinostat, and we do not have plans to develop our own manufacturing operations in the foreseeable future. We currently rely on third-party contract manufacturers as well as Incyte for all of our required raw materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished product for our preclinical research, clinical trials, and anticipated commercial supply. Development and commercial quantities of any products that we develop will need to be manufactured in facilities, and by processes, that comply with the requirements of the FDA and the regulatory agencies of other jurisdictions in which we are seeking approval.
Intellectual Property
Patents and Property Rights
Through licensed intellectual property and our owned intellectual property, we seek patent protection in the United States and internationally for our product candidates, their methods of use and processes for their manufacture, as well as for other technologies, where appropriate. Our policy is to actively seek to protect our proprietary position by, among other things, filing patent applications in the United States and abroad claiming our proprietary technologies that are important to the development of our business. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation and in-licensing opportunities to develop and maintain our proprietary position.
We cannot be sure that patents will be granted with respect to any of our owned or licensed pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications filed by us or our licensors in the future, nor can we be sure that any of our existing owned or licensed patents or any patents that may be granted to us or to our licensors in the future will protect our technology. Our success will depend significantly on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for the technologies that we consider important to our business, defend our patents, preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets, operate our business without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of third parties, and prevent third parties from infringing our proprietary rights.
Axatilimab Patent Portfolio
We in-licensed from UCB a patent portfolio directed to axatilimab. As of December 31, 2023, the in-licensed axatilimab composition-of-matter patent portfolio included two granted U.S. patents, 27 granted non-U.S. patents, including a granted Eurasian patent which has been validated in 3 countries and two granted EP patent which have been validated in 37 countries each, and 22 non-U.S. pending patent applications. The in-licensed granted patents covering axatilimab, and any non-U.S. pending applications should they issue, will expire in August 2034 or later should patent term extension be granted.
Our in-licensed patent portfolio also includes patents and patent applications directed to methods for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of fibrotic disease by administration of an inhibitor of CSF-1R activity, methods for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, by administration of an inhibitor of CSF-1R activity, and liquid pharmaceutical compositions of anti-CSF-1R antibodies. As of December 31, 2023, the in-licensed method of use patent family included 11 granted non-U.S. patents, including a granted EP patent which has been validated in 7 countries, and another granted EP patent which has been validated in 8 countries, and 3 non-U.S.
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pending patent applications. The in-licensed granted patents covering axatilimab, and any non-U.S. pending applications should they issue, will expire in August 2034 or later should patent term extension be granted. As of December 31, 2023, the in-licensed liquid pharmaceutical compositions of anti-CSF-1R antibodies patent family included 1 granted U.S. patent, 13 granted non-U.S. patents including a granted EP patent which has been validated in 33 countries, and 5 non-U.S. pending patent applications. These in-licensed granted patents covering axatilimab, and any non-U.S. pending applications should they issue, will expire between November 2024 and February 2036 or later should patent term extension be granted.
Our owned axatilimab patent portfolio includes one pending U.S. patent application and six non-U.S. patent applications directed to combinations of entinostat and axatilimab. If any one of these applications were to issue as one or more patents, these patents would expire in May 2038 or later should patent term extension be granted. Our owned axatilimab patent portfolio also consists of patent applications directed to the treatment regimens and methods of using axatilimab includes one pending U.S. patent application and 18 non-U.S. patent applications. If any one of these applications were to issue as one or more patents, these patents would expire in December 2040 or later should patent term extension be granted.
Menin Asset Patent Portfolio
We in-licensed from Vitae Pharmaceuticals, LLC (formerly Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., "Vitae") a subsidiary of AbbVie Inc., a patent portfolio directed to a series of selective preclinical inhibitors targeting the binding interaction of menin with MLL-r. As of December 31, 2023, the in-licensed portfolio includes four granted U.S. patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 11,479,557, 10,683,302, 11,739,085 and 10,899,758, 20 granted non-U.S patents, including a granted European patent, which was validated in 30 member states and another granted European patent which was validated in 15 member states, two pending U.S. applications and 25 non-U.S. pending patent applications covering composition of matter and methods of treating, e.g., MLL. The in-licensed granted patents, and any pending application should they issue, are expected to expire between June 2037 and September 2037 or later should patent term extension be granted.
Our owned menin patent portfolio consists of twelve pending non-U.S. patent applications and one pending U.S. patent application, directed to combinations of a menin inhibitor and a CYP3A inhibitor for the treatment of various cancers. Our owned menin patent portfolio also consists of one U.S. provisional applications directed to the salts and polymorphic forms of menin inhibitors and pharmaceutical combinations thereof and one pending PCT patent application directed to methods of treating colorectal cancer in a subject in need thereof with a menin-MLL inhibitor. If any of these pending applications were to issue as one or more patents, these patents would expire between April 2041 and November 20244 or later should patent term extension be granted.
We co-own with Vitae and/or Syngene International Limited seventeen pending non-U.S. patent applications, two pending U.S. patent application, and two pending U.S. provisional applications, covering composition of matter and methods of treating cancer and other diseases mediated by the menin-MLL interaction. Syngene International Limited is obligated to assign their rights to us.
We also co-own with Board of Regents, The University of Texas System six pending non-U.S. patent applications, one pending U.S. patent application, covering methods of treating cancer with combinations, including menin inhibitors and Bcl-2 inhibitors.
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Entinostat Patent Portfolio
We strive to protect entinostat with multiple layers of patents. As of December 31, 2023, our portfolio included four owned pending U.S. non-provisional patent applications, three owned granted U.S. patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 10,226,472, 11,324,822, and 11,397,184 which expire in August 2032, March 2036 and October 2036, respectively, or later should patent term extension be granted, directed to methods of treating a patient with combinations of entinostat and pembrolizumab or other therapeutic agents, 19 granted non-U.S. patents (including one European patent validated in countries), and 39 owned non-U.S. pending patent applications. Our owned entinostat patent portfolio includes pending U.S. and non-U.S. patent applications directed to methods of treating cancer patients by administration of entinostat and exemestane, methods of treating cancer patients by administration of entinostat in combination with an HER2 inhibitor, treatments with entinostat combined with anti PD-1 or anti PD-L1 antibodies, entinostat and CSF-1 or CSF-1R combination therapies (also discussed above in the Axatilimab Patent Portfolio) and patient selection for combination therapy comprising entinostat and a second therapeutic agent. The granted patents, and any pending applications should they issue as one or more patents, these patents would expire between August 2032 and May 2039 or later should patent term extension be granted.
The patent portfolio we licensed from Bayer contains a number of issued U.S. and foreign patents as well as patent applications pending outside the United States. A number of the patents and patent applications we licensed from Bayer are directed to entinostat while other patents and patent applications are directed to compounds other than entinostat. As of December 31, 2023, the portfolio we licensed from Bayer included seven issued U.S. patents, 62 granted non-U.S. patents and 17 patent applications pending in non-U.S. patent offices.
The portfolio we licensed from Bayer also includes U.S. Patent 7,973,166, or the ’166- patent, which covers a crystalline polymorph of entinostat which is referred to as crystalline polymorph- B, the crystalline polymorph used in the clinical development of entinostat. Many compounds can exist in different crystalline forms. A compound which in the solid state may exhibit multiple different crystalline forms is called polymorphic, and each crystalline form of the same chemical compound is termed a polymorph. A new crystalline form of a compound may arise, for example, due to a change in the chemical process or the introduction of an impurity. Such new crystalline forms may be patented. By comparison, the U.S. Patent RE39,754, which expired in September 2017, covers the chemical entity of entinostat and any crystalline or non-crystalline form of entinostat. On March 7, 2014, our licensor Bayer applied for reissue of the ‘166 patent. The reissue application sought to add three additional inventors to the ‘166 patent. The reissue was granted as RE45,499 on April 28, 2015, at which time the original ‘166 patent was surrendered. The reissue patent has the same force and effect as the original ‘166 patent and the same August 2029 expiration date.
Of the unexpired foreign-granted patents we licensed from Bayer, there are 33 granted foreign counterparts of the ‘166 patent (now RE45,499) that cover crystalline polymorph B, including the European patent and Eurasian patent. The granted European patent comprises 37 national countries that have all been validated, and the granted Eurasian patent comprises nine countries that have all been validated. Likewise, there are 3 pending foreign counterparts of the ‘166 crystalline polymorph B patent. Other patents and patent applications in the licensed Bayer portfolio are expired and covered methods of treatment by administration of entinostat.
Patent Term
The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term of the patents in the countries in which they are obtained. In most countries in which we file, the patent term is 20 years from the date of filing the earliest non-provisional application or PCT application.
In the United States, a patent’s term may be lengthened by patent term adjustment, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO in granting a patent, or may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over an earlier-filed patent. The term of a patent that covers an approved drug may also be eligible for patent term extension, which permits patent term restoration as compensation for the patent term lost during the development and regulatory review process. To obtain a patent extension in the United States, the term of the relevant patent must not have expired before the extension application, the patent cannot have been extended previously under this law, an application for extension must be submitted, the product must be subject to regulatory review prior to its commercialization, and the permission for the commercial
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marketing or use of the product after such regulatory review period is the first permitted commercial marketing or use of the product. If our future products contain active ingredients which have not been previously approved, we may be eligible for a patent term extension in the United States. In the United States, we expect to seek extension of patent terms under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, which permits a patent term extension of up to five years beyond the expiration of the patent for patent claims covering a new chemical entity. If patent extensions are available to us outside of the United States, we would expect to file for a patent term extension in applicable jurisdictions.
Confidential Information and Inventions Assignment Agreements
We require our employees and consultants to execute confidentiality agreements upon the commencement of employment, consulting or collaborative relationships with us. These agreements provide that all confidential information developed or made known during the course of the relationship with us be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties except in specific circumstances.
In the case of employees, the agreements provide that all inventions resulting from work performed for us, utilizing our property or relating to our business and conceived or completed by the individual during employment shall be our exclusive property to the extent permitted by applicable law. Our consulting and service agreements also provide for assignment to us of any intellectual property resulting from services performed for us.
Government Regulation and Product Approval
United States Government Regulation
In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs and biologics under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, the Public Health Service Act, and related regulations. Drugs and biologics are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The FDA and comparable regulatory agencies in state and local jurisdictions impose substantial requirements upon, among other things, the testing, development, manufacture, quality control, safety, purity, potency, labeling, storage, distribution, record keeping and reporting, approval, import and export, advertising and promotion, and postmarket surveillance of drugs and biologics.
Biopharmaceutical Product Development Process
The process required by the FDA before biopharmaceutical products may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:
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completion of extensive preclinical laboratory tests and animal studies in accordance with applicable regulations, including the FDA’s good laboratory practice, or GLP regulations;
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submission of an Investigational New Drug, or IND, application which must become effective before clinical trials may begin;
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performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with applicable regulations, including the FDA’s current good clinical practice, or GCP, regulations to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug for its intended use or uses;
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submission to the FDA of an NDA for a new drug product or a Biologics License Application, or BLA, for biologics;
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a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of an NDA or BLA to accept the application for filing and review;
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satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the drug or biologic is produced to assess compliance with the FDA’s current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, regulations to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality and purity;
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potential FDA audit of the preclinical and/or clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of an NDA or BLA; and
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FDA review and approval of an NDA or BLA prior to any commercial marketing or sale of the biopharmaceutical product in the United States.
Before testing any compounds with potential therapeutic value in humans, the product candidate enters the preclinical testing stage. Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry and formulation, as well as animal studies to assess the potential safety, toxicity profile and activity of the product candidate. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements including GLPs.
Prior to commencing the first clinical trial in humans, an IND must be submitted to the FDA, and the IND must become effective. A sponsor must submit preclinical testing results to the FDA as part of the IND and the FDA must evaluate whether there is an adequate basis for testing the drug in humans. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA unless the FDA within the 30-day time period raises concerns or questions about the submitted data or the conduct of the proposed clinical trial and places the IND on clinical hold. In such case, the IND application sponsor must resolve any outstanding concerns with the FDA before the clinical trial may begin. A separate submission to the existing IND application must be made for each successive clinical trial to be conducted during product development. Further, an independent Institutional Review Board, or IRB, for each site proposing to conduct the clinical trial must review and approve the protocol and informed consent for any clinical trial before it commences at that site. Informed consent must also be obtained from each study subject. Regulatory authorities, an IRB, a data safety monitoring board or the trial sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the participants are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk.
Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap:
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Phase 1—The drug is initially given to healthy human subjects or patients and tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion, the side effects associated with increasing doses, and if possible, to gain early evidence on effectiveness.
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Phase 2—The drug is evaluated in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases or conditions and to determine dosage tolerance, optimal dosage and dosing schedule.
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Phase 3—Clinical trials are undertaken to further evaluate dosage, clinical efficacy and safety at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites. These clinical trials are intended to establish the overall benefit-risk ratio of the product and to provide an adequate basis for product approval by the FDA.
Post-approval studies, or Phase 4 clinical trials, may be conducted after initial marketing approval. These studies may be required by the FDA as a condition of approval and are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication. The FDA also has express statutory authority to require post-market clinical studies to address safety issues.
Some clinical trials are overseen by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data monitoring board or committee. This group provides recommendations for whether or not a trial may move forward at designated checkpoints based on access to certain data from the study. A sponsor may also suspend or terminate a clinical trial based on evolving business objectives and/or competitive climate.
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Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the product candidate as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the drug candidate and, among other things, must include developed methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the finished product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.
FDA Review and Approval Processes
In order to obtain approval to market a biopharmaceutical product in the United States, a marketing application must be submitted to the FDA that provides data establishing to the FDA’s satisfaction the safety and effectiveness of the investigational drug for the proposed indication. Each NDA or BLA submission requires a substantial user fee payment unless a waiver or exemption applies. The application includes all relevant data available from pertinent nonclinical studies and clinical trials, including negative or ambiguous results as well as positive findings, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacturing, controls and proposed labeling, among other things. Data can come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and effectiveness of a use of a product, or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators.
The FDA will initially review an NDA or BLA for completeness before it accepts it for filing. The FDA has 60 days from its receipt of an application to determine whether the application will be accepted for filing based on the agency’s threshold determination that the application is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. If it is not, the FDA may refuse to file the application and request additional information, in which case the application must be resubmitted with the supplemental information, and review of the application is delayed. After an NDA or BLA submission is accepted for filing, the FDA reviews the application to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe and effective for its intended use, and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to assure and preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality and purity. The FDA may refer applications for novel drug products or drug products that present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and, if so, under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.
Upon the filing of an NDA or BLA, the FDA may grant a priority review designation to a product, which sets the target date for FDA action on the application at 6 months, rather than the standard 10 months. Priority review is given for drug that treats a serious condition and, if approved, would provide a significant improvement in safety or effectiveness. Priority review designation does not change the scientific or medical standard for approval or the quality of evidence necessary to support approval.
Before approving an NDA or BLA, the FDA will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving an NDA or BLA, the FDA may inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP.
After the FDA completes its initial review of an NDA or BLA, it will communicate to the sponsor that the product is approved, or it will issue a complete response letter to communicate that the application will not be approved in its current form and inform the sponsor of changes that must be made or additional clinical, nonclinical or manufacturing data that must be received before the application can be approved.
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Even if a product candidate receives regulatory approval, the approval may be limited to specific disease states, patient populations and dosages, or might contain significant limitations on use in the form of warnings, precautions or contraindications, or in the form of onerous risk management plans, restrictions on distribution, or post-marketing study requirements. For example, the FDA may require Phase 4 testing, which involves clinical trials designed to further assess a drug’s safety and effectiveness and may require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the safety of approved products that have been commercialized. The FDA may also determine that a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, is necessary to assure the safe use of the drug. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of an NDA must submit a proposed REMS, and the FDA will not approve an NDA without an approved REMS, if required.
Expedited Review Programs
Among other programs, the FDA may expedite the review of a product candidate designated as a breakthrough therapy, which is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. A sponsor may request the FDA to designate a drug as a breakthrough therapy at the time of, or any time after, the submission of an IND application for the drug. If the FDA designates a drug as a breakthrough therapy, it may take actions appropriate to expedite the development and review of the application, which may include holding meetings with the sponsor and the review team throughout the development of the drug; providing timely advice to, and interactive communication with, the sponsor regarding the development of the drug to ensure that the development program to gather the nonclinical and clinical data necessary for approval is as efficient as practicable; involving senior managers and experienced review staff, as appropriate, in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary review; assigning a cross-disciplinary project lead for the FDA review team to facilitate an efficient review of the development program and to serve as a scientific liaison between the review team and the sponsor; and taking steps to ensure that the design of the clinical trials is as efficient as practicable, when scientifically appropriate, such as by minimizing the number of patients exposed to a potentially less efficacious treatment. The FDA may rescind a breakthrough therapy designation in the future if further clinical development later shows that the criteria for designation are no longer met.
Breakthrough therapy designation does not change the standards for approval but may expedite the development or review process.
Post-Approval Requirements
If and when approved, any products manufactured or distributed by us or on our behalf will be subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including requirements for record-keeping, reporting of adverse experiences and submitting annual reports.
Biopharmaceutical manufacturers are required to register their facilities with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMPs, which impose certain quality processes, manufacturing controls and documentation requirements upon us and our third-party manufacturers in order to ensure that the product is safe, has the identity and strength, and meets the quality and purity characteristics that it purports to have. The FDA and certain states also impose requirements on manufacturers and distributors to establish the pedigree of product in the chain of distribution, including technology capable of tracking and tracing product as it moves through the distribution chain. We cannot be certain that we or our present or future suppliers will be able to comply with the cGMP and other FDA regulatory requirements. If our present or future suppliers are not able to comply with these requirements, the FDA may halt our clinical trials, fail to approve any application, shut down manufacturing operations or withdraw approval of an application, or we may recall the product from distribution. Noncompliance with cGMP or other requirements can result in issuance of warning letters, civil and criminal penalties, seizures and injunctive action.
The FDA closely regulates the labeling, marketing and promotion of drugs and biologics. While doctors are free to prescribe any drug approved by the FDA for any use based on the doctor’s independent medical judgment, a company can only make claims relating to safety and efficacy of a drug that are consistent with FDA approval, and a company is allowed to actively market a drug only for the particular use and treatment approved by the FDA. In
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addition, any claims we make for our products in advertising or promotion must be appropriately balanced with important safety information and otherwise be adequately substantiated. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in adverse publicity, warning letters, corrective advertising, injunctions and potential civil and criminal penalties. Government regulators recently have increased their scrutiny of the promotion and marketing of drugs.
Coverage and Reimbursement
In both domestic and foreign markets, sales of any products for which we may receive regulatory approval will depend in part upon the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement to healthcare providers from third-party payors. Such third-party payors include government health programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, as well as managed care organizations, private health insurers and other organizations. Coverage decisions may depend upon clinical and economic standards that disfavor new drug products when more established or lower cost therapeutic alternatives are available. Assuming coverage is granted, the reimbursement rates paid for covered products might not be adequate. Even if favorable coverage status and adequate reimbursement rates are attained, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future. The marketability of any products for which we may receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if the government and other third-party payors fail to provide coverage and adequate reimbursement to allow us to sell such products on a competitive and profitable basis. For example, under these circumstances, physicians may limit how much or under what circumstances they will prescribe or administer such products, 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 the United States, the European Union and other potentially significant markets for our product candidates, government authorities and third-party payors are increasingly attempting to limit or regulate the price of medical products and services, particularly for new and innovative products and therapies. Such pressure, along with the increased emphasis on managed healthcare in the United States and on country and regional pricing and reimbursement controls in the European Union, will likely put additional downward pressure on product pricing, reimbursement and usage, which may adversely affect our future product sales and results of operations. These pressures can arise from rules and practices of managed care groups, judicial decisions, governmental laws and regulations related to government healthcare programs, healthcare reform, and pharmaceutical coverage and reimbursement policies.
The market for any product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval will depend significantly on the degree to which these products are listed on third-party payors’ drug formularies or lists of medications for which third-party payors provide coverage and reimbursement to the extent products for which we may receive regulatory approval are covered under a pharmacy benefit or are otherwise subject to a formulary. The industry competition to be included on such formularies often leads to downward pricing pressures on pharmaceutical companies. Also, third-party payors may refuse to include a particular branded drug on their formularies or otherwise restrict patient access to a branded drug when a less costly generic equivalent or other alternative is available. In addition, because each third-party payor individually approves coverage and reimbursement levels, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement is a time-consuming and costly process. Further, one payor’s determination to provide coverage for a drug product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage for the drug product. 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. We cannot be certain that our product candidates will be considered cost-effective. This process could delay the market acceptance of any product candidates for which we may receive approval and could have a negative effect on our future revenues and operating results.
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Federal and State Fraud and Abuse and Data Privacy and Security Laws and Regulations
In addition to FDA restrictions on marketing of pharmaceutical products, federal and state laws restrict business practices in the pharmaceutical industry. These laws include anti-kickback and false claims laws and regulations as well as data privacy and security laws and regulations. The laws that will affect our operations include, but are not limited to:
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the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, in return for the purchase, recommendation, leasing or furnishing of an item or service reimbursable under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand, and prescribers, purchasers and formulary managers on the other. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, collectively, the Affordable Care Act, amended the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute so that a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;
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federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including, without limitation, the False Claims Act, and civil monetary penalty laws which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment or approval from Medicare, Medicaid or other government payors that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. The Affordable Care Act provides, and recent government cases against pharmaceutical manufacturers support, the view that federal Anti-Kickback Statute violations and certain marketing practices, including off-label promotion, may implicate the False Claims Act;
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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created additional federal criminal statutes that prohibit a person from knowingly and willfully executing a scheme or making false or fraudulent statements to defraud any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private);
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HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, and their implementing regulations, which imposes certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information without appropriate authorization by entities subject to the rule, such as health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and certain healthcare providers, known as covered entities, and their respective business associates, individuals or entities that perform certain services on behalf of a covered entity that involves the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information, and their covered subcontractors;
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the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, information related to: (i) payments or other “transfers of value” made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals; and (ii) ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members;
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state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, state laws that require manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures, state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or to adopt compliance programs as prescribed by state laws and regulations, or that otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers, state laws that require manufactures to report pricing information regarding certain drugs, state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives, and state laws that govern the privacy and security of health information, which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
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We may also be subject to federal and state laws that govern the privacy and security of other personal information, including federal and state consumer protection laws, state data security laws, and data breach notification laws. A data breach affecting sensitive personal information, including health information, could result in significant legal and financial exposure and reputational damages.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of available statutory and regulatory exemptions, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge, investigation or legal action under one or more of such laws. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the federal and state laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal, and administrative penalties, including, without limitation, damages, fines, imprisonment, disgorgement, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations.
To the extent that any of our product candidates receive approval and are 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, international data protection laws (including the General Data Protection Directive ((EU) 2016/679) on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data as well as EU member state implementing legislation), and implementation of corporate compliance programs and reporting of payments or transfers of value to healthcare professionals.
Healthcare Reform
In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Among policy makers and payors in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality and expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives. In March 2010, then President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act, which substantially changed the way healthcare will be financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacts the pharmaceutical industry. Among the provisions of the Affordable Care Act of importance to our business, including, without limitation, our ability to commercialize, and the prices we may obtain for, any of our product candidates that are approved for sale, are the following:
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an annual, nondeductible fee payable by any entity that manufactures or imports specified branded prescription drugs and biologic agents;
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an increase in the statutory minimum rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program;
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expansion of healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including the federal False Claims Act and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, new government investigative powers and enhanced penalties for noncompliance;
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a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must now agree to offer 70% point-of- sale discounts off negotiated prices;
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extension of manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability;
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expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs;
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expansion of the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program;
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new requirements to report financial arrangements with physicians and teaching hospitals;
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a new requirement to annually report drug samples that manufacturers and distributors provide to physicians; and
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a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research.
There have been executive, judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or Tax Act, included a provision which repealed, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the Affordable Care Act on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate”. In addition, the 2020 federal spending package permanently eliminated, effective January 1, 2020, the Affordable Care Act’s mandated “Cadillac” tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage and medical device tax and, effective January 1, 2021, also eliminated the health insurer tax. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a challenge on procedural grounds that argued the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate” was repealed by Congress. Further, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or IRA, into law, which among other things, extends enhanced subsidies for individuals purchasing health insurance coverage in Affordable Care Act 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 Affordable Care Act will be subject to judicial or Congressional challenges in the future. It is unclear how any such challenges and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact the Affordable Care Act.
There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries, Presidential executive orders, and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, reduce the cost of drugs under Medicare, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. At the federal level, in July 2021, the Biden administration released an executive order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” with multiple provisions aimed at prescription drugs. In response to Biden’s executive order, on September 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, released a Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices that outlines principles for drug pricing reform and sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue as well as potential administrative actions HHS can take to advance these principles. Further, the IRA, among other things (i) directs HHS to negotiate the price of certain high-expenditure, single-source drugs and biologics covered under Medicare and (ii) 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. In response to the Biden administration’s October 2022 executive order, 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. At the state level, legislatures are increasingly passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. For example, on January 5, 2024, the FDA approved Florida’s Section 804 Importation Program, or SIP, proposal to import certain drugs from Canada for specific state healthcare programs. It is unclear how this program will be implemented, including which drugs will be chosen, and whether it will be subject to legal challenges in the United States or Canada. Other states have also submitted SIP proposals that are pending review by the FDA. Any such approved importation plans, when implemented, may result in lower drug prices for products covered by those programs.
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The full impact on our business of the Affordable Care Act and other new laws is uncertain but may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding. Nor is it clear whether other legislative changes will be adopted, if any, or how such changes would affect the demand for our products once commercialized.
Regulations Outside of the United States
In addition to regulations in the United States, we will be subject to a variety of foreign regulations governing clinical trials and commercial sales and distribution of our product candidates to the extent we choose to sell any products outside of the United States. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we must obtain approval of a product by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries before we can commence clinical trials or marketing of the product in those countries. The approval process varies from country to country and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary greatly from country to country. As in the United States, post-approval regulatory requirements, such as those regarding product manufacture, marketing, or distribution would apply to any product that is approved outside the United States.
Other Regulations
We are also subject to numerous federal, state and local laws relating to such matters as safe working conditions, manufacturing practices, environmental protection, fire hazard control, and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances. We may incur significant costs to comply with such laws and regulations now or in the future.
Employees and Human Capital Resources
As of February 19, 2024, we had 184 full-time employees. Of the full-time employees, 112 were primarily engaged in research and development activities and 44 have an M.D., Ph.D., or PharmD degree. None of our employees are represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good. To allow us flexibility in meeting varying workflow demands, we also engage consultants and temporary workers when needed.
Our human capital resources objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and additional employees. The principal purposes of our equity incentive plans are to attract, retain and motivate selected employees and directors through the granting of equity-based compensation awards and cash-based compensation awards, in order to increase stockholder value and the success of our company by motivating such individuals to perform to the best of their abilities and achieve our objectives.
Compensation and Benefits
We consider a number of measures and objectives in managing our human capital assets, including, among others, employee engagement, development, and training, talent acquisition and retention, employee safety and wellness, diversity and inclusion, and compensation and pay equity. We provide our employees with salaries and bonuses intended to be competitive for our industry, opportunities for equity ownership, development programs that enable continued learning and growth and a robust benefits package to promote well-being across all aspects of their lives, including health care, retirement planning and paid time off. In addition, we have conducted employee surveys to gauge employee engagement and identify areas of future focus for our human capital practices and benefits offerings.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
We believe that a diverse workforce is critical to our success and we are fundamentally committed to creating and maintaining a work environment in which employees are treated fairly, with dignity, decency, respect and in accordance with all applicable laws. We understand that varied perspectives lead to the best ideas and outcomes. We believe that by creating a workplace where every individual can feel welcome and valued, we will be better able to achieve our corporate objectives. All employees must adhere to a code of business conduct and ethics and our employee handbook, which combined, define standards for appropriate behavior and are annually trained to help
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prevent, identify, report, and stop any type of discrimination and harassment. Our recruitment, hiring, development, training, compensation, and advancement is based on qualifications, performance, skills, and experience without regard to gender, race or ethnicity.
Environmental, Social and Governance Commitment
We are highly committed to policies and practices focused on environmental, social and governance, or ESG, positively impacting our social community and maintaining and cultivating good corporate governance. By focusing on ESG policies and practices, we believe that we can affect a meaningful and positive change in our communities and continue to cultivate our open and inclusive collaborative culture. Some of the initiatives that we were most proud of in 2023 included continuing support for the scientific, medical, patient and local communities in which we operate, including disease awareness and supporting community needs through participation in events within the community at large. We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint. Electric car charging stations are available to employees at our Massachusetts office location. We have been methodically minimizing our use of paper records in favor of electronic records and have a robust recycling program in each office for paper, batteries and electronic equipment. We enable our employees to participate in various charity events, including walks, races and other events that impact change in the communities of the patients that we serve. This allows our employees to support causes that are meaningful to them and their families and aligns with our mission, goals and vision.
Corporate and Other Information
We were incorporated in Delaware in 2005. In 2011, we established a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom, in 2014 we established a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, and in 2021, we established a wholly owned subsidiary in the Netherlands. There have been no material activities for these entities to date. We currently operate in one segment.
Our principal office is located in Waltham, Massachusetts, where we lease approximately 12,000 square feet of office space pursuant to a lease that expires in February 2025. We also lease approximately 16,000 square feet of office space in New York, New York pursuant to leases that expires in August 2025. We believe our facilities are adequate to meet our current needs, although we may seek to negotiate new leases or evaluate additional or alternate space for our operations. We believe appropriate alternative space will be readily available on commercially reasonable terms.
We file electronically with the SEC, 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 Exchange Act. We make available on our website at www.syndax.com, under “Investors,” free of charge, copies of these reports as soon as reasonably practicable after filing or furnishing these reports with the SEC.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
This Annual Report contains forward-looking information based on our current expectations. Because our business is subject to many risks and our actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of us, this section includes a discussion of important factors that could affect our business, operating results, financial condition and the trading price of our common stock. You should carefully consider these risk factors, together with all of the other information included in this Annual Report as well as our other publicly available filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Summary of Selected Risks
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, of which you should be aware before making a decision to invest in our securities. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the following:
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We are currently developing several product candidates. If we are unable to successfully complete clinical development of, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our product candidates, our business prospects will be significantly harmed.
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Revumenib and axatilimab has undergone limited clinical testing and we may fail to show that it is well tolerated and provides sufficient clinical benefit for patients.
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Interim top-line and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes to the final data.
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We may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of any of our product candidates.
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Incyte may fail to perform its obligations as expected under the collaboration or may deprioritize its investment to further develop and commercialize axatilimab.
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If we are or our collaborators are unable to enroll patients in clinical trials, these clinical trials may not be completed on a timely basis or at all.
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The regulatory approval processes of the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable. Our inability to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates would harm our business.
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Our product candidates may not achieve adequate market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community to be commercially successful.
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We rely on third-party suppliers as well as Incyte to manufacture and distribute our clinical drug supplies for our product candidates, we intend to rely on third parties for commercial manufacturing and distribution of our product candidates and we expect to rely on third parties for manufacturing and distribution of preclinical, clinical and commercial supplies of any future product candidates.
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Even if our product candidates receive regulatory approval, they may still face future development and regulatory difficulties.
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Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial scope of their approved use, or result in significant negative consequences following any marketing approval.
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We have incurred net losses since our inception, except 2021, and anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future.
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We currently have no source of product revenue and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
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We will require additional capital to finance our planned operations, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. As a result, we may not complete the development and commercialization of, or obtain regulatory approval for our existing product candidates or develop new product candidates.
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If we are unable to obtain or protect intellectual property rights, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.
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We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
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The market price of our stock may be volatile and you could lose all or part of your investment.
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We may sell additional equity or debt securities or enter into other arrangements to fund our operations, which may result in dilution to our stockholders and impose restrictions or limitations on our business.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We are currently developing several product candidates. If we are unable to successfully complete clinical development of, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our product candidates, our business prospects will be significantly harmed.
Our financial success will depend substantially on our ability to effectively and profitably commercialize our product candidates. In order to commercialize our product candidates, we will be required to obtain regulatory
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approvals by establishing that each of them is sufficiently safe and effective. The clinical and commercial success of our product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including the following:
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the initiation, cost, timing, progress and results of our research and development activities, clinical trials and preclinical studies;
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timely completion of any future clinical trials of revumenib and axatilimab;
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interruption of key clinical trial activities, in connection with public health threats or any future geopolitical tensions, such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the war in Israel;
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whether we are required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities to conduct additional clinical trials prior to receiving marketing approval;
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the prevalence and severity of adverse drug reactions in any of our clinical trials;
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the ability to demonstrate safety and efficacy of our product candidates for their proposed indications and the timely receipt of necessary marketing approvals from the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities;
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successfully meeting the endpoints in the clinical trials of our product candidates;
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achieving and maintaining compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements;
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the potential use of our product candidates to treat various cancer indications and fibrotic diseases;
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the availability, perceived advantages, relative cost, relative safety and relative efficacy of alternative and competing treatments;
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the effectiveness of our own or our potential strategic collaborators’ marketing, sales and distribution strategy and operations in the United States and abroad;
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the ability of our collaboration partner and of third-party contract manufacturers to produce trial supplies and to develop, validate and maintain a commercially viable manufacturing process that is compliant with cGMP;
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our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates in the United States and abroad, whether alone or in collaboration with others;
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our ability to prevent any significant disruptions of our information technology systems and protect the security of our data; and
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our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights in and to our product candidates.
If we fail to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, we will not be able to generate product sales, which will have a material adverse effect on our business and our prospects.
Revumenib has undergone limited clinical testing and we may fail to show that it is well tolerated and provides sufficient clinical benefit for patients.
Research suggests that certain acute leukemias, such as lysine methyltransferase 2A rearranged, or KMT2Ar, acute myeloid or lymphoid leukemia, AML or ALL, and nucleophosmin 1, or NPM1, mutant AML, are driven by the interaction of menin, a nuclear protein involved in transcription, with the N-terminus of KMT2A protein. In NPM1 mutant AML the interaction with menin occurs via the wild type KMT2A protein, and in KMT2Ar acute leukemia, the interaction occurs via a mutant form of KMT2A, a fusion protein known as KMT2Ar. KMT2Ar results from a rare, spontaneous fusion between the N-terminus of the KMT2A gene and a host of signaling molecules and nuclear transcription factors. This fusion produces an aberrant transcription program that drives leukemic transformation. In pre-clinical animal models, small molecule inhibitors of the menin-KMT2Ar interaction, such as revumenib, which bind to, and block the interaction of menin with either KMT2A rearranged or wildtype, have demonstrated deep and durable single agent treatment effects in multiple leukemic xenograft models harboring KMT2A fusions or NPM1 mutations. Our strategy for developing revumenib is to conduct a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in r/r patients with KMT2Ar and NPM1 mutant acute leukemias and determine if the observed clinical efficacy supports further development. The Phase 1 portion of the trial is assessing the safety, tolerability and
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pharmacokinetics of revumenib, and seeks to establish a recommended Phase 2 dose. It is open label, and we have released and may in the future release results from time to time that reflect small numbers of patients which may not be accurately predictive of safety or efficacy results later in the trial or in subsequent trials. The Phase 2 portion is evaluating the efficacy of revumenib across three expansion cohorts enrolling pediatric and adult R/R patients with KMT2Ar ALL, KMT2Ar AML, and NPM1 mutant AML. In October 2023, we announced positive topline data in patients with R/R KMT2Ar acute leukemia and that we have submitted an NDA under the FDA’s RTOR program. Neither breakthrough therapy designation nor RTOR review change the standards for approval and may not ultimately expedite the approval process or lead to approval. While we believe that we have established sufficient efficacy to warrant an NDA submission and continued development in these indications, we may not yet have sufficiently demonstrated a favorable risk-benefit of revumenib in patients.
Axatilimab has undergone limited clinical testing and we may fail to show that it is well tolerated and provides sufficient clinical benefit for patients.
Preclinical studies suggest that CSF-1/CSF-1R signaling may be the key regulatory pathway involved in the expansion and infiltration of donor derived macrophages that mediate the disease processes involved in cGVHD and other fibrotic or inflammatory diseases. Nonclinical studies and analysis of patient samples indicates that the cGVHD inflammatory disease process is a result of a complex interaction between host and donor immune cells including B cells, and regulatory T cells with M2 differentiated macrophages in target tissue appearing to represent the common distal mediator of fibrosis. Therefore, we hypothesize that a CSF-1R signal inhibitor such as axatilimab may play a meaningful role as a monotherapy agent in the treatment of cGVHD. In 2018, we commenced a Phase 1/2 clinical trial with axatilimab in subjects with active cGVHD who had failed at least two prior lines of therapy. Following our end of Phase 1 meeting with the FDA, we aligned on a regulatory path for axatilimab for the treatment of cGVHD and commenced a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial, AGAVE-201, to assess the safety and efficacy of different doses and schedules of axatilimab for the treatment of patients with cGVHD. In July 2023, we announced that AGAVE-201 met its primary endpoint across all three doses in the trial. In January 2024, we announced that, along with Incyte, we have submitted a BLA, the previous December. While we believe that we have established sufficient efficacy to warrant a BLA submission and continued development in this indication, we may not yet have sufficiently demonstrated a favorable risk-benefit of axatilimab in patients.
Interim top-line and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes to the final data.
From time to time, we may publish interim top-line or preliminary data from our clinical trials. For example, in each of November 2022 and 2023, we announced interim data from our Phase 1/2 clinical trial of revumenib. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Preliminary or top-line data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. Preliminary or top-line data may include, for example, data regarding a small percentage of the patients enrolled in a clinical trial, and such preliminary data should not be viewed as an indication, belief or guarantee that other patients enrolled in such clinical trial will achieve similar results or that the preliminary results from such patients will be maintained. As a result, interim and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.
We may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of any of our product candidates.
Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any of our product candidates, we or our collaborators must conduct extensive trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive and difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is inherently uncertain as to the outcome. A failure of one or more trials can occur at any stage of testing. The outcome of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not accurately predict the success of later trials, and interim results of a trial do not necessarily predict final results.
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We are dependent upon our collaboration with Incyte to further develop and commercialize axatilimab. If we or Incyte fail to perform as expected the potential for us to generate future revenues under the collaboration could be significantly reduced, the development and/or commercialization of axatilimab may be terminated or substantially delayed, and our business could be adversely affected.
We are subject to numerous risks related to the Incyte Collaboration Agreement to collaborate on the development and commercialization of axatilimab.
For example, there is no assurance that the parties will achieve any of the regulatory development or sales milestones, that we will receive any future milestone or royalty payments under the collaboration agreement. Incyte’s activities may be influenced by, among other things, the efforts and allocation of resources by Incyte, which we cannot control. If Incyte does not perform in the manner we expect or fulfill its responsibilities in a timely manner, or at all, the clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory approval, and commercialization efforts related to axatilimab could be delayed or terminated. In addition, our license with Incyte may be unsuccessful due to other factors, including, without limitation, the following:
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Incyte may terminate the agreement for convenience upon 90 or 180 days’ notice depending on whether or not the parties have commercialized axatilimab in an indication in the respective territory;
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Incyte may change the focus of its development and commercialization efforts or prioritize other programs more highly and, accordingly, reduce the efforts and resources allocated to axatilimab
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Incyte may, within its commercially reasonable discretion, choose not to develop and commercialize axatilimab in all relevant markets or for one or more indications, if at all; and
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if Incyte is acquired during the term of our collaboration, the acquirer may have competing programs or different strategic priorities that could cause it to reduce its commitment to our collaboration or to terminate the collaboration.
We cannot ensure that the potential strategic benefits and opportunities expected from this collaboration with be realized on our anticipated timeline or at all.
If we or our collaborators are unable to enroll patients in clinical trials, these clinical trials may not be completed on a timely basis or at all.
The timely completion of clinical trials largely depends on patient enrollment. Many factors affect patient enrollment, including:
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the impact of public health crises, or geopolitical tensions, such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the war in Israel;
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perception about the relative efficacy of our product candidates versus other compounds in clinical development or commercially available;
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evolving standard of care in treating cancer patients;
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the size and nature of the patient population, especially in the case of an orphan indication, we are pursuing;
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the number and location of clinical trial sites enrolled;
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competition with other organizations or our own clinical trials for clinical trial sites or patients;
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the eligibility and exclusion criteria for the trial;
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the design of the trial;
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ability to obtain and maintain patient consent; and
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risk that enrolled subjects will drop out before completion.
As a result of the above factors, there is a risk that our or our collaborators’ clinical trials may not be completed on a timely basis or at all.
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We may be required to relinquish important rights to and control over the development and commercialization of our product candidates to our current or future collaborators.
Our collaborations, including any future strategic collaborations we enter into, could subject us to a number of risks, including:
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we may be required to undertake the expenditure of substantial operational, financial and management resources;
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we may be required to issue equity securities that would dilute our existing stockholders’ percentage of ownership;
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we may be required to assume substantial actual or contingent liabilities;
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we may not be able to control the amount and timing of resources that our strategic collaborators devote to the development or commercialization of our product candidates;
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strategic collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding, terminate a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new version of a product candidate for clinical testing;
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strategic collaborators may not pursue further development and commercialization of products resulting from the strategic collaboration arrangement or may elect to discontinue research and development programs;
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strategic collaborators may not commit adequate resources to the marketing, sales and distribution of our product candidates, limiting our potential revenues from these products;
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disputes may arise between us and our strategic collaborators that result in the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization of our product candidates or that result in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management’s attention and consumes resources;
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strategic collaborators may experience financial difficulties;
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strategic collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in a manner that could jeopardize or invalidate our proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation;
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business combinations or significant changes in a strategic collaborator’s business strategy may also adversely affect a strategic collaborator’s willingness or ability to complete its obligations under any arrangement;
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strategic collaborators could decide to move forward with a competing product candidate developed either independently or in collaboration with others, including our competitors; and
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strategic collaborators could terminate the arrangement or allow it to expire, which would delay the development and may increase the cost of developing, our product candidates.
We may explore strategic collaborations that may never materialize or may fail.
We periodically explore a variety of possible strategic collaborations in an effort to gain access to additional product candidates or resources. At the current time, we cannot predict what form such a strategic collaboration might take. We are likely to face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic collaborators, and strategic collaborations can be complicated and time consuming to negotiate and document. We may enter into strategic collaborations that we subsequently no longer wish to pursue, and we may not be able to negotiate strategic collaborations on acceptable terms, or at all. We are unable to predict when, if ever, we will enter into any additional strategic collaborations because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with establishing them.
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The regulatory approval processes of the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable. Our inability to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates would harm our business.
The FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities extensively and rigorously regulate and evaluate the manufacture, testing, distribution, advertising and marketing of drug products prior to granting marketing approvals with respect to such products. This approval process generally requires, at minimum, testing of any product candidate in preclinical studies and clinical trials to establish its safety and effectiveness, and confirmation by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities that any such product candidate, and any parties involved in its manufacturing, testing and development, complied with current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, current Good Laboratory Practices and current Good Clinical Practices, regulations, standards and guidelines during such manufacturing, testing and development. The time required to obtain approval by the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities is unpredictable, but typically takes many years following the commencement of preclinical studies and clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. In addition, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. We have not obtained regulatory approval for any of our product candidates and it is possible that we will never obtain regulatory approval for our existing product candidates or any future product candidates.
In addition, our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval from the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for other reasons, including but not limited to:
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failure to demonstrate that our product candidates are effective for their proposed indication and have an acceptable safety profile;
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failure of clinical trials to meet the primary endpoints or level of statistical significance required for approval;
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failure to demonstrate that the clinical and other benefits of a product candidate outweigh any of its safety risks;
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disagreement with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;
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disagreement with the design, size, conduct or implementation of our or our collaborators’ trials;
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the insufficiency of data collected from trials of our product candidates to support the submission and filing of an NDA, BLA or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval;
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failure to obtain approval of the manufacturing and testing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with whom we contract for clinical and commercial supplies;
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receipt of a negative opinion from an advisory committee due to a change in the standard of care regardless of the outcome of the clinical trials; or
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changes in the approval policies or regulations that render our preclinical and clinical data insufficient for approval.
The FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may require more information, including additional preclinical or clinical data, to support approval, which may delay or prevent approval and our commercialization plans, or may cause us to decide to abandon our development program. Even if we were to obtain approval, regulatory authorities may approve one or more of our product candidates for a more limited patient population than we request, may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing trials, may impose a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, or foreign regulatory authorities may require the establishment or modification of a similar strategy that may, for instance, restrict distribution of one or more of our product candidates and impose burdensome implementation requirements on us, or may approve it with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, all of which could limit our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates. Moreover, if adopted in the form proposed, the recent European Commission proposals to revise the existing European Union, or EU, laws governing authorization of medicinal products may result in a decrease in data and market exclusivity for our product candidates in the EU.
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Our product candidates may not achieve adequate market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community to be commercially successful.
Even if our product candidates receive regulatory approval, they may not gain sufficient market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community. Our commercial success also depends on coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government payors, which may be difficult or time-consuming to obtain, may be limited in scope and may not be obtained in all jurisdictions in which we may seek to market our product candidates. The degree of market acceptance will depend on a number of factors, including:
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the efficacy and safety profile as demonstrated in trials;
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the timing of market introduction as well as competitive products;
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the clinical indications for which the product candidate is approved;
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acceptance of the product candidate as a safe and effective treatment by physicians, clinics and patients;
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the potential and perceived advantages of our product candidates over alternative treatments;
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the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;
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pricing and the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government authorities;
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relative convenience and ease of administration;
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the frequency and severity of adverse events;
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the effectiveness of sales and marketing; and
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unfavorable publicity relating to our product candidates.
If our product candidates are approved but do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, hospitals, healthcare payors and patients, we may not generate sufficient revenue to become or remain profitable.
We rely on third-party suppliers as well as Incyte to manufacture and distribute our clinical drug supplies for our product candidates, we intend to rely on third parties for commercial manufacturing and distribution of our product candidates and we expect to rely on third parties for manufacturing and distribution of preclinical, clinical and commercial supplies of any future product candidates.
We do not currently have, nor do we plan to acquire, the infrastructure or capability to manufacture or distribute preclinical, clinical or commercial quantities of drug substance or drug product, including our existing product candidates. While we expect to continue to depend on third-party manufacturers and Incyte for the foreseeable future, we do not have direct control over the ability of these parties to maintain adequate manufacturing capacity and capabilities to serve our needs, including quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. In addition, public health crises, may impact the ability of our existing or future manufacturers to perform their obligations to us.
We are dependent on our third-party manufacturers and Incyte for compliance with cGMPs and for manufacture of both active drug substances and finished drug products. Facilities used by our third-party manufacturers and Incyte to manufacture drug substance and drug product for commercial sale must be approved by the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory agencies pursuant to inspections that will be conducted after we submit our NDA or relevant foreign regulatory submission to the applicable regulatory agency. If our third-party manufacturers or Incyte cannot successfully manufacture materials that conform to our specifications and/or the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies, they will not be able to secure and/or maintain regulatory approval for their manufacturing facilities. Furthermore, these third-party manufacturers are engaged with other companies to supply and/or manufacture materials or products for such companies, which also exposes our third-party manufacturers to regulatory risks for the production of such materials and products. As a result, failure to meet the regulatory requirements for the production of those materials and products may also affect the regulatory clearance of a third-party manufacturers’ facility. If the FDA or a foreign regulatory agency does not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates, or if it withdraws its approval in the future,
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we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would impede or delay our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved.
Even if our product candidates receive regulatory approval, they may still face future development and regulatory difficulties.
Even if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, they would be subject to ongoing requirements by the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities governing the manufacture, quality control, further development, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, safety surveillance, import, export, advertising, promotion, recordkeeping and reporting of safety and other post-market information. The FDA and foreign regulatory authorities will continue to monitor closely the safety profile of any product even after approval. If the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities become aware of new safety information after approval of a product candidate, they may require labeling changes or establishment of a REMS or similar strategy, impose significant restrictions on its indicated uses or marketing, or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies or post-market surveillance.
In addition, manufacturers of drug products and their facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP regulations and standards. If we or a regulatory agency discover previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product, the manufacturing facility or us, including withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing, or we may recall the product from distribution. If we, or our third-party manufacturers, fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:
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issue warning letters or untitled letters;
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mandate modifications to promotional materials or require us to provide corrective information to healthcare practitioners;
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require us to enter into a consent decree, which can include imposition of various fines, reimbursements for inspection costs, required due dates for specific actions and penalties for noncompliance;
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seek an injunction or impose civil or criminal penalties or monetary fines;
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suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;
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suspend any ongoing clinical trials;
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refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to applications filed by us;
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suspend or impose restrictions on operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements; or
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seize or detain products, or refuse to permit the import or export of products.
The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize and generate revenue from the sale of our product candidates.
Advertising and promotion of any product candidate that obtains approval in the United States is heavily scrutinized by the FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, state attorneys general, members of Congress, other government agencies and the public. While physicians may prescribe products for off-label uses as the FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate a physician’s choice of drug treatment made in the physician’s independent medical judgment, they do restrict promotional communications from companies or their sales force with respect to off-label uses of products for which marketing clearance has not been issued. Companies may only share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA approved labeling. Violations, including promotion of our products for unapproved (or off-label) uses, may be subject to enforcement letters, inquiries and investigations, and civil and criminal sanctions by the government. Additionally, foreign regulatory authorities will heavily scrutinize advertising and promotion of any product candidate that obtains approval in their respective jurisdictions.
In the United States, engaging in the impermissible promotion of our products for off-label uses can also subject us to false claims litigation under federal and state statutes, which can lead to administrative, civil and
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criminal penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, curtailment or restructuring of our operations and agreements that materially restrict the manner in which a company promotes or distributes drug products. These false claims statutes include, but are not limited to, the federal civil False Claims Act, which allows any individual to bring a lawsuit against an individual or entity, including a pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical company on behalf of the federal government alleging the knowing submission of false or fraudulent claims, or causing to present such false or fraudulent claims, for payment or approval by a federal program such as Medicare or Medicaid. These False Claims Act lawsuits against pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical companies have increased significantly in number and breadth, leading to several substantial civil and criminal settlements regarding certain sales practices, including promoting off-label drug uses involving fines in excess of $1.0 billion. This growth in litigation has increased the risk that a pharmaceutical company will have to defend a false claim action, pay settlement fines or restitution, agree to comply with burdensome reporting and compliance obligations, and be excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs. If we, or any partner that we may engage, do not lawfully promote our approved products, we may become subject to such litigation, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial scope of their approved use, or result in significant negative consequences following any marketing approval.
Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause the interruption, delay or halting of the trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities. Results of the clinical trials may reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or other unexpected characteristics. In such event, the trials could be suspended or terminated, or the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities could deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects.
Additionally, if our product candidates receive marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
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we may suspend marketing of, or withdraw or recall, the product;
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regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals;
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regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the product labels;
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the FDA or other regulatory authorities may issue safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases or other communications containing warnings about the product;
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the FDA may require the establishment or modification of a REMS or foreign regulatory authorities may require the establishment or modification of a similar strategy that may, for instance, restrict distribution of the product and impose burdensome implementation requirements on us;
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regulatory authorities may require that we conduct post-marketing studies;
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we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to subjects or patients; and
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our reputation may suffer.
Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of our product candidates for use in targeted indications or otherwise materially harm its commercial prospects, if approved, and could harm our business, results of operations and prospects.
Our failure to obtain regulatory approval in international jurisdictions would prevent us from marketing our product candidates outside the United States.
In order to market and sell our product candidates in other jurisdictions, we must obtain separate marketing approvals for those jurisdictions and comply with their numerous and varying regulatory requirements. We may not obtain foreign regulatory approvals on a timely basis, or at all. The approval procedure varies among countries and
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can involve additional testing. The time required to obtain approval may differ substantially from that required to obtain FDA approval. The regulatory approval process outside the United States generally includes all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. In addition, in many countries outside the United States, product reimbursement approvals must be secured before regulatory authorities will approve the product for sale in that country. Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our product candidates in certain countries. Further, clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries and regulatory approval in one country does not ensure approval in any other country, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. Our failure to obtain approval of our product candidates by foreign regulatory authorities may negatively impact the commercial prospects of such product candidates and our business prospects could decline. Also, if regulatory approval for our product candidates is granted, it may be later withdrawn. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international jurisdictions and receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential for our product candidates will be harmed and our business may be adversely affected.
We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.
Even if any of our product candidates received regulatory approval, such product candidates would face competition from other therapies in the relevant indication. For example, chronic graft versus host disease has historically been managed by off-label treatments. However, in the past several years, the FDA has approved three drugs, ibrutinib (Imbruvica®), belomosidil (Rezurock®) and ruxolitinib (Jakafi®), for use in patients with cGVHD after failure of one or more lines of systemic therapy. All three of these drugs may compete with axatilimab in patients diagnosed with cGVHD.
Revumenib is being developed for the treatment of R/R adult and pediatric patients with KMT2Ar ALL, KMT2Ar AML and NPM1 mutant AML. At this time, there are no drugs approved for these defined populations and patients are managed using the standard of care treatment regimens developed for general AML and ALL populations. While there are other agents in early development for similar populations, revumenib has the potential to be the first defined therapy for patients with KMT2Ar ALL, KMT2Ar AML and/or NPM1 mutant AML.
Existing or potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than we do and significantly greater experience in the discovery and development of product candidates, obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of products and the commercialization of those products. Our competitors may be more successful than us in obtaining FDA approval for drugs and achieving widespread market acceptance. Our competitors’ drugs may be more effective or more effectively marketed and sold than any drug we may commercialize and may render our product candidates obsolete or non-competitive before we can recover the expenses of developing and commercializing any of our product candidates. Our competitors may also obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours. We anticipate that we will face intense and increasing competition as new drugs enter the market and advanced technologies become available.
We believe that our ability to successfully compete will depend on, among other things:
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the efficacy and safety profile of our product candidates relative to marketed products and product candidates in development by third parties;