Evolus, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2021 March (Form 10-Q)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
_________________________________________________________________
FORM 10-Q
_________________________________________________________________
(Mark One)
☒ 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: 001-38381
_________________________________________________________________
EVOLUS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
_________________________________________________________________
Delaware | 46-1385614 | |||||||||||||||||||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |||||||||||||||||||
520 Newport Center Drive Suite 1200 Newport Beach, California | 92660 | |||||||||||||||||||
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | |||||||||||||||||||
(949) 284-4555 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||||||||
Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share | EOLS | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq Global Market) |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||||||
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | ||||||||
Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of May 7, 2021, 54,120,312 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.00001, were outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS | ||||||||
Page | ||||||||
Summary of Risk Factors | 3 | |||||||
PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION | ||||||||
Item 1. | ||||||||
Item 2. | ||||||||
Item 3. | ||||||||
Item 4. | ||||||||
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION | ||||||||
Item 1. | ||||||||
Item 1A. | ||||||||
Item 2. | ||||||||
Item 3. | ||||||||
Item 4. | ||||||||
Item 5. | ||||||||
Item 6. | ||||||||
2
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about future events, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, our industry and the regulatory environment in which we operate. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of those terms, or other comparable terms intended to identify statements about the future. The forward-looking statements included herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond our control, include, but are not limited to those made below under “Summary of Risk Factors” and in Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Quarterly Report.
You should carefully consider these risks, as well as the additional risks described in other documents we file with the SEC in the future, including subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which may from time to time amend, supplement or supersede the risks and uncertainties we disclose. We also operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements included herein are based on current expectations of our management based on available information and are believed to be reasonable. In light of the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that such results will be achieved, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the documents we file with the SEC, with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by the cautionary statements referenced above.
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves various risks and you are urged to carefully consider the risks discussed under Item 1A “Risk Factors,” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q prior to making an investment in our securities. If any of the risks below or in Item 1A “Risk Factors” occurs, our business could be materially and adversely affected. As more fully described in Item 1A “Risk Factors”, the principal risks and uncertainties that may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations include, but are not limited to, the following:
•We currently depend entirely on the successful commercialization of our only product, Jeuveau®. If we are unable to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®, we may never generate sufficient revenue to continue our business.
•We have a limited operating history and have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. We have only one product, which, together with our limited operating history, make it difficult to assess our future viability.
•We may require additional financing to fund our future operations, and a failure to obtain additional capital when so needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our operations.
•If we or our counterparties do not comply with the terms of our settlement agreements with Medytox or Allergan, we may face litigation or lose our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® which would materially and adversely affect our ability to carry out our business, and our financial condition and ability to continue as a going concern.
•The terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements with Medytox and Allergan will reduce our profitability and may affect our pricing and the extent of any discounts we may offer to our customers.
3
•Our business, financial condition and operations continues to be adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
•We rely on the license and supply agreement with Daewoong, which we refer to as the Daewoong Agreement, to provide us exclusive rights to distribute Jeuveau® in certain territories. Any termination or loss of significant rights, including exclusivity, under the Daewoong Agreement would materially and adversely affect our development or commercialization of Jeuveau®.
•Our failure to successfully in-license, acquire, develop and market additional product candidates or approved products would impair our ability to grow our business.
•Jeuveau® faces, and any of our future product candidates will face, significant competition and our failure to effectively compete may prevent us from achieving significant market penetration and expansion.
•Jeuveau® may fail to achieve the broad degree of physician adoption and use or consumer demand necessary for commercial success.
•Our ability to market Jeuveau® is limited to use for the treatment of glabellar lines, and if we want to expand the indications for which we market Jeuveau®, we will need to obtain additional regulatory approvals, which will be expensive and may not be granted.
•Third party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our commercialization efforts and interrupt our supply of products.
•If we or any of our current or future licensors, including Daewoong, are unable to maintain, obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.
•We may need to increase the size of our organization, including our sales and marketing capabilities in order to further commercialize Jeuveau® and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth.
•We rely on our digital technology and applications and our business and operations would suffer in the event of system failures or breach by hackers.
•We are subject to extensive government regulation, and we may face delays in or not obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates and our compliance with ongoing regulatory requirements may result in significant additional expense, limit or delay regulatory approval or subject us to penalties if we fail to comply.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, as used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the terms “Evolus,” “company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Evolus, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and our subsidiaries taken as a whole, unless otherwise noted.
EVOLUS™, Jeuveau®, Evolux™ are three of our trademarks that are used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Jeuveau® is the trade name in the United States for our approved product with non-proprietary name, prabotulinumtoxinA-xvfs. The product has different trade names outside of the United States, but is referred to throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as Jeuveau®. This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q also includes trademarks, trade names and service marks that are the property of other organizations, such as BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic, which we refer to throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as BOTOX. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may appear without the ® and ™ symbols, but those references are not intended to indicate that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights, or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights, to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
4
PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
Evolus, Inc.
Condensed Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except par value and share data)
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
March 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
(unaudited) | (Note 2) | ||||||||||
ASSETS | |||||||||||
Current assets | |||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 22,171 | $ | 102,562 | |||||||
Short-term investments | — | 5,000 | |||||||||
Accounts receivable, net | 7,816 | 9,680 | |||||||||
Inventories | 2,775 | 3,354 | |||||||||
Consideration receivable from Daewoong | 25,500 | — | |||||||||
Withholding tax receivable | 7,263 | — | |||||||||
Prepaid expenses | 5,464 | 4,828 | |||||||||
Other current assets | 6,728 | 2,188 | |||||||||
Total current assets | 77,717 | 127,612 | |||||||||
Property and equipment, net | 1,217 | 1,297 | |||||||||
Operating lease right-of-use assets | 3,248 | 3,414 | |||||||||
Intangible assets, net | 53,568 | 55,297 | |||||||||
Goodwill | 21,208 | 21,208 | |||||||||
Other assets | 240 | 240 | |||||||||
Total assets | $ | 157,198 | $ | 209,068 | |||||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | |||||||||||
Current liabilities | |||||||||||
Accounts payable | $ | 13,253 | $ | 9,615 | |||||||
Accrued expenses | 12,567 | 9,102 | |||||||||
Accrued litigation settlement | 30,000 | 63,421 | |||||||||
Withholding tax payable | 7,263 | — | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities | 1,226 | 1,212 | |||||||||
Contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders | 3,985 | 3,446 | |||||||||
Promissory note payable to Evolus Founders | 19,354 | 19,068 | |||||||||
Term loan, net of discounts and issuance costs | — | 74,384 | |||||||||
Total current liabilities | 87,648 | 180,248 | |||||||||
Accrued litigation settlement | 5,000 | 20,000 | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities | 2,936 | 3,147 | |||||||||
Contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders | 38,300 | 38,100 | |||||||||
Convertible note | — | 40,506 | |||||||||
Deferred tax liability | 25 | 25 | |||||||||
Total liabilities | 133,909 | 282,026 | |||||||||
Commitments and contingencies (Note 9) | |||||||||||
Stockholders’ equity (deficit) | |||||||||||
Preferred stock, $0.00001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively | — | — | |||||||||
Common stock, $0.00001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 43,736,971 and 33,749,228 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Additional paid-in capital | 392,959 | 303,113 | |||||||||
Accumulated deficit | (369,671) | (376,072) | |||||||||
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) | 23,289 | (72,958) | |||||||||
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 157,198 | $ | 209,068 |
5
Evolus, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Revenue: | |||||||||||
$ | 12,241 | $ | 10,496 | ||||||||
Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
4,908 | 4,219 | ||||||||||
Settlement payment from Daewoong | (25,500) | — | |||||||||
Selling, general and administrative | 20,677 | 31,300 | |||||||||
Research and development | 841 | 507 | |||||||||
Revaluation of contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders | 1,268 | (9,884) | |||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 2,033 | 1,749 | |||||||||
Total operating expenses | 4,227 | 27,891 | |||||||||
Income (loss) from operations | 8,014 | (17,395) | |||||||||
Other income (expense): | |||||||||||
Interest income | — | 374 | |||||||||
Interest expense | (645) | (2,458) | |||||||||
Loss from extinguishment of debts, net | (968) | — | |||||||||
Income (loss) before income taxes: | 6,401 | (19,479) | |||||||||
Income tax expense | — | 256 | |||||||||
Net income (loss) | $ | 6,401 | $ | (19,735) | |||||||
Other comprehensive gain (loss): | |||||||||||
Unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities, net of tax | — | 219 | |||||||||
Comprehensive income (loss) | $ | 6,401 | $ | (19,516) | |||||||
Net income (loss) per share, basic | $ | 0.17 | $ | (0.59) | |||||||
Net income (loss) per share, diluted | $ | 0.16 | $ | (0.59) | |||||||
Weighted-average shares outstanding used to compute basic net income (loss) per share | 37,100,897 | 33,720,436 | |||||||||
Weighted-average shares outstanding used to compute diluted net income (loss) per share | 41,104,627 | 33,720,436 |
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
6
Evolus, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(in thousands, except share data)
(Unaudited)
Series A Preferred Stock | Common Stock | Additional Paid In Capital | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Gain (Loss) | Accumulated Deficit | Total Stockholders’ Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2019 | — | $ | — | 33,562,665 | $ | 1 | $ | 292,509 | $ | 6 | $ | (213,059) | $ | 79,457 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock in connection with the incentive equity plan | — | — | 165,370 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation | — | — | — | — | 2,665 | — | — | 2,665 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | — | (19,735) | (19,735) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss | — | — | — | — | — | 219 | — | 219 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at March 31, 2020 | — | $ | — | 33,728,035 | $ | 1 | $ | 295,174 | $ | 225 | $ | (232,794) | $ | 62,606 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series A Preferred Stock | Common Stock | Additional Paid In Capital | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Gain (Loss) | Accumulated Deficit | Total Stockholders’ Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2020 | — | $ | — | 33,749,228 | $ | 1 | $ | 303,113 | $ | — | $ | (376,072) | $ | (72,958) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock in connection with litigation settlement | — | — | 6,762,652 | — | 48,421 | — | — | 48,421 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock for conversion of convertible note | — | — | 3,136,869 | — | 39,808 | — | — | 39,808 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock in connection with the incentive equity plan | — | — | 88,222 | — | 11 | — | — | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock-based compensation | — | — | — | — | 1,606 | — | — | 1,606 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net income | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6,401 | 6,401 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at March 31, 2021 | — | $ | — | 43,736,971 | $ | 1 | $ | 392,959 | $ | — | $ | (369,671) | $ | 23,289 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
7
Evolus, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Cash flows from operating activities | |||||||||||
Net income (loss) | $ | 6,401 | $ | (19,735) | |||||||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | |||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 2,033 | 1,749 | |||||||||
Stock-based compensation | 1,590 | 2,628 | |||||||||
Provision for bad debts | 610 | 2,607 | |||||||||
Amortization of discount on short-term investments | — | (169) | |||||||||
Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets | 166 | 169 | |||||||||
Amortization of debt discount and issuance costs | 286 | 647 | |||||||||
Paid-in-kind interest on convertible note | 273 | — | |||||||||
Deferred income taxes | — | 256 | |||||||||
Revaluation of contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders | 1,268 | (9,884) | |||||||||
Loss from extinguishment of debts | 968 | — | |||||||||
Changes in assets and liabilities: | |||||||||||
Accounts receivable | 1,254 | (2,352) | |||||||||
Inventories | 3,149 | (1,929) | |||||||||
Consideration receivable from Daewoong | (25,500) | — | |||||||||
Prepaid expenses | (636) | 1,878 | |||||||||
Other assets | (1,657) | (14) | |||||||||
Accounts payable | (1,808) | 332 | |||||||||
Accrued expenses | 3,465 | (3,949) | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities | (197) | (181) | |||||||||
Net cash used in operating activities | (8,335) | (27,947) | |||||||||
Cash flows from investing activities | |||||||||||
Purchases of property and equipment | — | (565) | |||||||||
Additions to capitalized software | (215) | (935) | |||||||||
Purchases of short-term investments | — | (49,688) | |||||||||
Maturities of short-term investments | 5,000 | 5,000 | |||||||||
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 4,785 | (46,188) | |||||||||
Cash flows from financing activities | |||||||||||
Repayment of long term debt | (76,323) | — | |||||||||
Payment of contingent royalty obligation to Evolus Founders | (529) | (583) | |||||||||
Payment for debt obligation | — | (522) | |||||||||
Issuance of common stock in connection with incentive equity plan | 11 | — | |||||||||
Net cash used in financing activities | (76,841) | (1,105) | |||||||||
Change in cash and cash equivalents | (80,391) | (75,240) | |||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 102,562 | 109,892 | |||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ | 22,171 | $ | 34,652 |
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
8
Evolus, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows (Continued)
(in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information | |||||||||||
Cash paid for interest | $ | 79 | $ | 1,801 | |||||||
Non-cash investing and financing information: | |||||||||||
Conversion of convertible note to equity | $ | 39,808 | $ | — | |||||||
Issuance of common stock in exchange for accrued litigation settlement expense | $ | 48,421 | $ | — | |||||||
Capitalized software recorded in accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 7 | $ | 168 | |||||||
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
9
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Note 1. Description of Business
Description of Business
Evolus, Inc., (“Evolus” or the “Company”) is a performance beauty company focused on delivering products in the self-pay aesthetic market. The Company received the approval of its first product Jeuveau® (prabotulinumtoxinA-xvfs) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) in February 2019. The product was also approved by Health Canada in August 2018 and the European Commission (“EC”) in September 2019. Jeuveau® is a proprietary 900 kDa purified botulinum toxin type A formulation indicated for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines, also known as “frown lines,” in adults. The Company commercially launched Jeuveau® in the United States in May 2019 and in Canada through a distribution partner in October 2019. The Company currently generates all of its net revenues from Jeuveau®. The Company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.
Liquidity and Financial Condition
The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared on a basis that assumes that the Company will continue as a going concern, and do not include any adjustments that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty. This basis of accounting contemplates the recovery of the Company’s assets and the satisfaction of the Company’s liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business and does not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects of the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. Since inception, the Company has incurred recurring net operating losses. The Company has recorded net income of $6,401 for the three months ended March 31, 2021. Additionally, the Company used cash of $8,335 in operations during the three months ended March 31, 2021. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had $22,171 in cash and cash equivalents, $19,354 in current debt and an accumulated deficit of $369,671.
In January 2021, the Company paid Oxford Finance (“Oxford”) $76,447 to discharge in full all outstanding obligations, included accrued interest, and the Oxford Term Loan (as such term is defined in Note 6. Oxford Term Loan ) was extinguished. See Note 6. Oxford Term Loan for additional information.
In February 2021, the Company entered into settlement and license agreements with Medytox, Inc. (“Medytox”) and Allergan, plc and Allergan, Inc. (collectively, “Allergan”), pursuant to which the Company (1) agreed to pay Medytox and Allergan $35,000 in multiple payments over two years, including $20,000 due in the next twelve months, (2) issued Medytox 6,762,652 shares of common stock and (3) agreed to pay Medytox and Allergan certain royalties on the sale of Jeuveau®, among other terms. See Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies for additional information.
In March 2021, the Company and Daewoong entered into certain agreements, pursuant to which Daewoong (1) paid the Company an amount equal to $25,500 in April 2021 and (2) agreed to reimburse the Company certain amounts with respect to the royalties payable to Medytox and Allergan, among other terms. See Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies for additional information. In addition, the outstanding Daewoong Convertible Note (as such term is defined in Note 7. Daewoong Convertible Note ), including accrued interest, in the amount of $40,779 was converted into 3,136,869 shares of the Company’s common stock. See Note 7. Daewoong Convertible Note for additional information.
In April 2021, the Company completed a follow-on public offering and issued 10,350,000 shares of its common stock, which included the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 1,350,000 shares of common stock, at a price to the public of $9.50 per share. The Company received net proceeds of approximately $92,426 from the offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, excluding other offering expenses.
The Company’s ability to execute on its business strategy, meet its future liquidity requirements, and achieve profitable operations, is dependent on a number of factors, including its ability to gain and expand market acceptance of its product and achieve a level of revenues adequate to support its cost structure, its ability maintain regulatory approval of its product, the outcome of its ongoing litigation and its ability to operate its business and sell products without infringing third party intellectual property rights.
10
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
The Company believes that its current capital resources, which consist of cash and cash equivalents, are sufficient to fund operations through at least the next twelve months from the date the accompanying condensed financial statements are issued based on the expected cash burn rate. The Company may be required to raise additional capital to fund future operations through the incurrence of debt, the entry into licensing or collaboration agreements with partners, sale of its equity securities, grants or other sources of financing. Sufficient funds may not be available to the Company at all or on attractive terms when needed from equity or debt financings. If the Company is unable to obtain additional funding from these or other sources when needed, or to the extent needed, it may be necessary to significantly reduce its controllable and variable expenditures and current rate of spending through reductions in staff and delaying, scaling back, or suspending certain research and development, sales and marketing programs and other operational goals.
Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared on a consistent basis with the annual financial statements and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim reporting. Pursuant to these SEC rules and regulations, the Company has condensed or omitted certain financial information and disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. In the opinion of management, the interim financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair statement of the interim periods. The interim results presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2021 or for any other interim period.
The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements and related disclosures should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on March 25, 2021.
Reclassifications
Certain comparative amounts for prior year have been reclassified to conform to current year presentations. Such reclassifications did not affect net income or retained earnings.
Use of Estimates
Management is required to make certain estimates and assumptions in order to prepare financial statements in conformity with GAAP. Such estimates and assumptions affect the reported financial statements. The Company’s most significant estimates relate to net revenues, allowance for doubtful accounts, fair value measurements, goodwill and long-lived asset valuations and impairment assessments, inventory valuations, income tax valuations, stock-based compensation and royalty obligations, among others. Management bases estimates on historical experience and on assumptions that management believes are reasonable. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those estimates.
Additionally, the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is unknown and cannot be reasonably estimated. However, where possible, management has made appropriate accounting estimates with respect to certain accounting matters, which include the fair value of royalty obligations, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventory valuation and impairment assessments of goodwill and other long-lived assets, based on the facts and circumstances available as of the reporting date. The Company’s future assessment of the magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as other factors, could result in material impacts to the Company’s financial statements in future reporting periods.
Risks and Uncertainties
In 2013, Evolus and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (“Daewoong”) entered into an agreement (“Daewoong Agreement”), pursuant to which, the Company received an exclusive distribution license to Jeuveau® from Daewoong for aesthetic indications in the United States, European Union, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States, and South Africa, as well as co-exclusive distribution rights with Daewoong in Japan. Jeuveau® is manufactured by Daewoong in a facility in South Korea. The Company also has the option to negotiate first with Daewoong to secure a
11
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
distribution license for any product that Daewoong directly or indirectly develops or commercializes that is classified as an injectable botulinum toxin (other than Jeuveau®) in a territory covered by the Daewoong Agreement. The Company relies on Daewoong, its exclusive and sole supplier, to manufacture Jeuveau®. Any termination or loss of significant rights, including exclusivity, under the Daewoong Agreement would materially and adversely affect the Company’s commercialization of Jeuveau®. See Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies for additional information.
The Company commercially launched Jeuveau® in the United States in May 2019 and in Canada through its distribution partner in October 2019 and, as such, has a limited history of sales. If any previously granted approval is retracted or the Company is denied approval or approval is delayed by any other regulators, it may have a material adverse impact on the Company’s business and its financial statements.
The Company is also subject to risks common to companies in the pharmaceutical industry including, but not limited to, dependency on the commercial success of Jeuveau®, the Company’s sole commercial product, significant competition within the medical aesthetics industry, its ability to maintain regulatory approval of Jeuveau®, the need for additional financing to achieve its goals, third party litigation and challenges to its intellectual property, uncertainty of broad adoption of its product by physicians and patients, its ability to in-license, acquire or develop additional product candidates and to obtain the necessary approvals for those product candidates, and the need to scale manufacturing capabilities over time.
The COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, including quarantines, government-mandated actions, stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, have adversely affected the Company’s business in a number of ways, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in a period of business disruption and in reduced sales and operations. In addition, any disruption and volatility in the global capital markets may increase the Company’s cost of capital and adversely affect its ability to access financing when and on terms that we desire. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Segment Reporting
Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision-maker. The Company has determined that it operates in a single operating and reportable segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is its Chief Executive Officer who manages operations and reviews the financial information as a single operating segment for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating its financial performance.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to a concentration of credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and accounts receivable. Substantially all of the Company’s cash is held by financial institutions that management believes are of high credit quality. Such deposits may, at times, exceed federally insured limits. To date, the Company has not experienced any losses associated with this credit risk and continues to believe that this exposure is not significant. The Company invests its excess cash, in line with its investment policy, primarily in money market funds and debt instruments of U.S. government agencies.
The Company’s accounts receivable is derived from customers located principally in the United States. Concentrations of credit risk with respect to trade receivables are limited due to the Company’s credit evaluation process. The Company does not typically require collateral from its customers. Credit losses historically have not been material. The Company continuously monitors customer payments and maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts based on its assessment of various factors including historical experience, age of the receivable balances, and other current economic conditions or other factors that may affect customers’ ability to pay.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and highly liquid investments with remaining maturities at purchase of three months or less that can be liquidated without prior notice or penalty. Cash and cash equivalents may include deposits, money market funds and debt securities. Amounts receivable from credit card issuers are typically converted to cash within two to four days of the original sales transaction and are considered to be cash equivalents.
12
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Short-Term Investments
Short-term investments consist of available-for-sale U.S. Treasury securities with original maturities greater than three months and remaining maturities of less than twelve months. These investments are recorded at fair value based on quoted prices in active markets, with unrealized gains and losses reported in other comprehensive (loss) gain in the Company’s condensed statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Purchase premiums and discounts are recognized in interest expense using the effective interest method over the terms of the securities. Realized gains and losses and declines in fair value that are deemed to be other than temporary are reflected in the condensed statements of operations and comprehensive loss using the specific-identification method.
The Company periodically reviews all available-for-sale securities for other than temporary declines in fair value below the cost basis whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company also evaluates whether it has plans or is required to sell short-term investments before recovery of their amortized cost bases. To date, the Company has not identified any other than temporary declines in fair value of its short-term investments.
Inventories
Inventories consist of finished goods held for sale and distribution. Cost is determined based on the estimated amount payable to the Company’s supplier after accounting for any reimbursement receivable pursuant to the Daewoong Settlement Agreement (as such term is defined, and such agreement is discussed, in Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies), using the first-in, first-out method with prioritization of the items with the earliest expiration dates. Inventory valuation reserves are established based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, finished goods not meeting product specifications, product excess and obsolescence, or application of the lower of cost or net realizable value concepts. The determination of events requiring the establishment of inventory valuation reserves, together with the calculation of the amount of such reserves may require judgment. No material inventory valuation reserves have been recorded for the periods presented. Adverse changes in assumptions utilized in the Company’s inventory reserve calculations could result in an increase to its inventory valuation reserves.
Product cost of sales, excluding amortization of intangible assets, consisted of the inventory cost, and, for periods on or after December 16, 2020, included certain royalties on the sale of Jeuveau® payable to Medytox and Allergan pursuant to the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements (as such items are defined in Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies), as partially offset by reimbursement receivable from Daewoong pursuant the Daewoong Settlement Agreement with respect to such royalties. In the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company also recorded the settlement payment of $25,500 from Daewoong in connection with the Daewoong Settlement Agreement as part of cost of sales. See “—Litigation Settlement” for additional information.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants in a principal market on the measurement date.
The fair value hierarchy defines a three-tiered valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurement is classified and disclosed by the Company in one of the three categories as follows:
•Level 1—Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;
•Level 2—Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and
•Level 3—Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are unobservable that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
13
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
The categorization of a financial instrument within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation and amortization are provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of approximately five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the improvements or the term of the related lease.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired in a business combination. The Company reviews goodwill for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. The Company performs an annual qualitative assessment of its goodwill in the fourth quarter of each calendar year to determine if any events or circumstances exist, such as an adverse change in business climate or a decline in the overall industry demand, that would indicate that it would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount, including goodwill. If events or circumstances do not indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit is below its carrying amount, then goodwill is not considered to be impaired and no further testing is required. If further testing is required, the Company performs a two-step process. The first step involves comparing the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the test is performed by comparing the carrying value of the goodwill in the reporting unit to its implied fair value. An impairment charge is recognized for the excess of the carrying value of goodwill over its implied fair value. For the purpose of impairment testing, the Company has determined that it has one reporting unit. There was no impairment of goodwill for any of the periods presented.
Intangible Assets
Upon FDA approval of Jeuveau® in February 2019, the in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) related to Jeuveau® was evaluated as completed and reclassified to a definite-lived distribution right intangible asset, which is amortized over the period the asset is expected to contribute to the future cash flows of the Company. The Company determined the pattern of this intangible asset’s future cash flows could not be readily determined with a high level of precision. As a result, the distribution right intangible asset is being amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of 20 years.
The Company capitalizes certain internal-use software costs associated with the development of its mobile and web-based customer platforms. These costs include personnel expenses and external costs that are directly associated with the software projects. These costs are included as intangible assets in the accompanying condensed balance sheets. The capitalized internal-use software costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of two years upon being placed in service.
The Company reviews long-term and identifiable definite-lived intangible assets or asset groups for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset or an asset group, further impairment analysis is performed. An impairment loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset or asset groups exceeds the fair value for assets to be held and used or fair value less cost to sell for assets to be disposed of. The Company also reviews the useful lives of its assets periodically to determine whether events and circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining useful life. Changes in the useful life are adjusted prospectively by revising the remaining period over which the asset is amortized. There was no material impairment of long-lived assets for any periods presented.
Leases
In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 842, Leases (“ASC 842”), at the inception of a contractual arrangement, the Company determines whether the contract contains a lease by assessing whether there is an identified asset and whether the contract conveys the right to control the use of the identified asset in exchange for consideration over a period of time. If both criteria are met, upon lease commencement, the Company records a lease liability which represents the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease, and a corresponding right-of-use (“ROU”) asset which
14
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
represents the Company’s right to use an underlying asset during the lease term. Operating lease assets and liabilities are included in ROU assets, current portion of operating lease liabilities and noncurrent operating lease liabilities in the accompanying condensed balance sheets.
Operating lease ROU assets and lease liabilities are initially recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date calculated using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate applicable to the underlying asset unless the implicit rate is readily determinable. Operating lease ROU assets also include any lease payments made at or before lease commencement and exclude any lease incentives received, if any. The Company determines the lease term as the noncancelable period of the lease and may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise such options. The Company’s leases do not contain any residual value guarantees. Leases with a term of 12 months or less are not recognized on the condensed balance sheets. For operating leases, the Company recognized rent expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. There were no significant finance leases as of March 31, 2021.
Contingent Royalty Obligation Payable to the Evolus Founders
The Company determines the fair value of the contingent royalty obligation payable at each reporting period end based on Level 3 inputs using a discounted cash flows method. Changes in the fair value of the contingent royalty obligation payable are determined at each reporting period end and recorded in operating expenses in the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) and as a liability in the condensed balance sheets.
Promissory Note Payable to Evolus Founders
On February 12, 2018, the Company recognized a promissory note payable at present value using a discount rate for similar rated debt securities. Discount amortization related to the promissory note is recorded in interest expense in the condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) with a corresponding increase to the liabilities in the condensed balance sheets.
Revenue Recognition
The Company applies Accounting Standards Codification 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), to account for revenue generated since the commercial launch of Jeuveau® in May 2019.
The Company recognizes revenue when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to its customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for the goods or services. In order to achieve that core principle, a five-step approach is applied: (1) identify the contract with a customer, (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognize revenue allocated to each performance obligation when the Company satisfies the performance obligation. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of account for revenue recognition.
General
The Company generates product revenue from the sale of Jeuveau® in the United States and service revenue from the sale of Jeuveau® through a distribution partner in Canada.
For product revenue, the Company recognizes revenue when control of the promised goods under a contract is transferred to a customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods as specified in the customer contract. The transfer of control occurs upon receipt of the goods by the customer since that is when the customer has obtained control of the goods’ economic benefits. The Company does not provide any service-type warranties and does not accept product returns except under limited circumstances such as damages in transit or ineffective product. The Company also excludes any amounts related to taxes assessed by governmental authorities from revenue measurement. Shipping and handling costs associated with outbound product freight are accounted for as fulfillment costs and are included in selling, general and marketing expenses in the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).
15
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
For service revenue, the Company evaluated the arrangement with the distribution partner in Canada and determined that it acts as an agent in the distribution of Jeuveau® in Canada as it does not control the product before control is transferred to a customer. The indicators of which party exercises control include primary responsibility over performance obligations, inventory risk before the good or service is transferred and discretion in establishing the price. Accordingly, the Company records the sale as service revenue on a net basis. Revenue from services is recognized in the period the service is performed for the amount of consideration expected to be received. The Company did not recognize any revenues related to Canada sales for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.
Disaggregation of Revenue
The Company’s disaggregation of revenue is consistent with its operating segment as disclosed above.
Gross-to-Net Revenue Adjustments
The Company provides customers with discounts, such as trade and volume discounts and prompt pay discounts, that are directly reflected in the invoice price. Revenues are recorded net of sales-related adjustments, wherever applicable, primarily for the volume-based rebates, coupon and consumer loyalty programs.
•Volume-based Rebates — Volume-based rebates are contractually offered to certain customers. The rebates payable to each customer are determined based on the contract and quarterly purchase volumes.
•Coupons — The Company issued customers coupons redeemable into gift cards funded by the Company for the benefit of patients. The coupons were accounted for as variable consideration. The Company estimates the coupon redemption rates based on historical data and future expectations. The coupons were accrued based on estimated redemption rates and the volume of products purchased and were recorded as a reduction to revenues on product delivery. All issued coupons expired on June 30, 2020.
•Consumer Loyalty Program — In May 2020, the Company launched a consumer loyalty program, which allows participating customers to earn rewards for qualifying treatments to their patients (i.e. consumers) using Jeuveau® and redeem the rewards for Jeuveau® in the future at no additional cost. The loyalty program represents a customer option that provides a material right and, accordingly, is a performance obligation. At the time Jeuveau® product is sold to customers, the invoice price is allocated between the product sold and the estimated material right reward (“Reward”) that the customer might redeem in the future. The standalone selling price of the Reward is measured based on historical sales data, average selling price of Jeuveau® at the time of redemption, expected customer and consumer participation rates in the loyalty program, and estimated number of qualifying treatments to be performed by customers. The portion of invoice price allocated to the Reward is initially recorded as deferred revenue. Subsequently, when customers redeem the Reward and the related product is delivered, the deferred revenue is recognized in net revenue at that time.
As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the accrued revenue contract liabilities, primarily related to volume-based rebates, coupons and consumer loyalty program, were $3,111 and $3,081, respectively, which were recorded in the accrued expenses in the accompanying condensed balance sheets. For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, provisions for rebate, coupon and consumer loyalty programs were $1,823 and $10,213, respectively, which were offset by related payments, redemptions and adjustments of $1,794 and $9,443, respectively.
Contract balances
A contract with a customer states the terms of the sale, including the description, quantity and price of each product purchased. Amounts are recorded as accounts receivable when the Company’s right to consideration becomes unconditional. The Company does not have any significant financing components in customer contracts given the expected time between transfer of the promised products and the payment of the associated consideration is less than one year. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, all amounts included in accounts receivable, net on the accompanying condensed balance sheets are related to contracts with customers.
The Company did not have any contract assets nor unbilled receivables as of March 31, 2021 or December 31, 2020. Sales commissions are included in selling, general and administrative expenses when incurred.
16
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Contract liabilities reflect estimated amounts that the Company is obligated to pay to customers or patients primarily under the rebate and coupon programs and deferred revenue associated with Reward under the consumer loyalty program. The Company’s contract liabilities are included in accounts payable and accrued expenses in the accompanying condensed balance sheets.
During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company recognized $1,515 and $0, respectively, of revenue related to amounts included in contract liabilities at the beginning of the period and did not recognize any revenue related to changes in transaction prices regarding its contracts with customers from previous periods.
Collectability
Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. At the time of contract inception or new customer account set-up, the Company performs a collectability assessment of the customer’s creditworthiness. The Company assesses the probability that the Company will collect the entitled consideration in exchange for the goods sold, by considering the customer’s ability and intention to pay when consideration is due. On a recurring basis, the Company estimates the amount of receivables considered uncollectable to reflect an allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company writes off accounts receivable balances when it is determined that there is no possibility of collection. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, allowance for doubtful accounts was $2,564 and $2,118, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, provision for bad debts was $610 and $2,607, respectively, and the write-off amount was $165 and $171, respectively.
Practical Expedients
The Company expenses sales commissions when incurred as the amortization period is one year or less. These costs are recorded within selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive loss. The Company does not adjust the amount of promised consideration for the effects of the time value of money for contracts in which the anticipated period between when the Company transfers the goods or services to the customer and when the customer pays within one year.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses include personnel-related costs, costs associated with pre-clinical and clinical development activities, costs associated with and costs for prototype products that are manufactured prior to market approval for that prototype product, internal and external costs associated with the Company’s regulatory compliance and quality assurance functions, including the costs of outside consultants and contractors that assist in the process of submitting and maintaining regulatory filings, and overhead costs, including allocated facility related expenses.
Litigation Settlement
In February 2021, upon entering into certain agreements to settle intellectual property disputes relating to Jeuveau®, the Company agreed to pay to Allergan and Medytox $35,000 in multiple payments over two years and issued 6,762,652 shares of its common stock to Medytox. In addition, for the period from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, the Company agreed to pay to Allergan and Medytox a royalty on the sale of Jeuveau®, based on a certain dollar amount per vial sold in the United States and a low-double digit royalty on net sales of Jeuveau® sold in other Evolus territories. For the period from September 17, 2022 to September 16, 2032, the Company agreed to pay to Medytox a mid-single digit royalty percentage on all net sales of Jeuveau®. The royalty payments will be made quarterly and are recorded as product cost of sales on the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) in the periods the royalties are incurred.
The settlement agreements resulted in an $83,421 charge for the fourth quarter of 2020, which consisted of $35,000 in cash payments and $48,421 from the issuance of 6,762,652 shares of the Company’s common stock in February 2021. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, a current liability of $30,000 and $63,421, respectively, and non-current liability of $5,000 and $20,000, respectively, were recorded in the accompanying condensed balance sheets. The withholding tax associated with the issuance of common stock is recorded as a receivable with an offsetting payable on the accompanying condensed balance sheets.
17
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Separately, in March 2021, Daewoong and the Company entered into certain agreements, pursuant to which Daewoong agreed to pay the Company an amount equal to $25,500, which is recorded as settlement payment from Daewoong and included as part of cost of sales on the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) for the three months ended March 31, 2021. For the period from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, Daewoong also agreed to reimburse the Company certain amounts with respect to the royalties payable to Medytox and Allergan. The reimbursement will be received quarterly and is recorded as an offset to the related royalties to Medytox and Allergan in the product cost of sales on the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).
See Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies for the details of all litigation settlement agreements.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense for employees, consultants and members of the Board of Directors based on the fair value at the date of grant.
The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to value stock option grants. The Black-Scholes option pricing model requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the expected volatility of the Company’s common stock, expected risk-free interest rate, and the option’s expected life. The fair value of the Company’s restricted stock units (“RSUs”) is based on the fair value on the grant date of the Company’s common stock. The Company also evaluates the impact of modifications made to the original terms of equity awards when they occur.
The fair value of equity awards that are expected to vest is amortized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. Stock-based compensation expense is recognized net of actual forfeitures when they occur, as an increase to additional paid-in capital in the condensed balance sheets and in the selling, general and administrative or research and development expenses in the condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).
Income Taxes
The Company applies an estimated annual effective tax rate (“ETR”) approach for calculating a tax provision or benefit for interim periods, as required under GAAP. The Company recorded a provision of $0 and $256 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company’s ETR differs from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 21% for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, primarily as a result of the impact of a valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets.
A valuation allowance is recorded against deferred tax assets to reduce the net carrying value when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. In making such a determination, management considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies in assessing the amount of the valuation allowance. When the Company establishes or reduces the valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets, its provision for income taxes will increase or decrease, respectively, in the period such determination is made.
Additionally, the Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefit recognized in the financial statements for a particular tax position is based on the largest benefit that is more likely than not to be realized upon settlement. Accordingly, the Company establishes reserves for uncertain tax positions.
The Company monitors changes to the tax laws in the states it conducts business and files corporate income tax returns. The Company does not expect that changes to state tax laws through March 31, 2021 to materially impact its financial statements.
Net Income (Loss) Per Share
Basic net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period including contingently issuable shares. Diluted earnings per share includes the effect from potential issuance of ordinary shares, such as shares issuable pursuant to the exercise of stock options, the vesting of restricted stock units and the conversion of the Daewoong Convertible Note. The dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock units is computed under the treasury stock method. The dilutive effect of the Daewoong Convertible Note is
18
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
computed under the if-converted method. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computations of diluted net income (loss) per share if their effect would be antidilutive.
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted income (loss) per share:
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||
Numerator | ||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) - basic | $ | 6,401 | $ | (19,735) | ||||||||||
Interest expense attributable to convertible note, net of taxes | 273 | — | ||||||||||||
Net income (loss) - diluted | $ | 6,674 | $ | (19,735) | ||||||||||
Denominator | ||||||||||||||
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic | 37,100,897 | 33,720,436 | ||||||||||||
Dilutive effect of potential common shares from stock options, restricted stock units and convertible note | 4,003,730 | — | ||||||||||||
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted | 41,104,627 | 33,720,436 | ||||||||||||
Basic income (loss) per share | $ | 0.17 | $ | (0.59) | ||||||||||
Diluted income (loss) per share | $ | 0.16 | $ | (0.59) |
The following potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the diluted net income (loss) per share calculations because their effect would have been antidilutive. Although these securities were antidilutive for these periods, they could be dilutive in future periods.
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||
Stock options | 2,272,932 | 4,962,535 | ||||||||||||
Restricted stock units | 205,149 | 480,069 |
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2019-12 Income Taxes (Topic 740) Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. FASB issued this update as part of its Simplification Initiative to improve areas of GAAP and reduce cost and complexity while maintaining usefulness. The main provisions remove certain exceptions including the exception to the general methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period when a year-to-date loss exceeds the anticipated loss for the year. In addition, the amendments simplify income tax accounting in the areas such as income based franchise taxes, eliminating the requirements to allocate consolidated current and deferred tax expense in certain instances and a requirement that an entity reflects the effect of enacted changes in tax laws or rates in the annual effective tax rate computation in the interim period that includes the enactment date. For public companies, the standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods therein. The Company has adopted the guidance on the effective date of January 1, 2021. There are no material impacts to the financial statements as a result of this adoption.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Issued But Not Adopted
In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The update simplifies the accounting for goodwill impairment by removing step two of the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. A goodwill impairment will be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying amount, including goodwill, exceeds its fair value. The impairment charge will be limited to the
19
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. As amended by ASU 2019-10, the updated guidance is effective for the Company as a smaller reporting company beginning January 1, 2023. The standard requires prospective application. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect of this standard on its financial statements and related disclosures as well as whether to early adopt the new guidance.
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which modifies the measurement and recognition of credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments. The new standard requires the use of forward-looking expected credit loss models based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount, which may result in earlier recognition of credit losses under the new standard. The new guidance also modifies the impairment models for available-for-sale debt securities and for purchased financial assets with credit deterioration since their origination. Subsequent to the issuance of ASU 2016-13, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses. This ASU does not change the core principle of the guidance in ASU 2016-13, instead these amendments are intended to clarify and improve operability of certain topics included within the credit losses standard. The FASB also subsequently issued ASU 2019-04 which did not change the core principle of the guidance in ASU 2016-13 but clarified that expected recoveries of amounts previously written off and expected to be written off should be included in the valuation account and should not exceed amounts previously written off and expected to be written off. As amended by ASU 2019-10, the updated guidance is effective for the Company as a smaller reporting company beginning January 1, 2023. The Company is in the process of determining the effects the adoption will have on its financial statements and reviewing credit loss models to assess the impact of the adoption of the standard on the financial statements. Based on initial assessments, the Company believes that while adoption will modify the way it analyzes financial instruments, it does not expect adoption of this guidance will have a material impact to its financial statements.
Other recent accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB (including its Emerging Issues Task Force), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the SEC did not, or are not believed by management to, have a material impact on the Company’s present or future financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Note 3. Fair Value Measurements and Short-Term Investments
Short-Term Investments
As of March 31, 2021, the Company did not hold any short-term investments. The following is a summary of the Company’s short-term investments, considered available-for-sale, as of December 31, 2020:
Amortized | Gross Unrealized | Estimated | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cost | Gains | Losses | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||||||
Available-for-sale securities | |||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. treasury securities | $ | 5,000 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 5,000 |
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
20
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
The Company measures and reports certain financial instruments as assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis. The fair value of these instruments was as follows:
As of March 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Fair Value | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Liabilities | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders | $ | 42,285 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 42,285 |
As of December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Fair Value | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Available-for-sale debt securities | |||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. treasury securities | $ | 5,000 | $ | 5,000 | $ | — | $ | — | |||||||||||||||
Liabilities | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders | $ | 41,546 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 41,546 |
The Company did not transfer any assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis between levels during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.
The Company determines the fair value of the contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders based on Level 3 inputs using a discounted cash flows method. The significant unobservable input assumptions that can significantly change the fair value include (i) projected amount and timing of net revenues during the payment period, which terminates in the quarter following the 10-year anniversary of the first commercial sale of Jeuveau® in the United States, (ii) the discount rate and (iii) the timing of payments. During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company utilized discount rates between 13.0% and 17.0%, reflecting changes in the Company’s risk profile. Net revenue projections are also updated to reflect changes in the timing of expected sales.
The following table shows a reconciliation of the beginning and ending fair value measurements of the contingent royalty obligation payable:
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Fair value, beginning of period | $ | 41,546 | $ | 44,683 | |||||||
Payments | (529) | (583) | |||||||||
Change in fair value recorded in operating expenses | 1,268 | (9,884) | |||||||||
Fair value, end of period | $ | 42,285 | $ | 34,216 |
Other Financial Assets and Liabilities
The Company’s financial instruments consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, short-term available-for-sale debt securities, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, lease liabilities, and long-term debt. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximates their fair value because of the short-term maturity of such instruments.
The Company estimates the fair value of the promissory note payable to the Evolus Founders, long-term debt and operating lease liabilities using the discounted cash flow analysis based on the interest rates for similar rated debt securities (Level 2). As of March 31, 2021, the fair value of the promissory note was estimated to be $19,624. As of December 31, 2020, the fair value of promissory note and long-term debt was $19,284 and $76,368, respectively. The fair value of operating lease liabilities as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 and the Daewoong Convertible Note as of December 31, 2020 approximated their carrying value.
21
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Note 4. Goodwill and Intangible Assets
The table below shows the weighted-average life, original cost, accumulated amortization and net book value by major intangible asset classification:
Weighted-Average Life (Years) | Original Cost | Accumulated Amortization | Net Book Value | ||||||||||||||||||||
Definite-lived intangible assets | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution right | 20 | $ | 59,076 | $ | (6,373) | $ | 52,703 | ||||||||||||||||
Capitalized software | 2 | 6,905 | (6,040) | 865 | |||||||||||||||||||
Intangible assets, net | 65,981 | (12,413) | 53,568 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indefinite-lived intangible asset | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Goodwill | * | 21,208 | — | 21,208 | |||||||||||||||||||
Total as of March 31, 2021 | $ | 87,189 | $ | (12,413) | $ | 74,776 |
Weighted-Average Life (Years) | Original Cost | Accumulated Amortization | Net Book Value | ||||||||||||||||||||
Definite-lived intangible assets | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution right | 20 | $ | 59,076 | $ | (5,650) | $ | 53,426 | ||||||||||||||||
Capitalized software | 2 | 6,681 | (4,810) | 1,871 | |||||||||||||||||||
Intangible assets, net | 65,757 | (10,460) | 55,297 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indefinite-lived intangible asset | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Goodwill | * | 21,208 | — | 21,208 | |||||||||||||||||||
Total as of December 31, 2020 | $ | 86,965 | $ | (10,460) | $ | 76,505 |
* Intangible assets with indefinite lives have an indeterminable average life.
The following table outlines the estimated future amortization expense related to intangible assets held as of March 31, 2021 that are subject to amortization:
Fiscal year | |||||
Remaining in 2021 | $ | 3,048 | |||
2022 | 2,990 | ||||
2023 | 2,955 | ||||
2024 | 2,955 | ||||
2025 | 2,955 | ||||
Thereafter | 38,665 | ||||
$ | 53,568 |
The Company capitalized $224 and $1,139 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, related to costs of computer software developed for internal use. The Company recorded total intangible assets amortization expense of $1,953 and $1,603 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, within depreciation and amortization on the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).
22
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Note 5. Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses consisted of:
March 31, | December 31, | ||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Accrued payroll and related benefits | $ | 3,112 | $ | 4,076 | |||||||
Accrued revenue contract liabilities | 3,111 | 3,081 | |||||||||
Accrued professional services | 760 | 895 | |||||||||
Other accrued expenses | 5,584 | 1,050 | |||||||||
$ | 12,567 | $ | 9,102 |
Note 6. Oxford Term Loan
On March 15, 2019, the Company entered into a credit facility of up to $100,000 with Oxford Finance (“Oxford”). Pursuant to the terms of the credit facility, the lender extended term loans (the “Oxford Term Loan”), available in two advances, to the Company. The first tranche of $75,000 was funded on the closing date. The second tranche of $25,000 was not drawn. The credit facility bore an annual interest rate equal to the greater of 9.5%, or the 30-day U.S. Dollar LIBOR rate plus 7.0%. The Company agreed to pay interest-only for the first 36 months until May 2022, followed by a 23-month amortization period.
Upon the earliest to occur of the maturity date, the acceleration of the Oxford Term Loan, or the prepayment of the Oxford Term Loan, the Company was required to pay to Oxford a final payment of 5.5% of the full principal amount of the Oxford Term Loan funded (“Final Payment”). The Company could elect to prepay all amounts owed prior to the maturity date, provided that a prepayment fee was also paid, which would be equal to 2.0% of the amount prepaid if the prepayment occurred after March 15, 2020 and on or prior to March 15, 2021, or 1.0% of the amount prepaid if the prepayment occurred thereafter (“Prepayment Fee”).
At the closing date, the Company incurred $1,094 and $2,205 in debt discounts and issuance costs related to the Oxford Term Loan, respectively. Debt discounts and issuance costs related to the Oxford Term Loan were presented as a deduction to the debt balance and are amortized into interest expense using the effective interest method.
On January 4, 2021, the Company and Oxford entered into an agreement (“Payoff Letter”), pursuant to which (i) on January 4, 2021, the Company paid Oxford $76,447 to discharge in full all outstanding obligations, included accrued interest by and between Oxford, in its capacity as collateral agent and lender, and the Company, and (ii) effective upon such repayment, the Loan Agreement, and all unfunded commitments thereunder, guarantees and other security interests granted to Oxford in connection with the Loan Agreement and all other obligations of and restrictions on the Company under the Loan Agreement, terminated. As a condition to entering into the Payoff Letter, Oxford agreed to waive a total of $4,300 of fees comprised of (i) $2,800 of the Final Payment and (ii) the Prepayment Fee of $1,500. As a result, the Company recorded a loss of $1,939 in extinguishment of debts, net on the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).
Note 7. Daewoong Convertible Note
On July 6, 2020, the Company entered into a Convertible Promissory Note Purchase Agreement with Daewoong for the purchase and sale of a Convertible Promissory Note for the principal amount of $40,000 (the “Daewoong Convertible Note”), which was funded on July 30, 2020. Additionally, on July 6, 2020, the Company, Daewoong and Oxford Finance, LLC entered into a Subordination Agreement pursuant to which the Daewoong Convertible Note is subordinated to the Company’s obligations under that certain Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of March 15, 2019, by and between the Company and Oxford.
The Daewoong Convertible Note bore interest at a rate of 3.0% payable semi-annually in arrears on June 30th and December 31st of each year and was to mature on July 30, 2025, subject to earlier conversion as provided below. Interest was initially paid in kind by adding the accrued amount thereof to the outstanding principal amount on a semi-annual basis on June 30th
23
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
and December 31st of each calendar year for so long as any principal amount under the Oxford Term Loan remained outstanding and the Subordination Agreement was not terminated. Interest became payable in cash after the Oxford Term Loan was repaid in full, and the Subordination Agreement was terminated on January 4, 2021.
On March 23, 2021, the outstanding principal balance including all accrued and unpaid interest thereon, in the amount of $40,779 was converted, at the conversion price of $13.00 per share, into 3,136,869 shares of the Company’s common stock under the Conversion Agreement. The conversion was accounted for as an extinguishment of debt resulting in a gain of $971, which is recorded in loss from extinguishment of debts, net on the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). The Daewoong Convertible Note was not registered and the shares of the Company’s common stock issued upon conversion of the Daewoong Convertible Note have not been registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. See Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies for the details of the Conversion Agreement.
Note 8. Operating Leases
The Company’s corporate headquarters in Newport Beach, California is leased under a five- year non-cancelable operating lease, which expires on January 31, 2025. Lease payments increase based on an annual rent escalation clause that occurs each year on February 1. The Company may, under certain circumstances, terminate the lease on the 36-month anniversary of the lease commencement date by providing a written notice 12 months prior to such anniversary and paying a termination fee equal to six months basic rent plus certain other expenses. The Company has an option to extend the term of the lease for an additional 60 months, which is not recognized as part of its ROU assets and lease liabilities. The lease with the original lessor is a modification of the existing sublease that is not accounted for as a separate contract.
The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. The payments associated with the renewal will only be included in the measurement of the lease liability and ROU assets if the exercise of the renewal option is determined to be reasonably certain. The Company considers the timing of the renewal period and other economic factors such as the financial implications of a decision to extend or not to extend a lease in determining if the renewal option is reasonably certain to be exercised.
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the components of operating lease expense:
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Fixed operating lease expense | $ | 265 | $ | 274 | |||||||
Variable operating lease expense | 8 | 15 | |||||||||
Short-term operating lease expense | — | 168 | |||||||||
$ | 273 | $ | 457 |
The weighted-average remaining lease term was 3.8 years and weighted-average discount rate was 9.4% as of March 31, 2021.
Operating lease expenses were included in the selling, general and administration expenses in the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Operating lease right-of-use assets and related current and noncurrent operating lease liabilities are presented in the accompanying condensed balance sheets.
24
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
The following table presents the maturity of the Company’s operating lease liabilities as of March 31, 2021, future minimum payments under the operating lease agreements with non-cancelable terms as follows:
Fiscal year | |||||
Remainder of 2021 | $ | 913 | |||
2022 | 1,265 | ||||
2023 | 1,320 | ||||
2024 | 1,377 | ||||
2025 | 115 | ||||
Total operating lease payments | 4,990 | ||||
Less: imputed interest | (828) | ||||
Present value of operating lease liabilities | $ | 4,162 |
Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies
Purchase Commitments
As of March 31, 2021, the Company has entered into commitments to purchase services and products for an aggregate amount of approximately $1,436. Certain minimum purchase commitments related to the purchase of Jeuveau® are described below.
License and Supply Agreement
The Daewoong Agreement includes certain minimum annual purchases the Company is required to make in order to maintain the exclusivity of the license. The Company may, however, meet these minimum purchase obligations by achieving certain market share in its covered territories. These potential minimum purchase obligations were contingent upon the occurrence of future events, including receipt of governmental approvals and the Company’s future market share in various jurisdictions.
Legal Proceedings
In the normal course of business, the Company enters into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties and provide for general indemnifications. The Company’s exposure under these agreements is unknown because they involve claims that may be made against the Company in the future, but have not yet been made. The Company accrues a liability for such matters when it is probable that future expenditures will be made, and such expenditures can be reasonably estimated. No amounts were accrued as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
Medytox Litigation
The Company, Daewoong and other individuals and entities were defendants to a lawsuit brought by Medytox, Inc. (“Medytox”) originally instituted in the Superior Court of the State of California in June 2017. With specific regard to the Company, Medytox alleged that (i) the Company violated California Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 3426 because Daewoong’s alleged knowledge of the misappropriation of certain trade secrets of Medytox is imputed to the Company as a result of the Company’s relationship with Daewoong, (ii) the Company stole the botulinum toxin bacterial strain of Medytox through our possession of and refusal to return the botulinum toxin bacterial strain, (iii) the Company engaged in unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business acts and practices in violation of California Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200, including conversion of the botulinum toxin bacterial strain and misrepresentations to the public regarding the source of the botulinum toxin bacterial strain used to manufacture Jeuveau®, and (iv) the Daewoong Agreement is invalid and in violation of Medytox’s rights (the “Medytox Litigation”). Medytox sought, among other things, (i) actual, consequential and punitive damages, (ii) a reasonable royalty, as appropriate, (iii) a declaration that the Daewoong Agreement is void and unenforceable and that Medytox is entitled to disgorgement of all property wrongfully and unjustly retained or acquired by the defendants, including unlawfully gained profits, (iv) injunctive relief prohibiting the Company from using the license under the
25
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Daewoong Agreement and distributing Jeuveau®, and (v) attorneys’ fees and costs. As a result of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements as described below, the case was dismissed on February 23, 2021.
ITC Case
On January 30, 2019, Allergan and Medytox filed a complaint (“ITC Complaint”) against the Company and Daewoong in the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”), containing substantially similar allegations to the Medytox Litigation, specifically that Jeuveau® is manufactured based on misappropriated trade secrets of Medytox and therefore the importation of Jeuveau® is an unfair act. The ITC matter, which is referred to herein as the ITC Action, is entitled In the Matter of Certain Botulinum Toxin Products. On March 6, 2019, the ITC instituted an investigation as ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1145. The ITC Complaint called for an investigation by the ITC Office of Unfair Import Investigations, or OUII, under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The ITC Complaint sought (i) an investigation pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, (ii) a hearing with the ITC on permanent relief, (iii) issuance of a limited exclusion order forbidding entry of Jeuveau® into the United States, (iv) a cease and desist order prohibiting Daewoong and us from engaging in the importations, sale for importation, marketing, distribution, offering for sale, the sale after the importation of, or otherwise transferring Jeuveau® within the United States, (v) a bond issued during the presidential review period, (vi) the return of Medytox’s trade secrets and other confidential information including the alleged stolen BTX Strain, and (vii) exclusion and cease and desist orders.
On December 16, 2020, the ITC issued its final determination in the ITC Action. The final determination partially affirmed the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ’s”) ruling in the initial determination that found a violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 had occurred by reason of a misappropriation of certain manufacturing process trade secrets. The ITC also reversed the ALJ’s finding that a trade secret exists with respect to a bacterial strain. As a result, the ITC issued (1) a limited exclusion order prohibiting the importation of Jeuveau® into the United States for a period of 21 months and (2) a cease and desist order preventing the Company from, among other things, selling, marketing, or promoting such imported Jeuveau® in the United States for a period of 21 months (“Restricted Period”).
The Final Determination was subject to a 60-day presidential review period before taking effect. During the presidential review period, the Company was permitted to continue importation and sales of Jeuveau® subject to payment of a bond of $441.00 for every vial distributed in the United States. The Presidential review period ended on February 16, 2021. Prior to the expiration of the presidential review period, the Company filed an emergency motion with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which issued an emergency stay which suspended the execution of the remedial orders pending appeal of the ITC’s decision, briefing for which was to be due by March 5, 2021.
On February 18, 2021, the Company, Medytox and Allergan entered into certain agreements described below (the “Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements”) pursuant to which the Company, Allergan and Medytox agreed to rescind the Remedial Orders, dismiss the ITC Action and dismiss any appeal of the ITC Action.
On March 23, 2021, the Company and Daewoong entered into certain agreements described below (the “2021 Daewoong Arrangement”) in connection with the settlement of certain claims relating to or arising from the Remedial Orders, the ITC Action, the California Litigation, the Korea Action and certain other matters.
As of March 31, 2021, the total bond payment was $3,450, which was recorded in other current assets in the accompanying condensed balance sheets. Pursuant to the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements described below, the bond paid will be returned to the Company upon the termination of the ITC Action.
Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements
U.S. Settlement Agreement
Effective February 18, 2021, the Company, Allergan and Medytox entered into a Settlement and License Agreement (the “U.S. Settlement Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things: (i) Allergan and Medytox agreed to file a petition with the ITC requesting that the ITC rescind the Remedial Orders with respect to the Company; (ii) Medytox agreed to dismiss the California Litigation; (iii) the Company, on the one hand, and Medytox and Allergan, on the other hand, agreed to mutually release certain claims they may have against one another and their respective affiliates, (iv) Allergan and Medytox granted to the Company and its agents a license to manufacture and commercialize certain products identified in the U.S. Settlement Agreement, including Jeuveau® (the “Licensed Products”), in the United States during the Restricted Period; (v) the
26
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Company agreed to pay to Allergan and Medytox $35,000 in multiple payments over two years; and (vi) during the Restricted Period, the Company agreed to pay to Allergan and Medytox certain confidential royalties on the sale of Licensed Products, calculated on dollar amount per vial sold of Licensed Product by or on behalf of the Company in the United States.
ROW Settlement Agreement
Effective February 18, 2021, the Company and Medytox entered into a Settlement and License Agreement (the “ROW Settlement Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things: (i) the Company and Medytox agreed to mutually release certain claims they may have against one another and their respective affiliates; (ii) Medytox granted to the Company and its agents a license to manufacture and commercialize the Licensed Products, in Canada, the European Union, Switzerland, member countries and cooperating countries of the European Economic Area, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, South Africa, Australia and Japan (the “ROW Territories”) during the Restricted Period; (iii) Medytox granted to the Company and its agents a fully paid up license to manufacture and commercialize the Licensed Products in the ROW Territories and the United States from the end of the Restricted Period (the “Medytox License Period”); (iv) the Company and Medytox agreed to enter into the Share Issuance Agreement (as defined below) pursuant to which the Company issued 6,762,652 shares (the “Settlement Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, to Medytox; (v) the Company and Medytox agreed to enter into the Registration Rights Agreement (as defined below), pursuant to which the Company granted certain registration rights to Medytox with respect to the Settlement Shares; (vi) during the Restricted Period, the Company agreed to pay Medytox a confidential low-double digit royalty on net sales of the Licensed Products sold by or on behalf of the Company in the ROW Territories; and (vii) during the Medytox License Period, the Company agreed to pay Medytox a confidential mid-single digit royalty percentage on net sales of the Licensed Products sold by or on behalf of the Company in the United States and the ROW Territories.
Share Issuance Agreement
In connection with the execution of the ROW Settlement Agreement, the Company and Medytox entered into a Share Issuance Agreement effective February 18, 2021 (the “Share Issuance Agreement”). Pursuant to the Share Issuance Agreement and subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, among other things, the Company issued to Medytox the Settlement Shares to enter into the ROW Settlement Agreement and in consideration for Medytox’s representations, warranties, and other agreements set forth in the Share Issuance Agreement. The Settlement Shares are subject to contractual restrictions on transfer that, subject to certain limited exceptions such as transfers to affiliates, prevent Medytox from transferring any shares of common stock prior to February 16, 2022 and, thereafter, prohibit Medytox from transferring more than 25% of the shares it holds prior to September 16, 2023, more than 50% of the shares it holds prior to September 16, 2024 and more than 75% of the shares it holds prior to September 16, 2025, with such contractual restrictions terminating on September 16, 2025. Additionally, until February 17, 2022, Medytox is required to vote all Settlement Shares that it owns (i) in any action or proposal relating to the election of directors, in line with the recommendations of the board of directors of the Company and (ii) in all other actions, at Medytox’s option either (A) in line with the recommendation of the board of directors of the Company or (ii) in the same manner and proportion as the votes made by all outstanding voting securities other than those held by Medytox, the officers and directors of the company and Alphaeon 1, LLC and its affiliates.
Registration Rights Agreement
In connection with the execution of the ROW Settlement Agreement, the Company and Medytox also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement effective February 18, 2021 (the “Registration Rights Agreement”). Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, among other things, the Company agreed, after March 31, 2022, (i) to comply with certain demands by Medytox to register for sale, under the Securities Act, the Settlement Shares, and (ii) to include the Settlement Shares in certain registrations by the Company of its securities for sale under the Securities Act, to the extent requested by Medytox, in each case subject to certain customary conditions, exceptions and limitations as set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement.
In addition, Medytox’s registration rights under the Registration Rights Agreement will terminate at such time that Medytox is able to sell all of the Settlement Shares over a three-month period, or less, pursuant to an exemption to registration under the Securities Act.
2021 Daewoong Arrangement
Daewoong Settlement Agreement
27
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
On March 23, 2021, the Company and Daewoong entered into a Confidential Settlement and Release Agreement (the “Daewoong Settlement Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things: (i) Daewoong agreed to (a) pay to the Company an amount equal to $25,500, which the Company received in April 2021, (b) pay certain reasonable legal fees incurred by the Company’s litigation counsel in connection with its defense of the ITC Action (including any appeal of the resulting Remedial Orders), (c) cancel all remaining milestone payments totaling $10,500 in aggregate, which otherwise are or may become due and payable by the Company pursuant to the Daewoong Agreement, and (d) reimburse the Company certain amounts (calculated on a dollar amount per vials sold basis in the United States) for sales of certain products with respect to which the Company is required to pay Medytox and Allergan royalties pursuant to the U.S. Settlement Agreement; and (ii) the Company agreed to (a) release, on behalf of itself and certain of its affiliates and representatives, certain claims they may have against Daewoong or certain of its affiliates and representatives related to the allegations made in or the subject matter of the Medytox/Allergan Actions, or any orders, remedies and losses resulting from the Medytox/Allergan Actions, and (b) coordinate with Daewoong on certain matters related to the Medytox/Allergan Actions.
The rights and obligations of the parties under the Daewoong Settlement Agreement are subject to the parties’ execution and delivery of certain other related agreements, including the Daewoong Agreement Amendment and the Conversion Agreement (as each of such terms are defined below).
Conversion Agreement
In connection with the execution of the Settlement Agreement, the Company and Daewoong also entered into a Convertible Promissory Note Conversion Agreement (the “Conversion Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, (i) the Principal Balance under the Daewoong Convertible Note, together with all accrued and unpaid interest thereon, in the amount of $40,779 was converted, at the conversion price of $13.00 per share, into 3,136,869 shares of Common Stock (the “Conversion Shares”); and (ii) the Daewoong Convertible Note was deemed cancelled and satisfied in full in connection with such conversion.
After the conversion, shares owned by Daewoong, together with its affiliates and attribution parties, did not exceed 9.99% of the Company’s then outstanding common shares immediately following such issuance, as required under the terms of the Daewoong Convertible Note.
Daewoong Agreement Amendment
In connection with the execution of the Daewoong Settlement Agreement, on March 23, 2021, the Company and Daewoong also entered into the Third Amendment to the Supply Agreement (the “Daewoong Agreement Amendment”). Pursuant to the Daewoong Agreement Amendment, the parties amended the Daewoong Agreement to, among other things, (i) expand the territory within which the Company may distribute Jeuveau® to certain countries in Europe, (ii) reduce the period of time with respect to which the Company is required to deliver binding forecasts to Daewoong; (iii) introduce certain limitations on Daewoong’s ability to convert the Company’s exclusive license for certain territories to a non-exclusive license in the event the Company fails to meet certain minimum purchase requirements for such territory; (iv) adjust the minimum purchase requirements and reduce the transfer price per vial of Jeuveau® applicable to various territories, (v) require that any Jeuveau® supplied by Daewoong match certain shelf-life thresholds, and (vi) prohibit the Company from sharing certain confidential information of Daewoong with Medytox or its affiliates or representatives.
Securities Class Action Lawsuit
On October 16 and 28, 2020, two putative securities class action complaints were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by Evolus shareholders Armin Malakouti and Clinton Cox, respectively, naming the Company and certain of its officers as defendants. The complaints assert violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, claiming that the defendants made false and materially misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts related to the Company’s acquisition of the right to sell Jeuveau®, the ITC Action and risks related to the ITC Action. The complaints assert a putative class period of February 1, 2019 to July 6, 2020. The court consolidated the actions on November 13, 2020, under the caption In re Evolus Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 1:20-cv-08647 (PGG). Four putative shareholders (or groups of shareholders) have since moved to be appointed lead plaintiff. Under the court’s November 13, 2020 order, defendants need not move, answer, or otherwise respond to the complaints until 60 days after a lead plaintiff is appointed and files a consolidated, amended complaint.
28
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit
On November 27, 2020 and December 2, 2020, two putative Evolus shareholders filed substantially similar shareholder derivative actions in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against certain of the Company’s officers and directors as defendants. The complaints alleged substantially similar facts as those in the Securities Class Action and assert claims for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment, and violations of Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act and for contribution under Sections 10(b) and 21(D) of the Exchange Act. On December 29, 2020, the plaintiffs filed a joint stipulation to consolidate their actions and on February 5, 2021, the court consolidated the action the caption In re Evolus, Inc. Derivative Litigation, No. 1:20-cv-09986-PPG, and adjourned defendants’ time to move, answer or otherwise respond to the complains. On March 8, 2021, the parties filed a stipulation and proposed order to stay the consolidated derivative suit pending the court’s decision on the defendants’ anticipated motion to dismiss the Securities Class Action.
It is possible that additional suits will be filed, or additional allegations will be made by stockholders, with respect to these same or similar or other matters and also naming the Company and/or its officers and directors as defendants. The Company believes that the complaints are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against it. However, the outcome of the legal proceeding is uncertain at this point. Based on information available to the Company at present, management cannot reasonably estimate a range of loss and accordingly has not accrued any liability associated with this action.
Books and Records Demand
On March 5, 2021, the Company received a letter from a putative stockholder demanding inspection of specified categories of the Company’s books and records under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporations Law. The subject of the demand is substantially similar to the allegations in the putative securities class action and derivative complaints described above. The Company served a written response to the stockholder’s demand on March 29, 2021. Discussions concerning the scope of the stockholder’s demand are ongoing.
Other Legal Matters
The Company, from time to time, is involved in various litigation matters or regulatory encounters arising in the ordinary course of business that could result in unasserted or asserted claims or litigation. These other matters may raise difficult and complex legal issues and are subject to many uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the facts and circumstances of each particular case or claim, the jurisdiction in which each suit or regulatory encounter is brought, and differences in applicable laws and regulations. Except as set forth above, the Company does not believe that these other matters would have a material adverse effect on its accompanying financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, the resolution of one or more of the other matters in any reporting period could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial results for that period.
Note 10. Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred Stock
The Company has 10,000,000 authorized shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.00001 per share. As of March 31, 2021, none were issued and outstanding.
Common Stock
The Company has 100,000,000 authorized shares of common stock with a par value of $0.00001 per share. As of March 31, 2021, 43,736,971 shares were issued and outstanding.
On February 28, 2021, the Company issued 6,762,652 shares of common stock to Medytox pursuant to the Share Issuance Agreement. See Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies for additional information.
On March 25, 2021, the Company issued 3,136,869 shares of common stock to Daewoong in connection with the conversion of Daewoong Convertible Note. See Note 7. Daewoong Convertible Note for additional information.
29
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
In April 2021, the Company completed a follow-on public offering and issued 10,350,000 shares of its common stock, which included the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 1,350,000 shares of common stock, at a price to the public of $9.50 per share. The Company received net proceeds of approximately $92,426 from the offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, excluding other offering expenses.
2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan and Stock-based Compensation Allocation
The Company’s 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) provides for the grant of incentive options to employees of the Company, and for the grant of nonstatutory options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards, stock appreciation rights, performance stock awards and other forms of stock compensation to the Company’s employees, including officers, directors, consultants and employees of the Company. The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the Plan is 4,361,291 shares, plus an annual increase on each anniversary of November 21, 2017 equal to 4% of the total issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock as of such anniversary (or such lesser number of shares as may be determined by the Company’s board of directors). As of March 31, 2021, the Company has available an aggregate of 1,418,778 shares of common stock for future issuance under the Plan.
Stock-Based Award Activity and Balances
Options are granted at exercise prices based on the Company’s common stock price on the date of grant. The options and RSU grants generally vest over a - to four-year period. There have been no awards granted with performance conditions or market conditions for the periods presented. The options have a contractual term of ten years. The fair value of options is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which has various inputs, including the grant date common share price, exercise price, risk-free interest rate, volatility, expected life and dividend yield. The change of any of these inputs could significantly impact the determination of the fair value of the Company’s options as well as significantly impact its results of operations. The fair value of RSU grants is determined at the grant date based on the common share price. The Company records stock-based compensation expense net of actual forfeitures when they occur.
The weighted-averages assumptions used in determining the fair value of stock options granted were as follows:
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Volatility | 71.0 | % | 59.3 | % | |||||||
Risk-free interest rate | 0.99 | % | 1.61 | % | |||||||
Expected life (years) | 6.25 | 6.25 | |||||||||
Dividend yield rate | — | % | — | % |
A summary of stock option activity under the Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2021, is presented below:
Weighted | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Weighted | Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Average | Remaining | Aggregate | |||||||||||||||||||||
Stock | Exercise | Contractual | Intrinsic | ||||||||||||||||||||
Options | Per Share | Terms (Years) | Value | ||||||||||||||||||||
Outstanding, December 31, 2020 | 4,407,498 | $ | 12.20 | 7.66 | $ | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
Granted | 41,600 | 9.90 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Exercised | (29,621) | 12.09 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Canceled/forfeited | (403,395) | 14.64 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Outstanding, March 31, 2021 | 4,016,082 | $ | 11.94 | 7.13 | $ | 12,033 | |||||||||||||||||
Exercisable, March 31, 2021 | 2,165,685 | $ | 12.49 | 6.47 | $ | 5,737 |
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Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
The aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding and exercisable options represents the excess of the fair market value of our common stock over the exercise price of underlying options as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
A summary of RSU activity under the Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2021, is presented below:
Weighted Average | |||||||||||
Grant Date | |||||||||||
Restricted | Fair Value | ||||||||||
Stock Units | Per Share | ||||||||||
Outstanding, December 31, 2020 | 1,173,741 | $ | 6.42 | ||||||||
Granted | 1,459,919 | ||||||||||
Vested | (80,952) | ||||||||||
Forfeited | (444,998) | ||||||||||
Outstanding, March 31, 2021 | 2,107,710 | $ | 6.76 |
The following table summarizes stock-based compensation expense arising from the above Plan:
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative | $ | 1,576 | $ | 2,540 | |||||||
Research and development | 14 | 88 | |||||||||
$ | 1,590 | $ | 2,628 |
Note 11. Related Party Transactions
Payment Obligations Related to the Acquisition by Alphaeon
The Company was acquired by SCH in 2013 and subsequently by its subsidiary, Alphaeon Corporation, by means of a stock purchase agreement (“Stock Purchase Agreement”) pursuant to which Alphaeon assumed certain payment obligations related to the acquisition. On December 14, 2017, the Stock Purchase Agreement was amended (“Amended Stock Purchase Agreement”), and, as a result, effective upon the closing of the Company’s IPO, the Company assumed all of Alphaeon’s payment obligations under the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement.
Under the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement, the payment obligations consisted of (i) a $9,200 up-front payment upon obtaining FDA approval for Jeuveau® for the treatment of glabellar lines which was paid in full during the first quarter of 2019, (ii) quarterly royalty payments of a low single digit percentage of net sales of Jeuveau®, and (iii) a $20,000 promissory note that matures in November 2021. The payment obligations set forth in (ii) above terminates in the quarter following the 10-year anniversary of the first commercial sale of Jeuveau® in the United States. Under the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company recorded the fair value of all revised payment obligations and the promissory note owed to the Evolus Founders. See Note 3, Fair Value Measurements and Short-Term Investments for more information about the Company’s accounting thereof.
The Company has the right to prepay the promissory note, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time without penalty. Upon an event of default under the promissory note, all unpaid principal becomes immediately due and payable at the option of the holder. An event of default occurs under the terms of the promissory note upon any of the following events: (i) Evolus fails to meet the obligations to make the required payments thereunder, (ii) Evolus makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, (iii) Evolus commences any bankruptcy proceeding, or (iv) Evolus materially breaches the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement or Tax Indemnity Agreement (which is defined below) and such breach is not cured within 30 days. In addition, upon a change-of-control of Evolus, all unpaid principal becomes immediately due and payable.
31
Evolus, Inc.
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
In connection with the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company entered into a tax indemnity agreement with the Evolus Founders (“Tax Indemnity Agreement”). Pursuant to the Tax Indemnity Agreement, the Company is obligated to indemnify the Evolus Founders for any tax liability resulting from the Company’s assumption of the revised payment obligations under the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement from Alphaeon. Such assumption of the revised payment obligations occurred upon the completion of the IPO. Under the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement, the payment obligations are contingent and thus eligible for installment sale reporting under Section 453 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Under the Tax Indemnity Agreement, the Company was obligated to indemnify the Evolus Founders for any taxes or penalties required to be paid by the Evolus Founders in the event the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or other taxing authority were to determine that Company’s assumption of the revised payment obligations under the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement rendered continued installment sale reporting unavailable to the Evolus Founders. Any taxes or penalties paid by us on behalf of the Evolus Founders under the Tax Indemnity Agreement will be offset dollar-for-dollar against the promissory note and future royalties that will be payable to the Evolus Founders under the Amended Stock Purchase Agreement.
Exclusive Distribution and Supply Agreement with Clarion Medical Technologies Inc.
On November 30, 2017, the Company entered into an exclusive distribution and supply agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”), with Clarion Medical Technologies Inc. (“Clarion”). The Distribution Agreement provides terms pursuant to which the Company will exclusively supply Jeuveau® to Clarion in Canada. On March 23, 2021, the Company, Clarion, and Daewoong entered into an addendum to the Distribution Agreement to provide for Clarion to purchase Jeuveau® directly from Daewoong. Commencing March 23, 2021, Clarion is required to pay the Company on a per unit basis for its purchase of Jeuveau® from Daewoong.
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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion contains management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations and should be read together with the unaudited condensed financial statements and related notes include in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and other documents previously filed with the SEC. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs and involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those described in Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should carefully read “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and Item 1A “Risk Factors” of Part II of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Overview
We are a performance beauty company with a customer-centric approach focused on delivering breakthrough products in the self-pay aesthetic market. In February 2019, we received the approval of our first product Jeuveau® (prabotulinumtoxinA-xvfs) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. In May 2019, we commercially launched Jeuveau® in the United States.
Jeuveau® is a proprietary 900 kDa purified botulinum toxin type A formulation indicated for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines, also known as “frown lines,” in adults. Our primary market is the self-pay aesthetic market, which includes medical products purchased by physicians and other customers that are then sold to consumers or used in procedures for aesthetic indications that are not reimbursed by any third-party payor, such as Medicaid, Medicare or commercial insurance. We believe we offer customers and consumers a compelling value proposition with Jeuveau®. Currently, onabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX) is the neurotoxin market leader, and prior to the approval of Jeuveau®, was the only known 900 kDa botulinum toxin type A complex approved in the United States. We believe aesthetic physicians generally prefer the performance characteristics of the complete 900 kDa neurotoxin complex and are accustomed to injecting this formulation.
In August 2018, we received approval from Health Canada for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adult patients under 65 years of age. We began marketing Jeuveau® in Canada in October 2019 through our distribution partner Clarion Medical Technologies, Inc., or Clarion. In September 2019, we also received approval from the European Commission, to market the product in all 28 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. In January 2021, we received a positive decision from the European Commission to add the 50 unit product to the approval obtained in September 2019. We plan to launch Jeuveau® in Europe in early 2022.
Daewoong License and Supply Agreement
In 2013, we and Daewoong entered into the Daewoong Agreement pursuant to which we have an exclusive distribution license to Jeuveau® from Daewoong for aesthetic indications in the United States, EU, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Russia, C.I.S., and South Africa, as well as co-exclusive distribution rights with Daewoong in Japan. Under the Daewoong Agreement, we are required to make certain minimum annual purchases in order to maintain the exclusivity of the license. These minimum purchase obligations are contingent upon the occurrence of future events, including receipt of governmental approvals and our future market share in various jurisdictions. Under the Daewoong Agreement, Daewoong is responsible for all costs related to the manufacturing of Jeuveau®, including costs related to the operation and upkeep of its manufacturing facility, and we are responsible for all costs related to obtaining regulatory approval, including clinical expenses, and commercialization of Jeuveau®.
Impact on Our Business of Final Ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Settlements
On January 30, 2019, Allergan and Medytox filed a complaint against us and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., or Daewoong, in the ITC alleging that Jeuveau® is manufactured based on misappropriated trade secrets of Medytox and therefore the importation of Jeuveau® is an unfair act. The ITC matter, which we refer to herein as the ITC Action, is entitled In the Matter of Certain Botulinum Toxin Products. The ITC instituted an investigation as ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1145.
On December 16, 2020, the ITC issued a final determination in the ITC Action and issued (1) a limited exclusion order prohibiting the importation of Jeuveau® into the United States for a period of 21 months and (2) a cease and desist order preventing the Company from, among other things, selling, marketing, or promoting such imported Jeuveau® in the United States for a period of 21 months. We refer to the limited exclusion order and the cease and desist order collectively as the remedial orders. The Final Determination was subject to a 60-day presidential review period before taking effect. During the
33
presidential review period, we were permitted to continue importation and sales of Jeuveau® subject to payment of a bond of $441 per vial. During the Presidential Review period, we increased customer pricing significantly due to the bond amount required to keep Jeuveau® on the market. As a result, we generated nominal revenue from mid-December 2020 through mid-February 2021.
Effective February 18, 2021, we entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Medytox and Allergan, which we refer to as the U.S. Settlement Agreement and another Settlement and License Agreement with Medytox which we refer to as the ROW Settlement Agreement. We refer to the U.S. Settlement Agreement and the ROW Settlement Agreement collectively as the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.
Under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we obtained (i) a license to commercialize, manufacture and to have manufactured for us certain products identified in the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, including Jeuveau® (the “Licensed Products”), in the United States and other territories where we license Jeuveau®, (ii) the dismissal of outstanding litigation against us, including the ITC Action, a rescission of the related remedial orders, and the dismissal of a civil case in the Superior Court of California against us, which we refer to together with any claims (including claims brought in Korean courts) with a common nexus of fact as the Medytox/Allergan Actions, and (iii) releases of claims against us for the Medytox/Allergan Actions. In exchange, we agreed to (i) make cash payments of $35.0 million in multiple payments over two years to Allergan and Medytox, (ii) pay to Allergan and Medytox certain royalties on the sale of Jeuveau®, based on a certain dollar amount per vial sold of Licensed Product by or on behalf of the Company in the United States, from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, (iii) from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, pay Medytox a low-double digit royalty on net sales of Jeuveau® sold by us or on our behalf in territories we have licensed outside the United States; (iv) from September 16, 2022 to September 16, 2032, pay Medytox a mid-single digit royalty percentage on net sales of Jeuveau® in the United States and all territories we have licensed outside the United States, (v) issue Medytox 6,762,652 shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, which we issued on February 18, 2021, and (vi) entered into a Registration Rights Agreement pursuant to which we granted certain registration rights to Medytox with respect to such shares of common stock beginning as of March 31, 2022. In addition, under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we made certain representations and warranties and agreed to positive and negative covenants.
On March 23, 2021, we entered into a Confidential Settlement and Release Agreement with Daewoong, which we refer to as the Daewoong Settlement Agreement, a Convertible Promissory Note Conversion Agreement, which we refer to as the Conversion Agreement and the Third Amendment to the Supply Agreement (which amends the Daewoong Agreement), which we refer to as the Daewoong Agreement Amendment. We refer to the Daewoong Settlement Agreement, the Conversion Agreement and the Daewoong Agreement Amendment collectively as the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement.
Under the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement, (i) Daewoong (a) paid us an amount equal to $25.5 million in April 2021, (b) agreed to pay certain reasonable legal fees incurred by our litigation counsel in connection with its defense of the ITC Action (including any appeal of the resulting remedial orders), (c) canceled all remaining milestone payments up to $10.5 million in aggregate under our Daewoong Agreement, and (d) agreed to reimburse us certain amounts (calculated on a dollar amount per vials sold basis in the United States) for sales of certain products with respect to which we are required to pay Medytox and Allergan royalties pursuant to the U.S. Settlement Agreement; and (ii) we agreed to (y) release certain claims we may have against Daewoong or certain of its affiliates and representatives related to the allegations made in or the subject matter of the Medytox/Allergan Actions, or any orders, remedies and losses resulting from the Medytox/Allergan Actions, and (z) coordinate with Daewoong on certain matters related to the Medytox/Allergan Actions. In the Conversion Agreement, among other things, (i) the principal balance of the $40.0 million aggregate principal amount convertible promissory note we issued to Daewoong on July 30, 2020, which we refer to as the Daewoong Convertible Note, and accrued and unpaid interest thereon was automatically converted, at the conversion price of $13.00 per share, into 3,136,869 shares of our common stock; and (ii) the Daewoong Convertible Note was cancelled and satisfied in full in connection with such conversion.
Under the Daewoong Agreement Amendment, the Daewoong Agreement was amended to: (i) expand the territory within which we may distribute Jeuveau® to certain countries in Europe; (ii) reduce the period of time with respect to which we are required to deliver binding forecasts to Daewoong; (iii) introduce certain limitations on Daewoong’s ability to convert our exclusive license for certain territories to a non-exclusive license in the event we fail to meet certain minimum purchase requirements for such territory; (iv) adjust the minimum purchase requirements and reduce the transfer price per vial of Jeuveau® applicable to various territories; (v) require that any Jeuveau® supplied by Daewoong match certain shelf-life
34
thresholds; and (vi) prohibit us from sharing certain confidential information regarding Daewoong with Medytox or its affiliates or representatives.
As a result of the royalty payments that we are required to pay under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, after giving effect to the offset of a certain portion thereof that will be reimbursed to us under the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement, we expect that our cost of sales and gross margin will be materially negatively impacted through September 2022 and negatively impacted to a lesser extent from September 2022 to September 2032.
COVID-19 Update
The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions intended to slow its spread have resulted in temporary business closures for many of our customers starting in mid-March 2020, which negatively affected our sales during the first half of 2020. Starting in June 2020, we experienced an increase in sales that continued throughout the rest of 2020 into the first quarter of 2021 as many states started easing restrictions on elective procedures and many of our customers re-opened their businesses.
We continue to monitor the evolving situation and guidance from international and domestic authorities, including federal, state and local public health authorities and may take actions based on their recommendations. In these circumstances, there may be developments outside our control requiring us to adjust our operating plan. As such, given the dynamic nature of this situation, we cannot reasonably estimate the full impact of COVID-19 on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows in the future.
Management’s Use of Adjusted Gross Margin
Adjusted gross margin is not required by, nor presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Adjusted gross margin is defined as total net revenues less product cost of sales, excluding amortization of intangible assets, and one-time settlement payment from Daewoong, as a percentage of net revenues. Management believes that adjusted gross margin is an important measure for investors because management uses adjusted gross margin as key performance indicator to evaluate the profitability of sales. Adjusted gross margin should not be considered a measure of financial performance under GAAP, and the items excluded from adjusted gross margin should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to financial statement data presented in the financial statements as an indicator of financial performance or liquidity. As adjusted gross margin is not a measurement determined in accordance with GAAP and is therefore susceptible to varying methods of calculation, this metric, as presented, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.
Adjusted gross margin is most comparable to the GAAP financial measure, gross margin. The following is a reconciliation of GAAP gross margin to adjusted gross margin for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively:
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
(in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
Revenue, net | $ | 12.2 | $ | 10.5 | |||||||
Cost of sales: | |||||||||||
Product cost of sales (excludes amortization of intangible assets) | 4.9 | 4.2 | |||||||||
Settlement payment from Daewoong | (25.5) | — | |||||||||
Amortization of distribution right intangible asset | 0.7 | 0.7 | |||||||||
Total cost of sales | $ | (19.9) | $ | 4.9 | |||||||
GAAP gross margin | 262.3 | % | 52.8 | % | |||||||
Adjusted gross margin | 59.9 | % | 59.8 | % |
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Results of Operations
Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the periods indicated:
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
(in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
Product revenue, net | $ | 12.2 | $ | 10.5 | |||||||
Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
Product cost of sales (excludes amortization of intangible assets) | 4.9 | 4.2 | |||||||||
Settlement payment from Daewoong | (25.5) | — | |||||||||
Selling, general and administrative | 20.7 | 31.3 | |||||||||
Research and development | 0.8 | 0.5 | |||||||||
Revaluation of contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders | 1.3 | (9.9) | |||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 2.0 | 1.7 | |||||||||
Total operating expenses | 4.2 | 27.9 | |||||||||
Income (loss) from operations | 8.0 | (17.4) | |||||||||
Other income (expense): | |||||||||||
Non-operating expense, net | (0.6) | (2.1) | |||||||||
Loss from extinguishment of debts, net | (1.0) | — | |||||||||
Income (loss) before income taxes: | 6.4 | (19.5) | |||||||||
Income tax expense | — | 0.3 | |||||||||
Net income (loss) | $ | 6.4 | $ | (19.7) |
Net Revenues
We currently operate in one reportable segment and all of our net revenues are derived from sales of Jeuveau®. Net revenues consist of revenues, net of adjustments primarily for customer rebates, coupon program, rewards related to the consumer loyalty program. Revenues are recognized when the control of the promised goods is transferred to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration allocated to the related performance obligations and to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those products or services.
Net revenues of Jeuveau® sales increased by $1.7 million, or 16.2%, to $12.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 from $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase in net revenue during the first quarter of 2021 is mainly due to higher net average selling prices, partially offset by lower sales volumes during the presidential review period from mid-December 2020 to mid-February 2021.
Cost of Sales
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, cost of sales consists of product cost of sales and settlement payment of $25.5 million from Daewoong in connection with the Daewoong settlement agreement.
Product Cost of Sales
Product cost of sales, excluding amortization of intangible assets, primarily consisted of the cost of inventory purchased. In addition, during the period from December 2020 to September 2022, product cost of sales, excluding amortization of intangible assets, also includes certain royalties on the sale of Jeuveau® payable to Medytox and Allergan pursuant to the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, partially offset by reimbursement receivable from Daewoong pursuant the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement with respect to such royalties.
As a result, product cost of sales, excluding amortization of intangible assets, increased by $0.7 million, or 16.7%, to $4.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 from $4.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. We
36
anticipate that our product cost of sales will increase significantly through September 2022 as we make royalty payments to Allergan and Medytox and to a lesser degree from September 2022 to September 2032 and will fluctuate as our revenues fluctuate.
Settlement Payment from Daewoong
In the first quarter of 2021, we recorded a one-time settlement payment of $25.5 million from Daewoong in connection with the Daewoong Settlement Agreement.
Gross Margin
Our gross margin was 262.3% and 52.8% for three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our adjusted gross margin, calculated as total net revenues less product cost of sales, excluding amortization of intangible assets and the one-time settlement payment from Daewoong, as a percentage of net revenues, was 59.9% and 59.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We anticipate that our gross margin and adjusted gross margin will be materially and negatively impacted through September 2022 as we make royalty payments to Allergan and Medytox and negatively impacted to a lesser extent from September 2022 to September 2032 and will fluctuate in the future as we implement various marketing programs for Jeuveau®.
Selling, General and Administrative
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $10.6 million, or, 33.9% to $20.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 from $31.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, primarily resulting from reduced spending due to the COVID-19 outbreak and delaying nonessential projects and programs during the presidential review period from mid-December 2020 to mid-February 2021. Selling, general and administrative expenses may fluctuate in the future primarily due to potential changes in marketing strategies.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses increased by $0.3 million, or 60.0%,to $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 from $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 due to increased clinical activities. We expect our overall research and development expense to increase if we develop further product candidates and pursue regulatory approvals in other jurisdictions.
Revaluation of Contingent Royalty Obligation Payable to Evolus Founders
The change in the fair value of the contingent royalty obligation payable to Evolus Founders is recorded in operating expenses in each reporting period. During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the revaluation charge of $1.3 million and gain of $9.9 million, respectively, were primarily driven by changes in management assumptions relating to revenue forecasts, the discount rate used and timing of cash flows.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $0.3 million, or 17.6%, to $2.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 from $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase was primarily attributable to amortization of the internal-use software costs over two years.
Non-Operating Expense, Net
Non-operating expense, net, decreased by $1.5 million, or 71.4%, to $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 from $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, primarily due to lower interest expense resulting from extinguishment of the long-term debt from Oxford Finance, LLC in early January 2021.
Loss from extinguishment of debts, Net
Loss from extinguishment of debts, net includes a $1.9 million loss from payoff of long-term debt with Oxford Finance, LLC in January 2021, partially offset by a $1.0 million gain from the conversion of the Daewoong Convertible Note in March 2021.
Income Taxes (Benefit) Expense
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There was no income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to an income tax expense of $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of $22.2 million, negative working capital of $9.9 million and stockholders’ equity of $23.3 million.
We have a limited history of generating revenues and began shipping Jeuveau® in May 2019. We have incurred operating losses to date and have an accumulated deficit of $369.7 million as of March 31, 2021 as a result of ongoing efforts to develop and commercialize Jeuveau®, including providing selling, general and administrative support for these operations. We had net income of $6.4 million and net loss of $19.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and we used net cash in operating activities of $8.3 million and $27.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Management expects operating losses and negative operating cash flows to continue for at least the next 12 months.
Follow-On Public Offering
In April 2021, we completed a follow-on public offering and sold 10,350,000 shares of our common stock, which included the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 1,350,000 shares of common stock, at a price to the public of $9.50 per share. We received net proceeds of approximately $92.4 million from the offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, excluding other offering expenses.
The Oxford Loan and Security Agreement
On March 15, 2019, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement, or the credit facility, with Oxford Finance, LLC, as collateral agent, or Oxford, and the lenders party thereto from time to time, pursuant to which the lender would make term loans available to us of up to $100.0 million, or the credit facility. The credit facility provided that the term loans would be funded in two advances. The first tranche of $75.0 million was funded on the closing date, and the second tranche of $25.0 million was not borrowed. The credit facility bore an annual interest rate equal to the greater of 9.5%, or the 30-day U.S. Dollar LIBOR rate plus 7.0%.
On January 4, 2021, we entered into a letter agreement, or Payoff Letter, with Oxford, pursuant to which (i) on January 4, 2021, we paid Oxford $76.4 million, or the Payoff Amount, to discharge in full all outstanding obligations, included accrued interest, under the Loan and Security agreement, and (ii) effective upon such repayment, the Loan and Security Agreement, and all unfunded commitments thereunder, guarantees and other security interests granted to Oxford, and all other obligations of and restrictions on us under the Loan and Security Agreement, terminated.
As a condition to entering into the Payoff Letter, Oxford agreed to waive a total of approximately $4.3 million of fees comprised of (i) approximately $2.8 million of the Final Payment (as defined under the Loan and Security Agreement) and (ii) the prepayment fee of $1.5 million otherwise payable pursuant to the terms of the Loan and Security Agreement.
The Daewoong Convertible Note
On July 6, 2020, we issued Daewoong the Daewoong Convertible Note for the principal amount of $40.0 million, which was funded on July 30, 2020. Additionally, on July 6, 2020, we, Daewoong, and Oxford Finance, LLC entered into a Subordination Agreement pursuant to which the Convertible Note will be subordinated to our obligations under that certain Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of March 15, 2019, by and between Oxford and us.
The Daewoong Convertible Note bore interest at a rate of 3.0% payable semi-annually in arrears on June 30th and December 31st of each year and matures on July 30, 2025, subject to earlier conversion as provided below.
As described in “—Overview—Impact on Our Business of Final Ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Settlements,” under the Conversion Agreement, the outstanding principal balance including interest paid in kind that was added to the outstanding principal under the terms of the Daewoong Convertible Note, together with all accrued and unpaid interest thereon, in the amount of $40.8 million was converted, at the conversion price of $13.00 per share, into 3,136,869 shares of our common stock on March 25, 2021.
Contingent Royalties and Promissory Note Payable to Evolus Founders
We are obligated to make the following future payments to the founders of Evolus, which we refer to as the Evolus Founders: (i) quarterly royalty payments of a low single digit percentage of net sales of Jeuveau® and (ii) a $20.0 million promissory
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note that matures in November 2021. The obligations set forth in (i) above will terminate in the quarter following the 10-year anniversary of the first commercial sale of Jeuveau® in the Unites States. The fair value of the obligations set forth in items (i) and (ii) are valued quarterly and are referred to in our financial statements as the contingent royalty obligation.
Litigation Settlement
As described in “—Overview—Impact on Our Business of Final Ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Settlements,” on February 18, 2021, upon entering into the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we agreed to pay to Allergan and Medytox $35.0 million in multiple payments over two years with $20.0 million due in the next twelve months and also issued 6,762,652 shares its common stock to Medytox. In addition, during period from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, we agreed to pay to Allergan and Medytox royalties on the sale of Jeuveau®, based on a certain dollar amount per vial sold in the United States, and a low-double digit royalty on net sales of Jeuveau® sold in other Evolus territories. During the period from September 17, 2022 to September 16, 2032, we agreed to pay to Medytox a mid-single digit royalty percentage on all net sales of Jeuveau®. The royalty payments will be made quarterly.
As described in “—Overview—Impact on Our Business of Final Ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Settlements,” on March 23, 2021, upon entering the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement, Daewoong paid us $25.5 million in April 2021, cancelled all remaining milestone payments up to $10.5 million in aggregate under the Daewoong Agreement and agreed to reimburse us certain amounts (calculated on a dollar amount per vials sold basis in the United States) for sales of certain products with respect to which we are required to pay Medytox and Allergan royalties pursuant to the U.S. Settlement Agreement.
License and Supply Agreement
The Daewoong Agreement includes certain minimum annual purchases we are required to make in order to maintain the exclusivity of the license. We may, however, meet these minimum purchase obligations by achieving certain market share in its covered territories. These potential minimum purchase obligations were contingent upon the occurrence of future events, including receipt of governmental approvals and our future market share in various jurisdictions.
Operating Leases
Our corporate headquarters in Newport Beach, California is under a five-year non-cancelable operating lease, which expires on January 31, 2025 with an option to extend the term for an additional 60 months. Lease payments increase based on an annual rent escalation clause that occurs on each February 1 anniversary. We may, under certain circumstances, terminate the lease on the 36 months anniversary of the lease commencement date by providing a written notice 12 months prior to such anniversary and paying a termination fee equal to six months basic rent plus certain other expenses. We have an option to extend the term of the lease for an additional 60 months.
Current and Future Capital Requirements
We believe that our current capital resources, which consist of cash and cash equivalents, will be sufficient to meet our obligations and fund operations through at least the next twelve months based on our expected cash burn rate from the date of the issuance of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
We have based our projections of operating capital requirements on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect and we may use all our available capital resources, which consist of cash and cash equivalents, sooner than we expect. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with research, development and commercialization of our products, we are unable to estimate the exact amount of our operating capital requirements. In such case, we may be required to raise additional capital to fund future operations through the incurrence of debt, the entry into licensing or collaboration agreements with partners, sale of equity securities, grants or other sources of financing.
Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
•the timing and amounts of the royalty and other payments payable in connection with the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements and of the reimbursement receivable from Daewoong in connection with the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement;
•the amounts of the royalty and promissory note payable to the Evolus Founders;
•the number and characteristics of any future product candidates we develop or acquire;
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•our ability to forecast demand for our products, scale our supply to meet that demand and manage working capital effectively;
•the cost of manufacturing our product or any future product candidates and any products we successfully commercialize, including costs associated with our supply chain;
•the cost of commercialization activities for Jeuveau® or any future product candidates are approved or cleared for sale, including marketing, sales and distribution costs;
•the cost of maintaining a sales force, the productivity of that sales force, and the market acceptance of our products;
•our ability to establish and maintain strategic collaborations, licensing or other arrangements and the financial terms of any such agreements that we may enter into;
•any product liability or other lawsuits related to our products;
•the cost of any current litigation including our ongoing securities class action lawsuit and shareholder derivative lawsuit;
•the expenses needed to attract and retain skilled personnel;
•the costs associated with being a public company;
•the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing intellectual property and any other future intellectual litigation we may be involved in; and
•the timing, receipt and amount of sales of any future approved or cleared products, if any.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated:
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
(in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
Net cash (used in) provided by: | |||||||||||
Operating activities | $ | (8.3) | $ | (27.9) | |||||||
Investing activities | 4.8 | (46.2) | |||||||||
Financing activities | (76.8) | (1.1) | |||||||||
Change in cash and cash equivalents | (80.4) | (75.2) | |||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 102.6 | 109.9 | |||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ | 22.2 | $ | 34.7 |
Operating Activities
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, operating activities used $8.3 million of cash, which primarily resulted from our net income of $6.4 million as adjusted for certain non-cash charges including $1.6 million of stock-based compensation expense, $1.3 million in revaluation of our contingent royalty obligation, $0.6 million of provision of allowance for doubtful accounts and $2.0 million of depreciation and amortization. Net operating assets and liabilities changed by $21.9 million primarily driven by timing of collections from customers and payments to vendors and the $25.5 million receivable from Daewoong pursuant to the 2021 Daewoong Arrangement.
For the three months ended March 31, 2020, operating activities used $27.9 million of cash, which primarily resulted from our net loss of $19.7 million as adjusted for certain non-cash charges including $2.6 million of stock-based compensation expense, a gain of $9.9 million in revaluation of our contingent royalty obligation, $2.6 million of provision of allowance for doubtful accounts and $1.7 million of depreciation and amortization. Net operating assets and liabilities changed by $6.2 million primarily driven by timing of receipts from customers and payments to vendors.
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We expect our cash flows from operating activities to fluctuate as we experience extended customer collection cycles and execute operating expenses reduction efforts.
Investing Activities
Cash provided by investing activities was $4.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to cash used in investing activities of $46.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The decrease in cash used in investing activities was attributable to maturities of short-term investments with no new purchases during the three months ended March 31, 2021.
Financing Activities
Cash used in financing activities was $76.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $1.1 million of cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase in cash used in financing activities primarily resulted from the repayment of long-term debt with Oxford Finance, LLC of $76.3 million in January 2021.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC. We do not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or for any other contractually narrow or limited purpose.
Critical Accounting Policies
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses at the date of the financial statements as well as the expenses incurred during the reporting period. Generally, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions in accordance with GAAP that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and such differences could be material to the financial position and results of operations. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our judgments and estimates in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience.
There have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies and estimates as discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
We describe the recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements that apply to us in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies-Recent Accounting Pronouncements.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.
Not applicable.
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Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As of March 31, 2021, our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, who serve as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, respectively, performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure (a) that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and (b) that information required to be disclosed by us in reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of March 31, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level.
Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objective and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
During the three months ended March 31, 2021, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred with respect to 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.
See “Legal Proceedings” in Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies for information regarding legal proceedings.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors.
The risks and uncertainties discussed below update, supersede and replace the risks and uncertainties previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 25, 2021. We do not believe any of the changes constitute material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in such prior Annual Report on Form 10-K.
An investment in our company involves a high degree of risk of loss. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including Part I, Item 2“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and the related notes included in Part I, Item 1. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, revenue, and future prospects could be seriously harmed. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. Unless otherwise indicated, references to our business being seriously harmed in these risk factors will include harm to our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, revenue and future prospects. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Strategy
We currently depend entirely on the successful commercialization of our only product, Jeuveau®. If we are unable to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®, we may never generate sufficient revenue to continue our business.
We currently have only one product, Jeuveau®, and our business presently depends entirely on our ability to successfully commercialize it in a timely manner. While the product was commercially launched in the United States in May 2019 and through a distribution partner in Canada in October 2019, we have a limited history of generating revenue for Jeuveau®. Our near-term prospects, including our ability to generate revenue, as well as our future growth, depend entirely on the successful commercialization of Jeuveau®. The commercial success of Jeuveau® will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®, whether alone or in collaboration with others, including our ability to hire, retain and train sales representatives in the United States. Our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® is also dependent on the willingness of consumers to pay for Jeuveau® relative to other discretionary items, especially during economically challenging times. Additional factors necessary for the successful commercialization of Jeuveau® include the availability, perceived advantages, relative cost, relative safety of Jeuveau® and relative efficacy of competing products, the timing of new product introductions by our competitors, and the sales and marketing tactics of our competitors, including bundling of multiple products, in response to our launch of Jeuveau®.
If we do not achieve one or more of these factors, many of which are beyond our control, in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant issues commercializing Jeuveau®. Further, we may never be able to successfully commercialize Jeuveau® or any future product candidates. In addition, our experience as a commercial company is limited. Accordingly, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue through the sale of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates to continue our business.
We have a limited operating history and have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. We have only one product and limited commercial sales, which, together with our limited operating history, make it difficult to assess our future viability.
We are a performance beauty company with a limited operating history. To date, we have invested substantially all of our efforts and financial resources in the clinical development, regulatory approval, and commercial launch of Jeuveau®, which is currently our only product. We began selling Jeuveau® in the United States in May 2019 and through a distribution partner in Canada in October 2019 and have a limited history of generating revenue. While we recorded a profit for the three months ended March 31, 2021 largely as a result of a receivable from Daewoong, we do not expect to be profitable in 2021 and have incurred losses in each year since our inception in 2012. We have a limited operating history upon which you can evaluate our business and prospects. Consequently, any predictions about our future success, performance or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or greater experience commercializing a product. In addition, we have limited experience and have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully overcome many of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in the medical aesthetics field. We continue to incur significant expenses related to the commercialization of Jeuveau®. While we have recorded net income of $6.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 we have recorded a net loss of $163.0 million and net loss of $90.0 million, and years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and had an accumulated deficit as of March 31, 2021 of $369.7 million. We expect to continue
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to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we anticipate these losses will continue as we commercialize Jeuveau®. Our ability to achieve revenue and profitability is dependent on our ability to successfully market and commercialize Jeuveau®. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to raise capital and continue operations.
We may require additional financing to fund our future operations, and a failure to obtain additional capital when so needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our operations.
We have utilized substantial amounts of cash since our inception in order to conduct clinical development to support regulatory approval of Jeuveau® in the United States, EU and Canada and in connection with the launch of Jeuveau® in the United States and Canada. We expect that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future in order to continue to commercialize Jeuveau® and for the clinical development of any additional product candidates we may choose to pursue.
In the near term, we expect expenditures associated with our settlement agreements with Medytox and Allergan, including a $15.0 million payment estimated to be due in the third quarter of 2021 and $15.0 million in the first quarter of 2022, and a $20.0 million payment in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the founders of our company under a promissory note issued to them in 2017. This will be partially offset by a $25.5 million payment from Daewoong to us, which we received in April 2021, and the elimination of $10.5 million in potential, future milestones payable to Daewoong. Additionally, we expect to expend resources furthering the development and continuation of our marketing programs and commercialization infrastructure in connection with commercializing Jeuveau® within and outside of the United States. In the long term, our expenditures will include costs associated with the continued commercialization of Jeuveau® and any of our future product candidates, such as research and development, conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials and manufacturing and supplying as well as marketing and selling any products approved for sale. We expect to incur additional costs as we continue to operate as a public company, hire additional personnel and expand our operations. Because the commercialization expenditures needed to meet our sales objectives are highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully commercialize Jeuveau®. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise. Accordingly, our actual cash burn rate may exceed our expectations.
If we raise additional capital through marketing and distribution arrangements, royalty financing arrangements, or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish certain valuable rights to our product candidates, technologies, future revenue streams or research programs or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we raise additional capital through public or private equity offerings or offerings of securities convertible into our equity, the ownership interest of our existing stockholders will be diluted and the terms of any such securities may have a preference over our common stock. Debt financing, receivables financing and royalty financing may also be coupled with an equity component, such as warrants to purchase our capital stock, which could also result in dilution of our existing stockholders’ ownership, and such dilution may be material. Additionally, if we raise additional capital through debt financing, we will have increased fixed payment obligations and may be subject to covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt or making capital expenditures to meet specified financial ratios, and other operational restrictions, any of which could restrict our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® or any future product candidates or operate as a business and may result in liens being placed on our assets. If we were to default on any of our indebtedness, we could lose such assets.
In the event we are unable to raise sufficient capital to fund our commercialization efforts to achieve specified minimum sales targets under the Daewoong Agreement, we will lose exclusivity of the license that we have been granted under the Daewoong Agreement. In addition, if we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we will be required to take actions to address our liquidity needs which may include the following: significantly reduce operating expenses and delay, reduce the scope of or discontinue some of our development programs, commercialization efforts or other aspects of our business plan, out-license intellectual property rights to our product candidates and sell unsecured assets, or a combination of the above. As a result, our ability to achieve profitability or to respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and/or our ability to fund our scheduled obligations on a timely basis or at all.
If we or our counterparties do not comply with the terms of our settlement agreements with Medytox, Inc., or Medytox, and Allergan Limited, Allergan, Inc. and Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland, or, collectively, Allergan, we may face
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litigation or lose our ability to commercialize Jeuveau® which would materially and adversely affect our ability to carry out our business, and our financial condition and ability to continue as a going concern.
Effective February 18, 2021, we entered into one Settlement and License Agreement with Allergan and Medytox, which we refer to as the U.S. Settlement Agreement and into another Settlement and License Agreement with Medytox which we refer to as the ROW Settlement Agreement. Collectively, we refer to the U.S. Settlement Agreement and the ROW Settlement Agreement as the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.
Under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements we obtained (i) a license to commercialize, manufacture and to have manufactured for us certain products identified in the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, including Jeuveau® (the “Licensed Products’), in the United States and other territories where we license Jeuveau®, (ii) the dismissal of outstanding litigation against us, including the ITC Action, a rescission of the related remedial orders, and the dismissal of a civil case in the Superior Court of California against us, which we refer to together with any claims (including claims brought in Korean courts) with a common nexus of fact as the Medytox/Allergan Actions, and (iii) releases of claims against us for the Medytox/Allergan Actions. In exchange, we agreed to (i) make payments of $35 million in multiple payments over two years to Allergan and Medytox, (ii) from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, pay to Allergan and Medytox certain royalties on the sale of Jeuveau®, based on a specified dollar amount per vial sold of Licensed Product by or on behalf of the Company in the United States, (iii) from December 16, 2020 to September 16, 2022, pay to Medytox a low-double digit royalty on net sales of Jeuveau® sold by us or on our behalf in territories we have licensed outside the United States; (iv) from September 16, 2022 to September 16, 2032, pay to Medytox a mid-single digit royalty percentage on net sales of Jeuveau® in the United States and all territories we have licensed outside the United States, (v) issue to Medytox 6,762,652 shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, which we issued on February 18 2021, and (vi) enter into a Registration Rights Agreement pursuant to which we granted certain registration rights to Medytox with respect to such shares of common stock beginning as of March 31, 2022. In addition, under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements we made certain representations and warranties and agreed to positive and negative covenants.
In the event we fail to comply with the terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, subject to applicable cure periods, Allergan and Medytox would have the ability to terminate the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements and thereby cancel the licenses granted to us and re-institute litigation against us. Any litigation may result in remedies against our products, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties, any of which would materially and adversely affect our ability to generate revenue from Jeuveau®, to carry out our business, and to continue as a going concern.
Additionally, if Medytox or Allergan fail to comply with the terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements and do not dismiss the claims to be dismissed or grant the licenses or comply with the covenants and agreements under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, it would materially and adversely affect our ability to generate revenue from Jeuveau®, to carry out our business, and to continue as a going concern. We would also be required to engage in costly and time consuming litigation in order to enforce our rights under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.
The terms of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements will reduce our profitability and may affect the extent of any discounts we may offer to our customers.
As a result of the royalty payments that we are required to pay under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, our profitability will be impacted. We may be able to offset a portion of the loss of profitability by decreasing any discount to customers on Jeuveau® as compared to discounts we provided to customers prior to the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements. If we reduce discounts for any customers, their volume of purchases may decrease which would have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Our business, financial condition and operations may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak or other similar outbreaks.
The COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, in 2019, known as COVID-19, or other similar outbreaks of contagious diseases may have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The COVID-19 outbreak, and restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, including quarantines, government-mandated actions, stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, has adversely affected our business in a number of ways. For example, the spread of COVID-19 in the United States has resulted and continues to, at times, result in travel restrictions impacting our sales professionals and closures of our customers’ businesses, which has adversely affected our sales and
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operations. In response, we have taken and will continue to take temporary precautionary measures intended to help minimize the risk of COVID-19 to our employees, including requiring our employees and sales professionals, to work remotely when required by local jurisdictions, suspending non-essential travel and restricting in-person work-related meetings. We significantly reduced our operating expenses in 2020, including through meaningful headcount reductions and temporary reductions in executive salaries. As a result of the limitations on our sales force and our headcount reductions, we expect to increasingly depend on our proprietary digital platform to support sales. Other negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak or other similar outbreaks could include the availability of our key personnel, temporary closures of our office or the facilities of our business partners, customers, third party service providers or other vendors, and the interruption of our supply chain, distribution channels, liquidity and capital or financial markets. Any of these events may result in a period of business disruption and in reduced sales and operations. In addition, any disruption and volatility in the global capital markets may increase our cost of capital and adversely affect our ability to access financing when and on terms that we desire. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Moreover, Jeuveau® is utilized in elective procedures, the costs of which are borne by the consumer and not third-party payors. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions to slow its spread, these elective procedures declined dramatically in 2020 due to closures of our customers’ businesses and as many customers are deferring their procedures. Even after the current COVID-19 outbreak has subsided, we may continue to experience negative impacts to our business and financial results if consumers continue to defer or avoid altogether elective procedures to administer Jeuveau® due to the continued perceived risk of infection or concern of a resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak as well as COVID-19’s global economic impact, including decreases in consumer discretionary spending and any economic slowdown or recession that has occurred or may occur in the future.
Unfavorable global economic conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a global economic contraction that may last a long time. Significant increases in unemployment stemming from the pandemic have also occurred which will impact consumer discretionary spending. Furthermore, the market for aesthetic medical procedures may be particularly vulnerable to unfavorable economic conditions. We do not expect Jeuveau® for the treatment of glabellar lines to be reimbursed by any government or third-party payor and, as a result, our product will be ultimately paid for by the consumer. Demand for Jeuveau® is tied to discretionary spending levels of our targeted consumer population. A severe or prolonged economic downturn could result in a variety of risks to our business, including a decline in the discretionary spending of our target consumer population, which could lead to a weakened demand for Jeuveau® or any future product candidates. A severe or prolonged economic downturn may also affect our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all. A weak or declining economy could also strain our suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption, or cause our customers to delay making payments for our products. Any of the foregoing could harm our business. In addition, our business strategy was developed based on a number of important assumptions about the self-pay healthcare market. For example, we believe that the number of self-pay healthcare procedures will increase in the future. However, these trends are uncertain and limited sources exist to obtain reliable market data. Therefore, sales of Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates could differ materially from our projections if our assumptions are incorrect.
Jeuveau® faces, and any of our future product candidates will face, significant competition and our failure to effectively compete may prevent us from achieving significant market penetration and expansion.
In May 2019, we commercially launched Jeuveau® into the highly competitive U.S. aesthetic neurotoxin market. In the long term, we expect to expand our focus to the broader self-pay healthcare market. Many of our potential competitors, including Allergan, and now AbbVie Inc., which acquired Allergan, who first launched BOTOX for cosmetic uses in 2002 and has since maintained the highest market share position in the aesthetic neurotoxin market with its BOTOX product, are large, experienced companies that enjoy significant competitive advantages, such as substantially greater financial resources enabling them to, among other things, market and discount aggressively. Competitors may also have greater brand recognition for their products, larger sales forces and larger aesthetic product portfolios allowing the companies to bundle products to provide customers more choices and to further discount their products. Additionally, our competitors have greater existing market share in the aesthetic neurotoxin product market and long standing customer loyalty programs and sales contracts with large customers which creates established business and financial relationships with customers, aesthetic societies and universities.
These competitors may also try to compete with Jeuveau® on price both directly, through rebates and promotional programs to high volume physicians and coupons to consumers, and indirectly, through attractive product bundling with complimentary
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products, such as dermal fillers that offer convenience and an effectively lower price compared to the total price of purchasing each product separately. These companies may also seek to compete based on their longer operating history. Larger companies may be better capitalized than us and, accordingly, are able to offer greater customer loyalty benefits to encourage repeat use of their products and finance a sustained global advertising campaign to compete with our commercialization efforts at launch. A number of our larger competitors also have access to a significant amount of studies and publications that they could use to compete with us.
Competitors and other parties may also seek to impact regulatory approval of our future product applications through the filing of citizen petitions or other similar documents, which could require costly and time-consuming responses to the regulatory agencies. Larger competitors could seek to prevent or delay our commercialization efforts via costly litigation which can be lengthy and expensive and serve to distract our management team’s attention. We could face competition from other sources as well, including academic institutions, governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. In addition, we are aware of other companies also developing and/or marketing products in one or more of our target markets, including competing injectable botulinum toxin type A formulations that are currently in Phase III clinical development in North America for the treatment of glabellar lines. For example, Revance Therapeutics, Inc. has submitted a BLA to the FDA for an injectable botulinum toxin type A neurotoxin and received a target action date of November 25, 2020 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act; however, the FDA has deferred its decision on the BLA and the BLA has not yet been approved. Additionally, Hugel Inc., has submitted a BLA to the FDA for an injectable botulinum toxin type A neurotoxin. If either BLA is approved, we expect the competition in the U.S. injectable botulinum toxin market to further increase. We would face similar risks with respect to any future product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the broader self-pay healthcare market. Successful competitors in that market have the ability to effectively discover, obtain patents, develop, test and obtain regulatory approvals for products, as well as the ability to effectively commercialize, market and promote approved products, including communicating the effectiveness, safety and value of products to actual and prospective customers and medical staff.
Our strategy of competing in the aesthetic neurotoxin market is dependent on the marketing and pricing flexibility that we believe is afforded to a company with a portfolio limited to self-pay healthcare, comprised of products and procedures that are not reimbursed by third-party payors. In the event that regulations applicable to reimbursed products are changed to apply to self-pay healthcare products, we would no longer have this flexibility and we may not be able to compete as effectively with our competitors which may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, as a result of the royalty payments that we are required to pay under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we may not be able to discount Jeuveau® to the extent that we previously provided discounts to customers without impacting our gross margins. If we increase prices for any customers, their volume of purchases may decrease which would have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The first use of Jeuveau® is in aesthetic medicine. The aesthetic product market, and the facial aesthetic market in particular, is highly competitive and dynamic and is characterized by rapid and substantial technological development and product innovations. We have received regulatory approval of Jeuveau® for the treatment of glabellar lines and launched commercially in the United States and through a distribution partner in Canada. We anticipate that Jeuveau® will face significant competition from other facial aesthetic products, such as other injectable and topical botulinum toxins and dermal fillers. Jeuveau® may also compete with unapproved and off-label treatments. In addition, competitors may develop new technologies within the aesthetic market that may be superior in safety and efficacy to Jeuveau® or offer alternatives to the use of toxins, including surgical and radio frequency techniques. To compete successfully in the aesthetic market, we will have to demonstrate that Jeuveau® is at least as safe and effective as current products sold by our competitors. Competition in the aesthetic market could result in price-cutting and reduced profit margins, any of which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Due to less stringent regulatory requirements, there are many more aesthetic products and procedures available for use in international markets than are approved for use in the United States. There are also fewer limitations on the claims that our competitors in international markets can make about the effectiveness of their products and the manner in which they can market them. As a result, we expect to face more competition in these markets than in the United States.
Our commercial opportunity could also be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, are more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than Jeuveau® or any other product that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for these products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for our products, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market, which may create additional barriers to successfully commercializing Jeuveau® and any future product candidates and attracting physician and consumer demand.
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Jeuveau® may fail to achieve the broad degree of physician adoption and use or consumer demand necessary for commercial success.
Jeuveau® may fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, consumers and others in the medical aesthetics community. The commercial success of Jeuveau® and any future product candidates will depend significantly on the broad adoption and use of the resulting product by physicians for approved indications, including, in the case of Jeuveau®, the treatment of glabellar lines and other aesthetic indications that we may seek to pursue. We are aware that other companies are seeking to develop alternative products and treatments, any of which could impact the demand for Jeuveau®.
The degree and rate of physician adoption of Jeuveau® and any future product candidates depend on a number of factors, including the cost, profitability to our customers, consumer demand, characteristics and effectiveness of the product. Our success will also depend our ability to create compelling marketing programs, training of our customers and ability to overcome any biases physicians or consumers may have toward the use, safety and efficacy of existing products over Jeuveau®. Moreover, our competitors may utilize negative selling efforts or offer more compelling marketing or discounting programs than we are able to offer, including by bundling multiple aesthetic products to provide a more comprehensive offering than we can as Jeuveau® is currently our sole product.
In addition, in its clinical trials, Jeuveau® was clinically tested and compared to BOTOX. Jeuveau® is the only known neurotoxin product in the United States with a 900 kDa complex other than BOTOX. We believe that aesthetic physicians’ familiarity with the 900 kDa complex’s handling, preparation and dosing will more easily facilitate incorporation of Jeuveau® into their practices. However, the ease of integration of Jeuveau® into a physician’s practice may not be as seamless as we anticipate.
With respect to consumer demand, the treatment of glabellar lines with Jeuveau® is an elective procedure, the cost of which must be borne by the consumer, and we do not expect costs related to the treatment to be reimbursable through any third-party payor, such as Medicaid, Medicare or commercial insurance. The decision by a consumer to undergo treatment with Jeuveau® for the treatment of glabellar lines or other aesthetic indications that we may pursue may be influenced by a number of factors, including the cost, efficacy, safety, perception, marketing programs for, and physician recommendations of Jeuveau® versus competitive products or procedures. Moreover, consumer demand may flucuate over time as a result of consumer sentiment about the benefits and risks of aesthetic procedures generally and Jeuveau® in particular, changes in demographics and social trends, and general consumer confidence and consumer discretionary spending, which may be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, economic and political conditions.
If Jeuveau® or any future product candidates fail to achieve the broad degree of physician adoption necessary for commercial success or the requisite consumer demand, our operating results and financial condition will be adversely affected, which may delay, prevent or limit our ability to generate revenue and continue our business.
Our ability to market Jeuveau® is limited to use for the treatment of glabellar lines, and if we want to expand the indications for which we market Jeuveau®, we will need to obtain additional regulatory approvals, which will be expensive and may not be granted.
We have received regulatory approval for Jeuveau® in the United States for the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar lines. The terms of that approval restrict our ability to market or advertise Jeuveau® for other indications, which could limit physician and consumer adoption. Under the U.S. Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, we may generally only market Jeuveau® for approved indications. Many of our competitors have received approval of multiple aesthetic and therapeutic indications for their neurotoxin products and may be able to market such products for use in a way we cannot. For example, we are aware that one of our competitors, Allergan (now AbbVie), has obtained and plans to obtain additional indications for its neurotoxin product within medical aesthetics and, therefore, is able to market its product across a greater number of indications than Jeuveau®. If we are unable to obtain approval for indications in addition to our approval for glabellar lines, our marketing efforts for Jeuveau® will be severely limited. As a result, we may not generate physician and consumer demand or approval of Jeuveau®.
We rely on our digital technology and applications and our business and operations would suffer in the event of computer system failures or breach by hackers.
As part of the measures we took in April 2020, including reductions in the size of our sales force, we are more reliant on our digital technology, including our Evolus Practice App, which allows customers to open a new account, order Jeuveau®, pay invoices and engage with our customer experience team and medical affairs representatives. In the event that our digital technology is unable to function in the manner they were designed or at all, we would experience difficulty processing
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customer orders and requests in a timely manner or at all which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The systems underlying our digital technology may not be adequately designed or may not operate with the reliability and redundancy necessary to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our business. If our digital technology is unavailable when customers attempt to access them, or if they do not load as quickly as expected, users may not use our technology as often in the future, or at all, and our ability to sell Jeuveau® through a more limited sales force may be disrupted and we may not realize the efficiencies of leveraging our digital technology, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. As the number of users of our digital technology continues to grow we will need an increasing amount of technical infrastructure, including network capacity and computing power, to continue to satisfy our needs. It is possible that we may fail to continue to effectively scale and grow our technical infrastructure to accommodate these increased demands, which may adversely affect our customers’ experience with our digital technology which may decrease our revenue and harm our results of operations.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, malware, natural disasters, terrorism, war, telecommunication and electrical failures, cyberattacks or cyber intrusions over the internet, attachments to emails, persons inside our organization, or persons with access to systems inside our organization. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyberattacks or cyber intrusions, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyberterrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our current or future product development programs. The costs to us to mitigate network security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and while we have implemented security measures to protect our data security and information technology systems, our efforts to address these problems may not be successful, and these problems could result in unexpected interruptions, delays, cessation of service, government files or penalties and other harm to our business and our competitive position. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption in our relationship with our customers. For example, if our Evolus Practice App were rendered inoperable, we would have to process orders by telephone or otherwise which may result in slower processing times and harm to our reputation.
Moreover, if a computer security breach affects our systems or results in the unauthorized release of financial information, personally identifiable information, or PII, or other sensitive information our reputation could be materially damaged. In addition, such a breach may require notification to governmental agencies, the media or individuals pursuant to various international, federal and state privacy and security laws, if applicable, including the GDPR, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Clinical Health Act of 2009, and its implementing rules and regulations, as well as regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission and state breach notification laws. Additionally, the regulatory environment governing information, security and privacy laws is increasingly demanding and continues to evolve and a number of states have adopted laws and regulations that may affect our privacy and data security practices regarding the use, disclosure and protection of PII. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act, among other things, has created new individual privacy rights and imposes increased obligations on companies handling PII. We would also be exposed to a risk of loss or litigation and potential liability, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our liability insurance may not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to security breaches, cyberattacks and other related breaches.
Jeuveau® or any other product candidate for which we seek approval as a biologic may face competition sooner than anticipated.
With the enactment of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or the BPCI Act, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, an abbreviated pathway for the approval of biosimilar or interchangeable biological products was created. The abbreviated regulatory pathway establishes legal authority for the FDA to review and approve biosimilar biologics. Under the BPCI Act, an application for a biosimilar product cannot be approved by the FDA until twelve years after the original branded product was approved under a Biologics License Application, or BLA. The law is complex and is still being interpreted and implemented by the FDA. For example, one company has filed a Citizen Petition requesting that the FDA not apply the BPCI Act to pre-enactment BLAs. As a result, its ultimate impact, implementation and meaning are subject to uncertainty. While it is uncertain when such processes intended to implement the BPCI Act may be fully adopted by the FDA, any such processes could have a material adverse effect on the future commercial prospects for our biological products.
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We believe that Jeuveau® should qualify for the twelve-year period of exclusivity. However, there is a risk that this exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action or otherwise, or that the FDA will not consider any of our product candidates to be a reference product for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for competition sooner than anticipated. Moreover, the extent to which a biosimilar product, once approved, will be substituted for any one of our reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biological products is not yet clear and will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing.
If we are found to have improperly promoted off-label uses, or if physicians misuse our products or use our products off-label, we may become subject to prohibitions on the sale or marketing of our products, significant fines, penalties, sanctions, or product liability claims, and our image and reputation within the industry and marketplace could be harmed.
The FDA and other regulatory agencies strictly regulate the marketing and promotional claims that are made about pharmaceutical products, such as Jeuveau®. In particular, a product may not be promoted for uses or indications that are not approved by the FDA or other similar regulatory authorities as reflected in the product’s approved labeling. Physicians could use Jeuveau® on their patients in a manner that is inconsistent with the approved label of the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar lines, potentially including for the treatment of other aesthetic or therapeutic indications. If we are found to have promoted such off-label uses, we may receive warning letters from and be subject to other enforcement actions by the FDA, the EMA and other regulatory agencies, and become subject to significant liability, which would materially harm our business. The federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion and has enjoined several companies from engaging in off-label promotion. If we become the target of such an investigation or prosecution based on our marketing and promotional practices, we could face similar sanctions, which would materially harm our business. In addition, management’s attention could be diverted from our business operations, significant legal expenses could be incurred, and our reputation could be damaged. The FDA has also required that companies enter into consent decrees or permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct is changed or curtailed in order to resolve FDA enforcement actions. If we are deemed by the FDA to have engaged in the promotion of our products for off-label use, we could be subject to FDA prohibitions or other restrictions on the sale or marketing of our products and other operations or significant fines and penalties, and the imposition of these sanctions could also affect our reputation and position within the industry. In addition, regulatory authorities outside the United States may impose similar fines, penalties or sanctions.
Physicians may also misuse Jeuveau® or any future product candidates or use improper techniques, potentially leading to adverse results, side effects or injury, which may lead to product liability claims. If Jeuveau® or any future product candidates are misused or used with improper techniques or are determined to cause or contribute to consumer harm, we may become subject to costly litigation by our customers or their patients. Product liability claims could divert management’s attention from our core business, be expensive to defend, result in sizable damage awards against us that may not be covered by insurance and subject us to negative publicity resulting in reduced sales of our products. Furthermore, the use of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates for indications other than those cleared by the FDA may not effectively treat such conditions, which could harm our reputation in the marketplace among physicians and consumers. Any of these events could harm our business and results of operations and cause our stock price to decline.
Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates may cause serious or undesirable side effects or possess other unexpected properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of approved labeling, result in post-approval regulatory action or in product liability lawsuits.
Unforeseen side effects from Jeuveau® or our future product candidates could arise either during clinical development or after marketing such product. Undesirable side effects caused by product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, modify, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, the EMA or similar regulatory authorities. Results of clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects. In such an event, trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA, the EMA or similar regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny approval of product candidates for any or all targeted indications. The drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
Additionally, if we or others identify undesirable side effects, or other previously unknown problems, caused by Jeuveau®, or any of our future product candidates, after obtaining regulatory approval in the United States or other jurisdictions, a number of potentially negative consequences could result, including regulatory authorities withdrawing approval or limiting the marketing of our products, requiring a recall of the product, requiring additional warnings on our product labeling or medication guides or instituting Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies, or REMS. In order to mitigate these risks,
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regulatory authorities may require additional costly clinical trials or costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product. As a result of any of these actions our sales of the product may decrease significantly, we may be required to expend material amounts to comply with any requirements of the regulatory authorities, we could be sued in a product liability lawsuit and held liable for harm caused to patients, and our brand and reputation may suffer.
We face an inherent risk of product liability as a result of the commercialization of Jeuveau® and any of our future product candidates. For example, we may be sued if any product we develop allegedly causes injury or is found to be otherwise unsuitable during product testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability and a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted against us under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our products. Even a successful defense would require significant financial and management resources and result in decreased demand for Jeuveau® or any future product candidates or products we may develop, termination of clinical trial sites or entire trial programs, injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention, withdrawal of clinical trial participants or cancellation of clinical trials and significant costs and diversion management’s time to defend the related litigation.
Our inability to obtain and maintain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost and scope of coverage to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of Jeuveau® or any future products that we develop. We currently carry product liability insurance covering our clinical trials. Although we maintain such insurance, any claim that may be brought against us could result in a court judgment or settlement in an amount that is not covered, in whole or in part, by our insurance or that is in excess of the limits of our insurance coverage. Our insurance policies also have various exclusions and deductibles, and we may be subject to a product liability claim for which we have no coverage. We will have to pay any amounts awarded by a court or negotiated in a settlement that exceed our coverage limitations or that are not covered by our insurance, and we may not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient capital to pay such amounts. Moreover, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses.
Any of the above events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product, negatively impact our revenues and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our products. The demand for Jeuveau® could also be negatively impacted by any adverse effects of a competitor’s product or treatment.
Our failure to successfully in-license, acquire, develop and market additional product candidates or approved products would impair our ability to grow our business.
Although most of our effort is focused on the commercialization of Jeuveau®, a key element of our long-term strategy is to in-license, acquire, develop, market and commercialize a portfolio of products to serve the self-pay aesthetic market. Because our internal research and development capabilities are limited, we may be dependent upon pharmaceutical and other companies, academic scientists and other researchers to sell or license products or technology to us. The success of this strategy depends partly upon our ability to identify and select promising pharmaceutical product candidates and products, negotiate licensing or acquisition agreements with their current owners and finance these arrangements.
The process of proposing, negotiating and implementing a license or acquisition of a product candidate or approved product is lengthy and complex. Other companies, including some with substantially greater financial, marketing, sales and other resources, may compete with us for the license or acquisition of product candidates and approved products. We have limited resources to identify and execute the acquisition or in-licensing of third-party products, businesses and technologies and integrate them into our current infrastructure. Moreover, we may devote resources to potential acquisitions or licensing opportunities that are never completed, or we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such efforts. We may not be able to acquire the rights to additional product candidates on terms that we find acceptable, or at all.
Further, any product candidates that we acquire may require additional development efforts prior to commercial sale, including preclinical or clinical testing and approval by the FDA, the EMA and other similar regulatory authorities. All product candidates are prone to risks of failure during pharmaceutical product development, including the possibility that a product candidate will not be shown to be sufficiently safe and effective for approval by regulatory authorities. In addition, any approved products that we acquire may not be manufactured or sold profitably or achieve market acceptance.
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We may need to increase the size of our organization, including our sales and marketing capabilities in order to further commercialize Jeuveau® and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth.
As of March 31, 2021, we had 106 employees, all of whom constituted full-time employees. Our management and personnel, systems and facilities currently in place may not be adequate to support future growth. Our need to effectively execute our growth strategy requires that we identify, recruit, retain, incentivize and integrate any additional employees to effectively manage any future clinical trials, manage our internal development efforts effectively while carrying out our contractual obligations to third parties, and continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures.
We face risks in building and managing a sales organization whether internally or by utilizing third parties, including our ability to retain and incentivize qualified individuals, provide adequate training to sales and marketing personnel, generate sufficient sales leads, effectively manage a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team, adequately provide complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may otherwise put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines, and handle any unforeseen costs and expenses. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of these products.
Due to our limited financial resources and our limited experience in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The physical expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our development and strategic objectives or disrupt our operations.
Our international operations will expose us to risks, and failure to manage these risks may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We currently have operations in the United States and plan to have international operations in the future. International operations are subject to a number of inherent risks, and our future results could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including differences in demand for our products due to local requirements or preferences, the difficulty of hiring and managing employees with cultural and geographic differences and the costs of complying with differing regulatory requirements. Additionally, we may experience difficulties and increased costs due to differences in laws related to enforcing contracts, protecting intellectual property, taxes, tariffs and export regulations.
Our international operations will also subject us to risks related to multiple, conflicting and changing laws and regulations such as privacy regulations, including General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, tax laws, export and import restrictions, employment laws, immigration laws, labor laws, regulatory requirements and other governmental approvals, permits and licenses. Additionally, we will face heightened risk of unfair or corrupt business practices in certain geographies and of improper or fraudulent sales arrangements that may impact financial results and result in restatements of, or irregularities in, financial statements. These and other factors could harm our ability to gain future revenue and, consequently, materially impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
If we fail to attract and keep senior management and key scientific personnel, we may be unable to commercialize Jeuveau® successfully, or any future products we develop.
Our success depends in part on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management. We believe that our future success is highly dependent upon the contributions of our senior management, particularly David Moatazedi, our President, Chief Executive Officer and member of our board of directors, Lauren Silvernail, our Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Rui Avelar, our Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D, and Crystal Muilenburg, our Chief Marketing Officer, as well as other members of our senior management team. The loss of services of any of these individuals could delay or prevent the successful development of our product pipeline, completion of our planned clinical trials or the commercialization of Jeuveau® or any future products we develop.
In addition, we could experience difficulties attracting and retaining qualified employees in the future. For example, competition for qualified personnel in the pharmaceuticals and aesthetic medicine field is intense due to the limited number of individuals who possess the skills and experience required by our industry. We may not be able to attract and retain quality personnel on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, to the extent we hire personnel from competitors, we may be subject to allegations that they have been improperly solicited or that they have divulged proprietary or other confidential information or that their former employers own their research output.
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Our strategy of focusing exclusively on the self-pay healthcare market may limit our ability to increase sales or achieve profitability.
Our strategy is to focus exclusively on the self-pay healthcare market. This focus may limit our ability to increase sales or achieve profitability. For example, to maintain our business model, we have chosen not to offer products or services available in the broader healthcare market that are reimbursed by third-party payors such as Medicare, Medicaid or commercial insurance. This eliminates our ability to offer a substantial number of products and indications for Jeuveau®.
For example, on December 18, 2017, we entered into the therapeutic agreement with Alphaeon, or the therapeutic agreement, relating to certain rights to the therapeutic indications of botulinum toxin products under the Daewoong Agreement. Pursuant to the therapeutic agreement, we agreed not to sell, sub-license or otherwise dispose in whole or in part the therapeutic option or the rights underlying the therapeutic option and hold the therapeutic option and the underlying rights in trust for Alphaeon. Our entry into the therapeutic agreement and the entry by Alphaeon into an agreement directly with Daewoong eliminate our ability to expand the permitted uses of botulinum toxin products for therapeutic indications.
Jeuveau® is the only U.S. neurotoxin without a therapeutic indication, although other companies may seek to develop a similar product in the future. We believe pursuing an aesthetic-only non-reimbursed product strategy allows for meaningful strategic advantages in the United States, including pricing and marketing flexibility. However, physicians may choose to not pass any cost benefits received by them due to such pricing flexibility to their patients. In addition, companies offering aesthetic products competitive to Jeuveau®, whether they pursue an aesthetic-only non-reimbursed product strategy or not, may nonetheless try to compete with Jeuveau® on price both directly through rebates, promotional programs and coupons and indirectly through attractive product bundling and customer loyalty programs. Our business, financial results and future prospects will be materially harmed if we cannot generate sufficient consumer demand for Jeuveau®.
Our business involves the use of hazardous materials, and we and our third-party manufacturer and supplier must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which can be expensive and restrict how we do business.
Our research and development and manufacturing activities in the future may, and Daewoong’s manufacturing and supplying activities presently do, involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, including botulinum toxin type A, a key component of Jeuveau®, and other hazardous compounds. We and Daewoong are subject to laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. In some cases, these hazardous materials and various wastes resulting from their use are stored at Daewoong’s facilities pending their use and disposal. We and Daewoong cannot eliminate the risk of contamination, which could cause an interruption of Daewoong’s manufacturing processes, our commercialization efforts, business operations and environmental damage resulting in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. Although we believe that the safety procedures utilized by Daewoong for handling and disposing of these materials generally comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, this may not eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In such an event, we may be held liable for any resulting damages and such liability could exceed our resources, and state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of certain materials and interrupt our business operations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent.
We may use third-party collaborators to help us develop, validate or commercialize any new products, and our ability to commercialize such products could be impaired or delayed if these collaborations are unsuccessful.
We may license or selectively pursue strategic collaborations for the development, validation and commercialization of Jeuveau® and any future product candidates. In any third-party collaboration, we would be dependent upon the success of the collaborators in performing their responsibilities and their continued cooperation. Our collaborators may not cooperate with us or perform their obligations under our agreements with them. Our collaborators may choose to pursue alternative technologies in preference to those being developed in collaboration with us. The development, validation and commercialization of our product candidates will be delayed if collaborators fail to conduct their responsibilities in a timely manner or in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements or if they breach or terminate their collaboration agreements with us. Disputes with our collaborators could also impair our reputation or result in development delays, decreased revenues and litigation expenses.
In addition, we may face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the design or results of clinical trials, the likelihood of approval by the FDA or similar
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regulatory authorities outside the United States, the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to consumers, the potential of competing products, the existence of uncertainty with respect to our ownership of technology, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge and industry and market conditions generally. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product candidate. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document.
We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of such product candidate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market and generate revenue.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
We have incurred substantial losses during our history and, while we recorded a profit for the three months ended March 31, 2021 largely as a result of a receivable from Daewoong, we do not expect to become profitable in the near future, and we may never achieve profitability. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire. Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income may be limited. As of December 31, 2020, we had $246.0 million of federal NOLs and $149.1 million of state NOLs available to offset our future taxable income, if any. As of December 31, 2020, we had federal research and development credit carryforwards of $1.5 million. These federal and state NOLs and federal research and development tax credit carryforwards expire at various dates beginning in 2034. We may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change NOLs to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed.
Risks Related to Our Relationship with Daewoong
We rely on the license and supply agreement, the Daewoong Agreement, with Daewoong to provide us exclusive rights to distribute Jeuveau® in certain territories. Any termination or loss of significant rights, including exclusivity, under the Daewoong Agreement would materially and adversely affect our development or commercialization of Jeuveau®.
Pursuant to the Daewoong Agreement, we have secured an exclusive license from Daewoong, a South Korean pharmaceutical manufacturer, to import, distribute, promote, market, develop, offer for sale and otherwise commercialize and exploit Jeuveau® for aesthetic indications in the United States, EU, Canada, Australia, Russia, C.I.S. and South Africa, as well as co-exclusive distribution rights with Daewoong in Japan. The Daewoong Agreement imposes on us obligations relating to exclusivity, territorial rights, development, commercialization, funding, payment, diligence, sublicensing, intellectual property protection and other matters. We are obligated to conduct development activities, obtain regulatory approval of Jeuveau® and obtain from Daewoong all of our product supply requirements for Jeuveau®. In addition, under the Daewoong Agreement, we are required to submit our commercialization plan to a joint steering committee, or JSC, comprised of an equal number of development and commercial representatives from Daewoong and us, for review and input. Although the Daewoong Agreement provides us with final decision-making power regarding the marketing, promotion, sale and/or distribution of Jeuveau®, any disagreement among the JSC would be referred to Daewoong’s and our respective senior management for resolution if the JSC is unable to reach a decision within thirty days, which may result in a delay in our ability to implement our commercialization plan or harm our working relationship with Daewoong. If we fail to achieve minimum annual purchase targets of Jeuveau® under the Daewoong Agreement, Daewoong may, at its sole option, elect to convert the exclusive license to a non-exclusive license. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and the potential loss of our ability to discount the product to levels previously provided as a result of the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, it may become more difficult for us to achieve the minimum annual purchase targets for Jeuveau® which may result in the license being converted to a non-exclusive license.
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The initial term of the Daewoong Agreement will expire on September 30, 2023 in any of the aforementioned territories. The Daewoong Agreement will renew for unlimited additional three-year terms after the expiration of the initial term, only if we meet certain performance requirements during the initial term or preceding renewal term, as applicable. We or Daewoong may terminate the Daewoong Agreement if the other party breaches any of its duties or obligations and such breach continues without cure for ninety days, or thirty days in the case of a payment breach, or if we declare bankruptcy or assign our business for the benefit of creditors.
If we breach any material obligations, or use the intellectual property licensed to us in an unauthorized manner, we may be required to pay damages to Daewoong and Daewoong may have the right to terminate our license. In addition, if any of the regulatory milestones or other cash payments become due under the terms of the Daewoong Agreement, we may not have sufficient funds available to meet our obligations, which would allow Daewoong to terminate the Daewoong Agreement. Any termination or loss of rights, including exclusivity, under the Daewoong Agreement would materially and adversely affect our ability to commercialize Jeuveau®, which in turn would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects. If we were to lose our rights under the Daewoong Agreement, we believe it would be difficult for us to find an alternative supplier of a botulinum toxin type A complex. In addition, to the extent the alternative supplier has not secured regulatory approvals in a jurisdiction, we would have to expend significant resources to obtain regulatory approvals that may never be obtained or require several years to obtain, which could significantly delay commercialization. We may be unable to raise additional capital to fund our operations during this extended time on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, if we experience delays as a result of a dispute with Daewoong, the demand for Jeuveau® could be materially and adversely affected.
We currently rely solely on Daewoong to manufacture Jeuveau®, and as such, any production or other problems with Daewoong could adversely affect us.
We depend solely upon Daewoong for the manufacturing of Jeuveau®. Although alternative sources of supply may exist, the number of third-party suppliers with the necessary manufacturing and regulatory expertise and facilities is limited, and it could be expensive and take a significant amount of time to arrange for and qualify alternative suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Suppliers of any new product candidate would be required to qualify under applicable regulatory requirements and would need to have sufficient rights under applicable intellectual property laws to the method of manufacturing the product candidate. Obtaining the necessary FDA approvals or other qualifications under applicable regulatory requirements and ensuring non-infringement of third-party intellectual property rights could result in a significant interruption of supply and could require the new manufacturer to bear significant additional costs which may be passed on to us.
In addition, our reliance on Daewoong entails additional risks, including reliance on Daewoong for regulatory compliance and quality assurance, the possible breach of the Daewoong Agreement by Daewoong, and the possible termination or nonrenewal of the Daewoong Agreement at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us. Our failure, or the failure of Daewoong, to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of Jeuveau®. Our dependence on Daewoong also subjects us to all of the risks related to Daewoong’s business, which are all generally beyond our control. Daewoong’s ability to perform its obligations under the Daewoong Agreement is dependent on Daewoong’s operational and financial health, which could be negatively impacted by several factors, including changes in the economic, political and legislative conditions in South Korea and the broader region in general and the ability of Daewoong to continue to successfully attract customers and compete in its market. Furthermore, Daewoong’s recently constructed manufacturing facility is Daewoong’s only facility meeting FDA and European Medicines Agency, or EMA, cGMP requirements. Daewoong’s lack of familiarity with, or inability to effectively operate, the facility and produce products of consistent quality, may harm our ability to compete in our market.
Additionally, although we are ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements such as cGMPs, we are dependent on Daewoong for day-to-day compliance with cGMP for production of drug substance and finished products. Facilities used by Daewoong to produce the drug substance and materials or finished products for commercial sale must pass inspection and be approved by the FDA and other relevant regulatory authorities. If the safety of Jeuveau® is compromised due to a failure to adhere to applicable laws or for other reasons, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product and we may be held liable for injuries sustained as a result. In addition, the manufacturing facilities of certain of our suppliers are located outside of the United States. This may give rise to difficulties in importing our product into the United States or other countries as a result of, among other things, regulatory agency approval requirements,
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taxes, tariffs, local import requirements such as import duties or inspections, incomplete or inaccurate import documentation or defective packaging. Any of these factors could adversely impact our ability to effectively commercialize Jeuveau®.
Any failure or refusal by Daewoong or any other third party to supply Jeuveau® or any other product candidates or products that we may develop could delay, prevent or impair our clinical development or commercialization efforts.
Moreover, Daewoong developed the manufacturing process for Jeuveau® and manufactures Jeuveau® in a recently constructed facility located in South Korea. If this facility were to be damaged, destroyed or otherwise unable to operate or comply with regulatory requirements, whether due to earthquakes, fire, floods, hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, other natural disasters, public health emergencies (such as the COVID-19 outbreak) employee malfeasance, terrorist acts, power outages or otherwise, or if operations at the facility is disrupted for any other reason, such an event could jeopardize Daewoong’s ability to manufacture Jeuveau® as promptly as we or our customers expect or possibly at all. If Daewoong is unable to manufacture Jeuveau® within a timeframe that meets our and our customers’ expectations, our business, prospects, financial results and reputation could be materially harmed. Any disaster recovery and business continuity plans that we and Daewoong have in place or put in place may not be adequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event. We may incur substantial expenses as a result of our or Daewoong’s lack of disaster recovery and business continuity plans, or the adequacy thereof, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We forecast the demand for commercial quantities of our products, and if our forecasts are inaccurate, we may experience delays in shipments, increased inventory costs or inventory levels, and reduced cash flow.
We purchase Jeuveau® from Daewoong. Pursuant to the Daewoong Agreement, we submit forecasts of anticipated product orders to Daewoong and may, from time to time, submit purchase orders on the basis of these forecasting requirements. Our limited historical experience may not provide us with enough data to accurately predict future demand. In addition, we expect Daewoong to manufacture its own product, Nabota, a botulinum toxin formulation, from this facility for sale in the South Korean market and other markets in which we do not have exclusive rights. If our business significantly expands, our demand for commercial products would increase and Daewoong may be unable to meet our increased demand. In addition, our product will have fixed future expiration dates. If we overestimate requirements for Jeuveau®, we will have excess inventory, which may have to be disposed of if such inventory exceeds approved expiration dates, which would result in lost revenues and increase our expenses. If we underestimate requirements for Jeuveau®, we may have inadequate inventory, which could interrupt, delay or prevent delivery of our products to our customers. Any of these occurrences would negatively affect our financial performance.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our commercialization efforts and interrupt our supply of products.
Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement of the proprietary rights of third parties. Competitors in the field of dermatology, aesthetic medicine and neurotoxins have developed large portfolios of patents and patent applications in fields relating to our business. In particular, there are patents held by third parties that relate to the treatment with neurotoxin-based products for the indication we are currently developing. There may also be patent applications that have been filed but not published that, when issued as patents, could be asserted against us. There is a substantial amount of litigation, both within and outside the United States, involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the technology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions and inter-party reexamination proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing Jeuveau®. As the technology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties.
Third parties may assert that we or any of our current or future licensors, including Daewoong, are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that Jeuveau® or any future product candidates may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover the manufacturing process of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such product candidate unless we obtain a license under the applicable patents or until such patents expire. Similarly, if any third-party patent were
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held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our methods of use, the holders of any such patent may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the applicable product candidate unless we obtain a license or until such patent expires. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
In addition to claims of patent infringement, third parties may bring claims against us asserting misappropriation of proprietary technology or other information in the development, manufacture and commercialization of Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates. Defense of such a claim would require dedicated time and resources, which time and resources could otherwise be used by us toward the maintenance of our own intellectual property and the development and commercialization of Jeuveau® and any of our future product candidates or by any of our current or future licensors for operational upkeep and manufacturing of our products. For example, prior to entering into the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements, we were a defendant in a lawsuit brought by in the Superior Court of the State of California, or the Medytox Litigation, and a respondent in an action filed by Allergan and Medytox in the U.S. International Trade Commission, each alleging, among other things, that Daewoong stole Medytox’s botulinum toxin bacterial strain, or the BTX strain, that Daewoong misappropriated certain trade secrets of Medytox, including the process used to manufacture Jeuveau® (which Medytox claims is similar to its biopharmaceutical drug, Meditoxin) using the BTX strain, and that Daewoong thereby interfered with Medytox’s plan to license Meditoxin to us, or the Medytox Litigation. Each of the Medytox Litigation and the ITC Action diverted the attention of our senior management and were costly, in terms of legal costs and the ultimate payments and royalties to be paid under the Medytox/Allergan Settlement Agreements.
Parties making claims against us or any of our current or future licensors may request and obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement, we or any of our current or future licensors may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties which may not be commercially or more available, pay royalties or redesign our infringing products or manufacturing processes, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure. Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research, manufacture clinical trial supplies or allow commercialization of Jeuveau® or any future product candidates. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates, which could harm our business significantly. Similarly, third-party patents could exist that might be enforced against our products, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties.
If we or any of our current or future licensors, including Daewoong, are unable to maintain, obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to Jeuveau® or any of our future product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.
We and our current licensor, Daewoong, currently rely upon a combination of trademarks, trade secret protection, confidentiality agreements and proprietary know-how. Botulinum toxin cannot be patented, as it is produced by Clostridium botulinum, a gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacterium with the ability to produce the neurotoxin botulinum. Only the manufacturing process for botulinum toxin can be patented, for which Daewoong has obtained a U.S. patent. Our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information and those of our licensors could be disclosed or competitors could otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Further, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result, we or any of our current or future licensors may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our or their intellectual property both in the United States and internationally. If we or any of our current or future licensors are unable to prevent material disclosure of the non-patented intellectual property related to Jeuveau® to third parties, we may not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could adversely affect our business.
In addition to the protection afforded by trademarks, confidentiality agreements and proprietary know-how, we may in the future rely upon in-licensed patents for any future product offerings. The strength of patents we may in-license in the technology and healthcare fields involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. The patent applications that we may in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover any of our future product candidates in the United States or in other foreign countries, and the issued patents that we may in-license may be declared invalid or unenforceable.
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We are reliant on the ability of Daewoong, as the licensor of our only product, and will be reliant on future licensors of any future product candidates, to maintain their intellectual property and protect their intellectual property against misappropriation, infringement or other violation. We may not have primary control over our future licensors’ patent prosecution activities. Furthermore, we may not be allowed to comment on prosecution strategies, and patent applications may be abandoned by the patent owner without our knowledge or consent. With respect to patents that are issued to our licensors, or patents that may be issued on patent applications, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed or invalidated. As a licensee, we are reliant on Daewoong and our future licensors to defend any third-party claims. Our licensors may not defend or prosecute such actions as vigorously or in the manner that we would have if entitled to do so, and we will be subject to any judgment or settlement resulting from such actions. Also, a third-party may challenge the validity of our in-licensing transactions. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, any of our future in-licensed patents and patent applications may not adequately protect the licensors or our intellectual property or prevent others from designing around their or our claims.
We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property or the patents and other intellectual property of our licensors, which could be expensive and time-consuming.
Competitors may infringe our intellectual property, including any future patents we may acquire, or the patents and other intellectual property of our licensors, including Daewoong. As a result, we or any of our current or future licensors may be required to file infringement claims to stop third-party infringement or unauthorized use. This can be expensive, particularly for a company of our size, and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours or any of our current or future licensors is not valid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover its technology or that the factors necessary to grant an injunction against an infringer are not satisfied.
An adverse determination of any litigation or other proceedings could put one or more of such patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. Interference, derivation or other proceedings brought at the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority or patentability of inventions with respect to any of our future patent applications or those of our licensors or collaborators. Litigation or USPTO proceedings brought by us or any of our current or future licensors may fail or may be invoked against us or our licensors by third parties. Even if we are successful, domestic or foreign litigation or USPTO or foreign patent office proceedings may result in substantial costs and distraction to our management or the management of any of our current or future licensors, including Daewoong. We may not be able, alone or with any of our current or future licensors or collaborators, to prevent misappropriation of our proprietary rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect such rights as fully as in the United States.
Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation or other proceedings, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation or proceedings. In addition, during the course of this kind of litigation or proceedings, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments or public access to related documents. If investors perceive these results to be negative, the market price for our common stock could be significantly harmed.
Most of our competitors are larger than we are and have substantially greater resources. They are, therefore, likely to be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation longer than we could. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property. In addition, the uncertainties associated with litigation could compromise our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our clinical trials, continue our internal research programs, or in-license needed technology or other product candidates. There could also be public announcements of the results of the hearing, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive those results to be negative, it could cause the price of shares of our common stock to decline.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States and in some cases may even force us to grant a compulsory license to competitors or other third parties. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from using our inventions in all countries outside the United States or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent
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protection to develop their own products and further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biopharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.
In addition, our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights may be adversely affected by unforeseen changes in domestic and foreign intellectual property laws.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.
In addition to seeking patents for our product candidates, we also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position.
We seek to protect our trade secrets, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our employees, collaborators, consultants, advisors and other third parties. We expect to enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants. Despite these efforts, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts within and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they communicate it, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position would be harmed.
We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.
We employ individuals who were previously employed at other pharmaceutical or medical aesthetic companies. We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of our employees’ former employers or other third parties. We may also be subject to claims that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. We may not be successful in defending these claims, and even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and other employees. Any litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our ability to hire employees. A loss of key personnel or their work product could diminish or prevent our ability to commercialize product candidates, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may need to license intellectual property from third parties, and such licenses may not be available or may not be available on commercially reasonable terms.
A third party may hold intellectual property, including patent rights that are important or necessary to the development of our future product candidates. It may be necessary for us to use the patented or proprietary technology of third parties to commercialize our product candidates, in which case we would be required to obtain a license from these third parties on commercially reasonable terms, or our business could be harmed, possibly materially.
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If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.
Our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition by potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. Over the long term, if we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively, and our business may be adversely affected.
Third parties may assert that we are using trademarks or trade names that are confusingly similar to their marks. If any third party were able to establish that our trademarks or trade names were infringing their marks, that third party may be able to block our ability to use the infringing trademark or trade name. In addition, if a third party were to bring such a claim, we would be required to dedicate time and resources to fight the claim, which time and resources could otherwise be used toward the maintenance of our own intellectual property.
Parties making claims against us may request and obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could prevent our ability to use the subject trademarks or trade names. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement. We may be required to re-brand one or more of our products, product candidates, or services offered under the infringing trademark or trade name, which may require substantial time and monetary expenditure. Third parties could claim senior rights in marks which might be enforced against our use of trademarks or trade names, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales under those trademarks or trade names.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
Our business and products are subject to extensive government regulation.
We are subject to extensive, complex, costly and evolving regulation by federal and state governmental authorities in the United States, the EU, Canada and other countries, principally by the FDA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the EMA and other similar regulatory authorities. Daewoong is also subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and the South Korean regulatory authorities as well as other regulatory authorities. Our failure to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements, or Daewoong’s failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, including those promulgated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, and the Controlled Substances Act, may subject us to operating restrictions and criminal prosecution, monetary penalties and other enforcement or administrative actions, including, sanctions, warnings, product seizures, recalls, fines, injunctions, suspension, revocation of approvals, or exclusion from future participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Following regulatory approval, we, and our direct and indirect suppliers, including Daewoong, remain subject to the periodic inspection of our plants and facilities, review of production processes, and testing of our products to confirm that we are in compliance with all applicable regulations. Adverse findings during regulatory inspections may result in requirements that we implement REMS programs, requirements that we complete government mandated clinical trials, and government enforcement actions including those relating to labeling, advertising, marketing and promotion, as well as regulations governing manufacturing controls.
If we experience delays in obtaining approval or if we fail to obtain approval of our product candidates, the commercial prospects for our product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
We may not obtain regulatory approval for the commercialization of any future product candidates.
The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, selling, import, export, marketing and distribution of drug and biologic products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States and other countries, with regulations differing from country to country. If we, our products or the manufacturing facilities for our products fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:
•impose restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, suspend or withdraw product approvals or revoke necessary licenses;
•issue warning letters, show cause notices or untitled letters describing alleged violations, which may be publicly available;
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•mandate modifications to promotional materials or require us to provide corrective information to healthcare practitioners;
•require us to enter into a consent decree, which can include imposition of various fines, reimbursements for inspection costs, required due dates for specific actions and penalties for noncompliance;
•commence criminal investigations and prosecutions;
•impose injunctions;
•impose other civil or criminal penalties;
•suspend any ongoing clinical trials;
•delay or refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us;
•refuse to permit drugs or active ingredients to be imported or exported;
•suspend or impose restrictions on operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements; or
•seize or detain products or require us to initiate a product recall.
Prior to obtaining approval to commercialize a product candidate in the United States or abroad, we or our collaborators must demonstrate with substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical trials, and to the satisfaction of the FDA, the EMA or other similar foreign regulatory authorities, that such product candidates are safe and effective for their intended uses. Results from preclinical studies and clinical trials can be interpreted in different ways. Even if we and our collaborators believe the preclinical or clinical data for our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA, the EMA and other similar regulatory authorities. Administering product candidates to humans may produce undesirable side effects, which could interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and result in the FDA, the EMA or other similar regulatory authorities delaying or denying approval of a product candidate for any or all targeted indications.
Regulatory approval of a BLA or BLA supplement, MAA, or other product approval is not guaranteed, and the approval process is expensive and may take several years. The FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process. Despite the time and expense expended, failure can occur at any stage, and we could encounter problems that cause us to abandon, modify or repeat clinical trials, or perform additional preclinical studies and clinical trials. The number of preclinical studies and clinical trials that will be required for the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory approval varies depending on the product candidate, the disease or condition that the product candidate is designed to address and the regulations applicable to any particular product candidate. The FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities can delay, limit or deny approval of a product candidate for many reasons, including the following:
•a product candidate may not be deemed safe, effective, pure or potent;
•the data from preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be deemed sufficient;
•the FDA or other regulatory authorities might not approve our third-party manufacturers’ processes or facilities;
•deficiencies in the formulation, quality control, labeling, or specifications of a product candidate or in response to citizen petitions or similar documents filed in connection with the product candidate;
•general requirements intended to address risks associated with a class of drugs, such as a new REMS requirement for neurotoxins;
•the enactment of new laws or promulgation of new regulations that change the approval requirements; or
•the FDA or other regulatory authorities may change their approval policies or adopt new regulations.
If any future product candidates fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical trials or do not gain approval, our business and results of operations will be materially and adversely harmed.
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We are subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense, limit or delay regulatory approval and subject us to penalties if we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements.
Jeuveau® and any other approved products are subject to continual regulatory review by the FDA, the EMA and other similar regulatory authorities.
Any regulatory approvals that we or our collaborators receive for any future product candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indications for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase IV clinical trials, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product. In addition, the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for Jeuveau® and any other future product candidates will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMP requirements and compliance with GCP requirements, for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with Jeuveau® or any future product candidates, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in, among other things: restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, withdrawal of the product from the market, or voluntary or mandatory product recalls; fines, warning letters or holds on clinical trials; refusal by the FDA, the EMA or other similar regulatory authorities to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us or our strategic collaborators or suspension or revocation of product license approvals; product seizure or detention or refusal to permit the import or export of products; and injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
Our ongoing regulatory requirements may also change from time to time, potentially harming or making costlier our commercialization efforts. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability, which would adversely affect our business.
If we fail to obtain regulatory approvals in foreign jurisdictions for Jeuveau® or any future product candidates, we will be unable to market our products outside of the United States.
In addition to regulations in the United States, we are and will be subject to a variety of foreign regulations governing manufacturing, clinical trials, commercial sales and distribution of our future products. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product candidate, we must obtain approval of the product by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries before commencing clinical trials or marketing in those countries. The approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional clinical testing, and the time required to obtain approval may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. Clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries, and approval by one or more foreign regulatory authorities does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. The foreign regulatory approval process may include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. We may not be able to file for regulatory approvals or to do so on a timely basis, and even if we do file, we may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our products in markets outside of the United States.
Jeuveau® or any future products may cause or contribute to adverse medical events that we are required to report to regulatory agencies and if we fail to do so, we could be subject to sanctions that would materially harm our business.
Some participants in our clinical trials have reported adverse events after being treated with Jeuveau®. If we are successful in commercializing Jeuveau® or any other product candidate, the FDA and other regulatory agency regulations require that we report certain information about adverse medical events if those products may have caused or contributed to those adverse events. The timing of our obligation to report would be triggered by the date we become aware of the adverse event as well as the nature of the event. We may fail to report adverse events that we become aware of within the prescribed timeframe. We may also fail to appreciate that we have become aware of a reportable adverse event, especially if it is not reported to us as an adverse event or if it is an adverse event that is unexpected or removed in time from the use of our products. If we fail to comply with our reporting obligations, the FDA, the EMA or other similar regulatory authorities could take action including criminal prosecution, the imposition of civil monetary penalties, seizure of our products, or delay in approval or clearance of future products.
We may in the future be subject to various U.S. federal and state laws pertaining to health care fraud and abuse, including anti-kickback, self-referral, false claims and fraud laws, and any violations by us of such laws could result in
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fines or other penalties.
While we do not expect that Jeuveau® will subject us to the various U.S. federal and most state laws intended to prevent health care fraud and abuse, we may in the future become subject to such laws. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits the offer, receipt, or payment of remuneration in exchange for or to induce the referral of patients or the use of products or services that would be paid for in whole or part by Medicare, Medicaid or other federal health care programs. Remuneration has been broadly defined to include anything of value, including cash, improper discounts, and free or reduced price items and services. Many states have similar laws that apply to their state health care programs as well as private payors. Violations of anti-kickback and other applicable laws can result in exclusion from federal health care programs and substantial civil and criminal penalties.
The federal False Claims Act, or FCA, imposes liability on persons who, among other things, present or cause to be presented false or fraudulent claims for payment by a federal health care program. The FCA has been used to prosecute persons submitting claims for payment that are inaccurate or fraudulent, that are for services not provided as claimed, or for services that are not medically necessary. The FCA includes a whistleblower provision that allows individuals to bring actions on behalf of the federal government and share a portion of the recovery of successful claims. Some state law equivalents of the above federal laws, such as the Anti-Kickback Statute and FCA, apply to items or services regardless of whether the good or service was reimbursed by a government program, so called all-payor laws. These all-payor laws could apply to our sales and marketing activities even if the Anti-Kickback Statute and FCA laws are inapplicable.
If our marketing or other arrangements were determined to violate anti-kickback or related laws, including the FCA or an all-payor law, then we could be subject to penalties, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, the exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, individual imprisonment or the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could materially and adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
State and federal authorities have aggressively targeted pharmaceutical companies for alleged violations of these anti-fraud statutes, based on improper research or consulting contracts with doctors, certain marketing arrangements with pharmacies and other healthcare providers that rely on volume-based pricing, off-label marketing schemes, and other improper promotional practices. Companies targeted in such prosecutions have paid substantial fines, have been ordered to implement extensive corrective action plans, and have in many cases become subject to consent decrees severely restricting the manner in which they conduct their business, among other consequences. Additionally, federal and state regulators have brought criminal actions against individual employees responsible for alleged violations. If we become the target of such an investigation or prosecution based on our contractual relationships with providers or institutions, or our marketing and promotional practices, we could face similar sanctions, which would materially harm our business.
Also, the FCPA and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our internal control policies and procedures may not protect us from reckless or negligent acts committed by our employees, future distributors, partners, collaborators or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could result in fines, penalties or prosecution and have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and reputation.
Legislative or regulatory healthcare reforms in the United States and other countries may make it more difficult and costly for us to obtain regulatory clearance or approval of any future product candidates and to produce, market, and distribute our products after clearance or approval is obtained.
From time to time, legislation is drafted and introduced in the U.S. Congress or other countries that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the regulatory clearance or approval, manufacture, and marketing of regulated products or the reimbursement thereof. In addition, regulations and guidance are often revised or reinterpreted by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in ways that may significantly affect our business and our products. Any new regulations or revisions or reinterpretations of existing regulations may impose additional costs or lengthen review times of any future product candidates. Such changes could, among other things, require changes to manufacturing or marketing methods, changes to product labeling or promotional materials, recall, replacement, or discontinuance of one or more of our products; and additional recordkeeping.
Each of these would likely entail substantial time and cost and could materially harm our business and our financial results. In addition, delays in receipt of or failure to receive regulatory clearances or approvals for any future products would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Risks Related to Our Relationship with Alphaeon and Alphaeon 1, LLC
Certain of our directors may have actual or potential conflicts of interest because of their ownership of debt and equity securities in Alphaeon and Alphaeon 1, LLC and their positions with Alphaeon and Alphaeon 1, LLC.
Vikram Malik, Simone Blank, and Robert Hayman serve on our board of directors. Such directors or entities they are affiliated with currently own and may in the future own equity, debt or convertible debt of Alphaeon and Alphaeon 1, LLC, which we refer to collectively as the Alphaeon entities. These individuals’ or entities’ holdings of debt or equity securities, options to purchase shares of Alphaeon entities or other equity awards in the Alphaeon entities may be significant for some of these persons or entities compared to these persons’ or entities’ total assets. Additionally, each of Mr. Malik, and Ms. Blank serve on the board of directors of Alphaeon and board of managers of Alphaeon 1, LLC. Their positions at the Alphaeon entities and the ownership of any Alphaeon entity equity, debt or equity awards may create, or may create the appearance of, conflicts of interest when these directors are faced with decisions that could have different implications for the Alphaeon entities than the decisions have for us.
These decisions include corporate opportunities; the impact that operating decisions for our business may have on the Alphaeon entities’ consolidated financial statements; the impact that operating or capital decisions (including the incurrence of indebtedness) for our business may have on the Alphaeon entities’ current or future indebtedness or the covenants under that indebtedness; the timing and amount of financing efforts, whether they are debt or equity, and the amount of resulting dilution to existing shareholders; business combinations involving us; our dividend policy; management stock ownership; and the related party services and agreements between Alphaeon and us.
Potential conflicts of interest could also arise if we decide to enter into any new commercial arrangements with the Alphaeon entities or SCH in the future or in connection with the Alphaeon entities’ desire to enter into new commercial arrangements with third parties.
Furthermore, disputes may arise between Alphaeon entities and us relating to our past and ongoing relationship, and these potential conflicts of interest may make it more difficult for us to favorably resolve such disputes, including those related to:
•indemnification and other matters arising from our initial public offering;
•the nature, quality and pricing of services Alphaeon agrees to provide to us;
•sales or other disposal by Alphaeon 1, LLC of all or a portion of its ownership interest in us; and
•business combinations involving us.
We may not be able to resolve any potential conflicts, and even if we do, the resolution may be less favorable to us than if we were dealing with an unaffiliated party. While we are not controlled by the Alphaeon entities, we may not have the leverage to negotiate amendments to these agreements, if required, on terms as favorable to us as those we would negotiate with an unaffiliated third party.
Alphaeon and its directors and officers will have limited liability to us or you for breach of fiduciary duty.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to any contractual provision to the contrary, Alphaeon has no obligation to refrain from: engaging in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as we do; doing business with any of our clients or consumers; or employing or otherwise engaging any of our officers or employees.
Our certificate of incorporation provides for the allocation of certain corporate opportunities between us and Alphaeon. Under these provisions, neither Alphaeon nor its other affiliates, nor any of their officers, directors, agents, stockholders, members, partners and subsidiaries, will have any obligation to present to us certain corporate opportunities. For example, a director or officer of our company who also serves as a director, officer or employee of Alphaeon or any of its other affiliates may present to Alphaeon certain acquisitions, in-licenses, potential development programs or other opportunities that may be complementary to our business, if he or she was not offered such corporate opportunity in his or her capacity as our director or officer, and, as a result, such opportunities may not be available to us. To the extent attractive corporate opportunities are allocated to Alphaeon or its other affiliates instead of to us, we may not be able to benefit from these opportunities.
In addition, under our certificate of incorporation, neither Alphaeon nor any officer or director of Alphaeon, except as provided in our certificate of incorporation, will be liable to us or to our stockholders for breach of any fiduciary or other duty by reason of any of these activities.
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Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox and Daewoong each own a significant portion of our common stock and may exert significant control over our business.
We had 43,736,971 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2021 and 54,120,312 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of May 7, 2021. As of March 31, 2021 and May 7, 2021, Alphaeon 1, LLC owned 19.8% and 16.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock, respectively. As of March 31, 2021 and May 7, 2021, Medytox owned 15.5% and 12.5% of our outstanding shares of common stock, respectively. As of March 31, 2021 and May 7, 2021, Daewoong owned 7.2% and 5.8% of our outstanding shares of common stock, respectively. Until February 17, 2022, Medytox is required to vote all shares of common stock that it owns (i) in any action or proposal relating to the election of directors, in line with the recommendations of our board of directors and (ii) in all other actions, at Medytox’s option either (A) in line with the recommendation of our board of directors or (ii) in the same manner and proportion as the votes made by all outstanding voting securities other than those held by Medytox, the officers and directors of the Company and Alphaeon 1, LLC and its affiliates.
This concentrated ownership position may provide Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox or Daewoong with significant influence in determining the outcome of corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, including the election and removal of directors. In addition, prior to February 17, 2022, the Medytox voting obligations may make it more difficult to replace or remove directors. The significant stock ownership by Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox and Daewoong may also discourage transactions involving a change-of-control of our company, including transactions in which you as a holder of our common stock might otherwise receive a premium for your shares.
Securities class action and derivative lawsuits have been filed against us and certain of our officers and directors, which could result in substantial costs and could divert management attention.
As disclosed in Part II, Item 3 “Legal Proceedings,” we and certain of our officers have been named as defendants in a recently initiated securities class action lawsuit and we are a nominal defendant in derivative lawsuits filed against certain of our officers and directors. We intend to engage in a vigorous defense of such litigation. If we are not successful in our defense of such litigation, we could be forced to make significant payments to or other settlements with our stockholders and their lawyers, and such payments or settlement arrangements could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. We may also be the target of this type of litigation in the future, as companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities act litigation. Even if the claims asserted in these lawsuits are not successful, the litigation could result in substantial costs and significant adverse impact on our reputation and divert management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.
The trading price of our common stock may be volatile, and purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses.
Our stock price is volatile. For example, the closing price of our common stock during the three months ended March 31, 2021 has ranged from a low of $3.20 to a high of $16.51. The stock market in general and the market for earlier-stage pharmaceutical and medical aesthetic companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:
•announcements of results of clinical trials or regulatory approval or disapproval of product candidates;
•unanticipated safety concerns related to the use of Jeuveau® or any of our future products;
•any termination or loss of rights under the Daewoong Agreement;
•the FDA or other U.S. or foreign regulatory or legal actions or changes affecting us or our industry;
•adverse developments concerning our manufacturer or any future strategic partnerships;
•adverse developments concerning litigation pending against us;
•introductions and announcements of new technologies and products by us, any commercialization partners or our
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competitors, and the timing of these introductions and announcements;
•variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
•success or failure of competitive products or medical aesthetic products generally;
•changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
•announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, licenses, strategic partnerships, new product approvals and introductions, joint ventures or capital commitments;
•overall financial market conditions for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical sectors and issuance of securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
•changes in financial estimates or guidance, including our ability to meet our future revenue and operating profit or loss estimates or guidance;
•the public’s reaction to our earnings releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;
•rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry;
•short selling of our common stock or the publication of opinions regarding our business prospects in a manner that is designed to create negative market momentum;
•sales of substantial amounts of our stock by Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox, Daewoong or other significant stockholders or our insiders, or the expectation that such sales might occur;
•news reports relating to trends, concerns and other issues in medical aesthetics market or the pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical industry;
•operating and stock performance of other companies that investors deem comparable to us and overall performance of the equity markets;
•additions or departures of key personnel, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Marketing Officer;
•intellectual property, product liability or other litigation against us, our manufacturer or other parties on which we rely or litigation against our general industry;
•changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities and the incurrence of additional debt;
•changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles; and
•other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
In addition, the stock market in general, and the market for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical aesthetics companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors may affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market prices of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against that company. We may become the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources from our business.
Future sales of our common stock by us, Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox, Daewoong or others, or the perception that such sales may occur, could depress the market price of our common stock.
Sales by us of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could significantly reduce the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.
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Additionally, as discussed above, each of Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox and Daewoong owns a significant portion of our outstanding shares of common stock. Subject to the restrictions described in the paragraph below, future sales of these shares in the public market will be subject to certain contractual limitations in the case of shares of our common stock owned by Medytox and the volume and other restrictions of Rule 144 under the Securities Act for so long as Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox or Daewoong are deemed to be our affiliate, unless the shares to be sold are registered with the SEC. Additionally, the shares of common stock held by Medytox are subject to contractual restrictions on transfer that, subject to certain limited exceptions such as transfers to affiliates, prevent Medytox from transferring any shares of common stock prior to February 16, 2022 and, thereafter, prohibit Medytox from transferring more than 25% of the shares it holds prior to September 16, 2023, more than 50% of the shares it holds prior to September 16, 2024 and more than 75% of the shares it holds prior to September 16, 2025, with such contractual restrictions terminating on September 16, 2025. The sale by Alphaeon 1, LLC, Medytox or Daewoong of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or a perception that such sales could occur, could significantly reduce the market price of our common stock.
We have filed a registration statement with the SEC covering shares of our common stock available for future issuance under our 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan and may file future registration statements covering shares of our common stock for future issuance under any future plans. Upon effectiveness of such registration statements, any shares subsequently issued under such plans will be eligible for sale in the public market, except to the extent that they are restricted by the contractual arrangements discussed above and subject to compliance with Rule 144 in the case of our affiliates. Sales of a large number of the shares issued under these plans in the public market, or a perception that such sales could occur, could significantly reduce the market price of our common stock.
Anti-takeover provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as Delaware law, could discourage a takeover.
Our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that might enable our management to resist a takeover and might make it more difficult for an investor to acquire a substantial block of our common stock. These include the following provisions:
•permit our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock, with any rights, preferences and privileges as they may designate, without stockholder approval, which could be used to dilute the ownership of a hostile bidder significantly;
•provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of our board of directors and that a director may only be removed for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of our voting stock;
•provide that all vacancies, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law, be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum;
•divide our board of directors into three classes, with each class serving staggered three-year terms, which may delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our board of directors;
•require that any action to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and not be taken by written consent;
•provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide notice in writing in a timely manner and also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice, which may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquiror’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company;
•prohibit cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates; and
•provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board, our Chief Executive Officer or by our board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration by our company of a take-over proposal or to take certain corporate actions, including the removal of directors.
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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, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with an interested stockholder 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. This provision could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change-of-control, whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Further, other provisions of Delaware law may also discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us.
Our certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for all “internal corporate claims.” “Internal corporate claims” are claims that are based upon a violation of a duty by a current or former director, officer or stockholder in such capacity, or as to which Title 8 of the DGCL confers jurisdiction upon the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or the Court of Chancery, in each case subject to the Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants and the claim not being one which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. For example, this choice of forum provision would not apply to claims brought pursuant to the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to this provision of our certificate of incorporation. The choice of forum provision in our certificate of incorporation will not relieve us of our duties to comply with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder, and our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with these laws, rules and regulations.
This choice of forum provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, employees and agents even though an action, if successful, might benefit our stockholders. Stockholders who do bring a claim in the Court of Chancery could face additional litigation costs in pursuing any such claim, particularly if they do not reside in or near Delaware. The Court of Chancery may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments or results may be more favorable to us than to our stockholders. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our certificate of incorporation inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that we can indemnify our directors and officers, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Separate indemnity agreements have been issued with each director and executive officer.
In addition, as permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, our bylaws and our indemnification agreements that we have entered into with our directors and officers, among other things provide that:
•We have indemnified our directors and officers for serving us in those capacities, or for serving as a director, officer, employee or agent of other business enterprises at our request, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that we may indemnify such person if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to our best interest and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful.
•We may, in our discretion, indemnify employees and agents in those circumstances where indemnification is permitted by applicable law.
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•We will be required to advance expenses, as incurred, to our directors and officers in connection with defending a proceeding, except that such directors or officers shall undertake to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification.
•The rights conferred in our bylaws will not be exclusive. We may not retroactively amend our bylaw provisions to reduce our indemnification obligations to directors, officers, employees and agents.
As a result, claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” and the reduced reporting requirements available to emerging growth companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies. These provisions include, but are not limited to:
•being permitted to have only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related selected financial data and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations disclosure;
•an exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
•reduced disclosure about executive compensation arrangements in our periodic reports, registration statements and proxy statements; and
•exemptions from the requirements to seek non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements.
To the extent we take advantage of any of these exemptions, the information that we provide stockholders may be different than what is available with respect to other public companies. Investors may find our common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company” which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements, including exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) as long as we do not otherwise also qualify as an “accelerated filer” or “large accelerated filer” for SEC reporting purposes and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. Investors could find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our trading price may be more volatile.
General Risk Factors
Our business could be negatively affected as a result of actions of activist stockholders, and such activism could impact the trading value of our securities.
Stockholders may, from time to time, engage in proxy solicitations or advance stockholder proposals, or otherwise attempt to effect changes and assert influence on our board of directors and management. Activist campaigns that contest or conflict with our strategic direction or seek changes in the composition of our board of directors could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. A proxy contest would require us to incur significant legal and advisory fees, proxy solicitation expenses and administrative and associated costs and require significant time and attention by our board of directors and management, diverting their attention from the pursuit of our business strategy. Any perceived uncertainties as to our future direction and control, our ability to execute on our strategy, or changes to the composition of our board of directors or senior management team arising from a proxy contest could lead to the perception of a change in the direction of our business or instability which may result in the loss of potential business opportunities, make it more difficult to pursue our strategic initiatives, or limit our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. If individuals are ultimately elected to our board of directors with a specific agenda, it may adversely affect our ability to effectively implement our business strategy and create additional value
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for our stockholders. We may choose to initiate, or may become subject to, litigation as a result of the proxy contest or matters arising from the proxy contest, which would serve as a further distraction to our board of directors and management and would require us to incur significant additional costs. In addition, actions such as those described above could cause significant fluctuations in our stock price based upon temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business.
If securities or industry analysts publish unfavorable research about our business or decrease the frequency or cease to provide coverage of our company, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. If one or more of the equity research analysts who cover us downgrades our common stock or issues other unfavorable commentary or research the price of our common stock may decline. If one or more equity research analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which in turn could cause the trading price or trading volume of our common stock to decline.
We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the future, and any return on investment may be limited to the value of our stock.
We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, and the payment of dividends is also restricted under our credit facility. The payment of dividends on our common stock will depend on our earnings, financial condition and other business and economic factors affecting us at such time as our board of directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay dividends, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain executive management and qualified board members.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Complying with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to assist us in complying with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased selling, general and administrative expenses and a diversion of our management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be adversely affected.
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Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
From January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021, the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-K, we did not issue any securities that were not registered under the Securities Act except as previously disclosed in those certain Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 19, 2021 and March 23, 2021.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
Not applicable.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Other Information.
None.
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Item 6. Exhibits.
EXHIBIT INDEX
Incorporated by Reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exhibit Number | Exhibit Title | Form | File No. | Exhibit | Filing Date | Filed Herewith (x) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4.1 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.1 | 8-K | 001-38381 | 1.1 | March 26, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.2† | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.3† | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.4 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.5† | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.6 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.7† | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
31.1 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
31.2 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
32.1# | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document. | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_____________
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† | Portions of this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to Rule 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K. The omitted information is not material and is the type that the Company treats as private or confidential. | ||||
# | The information in Exhibit 32.1 shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act (including this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q), unless the Registrant specifically incorporates the foregoing information into those documents by reference. | ||||
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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.
Evolus, Inc. | |||||||||||||||||
Date: | May 12, 2021 | By: | /s/ David Moatazedi | ||||||||||||||
David Moatazedi | |||||||||||||||||
President and Chief Executive Officer | |||||||||||||||||
(Principal Executive Officer) | |||||||||||||||||
Date: | May 12, 2021 | By: | /s/ Lauren Silvernail | ||||||||||||||
Lauren Silvernail | |||||||||||||||||
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Development | |||||||||||||||||
(Principal Financial Officer) |