TRVI US Equity☆

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Our business is subject to numerous risks. The following important factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, communications with investors, and oral statements. Actual future results may differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations

We face risks related to health epidemics and other widespread outbreaks of contagious disease, including the novel coronavirus pandemic, or COVID-19, which has delayed our ability to complete our ongoing clinical trials, disrupted our business operations and may further delay our clinical trials, interrupt our supply chain, disrupt regulatory activities, or have other adverse effects on our business and operations. In addition, this pandemic has caused substantial disruption in the financial markets and economies worldwide, which could result in adverse effects on our business and operations.

Significant outbreaks of contagious diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and other adverse public health developments, could have a material impact on our business operations and operating results.

The COVID-19 pandemic and government measures taken in response thereto have also had a significant impact, both direct and indirect, on segments of the global economy and have interrupted our clinical trial activities, disrupted our business operations and have the potential to interrupt our supply chain. We have experienced restrictions and delays at our existing clinical sites. For example, in our ongoing Phase 2b/3 trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, which we refer to as our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial, new patient screening and most enrollment was temporarily halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After resuming screening and enrollment, multiple sites in the Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial have begun requiring remote monitoring of patient data. We also experienced slower recruitment activities worldwide through the latter part of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the clinical sites in our ongoing Phase 2 trial for chronic cough in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, which we refer to as the Phase 2 CANAL trial, suspended enrollment and treatment of patients in the trial due to the vulnerability of IPF patients to COVID-19 and as a result, we amended the protocol for the trial to reduce the number of in-person patient visits and procedures. While patient screening and enrollment for our Phase 2 CANAL trial resumed at certain clinical trial sites in the fourth quarter of 2020, all sites in the trial paused screening again in December 2020 in response to a shelter in place directive from the U.K. government. Once sites are able to resume screening, some sites may take longer to resume their trial activity due to increased COVID-19 infection rates in the areas where they are located, and we expect other sites may cease to participate in the trial entirely. The COVID-19 pandemic may also adversely affect our ability to recruit and retain principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19, and may result in further disruptions to our clinical trials due to prioritization of hospital and medical resources toward the outbreak, restrictions on travel of patients and healthcare providers, potential unwillingness of patients to enroll in trials at this time, or the inability of patients to comply with clinical trial protocols if quarantines or travel restrictions impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic may also redirect resources of regulators in a way that could adversely impact our ability to progress regulatory approvals and we may face impediments to regulatory meetings and approvals relating to our clinical trials due to measures intended to limit in-person interactions.

The COVID-19 pandemic may also affect employees of third-party contract research organizations located in affected geographies that we rely upon to carry out our clinical trials. The spread of COVID-19, or another infectious disease, could also negatively affect the operations at our third-party suppliers, which could result in delays or disruptions in the supply of drug product used in our clinical trials. In addition, we have taken temporary precautionary measures intended to help minimize the risk of the virus to our employees, including allowing employees to work remotely, suspending all non-essential travel worldwide for our employees and discouraging employee attendance at industry events, each of which could negatively affect our business.

We cannot presently predict the scope and severity of the disruptions we may experience or continue to experience as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If we or any of the third parties with whom we engage

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experience business disruptions, our ability to conduct our business in the manner and on the timelines presently planned could be materially and negatively affected. Additionally, the pandemic has already caused significant disruptions in the financial markets, and may continue to cause such disruptions, which could impact our ability to raise additional funds and has also impacted, and may continue to impact, the volatility of our stock price and trading in our stock.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital

We have incurred significant losses since inception, expect to incur significant and increasing losses for the foreseeable future, and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

We have incurred significant annual net losses every year since our inception. We expect to continue to incur significant and increasing net losses for at least the next several years. Our net losses were $32.8 million and $26.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $147.0 million. We have not generated any revenues from product sales, have not completed the development of any product candidate and may never have a product candidate approved for commercialization. We have financed our operations to date primarily through private placements of our convertible preferred stock and convertible notes prior to our initial public offering, borrowings under our prior term loan facility, our initial public offering and concurrent private placement completed in May 2019, sales of our common stock pursuant to the ATM Sales Agreement we entered into in June 2020, which we refer to as the ATM Sales Agreement, and the term loan facility with Silicon Valley Bank that we entered into in August 2020, which we refer to as the SVB Term Loan. We have devoted substantially all of our financial resources and efforts to the clinical development of our product candidate Haduvio and related activities. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. Net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.

We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

• expand the Phase 2 CANAL trial into Germany;

• maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;

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In addition, we may incur additional expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting clinical trial delays and interruptions. Our ability to become and remain profitable depends on our ability to generate revenue. We do not expect to generate significant revenue unless and until we are able to obtain marketing approval for, and successfully commercialize, Haduvio or any future product candidate. Successful commercialization will require achievement of key milestones, including completing clinical trials of Haduvio or any future product candidate, obtaining marketing approval for these product candidates, manufacturing, marketing and selling those products for which we may obtain marketing approval, satisfying any post-marketing requirements and obtaining reimbursement for any such product from private insurance or government payors. For example, in order to successfully commercialize Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, we will be required, at a minimum, to successfully complete our ongoing Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial as well as an additional Phase 3 clinical trial prior to submitting an NDA and MAA to regulatory authorities to obtain marketing approval. Because of the uncertainties and risks associated with these activities, we are unable to accurately predict the timing and amount of revenues, and if or when we might achieve profitability. We may never succeed in these activities and, even if we do, we may never generate revenues that are large enough for us to achieve profitability. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, maintain our development efforts, develop a pipeline of product candidates or continue our operations.

We have a limited operating history and no products approved for commercial sale, which may make it difficult to evaluate the prospects for our future success and viability.

We were founded and commenced operations in 2011. Our operations to date have been limited to financing and staffing our company and conducting preclinical and clinical development of Haduvio. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully complete clinical development of any product candidates, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial-scale product or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful commercialization of any products. Accordingly, you should consider our prospects in light of the costs, uncertainties, delays and difficulties frequently encountered by clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies such as ours. Any predictions you make about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products.

We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known or unknown factors in achieving our business objectives. If we are able to obtain marketing approval for Haduvio or any future product candidate, we will need to transition from a company focused on clinical development to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in effectuating such a transition.

We expect our financial condition and operating results will continue to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, you should not rely upon the results of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance.

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We will need substantial additional funding, and if we are unable to raise sufficient capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, we could be forced to delay, reduce or abandon our product development programs or commercialization efforts.

Developing pharmaceutical products, including conducting preclinical and nonclinical studies and clinical trials, is a very time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete. We have consumed substantial amounts of cash since our inception. For example, in the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we used net cash of $29.0 million and $23.1 million, respectively, in our operating activities, substantially all of which related to development activities for Haduvio. As of December 31, 2020, our cash and cash equivalents were $45.0 million. We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue to develop and conduct clinical trials of Haduvio, including our ongoing Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial and the additional Phase 3 clinical trial we believe we will need to conduct for Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis and our other ongoing clinical trials, acquire or in-license rights to other potential product candidates or technologies and seek regulatory and marketing approvals for Haduvio or any future product candidate that successfully completes clinical trials, if any. In addition, we may incur additional expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting clinical trial delays and interruptions. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for Haduvio or any future product candidate, we may incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. For instance, we currently intend to commercialize Haduvio in the United States ourselves by developing a focused, specialty sales, marketing and distribution organization. Furthermore, we expect to incur significant additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. If we are unable to raise sufficient capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, we may be forced to delay, reduce or abandon our development programs or any future commercialization efforts.

We plan to use our existing cash and cash equivalents to fund the development of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis and the treatment of chronic cough in patients with IPF and for working capital and other general corporate purposes. We will be required to expend significant funds in order to advance the development of Haduvio in multiple indications, as well as any future product candidates we may seek to develop. Our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to complete development of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis or for any other condition or of any future product candidate. We do not have any committed external source of funds. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources to achieve our business objectives. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second quarter of 2022. Our estimate as to how long we expect our existing cash and cash equivalents to continue to fund our operations is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Further, changing circumstances, some of which may be beyond our control, could cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. Our future funding requirements, both short-term and long-term, will depend on many factors, including:

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• the effect of competing technologies and market developments;

• the costs of operating as a public company.

Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition or restrict our future operations.

On August 13, 2020, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement, or the SVB Loan Agreement, with Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, pursuant to which SVB provided a term loan to us in the original principal amount of $14.0 million. The SVB Term Loan bears interest at a floating rate per annum equal to the greater of (A) the prime rate plus 1.00% and (B) 4.25%. If SVB receives evidence satisfactory to it that the Company has (i) received positive data for the Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial sufficient to advance Haduvio into a second Phase 3 clinical trial for prurigo nodularis, and (ii) raised sufficient financing to fund such Phase 3 clinical trial and the Company’s operations, the interest rate under the SVB Term Loan will be adjusted to a floating rate equal to the greater of (A) the prime rate plus 3.00% and (B) 6.25%. On the first business day of each month we are required to make monthly interest payments and commencing on March 1, 2022, we will be required to repay the SVB Term Loan in 24 consecutive installments of principal plus monthly payments of accrued interest. All outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest under the SVB Term Loan and all other outstanding obligations with respect to the SVB Term Loan are due and payable in full on February 1, 2024. Our obligations under the Loan Agreement are secured by substantially all of our assets, excluding our intellectual property (which is subject to a negative pledge under the Loan Agreement). The SVB Loan Agreement also includes customary affirmative and negative covenants, including a requirement to maintain our bank accounts with SVB or bank accounts that are subject to SVB’s control and limitations on transferring all or any part of our business or property, changing our business, liquidating or dissolving, permitting a change in control, adding new offices or business locations, changing jurisdiction of organization, organizational structure or legal name, merging with or acquiring another entity, incurring additional indebtedness, creating any lien on our property, paying dividends or redeeming stock, entering into material transactions with an affiliate or making payments on subordinated debt.Additionally, if we fail to meet certain equity raise requirements under the SVB Loan Agreement, we will be required to deposit unrestricted and unencumbered cash equal to 100% of the principal amount of the SVB Term Loan then outstanding in a cash collateral account with SVB, which can be used by SVB to prepay the SVB Term Loan at any time.

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Our debt combined with our other financial obligations and contractual commitments could have significant adverse consequences, including:

We intend to satisfy our debt service obligations with our existing cash and cash equivalents and any additional amounts we may raise through future debt and equity financings. However, we may not have sufficient funds or may be unable to arrange for additional financing to pay the amounts due under our existing debt. Funds from external sources may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, a failure to comply with certain equity raise requirements in the SVB Loan Agreement could result in us having to deposit unrestricted and unencumbered cash equal to 100% of the principal amount of the SVB Term Loan then outstanding in a cash collateral account with SVB, which can be used by SVB to prepay the SVB Term Loan at any time. Failure to pay any amount due under the SVB Loan Agreement, to comply with covenants under the SVB Loan Agreement, or the occurrence of an event that would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, or condition (financial or otherwise), would result in an event of default. The occurrence and continuation of an event of default could cause interest to be charged at the rate that is otherwise applicable plus 5.00% (unless SVB elects to impose a smaller increase) and would provide SVB with the right to accelerate all obligations under the SVB Loan Agreement and exercise remedies against us and the collateral securing the SVB Term Loan and other obligations under the SVB Loan Agreement, including foreclosure against assets securing the SVB Term Loan and other obligations under the SVB Loan Agreement, including our cash. In addition, the covenants under the SVB Loan Agreement and the pledge of substantially all of our assets, excluding our intellectual property (which is subject to a negative pledge under the SVB Loan Agreement), as collateral on the SVB Term Loan may limit our ability to obtain additional debt financing.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our product candidates.

We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our planned operations, particularly as we conduct our ongoing Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial and our other ongoing clinical trials as well as the additional Phase 3 clinical trial we believe we will need to conduct for Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis and develop Haduvio for the treatment of other serious neurologically mediated conditions. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities, your ownership interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder.

Our ability to obtain further debt financing may be limited by the covenants under the SVB Loan Agreement, which include a covenant not to incur additional indebtedness as well as the pledge of substantially all of our assets, excluding our intellectual property (which is subject to a negative pledge under the SVB Loan Agreement), as collateral on the SVB Term Loan. In addition, further debt financing, if available, would result in additional fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include grants of additional security interests on our assets and additional restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, granting liens over our assets, redeeming stock or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business, which covenants may be more restrictive than the covenants to which we are subject under the SVB Loan Agreement.

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Securing financing could also require a substantial amount of time from our management and may divert a disproportionate amount of their attention away from daily activities, which may adversely affect our management’s ability to oversee the development of Haduvio or that of any future product candidates. If we raise additional funds through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.

Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of Haduvio and Any Future Product Candidates

We are dependent on the successful development and commercialization of Haduvio, our sole product candidate. If we are unable to complete the clinical development of, obtain marketing approval for or successfully commercialize Haduvio, or if we experience significant delays in doing so, our business would be substantially harmed.

We currently have no products approved for sale and are investing substantially all of our efforts and financial resources to fund the development of Haduvio for multiple serious neurologically mediated conditions. Our prospects are dependent on our ability to develop, obtain marketing approval for and successfully commercialize Haduvio in one or more indications as we currently have no other product candidates under development. We may acquire or in-license rights to other potential product candidates or technologies in the future, but we are currently not developing any other product candidates.

Our most advanced program is the development of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, as our efforts to develop Haduvio for other serious neurologically mediated conditions are only at an early stage. As a result, if our efforts to develop and commercialize Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis are unsuccessful, or we experience significant delays in doing so, our business could also be substantially harmed.

The success of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, as well as for other serious neurologically mediated conditions, will depend on several factors, including the following:

• receiving timely marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;

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• maintaining an acceptable safety profile following any marketing approval; and

• our ability to compete with other therapies.

Many of these factors are beyond our control, including the clinical development and regulatory approval process; potential threats to our intellectual property rights; and the manufacturing, marketing and sales efforts, respectively, of any current or future third-party contractors. If we are unable to develop, receive marketing approval for and successfully commercialize Haduvio, or if we experience delays as a result of any of these factors or otherwise, our business would be substantially harmed.

Our approach to the development and commercialization of Haduvio to treat serious neurologically mediated conditions is unproven.

We are currently focused on the development and commercialization of Haduvio to treat serious neurologically mediated conditions. Haduvio is an oral extended release formulation of nalbuphine, the active drug ingredient in Haduvio, which is a mixed κ-opioid receptor agonist and μ-opioid receptor antagonist that has been approved and marketed as an injectable for pain indications for more than 20 years in the United States and Europe. Nalbuphine is currently not commercially available in an oral dosage form, such as Haduvio. While we believe that nalbuphine’s dual mechanism of action, which targets both the central and peripheral nervous systems, makes Haduvio a promising potential therapy for the treatment of chronic pruritus and other serious neurologically mediated conditions, and that Haduvio has the potential to be safe and well-tolerated, nalbuphine has not been approved in any indications other than pain. Additionally, Haduvio has not been approved in any indication, including the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, the lead indication for which we are pursuing clinical development of Haduvio. No therapies have been approved in the United States or Europe for the treatment of moderate to severe pruritus, and we can provide no assurance that either Haduvio or any other future product candidate that we may seek to develop for this indication or for any other serious neurologically mediated condition will be effective or safe, obtain regulatory approval or be commercially successful.

Clinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome.

We are not permitted to commercialize, market, promote or sell any product candidate in the United States without obtaining marketing approval from the FDA. Foreign regulatory authorities, such as the EMA, impose similar requirements. We must complete extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of Haduvio and any future product candidate in humans and complete required regulatory submissions before we will be able to obtain these approvals. We may never receive such approvals.

Clinical testing is expensive, is difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is inherently uncertain as to outcome. The clinical development of Haduvio and any future product candidate is susceptible to the risk of failure at any stage of product development and we may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent clinical development, marketing approval or commercialization of Haduvio or any future product candidate, including:

• clinical trials may produce unfavorable or inconclusive results;

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In addition to the above, the continued spread of COVID-19 globally could adversely affect our clinical trial operations worldwide, including our ability to recruit and retain principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19 if an outbreak occurs in their geography, and result in further delays in our clinical trials due to prioritization of hospital and medical resources toward the outbreak, restrictions in travel, potential unwillingness of patients to enroll in trials at this time, or the inability of patients to comply with clinical trial protocols if quarantines or travel restrictions impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services. Furthermore, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic may redirect resources of regulators in a way that would adversely impact our ability to progress regulatory approvals. In addition, we may face impediments to regulatory meetings and approvals relating to our clinical trials due to measures intended to limit in-person interactions.

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If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of Haduvio or any future product candidate beyond the trials and testing that we contemplate, we are unable to successfully and timely complete clinical trials or other testing of Haduvio or any future product candidate, the results of these trials or tests are unfavorable, uncertain or are only modestly favorable or there are unacceptable safety concerns associated with the product candidate, we may:

• fail to obtain marketing approval at all;

• be subject to additional post-marketing testing or other requirements; or

Our failure to successfully and timely complete clinical trials of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis or for any other serious neurologically mediated condition or of any future product candidate and to demonstrate the efficacy and safety necessary to obtain regulatory approval to market any such product candidates would significantly harm our business and could result in the loss or impairment of our ability to generate revenues and effectuate our business strategy.

Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate adequately the safety and efficacy of Haduvio or any future product candidates, which would likely prevent or delay regulatory approval and commercialization.

Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of Haduvio or any future product candidate we must demonstrate through lengthy, complex and expensive clinical trials that the product candidate is both safe and effective for use in the target indication. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. It is possible that even if Haduvio or any future product candidate has a beneficial effect, that effect will not be detected during clinical evaluation as a result of one or more of a variety of factors, including the size, duration, design, measurements, conduct or analysis of our clinical trials. For example, our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis failed to meet its primary endpoint, and the number of patients who discontinued treatment prior to the end of the trial had a substantial impact on the results. Conversely, as a result of the same factors, our clinical trials may indicate an apparent positive effect of Haduvio or any future product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect, if any. Similarly, in our clinical trials we may fail to detect toxicity of, or intolerability caused by, Haduvio or any future product candidate, or mistakenly believe that Haduvio or any future product candidate is toxic or not well tolerated when that is not the case after the clinical evaluation is completed. Many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in earlier development, and we cannot be certain that we will not face setbacks as we continue our clinical development of Haduvio and develop any other product candidates. It is also possible that any of our development programs could be placed on full or partial clinical hold by regulatory authorities at any point, which would delay and possibly prevent further development of those programs.

In addition, even if the clinical trials we plan are successfully completed and Haduvio or any future product candidate achieves its specified endpoints in such trials, we cannot guarantee that the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities will interpret the results as we do, and more trials could be required before we are able to submit product candidates for marketing approval. For example, patients with prurigo nodularis may have pruritus that is caused by dermatological conditions other than prurigo nodularis, and at a meeting with the FDA following the completion of our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, the FDA raised the need to adequately isolate a patient population with pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis for our planned Phase 3 clinical trials. While the inclusion criteria in our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial require that enrolled patients not be suffering from any active, uncontrolled dermatoses other than prurigo nodularis, it is possible that the FDA could

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conclude that this is not sufficient to identify patients suffering from pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, in which case the FDA could question the overall validity of the results of the trial. To the extent that the results of our clinical trials are not satisfactory to the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for support of a marketing application, approval of product candidates may be significantly delayed, or we may be required to expend significant additional resources, which may not be available to us, to conduct additional trials in support of potential approval of product candidates. For instance, if Haduvio does not achieve the primary endpoint in our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial, or the FDA does not otherwise believe that the results of the trial are sufficiently supportive of an application for marketing approval, the FDA may require us to conduct another Phase 3 clinical trial in addition to the Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial and the additional Phase 3 clinical trial we believe we need to conduct, which would cause us to incur substantial additional costs and significantly delay our development of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis.

Use of patient-reported outcome assessments, or PROs, in our clinical trials and high placebo response rates may delay or impair the development of Haduvio or adversely impact our clinical trials.

Due to the difficulty of objectively measuring pruritus, the assessment of pruritus in clinical trials typically involves the use of PROs. Our clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of Haduvio in pruritus indications have used PROs as primary endpoints. For example, the primary endpoint of our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis was the proportion of patients reporting at least a 30% reduction from baseline to week 10 in seven-day mean Worst Itching Numerical Rating Scale, or WI-NRS, scores, which is a patient-reported assessment on an 11-point scale from 0 to 10 of the severity of the worst itch experienced in the last 24 hours. The primary endpoint of our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial is the proportion of patients achieving at least a 4-point improvement from baseline with respect to their worst itch at week 14 as measured by WI-NRS. PROs have an important role in the development and regulatory approval of treatments for pruritus. However, PROs involve patients’ subjective assessments of efficacy, and this subjectivity can increase the uncertainty of clinical trial outcomes assessing pruritus. Such assessments can be influenced by a number of factors and can vary widely from day to day for any particular patient, and from patient to patient and site to site within a clinical trial, leading to high variability in PRO measurements.

In addition, PROs for the assessment of pruritus have historically been observed to have high placebo group response rates. We observed this in some of our clinical trials of Haduvio. For example, in our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, we observed a mean reduction from baseline in WI-NRS score for the trial’s modified intention-to-treat population of 1.75 points for placebo as compared to 2.14 points for Haduvio dosed twice-daily at 81 mg and 2.51 points for Haduvio dosed twice-daily at 162 mg. The variability of PRO measures may be greater than other measures used for clinical trial assessments, and that variability can complicate clinical trial design, adversely impact the ability of a trial to show a statistically significant improvement and generally adversely impact a clinical development program by introducing additional uncertainties.

The variability of PRO measures and related high placebo response rates have adversely impacted clinical results of other therapies being tested for pruritus and could adversely impact our clinical development of Haduvio. The FDA could also require changes in the PROs we are currently using or indicate that the PROs we are using are insufficient for demonstrating efficacy in pruritus, potentially delaying clinical development of Haduvio, increasing our costs and making additional clinical trials necessary.

If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials, our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented.

We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for Haduvio or any future product candidate if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in clinical trials as required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Patient enrollment is a significant factor in the timing of our clinical trials and is affected by many factors, including:

• the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;

• the size and nature of the eligible patient population;

• the severity of the disease under investigation;

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• the proximity of eligible patients to clinical sites;

• patient referral practices of physicians;

• the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial;

• the design of the clinical trial;

• efforts to facilitate timely enrollment;

• competing clinical trials; and

In particular, the successful completion of our clinical development program for Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis is dependent upon our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients with this severe condition. We have experienced delays and difficulties in the enrollment of patients in our clinical trials, including our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial and our Phase 2 CANAL trial, which have delayed the completion of our trials. We have taken actions to increase enrollment, including increasing the number of clinical sites, expanding our clinical trials into additional countries, providing sites with additional trial management staff and closing underperforming sites. However, these actions may not be successful. In addition, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical sites for our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial temporarily halted new patient screening and most patient enrollment. After resuming screening and enrollment, multiple sites in the Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial have begun requiring remote monitoring of patient data and we could be required to amend the protocol for the trial to have fewer patient visits over the course of the trial. In addition, the clinical sites in our ongoing Phase 2 CANAL trial temporarily suspended enrollment and treatment of patients in the trial due to the vulnerability of IPF patients to COVID-19 and we amended the protocol for the trial to reduce the number of in-person patient visits and procedures. While patient screening and enrollment for our Phase 2 CANAL trial resumed at certain clinical trial sites in the fourth quarter of 2020, all sites in the trial paused screening again in December 2020 in response to a shelter in place directive from the U.K. government. Once sites are able to resume screening, some sites may take longer to resume their trial activity due to increased COVID-19 infection rates in the areas where they are located, and we expect other sites may cease to participate in the trial entirely. Furthermore, as a result of the SSRE analysis, we have increased the target number of enrolled patients for our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial from 240 to 360 subjects, which has also resulted in delays to our expected completion of enrollment for the trial and our anticipated timing for reporting top-line data for the trial.

Other companies are conducting clinical trials or have announced plans for future clinical trials that are seeking, or are likely to seek, to enroll patients with prurigo nodularis in the case of our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial and patients with IPF in the case of our Phase 2 CANAL trial, and patients are generally only able to enroll in a single trial at a time. In addition, although there are no drugs approved in the United States or Europe for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, many patients use various treatments off-label, such as antihistamines or gabapentin, and these patients and their physicians may be reluctant to forgo, discontinue or otherwise alter their use of such off-label therapeutic approaches to participate in our clinical trials.

Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical trials could result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether. Enrollment delays in our clinical trials may result in increased development costs for Haduvio or any future product candidate, delay or halt the development of and approval processes for such product candidate and jeopardize our ability to commence sales of and generate revenues from such product candidate, any of which could cause the value of our company to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing, if needed.

Adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by, or other unexpected properties of, Haduvio or any future product candidate may be identified during development and could delay or prevent the marketing approval or limit the use of Haduvio or any future product candidate.

Adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by, or other unexpected properties of, Haduvio or any future product candidate could cause us, an institutional review board or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials of such product candidate and could result in a more restrictive label, or the delay or denial of marketing approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We cannot be certain that serious

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adverse events, or SAEs, will not occur in future clinical trials, which could cause the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials of such product candidate, approve a more restrictive label than we desire or delay or deny regulatory approval.

In addition, Haduvio, as a mixed κ-opioid receptor agonist and μ-opioid receptor antagonist, may be susceptible to side effects associated with drugs having either of those mechanisms of action. κ-opioid receptor agonists have been associated with poorly tolerated psychiatric side effects, such as feelings of emotional and mental discomfort, or dysphoria, and hallucinations, at high doses. While we believe that the dual κ-opioid receptor agonist and μ-opioid receptor antagonist mechanism of action of nalbuphine reduces the likelihood of such psychiatric side effects, we have observed mild psychiatric side effects, including a few reported cases of mild euphoria, somnolence and feeling relaxed or feeling “high,” in clinical trials of Haduvio to date. μ-opioid receptor antagonists have the potential to precipitate withdrawal effects in patients, including drug addicts, and are associated with respiratory depression and potential cardiac risk. The drug label for nalbuphine, the active ingredient in Haduvio, carries an opioid class label warning for serious, life-threatening or fatal respiratory depression, and Haduvio, if approved for marketing in any indication, will likely carry a similar opioid class label. To support our planned submission of an NDA to the FDA for Haduvio, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial of Haduvio to assess cardiac risk and, due to the association of opioids with endocrine dysfunction, a clinical trial to evaluate potential endocrine side effects. We cannot be certain that any of these side effects often associated with opioids, or other side effects, will not be observed, or observed at more severe levels, in the future, or that the FDA will not require additional trials or impose more severe labeling restrictions due to these side effects or other concerns. Such drug-related side effects could also affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete a trial or result in potential product liability claims.

In our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, the most frequently reported adverse events associated with Haduvio were nausea, dizziness and headache. In the open label extension of the trial, nausea, dizziness and fatigue were reported. Across both the Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis and the open label extension, a total of four patients reported SAEs, but none of these events was attributed to Haduvio.

In our Phase 2b/3 trial of Haduvio in patients with uremic pruritus, the most frequently reported adverse events attributed to Haduvio were nausea, vomiting, somnolence and dizziness. In patients with uremic pruritus, SAEs were frequent but were primarily related to associated underlying diseases or to procedural complications related to hemodialysis.

If Haduvio or any future product candidate is associated with adverse events or undesirable side effects or demonstrates unexpected properties, we may need to abandon development or limit development of that product candidate to certain uses or subpopulations in which the undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Many compounds that have initially shown promise in clinical or earlier stage testing were later discovered to cause undesirable or unexpected side effects or raised other safety issues that delayed or prevented further development of the compound.

Many currently approved μ-opioid products are subject to restrictive marketing and distribution regulations which, if applied to Haduvio, could potentially restrict its use and harm our ability to generate profits.

Many currently approved μ-opioid receptor agonists require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, as part of their approval by the FDA. REMS programs may require medication guides for patients, special communication plans to healthcare professionals or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and/or other risk minimization tools. While Haduvio has a μ-antagonist mechanism of action and has been well-tolerated in clinical trials to date, we have observed a few cases of mild euphoria, somnolence and feeling relaxed or feeling “high,” which are characteristics that have led to misuse, abuse and addiction of μ-opioids. We plan to conduct a HAL study to further characterize the abuse potential of oral nalbuphine. If the results of the HAL study suggest that Haduvio may carry risks of misuse, abuse or addiction, or even if the trial indicates that Haduvio does not carry such risks, the FDA may require us to implement a REMS program in connection with any commercialization of Haduvio. We cannot predict whether a REMS program would be required as part of FDA approval of Haduvio and, if required, what requirements it might entail. Any limitations on approval or marketing could restrict the commercial promotion, distribution, prescription or dispensation of

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Haduvio, if approved. If a REMS program is required, depending on the extent of the REMS requirements, the program might significantly increase our costs to commercialize Haduvio. Furthermore, risks of Haduvio that are not adequately addressed through a proposed REMS program for Haduvio may also prevent or delay any approval for commercialization.

In addition, while nalbuphine is currently not classified as a controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the CSA, or the regulations of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, or the DEA, it is the only opioid analgesic that is approved for marketing in the United States that is not classified as a controlled substance. It is possible that, based on the results of our HAL study, adverse events in our clinical trials or for other reasons, the DEA could determine that Haduvio should be classified as a controlled substance. The DEA regulates controlled substances as Schedule I, II, III, IV or V substances. Schedule I substances by definition have no established medicinal use and may not be marketed or sold in the United States. A pharmaceutical product may be listed as Schedule II, III, IV or V, with Schedule II substances considered to present the highest risk of abuse and carrying the greater level of regulatory control and Schedule V substances considered to present the lowest relative risk of abuse among such substances and, accordingly, the lowest level of regulatory control. Various states also independently regulate controlled substances. Though state-controlled substance laws often mirror federal law, because the states are separate jurisdictions, they may separately regulate drugs as well. While some states automatically classify a drug when the DEA does so, in other states there must be rulemaking or a legislative action. Regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions may also determine to classify Haduvio as a controlled substance under different, but potentially no less burdensome, regulations.

If Haduvio is classified as a controlled substance, the level of regulation would depend on how it is scheduled, and we and our suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, distributors and any future customers would be required to obtain and maintain any applicable registrations from state, federal and foreign law enforcement and regulatory agencies and comply with any applicable state, federal and foreign laws and regulations regarding the manufacture, use, sale, importation, exportation and distribution of controlled substances. Also, if Haduvio is classified as a controlled substance, there is a risk that such regulations could limit its supply for use in clinical trials and, in the future, limit our ability to produce and distribute Haduvio in the volume needed to meet potential commercial demand.

Regulations associated with controlled substances govern manufacturing, labeling, packaging, testing, dispensing, production and procurement quotas, record keeping, reporting, handling, shipment and disposal. These regulations increase the personnel needs and the expense associated with development and commercialization of product candidates, including controlled substances. The DEA, and some states, conduct periodic inspections of registered establishments that handle controlled substances. If Haduvio is classified as a controlled substance, failure to obtain and maintain required registrations or comply with any applicable regulations could delay or preclude us from developing and commercializing Haduvio and subject us to enforcement action. The DEA may seek civil penalties, refuse to renew necessary registrations or initiate proceedings to revoke those registrations. In some circumstances, violations could lead to criminal proceedings. Because of the restrictive nature of these regulations, if Haduvio is classified as a controlled substance, depending on how it is scheduled, its commercial prospects could be limited.

Results of preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of results of later clinical trials.

The outcome of preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and preliminary or interim results of clinical trials do not necessarily predict final results. For instance, Haduvio or any future product candidate may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy in clinical development despite demonstrating positive results in preclinical studies or successfully advancing through Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials. Many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in earlier stages of clinical development, and we could face similar setbacks. Similarly, the design of a clinical trial can determine whether its results will support marketing approval of a product and adjustments in the design of a clinical trial may not be possible once the clinical trial has commenced.

At a meeting with the FDA following the completion of our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, the FDA advised us that the findings of the Phase 2 clinical trial may not be reliable and recommended that we conduct an additional Phase 2 dose ranging trial to identify the optimal

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dose and obtain reliable estimates of treatment effect for the recommended primary efficacy endpoint so as to better design and power our planned Phase 3 clinical trials. In providing such advice, the FDA noted the small number of patients in each arm of the Phase 2 clinical trial and the large differential discontinuation rate among the three treatment arms, as well as our plan to increase the fixed-dose treatment duration from eight weeks in the Phase 2 clinical trial to 12 weeks in our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial.

We have limited experience in designing pivotal clinical trials, and flaws in the design of a clinical trial could result in significant delays in completing the clinical trial or may require us to abandon the clinical trial altogether or conduct additional clinical trials. For example, we have designed our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial based on an assumed discontinuation rate that takes into account observed discontinuation rates in our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis. If enrolled patients withdraw from our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial at a rate that is higher than expected, as occurred in our Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, or at rates that are inconsistent across clinical sites and treatment arms, we may not achieve the primary endpoint of the trial, the validity or statistical significance of the trial could be impaired and regulatory authorities may not view the trial as supportive of an application for marketing approval. Preclinical and clinical data are also often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. Many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval for those product candidates. Even if we believe that the results of clinical trials for Haduvio or any future product candidate warrant marketing approval, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree and may not grant marketing approval of the product candidate.

In addition, some of our data for Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus is drawn from post hoc analyses of data subsets from our Phase 2 clinical trials of Haduvio in patients with prurigo nodularis and uremic pruritus. While we believe these data may be useful in informing the design of our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial and other future Phase 3 clinical trials for Haduvio, post hoc analyses performed after unmasking trial results can result in the introduction of bias and may not be predictive of success in Phase 3 clinical trials.

In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of patient populations, changes in and adherence to dosing regimens and other clinical trial protocols, as well as the rate of discontinuation among clinical trial participants. If we fail to receive positive results in clinical trials of Haduvio or any future product candidate, the development timeline and regulatory approval and commercialization prospects for those product candidates and, correspondingly, our business and financial prospects would be negatively impacted.

Even if Haduvio or any future product candidate receives marketing approval, we or others may later discover that the product is less effective than previously believed or that it causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, which could compromise our ability to market the product.

Clinical trials are conducted in carefully defined sets of patients who have agreed to participate in clinical trials. Consequently, it is possible that our clinical trials may indicate an apparent positive effect of a product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect, if any, or alternatively fail to identify undesirable side effects. If, following approval of a product candidate, we or others discover that the product is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, any of the following adverse events could occur:

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• we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients;

• the product may become less competitive; and

• our reputation may suffer.

Any of these events could harm our business and operations and could negatively impact our stock price.

Even if Haduvio or any future product candidate receives marketing approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success, in which case the market opportunity for Haduvio may be smaller than we estimate and we may not generate significant revenues or become profitable.

We have never commercialized a product, and even if Haduvio or any future product candidate is approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities for marketing and sale, it may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community. Physicians are often reluctant to switch their patients from existing therapies even when new and potentially more effective or convenient treatments enter the market and may be reluctant to prescribe opioid-based therapies due to perceived risks of misuse, abuse and addiction. Further, patients often acclimate to their current therapies and do not want to switch unless their physicians recommend changing products or they are required to switch therapies due to lack of reimbursement for existing therapies.

Efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of Haduvio or any future product candidate may require significant resources and may not be successful. If Haduvio or any future product candidate is approved but does not achieve an adequate level of market acceptance, we may not generate significant revenues and we may not become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of Haduvio or any future product candidate, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:

• the efficacy and safety of the product;

• the prevalence and severity of any side effects;

• the clinical indications for which the product is approved;

• our ability to offer the product for sale at competitive prices;

• the product’s convenience and ease of administration;

• the strength of sales, marketing and distribution support for the product;

• the approval of other new products for the same indications;

• potential product liability claims;

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We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we intend to focus on developing product candidates for specific indications that we identify as most likely to succeed, in terms of both their potential for marketing approval and commercialization. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that may prove to have greater commercial potential. For example, we currently intend to focus our resources on the development of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis as our lead program. However, the development of Haduvio for this indication may ultimately prove to be unsuccessful or less successful than another product candidate or other indications that we might have chosen to pursue with our limited resources.

Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable product candidates. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to the product candidate.

If we are unable to establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into sales, marketing and distribution arrangements with third parties, we may not be successful in commercializing Haduvio or any future product candidates if and when they are approved.

We do not currently have a sales, marketing or distribution infrastructure and have no experience in the sale, marketing or distribution of pharmaceutical products. To achieve commercial success for any approved product, we must either develop a sales and marketing organization or outsource these functions to third parties. If Haduvio receives marketing approval from the FDA in any of our target indications, we believe we will have the opportunity to commercialize it in the United States directly through our own focused, specialty sales organization. If Haduvio receives marketing approval outside the United States, we may develop a variety of collaboration, distribution and other marketing arrangements with one or more third parties to commercialize the product in those markets.

We plan to build focused capabilities to commercialize development programs for certain indications where we believe that medical specialists are sufficiently concentrated to allow us to effectively promote products with a specialty sales team. The development of sales, marketing and distribution capabilities will require substantial resources, will be time-consuming and could delay any product launch. We could prematurely or unnecessarily incur commercialization costs if the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing and distribution capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason. This may be costly, and our business and financial prospects could be significantly affected if we could not retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel. In addition, we may not be able to hire or retain a sales force in the United States that is sufficient in size or has adequate expertise in the medical markets that we plan to target. If we are unable to establish or retain an adequate sales force and marketing and distribution capabilities, our operating results may be adversely affected. If a potential partner has development or commercialization expertise that we believe is particularly relevant to one of our products, then we may seek to collaborate with that potential partner even if we believe we could otherwise develop and commercialize the product independently.

In certain indications and markets, we may seek to enter into collaborations that we believe may contribute to our ability to advance development and ultimately commercialize Haduvio or any future product candidate. We may also seek to enter into collaborations where we believe that realizing the full commercial value of our development programs will require access to broader geographic markets or the pursuit of broader patient populations or indications. As a result of entering into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing and distribution services, our product revenues or the profitability of these product revenues may be substantially lower than if we

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were to directly market and sell products in those markets. Furthermore, we may be unsuccessful in entering into the necessary arrangements with third parties or may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, we may have little or no control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our products effectively.

If we do not establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing any product candidate that receives marketing approval.

We face substantial competition, which may result in others developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do.

The development and commercialization of new products is highly competitive. We expect that we will face significant competition from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide with respect to Haduvio or any future product candidate that we may seek to develop or commercialize. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing technologies and products that are more effective, have fewer or more tolerable side effects or are more convenient or less costly than Haduvio or any future product candidate we may develop, which could render any product candidates obsolete and noncompetitive. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other marketing approval for their products before we are able to obtain approval for ours, which could result in competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the applicable market.

If Haduvio is approved for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, we expect that it would compete with a number of therapeutics that are used off-label to treat prurigo nodularis, including anti-itch creams and emollients, oral or injectable antihistamines, Dupixent (dupilumab), which is an injectable prescription medicine approved for atopic dermatitis that is in clinical development for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis, gabapentin and Lyrica (pregabalin), which are prescription medicines approved for the treatment of seizures and neuropathic pain, naltrexone and UVB light therapy. We also expect that Haduvio might compete with product candidates currently in clinical development in this indication, including nemolizumab, an anti-interleukin-31 receptor A humanized monoclonal antibody being developed by Galderma; KPL-716, a monoclonal antibody targeting oncostatin M receptor beta being developed by Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals; and CDX-0159, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the KIT receptor being developed by Celldex Therapeutics. In addition, a number of other product candidates are currently in clinical development to treat other pruritic conditions and Haduvio, if approved for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis could face competition from these product candidates, including tradipitant, an oral neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist being developed by Vanda Pharmaceuticals that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for chronic pruritus in patients with atopic dermatitis.

If Haduvio is approved for the treatment of chronic cough associated with IPF, we expect that it would compete with product candidates currently in clinical development for the treatment of chronic cough associated with IPF, such as ifenprodil which is being developed by Algernon Pharmaceuticals, and orvepitant, which is being developed by Nerre Therapeutics, and expect that it might also compete with other product candidates currently in development or submitted for approval to the FDA for the treatment of chronic refractory cough and unexplained chronic cough by companies including Merck, Shionogi, Bellus Health and Bayer. In addition, it is possible that product candidates currently in development for the treatment of IPF could, if approved, reduce the need for therapies to treat chronic cough associated with IPF.

If Haduvio is approved for the treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, or LID, in patients with Parkinson’s disease, we expect that it would compete with Gocovri and Osmolex, which are extended release capsule formulations of amantadine marketed by Adamas Pharmaceuticals and expect that it might also compete with other product candidates currently in development for the treatment of LID by companies including Addex Therapeutics and IRLAB Therapeutics. In addition, it is possible that product candidates currently in development for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease by companies could, if approved, reduce the need for therapies to treat LID.

Many of our potential competitors, alone or with their strategic partners, have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining marketing approvals and commercializing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These companies also

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compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials.

If the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities approve generic versions of any of our products that receive marketing approval, or such authorities do not grant our products appropriate periods of data exclusivity before approving generic versions of our products, the sales of our products could be adversely affected.

Once an NDA is approved, the product covered thereby becomes a “reference-listed drug” in the FDA’s publication, “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” or the Orange Book. Manufacturers may seek approval of generic versions of reference-listed drugs through submission of abbreviated new drug applications, or ANDAs, in the United States. In support of an ANDA, a generic manufacturer need not conduct clinical trials. Rather, the applicant generally must show that its product has the same active ingredient(s), dosage form, strength, route of administration and conditions of use or labeling as the reference-listed drug and that the generic version is bioequivalent to the reference-listed drug, meaning it is absorbed in the body at the same rate and to the same extent. Generic products may be significantly less costly to bring to market than the reference-listed drug and companies that produce generic products are generally able to offer them at lower prices. Thus, following the introduction of a generic drug, a significant percentage of the sales of any branded product or reference-listed drug may be typically lost to the generic product.

The FDA may not approve an ANDA for a generic product until any applicable period of non-patent exclusivity for the reference-listed drug has expired. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, provides a period of five years of non-patent exclusivity for a new drug containing a new chemical entity, or NCE. Specifically, in cases where such exclusivity has been granted, an ANDA may not be filed with the FDA until the expiration of five years unless the submission is accompanied by a Paragraph IV certification that a patent covering the reference-listed drug is either invalid or will not be infringed by the generic product, in which case the applicant may submit its application four years following approval of the reference-listed drug. It is unclear whether the FDA will treat the active moieties in our product candidates as NCEs and, therefore, afford them five years of NCE data exclusivity if they are approved. If any product we develop does not receive five years of NCE exclusivity, the FDA may approve generic versions of such product three years after its date of approval, subject to the requirement that the ANDA applicant certifies to any patents listed for our products in the Orange Book. Manufacturers may seek to launch these generic products following the expiration of the applicable marketing exclusivity period, even if we still have patent protection for our product.

Competition from generic versions of any products we develop could negatively impact our future revenue, profitability and cash flows and substantially limit our ability to obtain a return on our investments in those products.

Even if we are able to commercialize a product candidate, the product may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party payor reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives, any of which could harm our business.

The commercial success of any product we develop will depend substantially, both in the United States and other countries, on the extent to which the costs of the product will be paid by third-party payors, including government health administration authorities and private health coverage insurers. If coverage and reimbursement are not available, or reimbursement is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize that product. Even if coverage is provided for the product, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a return on our investments. In the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors and coverage and reimbursement for products can differ significantly from payor to payor. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of any product we commercialize to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance.

There is significant uncertainty related to third-party payor coverage and reimbursement of newly approved drugs. Marketing approvals, pricing and reimbursement for new drug products vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As

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a result, we may obtain marketing approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which may negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates, even if those product candidates obtain marketing approval.

Patients who are provided medical treatment for their conditions generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Therefore, our ability to commercialize any product candidate will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from third-party payors. Third-party payors decide which medications they will cover and establish reimbursement levels. The healthcare industry is acutely focused on cost containment, both in the United States and other countries. Government authorities and other third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications, which could affect our ability to sell products profitably. These payors may not view our products, if any, as cost-effective, and coverage and reimbursement may not be available to our customers or may not be sufficient to allow our products, if any, to be marketed on a competitive basis. Cost-control initiatives could cause us to decrease the price we might establish for products, which could result in lower than anticipated product revenues. If the prices for our products, if any, decrease or if governmental and other third-party payors do not provide coverage or adequate reimbursement, our prospects for revenue and profitability will suffer.

The commercial potential of any products we are able to commercialize depends in part on reimbursement by government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. If we are unable to obtain coverage or reimbursement for those products at the levels anticipated, our financial condition could be harmed. Additionally, if new compounds currently in development by potential competitors obtain marketing approval, there may be downward pressure on reimbursement levels for therapies in our target indications, which could have a negative impact on our ability to achieve and maintain profitability.

There may also be delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the indications for which the drug is approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement does not imply that any drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Reimbursement rates may vary, by way of example, according to the use of the product and the clinical setting in which it is used. Reimbursement rates may also be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs or may be incorporated into existing payments for other services.

In addition, increasingly, third-party payors are requiring higher levels of evidence of the benefits and clinical outcomes of new therapies and are challenging the prices charged for new products. We cannot be sure that coverage will be available for any product candidate that we commercialize and, if available, that the reimbursement rates will be adequate. Further, the net reimbursement for drug products may be subject to additional reductions if there are changes to laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. An inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval could significantly harm our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.

Product liability lawsuits could divert our resources, cause us to incur substantial liabilities and limit commercialization of any products that we may develop or in-license.

We face an inherent risk of product liability claims as a result of our clinical trials, despite obtaining appropriate informed consents from our clinical trial participants. We will face an even greater risk if we commercialize any product that we may develop. For example, we may be sued if any product we develop allegedly causes injury or is found to be otherwise unsuitable during clinical testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we

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may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our product candidates. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

• decreased demand for any products that we may develop or in-license;

• injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;

• withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

• significant costs to defend resulting litigation;

• substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;

• loss of revenue;

• reduced resources of our management to pursue our business strategy; and

• the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop.

Although we maintain product and clinical trial liability insurance of at least $5.0 million in the aggregate, our insurance coverage may not fully cover potential liabilities that we may incur. The cost of any product or clinical trial liability litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. We will need to increase our insurance coverage if we commercialize any product that receives marketing approval. If we are unable to maintain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or otherwise protect against potential clinical trial liability or product liability claims, the development and commercial production and sale of Haduvio or any future product candidate could be prevented or inhibited, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties

We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials. If they do not perform satisfactorily, our business could be harmed.

We do not independently conduct clinical trials of our product candidate. We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties, such as clinical research organizations, or CROs, clinical data management organizations, medical institutions and clinical investigators, to conduct our clinical trials of Haduvio and any future product candidate that we may develop. These third parties may terminate their engagements with us under certain circumstances. We may not be able to enter into alternative arrangements or do so on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO begins work on a clinical trial. As a result, delays would likely occur, which could negatively impact our ability to meet our expected clinical development timelines and harm our business, financial condition and prospects.

Further, although our reliance on these third parties for clinical development activities limits our control over these activities, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, as well as applicable legal, regulatory and scientific standards. Moreover, the FDA requires us to comply with standards, commonly referred to as current Good Clinical Practices, or cGCPs, for conducting, recording and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of clinical trial participants are protected. The FDA enforces these cGCPs through periodic inspections of clinical trial sponsors, principal investigators, clinical trial sites and institutional review boards. If we or our third-party contractors fail to comply with applicable cGCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving the applicable product candidate, which would delay the marketing approval process. We cannot be certain that, upon inspection, the FDA will determine that any of our clinical trials complies with cGCPs. Similar regulatory requirements apply outside the United States, including the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for the Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, or ICH. We are also required to register clinical trials and post the results of completed clinical trials on a government-sponsored database, ClinicalTrials.gov, within certain timeframes. Failure to do so can result in fines, adverse publicity and civil and criminal sanctions.

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Furthermore, the third parties conducting clinical trials on our behalf are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with our contractors, we cannot control whether they devote sufficient time, skill and resources to our ongoing development programs. These third parties may be also impacted by developments in the COVID-19 pandemic or government measures taken in response to the pandemic in ways that negatively impact their ability to fulfill their contractual obligations to us in connection with our clinical trials, even if we are not otherwise directly affected by such developments or measures. Additionally, these third parties may have relationships with other commercial entities, including potential competitors, for which they may also be conducting clinical trials or other drug development activities, which could impede their ability to devote appropriate time to our clinical programs. Third parties may not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our protocols. For example, we have terminated clinical investigators from our previous clinical trials due to suspected non-compliance with regulatory requirements. If the third parties on which we rely do not carry out their duties, meet their deadlines or comply with regulatory requirements, we will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize Haduvio or any future product candidate. In such an event, our financial results and the commercial prospects for any product candidates that we seek to develop could be harmed, our costs could increase and we may not be able to generate revenues or become profitable.

We contract with third parties for the manufacture, storage, packaging and distribution of Haduvio for clinical trials, including a single supplier for the active ingredient, and expect to continue to rely on third parties for these services in connection with our future development and commercialization efforts for Haduvio and any future product candidates.

We currently have no manufacturing facilities and a relatively small number of personnel with sufficient experience to oversee the manufacturing process. We rely, and plan to continue to rely, on contract manufacturers and other third-party contractors to manufacture, store, package and distribute both drug substance and drug product for our clinical trials. If any of our product candidates receive regulatory approval, we plan to continue to rely upon contract manufacturers, and, potentially, collaboration partners, to manufacture commercial quantities of such products. We may be unable to establish any further agreements with contract manufacturers or any other third-party contractors, or may fail to do so on acceptable terms or when needed. Even if we are able to establish agreements with such third-party contractors, reliance on third-party contractors entails additional risks, including:

• the possible breach by third-party contractors of our agreements with them;

We do not have long-term supply agreements with any of our contract manufacturers. If any of our existing manufacturers should become unavailable to us for any reason, or fail to supply us with the ordered quantities, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or government measures taken in response to the pandemic, we may incur delays in identifying or qualifying replacement manufacturers or in obtaining replacement supply. Any performance failure on the part of our contract manufacturers or the other third-party contractors that we use to store and distribute drug substance and drug product could be disruptive to our operations and delay clinical development or marketing approval of Haduvio or any future product candidates of ours or commercialization of any resulting products, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential product revenue.

We also rely, and plan to continue to rely, on a single supplier, Mallinckrodt, for nalbuphine hydrochloride drug substance. We do not have agreements in place with Mallinckrodt that guarantee supply quantities or pricing.

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In October 2020, Mallinckrodt and certain of its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. It is currently uncertain what impact, if any, Mallinckrodt’s bankruptcy filing may have on its ability to continue supplying nalbuphine hydrochloride drug substance to us. Any significant delay in acquisition, increase in cost or decrease in availability of nalbuphine hydrochloride drug substance could considerably delay the manufacture of Haduvio, which could adversely impact the timing of our current and planned clinical trials and potential regulatory approval and commercialization of Haduvio. Although we believe there are alternate sources of supply that could satisfy our clinical and commercial requirements for nalbuphine drug substance, we have not qualified any alternate sources and cannot assure you that we would be able to establish relationships with any such sources in a timely fashion, on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

If Haduvio or any future product candidates are approved by any regulatory agency, we will need to enter into agreements with third-party contract manufacturers for the commercial production and distribution of those products. In addition, we may face competition for access to manufacturing facilities as there may be a limited number of contract manufacturers operating under cGMPs that are able manufacture any such product. Consequently, we may not be able to reach agreement with third-party manufacturers on satisfactory terms, in a timely manner or at all, which could delay our commercialization efforts.

Third-party manufacturers are required to comply with cGMPs and similar regulatory requirements outside the United States, such as the ICH. Facilities used by our third-party manufacturers must be approved by the FDA after we submit an NDA and before potential approval of the applicable product candidate. Similar regulations apply to manufacturers of product candidates for use or sale in foreign countries. We do not control the manufacturing process and are completely dependent on our third-party manufacturers for compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements for the manufacture of Haduvio. We expect that we would be similarly dependent on third-party manufacturers of Haduvio at commercial scale or any future product candidate. If our manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture drug substance or drug product that conforms to our specifications or the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA and any applicable foreign regulatory authority, they will not be able to secure the applicable approval for their manufacturing facilities. If these facilities are not approved for commercial manufacture, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which could result in delays in obtaining approval for the applicable product candidate and any future commercialization efforts.

In addition, our manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic inspections by the FDA and corresponding state and foreign agencies for compliance with cGMPs and similar regulatory requirements both prior to and following the receipt of marketing approval for any product candidate. Some of these inspections may be unannounced. Failure by any of our manufacturers to comply with applicable cGMPs or other regulatory requirements could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspensions or withdrawals of approvals, operating restrictions, seizures or recalls of product candidates, interruptions in supply and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly impact the available supplies of Haduvio or any future product candidate and harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of Haduvio or any future product candidate may harm our future profit margins and our ability to commercialize any products that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.

We may seek to establish collaborations and, if we are not able to establish them on commercially reasonable terms, we may have to alter our development and commercialization plans.

While we have not entered into any collaborations to date, we may seek to establish one or more collaborations for the development and commercialization of Haduvio or any future product candidate. Potential collaborators may include large and mid-size pharmaceutical companies, regional and national pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and academic research institutions. In addition, if we are able to obtain marketing approval for any product candidates from foreign regulatory authorities, we intend to enter into strategic relationships with international biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies for the commercialization of those product candidates outside of the United States.

We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. There have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of

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potential future collaborators. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the potential differentiation of our product candidates from competing product candidates, design or results of clinical trials, the likelihood of approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities and the regulatory pathway for any such approval, the potential market for the product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering the product to patients and existing or potential competing products. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available for collaboration and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than a collaboration with us. Any collaboration agreements that we enter into in the future may also contain restrictions on our ability to enter into other potential collaborations or to develop specified product candidates. We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of the product candidate for which we are seeking to collaborate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay the potential commercialization of such product candidate, reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market and generate product revenue.

If we establish one or more collaborations, all of the risks relating to product development, regulatory approval and commercialization described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K would also apply to the activities of any such future collaborators.

If we enter into collaborations with third parties for the development or commercialization of Haduvio or any future product candidate, our prospects with respect to those product candidates will depend in significant part on the success of those collaborations.

We may seek to enter into collaborations with third parties for the development or commercialization of Haduvio or any future product candidate. If we enter into any such collaborations, we would have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our collaborators will dedicate to the development or commercialization of any such product candidates. Our ability to generate revenues from these arrangements would depend on any future collaborators’ abilities to successfully perform the functions assigned to them in these arrangements. In addition, any future collaborators may have the right to abandon research or development projects and terminate applicable agreements, including funding obligations, prior to or upon the expiration of the agreed upon terms.

Collaborations involving a product candidate would pose a number of risks, including the following:

• collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected;

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Collaboration agreements may not lead to development or commercialization of product candidates in the most efficient manner or at all.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we fail to comply with our obligations under our existing and any future intellectual property licenses with third parties, we could lose license rights that are critical to our business or owe damages to the licensor of such intellectual property.

We are party to an exclusive license agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. under which we have licensed certain patent rights and know-how to develop and commercialize products incorporating nalbuphine hydrochloride in any formulation, including an extended release formulation such as Haduvio. We are also party to an exclusive license agreement with Rutgers University under which we have licensed certain patent rights and know-how to develop and commercialize products incorporating nalbuphine for any human or animal use. We may in the future seek additional licenses from others to develop and commercialize additional product candidates or technologies. These licenses may not provide exclusive rights to use the relevant intellectual property in all desired fields of use and in all territories in which we may wish to develop or commercialize product candidates in the future. It is also possible that we may be unable to obtain additional licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all.

Our existing license agreements impose, and we expect that future license agreements will impose, various diligence, development and commercialization, milestone payment, royalty and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our material obligations under these agreements, or if we are subject to a bankruptcy event, the licensor may have the right to terminate the license or convert the license to a non-exclusive license, in which event we may be required to negotiate a new or reinstated license with less favorable terms or would not be able to exclusively market, or market at all, products covered by the license. For instance, Rutgers University has asserted that we are not in compliance with our diligence obligations under our license agreement with Rutgers University and could seek to terminate the license agreement if we are unable to resolve the matter. Any termination of our license agreements could have a material adverse impact on our business.

Disputes may also arise regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including:

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• the priority of invention of any patented technology.

If disputes over intellectual property that we license prevent or impair our ability to maintain those license arrangements on acceptable terms or at all, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize any affected product candidates.

If we are unable to obtain and maintain sufficient patent protection for Haduvio, or any future product candidate, and the disease indications for which we are developing, or may in the future develop, Haduvio, or if the scope of the patent protection is not sufficiently broad, competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or identical to such product candidate, and our ability to successfully commercialize such product candidate may be adversely affected.

Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to Haduvio and any future product candidates, and their use for indications for which we are developing, or may develop, them in the future. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property rights, competitors may erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could harm our business and ability to achieve profitability. To protect our proprietary position, we have licensed exclusive rights under patents, prosecuted additional patents and filed patent applications in the United States and other countries related to methods of use and formulations of Haduvio. The patent application and approval process is expensive and time-consuming. We may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost, in a timely manner or at all.

Agreements through which we license patent rights may not give us control over patent prosecution or maintenance, so that we may not be able to control which claims or arguments are presented and may not be able to secure, maintain or successfully enforce necessary or desirable patent protection from those patent rights. We may not have primary control over patent prosecution and maintenance for certain of the patents and patent applications we may license, and therefore cannot guarantee that these patents and applications will be prosecuted in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. We cannot be certain that patent prosecution and maintenance activities by our licensors or other responsible third parties have been or will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in valid and enforceable patents. It is possible that defects of form in the preparation or filing of our patents or patent applications may exist, or may arise in the future, for example with respect to proper priority claims, inventorship, claim scope or patent term adjustments. If we, our licensors or any future partners, collaborators, licensors or licensees fail to establish, maintain or protect such patents and other intellectual property rights, such rights may be reduced or eliminated. If our licensors or any future partners, collaborators, licensors or licensees disagree or do not fully cooperate with us as to the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of any patent rights, those patent rights could be compromised. We, our licensors and any future partners, collaborators, licensors and licensees may also fail to identify patentable aspects of inventions made in the course of development and commercialization activities before it is too late to obtain patent protection on them. Therefore, we may miss potential opportunities to strengthen our patent position. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have an adverse impact on our business.

The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents has emerged to date in the United States or in many foreign jurisdictions. In addition, the determination of patent rights with respect to pharmaceutical compounds commonly involves complex legal and factual questions, which in recent years have been the subject of much litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain.

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Pending patent applications cannot be enforced against third parties practicing the technology claimed in such applications unless and until a patent issues from such applications. Assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, currently, the first to file a patent application is generally entitled to the patent. However, prior to March 16, 2013, in the United States, the first to invent was entitled to the patent. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Similarly, we cannot be certain that parties from whom we do or may license or purchase patent rights were the first to make relevant claimed inventions, or were the first to file for patent protection for them. If third parties have filed patent applications on inventions claimed in our patents or applications on or before March 15, 2013, an interference proceeding in the United States can be initiated by such third parties to determine who was the first to invent any of the subject matter covered by the patent claims of our applications. If third parties have filed such applications after March 15, 2013, a derivation proceeding in the United States can be initiated by such third parties to determine whether our invention was derived from theirs.

Moreover, because the issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, our patents or pending patent applications may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and other countries. There is no assurance that all of the potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found. If such prior art exists, it may be used to invalidate a patent, or may prevent a patent from issuing from a pending patent application. For example, such patent filings may be subject to a third-party preissuance submission of prior art to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or to other patent offices around the world. Alternatively or additionally, we may become involved in post-grant review procedures, oppositions, derivation proceedings, reexaminations, inter partes review or interference proceedings, in the United States or other countries, challenging patents or patent applications in which we have rights, including patents on which we rely to protect our business. An adverse determination in any such challenge may result in loss of exclusivity or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical products or product candidates, or limit the duration of the patent protection of Haduvio or any future product candidates of ours. In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. Furthermore, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. As a result, the inventorship or ownership of our intellectual property may be challenged in the future.

Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. For example, patent laws in various jurisdictions, including significant commercial markets such as Europe, restrict the patentability of methods of treatment of the human body more than United States law does.

Issued patents that we have or may obtain or license may not provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors may be able to circumvent patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner. Our competitors may also seek approval to market their own products similar to or otherwise competitive with any products that we are able to develop and commercialize. Alternatively, our competitors may seek to market generic versions of any approved products by submitting ANDAs to the FDA claiming that patents owned or licensed by us are invalid, unenforceable or not infringed. In these circumstances, we may need to defend or assert our patents, or both, including by filing lawsuits alleging patent infringement. In any of these types of proceedings, a court or other agency with jurisdiction may find our patents invalid or unenforceable or find that competitors are competing in a non-infringing manner. Thus, even if we have valid and enforceable patents, these patents still may not provide protection against competing products or processes sufficient to achieve our business objectives.

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Pursuant to the terms of our license agreements with third parties, we have the right, but not the obligation, to control enforcement of our licensed patents or defense of any claims asserting the invalidity of these patents. Even if we pursue such enforcement or defense, we will require the cooperation of our licensors, and cannot guarantee that we would receive it and on what terms. We cannot be certain that our licensors will allocate sufficient resources or prioritize their or our enforcement of such patents or defense of such claims to protect our interests in the licensed patents. If we cannot obtain patent protection, or enforce existing or future patents against third parties, our competitive position and our financial condition could suffer.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, the value of our products could be negatively impacted and our business would be harmed.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we also rely on trade secret protection for certain aspects of our intellectual property. We seek to protect these trade secrets, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our employees, consultants, independent contractors, advisors, contract manufacturers, suppliers and other third parties. We also enter into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with employees and certain consultants. Any party with whom we have executed such an agreement may breach that agreement and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating the trade secret. Further, if any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent such third party, or those to whom they communicate such technology or information, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our business and competitive position could be harmed.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.

Our competitors may infringe our patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents, in addition to counterclaims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable, or both. In any patent infringement proceeding, there is a risk that a court will decide that one of our patents is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue. There is also a risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will construe the patent’s claims narrowly or decide that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover the invention. An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving one or more of our patents could limit our ability to assert those patents against those parties or other competitors, and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making and selling similar or competitive products. Similarly, if we assert trademark infringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be forced to cease use of such trademarks.

Even if we establish infringement, the court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could adversely affect the price of shares of our common stock. Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which typically last for years and require substantial resources. Even if we ultimately prevail in such claims, the monetary cost of such litigation and the diversion of the attention of our management and scientific personnel could outweigh any benefit we receive as a result of the proceedings.

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If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, such litigation could be costly and time consuming, its outcome would be uncertain and it could prevent or delay us from developing or commercializing Haduvio or any future product candidate.

Our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell products without infringing the intellectual property and other proprietary rights of third parties. Third parties may have U.S. and non-U.S. issued patents and pending patent applications relating to compounds and methods of use for the treatment of the disease indications for which we are developing, or may in the future develop, Haduvio or any future product candidate. If any third-party patents or patent applications are found to cover Haduvio or any future product candidate or their methods of use, we may not be free to manufacture or market the product candidates as planned without obtaining a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our Haduvio or any future product candidates, including interference proceedings before the USPTO. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to Haduvio or any future product candidate. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that Haduvio or any future product candidate may be accused of infringing. The outcome of intellectual property litigation is subject to uncertainties that cannot be adequately quantified in advance. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have produced a significant number of patents, and it may not always be clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we were sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates, products or methods either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that the relevant patent claims are invalid or unenforceable, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity is difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in pursuing these proceedings, which could significantly harm our business and operating results. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion.

If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing or commercializing the infringing product candidate or product. Alternatively, we may be required to obtain a license from such third party in order to use the infringing technology and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing product candidate or product. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us; alternatively or additionally, it could include terms that impede or eliminate our ability to compete successfully in the commercial marketplace. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing Haduvio or any future product candidate or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.

Changes to the patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves both technological and legal complexity and is therefore costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. Recent patent reform legislation in the United States, including the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the America Invents Act, could increase those uncertainties and costs. The America Invents Act was signed into law on September 16, 2011, and many of the substantive changes became effective on March 16, 2013. The America Invents Act reformed United States patent law in part by changing the U.S. patent system from a “first to invent” system to a “first inventor to file” system, expanding the definition of prior art, and developing a post-grant review system. This legislation changes United States patent law in a way that may weaken our ability to obtain patent protection in the United States for those applications filed after March 16, 2013.

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Further, the America Invents Act created new procedures to challenge the validity of issued patents in the United States, including post-grant review and inter partes review proceedings, which some third parties have been using to cause the cancellation of selected or all claims of issued patents of competitors. For a patent with an effective filing date of March 16, 2013 or later, a petition for post-grant review can be filed by a third party in a nine-month window from issuance of the patent. A petition for inter partes review can be filed immediately following the issuance of a patent if the patent has an effective filing date prior to March 16, 2013. A petition for inter partes review can be filed after the nine-month period for filing a post-grant review petition has expired for a patent with an effective filing date of March 16, 2013 or later. Post-grant review proceedings can be brought on any ground of invalidity, whereas inter partes review proceedings can only raise grounds of invalidity based on lack of novelty or obviousness using published prior art and patents. These adversarial actions at the USPTO review patent claims without the presumption of validity afforded to U.S. patents in lawsuits in U.S. federal courts and use a lower burden of proof than used in litigation in U.S. federal courts. Therefore, it is generally considered easier for a competitor or third party to have a U.S. patent invalidated in a USPTO post-grant review or inter partes review proceeding than invalidated in a litigation in a U.S. federal court. If any of our patents are challenged by a third party in such a USPTO proceeding, there is no guarantee that we or our licensors or collaborators will be successful in defending the patent, which would result in a loss of the challenged patent right to us.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. Additionally, there have been recent proposals for additional changes to the patent laws of the United States and other countries that, if adopted, could impact our ability to enforce our patents. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. courts, the USPTO and the relevant law-making bodies in other countries, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future.

We may not be able to enforce our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on our product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States are less extensive than those in the United States. The requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly in developing countries; thus, even in countries where we do pursue patent protection, there can be no assurance that any patents will issue with claims that cover our products. Our competitors may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have no patent protection or where we may obtain patent protection, but where patent enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States, and our issued or licensed patents and any future patent claims or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from so competing.

Moreover, our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights may be adversely affected by unforeseen changes in foreign intellectual property laws. Additionally, laws of some countries outside of the United States and Europe do not afford intellectual property protection to the same extent as the laws of the United States and Europe. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in certain foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of some countries, including India, China and other developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property rights. This could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or the misappropriation of our other intellectual property rights. For example, many foreign countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner must grant licenses to third parties. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in certain countries outside the United States and Europe.

Agreements through which we license patent rights may not give us sufficient rights to permit us to pursue enforcement of our licensed patents or defense of any claims asserting the invalidity of these patents (or control of enforcement or defense) of such patent rights in all relevant jurisdictions as requirements may vary.

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Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and resources from other aspects of our business. Moreover, such proceedings could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in major markets for any products that we are able to develop, we cannot ensure that we will be able to initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market any such products. Accordingly, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate.

We may be subject to claims by third parties asserting that our employees or we have misappropriated their intellectual property, or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

Many of our employees and our licensors’ employees, including our senior management, were previously employed at universities or at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including some which may be competitors or potential competitors. Some of these employees, including each member of our senior management, executed proprietary rights, non-disclosure, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, or similar agreements, in connection with such previous employment. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such third party. Litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel or sustain damages. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to commercialize Haduvio or any future product candidate. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

In addition, while we typically require our employees, consultants and contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual property that we regard as our own, which may result in claims by or against us related to the ownership of such intellectual property. If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. Even if we are successful in prosecuting or defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our senior management and scientific personnel.

Obtaining and maintaining patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other governmental fees on patents and applications are required to be paid to the USPTO and various governmental patent agencies outside of the United States in several stages over the lifetime of the patents and applications. The USPTO and various non-U.S. governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process and after a patent has issued. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which non-compliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, the failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering Haduvio or any future product candidate, our competitive position would be adversely affected.

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If we are unable to obtain licenses from third parties on commercially reasonable terms, our business could be harmed.

It may be necessary for us to use the patented or proprietary technology of third parties to commercialize Haduvio or any future product candidate, in which case we would be required to obtain a license from these third parties. If we are unable to license such technology, or if we are forced to license such technology on unfavorable terms, our business could be materially harmed. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected product candidates, which could materially harm our business, and the third parties owning such intellectual property rights could seek either an injunction prohibiting our sales or an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation in connection with any sales we make. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, which could enable our competitors to obtain access to the same technologies licensed to us.

Risks Related to Regulatory Approval and Other Legal Compliance Matters

If the FDA does not conclude that Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis or any other development program satisfies the requirements under Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA, or Section 505(b)(2), or if the requirements for such programs are not as we expect, the approval pathway for these programs will likely take significantly longer, cost significantly more and entail significantly greater complications and risks than anticipated, and in any case may not be successful.

We commenced our Phase 2b/3 PRISM trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis and we believe we will need to conduct an additional Phase 3 clinical trial of Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis under the FDA’s Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or the Hatch-Waxman Act, added Section 505(b)(2) to the FDCA. Section 505(b)(2) permits the filing of an NDA where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies that were not conducted by or for the applicant, and for which the applicant has not received a right of reference, which could expedite the development program for Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis and any future product candidates by potentially decreasing the amount of preclinical and clinical data that we would need to generate in order to obtain FDA approval. However, while we believe that Haduvio is a reformulation of an existing drug and, therefore, its active moiety will not be treated as a new chemical entity, or NCE, the submission of an NDA under the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway does not preclude the FDA from determining that Haduvio contains an active moiety that is an NCE and, therefore, is not eligible for review under such regulatory pathway.

If the FDA does not allow us to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) or similar regulatory pathway as anticipated, we may need to conduct additional preclinical experiments and clinical trials, provide additional data and information and meet additional standards for regulatory approval. If this were to occur, the time and financial resources required to obtain FDA approval for Haduvio for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis and any future product candidates, and complications and risks associated with these product candidates, would likely increase significantly. Moreover, our inability to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway could result in new competitive products reaching the market more quickly than our product candidates, which would likely harm our competitive position and prospects. Even if we are allowed to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, our product candidates may not receive the requisite approvals for commercialization.

In addition, notwithstanding the approval of a number of products by the FDA under Section 505(b)(2) over the last few years, certain competitors and others have objected to the FDA’s interpretation of Section 505(b)(2). If the FDA’s interpretation of Section 505(b)(2) is successfully challenged, the FDA may be required to change its 505(b)(2) policies and practices, which could delay or even prevent the FDA from approving any NDA that we submit under Section 505(b)(2). In addition, the pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, and Section 505(b)(2) NDAs are subject to special requirements designed to protect the patent rights of sponsors of previously approved drugs that are referenced in a Section 505(b)(2) NDA. These requirements may give rise to patent litigation and mandatory delays in approval of our potential future NDAs for up to 30 months depending on the outcome of any litigation. It is not uncommon for a manufacturer of an approved product to file a citizen petition with the FDA seeking to delay approval of, or impose additional approval requirements for, pending competing products. If successful, such petitions can significantly delay, or even prevent, the approval of the new product. However, even if the FDA ultimately denies such a petition, the FDA may substantially delay approval while it considers and responds to the petition. In addition, even if we are able to utilize the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway for our product candidates, there is no guarantee this would ultimately lead to faster product development or earlier approval.

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Moreover, even if our product candidates are approved under the Section 505(b)(2) pathway, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the products may be marketed or to other conditions of approval, or may contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products.

Even if we complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials, the regulatory approval process is expensive, time consuming and uncertain and may prevent us from obtaining approvals for the commercialization of Haduvio or any future product candidate. As a result, we cannot predict when or if, and in which territories, we will obtain marketing approval to commercialize a product candidate.

The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, selling, marketing, promotion and distribution of products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We are not permitted to market Haduvio or any other product candidate in the United States until we receive approval of an NDA from the FDA or in other countries until we receive marketing approval from the applicable regulatory authorities outside the United States. We have not submitted an application for or received marketing approval for any product candidate in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. We have limited experience in conducting and managing the clinical trials necessary to obtain marketing approvals, including FDA approval of an NDA.

The process of obtaining marketing approvals, both in the United States and other countries, is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. It may take many years, if approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved. Securing marketing approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing marketing approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authorities. The FDA or other regulatory authorities may determine that Haduvio or any future product candidate is not safe and effective, only moderately effective or has undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use. Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable.

In addition, changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment or promulgation of additional statutes, regulations or guidance or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. Regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical, clinical or other studies. In addition, varying interpretations of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing could delay, limit or prevent marketing approval of a product candidate. Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable.

Finally, disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may prolong the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. This may be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic as the FDA focuses its resources on vaccines and other treatments for COVID-19. In addition. for example, over the last several years, the United States government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical employees and stop critical activities. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. The Trump Administration also took several executive actions that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, the FDA’s ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities.

Any delay in obtaining or failure to obtain required approvals and clearances could negatively impact our ability to generate revenue from the particular product candidate, which likely would result in significant harm to our financial position and adversely impact our stock price.

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We have conducted, are conducting and intend in the future to conduct clinical trials for Haduvio, and may conduct clinical trials for any future product candidates, at sites outside the United States. The FDA may not accept data from trials conducted in such locations and the conduct of trials outside the United States could subject us to additional delays and expense.

We have conducted, are conducting and intend in the future to conduct clinical trials for Haduvio, and may conduct clinical trials for any future product candidates, at trial sites that are located outside the United States. Although the FDA may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States, acceptance of these data is subject to certain conditions imposed by the FDA. For example, the clinical trial must be well designed and conducted and performed by qualified investigators in accordance with cGCPs. The FDA must be able to validate the data from the trial, including, if necessary, through an onsite inspection. The trial population must also have a similar profile to the U.S. population, and the data must be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice in ways that the FDA deems clinically meaningful, except to the extent the disease being studied does not typically occur in the United States. In addition, while these clinical trials are subject to the applicable local laws, FDA acceptance of the data will be dependent upon its determination that the trials also complied with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations. There can be no assurance that the FDA will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States. If the FDA does not accept the data from any trial that we conduct outside the United States, it would likely result in the need for additional trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay or permanently halt our development of Haduvio or the applicable future product candidate.

In addition, the conduct of clinical trials outside the United States could have a significant adverse impact on us. Risks inherent in conducting international clinical trials include:

• foreign exchange rate fluctuations; and

• diminished protection of intellectual property in some countries.

Failure to obtain marketing approval in foreign jurisdictions would prevent Haduvio or any future product candidate from being marketed in other countries. Any marketing approval we are granted in the United States would not assure marketing approval in foreign jurisdictions.

In order to market and sell products in the European Union and other foreign jurisdictions, we must obtain separate marketing approvals and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The approval procedure varies among countries and can involve additional testing. The time required to obtain approval may differ substantially from that required to obtain FDA approval. The marketing 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, a product must be approved for reimbursement before the product can be approved for sale in that country. We may not obtain approvals from regulatory authorities outside the United States on a timely basis, if at all. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions, and approval by one regulatory authority outside the United States does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions or by the FDA. We may file for marketing approvals but not receive necessary approvals to commercialize any products in any market. Obtaining non-U.S. regulatory approvals and compliance with non-U.S. regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of any product candidates in any country. In addition, if we fail to obtain the non-U.S. approvals required to market products outside the United States or if we fail to comply with applicable non-U.S. regulatory requirements, our target markets will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of Haduvio or any future product candidate will be harmed and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected.

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Additionally, we could face heightened risks with respect to seeking marketing approval in the United Kingdom as a result of the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit. The United Kingdom and European Union entered into a Trade and Cooperation Agreement in connection with Brexit that sets out certain procedures for approval and recognition of medical products in each jurisdiction. Since the regulatory framework for pharmaceutical products in the United Kingdom covering the quality, safety, and efficacy of pharmaceutical products, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales, and distribution of pharmaceutical products is derived from European Union directives and regulations, Brexit could materially impact the future regulatory regime that applies to products and the approval of product candidates in the United Kingdom. Any delay in obtaining, or an inability to obtain, any marketing approvals, as a result of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement would prevent us from commercializing any product candidates in the United Kingdom and/or the European Union and restrict our ability to generate revenue and achieve and sustain profitability. If any of these outcomes occur, we may be forced to restrict or delay efforts to seek regulatory approval in the United Kingdom and/or European Union for any product candidates, which could significantly and materially harm our business.