ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. - Quarter Report: 2021 March (Form 10-Q)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
____________________________________________
FORM 10-Q
____________________________________________
| ☒ | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | ||||
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021
OR
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | ||||
For the transition period from ___________ to ___________
Commission File Number 001-36407
__________________________________________
ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
__________________________________________
Delaware (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | 77-0602661 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||||
675 West Kendall Street, Henri A. Termeer Square Cambridge, MA (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | 02142 (Zip Code) | ||||
(617) 551-8200
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
__________________________________________
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered | ||||||||||||||||||
| Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share | ALNY | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||||||||||||||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | x | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | ||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ☐ | ||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No x
At April 23, 2021, the registrant had 117,545,040 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, outstanding.
ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| PAGE NUMBER | |||||
“Alnylam,” ONPATTRO®, GIVLAARI®, OXLUMO®, Alnylam Act® and Alnylam Assist® are registered trademarks of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Our logo, trademarks and service marks are property of Alnylam. All other trademarks or service marks appearing in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are the property of their respective holders.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are including this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•risks related to the direct or indirect impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, emerging or future variants of COVID-19 or any future pandemic, such as the scope and duration of the pandemic, government actions and restrictive measures implemented in response, the broad availability of safe and effective vaccine(s), material delays in diagnoses of rare diseases, initiation or continuation of treatment for diseases addressed by our products, or in patient enrollment in clinical trials, potential clinical trial, regulatory review and inspection or supply chain disruptions, and other potential impacts to our business, the effectiveness or timeliness of steps taken by us to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, and our ability to execute business continuity plans to address disruptions caused by the COVID-19 or any future pandemic;
•our views with respect to the potential for RNAi therapeutics and investigational therapeutics, including ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO, Leqvio®, vutrisiran and fitusiran;
•our plans for additional global regulatory filings and the continuing product launches of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO and our partner's plans with respect to Leqvio (inclisiran);
•our expectations regarding the advancement by our partner of inclisiran through United States, or U.S., regulatory review and toward the market;
•our expectations regarding potential market size for, and the successful commercialization of, ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO, Leqvio (inclisiran) or any future products, including vutrisiran;
•our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals and pricing and reimbursement for ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO or any future products, including vutrisiran, and our partners' ability with respect to Leqvio (inclisiran) and fitusiran;
•the progress of our research and development programs;
•our current and anticipated clinical trials and expectations regarding the reporting of data from these trials;
•the timing of regulatory filings and interactions with or actions or advice of regulatory authorities, which may affect the design, initiation, timing, continuation and/or progress of clinical trials or result in the need for additional pre-clinical and/or clinical testing or the timing or likelihood of regulatory approvals;
•the status of our manufacturing operations and any delays, interruptions or failures in the manufacture and supply of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO, or any of our product candidates (or other product candidates being developed and commercialized by our partners) by our or their contract manufacturers or by us or our partners;
•our progress continuing to build and leverage global commercial infrastructure;
•our ability to successfully expand the indication for ONPATTRO in the future;
•the possible impact of any competing products on the commercial success of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO and Leqvio, as well as our product candidates, and, our, or with respect to Leqvio (inclisiran) or fitusiran, our partners', ability to compete against such products;
•our ability to manage our growth and operating expenses;
•our views and plans with respect to our 5-year Alnylam P5x25 strategy and our intentions to achieve the metrics associated with this strategy, including to become a top five biotech company in market capitalization by the end of 2025;
•our belief that the funding provided by our strategic financing collaboration with The Blackstone Group Inc., or Blackstone, and certain of its affiliates should enable us to achieve a self-sustainable profile without the need for future equity financing;
•our expectations regarding the length of time our current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will support our operations based on our current operating plan;
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•our dependence on third parties for development, manufacture and distribution of products;
•our expectations regarding our corporate collaborations, including potential future licensing fees and milestone and royalty payments under existing or future agreements;
•obtaining, maintaining and protecting our intellectual property;
•our ability to attract and retain qualified key management and scientists, development, medical and commercial staff, consultants and advisors;
•the outcome of litigation or other legal proceedings or of any current or future government investigation, including any investigation related to the subpoena received on or about April 9, 2021 pertaining to our marketing and promotion of ONPATTRO (patisiran) in the U.S.;
•regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries;
•the impact of laws and regulations;
•developments relating to our competitors and our industry; and
•other risks and uncertainties, including those listed under the caption Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
The risks set forth above are not exhaustive. Other sections of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may include additional factors that could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q reflect our current views with respect to future events and with respect to our business and future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those described under Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosure we make in our reports filed with the SEC.
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may include data that we obtained from industry publications and third-party research, surveys and studies. Industry publications and third-party research, surveys and studies generally indicate that their information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q also may include data based on our own internal estimates and research, including estimates regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (or related pandemic caused by coronavirus variants) on our financial statements and business operations. Our internal estimates have not been verified by any independent source and, while we believe any data obtained from industry publications and third-party research, surveys and studies are reliable, we have not independently verified such data. Such third-party data, as well as our internal estimates and research, are subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. These and other factors could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
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SUMMARY OF MATERIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BUSINESS
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that you should be aware of before making an investment decision, including those highlighted in the section entitled "Risk Factors." These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
Business Related Risks – Risks Related to Our Financial Results
•The current pandemic of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, and the future outbreak of other highly infectious or contagious diseases, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including our commercial operations and sales, clinical trials and pre-clinical studies.
•We are an early-stage commercial company and the marketing and sale of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO or any future products may be unsuccessful or less successful than anticipated.
•We have a history of losses and may never become and remain consistently profitable.
•We will require substantial funds to continue our research, development and commercialization activities.
•Although we sold a portion of the expected royalty stream and commercial milestones related to global sales of Leqvio by Novartis AG, or Novartis, we are entitled to retain the remaining portion of such future royalties and, if certain specified thresholds are met, to the remaining portion of commercial milestone payments, and any negative developments related to Leqvio (inclisiran), such as a delay in the expected timing of the resubmission by Novartis of the New Drug Application, or NDA, for inclisiran, could have a material adverse effect on the timing or amount of those payments.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
•We may not be able to execute our business strategy if we are unable to maintain existing or enter into new alliances with other companies that can provide business and scientific capabilities and funds for the development and commercialization of certain of our product candidates.
•If any collaborator materially amends, terminates or fails to perform its obligations under agreements with us, the development and commercialization of our certain of product candidates could be delayed or terminated and we could suffer other economic harm.
•We have limited manufacturing experience and resources and we must incur significant costs to develop this expertise and/or rely on third parties to manufacture our products.
•We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, and if they fail to fulfill their obligations, our development plans may be adversely affected.
Risks Related to Managing Our Operations
•If we are unable to attract and retain qualified key management and scientists, development, medical and commercial staff, consultants and advisors, our ability to implement our business plan may be adversely affected.
•We may have difficulty expanding our operations successfully as we continue our evolution from a U.S.- and EU-based company primarily involved in discovery, pre-clinical testing and clinical development into a global company that develops and commercializes multiple drugs.
Industry Related Risks – Risks Related to Development, Clinical Testing and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates and the Commercialization of Our Approved Products
•Any product candidates we or our partners develop may fail in development or be delayed to a point where they do not become commercially viable.
•We or our partners may be unable to obtain U.S. or foreign regulatory approval for our or our partnered product candidates.
•Even if we or our partners obtain regulatory approvals, our marketed drugs will be subject to ongoing regulatory oversight.
•Even if we receive regulatory approval to market our product candidates, and our collaborators receive regulatory approval to market product candidates discovered by us or developed with our technology, the market may not be receptive to such product candidates upon their commercial introduction, which could prevent us from becoming profitable.
•We have limited commercial experience and newly established capabilities for marketing, sales, market access and distribution, and expect to continue to invest significant financial and management resources to continue to build these capabilities, and our commercial efforts may not be successful.
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•The patient populations suffering from hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, acute hepatic porphyria and primary hyperoxaluria type 1 are small and have not been established with precision.
•We may incur significant liability if enforcement authorities allege or determine that we are engaging in commercial activities or promoting our commercially approved products in a way that violates applicable regulations.
•Any drugs we develop may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives, thereby harming our business.
•Governments outside the U.S. may impose strict price controls, and the U.S. government may impose price controls or reference pricing, which may adversely affect our revenues.
Risks Related to Patents, Licenses and Trade Secrets
•If we are not able to obtain and enforce patent protection for our discoveries, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates will be harmed.
•We license patent rights from third-party owners. If such owners do not properly or successfully obtain, maintain or enforce the patents underlying such licenses, our competitive position and business prospects may be harmed.
•Other companies or organizations may challenge our patent rights or may assert patent rights that prevent us from developing and commercializing our products.
•If we become involved in patent litigation or other proceedings related to a determination of rights, we could incur substantial costs and expenses, substantial liability for damages or be required to stop our product development and commercialization efforts.
•If we fail to comply with our obligations under any licenses or related agreements, we may be required to pay damages and could lose license or other rights that are necessary for developing, commercializing and protecting our RNAi technology.
Risks Related to Competition
•The pharmaceutical market is intensely competitive. If we are unable to compete effectively with existing drugs, new treatment methods and new technologies, we may be unable to commercialize successfully any drugs that we or our collaborators develop.
•We face competition from other companies that are working to develop novel drugs and technology platforms using technology similar to ours.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
•If our stock price fluctuates, purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses.
•We may incur significant costs from class action litigation.
•Future sales of shares of our common stock, including by our significant stockholders, us or our directors and officers, could cause the price of our common stock to decline.
•Regeneron’s ownership of our common stock could delay or prevent a change in corporate control.
The summary risk factors described above should be read together with the text of the full risk factors below, in the section entitled "Risk Factors" and the other information set forth in this annual report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes, as well as in other documents that we file with the SEC. The risks summarized above or described in full below are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not precisely known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects.
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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
| March 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| ASSETS | |||||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 379,543 | $ | 496,580 | |||||||
| Marketable debt securities | 1,273,027 | 1,333,182 | |||||||||
| Marketable equity securities | 56,967 | 44,633 | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 110,626 | 102,413 | |||||||||
| Inventory | 73,940 | 75,202 | |||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 75,980 | 62,767 | |||||||||
| Receivable related to the sale of future royalties | 500,000 | 500,000 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 2,470,083 | 2,614,777 | |||||||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | 464,572 | 465,029 | |||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 237,213 | 241,485 | |||||||||
| Restricted investments | 40,725 | 40,725 | |||||||||
| Other assets | 42,676 | 45,045 | |||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 3,255,269 | $ | 3,407,061 | |||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | |||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 45,381 | $ | 51,966 | |||||||
| Accrued expenses | 280,527 | 355,909 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liability | 38,917 | 36,872 | |||||||||
| Deferred revenue | 116,340 | 127,207 | |||||||||
| Liability related to the sale of future royalties | 13,660 | 13,316 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 494,825 | 585,270 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liability, net of current portion | 288,015 | 293,039 | |||||||||
| Deferred revenue, net of current portion | 208,123 | 225,094 | |||||||||
| Long-term debt | 191,590 | 191,278 | |||||||||
| Liability related to the sale of future royalties, net of current portion | 1,086,065 | 1,058,225 | |||||||||
| Other liabilities | 60,461 | 37,908 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 2,329,079 | 2,390,814 | |||||||||
Commitments and contingencies (Note 13) | |||||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity: | |||||||||||
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share, 5,000 shares authorized and no shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 | — | — | |||||||||
Common stock, $0.01 par value per share, 250,000 shares authorized; 117,321 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2021; 116,427 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020 | 1,173 | 1,164 | |||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 5,747,394 | 5,644,074 | |||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (36,717) | (43,622) | |||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (4,785,660) | (4,585,369) | |||||||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | 926,190 | 1,016,247 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 3,255,269 | $ | 3,407,061 | |||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| Statements of Operations | |||||||||||
| Revenues: | |||||||||||
| Net product revenues | $ | 135,769 | $ | 71,938 | |||||||
| Net revenues from collaborations | 41,797 | 27,538 | |||||||||
| Total revenues | 177,566 | 99,476 | |||||||||
| Operating costs and expenses: | |||||||||||
| Cost of goods sold | 23,023 | 13,302 | |||||||||
| Cost of collaborations | 8,039 | — | |||||||||
| Research and development | 185,899 | 169,571 | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 146,859 | 126,761 | |||||||||
| Total operating costs and expenses | 363,820 | 309,634 | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (186,254) | (210,158) | |||||||||
| Other (expense) income: | |||||||||||
| Interest expense | (32,515) | — | |||||||||
| Interest income | 450 | 5,480 | |||||||||
| Other income, net | 19,044 | 23,032 | |||||||||
| Total other (expense) income | (13,021) | 28,512 | |||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (199,275) | (181,646) | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (1,016) | (575) | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (200,291) | $ | (182,221) | |||||||
| Net loss per common share - basic and diluted | $ | (1.71) | $ | (1.62) | |||||||
| Weighted-average common shares used to compute basic and diluted net loss per common share | 117,080 | 112,748 | |||||||||
| Statements of Comprehensive Loss | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (200,291) | $ | (182,221) | |||||||
| Other comprehensive (loss) income: | |||||||||||
| Unrealized (loss) gain on marketable securities | (1) | 4,045 | |||||||||
| Foreign currency translation gains | 6,848 | 340 | |||||||||
| Defined benefit pension plans, net of tax | 58 | 74 | |||||||||
| Total other comprehensive income | 6,905 | 4,459 | |||||||||
| Comprehensive loss | $ | (193,386) | $ | (177,762) | |||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
| Common Stock | Additional Paid-in Capital | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss | Accumulated Deficit | Total Stockholders’ Equity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 | 116,427 | $ | 1,164 | $ | 5,644,074 | $ | (43,622) | $ | (4,585,369) | $ | 1,016,247 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of common stock options, net of tax withholdings | 614 | 6 | 47,028 | — | — | 47,034 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock under equity plans | 280 | 3 | (3) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense related to equity-classified awards | — | — | 56,295 | — | — | 56,295 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income | — | — | — | 6,905 | — | 6,905 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | (200,291) | (200,291) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2021 | 117,321 | $ | 1,173 | $ | 5,747,394 | $ | (36,717) | $ | (4,785,660) | $ | 926,190 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Stock | Additional Paid-in Capital | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss | Accumulated Deficit | Total Stockholders’ Equity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2019 | 112,188 | $ | 1,122 | $ | 5,201,176 | $ | (36,518) | $ | (3,727,088) | $ | 1,438,692 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of common stock options, net of tax withholdings | 976 | 9 | 54,212 | — | — | 54,221 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock under equity plans | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense related to equity-classified awards | — | — | 34,578 | — | — | 34,578 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income | — | — | — | 4,459 | — | 4,459 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | (182,221) | (182,221) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2020 | 113,168 | $ | 1,131 | $ | 5,289,966 | $ | (32,059) | $ | (3,909,309) | $ | 1,349,729 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (200,291) | $ | (182,221) | |||||||
| Non-cash adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 12,601 | 7,613 | |||||||||
| Amortization and interest accretion related to operating leases | 10,261 | 9,393 | |||||||||
| Non-cash interest expense on liability related to the sale of future royalties | 28,184 | — | |||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 55,690 | 34,578 | |||||||||
| Realized and unrealized gain on marketable equity securities | (47,016) | (24,111) | |||||||||
| Other | 30,777 | 660 | |||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | (10,709) | (32,882) | |||||||||
| Inventory | 1,934 | (11,952) | |||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | (13,654) | (19,958) | |||||||||
| Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities | (66,573) | (14,215) | |||||||||
| Deferred revenue | (27,804) | (4,030) | |||||||||
| Operating lease liability | (9,060) | (9,036) | |||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (235,660) | (246,161) | |||||||||
| Cash flows from investing activities: | |||||||||||
| Purchases of property, plant and equipment | (17,178) | (19,617) | |||||||||
| Purchases of marketable securities | (345,954) | (396,409) | |||||||||
| Sales and maturities of marketable securities | 438,682 | 539,614 | |||||||||
| Purchases of restricted investments | (10,650) | (9,900) | |||||||||
| Proceeds from maturity of restricted investments | 10,650 | — | |||||||||
| Other investing activities | (4,198) | — | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by investing activities | 71,352 | 113,688 | |||||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities: | |||||||||||
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options and other types of equity, net | 46,977 | 53,869 | |||||||||
| Proceeds from development derivative | 4,200 | — | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 51,177 | 53,869 | |||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (3,910) | (631) | |||||||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (117,041) | (79,235) | |||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period | 499,046 | 549,628 | |||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 382,005 | $ | 470,393 | |||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: | |||||||||||
| Capital expenditures included in accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 7,289 | $ | 6,619 | |||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
1. NATURE OF BUSINESS
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (also referred to as Alnylam, we, our or us) commenced operations on June 14, 2002 as a biopharmaceutical company seeking to develop and commercialize novel therapeutics based on RNA interference, or RNAi. We are committed to the advancement of our company strategy of building a multi-product, global, commercial biopharmaceutical company with a deep and sustainable clinical pipeline of RNAi therapeutics for future growth and a robust, organic research engine for sustainable innovation and great potential for patient impact. Since inception, we have focused on discovering, developing and commercializing RNAi therapeutics by establishing and maintaining a strong intellectual property position in the RNAi field, establishing strategic alliances with leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, generating revenues through licensing agreements, and ultimately developing and commercializing RNAi therapeutics globally, either independently or with our strategic partners. We have devoted substantially all of our efforts to business planning, research, development, manufacturing and early commercial efforts, acquiring, filing and expanding intellectual property rights, recruiting management and technical staff, and raising capital.
In early 2021, we launched our Alnylam P5x25 strategy, which focuses on our planned transition to a top five biotech company, as measured by market capitalization, by the end of 2025. With Alnylam P5x25, we aim to deliver transformative rare and prevalent disease medicines for patients around the world through sustainable innovation, delivering exceptional financial performance and driving profitability.
As of March 31, 2021, we have four products that have received marketing approval, including one partnered product, and six late-stage investigational programs advancing towards potential commercialization. We currently generate product revenues from ONPATTRO in the U.S., Europe, Japan and in several additional countries as well as from GIVLAARI and OXLUMO in the U.S. and several countries in Europe.
2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements of Alnylam are unaudited and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, applicable to interim periods and, in the opinion of management, include all normal and recurring adjustments that are necessary to state fairly the results of operations for the reported periods. Our condensed consolidated financial statements have also been prepared on a basis substantially consistent with, and should be read in conjunction with, our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, which were included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11, 2021. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from our audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The results of our operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results of our operations for any other interim period or for a full fiscal year.
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements reflect the operations of Alnylam and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. In our condensed consolidated financial statements, we use estimates and assumptions related to our inventory valuation and related reserves, liability related to the sale of future royalties, development derivative liability, income taxes, revenue recognition, research and development expenses, and stock-based compensation. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations and financial condition, including sales, expenses, reserves and allowances, the supply of our products and product candidates, clinical trials and research and development costs, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain, including as a result of new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and variants thereof, and the actions taken to contain or treat it or vaccinate against it, as well as the economic impact on local, regional, national and international customers and markets. We have made estimates of the impact of COVID-19 within our financial statements and there may be changes to those estimates in future periods. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
Liquidity
Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2021, together with the cash we expect to generate from product sales and under our current alliances, in addition to our strategic financing collaboration with The Blackstone Group Inc. and certain of its affiliates, will be sufficient to enable us to advance our Alnylam P5x25 strategy for at least the next 12 months from the filing of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
3. NET PRODUCT REVENUES
Net product revenues consist of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| ONPATTRO | |||||||||||
| United States | $ | 49,471 | $ | 37,196 | |||||||
| Europe | 40,653 | 21,166 | |||||||||
| Rest of World (primarily Japan) | 11,827 | 8,302 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 101,951 | $ | 66,664 | |||||||
| GIVLAARI | |||||||||||
| United States | $ | 17,762 | $ | 5,274 | |||||||
| Europe | 6,873 | — | |||||||||
| Rest of World | 38 | — | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 24,673 | $ | 5,274 | |||||||
| OXLUMO | |||||||||||
| United States | $ | 1,408 | $ | — | |||||||
| Europe | 7,737 | — | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 9,145 | $ | — | |||||||
| Total net product revenues | $ | 135,769 | $ | 71,938 | |||||||
The following table presents the balance of our receivables related to our net product revenues:
| (In thousands) | As of March 31, 2021 | As of December 31, 2020 | |||||||||
| Receivables included in “Accounts receivable, net” | $ | 91,516 | $ | 68,871 | |||||||
4. NET REVENUES FROM COLLABORATIONS
Net revenues from collaborations consist of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $ | 30,343 | $ | 19,503 | |||||||
| Novartis AG | 8,111 | 1,060 | |||||||||
| Vir Biotechnology | 2,822 | 6,516 | |||||||||
| Other | 521 | 459 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 41,797 | $ | 27,538 | |||||||
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
The following table presents the balance of our receivables and contract liabilities related to our collaboration agreements:
| (In thousands) | As of March 31, 2021 | As of December 31, 2020 | |||||||||
| Receivables included in “Accounts receivable, net” | $ | 19,111 | $ | 33,542 | |||||||
| Contract liabilities included in “Deferred revenue” | $ | 94,759 | $ | 120,021 | |||||||
We recognized revenue of $25.3 million and $14.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, that was included in the contract liability balance at the beginning of the respective period.
In order to determine revenue recognized in the period from contract liabilities, we first allocate revenue to the individual contract liability balance outstanding at the beginning of the period until the revenue exceeds that balance. If additional consideration is received on those contracts in subsequent periods, we assume all revenue recognized in the reporting period first applies to the beginning contract liability as opposed to a portion applying to the new consideration for the period.
The following table provides research and development expenses incurred by type, for which we recognize net revenue, that are directly attributable to our collaboration agreements, by collaboration partner:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | Clinical Trial and Manufacturing | External Services | Other | Clinical Trial and Manufacturing | External Services | Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $ | 4,799 | $ | 94 | $ | 12,235 | $ | 4,612 | $ | — | $ | 11,491 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vir Biotechnology | 1,029 | 159 | 1,355 | 339 | 52 | 1,693 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Novartis AG | — | — | 3 | 998 | — | 266 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 11 | 52 | 859 | — | 17 | 231 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 5,839 | $ | 305 | $ | 14,452 | $ | 5,949 | $ | 69 | $ | 13,681 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The research and development expenses incurred for each agreement listed in the table above consist of costs incurred for (i) clinical expenses, including manufacturing of clinical product, (ii) external services including consulting services and lab supplies and services, and (iii) other expenses, including professional services, facilities and overhead allocations, and a reasonable estimate of compensation and related costs as billed to our counterparties, for which we recognize net revenue from collaborations. For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, we did not incur material selling, general and administrative expenses related to our collaboration agreements.
Product Alliances
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
In April 2019, we entered into a global, strategic collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Regeneron, to discover, develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics for a broad range of diseases by addressing therapeutic targets expressed in the eye and central nervous system, or CNS, in addition to a select number of targets expressed in the liver, which we refer to as the Regeneron Collaboration. The Regeneron Collaboration is governed by a Master Agreement, referred to as the Regeneron Master Agreement, which became effective on May 21, 2019, or the Effective Date. In connection with the Regeneron Master Agreement, we and Regeneron entered into (i) a binding co-co collaboration term sheet covering the continued development of cemdisiran, our C5 small interfering RNA, or siRNA, currently in Phase 2 development for C5 complement-mediated diseases, as a monotherapy and (ii) a binding license term sheet to evaluate anti-C5 antibody-siRNA combinations for C5 complement-mediated diseases including evaluating the combination of Regeneron’s pozelimab (REGN3918), currently in Phase 2 development, and cemdisiran. The C5 co-co collaboration and license agreements were executed in August 2019.
Under the terms of the Regeneron Collaboration, we are working exclusively with Regeneron to discover RNAi therapeutics for eye and CNS diseases for an initial five-year research period, which we refer to as the Initial Research Term. Regeneron has an option to extend the Initial Research Term (referred to as the Research Term Extension Period, and together with the Initial Research Term, the Research Term) for up to an additional five years, for a research term extension fee of up to $400.0 million. The Regeneron Collaboration also covers a select number of RNAi therapeutic programs designed to target genes expressed in the liver, including our previously announced collaboration with Regeneron to identify RNAi therapeutics for the chronic liver disease nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. We retain broad global rights to all of our other unpartnered liver-
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
directed clinical and pre-clinical pipeline programs. The Regeneron Collaboration is governed by a joint steering committee that is comprised of an equal number of representatives from each party.
Regeneron will lead development and commercialization for all programs targeting eye diseases (subject to limited exceptions), entitling us to certain potential milestone and royalty payments pursuant to the terms of a license agreement, the form of which has been agreed upon by the parties. We and Regeneron will alternate leadership on CNS and liver programs, with the lead party retaining global development and commercial responsibility. For CNS and liver programs, both we and Regeneron will have the option at lead candidate selection to enter into a co-co collaboration agreement, the form of which has been agreed upon by the parties, whereby both companies will share equally all costs of, and profits from, all development and commercialization activities under the program. If the non-lead party elects to not enter into a co-co collaboration agreement with respect to a given CNS or liver program, we and Regeneron will enter into a license agreement with respect to such program and the lead party will be the “Licensee” for the purposes of the license agreement. If the lead party for a CNS or liver program elects to not enter into the co-co collaboration agreement, then we and Regeneron will enter into a license agreement with respect to such program and leadership of the program will transfer to the other party and the former non-lead party will be the “Licensee” for the purposes of the license agreement.
With respect to the programs directed to C5 complement-mediated diseases, we retain control of cemdisiran monotherapy development, and Regeneron is leading combination product development. Under the C5 co-co collaboration agreement, we and Regeneron equally share costs and potential future profits on any monotherapy program. Under the C5 license agreement, for cemdisiran to be used as part of a combination product, Regeneron is solely responsible for all development and commercialization costs and we will receive low double-digit royalties and commercial milestones of up to $325.0 million on any potential combination product sales. The C5 co-co collaboration agreement, the C5 license agreement, and the Master Agreement have been combined for accounting purposes and treated as a single agreement.
In connection with the Regeneron Master Agreement, Regeneron made an upfront payment of $400.0 million. We are also eligible to receive up to an additional $200.0 million in milestone payments upon achievement of certain criteria during early clinical development for eye and CNS programs. We and Regeneron plan to advance programs directed to up to 30 targets under the Regeneron Collaboration during the Initial Research Term. For each program, Regeneron will provide us with $2.5 million in funding at program initiation and an additional $2.5 million at lead candidate identification, with the potential for approximately $30.0 million in annual discovery funding to us as the Regeneron Collaboration reaches steady state.
Regeneron has the right to terminate the Regeneron Master Agreement for convenience upon ninety days’ notice. The termination of the Regeneron Master Agreement does not affect the term of any license agreement or co-co collaboration agreement then in effect. In addition, either party may terminate the Regeneron Master Agreement for a material breach by, or insolvency of, the other party. Unless earlier terminated pursuant to its terms, the Regeneron Master Agreement will remain in effect with respect to each program until (a) such program becomes a terminated program or (b) the parties enter into a license agreement or co-co collaboration agreement with respect to such program. The Regeneron Master Agreement includes various representations, warranties, covenants, dispute escalation and resolution mechanisms, indemnities and other provisions customary for transactions of this nature.
For any license agreement subsequently entered into, the licensee will generally be responsible for its own costs and expenses incurred in connection with the development and commercialization of the collaboration products. The licensee will pay to the licensor certain development and/or commercialization milestone payments totaling up to $150.0 million for each collaboration product. In addition, following the first commercial sale of the applicable collaboration product under a license agreement, the licensee is required to make certain tiered royalty payments, ranging from low double-digits up to 20%, to the licensor based on the aggregate annual net sales of the collaboration product, subject to customary reductions.
For any co-co collaboration agreement subsequently entered into, we and Regeneron will share equally all costs of, and profits from, development and commercialization activities. Reimbursement of our share of costs will be recognized as a reduction to research and development expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. In the event that a party exercises its opt-out right, the lead party will be responsible for all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the development and commercialization of the collaboration products under the applicable co-co collaboration agreement, subject to continued sharing of costs through defined points. If a party exercises its opt-out right, following the first commercial sale of the applicable collaboration product under a co-co collaboration agreement, the lead party is required to make certain tiered royalty payments, ranging from low double-digits up to 20%, to the other party based on the aggregate annual net sales of the collaboration product and the timing of the exercise of the opt-out right, subject to customary reductions and a reduction for opt-out transition costs.
Due to the uncertainty of pharmaceutical development and the high historical failure rates generally associated with drug development, we may not receive any milestone or royalty payments from Regeneron under the Regeneron Master Agreement, the C5 license agreement, or any future license agreement, or under any co-co collaboration agreement in the event we exercise our opt-out right.
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
Our obligations under the Regeneron Collaboration include: (i) a research license and research services, collectively referred to as the Research Services Obligation; (ii) a worldwide license to cemdisiran for combination therapies, and manufacturing and supply, and development service obligations, collectively referred to as the C5 License Obligation; and (iii) development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for cemdisiran monotherapies, referred to as the C5 Co-Co Obligation.
The research license is not distinct from the research services primarily as a result of Regeneron being unable to benefit on its own or with other resources reasonably available, as the license is providing access to specialized expertise, particularly as it relates to RNAi technology that is not available in the marketplace. Similarly, the worldwide license to cemdisiran for combination therapies is not distinct from the manufacturing and supply, and development service obligations, as Regeneron cannot benefit on its own from the value of the license without receipt of supply.
Separately, the cemdisiran monotherapy co-co collaboration agreement is under the scope of ASC 808 as we and Regeneron are both active participants in the development and manufacturing activities and are exposed to significant risks and rewards that are dependent on commercial success of the activities of the arrangement. The development and manufacturing activities are a combined unit of account under the scope of ASC 808 and are not deliverables under ASC 606.
The total transaction price is comprised of the $400.0 million upfront payment and additional variable consideration related to research, development, manufacturing and supply activities related to the Research Services Obligation and the C5 License Obligation. We utilized the expected value method to determine the amount of reimbursement for these activities. We determined that any variable consideration related to sales-based royalties and milestones related to the worldwide license to cemdisiran for combination therapies is deemed to be constrained and therefore has been excluded from the transaction price. In addition, we are eligible to receive future milestones upon the achievement of certain criteria during early clinical development for the eye and CNS programs. We are also eligible to receive royalties on future commercial sales for certain eye, CNS or liver targets, if any; however, these amounts are excluded from variable consideration under the Regeneron Collaboration as we are only eligible to receive such amounts if, after a drug candidate is identified, the form of license agreement is subsequently executed resulting in a license that is granted to Regeneron. Any such subsequently granted license would represent a separate transaction under ASC 606.
We allocated the initial transaction price to each unit of account based on the applicable accounting guidance as follows, in thousands:
| Performance Obligations | Standalone Selling Price | Transaction Price Allocated | Accounting Guidance | |||||||||||||||||
| Research Services Obligation | $ | 130,700 | $ | 183,100 | ASC 606 | |||||||||||||||
| C5 License Obligation | 97,600 | 92,500 | ASC 606 | |||||||||||||||||
| C5 Co-Co Obligation | 364,600 | 246,000 | ASC 808 | |||||||||||||||||
| $ | 521,600 | |||||||||||||||||||
The transaction price was allocated to the obligations based on the relative estimated standalone selling prices of each obligation, over which management has applied significant judgment. We developed the estimated standalone selling price for the licenses included in the Research Services Obligation and the C5 License Obligation primarily based on the probability-weighted present value of expected future cash flows associated with each license related to each specific program. In developing such estimate, we applied judgment in the determination of the forecasted revenues, taking into consideration the applicable market conditions and relevant entity-specific factors, the expected number of targets or indications expected to be pursued under each license, the probability of success, the time needed to develop a product candidate pursuant to the associated license and the discount rate. We developed the estimated standalone selling price for the services and/or manufacturing and supply included in each of the obligations, as applicable, primarily based on the nature of the services to be performed and/or goods to be manufactured and estimates of the associated costs. The estimated standalone selling price of the C5 Co-Co Obligation was developed by estimating the present value of expected future cash flows that Regeneron is entitled to receive. In developing such estimate, we applied judgment in determining the indications that will be pursued, the forecasted revenues for such indications, the probability of success and the discount rate.
For the Research Services Obligation and the C5 License Obligation accounted for under ASC 606, we measure proportional performance over time using an input method based on cost incurred relative to the total estimated costs for each of the identified obligations, on a quarterly basis, by determining the proportion of effort incurred as a percentage of total effort we expect to expend. This ratio is applied to the transaction price allocated to each obligation. Management has applied significant judgment in the process of developing our estimates. Any changes to these estimates will be recognized in the period in which they change as a cumulative catch up. We re-evaluate the transaction price as of the end of each reporting period, as of March 31, 2021, the total transaction price was $530.5 million. As of March 31, 2021, the transaction price is comprised of the
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
upfront payment and variable consideration related to development, manufacture and supply activities. For the C5 Co-Co Obligation accounted for under ASC 808, the transaction price allocated to this obligation is recognized using a proportional performance method. Revenue recognized under this agreement, inclusive of the amount allocated to the C5 Co-Co Obligation, is accounted for as collaboration revenue.
The following tables provide a summary of the transaction price allocated to each unit of account based on the applicable accounting guidance, in addition to revenue activity during the period, in thousands:
| Transaction Price Allocated | Deferred Revenue | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance Obligations | As of March 31, 2021 | As of March 31, 2021 | As of December 31, 2020 | Accounting Guidance | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research Services Obligation | $ | 200,600 | $ | 45,100 | $ | 54,900 | ASC 606 | |||||||||||||||||||
| C5 License Obligation | 83,900 | 45,200 | 58,700 | ASC 606 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| C5 Co-Co Obligation | 246,000 | 228,900 | 231,400 | ASC 808 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| $ | 530,500 | $ | 319,200 | $ | 345,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue Recognized During | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance Obligations | Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 | Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 | Accounting Guidance | |||||||||||||||||
| Research Services Obligation | $ | 9,800 | $ | 12,300 | ASC 606 | |||||||||||||||
| C5 License Obligation | 13,500 | — | ASC 606 | |||||||||||||||||
| C5 Co-Co Obligation | 2,500 | 4,200 | ASC 808 | |||||||||||||||||
| $ | 25,800 | $ | 16,500 | |||||||||||||||||
As of March 31, 2021, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the remaining Research Services Obligation and C5 License Obligation that was unsatisfied was $188.3 million, which is expected to be recognized through the term of the Regeneron Collaboration as the services are performed. This amount excludes the transaction price allocated to the C5 Co-Co Obligation accounted for under ASC 808. Deferred revenue related to the Regeneron Collaboration is classified as either current or non-current in the condensed consolidated balance sheets based on the period the revenue is expected to be recognized.
Novartis AG
In February 2013, we and The Medicines Company, or MDCO, entered into a license and collaboration agreement pursuant to which we granted to MDCO an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize RNAi therapeutics targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, or PCSK9, for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and other human diseases, including inclisiran. We refer to this agreement, as amended through the date hereof, as the MDCO License Agreement. On January 6, 2020, Novartis completed its acquisition of MDCO, and assumed all rights and obligations under the MDCO License Agreement.
As of March 31, 2021, we have earned $45.0 million of milestones and upon achievement of certain events, we will be entitled to receive additional milestones, up to an aggregate of $135.0 million, including $25.0 million associated with the U.S. regulatory approval milestone, $10.0 million in other specified regulatory milestones and $100.0 million in specified commercialization milestones. In addition, we will be entitled to royalties ranging from 10% up to 20% based on annual worldwide net sales of licensed products by Novartis, its affiliates and sublicensees, subject to reduction under specified circumstances. Due to the uncertainty of pharmaceutical development and the high historical failure rates generally associated with drug development, we may not receive any additional milestone payments under the MDCO License Agreement.
Unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of the agreement, the MDCO License Agreement expires on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis upon expiration of the last royalty term for any licensed product in any country, where a royalty term is defined as the latest to occur of (1) the expiration of the last valid claim of patent rights covering a licensed product, (2) the expiration of the Regulatory Exclusivity, as defined in the MDCO License Agreement, and (3) the twelfth anniversary of the first commercial sale of the licensed product in such country. We estimate that our fundamental RNAi patents covering licensed products under the MDCO License Agreement will expire both in and outside of the U.S. generally between 2016 and 2028. We also estimate that our inclisiran product-specific patents covering licensed products under the MDCO License Agreement will expire in the U.S., Europe, China and Japan in 2036 and elsewhere at the end of 2033. These patent rights are subject to potential patent term extensions and/or supplemental protection certificates
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
extending such terms in countries where such extensions may become available due to regulatory delay. In addition, more patent filings relating to the collaboration may be made in the future.
Either party may terminate the MDCO License Agreement in the event the other party fails to cure a material breach or upon patent-related challenges by the other party. In addition, Novartis has the right to terminate the agreement without cause at any time upon four months’ prior written notice.
During the term of the MDCO License Agreement, neither party will, alone or with an affiliate or third party, research, develop or commercialize, or grant a license to any third party to research, develop or commercialize, in any country, any siRNA product directed to the PCSK9 gene, other than a licensed product, without the prior written agreement of the other party, subject to the terms of the MDCO License Agreement.
We evaluated the MDCO License Agreement and concluded that Novartis meets the definition of a customer and that the MDCO License Agreement is a contract. During 2018, we completed the performance obligations identified in the MDCO License Agreement. However, we continue to receive additional orders for supply of certain material. Given Novartis now has the ability to manufacture on its own through its own vendors, such orders will be treated as separate agreements and any associated revenue will be recognized upon transfer of control.
Vir Biotechnology, Inc.
In October 2017, we and Vir Biotechnology, Inc., or Vir, entered into a collaboration and license agreement, or the Vir Agreement, for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics for infectious diseases, including chronic hepatitis B virus, or HBV, infection.
Pursuant to the Vir Agreement, we granted to Vir an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize ALN-HBV02 (VIR-2218), for all uses and purposes other than certain excluded fields, as set forth in the Vir Agreement. In addition, we granted Vir an exclusive option for up to four additional RNAi therapeutic programs for the treatment of infectious diseases. Under the terms of the Vir Agreement, for each product arising from the HBV program, including ALN-HBV02, we retained the right to opt into a profit-sharing arrangement prior to the start of a Phase 3 clinical trial. In addition, we have the right on a product-by-product basis with respect to each additional infectious disease program that Vir elects to pursue, to opt into a profit-sharing arrangement for each such product at any time during a specified period prior to the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical trial for each such product.
Pursuant to the Vir Agreement, Vir paid us an upfront fee of $10.0 million and issued to us 1,111,111 shares of its common stock. Under the Vir Agreement, we may also receive milestone payments upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as royalties on the net sales of licensed products ranging from high-single-digit to sub-teen double-digit percentages. In March 2020, we achieved a development milestone relating to ALN-HBV02 and earned a $15.0 million cash milestone and 1,111,111 shares of Vir's common stock, which were received in the second quarter of 2020. In June 2020, we earned and received a $10.0 million payment from Vir related to Vir's sublicense for ALN-HBV02 in China. Due to the uncertainty of pharmaceutical development and the high historical failure rates generally associated with drug development, we may not receive any additional milestone payments or any royalty payments under the Vir Agreement.
In March and April 2020, we entered into amendments to the Vir Agreement to expand our collaboration to include the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, along with three additional targets focused on human host factors for SARS-CoV-2, including angiotensin converting enzyme-2 and transmembrane protease, serine 2 and potentially a third mutually selected host factor target. Under the Vir amendments, we and Vir were each responsible for our own pre-clinical development costs incurred in performing our allocated responsibilities under an agreed-upon initial pre-clinical development plan. Under the original agreements, we and Vir agreed to equally share certain costs incurred in connection with the manufacture of non-GMP drug product required for pre-clinical development prior to filing an IND for the first product in the coronavirus program. We also agreed that Vir would lead all development and commercialization of any selected development candidates.
In December 2020, we signed a letter agreement to amend the Vir Agreement such that we are solely responsible for conducting pre-clinical research activities under the pre-clinical development plan, related to the COVID-19 activities in the March and April 2020 amendments, at our discretion and sole expense, and effective as of July 1, 2020, we are responsible for all pre-clinical development costs incurred under such plan for such COVID-19 related activities.
Unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of the agreement, the Vir Agreement expires on a licensed product-by-product and country-by-country basis upon expiration of all royalty payment obligations under the agreement. If Vir does not exercise its option for an infectious disease program, the Vir Agreement will expire upon the expiration of the applicable option period with respect to such program. However, if we exercise our profit-sharing option for any product, the term of the agreement will continue until the expiration of the profit-sharing arrangement for such product.
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
Either party may terminate the agreement in the event the other party fails to cure a material breach, or upon patent-related challenges by the other party. In addition, Vir has the right to terminate the agreement on a program-by-program basis or in its entirety for any reason on 90 days’ written notice.
We identified one performance obligation under the Vir Agreement, as amended, comprised of: i) the exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize RNAi therapeutics (including ALN-HBV02); ii) the obligation to deliver four additional development candidates and supply product for each such RNAi therapeutic program; and iii) the obligation to deliver up to four development candidates and supply product for RNAi therapeutic programs targeting SARS-CoV-2. The license is not distinct from the services, including the obligation to deliver development candidates and supply product, as Vir cannot benefit on its own from the value of the license without receipt of such services and supply.
We measure proportional performance over time using an input method based on cost incurred relative to the total estimated costs for the identified performance obligation, on a quarterly basis, by determining the proportion of effort incurred as a percentage of total effort we expect to expend. This ratio is applied to the total transaction price. Management has applied significant judgment in the process of developing our estimates. Any changes to these estimates will be recognized in the period in which they change as a cumulative catch up. As of March 31, 2021, the total transaction price was determined to be $110.1 million, and is comprised of the upfront payment, fair value of non-cash equity consideration at contract inception, milestones achieved and variable consideration related to development, manufacture and supply activities. We utilized the expected value method to determine the amount of reimbursement for these activities. The total transaction price is allocated entirely to the single performance obligation. We determined any variable consideration related to sales-based royalties and milestones related to the exclusive license to be constrained and therefore excluded such consideration from the transaction price.
As of March 31, 2021, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the performance obligation that was unsatisfied was $48.8 million, which is expected to be recognized through the term of the Vir Agreement as the services are performed.
5. LIABILITY RELATED TO THE SALE OF FUTURE ROYALTIES
In April 2020, we entered into a purchase and sale agreement, or Purchase Agreement, with BX Bodyguard Royalties L.P. (an affiliate of The Blackstone Group Inc.), or Blackstone Royalties, under which Blackstone Royalties acquired 50% of royalties payable, or Royalty Interest, with respect to net sales by MDCO, its affiliates or sublicensees of inclisiran and any other licensed products under the MDCO License Agreement, and 75% of the commercial milestone payments payable under the MDCO License Agreement, together with the Royalty Interest, the Purchased Interest. If Blackstone Royalties does not receive payments in respect of the Royalty Interest by December 31, 2029, equaling at least $1.00 billion, Blackstone Royalties will receive 55% of the Royalty Interest beginning on January 1, 2030. In consideration for the sale of the Purchased Interest, Blackstone Royalties paid us $500.0 million in April 2020 and has an unconditional obligation to pay us an additional $500.0 million on September 30, 2021, which was recorded as a receivable upon execution of the Purchase Agreement.
We continue to own or control all inclisiran intellectual property rights and are responsible for certain ongoing manufacturing and supply obligations related to the generation of the Purchased Interest. Due to our continuing involvement, we will continue to account for any royalties and commercial milestones due to us under the MDCO License Agreement as revenue on our condensed consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss and record the proceeds from this transaction as a liability, net of closing costs, on our condensed consolidated balance sheet.
In order to determine the amortization of the liability related to the sale of future royalties, we are required to estimate the total amount of future payments to Blackstone Royalties over the life of the Purchase Agreement. The $1.00 billion liability, recorded at execution of the agreement, will be accreted to the total of these royalty and commercial milestone payments as interest expense over the life of the Purchase Agreement. At execution, our estimate of this total interest expense resulted in an effective annual interest rate of 11%. This estimate contains assumptions that impact both the amount recorded at execution and the interest expense that will be recognized in future periods.
As payments are made to Blackstone Royalties, the balance of the liability will be effectively repaid over the life of the Purchase Agreement. The exact timing and amount of repayment is likely to change each reporting period. A significant increase or decrease in net sales of inclisiran will materially impact the liability related to the sale of future royalties, interest expense and the time period for repayment. We will periodically assess the expected payments to Blackstone Royalties and to the extent the amount or timing of such payments is materially different than our initial estimates, we will prospectively adjust the amortization of the liability related to the sale of future royalties and the related interest expense.
As of March 31, 2021, the carrying value of the liability related to the sale of future royalties was $1.10 billion, net of closing costs of $13.0 million. The carrying value of the liability related to the sale of future royalties approximates fair value as
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
of March 31, 2021 and is based on our current estimates of future royalties and commercial milestones expected to be paid to Blackstone Royalties over the life of the arrangement, which are considered Level 3 inputs.
The following table shows the activity with respect to the liability related to the sale of future royalties, in thousands:
Carrying value of liability related to sale of future royalties as of December 31, 2020 | $ | 1,071,541 | ||||||
| Interest expense recognized | 28,184 | |||||||
Carrying value of liability related to sale of future royalties as of March 31, 2021 | $ | 1,099,725 | ||||||
6. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The following tables present information about our financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and indicate the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques we utilized to determine such fair value:
| (In thousands) | As of March 31, 2021 | Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) | Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Financial assets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash equivalents: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Money market funds | $ | 177,470 | $ | 177,470 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marketable debt securities: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. government-sponsored enterprise securities | 215,200 | — | 215,200 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. treasury securities | 1,057,827 | — | 1,057,827 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marketable equity securities | 56,967 | 56,967 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted cash (money market funds) | 1,483 | 1,483 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total financial assets | $ | 1,508,947 | $ | 235,920 | $ | 1,273,027 | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Development derivative liability (Note 10) | $ | 48,038 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 48,038 | ||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | As of December 31, 2020 | Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) | Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Financial assets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash equivalents: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. treasury securities | $ | 20,000 | $ | — | $ | 20,000 | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Money market funds | 75,726 | 75,726 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marketable debt securities: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. government-sponsored enterprise securities | 245,214 | — | 245,214 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. treasury securities | 1,087,968 | — | 1,087,968 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marketable equity securities | 44,633 | 44,633 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted cash (money market funds) | 1,483 | 1,483 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total financial assets | $ | 1,475,024 | $ | 121,842 | $ | 1,353,182 | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Development derivative liability (Note 10) | $ | 25,585 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 25,585 | ||||||||||||||||||
The carrying amounts reflected on our condensed consolidated balance sheets for cash, accounts receivable, net, other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value due to their short-term maturities. The carrying
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
amount of our debt as of March 31, 2021 approximates fair value as the debt was drawn on December 31, 2020 and has variable interest.
7. MARKETABLE DEBT SECURITIES
We invest our excess cash balances in marketable debt securities and at each balance sheet date presented, we classify all of our investments in debt securities as available-for-sale and as current assets as they represent the investment of funds available for current operations. We did not record any impairment charges related to our marketable debt securities during the three months ended March 31, 2021 or 2020.
The following tables summarize our marketable debt securities:
| As of March 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | Amortized Cost | Gross Unrealized Gains | Gross Unrealized Losses | Fair Value | |||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. government-sponsored enterprise securities | $ | 215,171 | $ | 87 | $ | (58) | $ | 215,200 | |||||||||||||||
| U.S. treasury securities | 1,057,509 | 335 | (17) | 1,057,827 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 1,272,680 | $ | 422 | $ | (75) | $ | 1,273,027 | |||||||||||||||
| As of December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | Amortized Cost | Gross Unrealized Gains | Gross Unrealized Losses | Fair Value | |||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. government-sponsored enterprise securities | $ | 245,113 | $ | 135 | $ | (34) | $ | 245,214 | |||||||||||||||
| U.S. treasury securities | 1,107,721 | 328 | (81) | 1,107,968 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 1,352,834 | $ | 463 | $ | (115) | $ | 1,353,182 | |||||||||||||||
The fair values of our marketable debt securities by classification in the condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows:
| (In thousands) | As of March 31, 2021 | As of December 31, 2020 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | — | $ | 20,000 | |||||||
| Marketable debt securities | 1,273,027 | 1,333,182 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 1,273,027 | $ | 1,353,182 | |||||||
8. OTHER BALANCE SHEET DETAILS
Inventory
The components of inventory are summarized as follows:
| (In thousands) | As of March 31, 2021 | As of December 31, 2020 | |||||||||
| Raw materials | $ | 53,694 | $ | 63,460 | |||||||
| Work in progress | 23,593 | 16,149 | |||||||||
| Finished goods | 13,753 | 12,693 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 91,040 | $ | 92,302 | |||||||
As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we held $17.1 million of long- term inventory included within other assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheet as we anticipate it being consumed beyond our normal operating cycle.
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash
The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within our condensed consolidated balance sheets that sum to the total of these amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows:
| As of March 31, | |||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 379,543 | $ | 467,779 | |||||||
| Total restricted cash included in prepaid expenses, other current assets and long-term other assets | 2,462 | 2,614 | |||||||||
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows | $ | 382,005 | $ | 470,393 | |||||||
Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income
The following tables summarize the changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss, by component:
| (In thousands) | Loss on Investment in Joint Venture | Defined Benefit Pension Plans | Unrealized Gains (Losses) from Debt Securities | Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment | Total Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 | $ | (32,792) | $ | (3,754) | $ | 348 | $ | (7,424) | $ | (43,622) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive (loss) income before reclassifications | — | — | (1) | 6,848 | 6,847 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts reclassified from other comprehensive income | — | 58 | — | — | 58 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net other comprehensive income (loss) | — | 58 | (1) | 6,848 | 6,905 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2021 | $ | (32,792) | $ | (3,696) | $ | 347 | $ | (576) | $ | (36,717) | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | Loss on Investment in Joint Venture | Defined Benefit Pension Plans | Unrealized Gains from Debt Securities | Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment | Total Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2019 | $ | (32,792) | $ | (3,520) | $ | 137 | $ | (343) | $ | (36,518) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income before reclassifications | — | — | 1,317 | 340 | 1,657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts reclassified from other comprehensive income | — | 74 | 2,728 | — | 2,802 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net other comprehensive income | — | 74 | 4,045 | 340 | 4,459 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2020 | $ | (32,792) | $ | (3,446) | $ | 4,182 | $ | (3) | $ | (32,059) | |||||||||||||||||||
Amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive loss relate to settlements of marketable debt securities and amortization of our pension obligation which are recorded as interest income and other income, respectively, in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
9. CREDIT AGREEMENT
In April 2020, we entered into a credit agreement, or Credit Agreement, among us, certain of our subsidiaries (such subsidiaries, together with us, the Loan Parties), funds or accounts managed or advised by GSO Capital Partners LP (now Blackstone Alternative Credit Advisors LP) and certain other affiliates of The Blackstone Group Inc., and the other lenders from time to time parties thereto, collectively, the Lenders, and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as the administrative agent for the Lenders. The Credit Agreement provides for a senior secured delayed draw term loan facility, referred to as the Term Loans, which consists of three tranches providing funding up to $700.0 million. The Tranche 1 Loan of $200.0 million
21
ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
was drawn as of December 31, 2020 and is included in long-term debt in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The remaining two tranches will provide funds as follows:
| Tranche | Requested No Later Than | Aggregate Principal Amount, up to (in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Tranche 2 Loan | June 30, 2021 | $ | 250,000 | |||||||||||
| Tranche 3 Loan | December 31, 2021 | $ | 250,000 | |||||||||||
In addition, we may request an increase in respect of the unfunded commitments in an amount not to exceed $50.0 million on terms to be agreed and subject to the consent of the Lenders providing such increase.
The Tranche 2 Loan will be requested no later than June 30, 2021 and the Tranche 3 Loan will be requested no later than December 31, 2021, in each case, subject to customary terms and conditions, including, in the case of the Tranche 2 Loan and Tranche 3 Loan, either (a) the first sale of inclisiran in the U.S. for end use or consumption after FDA regulatory approval thereof or (b) revenue attributable to ONPATTRO and GIVLAARI equal to or greater than $300.0 million as of the last day of the most recently ended twelve month period, referred to as the Subsequent Borrowing Conditions. In the event the Subsequent Borrowing Conditions are not satisfied as of the dates set forth in the table above, the Tranche 2 Loan and Tranche 3 Loan will be funded if such Subsequent Borrowing Conditions are satisfied on or prior to December 31, 2022. The Term Loans mature in December 2027. We can elect an interest rate of either LIBOR plus 7% subject to a floor of 1%, referred to as the LIBOR Rate, or a base rate plus 6%, subject to a floor of 2%. We may, at our option, pay interest in kind on interest due through 2023 at a rate that is 1% higher than the interest rate otherwise applicable to such Term Loan. In December 2020, we drew the Tranche 1 Loan, elected a LIBOR Rate plus 7%, and paid a $5.0 million funding fee. On the date the Tranche 2 Loan or Tranche 3 Loan is funded, we will pay a funding fee equal to 2.5% of the principal amount of the Term Loans funded on such date. In addition, we will pay an exit fee equal to 1% of the commitments in respect of the Term Loans, payable upon any repayment of the Term Loans or termination of the unfunded Term Loan commitments. Our interest rate was 8% as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
We are obligated to pay interest due on the Term Loans from 2021 through 2022 which will be calculated without regard to the Term Loans being prepaid or an unfunded tranche being terminated during this period (in whole or in part). Any prepayments of Term Loans or terminations of unfunded tranches that occur between 2023 and 2025 are subject to a fee of up to 5% of the loan principal that is prepaid or the amount of the unfunded tranche that is terminated.
All obligations under the Credit Agreement are secured, subject to certain exceptions, by security interests in the following assets: (i) intellectual property owned by us relating to ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and vutrisiran, (ii) the equity interests held by the Loan Parties in their subsidiaries, (iii) all of our ownership of the inclisiran royalty remaining after the royalty purchase under the Purchase Agreement, and (iv) material real property, and certain personal property, including, without limitation, cash held in certain deposit accounts of the Loan Parties and equipment.
The Credit Agreement contains negative covenants that, among other things and subject to certain exceptions, could restrict our ability to, incur additional liens, incur additional indebtedness, make investments, including acquisitions, engage in fundamental changes, sell or dispose of assets that constitute collateral, including certain intellectual property, pay dividends or make any distribution or payment on or redeem, retire or purchase any equity interests, amend, modify or waive certain material agreements or organizational documents and make payments of certain subordinated indebtedness. Additionally, the Credit Agreement contains certain customary representations and warranties, affirmative covenants and provisions relating to events of default, including nonpayment of principal, interest and other amounts; failure to comply with covenants; the rendering of judgments or orders or default by us in respect of other material indebtedness; and certain insolvency and ERISA events. The Credit Agreement also requires us to have consolidated liquidity of at least $100.0 million as of the last day of each fiscal quarter. As of March 31, 2021, we were in compliance with the applicable terms and conditions of the covenants under the Credit Agreement.
10. DEVELOPMENT DERIVATIVE LIABILITY
In August 2020, we entered into a co-development agreement, referred to as the Funding Agreement, with BXLS V Bodyguard – PCP L.P. and BXLS Family Investment Partnership V – ESC L.P., collectively referred to as Blackstone Life Sciences, pursuant to which Blackstone Life Sciences will provide up to $150.0 million in funding for the clinical development of vutrisiran and ALN-AGT, two of our cardiometabolic programs. With respect to vutrisiran, Blackstone Life Sciences has committed to provide up to $70.0 million to fund development costs related to the HELIOS-B Phase 3 clinical trial. In addition, Blackstone Life Sciences has the right, but is not obligated, to fund up to $26.0 million for development costs related to a Phase 2 clinical trial of ALN-AGT and up to $54.0 million for development costs related to a Phase 3 clinical trial of ALN-AGT. The amount of funding ultimately provided by Blackstone Life Sciences is dependent on us achieving specified development
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
milestones with respect to each clinical trial. We retain sole responsibility for the development and commercialization of both vutrisiran and ALN-AGT.
As consideration for Blackstone Life Sciences’ funding for vutrisiran clinical development costs, we have agreed to pay Blackstone Life Sciences a 1% royalty on net sales of vutrisiran for a 10-year term beginning upon the first commercial sale following regulatory approval of vutrisiran for ATTR-cardiomyopathy, as well as fixed payments of up to 2.5 times their investment over a two-year period upon regulatory approval of vutrisiran for ATTR-cardiomyopathy in specified countries, unless it is later withdrawn from the market following a mandatory recall. As consideration for Blackstone Life Sciences’ funding for Phase 2 clinical development costs of ALN-AGT, we have agreed to pay Blackstone Life Sciences fixed payments of up to 3.25 times their Phase 2 investment over a four-year period upon the successful completion of the ALN-AGT Phase 2 clinical trial, unless certain regulatory events affecting the continued development of ALN-AGT occur. As consideration for Blackstone Life Sciences’ funding for Phase 3 clinical development costs of ALN-AGT, we have agreed to pay Blackstone Life Sciences fixed payments of up to 4.5 times their Phase 3 investment over a four-year period upon regulatory approval of ALN-AGT in specified countries, unless it is later withdrawn from the market following a mandatory recall.
Our payment obligations under the Funding Agreement will be secured, subject to certain exceptions, by security interests in intellectual property owned by us relating to vutrisiran and ALN-AGT, as well as in our bank account in which the funding deposits will be made.
We and Blackstone Life Sciences each have the right to terminate the Funding Agreement in its entirety in the event of the other party’s bankruptcy or similar proceedings. We and Blackstone Life Sciences may each terminate the Funding Agreement in its entirety or with respect to either product in the event of an uncured material breach by the other party, or with respect to a product for certain patient health and safety reasons, or if regulatory approval in specified major market countries is not obtained for the product following the completion of clinical trials for the product. In addition, Blackstone Life Sciences has the right to terminate the Funding Agreement in its entirety upon the occurrence of certain events affecting our ability to make payments under the agreement or to develop or commercialize the products, or upon a change of control of us. Blackstone Life Sciences may also terminate the Funding Agreement with respect to a product if the joint steering committee elects to terminate the development program for that product in its entirety, if certain clinical endpoints are not achieved for that product or, with respect to vutrisiran only, if our right to develop or commercialize vutrisiran is enjoined in a specified major market as a result of an alleged patent infringement. In certain termination circumstances, we will be obligated to pay Blackstone Life Sciences an amount that is equal to, or a multiplier of, the development funding received from Blackstone Life Sciences, and we may remain obligated under certain circumstances to make the payments to Blackstone Life Sciences described above, or the royalty described above in the case of vutrisiran, should we obtain regulatory approval for vutrisiran or ALN-AGT following termination.
We account for the Funding Agreement under ASC 815 as a derivative liability, measured at fair value, within other liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. The change in fair value due to the remeasurement of the development derivative liability is recorded as other expense on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
As of March 31, 2021, the derivative liability is classified as a Level 3 financial liability in the fair value hierarchy. The valuation method incorporates certain unobservable Level 3 key inputs including (i) the probability and timing of achieving stated development milestones to receive payments from Blackstone Life Sciences, (ii) the probability and timing of achieving regulatory approval and payments to Blackstone Life Sciences, (iii) an estimate of the amount and timing of the royalty payable on net sales of vutrisiran, assuming regulatory approval, (iv) our cost of borrowing (15%), and (v) Blackstone Life Sciences' cost of borrowing (4%).
The following table presents the activity with respect to the development derivative liability, in thousands:
Development derivative liability as of December 31, 2020 | $ | 25,585 | ||||||
| Amount received under the Funding Agreement | 4,200 | |||||||
| Loss recorded from remeasurement of development derivative liability | 18,253 | |||||||
Development derivative liability as of March 31, 2021 | $ | 48,038 | ||||||
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
11. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
The following table summarizes stock-based compensation expenses included in operating costs and expenses:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 24,375 | $ | 16,049 | |||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 31,315 | 18,529 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 55,690 | $ | 34,578 | |||||||
12. NET LOSS PER COMMON SHARE
We compute basic net loss per common share by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. We compute diluted net loss per common share by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive potential common share equivalents outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options (the proceeds of which are then assumed to have been used to repurchase outstanding shares using the treasury stock method). Because the inclusion of potential common shares would be anti-dilutive for all periods presented, diluted net loss per common share is the same as basic net loss per common share.
The following common share equivalents were excluded from the calculation of net loss per common share because their inclusion would be anti-dilutive:
| As of March 31, | |||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Options to purchase common stock | 13,859 | 13,609 | |||||||||
| Unvested restricted common stock | 1,538 | 1,411 | |||||||||
| Total | 15,397 | 15,020 | |||||||||
13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Matters
From time to time, we may be a party to litigation, arbitration or other legal proceedings in the course of our business, including the matters described below. The claims and legal proceedings in which we could be involved include challenges to the scope, validity or enforceability of patents relating to our products or product candidates, and challenges by us to the scope, validity or enforceability of the patents held by others. These include claims by third parties that we infringe their patents or breach our license or other agreements with such third parties. The outcome of any such legal proceedings, regardless of the merits, is inherently uncertain. In addition, litigation and related matters are costly and may divert the attention of our management and other resources that would otherwise be engaged in other activities. If we were unable to prevail in any such legal proceedings, our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition could be adversely affected. Our accounting policy for accrual of legal costs is to recognize such expenses as incurred.
Securities Litigation
On September 26, 2018, Caryl Hull Leavitt, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a class action complaint for violation of federal securities laws against us, our Chief Executive Officer and our former Chief Financial Officer in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. By stipulation of the parties and Order of the Court dated November 20, 2018, the action was transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. On May 8, 2019, the Court entered an order appointing a lead plaintiff, and on July 3, 2019, lead plaintiff filed a consolidated class action complaint, or the Complaint. In addition to the originally named defendants, the Complaint also named as defendants certain of our other executive officers, and purported to be brought on behalf of a class of persons who acquired our securities between September 20, 2017 and September 12, 2018 and sought to recover damages caused by defendants’ alleged violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The Complaint alleged, among other things, that the defendants made materially false and misleading statements related to the efficacy and safety of our product, ONPATTRO. The plaintiff sought, among other things, the designation of this action as a class action, an award of unspecified compensatory damages, interest, costs and expenses, including counsel fees and expert fees, and other relief as the court deems appropriate. All defendants filed
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ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
a motion to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety on July 31, 2019. On March 23, 2020, the Court granted our motion and dismissed the Complaint without prejudice. Pursuant to a prior Order of the Court, on June 1, 2020, plaintiff filed a motion seeking leave to file a further amended complaint. That motion was fully briefed on June 22, 2020. By Memorandum & Order dated March 12, 2021, the Court denied plaintiffs’ motion.
On September 12, 2019, the Chester County Employees Retirement Fund, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a purported securities class action complaint for violation of federal securities laws against us, certain of our current and former directors and officers, and the underwriters of our November 14, 2017 public stock offering, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. On November 7, 2019, plaintiff filed an amended complaint, or the New York Complaint. The New York Complaint is brought on behalf of an alleged class of those who purchased our securities pursuant and/or traceable to our November 14, 2017 public stock offering. The New York Complaint purports to allege claims arising under Sections 11, 12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and generally alleges that the defendants violated the federal securities laws by, among other things, making material misstatements or omissions concerning the results of our APOLLO Phase 3 clinical trial of patisiran. The plaintiff seeks, among other things, the designation of the action as a class action, an award of unspecified compensatory damages, rescissory damages, interest, costs and expenses, including counsel fees and expert fees, and other relief as the court deems appropriate. All defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss the New York Complaint in its entirety on December 20, 2019. On November 2, 2020, the Court entered a Decision and Order denying defendants’ motion to dismiss. In November 2020, defendants filed a notice of appeal of the Court’s decision to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the First Department. Defendants’ appeal was fully briefed in March 2021, and the Appellate Division heard oral argument on April 7, 2021. Defendants’ appeal remains pending.
We believe that the allegations contained in the New York Complaint are without merit and intend to defend the case vigorously. We cannot predict at this point the length of time that this action will be ongoing or the liabilities, if any, which may arise therefrom.
Government Investigation
On or about April 9, 2021, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, requiring production of documents pertaining to our marketing and promotion of ONPATTRO (patisiran) in the United States. We are preparing a response to the subpoena and cooperating with the government. Experienced outside legal counsel has been retained to assist with this matter.
Since learning of this federal government investigation, and consistent with its charter, our nominating and corporate governance committee is directing our review of and response to the matter. Given the early stage and ongoing nature of the investigation, no determination has been made that a loss, if any, arising from this matter is probable or that the amount of any such loss, or range of loss, is reasonably estimable.
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ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a global commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics based on RNA interference, or RNAi. RNAi is a naturally occurring biological pathway within cells for sequence-specific silencing and regulation of gene expression. By harnessing the RNAi pathway, we have developed a new class of innovative medicines, known as RNAi therapeutics. RNAi therapeutics are comprised of small interfering RNA, or siRNA, and function upstream of conventional medicines by potently silencing messenger RNA, or mRNA, that encode for disease-causing proteins, thus preventing them from being made. We believe this is a revolutionary approach with the potential to transform the care of patients with genetic and other diseases. To date, our efforts to advance this revolutionary approach have yielded the approval of four first-in-class RNAi-based medicines, ONPATTRO® (patisiran), GIVLAARI® (givosiran), OXLUMO® (lumasiran) and Leqvio® (inclisiran).
Our research and development strategy is to target genetically validated genes that have been implicated in the cause or pathway of human disease. We utilize a N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) conjugate or lipid nanoparticle (LNP) approach to enable hepatic delivery of siRNAs. For delivery to the central nervous system, or CNS, and the eye (ocular delivery), we are utilizing an alternative conjugate approach. We are also advancing approaches for lung delivery of siRNAs. Our focus is on clinical indications where there is a high unmet need, early biomarkers for the assessment of clinical activity in Phase 1 clinical studies, and a definable path for drug development, regulatory approval, patient access and commercialization.
In early 2021, we launched our Alnylam P5x25 strategy, which focuses on our planned transition to a top five biotech company, as measured by market capitalization, by the end of 2025. With Alnylam P5x25, we aim to deliver transformative rare and prevalent disease medicines for patients around the world through sustainable innovation, delivering exceptional financial performance and driving profitability.
We currently have four marketed products and 12 clinical programs, including six in late-stage development, across four Strategic Therapeutic Areas, or “STArs:” Genetic Medicines; Cardio-Metabolic Diseases; Hepatic Infectious Diseases; and CNS/Ocular Diseases. Three of our marketed products are within the Genetic Medicines STAr, ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO. ONPATTRO is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, or hATTR amyloidosis, in adults and has also been approved in the European Union, or EU, for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis in adult patients with stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy, in Japan for the treatment of transthyretin, or TTR, type familial amyloidosis with polyneuropathy, and in several additional countries, including Brazil. Regulatory filings in other territories are pending and additional filings are planned for 2021 and beyond. GIVLAARI is approved in the United States, or U.S., for the treatment of adults with acute hepatic porphyria, or AHP, in the EU for the treatment of AHP in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older, and in Brazil and Canada for the treatment of AHP in adults. We have also filed for regulatory approval for givosiran (the non-branded drug name for GIVLAARI) in Switzerland and Japan and additional regulatory filings are pending or planned for 2021 and beyond. In November 2020, we received regulatory approval for OXLUMO in the U.S. and EU for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria type 1, or PH1, in all age groups. Regulatory filings in other territories are pending and additional filings are planned for 2021 and beyond.
Our fourth product, Leqvio (inclisiran), is being developed and commercialized by our partner Novartis AG, or Novartis, and in December 2020 received marketing authorization from the European Commission, or EC, for the treatment of adults with hypercholesterolemia or mixed dyslipidemia and is in the Cardio-Metabolic Diseases STAr. With respect to regulatory review by the FDA of the New Drug Application, or NDA, filed with the FDA for inclisiran, the FDA issued a complete response letter on December 18, 2020, due to unresolved facility inspection-related conditions at a third-party manufacturing facility in Europe. Novartis is working closely with the third-party manufacturer and the FDA to obtain approval as soon as possible, and has guided for a resubmission of its NDA for inclisiran in Q2-Q3 2021.
In addition to our marketed products, we have six late-stage investigational programs, advancing toward potential commercialization. These programs include our wholly owned programs: givosiran (the non-branded name for GIVLAARI) for the treatment of adolescent patients with AHP; lumasiran for the treatment of PH1 and recurrent renal stones; patisiran (the non-branded drug name for ONPATTRO) for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis, or ATTR amyloidosis, with cardiomyopathy; vutrisiran for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis; inclisiran (the non-branded name for Leqvio) for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or ASCVD, is being advanced by our partner Novartis; as well as fitusiran for the treatment of hemophilia, which is being advanced by our partner Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty care global business unit of Sanofi.
In January 2021, we reported positive topline results from our HELIOS-A Phase 3 study of vutrisiran in patients with hATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy, and in April 2021, based on the positive HELIOS-A data, we submitted an NDA for vutrisiran. Upon obtaining results from the 18-month analysis of HELIOS-A, expected in late 2021, we plan to submit a marketing authorisation application, or MAA, in the EU as previously aligned with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA.
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Based on our expertise in RNAi therapeutics and broad intellectual property estate, we have formed alliances with leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies to support our development and commercialization efforts, including Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Regeneron, Novartis (which acquired our partner The Medicines Company, or MDCO, in 2020), Sanofi Genzyme, Vir Biotechnology, Inc., or Vir, and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Dicerna.
We have incurred significant losses since we commenced operations in 2002 and expect such losses to continue for the foreseeable future. As of March 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $4.79 billion. Historically, we have generated losses principally from costs associated with the establishment of late-stage clinical and commercial capabilities, including global commercial operations, research and development activities, acquiring, filing and expanding intellectual property rights, and selling, general and administrative costs. While we believe 2019 was our peak net loss year, and believe the funding provided by our strategic financing collaboration with The Blackstone Group Inc., or Blackstone, should enable us to achieve a self-sustainable financial profile without the need for future equity financing, we expect to continue to incur annual net operating losses for the foreseeable future as we expand our efforts to discover, develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics. We also anticipate that our operating results will fluctuate for the foreseeable future. Therefore, period-to-period comparisons should not be relied upon as predictive of the results in future periods.
We currently have programs focused on a number of therapeutic areas and as of March 31, 2021, we are generating net revenue from product sales for three marketed products, ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO. However, our ongoing development efforts may not be successful and we may not be able to commence sales of any other products and/or successfully market and sell ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO or any other approved products in the future. A substantial portion of our total revenues in recent years has been derived from collaboration revenues from strategic alliances with Regeneron, Novartis and Vir. In addition to revenues from the commercial sales of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO and potentially from sales of future products, we expect our sources of potential funding for the next several years to continue to be derived in part from existing and new strategic alliances, which may include license and other fees, funded research and development, milestone payments and royalties on product sales by our licensees, as well as funding due or available to us under our strategic financing collaboration with Blackstone.
The COVID-19 Pandemic
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus, or COVID-19, as a pandemic, which continues to spread or resurge throughout the U.S. and worldwide. We could be materially and adversely affected by the risks, or the public perception of the risks, related to an epidemic, pandemic, outbreak, or other public health crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. We are continuing to monitor the global pandemic and spread of COVID-19 and plan to continue taking steps to identify and mitigate the adverse impacts on, and risks to, our business posed by its spread and actions taken by governmental and health authorities to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices, including implementing a global work from home policy for all employees who are able to perform their duties remotely and restricting all nonessential business travel, and we expect to continue to take actions as may be required or recommended by government authorities or as we determine are in the best interests of our employees, the patients we serve and other business partners in light of COVID-19 and variants thereof. Where and to the extent permitted to be open under local regulations, our office sites are operational with physical distancing, temperature screening, contact tracing and cleaning measures in place, as well as voluntary testing protocols in our Massachusetts facilities. At this time, we cannot predict when certain restrictions that are in place to protect our employees can be safely reduced or will no longer be needed, and such restrictions are likely to remain in place until there is widespread immunization against COVID-19. Due to the speed and fluidity with which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, and the emergence of highly contagious variants, we do not yet know the full extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our business operations. The ultimate extent of the impact of any epidemic, pandemic, outbreak, or other public health crisis on our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning the severity of such epidemic, pandemic, outbreak, or other public health crisis and actions taken to contain or prevent the further spread, including the availability and efficacy of vaccines, among others. Accordingly, we cannot predict the extent to which our business, financial condition and results of operations will be affected. We remain focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet, liquidity and financial flexibility and continue to monitor developments as we deal with the disruptions and uncertainties from a business and financial perspective relating to COVID-19 and variants thereof. We will continue to work diligently with our partners and stakeholders to support patient access to our approved medicines, advance our product candidates under regulatory review as well as in our clinical studies to the extent safe to do so for patients, caregivers and healthcare practitioners, and ensure the continuity of our manufacturing and supply chain. For additional information related to the actual or potential impacts of COVID-19 on our business, please read Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Research and Development
Since our inception, we have focused on drug discovery and development programs. Research and development expenses represent a substantial percentage of our total operating expenses, as reflected by our broad pipeline of clinical development programs, which includes multiple programs in late-stage development.
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Our Product Pipeline
Our broad pipeline, including four approved products and multiple late and early-stage investigational RNAi therapeutics, is focused in four STArs: Genetic Medicines; Cardio-Metabolic Diseases; Hepatic Infectious Diseases; and CNS/Ocular Diseases.
The chart below is a summary of our commercial products and late- and early-stage development programs as of April 29, 2021. It identifies those programs for which we have received marketing approval, the stage of our programs and our commercial rights to such programs:
During the first quarter of 2021 and recent period, we reported the following updates from our commercially approved products and our late-stage clinical programs:
Commercial
ONPATTRO
•We achieved ONPATTRO global net product revenues for the first quarter of 2021 of $102.0 million, and secured additional market access with over 30 countries now selling ONPATTRO through direct reimbursement, named patient sales, or reimbursed expanded access.
GIVLAARI
•We achieved GIVLAARI global net product revenues for the first quarter of 2021 of $24.7 million, received marketing authorization approval for GIVLAARI in Switzerland for the treatment of AHP in adults and adolescents, and maintained steady progress with market access efforts across the CEMEA region, with recent launch in Italy, ongoing launch in Germany, and Temporary Authorization for Use, or ATU, supply in France.
OXLUMO
•We achieved OXLUMO global net product revenues for the first quarter of 2021 of $9.1 million, and continued progress with market access efforts across the CEMEA region, with recent launch in Germany and ATU supply in France.
Late-Stage Clinical Development
•We continued to advance patisiran, in development for the treatment of the cardiomyopathy of both hereditary and wild-type ATTR amyloidosis:
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◦Continued enrollment in the APOLLO-B Phase 3 study in ATTR amyloidosis patients with cardiomyopathy and remain on track to complete enrollment in early 2021.
•We continued to advance vutrisiran, a subcutaneously administered investigational RNAi therapeutic in development for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis:
◦Filed an NDA with the FDA;
◦Presented positive 9-month results from the HELIOS-A Phase 3 study; and
◦Announced that due to strong pace of enrollment in the HELIOS-B Phase 3 study, we now expect to complete study enrollment in late 2021, earlier than previously anticipated.
•We continued to advance lumasiran for the treatment of PH:
◦Continued dosing PH1 patients with advanced renal disease in the ILLUMINATE-C Phase 3 study, and remain on track to report topline results in mid-2021.
•Our partner, Novartis, continued to advance inclisiran (the non-proprietary name for Leqvio) for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia or mixed dyslipidemia:
◦Response to U.S. Complete Response Letter to be submitted Q2-Q3 2021.
•Our partner, Sanofi Genzyme, continued advancement of the ATLAS Phase 3 program for fitusiran in patients with hemophilia A or B with and without inhibitors:
◦The amended protocol for all ongoing adult and adolescent fitusiran clinical studies, aimed at further enhancing the benefit-risk profile, was presented at the 14th Annual Congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders.
There is a risk that any drug discovery or development program may not produce revenue for a variety of reasons, including the possibility that we will not be able to adequately demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the product candidate. Moreover, there are uncertainties specific to any new field of drug discovery, including RNAi. The success of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO or any other product candidate we develop is highly uncertain. Due to the numerous risks associated with developing drugs, including those risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and estimated costs of the efforts necessary to complete the development of any potential product candidate or indication, or the period, if any, in which material net cash inflows will commence from any approved product or indication. Any failure to complete any stage of the development of any potential products or any approved product for an expanded indication in a timely manner or successfully launch, market and sell any of our commercially approved products, could have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial position and liquidity. A discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties associated with completing our research and development programs within the planned timeline, or at all, and the potential consequences of failing to do so, are set forth in Part II, Item 1A below under the heading “Risk Factors.”
Strategic Alliances
Our business strategy is to develop and commercialize a broad pipeline of RNAi therapeutic products directed towards our four STArs. As part of this strategy, we have entered into, and expect to enter into additional, collaboration and licensing agreements as a means of obtaining resources, capabilities and funding to advance our investigational RNAi therapeutic programs.
Our collaboration strategy is to form alliances that create significant value for ourselves and our collaborators in the advancement of RNAi therapeutics as a new class of innovative medicines. Specifically, with respect to our CNS/Ocular Disease pipeline, in April 2019, we entered into a global, strategic collaboration with Regeneron to discover, develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics for a broad range of diseases by addressing disease targets expressed in the eye and CNS, in addition to a select number of targets expressed in the liver.
With respect to our Cardio-Metabolic pipeline, in March 2013, we entered into an exclusive, worldwide license with MDCO (acquired by Novartis AG in January 2020) pursuant to which MDCO was granted the right to develop, manufacture and commercialize RNAi therapeutics targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, or PCSK9, for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and other human diseases, including inclisiran. In March 2018, we entered into a discovery collaboration with Regeneron to identify RNAi therapeutics for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, and potentially other related diseases, and in November 2018, we and Regeneron entered into a separate, fifty-fifty collaboration to further research, co-develop and commercialize any therapeutic product candidates that emerge from these discovery efforts. In April 2020, we entered into a development and commercialization collaboration with Dicerna to advance investigational RNAi therapeutics for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency-associated liver disease, or alpha-1 liver disease.
With respect to our Hepatic Infectious Disease pipeline, in October 2017, we announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Vir for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics for infectious diseases, including chronic hepatitis B virus, or HBV, infection. In March 2020, we announced an expansion of our exclusive licensing agreement with Vir to include
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the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19. In April 2020, we further expanded our broad multi-target existing collaboration for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics for infectious diseases to include up to three additional targets focused on host factors for SARS-CoV-2, including angiotensin converting enzyme-2, or ACE2, and transmembrane protease, serine 2, or TMPRSS2.
With respect to our Genetic Medicine pipeline, we formed a broad strategic alliance with Sanofi Genzyme in 2014. In January 2018, we and Sanofi Genzyme amended our 2014 collaboration and entered into the Exclusive License Agreement, referred to as the Exclusive TTR License, under which we have the exclusive right to pursue the further global development and commercialization of all TTR products, including ONPATTRO, vutrisiran and any back-up products, and the ALN-AT3 Global License Terms, referred to as the AT3 License Terms, under which Sanofi Genzyme has the exclusive right to pursue the further global development and commercialization of fitusiran and any back-up products. In April 2019, we and Sanofi Genzyme agreed to further amend the 2014 Sanofi Genzyme collaboration to conclude the research and option phase and to amend and restate the AT3 License Terms to modify certain of the business terms.
We also have entered into license agreements to obtain rights to intellectual property in the field of RNAi. In addition, because delivery of RNAi therapeutics has historically been an important objective of our research activities, we have entered into various collaboration and licensing arrangements with other companies and academic institutions to gain access to delivery technologies, including various LNP delivery technologies, and we may enter into such agreements in the future to gain access to products or technologies.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our critical accounting policies are described in the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which we filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021. There have been no significant changes to our critical accounting policies since the beginning of this fiscal year.
Results of Operations
The following data summarizes the results of our operations:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 177,566 | $ | 99,476 | $ | 78,090 | 79 | % | |||||||||||||||
Operating costs and expenses | $ | 363,820 | $ | 309,634 | $ | 54,186 | 18 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (186,254) | $ | (210,158) | $ | 23,904 | (11) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Total other (expense) income | $ | (13,021) | $ | 28,512 | $ | (41,533) | (146) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (200,291) | $ | (182,221) | $ | (18,070) | 10 | % | |||||||||||||||
Discussion of Results of Operations
Revenues
Total revenues consist of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net product revenues | $ | 135,769 | $ | 71,938 | $ | 63,831 | 89 | % | |||||||||||||||
Net revenues from collaborations | 41,797 | 27,538 | 14,259 | 52 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 177,566 | $ | 99,476 | $ | 78,090 | 79 | % | |||||||||||||||
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Net product revenues
Net product revenues consist of the following, by product and region:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| ONPATTRO | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | $ | 49,471 | $ | 37,196 | $ | 12,275 | 33 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Europe | 40,653 | 21,166 | 19,487 | 92 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rest of World (primarily Japan) | 11,827 | 8,302 | 3,525 | 42 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 101,951 | $ | 66,664 | $ | 35,287 | 53 | % | |||||||||||||||
| GIVLAARI | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | $ | 17,762 | $ | 5,274 | $ | 12,488 | 237 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Europe | 6,873 | — | 6,873 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rest of World | 38 | — | 38 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 24,673 | $ | 5,274 | $ | 19,399 | 368 | % | |||||||||||||||
| OXLUMO | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | $ | 1,408 | $ | — | $ | 1,408 | N/A | ||||||||||||||||
| Europe | 7,737 | — | 7,737 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 9,145 | $ | — | $ | 9,145 | N/A | ||||||||||||||||
| Total net product revenues | $ | 135,769 | $ | 71,938 | $ | 63,831 | 89 | % | |||||||||||||||
Net product revenues increased during the three months ended March 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in the prior year, as a result of the continued, global expansion of ONPATTRO and GIVLAARI into additional major markets and increased patients on therapy, in addition to sales generated from our third commercial product, OXLUMO, following regulatory approvals in the fourth quarter of 2020.
We expect net product revenues to increase for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, as we continue to add new patients onto our approved, commercial products, as well as launch our approved products into additional markets, assuming regulatory approvals.
Net revenues from collaborations
Net revenues from collaborations consist of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $ | 30,343 | $ | 19,503 | $ | 10,840 | 56 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Novartis AG | 8,111 | 1,060 | 7,051 | 665 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Vir Biotechnology | 2,822 | 6,516 | (3,694) | (57) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 521 | 459 | 62 | 14 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 41,797 | $ | 27,538 | $ | 14,259 | 52 | % | |||||||||||||||
Net revenues from collaborations increased during the three months ended March 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily due to an increase in revenue recognized in connection with our collaboration agreements with Regeneron, as a result of increased activities, and Novartis, as a result of increased shipments of material to Novartis to support the manufacture of Leqvio as Novartis executes on the product launch in Europe and prepares for other potential market approvals.
We expect net revenues from collaborations to increase for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to increased activities and anticipated achievement of milestones under our collaborations with Regeneron and Novartis.
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Operating Costs and Expenses
Operating costs and expenses consist of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of goods sold | $ | 23,023 | $ | 13,302 | $ | 9,721 | 73 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of collaborations | 8,039 | — | 8,039 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 185,899 | 169,571 | 16,328 | 10 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative | 146,859 | 126,761 | 20,098 | 16 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 363,820 | $ | 309,634 | $ | 54,186 | 18 | % | |||||||||||||||
Cost of goods sold.
Cost of goods sold increased during the three months ended March 31, 2021, as compared to the same periods in the prior year, due to the increase in third-party royalties and sales of capitalized inventory. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, product sold and recognized as revenue was substantially from capitalized inventory, whereas during the three months ended March 31, 2020, a portion of the units of product sold and recognized as revenue were zero-cost inventory. We will continue to sell our zero-cost inventory of GIVLAARI and OXLUMO throughout the remainder of 2021.
We anticipate variability in our cost of goods sold as a percentage of net product revenues due to the timing of manufacturing runs and utilization and the depletion of zero-cost inventories, as well as future product launches. We expect cost of goods sold will increase for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily as a result of an expected increase in net product sales as well as the sale of capitalized inventory.
Cost of collaborations.
Cost of collaborations includes costs we incur in connection with producing commercial drug supplies, such as GalNAc, for collaborators.
We expect cost of collaborations will increase for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, as we continue to supply material to Novartis to support the manufacturing of Leqvio as Novartis executes on the product launch in Europe and prepares for other potential market approvals.
Research and development.
Research and development expenses consist of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| Clinical trial and manufacturing | $ | 67,686 | $ | 56,525 | $ | 11,161 | 20 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Compensation and related | 48,372 | 48,163 | 209 | 0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 24,375 | 16,049 | 8,326 | 52 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Facilities-related | 19,276 | 15,701 | 3,575 | 23 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| External services | 15,093 | 17,661 | (2,568) | (15) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lab supplies, materials and other | 10,125 | 13,059 | (2,934) | (22) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| License Fees | 972 | 2,413 | (1,441) | (60) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 185,899 | $ | 169,571 | $ | 16,328 | 10 | % | |||||||||||||||
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the increase in research and development expenses, as compared to the same period in the prior year, was primarily related to the following:
•Increased clinical trial and manufacturing as a result of site openings and increased enrollment in our HELIOS B and APOLLO B Phase 3 clinical trials; and
•Increased stock-based compensation primarily due to the accounting for certain performance-based stock awards.
During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, in connection with advancing activities under our collaboration agreements, we incurred research and development expenses, primarily related to external development and clinical expenses, including manufacturing of clinical product.
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The following table summarizes research and development expenses incurred, for which we recognize net revenue, that are directly attributable to our collaboration agreements, by collaboration partner:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $ | 17,128 | $ | 16,103 | |||||||
| Vir Biotechnology | 2,543 | 2,084 | |||||||||
| Novartis AG | 3 | 1,264 | |||||||||
| Other | 922 | 248 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 20,596 | $ | 19,699 | |||||||
Selling, general and administrative.
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| Compensation and related | $ | 56,072 | $ | 46,829 | $ | 9,243 | 20 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Consulting and professional services | 36,706 | 38,992 | (2,286) | (6) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 31,315 | 18,529 | 12,786 | 69 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Facilities-related | 12,504 | 9,741 | 2,763 | 28 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 10,262 | 12,670 | (2,408) | (19) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 146,859 | $ | 126,761 | $ | 20,098 | 16 | % | |||||||||||||||
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, as compared to the same periods in the prior year, was primarily related to the following:
•Increased stock-based compensation primarily due to the accounting for certain performance-based stock awards; and
•Increased compensation and related expenses as a result of increased headcount to support our Alnylam P5x25 strategy.
Offset by:
•Decreased other expenses as a result of a decrease in travel due to COVID-19 restrictions.
We expect that research and development expenses combined with selling, general and administrative expenses will increase for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, as we continue to develop our pipeline, advance our product candidates, including partnered programs, into later-stage development, prepare regulatory submissions and build-out of our global commercial infrastructure and field team to support ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO and potentially additional product launches. However, we expect that certain expenses will be variable depending on the timing of manufacturing batches, clinical trial enrollment and results, regulatory review of our product candidates and programs, and stock-based compensation expenses due to our determination regarding the probability of vesting for performance-based awards.
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Total Other (Expense) Income.
Total other (expense) income consists of the following:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | Dollar Change | % of Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | $ | (32,515) | $ | — | $ | (32,515) | N/A | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 450 | 5,480 | (5,030) | (92) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other income, net | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Realized and unrealized gains on marketable equity securities | 47,016 | 24,111 | 22,905 | 95 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of development derivative liability | (18,253) | — | (18,253) | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (9,719) | (1,079) | (8,640) | 801 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | (13,021) | $ | 28,512 | $ | (41,533) | (146) | % | |||||||||||||||
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, total other expense increased, as compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the following:
•$28.2 million of interest expense associated with the sale of future royalties;
•$4.3 million of interest expense associated with the initial draw down under our credit agreement in December 2020; and
•$18.3 million loss as a result of a mark-to-market adjustment related to the development derivative liability.
Offset by:
•Increased realized and unrealized gains in marketable equity securities.
We expect total other expense will increase for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, as we continue to incur interest expense on our long-term debt and sale of future royalties.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The following table summarizes our cash flow activities:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (200,291) | $ | (182,221) | |||||||
| Non-cash adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | 90,497 | 28,133 | |||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities | (125,866) | (92,073) | |||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (235,660) | (246,161) | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by investing activities | 71,352 | 113,688 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 51,177 | 53,869 | |||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (3,910) | (631) | |||||||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (117,041) | (79,235) | |||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period | 499,046 | 549,628 | |||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 382,005 | $ | 470,393 | |||||||
Since we commenced operations in 2002, we have generated significant losses. As of March 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $4.79 billion. As of March 31, 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.71 billion, compared to $1.87 billion as of December 31, 2020.
Operating activities
Net cash used in operating activities decreased during the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to a decrease in loss from operations offset by increases in cash used in working capital related activities.
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Investing activities
Net cash provided by investing activities decreased during the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily due to a net decrease in the purchases, sales and maturities of marketable securities.
Financing activities
Net cash provided by financing activities decreased during the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily due to decreased net proceeds of $6.9 million from the issuance of common stock in connection with stock option exercises and other types of equity, offset by proceeds of $4.2 million received in connection with the execution of the funding agreement for the clinical development of vutrisiran and ALN-AGT.
Operating Capital Requirements
We currently have programs focused on a number of therapeutic areas and, as of March 31, 2021, have received regulatory approval and commercially launched three products: ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO. In early 2021, we announced our Alnylam P5x25 strategy, which is aimed at our planned transition to a top 5 biotech in market capitalization. However, our ongoing development efforts may not be successful and we may not be able to commence sales of any other products in the future. In addition, we anticipate that we will continue to generate losses as a result of planned expenditures for research and development activities relating to our research platform, our drug development programs, including clinical trial and manufacturing costs, the establishment of late-stage clinical, manufacturing and commercial capabilities, including global operations, continued management and growth of our intellectual property including our patent portfolio, collaborations and general corporate activities.
Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2021, together with the cash we expect to generate from product sales and under our current alliances, in addition to our strategic financing collaboration with The Blackstone Group Inc. and certain of its affiliates, will be sufficient to enable us to advance our long-term strategic goals for at least the next 12 months from the filing of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. However, due to numerous factors described in more detail under the caption Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, we may require significant additional funds earlier than we currently expect in order to continue to commercialize ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO, and to develop, conduct clinical trials for, manufacture and, if approved, commercialize additional product candidates.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The disclosure of our contractual obligations and commitments is set forth under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Contractual Obligations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. There have been no material changes in our contractual obligations and commitments since December 31, 2020.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Financial market risks related to interest rates are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021, there have been no significant changes to the financial market risks described as of December 31, 2020. We do not currently anticipate any other near-term changes in the nature of our financial market risk exposures or in management’s objectives and strategies with respect to managing such exposures.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) and executive vice president, Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer), evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2021. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of
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March 31, 2021, our Chief Executive Officer and executive vice president, Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.
Changes in Internal Control
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
For a discussion of material pending legal proceedings, please read Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies – Legal Matters, to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in Part I, Item I, “Financial Statements (Unaudited),” of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which is incorporated into this item by reference.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Risks Related to Our Business
Risks Related to Our Financial Results
The current pandemic of COVID-19 and the future outbreak of other highly infectious or contagious diseases, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including our commercial operations and sales, clinical trials and pre-clinical studies.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, or COVID-19, was reported to have surfaced and it has since reached multiple regions, countries and cities, including Cambridge, Massachusetts where our primary office and laboratory space is located, and all countries in which we have offices. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve and the ultimate impact of this pandemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. To date, the pandemic has led to the implementation of various responses, including government-imposed quarantines, travel restrictions and other public health safety measures. COVID-19 has and will likely continue to impact our operations and those of our third-party partners and the ultimate impact on our business and financial results remains uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, and will depend on many factors, including the scope, severity, duration and any recurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, including through any new variant strains of the underlying virus, the actions taken to contain the pandemic or mitigate its impact, the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and containment measures, and the availability and efficacy of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, among others. The continued development and fluidity of the COVID-19 pandemic precludes any prediction as to its full impact on our business. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In response to the spread of COVID-19, we took, and have continued to take, temporary precautionary measures intended to help minimize the risk of the virus to our employees and their families, including implementing a global work from home policy for nearly all employees who are able to perform their duties remotely, and have generally restricted on-site staff to only those personnel and contractors who perform activities that need to be completed on-site, limited the number of staff in any given laboratory, manufacturing facility or other facility and implemented safety practices and procedures for those individuals who are required to work in our facilities, including but not limited to mandatory health screening, the use of face coverings, physical distancing requirements and increased cleaning protocols, as well as voluntary onsite testing. We also suspended non-essential business travel for our employees and may take further measures as the pandemic continues. In addition, our customer-facing employees in most markets moved and could again need to move to virtual interactions with healthcare providers, administrators, patients, payers, regulators and other government employees. We expect to adopt and implement additional precautions commensurate with any expansion of employees returning to physical locations, and at this time, we cannot predict when certain restrictions that are in place to protect our employees can be further reduced or will no longer be needed. The effects of government-imposed quarantines and our work-from-home policies may negatively impact productivity, or disrupt, delay, or otherwise adversely impact our business. Compliance with governmental measures imposed in response to COVID-19 has caused and will continue to cause us to incur additional costs, and any inability to comply with such measures can subject us to restrictions on our business activities, fines, and other penalties, any of which can adversely affect our business. In addition, the increase in certain of our employees working remotely has amplified certain risks to our business, including increased demand on our information technology resources and systems, increased phishing and other cybersecurity attacks, and any failure to effectively manage these risks, including to timely identify and appropriately respond to any cyberattacks, could adversely impact our business operations.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may experience disruptions that could severely impact our business and operations, including our ability to successfully commercialize our approved products, ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO, and due to the current pandemic, we may not be able to meet expectations with respect to commercial sales. For example, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, product revenues in the second quarter of 2020 for ONPATTRO were less than originally forecast. In addition, we may also experience decreased patient demand for our approved products if current or potential patients decide to delay treatment as a result of the COVID-19 or a future pandemic. For example, in the second quarter of 2020, we experienced a decrease in patient demand in the U.S. due to reduced adherence as some patients skipped doses or experienced dose delays while moving to new sites of care, and additionally experienced reduced requests for genetic testing through our third party genetic testing program resulting in delays in diagnoses of the rare diseases our medicines are approved to treat. In addition, business interruptions from the current or future pandemics, including staffing shortages, production slowdowns and disruptions in delivery systems, may also adversely impact the third parties we or our partners rely
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on in the U.S. and abroad to sufficiently manufacture our approved products and to produce product candidates in quantities we require, which may impair our commercialization efforts, our research and development activities and the potential commercialization of our product candidates.
Additionally, timely completion of pre-clinical activities and initiation of planned clinical trials is dependent upon the availability of, for example, pre-clinical and clinical trial sites, researchers and investigators, patients or healthy volunteer subjects available for recruitment and enrollment, and regulatory agency personnel, which may be adversely affected by global health matters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We are conducting and plan to continue to conduct pre-clinical activities and clinical trials for our drug product candidates in geographies which have been and continue to be affected by COVID-19, and believe that the COVID-19 pandemic will have an impact on various aspects of our ongoing clinical trials and on the clinical trials and pre-clinical studies we expect to initiate in 2021. For example, certain trial sites in some of our ongoing clinical trials were restricted temporarily by the institutions where they are located from scheduling patient visits or permitting onsite monitoring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in some of our ongoing trials, delayed or missed doses of study drug have been reported. In addition, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment delays in our APOLLO-B Phase 3 study of patisiran for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy resulted in a shift in the enrollment completion date from late 2020 into early 2021. Any business interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could also delay necessary interactions with local regulators, ethics committees, manufacturing sites, research or clinical trial sites and other important agencies and contractors, which could adversely impact the clinical trials of our product candidates.
Health regulatory agencies globally may also experience disruptions in their operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may impact review, inspection and approval timelines. Since March 2020, when foreign and domestic inspections of facilities were largely placed on hold, the FDA has been working to resume routine surveillance, bioresearch monitoring and pre-approval inspections on a prioritized basis. The FDA has developed a rating system to assist in determining when and where it is safest to conduct prioritized domestic inspections and resumed inspections in certain countries in early 2021. In April 2021, the FDA issued guidance for industry formally announcing plans to employ remote interactive evaluations, using risk management methods, to meet user fee commitments and goal dates. Should the FDA determine that an inspection is necessary for approval of a marketing application and an inspection cannot be completed during the review cycle due to restrictions on travel, the FDA has stated that it generally intends to issue a complete response letter. Further, if there is inadequate information to make a determination on the acceptability of a facility, the FDA may defer action on the application until an inspection can be completed. For example, in December 2020, the FDA issued a complete response letter regarding Novartis' NDA for inclisiran, stating that the agency could not approve the NDA by the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, action date due to unresolved facility inspection-related conditions. Regulatory authorities outside the U.S. may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and may experience delays in their regulatory activities.
Some factors from the COVID-19 pandemic that may delay or otherwise adversely affect enrollment in and the conduct of the clinical trials of our product candidates, as well as adversely impact our business generally, include:
•the diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials to focus on pandemic concerns, including the availability of materials necessary to conduct of our clinical trials;
•limitations on travel that could interrupt key trial activities, such as clinical trial site initiations and monitoring, domestic and international travel by employees, contractors or patients to clinical trial sites, including any government-imposed travel restrictions or quarantines that will impact the ability or willingness of patients, employees or contractors to travel to our research, manufacturing and clinical trial sites or secure visas or entry permissions, any of which could delay or adversely impact the conduct or progress of our clinical trials; and
•interruption of, or delays in receiving, supplies of our product candidates from our contract manufacturing organizations due to staffing shortages, production slowdowns or stoppages and disruptions in delivery systems.
These and other factors arising from the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen in countries that are already afflicted with COVID-19 or could return to countries where the pandemic has been partially contained, each of which could further adversely impact our ability to conduct clinical trials and our business generally, and could have a material adverse impact on our operations and financial condition and results. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse market event resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic could materially and adversely affect our business and the value of our common stock.
The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, our commercial results, clinical trials, healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole. These effects could have a material impact on our operations, and we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely.
We are an early-stage commercial company and the marketing and sale of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO or any future products may be unsuccessful or less successful than anticipated.
In 2018, our first commercial product, ONPATTRO, was approved by the FDA and EMA, and we have since received approval and launched ONPATTRO in several additional territories. In 2019, the FDA approved our second product,
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GIVLAARI, which was also approved by the EMA and several other regulatory authorities, and in November 2020, the FDA and EMA approved our third product, OXLUMO. While we have commercially launched ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO, we are an early-stage commercial company and there is limited information about our ability to successfully overcome many of the risks and uncertainties encountered by companies commercializing products in the biopharmaceutical industry. We also have several product candidates in late-stage clinical development. To execute our business plan of building a profitable, top 5 biotech company, as measured by market capitalization, over the next 5 years and achieving our P5x25 strategy and the metrics associated with such strategy, in addition to successfully marketing and selling our approved products we will need to successfully:
•execute product development activities and continue to leverage new technologies related to both RNAi and to the delivery of siRNAs to the relevant tissues and cells, including the CNS, eye and lung;
•build and maintain a strong intellectual property portfolio;
•gain regulatory acceptance for the development and commercialization of our product candidates and market success for our approved products, as well as any other products we commercialize;
•attract and retain customers for our products;
•develop and maintain successful strategic alliances; and
•manage our spending as costs and expenses increase due to clinical trials, regulatory approvals and commercialization.
If we are unsuccessful in accomplishing these objectives, we may not be able to develop product candidates, successfully commercialize our approved products or any future products, raise capital, if needed, repay the debt we incurred in 2020 and plan to incur in 2021, expand our business, achieve financial self-sustainability or continue our operations.
We have a history of losses and may never become and remain consistently profitable.
We have experienced significant operating losses since our inception. As of March 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $4.79 billion. Although to date we have launched three products in the U.S., EU and various other countries globally, and expect to launch our commercially approved products in additional countries during 2021 and beyond, we may never attain profitability or positive cash flow from operations. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, we recognized $135.8 million in net product revenues from sales of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO. While our full year 2020 operating loss improved relative to the prior year, marking 2019 as our peak operating loss year, we expect to continue to incur annual net operating losses, and will require substantial resources over the next several years as we expand our efforts to discover, develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics, and aim to achieve self sustainability by the end of 2025. While we believe the funding provided by our strategic financing collaboration with Blackstone should enable us to achieve a self-sustainable profile without the need for future equity financing, we will depend on our ability to generate revenues to achieve this goal. In addition to revenues derived from sales of our current and future, if any, commercially approved products, we anticipate that a portion of any revenues we generate over the next several years will continue to be from alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We cannot be certain that we will be able to maintain our existing alliances or secure and maintain new alliances, or meet the obligations or achieve any milestones that we may be required to meet or achieve to receive payments under our existing or new alliances.
We believe that to become and remain consistently profitable, we must succeed in discovering, developing and commercializing novel drugs with significant market potential. This will require us to build upon the success we have had in a range of challenging activities, including pre-clinical testing and clinical trial stages of development, obtaining regulatory approval and reimbursement for these novel drugs and manufacturing, marketing and selling them. We may never succeed as a commercial company, and may never generate revenues that are significant enough 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. If we cannot become and remain consistently profitable, the market price of our common stock could decline. In addition, we may be unable to raise capital, expand our business, develop additional product candidates or continue our operations.
We will require substantial funds to continue our research, development and commercialization activities and if the funds we require are greater than what we have estimated, we may need to critically limit or significantly scale back or cease our operations.
We have used substantial funds to develop our RNAi technologies and will require substantial funds to conduct further research and development, including pre-clinical testing and clinical trials of our product candidates, and to manufacture, market and sell our three approved products and any other products that are approved for commercial sale. Because the length of time or activities associated with successful development of our product candidates, including vutrisiran, may be greater than we anticipate, we are unable to estimate the actual funds we will require to develop and commercialize them.
We believe 2019 was our peak operating loss year, and believe that our strategic financing collaboration with Blackstone will enable us to achieve a self-sustainable financial profile without need for future equity financing. However, our future capital requirements and the period for which we expect our existing resources to support our operations may vary from what
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we expect. We have based our expectations on a number of factors, many of which are difficult to predict or are outside of our control, including:
•progress in our research and development programs, as well as what may be required by regulatory bodies to advance these programs;
•the timing, receipt and amount of milestone and other payments, if any, from present and future collaborators, if any, including milestone payments related to Leqvio, which is being developed and commercialized by our partner, Novartis;
•our ability to maintain and establish additional collaborative arrangements and/or new business initiatives;
•the resources, time and costs required to successfully initiate and complete our pre-clinical and clinical studies, obtain regulatory approvals, prepare for global commercialization of our product candidates and obtain and maintain licenses to third-party intellectual property;
•our ability to establish, maintain and operate our own manufacturing facilities in a timely and cost-effective manner;
•our ability to manufacture, or contract with third parties for the manufacture of, our product candidates for clinical testing and commercial sale;
•the impact of COVID-19 on the initiation or completion of pre-clinical studies or clinical trials and the supply of our products or product candidates;
•the resources, time and cost required for the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance and enforcement of patent claims;
•the costs associated with legal activities, including litigation and government investigations, arising in the course of our business activities and our ability to prevail or reach a satisfactory result in any such legal disputes and investigations;
•the timing, receipt and amount of sales and royalties, if any, from our approved products and our potential products, if and when approved; and
•the outcome of the regulatory review process and commercial success of drug products for which we are entitled to receive royalties, including Leqvio.
If our estimates, predictions and financial guidance relating to these factors are incorrect, we may need to modify our operating plan and may be required to seek additional funding in the future. We may do so through either collaborative arrangements, public or private equity offerings or debt financings, royalty or other monetization transactions or a combination of one or more of these funding sources. Additional funds may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
In April 2020, we entered into a credit agreement, or Credit Agreement, for up to $750.0 million among us, certain of our subsidiaries (together with us, the Loan Parties), funds or accounts managed or advised by GSO Capital Partners LP (now Blackstone Alternative Credit Advisors LP) and certain other affiliates of Blackstone, and the other lenders from time to time party thereto and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as the administrative agent for the lenders. The Credit Agreement provides for a senior secured delayed draw term loan facility to be funded in three tranches, or Term Loans, each tranche to be requested by certain dates specified in the Credit Agreement, and subject to customary terms and conditions in the case of each tranche. The Term Loans mature seven years from the date of the first draw, and bear interest at a variable rate. All obligations under the Credit Agreement are secured, subject to certain exceptions, by security interests in certain assets, including the intellectual property owned by us relating to ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and vutrisiran, the equity interests held by the Loan Parties in their subsidiaries, all of our ownership of the inclisiran royalty remaining after the royalty purchase and material real property, and certain personal property, including, without limitation, cash held in certain deposit accounts of the Loan Parties and equipment. The Credit Agreement contains negative covenants that, among other things and subject to certain exceptions, could restrict our ability to, incur additional liens, incur additional indebtedness, make investments, including acquisitions, engage in fundamental changes, sell or dispose of assets that constitute collateral, including certain intellectual property, pay dividends or make any distribution or payment on or redeem, retire or purchase any equity interests, amend, modify or waive certain material agreements or organizational documents and make payments of certain subordinated indebtedness. The Credit Agreement also requires us to have consolidated liquidity of at least $100.0 million as of the last day of each fiscal quarter. Additionally, the Credit Agreement contains certain customary representations and warranties, affirmative covenants and provisions relating to events of default. In August 2020, in connection with execution of the funding agreement for the clinical development of vutrisiran and ALN-AGT, or Funding Agreement, we entered into the First Amendment to the Credit Agreement. The First Amendment added certain intellectual property owned by us relating to ALN-AGT as collateral under the Credit Agreement, as amended, and made certain other amendments related thereto and the Funding Agreement. In December 2020, we drew down the first tranche of $200.0 million under the Credit Agreement, as amended. Our ability to satisfy our obligations under the Credit Agreement, as amended, and meet our debt service obligations will depend upon our future performance, which will be subject to financial, business and other factors affecting our operations, many of which are beyond
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our control. If we are unable to secure future borrowings under the term loan facility, we may not be able to replace the financing commitment on favorable terms, or at all.
The terms of any financing we may be required to pursue in the future notwithstanding the funds due or available to us from Blackstone may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, further dilution to our existing stockholders will result. In addition, as a condition to providing additional funding to us, future investors may demand, and may be granted, rights superior to those of existing stockholders. For example, pursuant to our stock purchase agreement with Blackstone, we agreed to register the resale of the shares purchased on a registration statement within 60 days of April 10, 2020, and on June 5, 2020, such registration statement was filed with the SEC. In addition, subject to certain conditions, Blackstone will be entitled to participate in registered underwritten public offerings by us if other selling stockholders are included in the registration.
If we are unable to obtain additional funding on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly delay or curtail one or more of our research or development programs, or delay or curtail the further development of our global commercial infrastructure, and our ability to achieve our long-term strategic goals may be delayed or diminished. We also could be required to seek funds through arrangements with collaborators or others that may require us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies, product candidates or products that we would otherwise pursue on our own.
Although we sold a portion of the expected royalty stream and commercial milestones from the global sales of Leqvio by our collaborator, Novartis, we are entitled to retain the remaining portion of future royalties from the global sales of Leqvio and, if certain specified thresholds are met, to the remaining portion of commercial milestone payments, and any negative developments related to Leqvio could have a material adverse effect on our receipt of those payments.
In April 2020, we sold to Blackstone 50% of the royalties payable to us with respect to net sales by Novartis, its affiliates or sublicensees of Leqvio and 75% of the commercial milestone payments payable to us under the MDCO agreement. If Blackstone does not receive royalty payments in respect of global sales of Leqvio equaling at least $1.00 billion by December 31, 2029, Blackstone’s royalty interest will increase to 55% effective January 1, 2030. Our receipt of future royalty payments and a portion of commercial milestone payments may be negatively impacted if the Leqvio royalty stream and commercial milestones payments are insufficient to meet the specified thresholds. For example, in December 2020, the FDA issued a complete response letter regarding Novartis' NDA for inclisiran, stating that the agency could not approve the NDA by the PDUFA action date due to unresolved facility inspection-related conditions. While Leqvio was granted marketing authorization by the EC in Europe in December 2020, any negative impact to future royalty payments and commercial milestone payments that results from a delayed approval in the U.S. could affect our ability to meet the specified repayment thresholds. Additional factors that may have an adverse effect on the Leqvio royalty stream and commercial milestones include:
•companies working to develop new therapies or alternative formulations of products for ASCVD;
•foreign currency movement, which could have a negative impact on Novartis’ sales of Leqvio, thereby reducing the royalties;
•any negative developments relating to Leqvio, such as safety, efficacy, or reimbursement issues, could reduce demand for Leqvio;
•any disputes concerning patents, proprietary rights, or license and collaboration agreements could negatively impact our receipt of commercial milestone payments or royalties; and
•adverse regulatory or legislative developments could limit or prohibit the sale of Leqvio, such as restrictions on the use of Leqvio or safety-related label changes, including enhanced risk management programs, which may significantly reduce expected royalty revenue and commercial milestone payments and could require significant expense to address the associated legal and regulatory issues.
If the revenues generated by sales of Leqvio are lower than expected, our business could be materially adversely affected.
We expect our operating results to fluctuate in future periods, which may adversely affect our stock price.
Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated in the past, and we believe they will continue to do so in the future. Our operating results may fluctuate due to the impact of the COVID-19 or a future pandemic, the level of success of our commercial efforts and resulting revenues, as well as the variable nature of our operating expenses as a result of the timing and magnitude of expenditures. For example, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, product revenues in the second quarter of 2020 for ONPATTRO were less than originally forecast. In addition, in one or more future periods, our results of operations may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. In that event, the market price of our common stock could substantially decline.
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If the estimates we make, or the assumptions on which we rely, in preparing our condensed consolidated financial statements and/or our projected guidance prove inaccurate, our actual results may vary from those reflected in our projections and accruals.
Our condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of our assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, the amounts of charges accrued by us and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. We cannot assure you, however, that our estimates, or the assumptions underlying them, will be correct.
Further, from time to time we issue financial guidance relating to our expectations regarding our non-GAAP research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses, and expectations for our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities available for operations, which guidance is based on estimates and the judgment of management. If, for any reason, our expenses differ materially from our guidance or we utilize our cash more quickly than anticipated, we may have to adjust our publicly announced financial guidance. If we fail to meet, or if we are required to change or update any element of, our publicly disclosed financial guidance or other expectations about our business, our stock price could decline.
The investment of our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities is subject to risks which may cause losses and affect the liquidity of these investments.
As of March 31, 2021, we had $1.71 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. We historically have invested these amounts in high–grade corporate notes, commercial paper, securities issued or sponsored by the U.S. government, certificates of deposit and money market funds meeting the criteria of our investment policy, which is focused on the preservation of our capital. Corporate notes may also include foreign bonds denominated in U.S. dollars. These investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks. We may realize losses in the fair value of these investments or a complete loss of these investments, which would have a negative effect on our consolidated financial statements. In addition, should our investments cease paying or reduce the amount of interest paid to us, our interest income would suffer. The market risks associated with our investment portfolio may have an adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.
Changes in tax law could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Our business is subject to numerous international, federal, state, and other governmental laws, rules, and regulations that may adversely affect our operating results, including, taxation and tax policy changes, tax rate changes, new tax laws, or revised tax law interpretations, which individually or in combination may cause our effective tax rate to increase. In the U.S., the rules dealing with federal, state, and local income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department. Changes to tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application) could adversely affect us or holders of our common stock. In recent years, many such changes have been made and changes are likely to continue to occur in the future. For example, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, enacted in March 2020, which included certain changes in tax law intended to stimulate the U.S. economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including temporary changes to the treatment of net operating losses, interest deductibility limitations and payroll tax matters. Future changes in tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, financial condition or results of operations.
Additionally, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, the EC, and individual taxing jurisdictions where we and our affiliates do business have recently focused on issues related to the taxation of multinational corporations. The OECD has released its comprehensive plan to create an agreed set of international rules for fighting base erosion and profit shifting. In addition, the OECD, the EC and individual counties are examining changes to how taxing rights should be allocated among countries considering the digital economy. As a result, the tax laws in the U.S. and other countries in which we and our affiliates do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis and any such changes could materially adversely affect our business.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We may not be able to execute our business strategy if we are unable to maintain existing or enter into new alliances with other companies that can provide business and scientific capabilities and funds for the development and commercialization of our product candidates. If we are unsuccessful in forming or maintaining these alliances on terms favorable to us, our business may not succeed.
We are continuing to advance our commercial capabilities, including in marketing, sales, market access and distribution, to support our wholly-owned products. We also continue to advance our growing pipeline of RNAi therapeutic opportunities. However, we may not have adequate capacity or capabilities to advance all of our therapeutic opportunities. Accordingly, we have entered into alliances with other companies and collaborators that we believe can provide such capabilities in certain territories and/or for certain product candidates, and we intend to enter into additional such alliances in the future. Our collaboration strategy is to form alliances that create significant value for us and our collaborators in the advancement of RNAi
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therapeutics as a new class of innovative medicines. Specifically, with respect to our Genetic Medicine pipeline, as a result of our broad strategic alliance with Sanofi Genzyme formed in 2014, Sanofi Genzyme has the right to develop and commercialize fitusiran globally. In addition, we formed a collaboration with MDCO (which was acquired by Novartis in January 2020) to advance inclisiran. In March 2018, we entered into a discovery collaboration with Regeneron to identify RNAi therapeutics for NASH and potentially other related diseases, and in November 2018, we and Regeneron entered into a separate, fifty-fifty collaboration to further research, co-develop and commercialize any therapeutic product candidates that emerge from these discovery efforts. In October 2017, we announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Vir for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics for infectious diseases, including chronic HBV infection, and in early 2020, we expanded our exclusive licensing agreement to include the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, as well as up to three human host factor targets relating to susceptibility to coronaviruses, for use in connection with the treatment, palliation, diagnosis or prevention of SARS-CoV-2 and other diseases caused by coronaviruses. In April 2020, we entered into a development and commercialization collaboration with Dicerna to advance investigational RNAi therapeutics for the treatment of alpha-1 liver disease. With respect to our CNS/Ocular Disease pipeline, in April 2019, we announced a global, strategic collaboration with Regeneron to discover, develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics for a broad range of diseases by addressing therapeutic targets expressed in the eye and CNS, in addition to a select number of targets expressed in the liver.
In such alliances, we expect our current, and may expect our future, collaborators to provide substantial capabilities in clinical development, regulatory affairs, and/or marketing, sales and distribution. Under certain of our alliances, we also may expect our collaborators to develop, market and/or sell certain of our product candidates. We may have limited or no control over the development, sales, marketing and distribution activities of these third parties. Our future revenues may depend heavily on the success of the efforts of these third parties. For example, we will rely entirely on (i) Regeneron for the development and commercialization of all programs targeting eye diseases (subject to limited exceptions), and potentially other CNS and liver programs, (ii) Novartis for all future development and commercialization of Leqvio worldwide, and (iii) Sanofi Genzyme for the development and commercialization of fitusiran worldwide. In the case of each such collaboration referenced in clauses (i)-(iii) above, we are entitled to royalties on the sales of each of these products. If our collaborators are not successful in their development and/or commercialization efforts, our future revenues from RNAi therapeutics for these indications may be adversely affected. For example, while Leqvio was granted marketing authorization by the EC in Europe, in December 2020, Novartis received a complete response letter from the FDA stating that the agency could not approve the NDA by the PDUFA action date due to unresolved facility inspection-related conditions, which will likely delay the launch of Leqvio in the U.S. If the revenues generated by the royalties received by Blackstone from us with respect to Leqvio sales do not reach a certain level by the end of 2029, Blackstone will be entitled to a higher royalty percentage beginning in 2030, which would have an adverse impact on our revenues beginning in 2030.
We may not be successful in entering into future alliances on terms favorable to us due to various factors, including our ability to successfully demonstrate POC for our technology in humans in certain tissues or disease areas, including our alternative conjugate approach for delivering CNS or ocular product candidates, our ability to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our specific drug candidates, our ability to manufacture or have third parties manufacture RNAi therapeutics, the strength of our intellectual property and/or concerns around challenges to our intellectual property. For example, our decision in October 2016 to discontinue development of revusiran could give rise to concerns around the safety and/or efficacy of our technology platform or product candidates. In addition, the occurrence of a fatal thrombotic SAE in our fitusiran study in 2017 and a subsequent pause in dosing and enrollment in fitusiran clinical studies in 2020 could contribute to further concerns about the safety of specific therapeutic candidates or therapeutic candidates for specific diseases. Even when we succeed in securing such alliances, we may not be able to maintain them if, for example, development or approval of a product candidate is delayed, challenges are raised as to the validity or scope of our intellectual property, we are unable to secure adequate reimbursement from payors or sales of an approved drug are lower than we expected.
Furthermore, any delay in entering into collaboration agreements would likely either delay the development and commercialization of certain of our product candidates and reduce their competitiveness even if they reach the market, or prevent the development of certain product candidates. Any such delay related to our collaborations could adversely affect our business.
For certain product candidates, we have formed collaborations to fund all or part of the costs of drug development and commercialization, such as our collaborations with Regeneron, Novartis, Vir, Dicerna and Sanofi Genzyme. We may not, however, be able to enter into additional collaborations for certain other programs, and the terms of any collaboration agreement we do secure may not be favorable to us. If we are not successful in our efforts to enter into future collaboration arrangements with respect to one or more of our product candidates, we may not have sufficient funds to develop these product candidates or other product candidates internally, or to bring our product candidates to market. If we do not have sufficient funds to develop and bring our product candidates to market, we will not be able to generate revenues from these product candidates, and this will substantially harm our business.
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If any collaborator materially amends, terminates or fails to perform its obligations under agreements with us, the development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed or terminated.
Our dependence on collaborators for capabilities and funding means that our business could be adversely affected if any collaborator materially amends or terminates its collaboration agreement with us or fails to perform its obligations under that agreement. Our current or future collaborations, if any, may not be scientifically or commercially successful. Disputes may arise in the future with respect to the ownership of rights to technology or products developed with collaborators, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to develop and commercialize any affected product candidate. Our current collaborations allow, and we expect that any future collaborations will allow, either party to terminate the collaboration for a material breach by the other party. In addition, our collaborators may have additional termination rights for convenience with respect to the collaboration or a particular program under the collaboration, under certain circumstances. For example, our agreement with MDCO, which was acquired by Novartis in January 2020, relating to the development and commercialization of inclisiran worldwide may be terminated by MDCO at any time upon four months’ prior written notice, provided if the agreement is terminated by MDCO for convenience, MDCO has agreed to grant a license to us under certain of our technology developed in the course of MDCO's activities under the agreement, subject to a royalty to be negotiated between the parties. Moreover, any adverse actions by Novartis with respect to the MDCO agreement could adversely impact our ability to comply with our obligations under our agreements with Blackstone. If we were to lose a commercialization collaborator, we would have to attract a new collaborator or develop expanded sales, distribution and marketing capabilities internally, which would require us to invest significant amounts of financial and management resources.
In addition, if we have a dispute with a collaborator over the ownership of technology or other matters, or if a collaborator terminates its collaboration with us, for breach or otherwise, or determines not to pursue the research, development and/or commercialization of RNAi therapeutics, it could delay our development of product candidates, result in the need for additional company resources to develop product candidates, require us to expend time and resources to develop expanded sales and marketing capabilities on a more expedited timeline, make it more difficult for us to attract new collaborators and could adversely affect how we are perceived in the business and financial communities.
Moreover, a collaborator, or in the event of a change in control of a collaborator or the assignment of a collaboration agreement to a third party, the successor entity or assignee, as in the case of MDCO and Novartis, could determine that it is in its interests to:
•pursue alternative technologies or develop alternative products, either on its own or jointly with others, that may be competitive with the products on which it is collaborating with us or which could affect its commitment to the collaboration with us;
•pursue higher-priority programs or change the focus of its development programs, which could affect the collaborator’s commitment to us; or
•if it has marketing rights, choose to devote fewer resources to the marketing of our product candidates, if any are approved for marketing, than it does for product candidates developed without us.
If any of these occur, the development and commercialization of one or more products or product candidates could be delayed, curtailed or terminated because we may not have sufficient financial resources or capabilities to continue such development and commercialization on our own.
We have limited manufacturing experience and resources and we must incur significant costs to develop this expertise and/or rely on third parties to manufacture our products.
We have limited manufacturing experience. In order to continue to commercialize our approved products, continue to develop our current product candidates, including vutrisiran, apply for regulatory approvals and, if approved, commercialize future products, we will need to develop, contract for, or otherwise arrange for the necessary manufacturing capabilities. Historically, our internal manufacturing capabilities were limited to small-scale production of material for use in in vitro and in vivo experiments that is not required to be produced under cGMP standards. During 2012, we developed cGMP capabilities and processes for the manufacture of patisiran formulated bulk drug product for late stage clinical trial use and commercial supply. In addition, during 2020, we completed construction and qualification of our cGMP manufacturing facility in Norton, Massachusetts where we will manufacture drug substance for clinical and, eventually, commercial use. In December 2020, we began cGMP operations, and we believe this facility will enable us to initiate manufacturing for multiple new early-stage programs over the next few years, as well as provide us the manufacturing capabilities to support our late-stage and commercial programs in the future.
At the present time, we may manufacture limited quantities of clinical trial materials ourselves, but otherwise we continue to rely on third parties to manufacture the drug substance and finished product we will require for any clinical trials that we initiate and to support the commercial supply of our approved products and any of our other product candidates. There are a limited number of manufacturers that supply synthetic siRNAs. We currently rely on a limited number of CMOs for our supply of synthetic siRNAs. There are risks inherent in pharmaceutical manufacturing that could affect the ability of our contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, to meet our delivery time requirements or provide adequate amounts of material to
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meet our needs, and ultimately delay our clinical trials and potentially put at risk commercial supply, as well as result in additional expense to us. To fulfill our siRNA requirements, we will likely need to secure alternative suppliers of synthetic siRNAs and such alternative suppliers are limited and may not be readily available, or we may be unable to enter into agreements with them on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. As noted above, in order to ensure long-term supply capabilities for our RNAi therapeutics, we are developing our own capabilities to manufacture drug substance for clinical and commercial use.
In addition to the manufacture of the synthetic siRNAs, we may have additional manufacturing requirements related to the technology required to deliver the siRNA to the relevant cell or tissue type, such as LNPs or conjugates. In some cases, the delivery technology we utilize is highly specialized or proprietary, and for technical and/or legal reasons, we may have access to only one or a limited number of potential manufacturers for such delivery technology. In addition, the scale-up of our delivery technologies could be very difficult and/or take significant time. We also have very limited experience in such scale-up and manufacturing, requiring us to depend on a limited number of third parties, who might not be able to deliver in a timely manner, or at all. Failure by manufacturers to properly manufacture our delivery technology and/or formulate our siRNAs for delivery could result in unusable product, supply delays and shortages. Furthermore, competition for supply from our manufacturers from other companies, a breach by such manufacturers of their contractual obligations or a dispute with such manufacturers would cause delays in our discovery and development efforts, as well as additional expense to us. The CARES Act was enacted in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the CARES Act, manufacturers must have in place a risk management plan that identifies and evaluates the risks to the supply of approved drugs for certain serious diseases or conditions for each establishment where the drug or active pharmaceutical ingredient is manufactured. The risk management plan will be subject to FDA review during an inspection. If we experience shortages in the supply of our marketed products, our results could be materially impacted. To date, several vaccines for COVID-19 have been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA, and the resultant demand for vaccines and potential for manufacturing facilities and materials to be commandeered under the Defense Production Act of 1950, or equivalent foreign legislation, may make it more difficult to obtain materials or manufacturing slots for the products needed for our clinical trials or commercial products, which could lead to delays in these trials or issues with our commercial supply.
In developing manufacturing capabilities by building our own manufacturing facilities, we have incurred substantial expenditures, and expect to incur significant additional expenditures in the future. Also, we have had to, and will likely need to continue to, hire and train qualified employees to staff our facilities. If we are unable to manufacture sufficient quantities of material or if we encounter problems with our facilities in the future, we may also need to secure alternative suppliers, and such alternative suppliers may not be available, or we may be unable to enter into agreements with them on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. Given our dependence on a limited number of CMOs to supply our commercial products and clinical candidates, and our dependence on our own facility, any delay in supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could impact our ability to procure sufficient supplies for our approved products, and the development of our product candidates could also be delayed. Any delay or setback in the manufacture of our approved products could impede ongoing commercial supply, which could significantly impact our revenues and operating results. In addition, to the extent we or our partners rely on CMOs outside of the U.S. to supply drug substance for our product candidates, any delays or disruptions in supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse impact on the research and development activities and potential commercialization of our or our partners' product candidates.
The manufacturing process for our approved products and any other products that we may develop, is subject to the FDA and foreign regulatory authority approval process and we will need to meet, and will need to contract with CMOs who can meet, all applicable FDA and foreign regulatory authority requirements on an ongoing basis. In addition, if we receive the necessary regulatory approval for any product candidate, we also expect to rely on third parties, including potentially our commercial collaborators, to produce materials required for commercial supply. We may experience difficulty in obtaining adequate manufacturing capacity for our needs and the needs of our collaborators, who we have, in some instances, the obligation to supply. If we are unable to obtain or maintain CMOs for our product candidates and/or our marketed products, or to do so on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to successfully develop and commercialize our products.
To the extent that we have existing, or enter into future, manufacturing arrangements with third parties, we depend, and will depend in the future, on these third parties, to perform their obligations in a timely manner and consistent with contractual and regulatory requirements, including those related to quality control and quality assurance. The failure of any CMO to perform its obligations as expected, or, to the extent we manufacture all or a portion of our product candidates ourselves, our failure to execute on our manufacturing requirements, could adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including:
•we or our current or future collaborators may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials of product candidates that are under development;
•we or our current or future collaborators may be delayed in submitting regulatory applications, or receiving regulatory approvals, for our product candidates;
•we may lose the cooperation of our collaborators;
•our facilities and those of our CMOs, and our products could be the subject of inspections by regulatory authorities that could have a negative outcome and result in delays in supply;
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•we may be required to cease distribution or recall some or all batches of our products or take action to recover clinical trial material from clinical trial sites; and
•ultimately, we may not be able to meet commercial demands for our products.
We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, and if they fail to fulfill their obligations, our development plans may be adversely affected.
We rely on independent clinical investigators, contract research organizations, or CROs, and other third-party service providers to assist us in managing, monitoring and otherwise carrying out our clinical trials. We have contracted, and we plan to continue to contract with, certain third parties to provide certain services, including site selection, enrollment, monitoring, auditing and data management services. These investigators and CROs are not our employees and we have limited control over the amount of time and resources they dedicate to our programs. These third parties may have contractual relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors, which may draw their time and resources away from our programs. Although we depend heavily on these parties, we control only certain aspects of their activity and therefore, we cannot be assured that these third parties will adequately perform all of their contractual obligations to us in compliance with regulatory and other legal requirements and our internal policies and procedures. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our CROs are required to comply with applicable GCP requirements, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in clinical development, and to implement timely corrective action to any non-compliance. Regulatory authorities enforce these GCP requirements through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites, including in connection with the review of marketing applications. If we or any of our CROs fail to comply with applicable GCP requirements, or fail to take any such corrective action, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, the EMA, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency in Japan or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to take additional action or perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority in the future, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with GCP regulations.
If our third-party service providers cannot adequately and timely fulfill their obligations to us for any reason, including due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations or at the sites they are overseeing, or if the quality and accuracy of our clinical trial data is compromised due to failure by such third party to adhere to our protocols or regulatory requirements or if such third parties otherwise fail to meet deadlines, our development plans and/or regulatory reviews for marketing approvals may be delayed or terminated. As a result, our stock price would likely be negatively impacted, and our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate additional revenues could be delayed.
Risks Related to Managing Our Operations
If we are unable to attract and retain qualified key management and scientists, development, medical and commercial staff, consultants and advisors, our ability to implement our business plan may be adversely affected.
We are highly dependent upon our senior management and our scientific, clinical, sales and medical staff. The loss of the service of any of the members of our senior management, including Dr. John Maraganore, our Chief Executive Officer, may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of product development and commercialization, and other business objectives. Our employment arrangements with our key personnel are terminable without notice. We do not carry key person life insurance on any of our employees.
We have grown our workforce significantly over the past several years and anticipate continuing to add additional employees as we focus on achieving our Alnylam P5x25 strategy. We face intense competition for qualified individuals from numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, governmental entities and other research institutions, many of which have substantially greater resources with which to attract and reward qualified individuals than we do. In addition, due to the risks associated with developing a new class of medicine, we may face additional challenges in attracting and retaining employees. If we are not successful commercializing our approved products, we may be unable to attract and retain highly qualified sales and marketing professionals to support our approved products and our future products, if approved, including vutrisiran. Accordingly, we may be unable to attract and retain suitably qualified individuals in order to support our growing research, development and global commercialization efforts and initiatives, and our failure to do so could have an adverse effect on our ability to implement our future business plans.
We may have difficulty expanding our operations successfully as we continue our evolution from a U.S.- and EU-based company primarily involved in discovery, pre-clinical testing and clinical development into a global company that develops and commercializes multiple drugs.
As we continue the commercial launches of our approved products, and increase the number of product candidates we are developing, we will need to continue to expand our operations in the U.S. and further develop operations in the EU and other geographies, including Asia and Latin America. To date, we have received regulatory approval for ONPATTRO in the U.S.,
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EU, Japan and other countries globally, and as a result of the January 2018 amendment to our Sanofi Genzyme collaboration, we have global development and commercialization rights for ONPATTRO. In addition, we have received regulatory approval for our second RNAi therapeutic, GIVLAARI in the U.S., EU, Brazil, Canada and have also filed for marketing approval in Switzerland and Japan. In November 2020, we received regulatory approval for our third RNAi therapeutic, OXLUMO in the U.S. and EU. We plan to file for additional regulatory approvals for each of our commercially approved products in additional countries during 2021 and beyond.
From 2016 through 2020, we grew our workforce significantly and anticipate continuing to hire additional employees globally in the future as we focus on the commercialization of ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO and achieving our Alnylam P5x25 strategy. This growth has placed a strain on our administrative and operational infrastructure and, as a result, we will need to continue to develop additional and/or new infrastructure and capabilities to support our growth and obtain additional space to conduct our global operations in the U.S., the EU, Japan, Latin America and other geographies. If we are unable to develop such additional infrastructure or obtain sufficient space to accommodate our growth in a timely manner and on commercially reasonable terms, our business could be negatively impacted. As we continue the commercialization of our approved products, and as the product candidates we develop enter and advance through clinical trials, we will need to continue to expand our global development, regulatory, manufacturing, quality, compliance, and marketing and sales capabilities, or contract with other organizations to provide these capabilities for us. In addition, as our operations continue to expand, we will need to successfully manage additional relationships with various collaborators, suppliers, distributors and other organizations. Our ability to manage our operations and future growth will require us to continue to enhance our operational, financial and management controls and systems, reporting systems and infrastructure, and policies and procedures. We may not be able to implement enhancements to our management information and control systems in an efficient or timely manner and may discover deficiencies in existing systems and controls.
The increasing use of social media could give rise to liability.
Social media is increasingly being used to communicate about our clinical development programs and the diseases our investigational RNAi therapeutics are being developed to treat, and we are utilizing what we believe is appropriate social media in connection with our commercialization efforts for our approved products, and we intend to do the same for our future products, if approved, including vutrisiran. Social media practices in the biopharmaceutical industry continue to evolve and regulations and regulatory guidance relating to such use are evolving and not always clear. This evolution creates uncertainty and risk of noncompliance with regulations applicable to our business, resulting in potential regulatory actions against us, along with the potential for litigation related to off-label marketing or other prohibited activities. For example, for our clinical-stage candidates, patients may use social media channels to comment on their experience in an ongoing blinded clinical study or to report an alleged AE. When such disclosures occur, there is a risk that study enrollment may be adversely impacted, we fail to monitor and comply with applicable AE reporting obligations or that we may not be able to defend our business or the public’s legitimate interests in the face of the political and market pressures generated by social media due to restrictions on what we may say about our investigational products. There is also a risk of inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information or negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us on any online platform, including a blog on the internet, or a post on a website, that can be distributed rapidly and could negatively harm our reputation. If any of these events were to occur or we otherwise fail to comply with applicable regulations, we could incur liability, face regulatory actions or incur other harm to our business.
Our business and operations could suffer in the event of system failures or unauthorized or inappropriate use of or access to our systems.
We are increasingly dependent on our information technology systems and infrastructure for our business. We collect, store and transmit sensitive information including intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information in connection with business operations. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Some of this information could be an attractive target of criminal attack or unauthorized access and use by third parties with a wide range of motives and expertise, including organized criminal groups, “hacktivists,” patient groups, disgruntled current or former employees and others. Cyber-attacks are of ever-increasing levels of sophistication, and despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to such attacks or may be breached, including due to employee error or malfeasance.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, unauthorized or inappropriate access or use, natural disasters, pandemics (including COVID-19), terrorism, war, and telecommunication and electrical failures. Such events could cause interruption of our operations. For example, the loss of pre-clinical trial data or data from completed or ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates could result in delays in our regulatory filings and development efforts, as well as delays in the commercialization of our products, and significantly increase our costs. To the extent that any disruption, security breach or unauthorized or inappropriate use or access to our systems were to result in a loss of or damage to our data, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, including but not limited to patient, employee or vendor information, we could incur notification obligations to affected individuals and government agencies, liability, including potential lawsuits from patients, collaborators, employees, stockholders or other third parties and liability under foreign, federal and state laws that
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protect the privacy and security of personal information, and the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed.
The results of the United Kingdom’s referendum on withdrawal from the EU may have a negative effect on global economic conditions, financial markets and our business.
Following the results of a referendum in 2016, the United Kingdom, or UK, left the EU on January 31, 2020, commonly referred to as “Brexit.” Pursuant to the formal withdrawal arrangements agreed between the UK and the EU, the UK was subject to a transition period until December 31, 2020, or the Transition Period, during which EU rules continued to apply, while the future relationship between the UK and EU was formally negotiated. The UK and the EU have signed a EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which became provisionally applicable on January 1, 2021 and will become formally applicable once ratified by both the UK and the EU. This agreement provides details on how some aspects of the UK and EU’s relationship will operate going forwards, however there are still many uncertainties. The long-term effects of Brexit will depend in part on how the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and any future agreements signed by the UK and the EU, take effect in practice. Such a withdrawal from the EU is unprecedented, and it is unclear how the restrictions on the UK’s access to the European single market for goods, capital, services and labor within the EU and the wider commercial, legal and regulatory environment, could impact our current and future operations and clinical activities in the UK.
For example, Brexit could result in the UK significantly altering its regulations affecting the clearance or approval of our product candidates that are developed in the UK, now that UK legislation has the potential to diverge from EU legislation. Any new regulations could add time and expense to the conduct of our business, as well as the process by which our products receive regulatory approval in the UK, the EU and elsewhere. The uncertainty concerning the UK’s legal, political and economic relationship with the EU following Brexit may also be a source of instability in the international markets, create significant currency fluctuations, and/or otherwise adversely affect trading agreements or similar cross-border co-operation arrangements (whether economic, tax, fiscal, legal, regulatory or otherwise). Any of these effects of Brexit, among others, could adversely affect our business, our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Industry
Risks Related to Development, Clinical Testing and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates and the Commercialization of Our Approved Products
Any product candidates we or our partners develop may fail in development or be delayed to a point where they do not become commercially viable.
Before obtaining regulatory approval for the commercial distribution of our product candidates, we must conduct, at our own expense, extensive nonclinical tests and clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and/or efficacy in humans of our product candidates. Nonclinical and clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is uncertain as to outcome, and the historical failure rate for product candidates is high. We currently have multiple programs in clinical development, including internal and partnered programs in Phase 3 development, as well as several earlier-stage clinical programs. In January 2021, we announced positive topline results from the HELIOS-A Phase 3 study of vutrisiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic in development for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis. Based on these positive results, we submitted an NDA for vutrisiran with the FDA in April 2021. We also expect to submit an MAA in the EU upon obtaining the topline results from the 18-month analysis, which are expected in late 2021. However, we may not be able to further advance this or any other product candidate through clinical trials and regulatory approval.
Additionally, several of our planned and ongoing clinical trials, such as our HELIOS-A study, utilize an “open-label” trial design. An “open-label” clinical trial is one where both the patient and investigator know whether the patient is receiving the investigational product candidate or either an existing approved drug or placebo. Most typically, open-label clinical trials test only the investigational product candidate and sometimes may do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as patients in open-label clinical trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. Open-label clinical trials may be subject to a “patient bias” where patients perceive their symptoms to have improved merely due to their awareness of receiving an experimental treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may be subject to an “investigator bias” where those assessing and reviewing the physiological outcomes of the clinical trials are aware of which patients have received treatment and may interpret the information of the treated group more favorably given this knowledge. The results from an open-label trial may not be predictive of future clinical trial results with any of our product candidates for which we include an open-label clinical trial when studied in a controlled environment with a placebo or active control.
If we enter into clinical trials, the results from nonclinical testing or early clinical trials of a product candidate may not predict the results that will be obtained in subsequent subjects or in subsequent human clinical trials of that product candidate or any other product candidate. There is a high failure rate for drugs proceeding through clinical studies. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in clinical development even after achieving promising results in earlier studies, and any such setbacks in our clinical development could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Moreover, our approved products and our current product candidates, employ
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novel delivery technologies that, with the exception of inclisiran, have yet to be extensively evaluated in human clinical trials and proven safe and effective.
In addition, we, the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities, or an IRB or similar foreign review board or committee, may delay initiation of or suspend clinical trials of a product candidate at any time for various reasons, including if we or they believe the healthy volunteer subjects or patients participating in such trials are being exposed to unacceptable health risks. Among other reasons, adverse side effects of a product candidate or related product on healthy volunteer subjects or patients in a clinical trial could result in our decision, or a decision by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, to suspend or terminate the trial, or, in the case of regulatory agencies, a refusal to approve a particular product candidate for any or all indications of use. For example, in October 2016, we announced our decision to discontinue development of revusiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic that was being developed for the treatment of patients with cardiomyopathy due to hATTR amyloidosis. Our decision followed the recommendation of the revusiran ENDEAVOUR Phase 3 study Data Monitoring Committee to suspend dosing and the observation of an imbalance in mortality in revusiran-treated patients as compared to those on placebo.
Clinical trials of a new product candidate require the enrollment of a sufficient number of patients, including patients who are suffering from the disease the product candidate is intended to treat and who meet other eligibility criteria. Rates of patient enrollment are affected by many factors, including the size of the patient population, the age and condition of the patients, the stage and severity of disease, the availability of clinical trials for other investigational drugs for the same disease or condition, the nature of the protocol, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the availability of effective treatments for the relevant disease, and the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial. For example, we or our partners may experience difficulty enrolling our clinical trials, including, but not limited to, the ongoing clinical trials for fitusiran, due to the availability of existing approved treatments, as well as other investigational treatments in development. In addition, in November 2018 we announced that due to recruitment challenges, we had discontinued a Phase 2 study of cemdisiran in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome and are focusing our cemdisiran clinical development efforts in a different indication. Delays or difficulties in patient enrollment or difficulties retaining trial participants, including as a result of the availability of existing or other investigational treatments or safety concerns, including the impact of public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can result in increased costs, longer development times or termination of a clinical trial.
Although our investigational RNAi therapeutics have been generally well-tolerated in our clinical trials to date, new safety findings may emerge. For example, in September 2017, we announced that we had temporarily suspended dosing in all ongoing fitusiran studies pending further review of a fatal thrombotic SAE that occurred in a patient with hemophilia A without inhibitors who was receiving fitusiran in our Phase 2 OLE study. More recently, in October 2020, Sanofi Genzyme announced that it voluntarily paused dosing in all ongoing fitusiran clinical studies to assess reports of non-fatal thrombotic events in patients participating in the ATLAS Phase 3 program. Following an assessment of available data and alignment with the FDA in December 2020, Sanofi Genzyme announced in February 2021 that patients had been restarted on fitusiran under amended protocols in ongoing adolescent and adult clinical studies, resulting in an estimated 18-month delay in the timing of Sanofi Genzyme's planned filing for regulatory approval of fitusiran, subject to positive Phase 3 results.
As demonstrated by the discontinuation of our revusiran program in October 2016, the temporary suspension of dosing in September 2017 in our fitusiran studies, as well as Sanofi Genzyme's voluntary pause of fitusiran studies in October 2020, the occurrence of SAEs and/or adverse events, or AEs, can result in the suspension or termination of clinical trials of a product candidate by us, our partners, or the FDA or a foreign regulatory authority. The occurrence of SAEs and/or AEs could also result in refusal by the FDA or a foreign regulatory authority to approve a particular product candidate for any or all indications of use.
Clinical trials also require the review, oversight and approval of institutional review boards, or IRBs, or, outside of the U.S., an independent ethics committee, which continually review clinical investigations and protect the rights and welfare of human subjects. Inability to obtain or delay in obtaining IRB or ethics committee approval can prevent or delay the initiation and completion of clinical trials, and the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may decide not to consider any data or information derived from a clinical investigation not subject to initial and continuing IRB or ethics committee review and approval, as the case may be, in support of a marketing application.
Our product candidates that we develop may encounter problems during clinical trials that will cause us, an IRB, ethics committee or regulatory authorities to delay, suspend or terminate these trials, or that will delay or confound the analysis of data from these trials. If we experience any such problems, we may not have the financial resources to continue development of the product candidate that is affected, or development of any of our other product candidates. We may also lose, or be unable to enter into, collaborative arrangements for the affected product candidate and for other product candidates we are developing.
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A failure of one or more of our clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, nonclinical testing and the clinical trial process that could delay or prevent regulatory approval or our ability to commercialize our product candidates, including:
•our nonclinical tests or clinical trials may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional nonclinical testing or clinical trials, or we may abandon projects that we expect to be promising;
•delays in filing IND applications or comparable foreign applications or delays or failure in obtaining the necessary approvals from regulators or IRBs/ethics committees in order to commence a clinical trial at a prospective trial site, or their suspension or termination of a clinical trial once commenced;
•conditions imposed on us by an IRB or ethics committee, or the FDA or comparable foreign authorities regarding the scope or design of our clinical trials;
•problems in engaging IRBs or ethics committees to oversee clinical trials or problems in obtaining or maintaining IRB or ethics committee approval of trials;
•delays in enrolling patients and volunteers into clinical trials, and variability in the number and types of patients and volunteers available for clinical trials, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;
•disruptions caused by man-made or natural disasters or public health pandemics or epidemics or other business interruptions, including the current COVID-19 pandemic;
•high drop-out rates for patients and volunteers in clinical trials;
•negative or inconclusive results from our clinical trials or the clinical trials of others for product candidates similar to ours;
•inadequate supply or quality of product candidate materials or other materials necessary for the conduct of our clinical trials or disruption or delays in the clinical supply due to the COVID-19 or a future pandemic;
•greater than anticipated clinical trial costs;
•serious and unexpected drug-related side effects experienced by participants in our clinical trials or by individuals using drugs similar to our product candidates;
•poor or disappointing effectiveness of our product candidates during clinical trials;
•unfavorable FDA or other regulatory agency inspection and review of a clinical trial site or records of any clinical or nonclinical investigation;
•failure of our third-party contractors or investigators to comply with regulatory requirements, including GCP and cGMP, or otherwise meet their contractual obligations in a timely manner, or at all;
•governmental or regulatory delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines, including the imposition of additional regulatory oversight around clinical testing generally or with respect to our technology in particular; or
•interpretations of data by the FDA and similar foreign regulatory agencies that differ from ours.
Even if we successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates, any given product candidate may not prove to be a safe and effective treatment for the disease for which it was being tested.
We or our partners may be unable to obtain U.S. or foreign regulatory approval for our or our partnered product candidates and, as a result, we or our partners may be unable to commercialize such product candidates.
Our and our partnered product candidates are subject to extensive governmental regulations relating to, among other things, research, testing, development, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, approval, recordkeeping, reporting, labeling, storage, pricing, marketing and distribution of drugs. Rigorous nonclinical testing and clinical trials and an extensive regulatory approval process are required to be successfully completed in the U.S. and in many foreign jurisdictions before a new drug can be marketed. Satisfaction of these and other regulatory requirements is costly, time consuming, uncertain and subject to unanticipated delays. It is possible that the product candidates we and our partners are developing will not obtain the regulatory approvals necessary for us or our collaborators to begin selling them.
The time required to obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials, depending upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidate. The standards that the FDA and its foreign counterparts use when regulating us are not always applied predictably or uniformly and can change. Any analysis we perform of data from nonclinical and clinical activities is subject to confirmation and interpretation by regulatory authorities, which could delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. We or our partners may also encounter unexpected delays or increased costs due to new government regulations, for example, from future legislation or administrative
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action, or from changes in FDA policy during the period of product development, clinical trials and FDA regulatory review. It is impossible to predict whether legislative changes will be enacted, or whether FDA or foreign regulations, guidance or interpretations will be changed, or what the impact of such changes, if any, may be.
Because the drugs we or our partners are developing represent a new class of drug, the FDA and its foreign counterparts have not yet established any definitive policies, practices or guidelines in relation to these drugs. The lack of policies, practices or guidelines may hinder or slow review by the FDA of any regulatory filings that we or our partners may submit. Moreover, the FDA may respond to these submissions by defining requirements we or our partners may not have anticipated. Such responses could lead to significant delays in the development of our or our partnered product candidates. In addition, because there may be approved treatments for some of the diseases for which we or our partners may seek approval, or treatments in development which are approved by the time we or they apply for approval, in order to receive regulatory approval, we or they may need to demonstrate through clinical trials that the product candidates we develop to treat these diseases, if any, are not only safe and effective, but safer or more effective than existing products. Interruption or delays in the operations of the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, may impact the review, inspection and approval timelines for our or our partnered product candidates. For example, as of March 18, 2021, the FDA noted it is continuing to ensure timely reviews of applications for medical products during the COVID-19 pandemic in line with its user fee performance goals and conducting mission critical domestic and foreign inspections to ensure compliance of manufacturing facilities with FDA quality standards. However, the FDA may not be able to continue its current pace and approval timelines could be extended, including where a pre-approval inspection or an inspection of clinical sites is required and due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions the FDA is unable to complete such required inspections during the review period. In 2020, several companies announced receipt of complete response letters due to the FDA's inability to complete required inspections for their applications. In December 2020, the FDA issued a complete response letter regarding Novartis' NDA for inclisiran, stating that the agency could not approve the NDA by the PDUFA action date due to unresolved facility inspection-related conditions. Any such interruption or delay by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory agency in light of COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on our efforts to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, or our collaborator Novartis' efforts to obtain FDA approval for inclisiran, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.
Any delay or failure in obtaining required approvals for our product candidates or our partnered product candidates could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate revenues from any product candidate for which we or our partners may seek approval in the future. Furthermore, any regulatory approval to market any product may be subject to limitations on the approved uses for which we or our partners may market the product or the labeling or other restrictions, which could limit each such product’s market opportunity and have a negative impact on our results of operations and our stock price. In addition, the FDA has the authority to require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigations Strategy, or REMS, plan as part of an NDA, or after approval, which may impose further requirements or restrictions on the distribution or use of an approved drug, such as limiting prescribing to certain physicians or medical centers that have undergone specialized training, limiting treatment to patients who meet certain safe-use criteria and requiring treated patients to enroll in a registry. In the EU, we or our partners could be required to adopt a similar plan, known as a risk management plan, and our products could be subject to specific risk minimization measures, such as restrictions on prescription and supply, the conduct of post-marketing safety or efficacy studies, or the distribution of patient and/or prescriber educational materials. In either instance, these limitations and restrictions may limit the size of the market for the product and affect reimbursement by third-party payors.
We are also subject to numerous foreign regulatory requirements governing, among other things, the conduct of clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing authorization, pricing and third-party reimbursement. The foreign regulatory approval process varies among countries and includes all of the risks associated with FDA approval described above as well as risks attributable to the satisfaction of local regulations in foreign jurisdictions. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities outside the U.S. and vice versa.
Even if we or our partners obtain regulatory approvals, our marketed drugs will be subject to ongoing regulatory oversight. If we or our partners fail to comply with continuing U.S. and foreign requirements, our approvals could be limited or withdrawn, we could be subject to other penalties, and our business would be seriously harmed.
Following any initial regulatory approval of drugs we or our partners may develop, including our three approved drugs, we will also be subject to continuing regulatory oversight, including the review of adverse drug experiences and clinical results that are reported after our drug products are made commercially available. This would include results from any post-marketing tests or surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of our approved drugs or other drug products required as a condition of approval or agreed to by us. The regulatory approvals that we receive for ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO, as well as any regulatory approvals we receive for any other product candidates, including vutrisiran, may also be subject to limitations on the approved uses for which the product may be marketed. Other ongoing regulatory requirements include, among other things, submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration and listing, as well as continued compliance with good practice quality guidelines and regulations, including current good manufacturing practice, or cGMP, requirements and good clinical practice, or GCP, requirements for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. In addition, we are conducting, and intend to continue to conduct, clinical trials for our product candidates, and we intend to seek approval
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to market our product candidates, in jurisdictions outside of the U.S., and therefore will be subject to, and must comply with, regulatory requirements in those jurisdictions.
The FDA has significant post-market authority, including, for example, the authority to require labeling changes based on new safety information and to require post-market studies or clinical trials to evaluate serious safety risks related to the use of a drug and to require withdrawal of the product from the market. The FDA also has the authority to require a REMS plan after approval, which may impose further requirements or restrictions on the distribution or use of an approved drug. As our approved products are used commercially, we or others could identify previously unknown side effects or known side effects could be observed as being more frequent or severe than in clinical studies or earlier post-marketing periods, in which case:
•sales of our approved products may be more modest than originally anticipated;
•regulatory approvals for our approved products may be restricted or withdrawn;
•we may decide, or be required, to send product warning letters or field alerts to physicians, pharmacists and hospitals;
•additional nonclinical or clinical studies, changes in labeling, adoption of a REMS plan, or changes to manufacturing processes, specifications and/or facilities may be required; and
•government investigations or lawsuits, including class action suits, may be brought against us.
Any of the above occurrences could reduce or prevent sales of our approved products, increase our expenses and impair our ability to successfully commercialize one or more of these products.
The CMO and manufacturing facilities we use to make our approved products and certain of our current product candidates, including our Cambridge facility, our Norton facility, and Agilent and other CMOs, will also be subject to periodic review and inspection by the FDA and other regulatory agencies. For example, Agilent and our Cambridge-based facility were subject to regulatory inspection by the FDA and the EMA in connection with the review of our applications for regulatory approval for ONPATTRO and GIVLAARI, and may be subject to similar inspection in connection with any subsequent applications for regulatory approval of one or more of our products filed in other territories. The discovery of any new or previously unknown problems with our facilities or our CMOs, or our or their manufacturing processes or facilities, may result in restrictions on the drug or CMO or facility, including delay in approval or, in the future, withdrawal of the drug from the market. We have developed cGMP capabilities and processes for the manufacture of patisiran formulated bulk drug product for commercial use. In addition, in 2020, we completed construction of a cGMP manufacturing facility for drug substance for clinical and, eventually, commercial use. We may not have the ability or capacity to manufacture material at a broader commercial scale in the future. We may manufacture clinical trial materials or we may contract a third party to manufacture these materials for us. Reliance on CMOs entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured products ourselves, including reliance on the CMO for regulatory compliance.
If we or our collaborators, CMOs or service providers fail to comply with applicable continuing regulatory requirements in the U.S. or foreign jurisdictions in which we may seek to market our products, we or they may be subject to, among other things, fines, warning letters, holds on clinical trials, refusal by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approval, product recalls and seizures, refusal to permit the import or export of products, operating restrictions, injunction, civil penalties and criminal prosecution.
Even if we receive regulatory approval to market our product candidates, the market may not be receptive to our product candidates upon their commercial introduction, which could prevent us from becoming profitable.
The product candidates that we are developing are based upon new technologies or therapeutic approaches. Key participants in pharmaceutical marketplaces, such as physicians, third-party payors and consumers, may not accept a product intended to improve therapeutic results based on RNAi technology. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to convince the medical community and third-party payors to accept and use our product, or to provide favorable reimbursement.
Other factors that we believe will materially affect market acceptance of our product candidates include:
•the timing of our receipt of any marketing approvals, the terms of any approvals and the countries in which approvals are obtained;
•the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, as demonstrated in clinical trials and as compared with alternative treatments, if any;
•relative convenience and ease of administration of our product candidates;
•the willingness of patients to accept potentially new routes of administration or new or different therapeutic approaches and mechanisms of action;
•the success of our physician education programs;
•the availability of adequate government and third-party payor reimbursement;
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•the pricing of our products, particularly as compared to alternative treatments, and the market perception of such prices and any price increase that we may implement in the future; and
•availability of alternative effective treatments for the diseases that product candidates we develop are intended to treat and the relative risks, benefits and costs of those treatments.
For example, ONPATTRO utilizes an intravenous mode of administration with pre-medication that physicians and/or patients may not readily adopt, or which may not compete favorably with other available options, including inotersen, marketed by Akcea in several countries, which is administered subcutaneously, or tafamidis, marketed by Pfizer in several countries, which is in pill form. In addition, fitusiran represents a new approach to treating hemophilia which may not be readily accepted by patients and their caregivers.
We are an early-stage commercial company with recently established capabilities for marketing, sales, market access and distribution, and expect to continue to invest significant financial and management resources to continue to build these capabilities and to further establish our global commercial infrastructure. Even if we successfully scale our commercial capabilities, the market may not be receptive to our commercial products.
We are an early-stage commercial company, having received our first product approval only three years ago, and have established our capabilities for marketing, sales, market access and distribution over the last several years. We currently expect to rely on third parties to launch and market certain of our product candidates in certain geographies, if approved. However, we intend to commercialize ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO, as well as several of our late-stage product candidates if approved, including vutrisiran, on our own globally. Accordingly, we have developed internal marketing, sales, market access and distribution capabilities as part of our core product strategy initially in the U.S. and the EU, with expansion ongoing globally, which has, and will continue to, require significant financial and management resources. For those products for which we will perform marketing, sales, market access and distribution functions ourselves, including ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO and, if approved, vutrisiran, and for future products we successfully develop where we may retain certain product development and commercialization rights, we could face a number of additional risks, including:
•developing and retaining our global sales, marketing and administrative infrastructure and capabilities;
•hiring, training, managing and supervising our personnel worldwide;
•the cost of establishing, or leveraging an established, marketing or sales force, which may not be justifiable in light of the revenues generated by any particular product and/or in any specific geographic region; and
•our direct sales and marketing efforts may not be successful.
If we are unable to continue to develop and scale our own global marketing, sales, market access and distribution capabilities for ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO and any future products, we will not be able to successfully commercialize our products without reliance on third parties.
The patient populations suffering from hATTR amyloidosis, AHP and PH1 are small and have not been established with precision. If the actual number of patients is smaller than we estimate, or if we cannot raise awareness of these diseases and diagnosis is not improved, our revenue and ability to achieve profitability from these products may be adversely affected.
Our estimates regarding the potential market size for ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO or any future products, including vutrisiran, at the time we commence commercialization, may be materially different from the actual market size, including as a result of the indication approved by regulatory authorities, which could result in significant changes in our business plan and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. For example, the indication approved by the FDA for ONPATTRO is for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hATTR amyloidosis and not for the treatment of cardiomyopathy or other manifestations of the disease. In addition, the U.S. label does not include data from the exploratory cardiac endpoints included in our APOLLO Phase 3 study. This could have an adverse impact on the market opportunity for ONPATTRO in the U.S. In addition, our efforts to raise disease awareness and improve diagnosis of hATTR amyloidosis have been and may continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Alnylam Act®, our third-party genetic screening initiative in the U.S., Canada and Brazil, experienced a decrease in submitted samples in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As is the case with most orphan diseases, if we cannot successfully raise awareness of these diseases and improve diagnosis, it will be more difficult or impossible to achieve profitability.
We may incur significant liability if enforcement authorities allege or determine that we are engaging in commercial activities or promoting our commercially approved products in a way that violates applicable regulations.
Physicians have the discretion to prescribe approved drug products for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and that differ from those approved by the FDA or other applicable regulatory agencies. Off-label uses are common across medical specialties. Although the FDA and other regulatory agencies that approve drug products do not regulate a physician’s practice of medicine or choice of treatments, the FDA and other regulatory agencies regulate a manufacturer’s communications regarding off-label use and prohibit off-label promotion, as well as the dissemination of false or misleading labeling or promotional materials, including by their agents. Manufacturers and their agents may not promote drugs for off-label uses or
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provide off-label information in the promotion of drug products that is not consistent with the approved labeling for those products. For example, we may not promote ONPATTRO in the U.S. for use in any indications other than the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hATTR amyloidosis in adults. The FDA and other regulatory and enforcement authorities actively enforce laws and regulations prohibiting promotion of off-label uses and the promotion of products for which marketing approval has not been obtained. For example, in April 2021, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, requiring production of documents pertaining to our marketing and promotion of ONPATTRO (patisiran) in the U.S. We are preparing a response to the subpoena and are cooperating with the government. If we are found to have improperly marketed or promoted ONPATTRO in connection with such subpoena, we may be subject to a broad range of civil, administrative and criminal penalties, including injunctive relief related to ONPATTRO promotional activities, substantial fines or penalties, and other legal or equitable sanctions. Any adverse decision, finding, allegation, or exercise of enforcement or regulatory discretion could harm our business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition. Other internal or government investigations or legal or regulatory proceedings, including lawsuits brought by private litigants, may also follow as a consequence.
Notwithstanding regulations related to product promotion, the FDA and other regulatory authorities allow companies to engage in truthful, non-misleading and non-promotional scientific exchange concerning their products, and we intend to engage in medical education activities and communicate with healthcare providers in compliance with all applicable laws and regulatory guidance. Nonetheless, the FDA, other applicable regulatory authorities, competitors, and other third parties may take the position that we are not in compliance with such regulations, and if such non-compliance is proven, it could harm our reputation, financial condition or divert financial and management resources from our core business, and would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, any threatened or actual government enforcement actions or lawsuits by third parties could also generate adverse publicity, which could decrease demand for our products and require that we devote substantial resources that could be used productively on other aspects of our business.
In addition to our medical education efforts, we also offer patient support services to assist patients receiving treatment with our commercially approved products. Manufacturers have increasingly become the focus of government investigation of patient support programs based on allegations that through such services illegal inducements are provided to physicians and/or patients, leading to improper utilization of government resources through Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs. Companies that are found to have violated laws such as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and/or False Claims Act, or FCA, face significant liability, including civil and administrative penalties, criminal sanctions, and potential exclusion from participation in government programs. We have designed our programs in a manner that we believe complies with all applicable laws and regulations and have implemented a robust compliance program to support a compliant corporate culture and compliance with such laws.
Any drugs we develop may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives, thereby harming our business.
The regulations that govern marketing approvals, pricing and reimbursement for new drugs 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. We are actively monitoring these regulations as we market and sell ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO, and as several of our other programs move through late stages of development. However, a number of our programs are currently in the earlier stages of development and we will not be able to assess the impact of price regulations for such programs for a number of years. We might obtain regulatory approval for a product, including one or more of our approved products, in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product and negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country and potentially in other countries due to reference pricing.
Our ability to commercialize our approved products or any future products, including vutrisiran, successfully also will depend in part on the extent to which reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. One or more of our approved products and other products for which we are able to obtain marketing approval, including vutrisiran, may not be considered cost-effective, and the amount reimbursed may be insufficient to allow us to sell such product(s) or any future products, including vutrisiran on a competitive basis. Increasingly, the third-party payors who reimburse patients or healthcare providers, such as government and private insurance plans, are requiring that drug companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices, and are seeking to reduce the prices charged or the amounts reimbursed for drug products. In the U.S., we have entered into at least 30 value-based agreements, or VBAs, and are negotiating additional VBAs with commercial health insurers. The goal of these agreements is to ensure that we are paid based on the ability of our commercially approved products to deliver results in the real world setting comparable to those demonstrated in clinical trials, and the agreements are structured to link our approved products’ performance in real-world use to financial terms. Partnering with payers on these agreements is intended to provide more certainty to them for their investment and help accelerate coverage decisions for patients. If the prices we are able to charge for our products, or the reimbursement provided for such products, is inadequate in light of our development and other costs, or if reimbursement is denied, our return on investment could be adversely affected. In addition,
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we have stated publicly that we intend to grow through continued scientific innovation rather than arbitrary price increases. Specifically, we have stated that we will not raise the price of any product for which we receive marketing approval over the rate of inflation, as determined by the consumer price index for urban consumers (approximately 2.2% currently) absent a significant value driver. Our patient access philosophy could also negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of one or more of our products in the future.
Some of the drugs we market need to be administered under the supervision of a physician or other healthcare professional on an outpatient basis, including ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI and OXLUMO. Under currently applicable U.S. law, certain drugs that are not usually self-administered (including injectable drugs) may be eligible for coverage under the Medicare Part B program if:
•they are incident to a physician’s services;
•they are reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of the illness or injury for which they are administered according to accepted standards of medical practice; and
•they have been approved by the FDA and meet other requirements of the statute.
There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the drug is approved by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities. Moreover, eligibility for coverage does not imply that any drug will be reimbursed in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution or that covers a particular provider’s cost of acquiring the drug. Interim payments for new drugs, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Reimbursement may be based on payments allowed for lower-cost drugs that are already reimbursed, may be incorporated into existing payments for other services and may reflect budgetary constraints or imperfections in Medicare data. Net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the U.S. On July 24, 2020, President Trump signed four Executive Orders aimed at lowering drug prices. The Executive Orders direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: eliminate protection under an Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbor for certain retrospective price reductions provided by drug manufacturers to sponsors of Medicare Part D plans or pharmacy benefit managers that are not applied at the point-of-sale; allow the importation of certain drugs from other countries through individual waivers, permitting the re-importation of insulin products, and prioritizing finalization of the proposed rule to permit the importation of drugs from Canada; depending on whether pharmaceutical manufacturers agree to other measures, ensure that payment by the Medicare program for certain Medicare Part B drugs is not higher than the payment by other designated countries; and allow certain low-income individuals receiving insulin and epinephrine purchased by a Federally Qualified Health Center, or FQHC, as part of the 340B drug program to purchase those drugs at the discounted price paid by the FQHC. Pursuant to an order entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the portion of the rule eliminating safe harbor protection for certain rebates related to the sale or purchase of a pharmaceutical product from a manufacturer to a plan sponsor under Medicare Part D has been delayed to January 1, 2023. Further, implementation of this change and new safe harbors for point-of-sale reductions in price for prescription pharmaceutical products and pharmacy benefit manager service fees are currently under review by the Biden administration and may be amended or repealed.
On September 13, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order that directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to immediately “take appropriate steps to implement rulemaking” to test a demonstration project through the CMS Innovation Center whereby Medicare Part B reimbursement for “certain high-cost prescriptions drugs” would be no more than most-favored-nation price (i.e., the lowest price) after adjustments, for a pharmaceutical product that the drug manufacturer sells in a member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that has a comparable per-capita gross domestic product. On November 20, 2020, CMS issued an interim final rule implementing President Trump’s most favored nation executive order, effective January 1, 2021. On December 28, 2020, the United States District Court in Northern California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of the interim final rule. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or the Medicare Modernization Act, or MMA, contains provisions that call for the promulgation of regulations that expand pharmacists’ and wholesalers’ ability to import cheaper versions of an approved drug and competing products from Canada, where there are government price controls. Further, the MMA provides that these provisions, as codified under section 804 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, will not take effect, unless and until the Secretary of the HHS certifies that the implementation of the provisions will pose no additional risk to the public’s health and safety and will result in a significant reduction in the cost of products to American consumers. On September 23, 2020, the Secretary of the HHS made such certification to Congress, and on October 1, 2020, the FDA published a final rule that allows for the importation of certain prescription drugs from Canada. However, certain categories of drug products are excluded from the definition of “prescription drug” that can potentially be imported from Canada, including intravenously injected drugs, such as ONPATTRO. Under the final rule, States and Indian tribes, and in certain future circumstances pharmacists and wholesalers, may submit importation program proposals to the FDA for review and authorization. Several States, such as Florida, have taken steps to draft and submit importation program proposals to FDA for review and approval. On September 25, 2020, CMS stated drugs imported by States under this rule will not be eligible for federal rebates under Section 1927 of the Social Security Act and manufacturers would not report these drugs for “best price” or
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Average Manufacturer Price purposes. Since these drugs are not considered covered outpatient drugs, CMS further stated it will not publish a National Average Drug Acquisition Cost for these drugs. Separately, the FDA also issued a final guidance document outlining a pathway for manufacturers to obtain an additional National Drug Code for an FDA-approved drug that was originally intended to be marketed in a foreign country and that was authorized for sale in that foreign country. The market implications of the notice of Executive Orders and the final rule and guidance are unknown at this time, and a lawsuit has been filed in a federal court to challenge the final rule, but legislation, regulations or policies allowing the importation or reimportation of drugs, if enacted and implemented, could decrease the price we receive for our products and adversely affect our future revenues and prospects for profitability. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage or adequate reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for our approved products, or other new drugs that we develop and for which we obtain regulatory approval could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products, and our overall financial condition.
We believe that the efforts of governments and third-party payors to contain or reduce the cost of healthcare and legislative and regulatory proposals to broaden the availability of healthcare will continue to affect the business and financial condition of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs.
A number of other legislative and regulatory changes in the healthcare system in the U.S. and other major healthcare markets have been proposed or enacted in recent months and years, and such efforts have expanded substantially in recent years. These developments could, directly or indirectly, affect our ability to sell ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO or future products, if approved, including vutrisiran, at a favorable price.
In particular, in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also referred to as the Affordable Care Act, or the ACA, was signed into law. This legislation changed the system of healthcare insurance and benefits intended to broaden coverage and control costs. The law also contains provisions that affect companies in the pharmaceutical industry and other healthcare related industries by imposing additional costs and changes to business practices. Among the provisions affecting pharmaceutical companies are the following:
•Mandatory rebates for drugs sold into the Medicaid program were increased, and the rebate requirement was extended to drugs used in risk-based Medicaid managed care plans.
•The 340B Drug Pricing Program under the Public Health Service Act was extended to require mandatory discounts for drug products sold to certain critical access hospitals, cancer hospitals and other covered entities.
•Pharmaceutical companies are required to offer discounts on brand-name drugs to patients who fall within the Medicare Part D coverage gap, commonly referred to as the “donut hole.”
•Pharmaceutical companies are required to pay an annual non-tax deductible fee to the federal government based on each company’s market share of prior year total sales of branded products to certain federal healthcare programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. Since we expect our branded pharmaceutical sales to constitute a small portion of the total federal healthcare program pharmaceutical market, we do not expect this annual assessment to have a material impact on our financial condition.
•The law provides that approval of an application for a follow-on biologic product may not become effective until 12 years after the date on which the reference innovator biologic product was first licensed by the FDA, with a possible six-month extension for pediatric products. After this exclusivity ends, it will be easier for generic manufacturers to enter the market, which is likely to reduce the pricing for such products and could affect our profitability.
•The law creates a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected.
•The law expands eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to certain individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing a manufacturer’s Medicaid rebate liability.
•The law expands the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service Act pharmaceutical pricing program.
•The law expands healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including the civil FCA and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, new government investigative powers, and enhanced penalties for noncompliance.
•The law establishes new requirements to report financial arrangements with physicians and teaching hospitals and to annually report drug samples that manufacturers and distributors provide to physicians.
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•The law establishes a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research.
•The law established the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, to test innovative payment and service delivery methods.
In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. These changes included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect in April 2013 and will remain in effect through 2030; however, pursuant to the CARES Act, and subsequent legislation, these Medicare sequester reductions have been suspended from May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. These new laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding and otherwise affect the prices we may obtain for our approved products or any of our product candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval, including vutrisiran, or the frequency with which our products or any future product, including vutrisiran, is prescribed or used.
The full effects of the U.S. healthcare reform legislation cannot be known until the law is fully implemented through regulations or guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, and other federal and state healthcare agencies. The financial impact of the U.S. healthcare reform legislation over the next few years will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited, to the policies reflected in implementing regulations and guidance, and changes in sales volumes for products affected by the new system of rebates, discounts and fees. This legislation may also have a positive impact on our future net sales, if any, by increasing the aggregate number of persons with healthcare coverage in the U.S.
Since its enactment, there have been numerous judicial, administrative, executive, and legislative challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of the ACA, but it is unknown when a decision will be reached. Although the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of the ACA, on January 28, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to initiate a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the ACA marketplace. The executive order also instructs certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements, and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the ACA. It is unclear how the Supreme Court ruling, other such litigation, and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact the ACA. The costs of prescription pharmaceuticals in the U.S. have also been the subject of considerable discussion in the U.S., and members of Congress have stated that they will address such costs through new legislative measures. To date, there have been several U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, reduce the costs of drugs under Medicare and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. The former Trump administration released a “Blueprint,” or plan, to reduce the cost of drugs, increase drug manufacturer competition, increase the negotiating power of certain federal healthcare programs, incentivize manufacturers to lower the list price of their products, and reduce the out of pocket costs of drug products paid by consumers. The former Trump administration’s Blueprint contains certain measures that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is already working to implement. Although some proposals related to the administration’s Blueprint may require additional authorization to become effective, may ultimately be withdrawn, or may face challenges in the courts, the Congress and the Trump administration indicated that they will continue to seek new legislative and administrative measures to control drug costs. For example, at the federal level, the U.S. government’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 includes a $135 billion allowance to support legislative proposals seeking to reduce drug prices, increase competition, lower out-of-pocket drug costs for patients, and increase patient access to lower-cost generic and biosimilar drugs. On March 10, 2020, the U.S. government sent “principles” for drug pricing to Congress, calling for legislation that would, among other things, cap Medicare Part D beneficiary out-of-pocket pharmacy expenses, provide an option to cap Medicare Part D beneficiary monthly out-of-pocket expenses, and place limits on pharmaceutical price increases. Likewise, the Biden administration has indicated that lowering prescription drug prices is a priority, but we do not yet know what steps the administration will take or whether such steps will be successful.
At the state level, legislatures have become increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing. Some of these measures include price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access, marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, measures designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional health care authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what
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pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other health care programs. These measures could reduce the ultimate demand for our products, once approved, or put pressure on our product pricing.
We cannot predict what healthcare reform initiatives may be adopted in the future. Further federal and state legislative and regulatory developments are likely, and we expect ongoing initiatives in the U.S. to increase pressure on drug pricing. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenues from one or more of our approved products or other product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop drug candidates.
We are subject to U.S. and certain foreign export and import controls, sanctions, embargoes, anti-corruption laws, and anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these legal standards could impair our ability to compete in domestic and international markets. We can face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations, which can harm our business.
We are subject to export control and import laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations, various economic and trade sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, and other state and national anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in the countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, agents, contractors, and other collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to recipients in the public or private sector. From time to time, we may engage third parties to conduct clinical trials outside of the U.S., to sell our products abroad, and/or to obtain necessary permits, licenses, patent registrations, and other regulatory approvals. We have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or government-affiliated hospitals, universities, and other organizations. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our employees, agents, contractors, and other collaborators, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. Any violations of the laws and regulations described above may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm, and other consequences.
Governments outside the U.S. may impose strict price controls, which may adversely affect our revenues.
The pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is also subject to governmental control outside the U.S. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after the receipt of regulatory approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of our product candidates to other available therapies. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our ability to generate revenues and become profitable could be impaired.
In some countries, including Member States of the EU, or Japan, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to governmental control. Additional countries may adopt similar approaches to the pricing of prescription drugs. In such countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after receipt of regulatory approval for a product. In addition, there can be considerable pressure by governments and other stakeholders on prices and reimbursement levels, including as part of cost containment measures. Moreover, political, economic and regulatory developments may further complicate pricing negotiations, and pricing negotiations may continue after coverage and reimbursement have been obtained. Reference pricing used by various countries and parallel distribution, or arbitrage between low-priced and high-priced countries, can further reduce prices. In some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical study or other studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of a product candidate to other available therapies in order to obtain or maintain reimbursement or pricing approval, which is time-consuming and costly. We cannot be sure that such prices and reimbursement will be acceptable to us or our strategic partners. Publication of discounts by third-party payors or authorities may lead to further pressure on the prices or reimbursement levels within the country of publication and other countries. If pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels or if reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, our revenues from sales by us or our strategic partners and the potential profitability of our approved products or any future products, including vutrisiran, in those countries would be negatively affected. Another impact from the tightening pricing control could be felt from greater competition from less expensive generic or biosimilar products once the exclusivity expires; the governments have adopted policies to switch prescribed products to generic versions in order to cut the medical cost.
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If we or our collaborators, CMOs or service providers fail to comply with healthcare laws and regulations, or legal obligations related to privacy, data protection and information security, we or they could be subject to enforcement actions, which could affect our ability to develop, market and sell our products and may harm our reputation.
As a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, we are subject to federal, state, and comparable foreign healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients’ rights, in addition to legal obligations related to privacy, data protection and information security. These laws and regulations include:
•The U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce either the referral of an individual for a healthcare item or service, or the purchasing or ordering of an item or service, for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare or Medicaid.
•The U.S. federal false claims laws, including the FCA, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting or causing to be presented, claims for payment by government-funded programs such as Medicare or Medicaid that are false or fraudulent, making, using or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government, or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. Manufacturers can be held liable under the FCA even when they do not submit claims directly to government payors if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims. The FCA also permits a private individual acting as a “whistleblower” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the FCA and to share in any monetary recovery.
•The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created federal criminal statutes that prohibit knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private) and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by any trick or device a material fact or making any materially false statements in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services relating to healthcare matters. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity can be found guilty of violating HIPAA without actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it.
•HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which imposes requirements relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information; and requires notification to affected individuals and regulatory authorities of certain breaches of security of individually identifiable health information.
•The U.S. federal Open Payments requirements, which were implemented by the CMS pursuant to the Physician Payments Sunshine Act as part of the ACA. Under the Open Payments Program, manufacturers of medical devices, medical supplies, biological products and drugs covered by Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Programs must report transfers of value, including consulting fees, travel reimbursements, research grants, and other payments made to physicians (currently defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. Legislation passed in 2018 expands the scope of covered recipients to non-physician providers such as physician assistants and advanced practice nurses, effective in 2022.
•Federal statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to pricing and sales of product to Federal Government Agencies.
•Federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers.
•State and foreign laws comparable to each of the above federal laws, including in the EU laws prohibiting giving healthcare professionals any gift or benefit in kind as an inducement to prescribe our products, national transparency laws requiring the public disclosure of payments made to healthcare professionals and institutions, and data privacy laws, in addition to anti-kickback and false claims laws applicable to commercial insurers and other non-federal payors, requirements for mandatory corporate regulatory compliance programs, and laws relating to government reimbursement programs, patient data privacy and security.
•European Privacy Laws including Regulation 2016/679, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, and the e-Privacy Directive (202/58/EC), and the national laws implementing each of them, as well as the privacy laws of Japan and other territories. Failure to comply with our obligations under the privacy regime could expose us to significant fines and/or adverse publicity, which could have material adverse effects on our reputation and business.
•The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, or CCPA, effective as of January 1, 2020, that gives California residents expanded rights to access and require deletion of their personal information, opt out of certain personal
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information sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches that is expected to increase data breach litigation.
On November 30, 2020, the OIG published a final rule effective January 1, 2022 amending the existing safe harbor protecting certain discounts to eliminate safe harbor protection for certain rebates provided by a manufacturer of prescription pharmaceutical products to a plan sponsors under Part D or pharmacy benefit managers under contract with them. The final rule also creates new safe harbors effective January 29, 2021 for point-of-sale reductions in price on prescription pharmaceutical products and certain pharmacy benefit manager service fees. Pursuant to an order entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the portion of the rule eliminating safe harbor protection for certain rebates related to the sale or purchase of a pharmaceutical product from a manufacturer to a plan sponsor under Medicare Part D has been delayed to January 1, 2023. Implementation of the this change and new safe harbors for point-of-sale reductions in price for prescription pharmaceutical products and pharmacy benefit manager service fees are currently under review by the Biden administration and may be amended or repealed.
Some state laws also require pharmaceutical manufacturers to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, in addition to requiring manufacturers to report information related to payments to physicians and other healthcare provides or marketing expenditures and pricing information. State and foreign laws also govern the privacy and security of health information, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
In the EU, the GDPR replaced the EU Data Protection Directive on May 25, 2018. The GDPR introduced new data protection requirements in the EU, as well as potential fines for noncompliance of up to the greater of €20,000,000 or 4% of total annual global revenue. The regulation imposes numerous new requirements for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, including: more stringent requirements relating to data subject consent; what information must be shared with data subjects regarding how their personal information is used; the obligation to notify regulators and affected individuals of personal data breaches; extensive new internal privacy governance obligations; and obligations to honor expanded rights of individuals in relation to their personal information (e.g., the right to access, correct and delete their data). In addition, the GDPR maintains the EU Data Protection Directive’s restrictions on cross-border data transfer. The GDPR increases the responsibility and liability of pharmaceutical companies in relation to processing personal data, and companies may be required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new EU data protection rules. Further, Brexit has created uncertainty with regard to the status of the UK as an “adequate country” for the purposes of data transfers outside the European Economic Area, or EEA. In particular, it is unclear how data transfers to and from the UK will be regulated. These changes may require us to find alternative bases for the compliant transfer of personal data from the UK to the U.S., and we are monitoring developments in this area.
If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the aforementioned requirements, we may be subject to penalties, including civil or criminal penalties (including individual imprisonment), criminal prosecution, monetary damages, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, loss of eligibility to obtain approvals from the FDA, or exclusion from participation in government contracting, healthcare reimbursement or other government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, or the imposition of a corporate integrity agreement with the OIG, any of which could adversely affect our financial results. We are continuing to establish our global compliance infrastructure following the commercial launch of our three products over the last three years in the U.S., EU and multiple other geographies, and as we prepare for the launch of our products in additional countries, assuming regulatory approvals. Although effective compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and prosecution for violations of these laws, these risks cannot be entirely eliminated. Any action against us for an alleged or suspected violation could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and could divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business, even if our defense is successful. In addition, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable laws and regulations may be costly to us in terms of money, time and resources.
If we or our collaborators, CMOs or service providers fail to comply with applicable federal, state or foreign laws or regulations, we could be subject to enforcement actions, which could affect our ability to develop, market and sell our approved products, or any other future products, successfully and could harm our reputation and lead to reduced acceptance of our products by the market. These enforcement actions include, among others:
•adverse regulatory inspection findings;
•untitled letters or warning letters;
•voluntary or mandatory product recalls or public notification or medical product safety alerts to healthcare professionals;
•restrictions on, or prohibitions against, marketing our products;
•restrictions on, or prohibitions against, importation or exportation of our products;
•suspension of review or refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications;
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•exclusion from participation in government-funded healthcare programs;
•exclusion from eligibility for the award of government contracts for our products;
•suspension or withdrawal of product approvals;
•product seizures;
•injunctions; and
•civil and criminal penalties, up to and including criminal prosecution resulting in fines, exclusion from healthcare reimbursement programs and imprisonment.
Moreover, federal, state or foreign laws or regulations are subject to change, and while we, our collaborators, CMOs and/or service providers currently may be compliant, that could change due to changes in interpretation, prevailing industry standards or the legal structure.
We are subject to governmental regulation and other legal obligations, particularly related to privacy, data protection and information security, and we are subject to consumer protection laws that regulate our marketing practices and prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our business.
The GDPR imposes strict requirements on controllers and processors of personal data, including special protections for “special category data,” which includes health, biometric and genetic information of data subjects located in the EU. Further, GDPR provides a broad right for EU Member States to create supplemental national laws, such as laws relating to the processing of health, genetic and biometric data, which could further limit our ability to use and share such data or could cause our costs to increase, and harm our business and financial condition. GDPR grants individuals the opportunity to object to the processing of their personal information, allows them to request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances, and provides the individual with an express right to seek legal remedy in the event the individual believes his or her rights have been violated. Further, the GDPR imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the EU to the U.S. or other regions that have not been deemed to offer “adequate” privacy protections.
Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the related national data protection laws of the EU Member States, which may deviate slightly from the GDPR, may result in fines of up to 4% of total global annual revenue, or €20,000,000, whichever is greater, and in addition to such fines, we may be the subject of litigation and/or adverse publicity, which could have material adverse effect on our reputation and business. As a result of the implementation of the GDPR, we are required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new data protection rules. For example, the GDPR requires us to make more detailed disclosures to data subjects, requires disclosure of the legal basis on which we can process personal data, may make it harder for us to obtain valid consent for processing, will require the appointment of a data protection officer where sensitive personal data (i.e., health data) is processed on a large scale, introduces mandatory data breach notification requirements throughout the EU, imposes additional obligations on us when we are contracting with service providers and requires us to adopt appropriate privacy governance including policies, procedures, training and data audit.
We are subject to the supervision of local data protection authorities in those jurisdictions where we are monitoring the behavior of individuals in the EU (i.e., undertaking clinical trials). We depend on a number of third parties in relation to the provision of our services, a number of which process personal data of EU individuals on our behalf. With each such provider we enter or intend to enter into contractual arrangements under which they are contractually obligated to only process personal data according to our instructions, and conduct or intend to conduct diligence to ensure that they have sufficient technical and organizational security measures in place.
We are also subject to evolving European privacy laws on electronic marketing and cookies. The EU is in the process of replacing the e-Privacy Directive (2002/58/EC) with a new set of rules taking the form of a regulation, which will be directly implemented in the laws of each European member state, without the need for further enactment. While the e-Privacy Regulation was originally intended to be adopted on May 25, 2018 (alongside the GDPR), it is still going through the European legislative process. Draft regulations were rejected by the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council of EU on November 22, 2019; it is not clear when new regulations will be adopted.
There is significant uncertainty related to the manner in which data protection authorities will seek to enforce compliance with GDPR. Further, Brexit has created uncertainty with regard to the status of the UK as an ‘adequate country’ for the purposes of data transfers outside the EEA. In particular, it is unclear how data transfers to and from the UK will be regulated. Enforcement uncertainty and the costs associated with ensuring GDPR and e-Privacy compliance may be onerous and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Compliance with U.S. and international data protection laws and regulations could require us to take on more onerous obligations in our contracts, restrict our ability to collect, use and disclose data, or in some cases, impact our ability to operate in certain jurisdictions. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions (which could include civil, criminal and administrative penalties), private litigation, and/or adverse publicity and could
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negatively affect our operating results and business. Moreover, clinical trial subjects, employees and other individuals about whom we or our potential collaborators obtain personal information, as well as the providers who share this information with us, may limit our ability to collect, use and disclose the information. Claims that we have violated individuals’ privacy rights, failed to comply with data protection laws, or breached our contractual obligations, even if we are not found liable, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend and could result in adverse publicity that could harm our business.
Our ability to obtain services, reimbursement or funding from the federal government may be impacted by possible reductions in federal spending and services, and any inability on our part to effectively adapt to such changes could substantially affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, the failure of Congress to enact deficit reduction measures of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021 triggered automatic cuts to most federal programs. These cuts included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, starting in 2013. Certain of these automatic cuts have been implemented resulting in reductions in Medicare payments to physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, among other things. Due to legislation amending the statute, including the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, these reductions will stay in effect through 2030 unless additional Congressional action is taken. Pursuant to the CARES Act, as well as subsequent legislation, these reductions have been suspended from May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The full impact on our business of these automatic cuts is uncertain.
If other federal spending is reduced, any budgetary shortfalls may also impact the ability of relevant agencies, such as the FDA or the National Institutes of Health to continue to function. Amounts allocated to federal grants and contracts may be reduced or eliminated. These reductions may also impact the ability of relevant agencies to timely review and approve drug research and development, manufacturing, and marketing activities, which may delay our ability to develop, market and sell our approved products and any other products we may develop, including vutrisiran.
There is a substantial risk of product liability claims in our business. If we are unable to obtain sufficient insurance, a product liability claim against us could adversely affect our business.
Our business exposes us to significant potential product liability risks that are inherent in the development, testing, manufacturing and marketing of human therapeutic products. Product liability claims could delay or prevent completion of our clinical development programs. Following the decision to discontinue clinical development of revusiran, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of available revusiran data. We reported the results of this evaluation in August 2017, however, our investigation did not result in a conclusive explanation regarding the cause of the mortality imbalance observed in the ENDEAVOUR Phase 3 study. In addition, in September 2017, we announced that we had temporarily suspended dosing in all ongoing fitusiran studies pending further review of a fatal thrombotic serious adverse event, or SAE, and agreement with regulatory authorities on a risk mitigation strategy. Notwithstanding the risks undertaken by all persons who participate in clinical trials, and the information on risks provided to study investigators and patients participating in our clinical trials, including the revusiran and fitusiran studies, it is possible that product liability claims will be asserted against us relating to the worsening of a patient’s condition, injury or death alleged to have been caused by one of our product candidates, including revusiran or fitusiran. Such claims might not be fully covered by product liability insurance. In addition, product liability claims could result in an FDA investigation of the safety and effectiveness of our approved products, our manufacturing processes and facilities or our marketing programs, and potentially a recall of our products or more serious enforcement action, limitations on the approved indications for which they may be used, or suspension or withdrawal of approvals. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may also result in decreased demand for our products, injury to our reputation, costs to defend the related litigation, a diversion of management’s time and our resources, substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients and a decline in our stock price. We currently have product liability insurance that we believe is appropriate for our stage of development, including the marketing and sale of our approved products. Any insurance we have or may obtain may not provide sufficient coverage against potential liabilities. Furthermore, clinical trial and product liability insurance is becoming increasingly expensive. As a result, we may be unable to obtain sufficient insurance at a reasonable cost to protect us against losses caused by product liability claims that could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements or insider trading violations, which could significantly harm our business.
We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees could include intentional failures to comply with governmental regulations, comply with healthcare fraud and abuse and anti-kickback laws and regulations in the U.S. and abroad, or failure to report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of, including improper trading based upon, information obtained in the course of clinical studies, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics and a robust compliance program, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this
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activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.
If we do not comply with laws regulating the protection of the environment and health and human safety, our business could be adversely affected.
Our research, development and manufacturing involve the use of hazardous materials, chemicals and various radioactive compounds. We maintain quantities of various flammable and toxic chemicals in our facilities in Cambridge and Norton that are required for our research, development and manufacturing activities. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. We believe our procedures for storing, handling and disposing these materials in our Cambridge and Norton facilities comply with the relevant guidelines of the City of Cambridge, the town of Norton, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of these materials comply with the standards mandated by applicable regulations, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials cannot be eliminated. If an accident occurs, we could be held liable for resulting damages, which could be substantial. We are also subject to numerous environmental, health and workplace safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures, exposure to blood-borne pathogens and the handling of biohazardous materials.
Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of these materials, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us in connection with our storage or disposal of biological, hazardous or radioactive materials. Additional federal, state and local laws and regulations affecting our operations may be adopted in the future. We may incur substantial costs to comply with, and substantial fines or penalties if we violate, any of these laws or regulations.
Risks Related to Patents, Licenses and Trade Secrets
If we are not able to obtain and enforce patent protection for our discoveries, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates will be harmed.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect proprietary compositions, methods and technologies that we develop under the patent and other intellectual property laws of the U.S. and other countries, so that we can prevent others from unlawfully using our inventions and proprietary information. However, we may not hold proprietary rights to some patents required for us to manufacture and commercialize our proposed products. Because certain U.S. patent applications are confidential until the patents issue, such as applications filed prior to November 29, 2000, or applications filed after such date which will not be filed in foreign countries, third parties may have filed patent applications for subject matter covered by our pending patent applications without our being aware of those applications, and our patent applications may not have priority over those applications. For this and other reasons, we may be unable to secure desired patent rights, thereby losing desired exclusivity. Further, we or our licensees may be required to obtain licenses under third-party patents to market one or more of our or our partner's approved products, or further develop and commercialize future products, or continue to develop candidates in our pipeline being developed by us or our licensees. If licenses are not available to us or not available on reasonable terms, we or our licensees may not be able to market the affected products or conduct the desired activities.
Our strategy depends on our ability to rapidly identify and seek patent protection for our discoveries. In addition, we may rely on third-party collaborators to file patent applications relating to proprietary technology that we develop jointly during certain collaborations. The process of obtaining patent protection is expensive and time-consuming. If our present or future collaborators fail to file and prosecute all necessary and desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost and in a timely manner, our business may be adversely affected. Despite our efforts and the efforts of our collaborators to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may be able to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. While issued patents are presumed valid, this does not guarantee that the patent will survive a validity challenge or be held enforceable. Any patents we have obtained, or obtain in the future, may be challenged, invalidated, adjudged unenforceable or circumvented by parties attempting to design around our intellectual property. Moreover, third parties or the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, may commence interference proceedings involving our patents or patent applications. Any challenge to, finding of unenforceability or invalidation or circumvention of, our patents or patent applications, would be costly, would require significant time and attention of our management, could reduce or eliminate royalty payments to us from third party licensors and could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our pending patent applications may not result in issued patents. The patent position of pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, including ours, is generally uncertain and involves complex legal and factual considerations. The standards that the USPTO and its foreign counterparts use to grant patents are not always applied predictably or uniformly and can change. Similarly, the ultimate degree of protection that will be afforded to biotechnology inventions, including ours, in the U.S. and foreign countries, remains uncertain and is dependent upon the scope of the protection decided upon by patent offices, courts
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and lawmakers. Moreover, there are periodic discussions in the Congress of the United States and in international jurisdictions about modifying various aspects of patent law. For example, the America Invents Act, or AIA, included a number of changes to the patent laws of the U.S. If any of the enacted changes do not provide adequate protection for discoveries, including our ability to pursue infringers of our patents for substantial damages, our business could be adversely affected. One major provision of the AIA, which took effect in March 2013, changed U.S. patent practice from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system. If we fail to file an invention before a competitor files on the same invention, we no longer have the ability to provide proof that we were in possession of the invention prior to the competitor’s filing date, and thus would not be able to obtain patent protection for our invention. There is also no uniform, worldwide policy regarding the subject matter and scope of claims granted or allowable in pharmaceutical or biotechnology patents.
Accordingly, we do not know the degree of future protection for our proprietary rights or the breadth of claims that will be allowed in any patents issued to us or to others. We also rely to a certain extent on trade secrets, know-how and technology, which are not protected by patents, to maintain our competitive position. If any trade secret, know-how or other technology not protected by a patent were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our business and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Failure to obtain and maintain all available regulatory exclusivities, broad patent scope and to maximize patent term restoration or extension on patents covering our products may lead to loss of exclusivity and early generic entry resulting in a loss of market share and/or revenue.
We license patent rights from third-party owners. If such owners do not properly or successfully obtain, maintain or enforce the patents underlying such licenses, our competitive position and business prospects may be harmed.
We are a party to a number of licenses that give us rights to third-party intellectual property that is necessary or useful for our business. In particular, we have obtained licenses from, among others, Stanford University, Ionis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, or Whitehead, Max Planck Innovation GmbH (formerly known as Garching Innovation GmbH), or Max Planck, Arbutus Biopharma Corp., or Arbutus, and Dicerna. We also intend to enter into additional licenses to third-party intellectual property in the future.
Our success will depend in part on the ability of our licensors to obtain, maintain and enforce patent protection for our licensed intellectual property, in particular, those patents to which we have secured exclusive rights. Our licensors may not successfully prosecute the patent applications to which we are licensed. Even if patents issue in respect of these patent applications, our licensors may fail to maintain these patents, may determine not to pursue litigation against other companies that are infringing these patents, or may pursue such litigation less aggressively than we would. Without protection for the intellectual property we license, other companies might be able to offer substantially identical products for sale, which could adversely affect our competitive business position and harm our business prospects. In addition, we sublicense our rights under various third-party licenses to our collaborators. Any impairment of these sublicensed rights could result in reduced revenues under our collaboration agreements or result in termination of an agreement by one or more of our collaborators.
Other companies or organizations may challenge our patent rights or may assert patent rights that prevent us from developing and commercializing our products.
RNAi is a relatively new scientific field, the commercial exploitation of which has resulted in many different patents and patent applications from organizations and individuals seeking to obtain patent protection in the field. We have obtained grants and issuances of RNAi patents and have licensed many of these patents from third parties on an exclusive basis. The issued patents and pending patent applications in the U.S. and in key markets around the world that we own or license claim many different methods, compositions and processes relating to the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics.
Specifically, we have a portfolio of patents, patent applications and other intellectual property covering: fundamental aspects of the structure and uses of siRNAs, including their use as therapeutics, and RNAi-related mechanisms; chemical modifications to siRNAs that improve their suitability for therapeutic and other uses; siRNAs directed to specific targets as treatments for particular diseases; delivery technologies, such as in the fields of carbohydrate conjugates and cationic liposomes; and all aspects of our specific development candidates.
As the field of RNAi therapeutics is maturing, patent applications are being fully processed by national patent offices around the world. There is uncertainty about which patents will issue, and, if they do, as to when, to whom, and with what claims. It is likely that there will be significant litigation and other proceedings, such as interference, re-examination and opposition proceedings, as well as inter partes and post-grant review proceedings introduced by provisions of the AIA, which became available to third party challengers on September 16, 2012, in various patent offices relating to patent rights in the RNAi field. In addition, third parties may challenge the validity of our patents. For example, a third party has filed an opposition in the European Patent Office, or EPO, against our owned patent EP 2723758, with claims directed to compositions and methods of ANGPTL3, arguing that the granted claims are invalid. We expect that additional oppositions will be filed in the EPO and elsewhere, and other challenges will be raised relating to other patents and patent applications in our portfolio. In many cases, the possibility of appeal exists for either us or our opponents, and it may be years before final, unappealable rulings
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are made with respect to these patents in certain jurisdictions. The timing and outcome of these and other proceedings is uncertain and may adversely affect our business if we are not successful in defending the patentability and scope of our pending and issued patent claims. Even if our rights are not directly challenged, disputes could lead to the weakening of our intellectual property rights. Our defense against any attempt by third parties to circumvent or invalidate our intellectual property rights could be costly to us, could require significant time and attention of our management and could have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to successfully compete in the field of RNAi.
There are many issued and pending patents that claim aspects of oligonucleotide chemistry and modifications that we may need for our siRNA marketed products, our late-stage therapeutic candidates being developed by us or our licensees, including vutrisiran, inclisiran and fitusiran, as well as our other pipeline products. There are also many issued patents that claim targeting genes or portions of genes that may be relevant for siRNA drugs we wish to develop. In addition, there may be issued and pending patent applications that may be asserted against us in a court proceeding or otherwise based upon the asserting party’s belief that we may need such patents for our siRNA therapeutic candidates or marketed products, or further develop and commercialize future products such as inclisiran, currently under review with the FDA, or continuing to develop candidates in our pipeline being developed by us or our licensees. Thus, it is possible that one or more organizations will hold patent rights to which we may need a license, or hold patent rights which could be asserted against us. If those organizations refuse to grant us a license to such patent rights on reasonable terms and/or a court rules that we need such patent rights that have been asserted against us and we are not able to obtain a license on reasonable terms, we may be unable to market products, including ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI or OXLUMO, or perform research and development or other activities covered by such patents. For example, during 2017 and 2018, Silence filed claims in several jurisdictions, including the High Court of England and Wales, and named us and our wholly owned subsidiary Alnylam UK Ltd. as co-defendants. Silence alleged various claims, including that ONPATTRO infringed one or more Silence patents. There were also a number of related actions brought by us or Silence in connection with this intellectual property dispute. In December 2018, we entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Silence, resolving all ongoing claims, administrative proceedings, and regulatory proceedings worldwide between us regarding, among other issues, patent infringement, patent invalidity and breach of contract.
If we become involved in patent litigation or other proceedings related to a determination of rights, we could incur substantial costs and expenses, substantial liability for damages or be required to stop our product development and commercialization efforts.
Third parties may sue us for infringing their patent rights. For example, in October 2017 Silence sued us in the UK alleging that ONPATTRO and other investigational RNAi therapeutics we or MDCO are developing infringed one or more Silence patents. Likewise, we may need to resort to litigation to enforce a patent issued or licensed to us or to determine the scope and validity of proprietary rights of others or protect our proprietary information and trade secrets. For example, during the second quarter of 2015, we filed a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit against Dicerna to protect our rights in the RNAi assets we purchased from Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., or Merck. We and Dicerna settled the ongoing litigation between us in April 2018 and in December 2018 we and Silence settled all ongoing litigation between us. A third party may also claim that we have improperly obtained or used its confidential or proprietary information.
In protecting our intellectual patent rights through litigation or other means, a third party may claim that we have improperly asserted our rights against them. For example, in August 2017, Dicerna successfully added counterclaims against us in the above-referenced trade secret lawsuit alleging that our lawsuit represented abuse of process and claiming tortious interference with its business. In addition, in August 2017, Dicerna filed a lawsuit against us in the United States District Court of Massachusetts alleging attempted monopolization by us under the Sherman Antitrust Act. As noted above, in April 2018, we and Dicerna settled the ongoing litigation between us.
Furthermore, third parties may challenge the inventorship of our patents or licensed patents. For example, in March 2011, The University of Utah, or Utah, filed a complaint against us, Max Planck Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Wissenschaften e.V. and Max Planck Innovation, together, Max Planck, Whitehead, MIT and the University of Massachusetts, claiming that a professor of Utah was the sole inventor, or in the alternative, a joint inventor of certain of our in-licensed patents. Utah was seeking correction of inventorship of the Tuschl patents, unspecified damages and other relief. After several years of court proceedings and discovery, the court granted our motions for summary judgment, and dismissed Utah’s state law damages claims as well. During the pendency of this litigation, as well as the Arbutus and Dicerna litigation described above, we incurred significant costs, and in each case, the litigation diverted the attention of our management and other resources that would otherwise have been engaged in other activities.
In addition, in connection with certain license and collaboration agreements, we have agreed to indemnify certain third parties for certain costs incurred in connection with litigation relating to intellectual property rights or the subject matter of the agreements. The cost to us of any litigation or other proceeding relating to intellectual property rights, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial, and litigation would divert our management’s efforts. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation or legal proceeding could delay our research, development and commercialization efforts and limit our ability to continue our operations.
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If any parties successfully claim that our creation or use of proprietary technologies infringes upon or otherwise violates their intellectual property rights, we might be forced to pay damages, potentially including treble damages, if we are found to have willfully infringed on such parties’ patent rights. In addition to any damages we might have to pay, a court could issue an injunction requiring us to stop the infringing activity or obtain a license. Any license required under any patent may not be made available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, such licenses are likely to be non-exclusive and, therefore, our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. If we fail to obtain a required license and are unable to design around a patent, we may be unable to effectively market some of our technology and products, which could limit our ability to generate revenues or achieve profitability and possibly prevent us from generating revenue sufficient to sustain our operations. Moreover, we expect that a number of our collaborations will provide that royalties payable to us for licenses to our intellectual property may be offset by amounts paid by our collaborators to third parties who have competing or superior intellectual property positions in the relevant fields, which could result in significant reductions in our revenues from products developed through collaborations.
If we fail to comply with our obligations under any licenses or related agreements, we may be required to pay damages and could lose license or other rights that are necessary for developing, commercializing and protecting our RNAi technology, as well as our approved products and any other product candidates that we develop, or we could lose certain rights to grant sublicenses.
Our current licenses impose, and any future licenses we enter into are likely to impose, various development, commercialization, funding, milestone, royalty, diligence, sublicensing, insurance, patent prosecution and enforcement, and other obligations on us. If we breach any of these obligations, or use the intellectual property licensed to us in an unauthorized manner, we may be required to pay damages and the licensor may have the right to terminate the license or render the license non-exclusive, which could result in us being unable to develop, manufacture, market and sell products that are covered by the licensed technology or enable a competitor to gain access to the licensed technology. Moreover, we could incur significant costs and/or disruption to our business and distraction of our management defending against any breach of such licenses alleged by the licensor. For example, in June 2018, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Ionis, sent us a notice claiming that it was owed payments under our second amended and restated strategic collaboration and license agreement as a result of the January 2018 amendment of our collaboration agreement with Sanofi Genzyme and the related Exclusive TTR License and AT3 License Terms. Ionis claimed it was owed technology access fees, or TAF's, based on rights granted and amounts paid to us in connection with the Sanofi Genzyme restructuring. In November 2018, we received notice that Ionis had filed a Demand for Arbitration with the Boston office of the American Arbitration Association against us, asserting, among other things, breach of contract. The hearing portion of the arbitration process was completed in June 2020, and post-hearing briefing was completed in the third quarter of 2020. In October 2020, a partial award was issued by the arbitration panel seeking additional information from us. The arbitration panel issued its final award in December 2020, which ruled in favor of Ionis’s request for a TAF on certain rights the panel determined we received in the Sanofi restructuring (but rejecting the TAF amount sought by Ionis), and in favor of us in denying Ionis’s request for a TAF on a milestone payment received by us in the same restructuring. The panel’s final award also denied Ionis’s request for pre-judgement interest and attorney’s fees. Pursuant to the panel's final award, we paid $41.2 million to Ionis in January 2021.
Moreover, our licensors may own or control intellectual property that has not been licensed to us and, as a result, we may be subject to claims, regardless of their merit, that we are infringing or otherwise violating the licensor’s rights. In addition, while we cannot currently determine the amount of the royalty obligations we will be required to pay on sales of each of our approved products or future products, if any, the amounts may be significant. The amount of our future royalty obligations will depend on the technology and intellectual property we use in such products. Therefore, even if we successfully develop and commercialize products, we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.
Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.
In order to protect our proprietary technology and processes, we rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our collaborators, employees, consultants, outside scientific collaborators and sponsored researchers, and other advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases we could not assert any trade secret rights against such party. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.
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Risks Related to Competition
The pharmaceutical market is intensely competitive. If we are unable to compete effectively with existing drugs, new treatment methods and new technologies, we may be unable to commercialize successfully any drugs that we develop.
The pharmaceutical market is intensely competitive and rapidly changing. Many large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, governmental agencies and other public and private research organizations are pursuing the development of novel drugs for the same diseases that we are targeting or expect to target. Many of our competitors have:
•much greater financial, technical and human resources than we have at every stage of the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of products;
•more extensive experience in pre-clinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals, and in manufacturing, marketing and selling drug products;
•product candidates that are based on previously tested or accepted technologies;
•products that have been approved or are in late stages of development; and
•collaborative arrangements in our target markets with leading companies and research institutions.
We will face intense competition from drugs that have already been approved and accepted by the medical community for the treatment of the conditions for which we may develop drugs. We also expect to face competition from new drugs that enter the market. There are a number of drugs currently under development, which may become commercially available in the future, for the treatment of conditions for which we may try to develop drugs. These drugs may be more effective, safer, less expensive, or marketed and sold more effectively, than any products we develop and commercialize. For example, we developed ONPATTRO for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis. In August 2018, the FDA approved ONPATTRO lipid complex injection for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hATTR amyloidosis in adults, and the EC granted marketing authorization for ONPATTRO for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis in adults with stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy. We are aware of other approved products used to treat this disease, including tafamidis, marketed by Pfizer, which is approved in a number of jurisdictions, and inotersen, developed and marketed by Ionis, as well as product candidates in various stages of clinical development, including an additional investigational drug. Finally, we are aware that BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (formerly Eidos Therapeutics, Inc.), or BridgeBio, initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial of acoramidis, a TTR stabilizer, in ATTR-CM in February 2019, and completed enrollment of the Phase 3 clinical trial in ATTR-CM in late 2020. BridgeBio anticipates topline results from the ATTR-CM trial in late 2021 or early 2022. BridgeBio also initiated enrollment in a Phase 3 clinical trial of acoramidis in ATTR-PN patients in the fourth quarter of 2020. While we believe that ONPATTRO has and will continue to have a competitive product profile, and if approved, that vutrisiran will have a competitive product profile, it is possible that ONPATTRO and/or vutrisiran may not compete favorably with these products and product candidates, or others, and, as a result, may not achieve commercial success. Moreover, positive data and/or the commercial success of competitive products could negatively impact our stock price.
If we continue to successfully develop product candidates, and obtain approval for them, we will face competition based on many different factors, including:
•the safety and effectiveness of our products relative to alternative therapies, if any;
•the ease with which our products can be administered and the extent to which patients accept relatively new routes of administration;
•the timing and scope of regulatory approvals for these products;
•the availability and cost of manufacturing, marketing and sales capabilities;
•the price of our products relative to alternative approved therapies;
•reimbursement coverage; and
•patent position.
We are aware of product candidates in various stages of clinical development for the treatment of PH1 which would compete with OXLUMO, our RNAi therapeutic approved in the U.S. and EU for the treatment of this disease, including Oxabact®, a bacteria-based investigational therapy in Phase 3 development by OxThera AB, reloxaliase an investigational enzyme therapy in Phase 3 development for primary or severe secondary hyperoxaluria by Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and nedosiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic in development by Dicerna for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria. In July 2019, the FDA granted a Breakthrough Therapy Designation to nedosiran for the treatment of patients with primary hyperoxaluria, and in January 2021, Dicerna announced that it completed enrollment in its PHYOX2 pivotal clinical trial of nedosiran with topline results expected in mid-2021. In April 2020, we and Dicerna granted each other a non-exclusive cross-license to our respective intellectual property related to lumasiran, and Dicerna’s nedosiran product candidate. Our competitors may develop or commercialize products with significant advantages over any products we develop based on any of the factors
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listed above or on other factors. In addition, our competitors may develop strategic alliances with or receive funding from larger pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, providing them with an advantage over us. Our competitors may therefore be more successful in commercializing their products than we are, which could adversely affect our competitive position and business. Competitive products may make any products we develop obsolete or noncompetitive before we can recover the expenses of developing and commercializing our product candidates. Such competitors could also recruit our employees, which could negatively impact our level of expertise and the ability to execute on our business plan. Furthermore, we also face competition from existing and new treatment methods that reduce or eliminate the need for drugs, such as the use of advanced medical devices. The development of new medical devices or other treatment methods for the diseases we are targeting could make our product candidates noncompetitive, obsolete or uneconomical.
We face competition from other companies that are working to develop novel drugs and technology platforms using technology similar to ours. If these companies develop drugs more rapidly than we do or their technologies, including delivery technologies, are more effective, our ability to successfully commercialize drugs may be adversely affected.
In addition to the competition we face from competing drugs in general, we also face competition from other companies working to develop novel drugs using technology that competes more directly with our own. We are aware of several other companies that are working to develop RNAi therapeutic products. Some of these companies are seeking, as we are, to develop chemically synthesized siRNAs as drugs. Others are following a gene therapy approach, with the goal of treating patients not with synthetic siRNAs but with synthetic, exogenously-introduced genes designed to produce siRNA-like molecules within cells. Companies working on chemically synthesized siRNAs include, but are not limited to, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., or Takeda, Marina Biotech, Inc., or Marina, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Arrowhead, and its subsidiary, Calando Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Calando, Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Quark, Silence Therapeutics plc, or Silence, Arbutus, Sylentis, S.A.U., or Sylentis, Dicerna and its collaborators, WAVE Life Sciences Ltd., or WAVE, Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc., and Genevant Sciences, launched by Arbutus and Roivant Sciences. In addition, we granted licenses or options for licenses to Ionis, Benitec Biopharma Ltd., Arrowhead, and its subsidiary, Calando, Arbutus, Quark, Sylentis and others under which these companies may independently develop RNAi therapeutics against a limited number of targets. Any one of these companies may develop its RNAi technology more rapidly and more effectively than us.
In addition, as a result of agreements that we have entered into, Takeda has obtained a non-exclusive license, and Arrowhead, as the assignee of Novartis, has obtained specific exclusive licenses for 30 gene targets, that include access to certain aspects of our technology. We also compete with companies working to develop antisense-based drugs. Like RNAi therapeutics, antisense drugs target mRNAs in order to suppress the activity of specific genes. Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Ionis in October 2020) or Akcea, has received marketing approval for an antisense drug, inotersen that was developed by Ionis, for the treatment of stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy in adult patients with hATTR amyloidosis. Several antisense drugs developed by Ionis have been approved and are currently marketed, and Ionis has multiple antisense product candidates in clinical trials. Ionis is also developing antisense drugs using ligand-conjugated GalNAc technology licensed from us, and these drugs have been shown to have increased potency at lower doses in clinical and pre-clinical studies, compared with antisense drugs that do not use such licensed GalNAc technology. The development of antisense drugs is more advanced than that of RNAi therapeutics, and antisense technology may become the preferred technology for drugs that target mRNAs to silence specific genes.
In addition to competition with respect to RNAi and with respect to specific products, we face substantial competition to discover and develop safe and effective means to deliver siRNAs to the relevant cell and tissue types. Safe and effective means to deliver siRNAs to the relevant cell and tissue types may be developed by our competitors, and our ability to successfully commercialize a competitive product would be adversely affected. In addition, substantial resources are being expended by third parties in the effort to discover and develop a safe and effective means of delivering siRNAs into the relevant cell and tissue types, both in academic laboratories and in the corporate sector. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources than we do, and if our competitors are able to negotiate exclusive access to those delivery solutions developed by third parties, we may be unable to successfully commercialize our product candidates.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
If our stock price fluctuates, purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses.
The market price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly and may continue to fluctuate significantly in response to factors that are beyond our control. The stock market in general has from time to time experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, and the biotechnology sector in particular has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. The market prices of securities of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been extremely volatile, and have experienced fluctuations that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the clinical development progress or operating performance of these companies, including as a result of adverse development events. For example, the trading price for our common stock and the common stock of other biopharmaceutical companies was highly volatile during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to evolve, and the extent to which the pandemic may impact our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. These broad market
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and sector fluctuations have resulted and could in the future result in extreme fluctuations in the price of our common stock, which could cause purchasers of our common stock to incur substantial losses.
We may incur significant costs from class action litigation.
Our stock price may fluctuate for many reasons, including as a result of public announcements regarding the progress of our development and commercialization efforts or the development and commercialization efforts of our collaborators and/or competitors, the addition or departure of our key personnel, variations in our quarterly operating results and changes in market valuations of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For example, in October 2016, we announced that we were discontinuing the development of revusiran and our stock price declined significantly as a result. When the market price of a stock has been volatile as our stock price has been, holders of that stock have occasionally brought securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock.
For example, a class action complaint was filed on September 26, 2018 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (and transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by stipulation of the parties and Order of the Court dated November 20, 2018). The complaint, as amended, or the Complaint, alleged that we and our Chief Executive Officer, former Chief Financial Officer and certain of our other executive officers violated certain federal securities laws, specifically under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The plaintiff sought unspecified damages on behalf of a purported class of purchasers of our common stock between September 20, 2017 and September 12, 2018. On March 23, 2020, the Court granted our motion to dismiss and dismissed the Complaint without prejudice. Pursuant to a prior Order of the Court, on June 1, 2020, plaintiff filed a motion seeking leave to file a further amended complaint, which the Court denied by Memorandum & Order dated March 12, 2021. This type of litigation is often expensive and diverts management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect the operation of our business. If we are ultimately required to pay significant defense costs, damages or settlement amounts, in excess of our insurance coverage, such payments could adversely affect our operations.
We may be the target of similar litigation in the future. For example, on September 12, 2019, the Chester County Employees Retirement Fund, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a purported securities class action complaint alleging violation of federal securities laws against us, certain of our current and former directors and officers, and the underwriters of our November 14, 2017 public stock offering, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, or the New York State Securities Litigation. We believe the allegations in the New York State Securities Litigation are without merit and we intend to defend the case vigorously. This litigation and future litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, which could cause serious harm to our business, operating results and financial condition. We maintain liability insurance; however, if any costs or expenses associated with this or any other litigation exceed our insurance coverage, we may be forced to bear some or all of these costs and expenses directly, which could be substantial.
Future sales of shares of our common stock, including by our significant stockholders, us or our directors and officers, could cause the price of our common stock to decline.
A small number of our stockholders beneficially own a substantial amount of our common stock. As of March 31, 2021, our seven largest stockholders beneficially owned in excess of 50% of our outstanding shares of common stock. If our significant stockholders, or we or our officers and directors, sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or there is a perception that such sales may occur, the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected. Sales of common stock by our significant stockholders might make it more difficult for us to raise funds by selling equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate.
Regeneron’s ownership of our common stock could delay or prevent a change in corporate control.
As of May 21, 2019, the closing date of the stock purchase in connection with the 2019 Regeneron collaboration, Regeneron held approximately 4% of our outstanding common stock and has the right to increase its ownership up to 30%. This concentration of ownership could harm the market price of our common stock in the future by:
•delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company;
•impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving our company; or
•discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws may delay or prevent an acquisition of us or a change in our management. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors. Because our
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board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team. These provisions include:
•a classified board of directors;
•a prohibition on actions by our stockholders by written consent;
•limitations on the removal of directors; and
•advance notice requirements for election to our board of directors and for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholder meetings.
In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner. These provisions would apply even if the proposed merger or acquisition could be considered beneficial by some stockholders.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
On April 27, 2021, we entered into a second amendment to our non-cancelable real property lease agreement with BMR-Fresh Pond Research Park LLC, as amended, or the BMR-665 Concord Avenue Lease, for our manufacturing facility for patisiran formulated bulk drug product for late-stage clinical trial use and commercial supply. Under the BMR-665 Concord Avenue Lease, we lease approximately 15,000 square feet of office and laboratory space located at 665 Concord Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Pursuant to the second amendment, we extended the term, which was set to expire in August 2022, for an additional five years, through September 30, 2027. We have the option to extend the BMR-665 Concord Avenue Lease for one additional five-year period.
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
| 31.1 | ||||||||
| 31.2 | ||||||||
| 32.1 | ||||||||
| 32.2 | ||||||||
| 101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | |||||||
| 101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL with applicable taxonomy extension information contained in Exhibits 101.*) | |||||||
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | ||||||||
| Date: April 29, 2021 | /s/ John M. Maraganore | |||||||
| John M. Maraganore, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | ||||||||
| Date: April 29, 2021 | /s/ Jeffrey V. Poulton | |||||||
| Jeffrey V. Poulton Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | ||||||||
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