Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2023 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

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

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2023

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to .

Commission File No. 001-36517

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 600-7373

(Former Name, Former Address and Former Fiscal Year, if Changed Since Last Report)

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

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.

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 ☒

The number of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding as of May 10, 2023 was 5,568,406.

INDEX TO FORM 10-Q

2

Unless the context suggests otherwise, references in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, or Quarterly Report, to “Minerva,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. and, where appropriate, its subsidiaries.

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this report may not transpire. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q under Part II, Item IA, “Risk Factors” and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 under Part I, Item IA, “Risk Factors.”

Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this document. You should read this document with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this report, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

All trademarks, trade names and service marks appearing in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are the property of their respective owners.

3

PART I – Financial Information

Item 1 – Financial Statements

MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements

4

MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

5

MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

6

MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

7

MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES, INC.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

As of March 31, 2023 and for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2023 and 2022

(Unaudited)

10

14

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and with our annual audited consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 8, 2023. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. Our actual results, performance or experience could differ materially from what is indicated by any forward-looking statement due to various important factors, risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those set forth under “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary product candidates to treat patients suffering from central nervous system (“CNS”) diseases. Leveraging our scientific insights and clinical experience, we have acquired or in-licensed compounds that we believe have innovative mechanisms of actions and therapeutic profiles that potentially address the unmet needs of patients with these diseases.

We are developing roluperidone (f/k/a MIN-101) for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize MIN-301 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. In addition, we previously co-developed seltorexant (f/k/a MIN-202 or JNJ-42847922) with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (“Janssen”), for the treatment of insomnia disorder and adjunctive treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (“MDD”). In June 2020, we exercised our right to opt out of our agreement with Janssen for the future Phase 3 development and commercialization of seltorexant. Under the terms of the opt-out agreement, we were entitled to collect royalties in the mid-single digits on potential future worldwide sales of seltorexant in certain indications, with no further financial obligations to Janssen. In January 2021, we sold our rights to these potential royalties to Royalty Pharma plc (“Royalty Pharma”) for a $60 million cash payment and up to an additional $95 million in potential milestone payments, subject to completion of Phase 3 trials by Janssen and regulatory approvals. Janssen is currently conducting two Phase 3 studies with seltorexant, a third Phase 3 study was discontinued during 2022.

In August 2022, we submitted a New Drug Application (“NDA”) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for our lead product candidate, roluperidone, for the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The FDA subsequently notified us that they would not accept the file for review, issuing a refusal to file letter (“RTF”) in October 2022. In December 2022, following a Type A meeting held on November 30, 2022, the FDA confirmed the RTF remained in effect with respect to our NDA for roluperidone. On April 27, 2023, the FDA filed our NDA for roluperidone. The decision to file the NDA followed our request for formal dispute resolution and appeal of the October 2022 RTF. On May 8, 2023, we received confirmation from the FDA that the NDA for roluperidone has been assigned a standard review classification, and that the FDA has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of February 26, 2024. The FDA advised that it identified potential review issues that had been previously cited in the RTF decision letter, which included those discussed at the Type C meeting in March 2022. See “—Clinical and Regulatory Updates” below for more information.

We have not received any regulatory approvals to commercialize any of our product candidates, and we have not generated any revenue from the sales or license of our product candidates. We routinely evaluate the status of our drug development programs as well as potential strategic options. We have incurred significant operating losses since inception and expect to continue to incur net losses and negative cash flows from operating activities for the foreseeable future in connection with the clinical and regulatory activities associated with advancing our product candidates. As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $373.8 million and $366.8 million, respectively. For three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, we recorded net losses of $7.0 million and $9.8 million, respectively.

Clinical and Regulatory Updates

New Drug Application Filed (April 27, 2023)

On May 1, 2023, we announced that the FDA filed our NDA for roluperidone for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia on April 27, 2023. The decision to file the NDA followed our request for formal dispute resolution and appeal of the FDA’s October 2022 RTF. The issues cited in the RTF decision included those discussed at the Type C meeting in March 2022. In granting the appeal, the FDA deciding official agreed with us that the issues cited in the RTF decision should be considered during the FDA’s review of the NDA.

15

On May 8, 2023, we received confirmation from the FDA that the NDA for roluperidone for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia has been filed in accordance with the Appeal Granted letter dated April 27, 2023 and assigned a standard review classification. The FDA has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of February 26, 2024. The FDA advised that it identified potential review issues that had been previously cited in the RTF decision letter, which included those discussed at the Type C meeting in March 2022. See the section titled “—Clinical and Regulatory Updates—Type C Meeting (March 2, 2022)” below.

NDA Fee Refund

In January 2023, we received a refund of our NDA filing fee of approximately $3.1 million from the FDA. This refund was made in accordance with the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, which allows a fee waiver for a small business submitting its first human drug application.

Refusal to File Letter and Type A Meeting (November 30, 2022)

On October 17, 2022, we announced that we received a refusal to file letter from the FDA for our NDA for roluperidone for the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. On December 28, 2022, we announced that, following the Type A meeting held on November 30, 2022, the FDA confirmed that the refusal to file letter remained in effect with respect to our NDA for roluperidone.

New Drug Application

On August 22, 2022, we announced that we submitted an NDA to the FDA for roluperidone for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. The NDA submission is supported by results from two late-stage, well-controlled studies in patients with moderate to severe negative symptoms and stable positive symptoms of schizophrenia, referred to as Study MIN-101C03 (the Phase 2b trial) and Study MIN-101C07 (the Phase 3 trial). Both studies were planned to constitute the bulk of evidence of roluperidone’s effectiveness for the indication of treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia. This plan relied on both studies having the same overall study design: both were multicenter, multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies in which patients received either 32 mg or 64 mg doses of roluperidone. In both studies, if patients were taking antipsychotic treatments, they were discontinued and a washout period of two days was implemented before beginning the assigned study treatment. Both studies capture comparative placebo-controlled data through their 12-week double-blind period. Both studies also provide long-term exposure data regarding the safety and tolerability of roluperidone, as well as efficacy based on blinded doses of roluperidone, specifically intended to demonstrate the maintenance of improvement in negative symptoms and the low rate of worsening of positive symptoms following 24-week (Study MIN-101C03) and 40-week (Study MIN-101C07) Open Label (“OL”) periods. With the exception of the duration of the OL period, these two studies were nearly identical with respect to patient population and main assessment tools (namely, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (“PANSS”), Personal and Social Performance Scale (“PSP”), and Clinical Global Impression (“CGI”)). As such, the data from these studies are the basis for the decision to submit the application at this stage of development as we believe they provide data to support the long-term safety and efficacy in adults in an area of high unmet medical need.

We are seeking approval for the 64 mg dose of roluperidone, and results described hereafter are for the 64 mg dose only.

Results of Study MIN-101C03 supported the primary hypothesis that after 12 weeks of treatment, roluperidone is superior to placebo in reducing negative symptoms of schizophrenia. In the primary efficacy analysis, 64 mg roluperidone resulted in a statistically significant reduction of negative symptoms of schizophrenia as measured by PANSS Pentagonal Structured Model Negative score (“PSM”) (p ≤ 0.0036). A post hoc analysis of the change from Baseline to Week 12 in the PANSS Marder’s Negative Symptoms Factor Score (“NSFS”) also demonstrated a statistically significant difference for 64 mg roluperidone compared with placebo (p ≤ 0.001). Statistically significant improvements with 64 mg roluperidone compared with placebo after 12 weeks of the Double Blind (“DB”) period were also seen for multiple secondary/exploratory efficacy analyses. Further improvements in the NSFS were also seen during the 24-week OL period.

The superiority of roluperidone over placebo was also demonstrated in Study MIN-101C07. Although the primary analysis (intent-to-treat (“ITT”)) of change from Baseline in the NSFS to Week 12 for roluperidone compared to placebo marginally missed statistical significance (p ≤ 0.064), the results were quantitatively superior for 64 mg roluperidone treatment. Furthermore, the analysis of the modified intent-to-treat (“mITT”) population (mITT data set excludes data from one clinical site with implausible results for the 17 patients recruited at this site) demonstrated a nominal statistically significant improvement in the NSFS for 64 mg roluperidone compared to placebo (p ≤ 0.044). In addition, statistically significant improvements (unadjusted) in the NSFS from Baseline were seen as early as Weeks 4 and 8 for 64 mg roluperidone compared to placebo for both the ITT and the mITT populations. PSP Total score (key secondary endpoint measuring vocational and social skills) reached statistical significance for both ITT and mITT populations (p

16

≤ 0.022 and p ≤ 0.017, respectively). Further improvements in the NSFS and PSP Total score were also seen during the 40-week OL period.

Type C Meeting (March 2, 2022)

On April 7, 2022, we announced that we had received the official meeting minutes from the Type C meeting with the FDA held on March 2, 2022, in which the development of roluperidone for the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia was discussed. Four main topics (listed below) were highlighted by the FDA for which they requested input and further clarification from us. The FDA, at that time, proposed to keep an open dialogue moving towards the NDA submission. Following the meeting, Minerva provided additional data to address:

Financial Overview

Revenue

None of our product candidates have been approved for commercialization and we have not received any revenue in connection with the sale or license of our product candidates.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development costs are expensed as they are incurred and consist principally of costs incurred in connection with the development of our product candidates including: fees paid to consultants and clinical research organizations (“CROs”), investigator grants, patient screening, laboratory work, database management, material management, statistical analysis, license fees, regulatory compliance, and costs related to salaries, benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation granted to employees in research and development functions.

Completion dates and costs can vary significantly by product candidate and are difficult to predict. We anticipate making determinations as to which programs to pursue and the level of funding to direct to each program on an ongoing basis in response to the scientific and clinical success or failure of each product candidate, the estimated costs to continue the development program relative to our available resources, as well as an ongoing assessment of each product candidate’s commercial potential. We will need to raise additional capital or may seek additional product collaborations in the future to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative costs are expensed as they are incurred and consist principally of costs for facility and information systems, professional fees for auditing, consulting and legal services and costs related to salaries, benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation granted to employees in administrative functions. General and administrative costs also include costs for maintaining a publicly listed company including increased audit and legal fees, compliance with securities laws, corporate governance and investor relations.

Foreign Exchange (Losses) Gains

Foreign exchange (losses) gains are comprised primarily of (losses) and gains on foreign currency transactions primarily related to research and development expenses. We incur certain expenses, primarily in Euros, and record these expenses in United States Dollars at the time the liability is incurred. Changes in the applicable foreign currency rate between the date that an expense is recorded and the payment date is recorded as a foreign currency (loss) or gain.

17

Investment Income

Investment income consists of income earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Non-cash interest expense for the sale of future royalties

Non-cash interest expense for the sale of future royalties consists of the non-cash interest expense associated with the Royalty Pharma agreement.

Results of Operations

Comparison of Three Months Ended March 31, 2023 versus March 31, 2022

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses were $2.7 million and $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, a decrease of approximately $2.3 million. The decrease in research and development expenses was primarily due to lower non-cash stock compensation costs and lower consultant fees related to our NDA, which was submitted during 2022. Non-cash stock compensation expense included in research and development expenses was $0.2 million and $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were $2.7 million and $3.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, a decrease of approximately $0.3 million. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to lower non-cash stock compensation costs. Non-cash stock compensation expense included in general and administrative expenses was $0.2 million and $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Foreign Exchange Losses

Foreign exchange losses were $9 thousand and $4 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, an increase of $5 thousand. The increase in foreign exchange losses was primarily due to currency movements.

Investment Income

Investment income was $364 thousand and $7 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, an increase of $357 thousand primarily due to higher interest rates.

Non-cash interest expense for the sale of future royalties

Non-cash interest expense for the sale of future royalties was $2.0 million and $1.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, an increase of $0.2 million. The increase was due to an increase in the carrying value of the liability related to the sale of future royalties for seltorexant to Royalty Pharma in accordance with ASC 470, Debt.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of Liquidity

As of March 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $373.8 million. We anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future as we continue the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates and to support our operations as a public company. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we may never generate product revenue or achieve profitability. As of March 31, 2023, we had approximately $36.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, which we believe will be sufficient to meet our operating commitments for the next 12 months from the date our financial statements are issued. Our cash requirements primarily relate to expenditures to support the development of roluperidone, which includes advancing the program through the regulatory process.

18

The process of drug development can be costly and the timing and outcomes of clinical trials is uncertain. The assumptions upon which we have based our estimates are routinely evaluated and may be subject to change. The actual amount of our expenditures will vary depending upon many factors, including, but not limited to, the design, timing and duration of future clinical trials, the progress of our research and development programs, the infrastructure to support a commercial enterprise and the level of financial resources available. We can adjust our operating plan spending levels based on the timing of future clinical trials which are predicated upon adequate funding to complete the trials. We routinely evaluate the status of our clinical development programs as well as potential strategic options.

At-the-Market Equity Offering Program

In September 2022, we entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”) pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, through Jefferies, shares of our common stock, by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at-the-market” offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, no shares of our common stock were issued or sold under the Sales Agreement. As of March 31, 2023, an aggregate of $22.6 million was eligible for sale pursuant to the Sales Agreement under our effective registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-267424).

Seltorexant Royalties

We previously co-developed seltorexant with Janssen for the treatment of insomnia disorder and adjunctive treatment of MDD. During 2020, we exercised our right to opt out of a joint development agreement with Janssen for the future development of seltorexant. As a result, we were entitled to collect royalties in the mid-single digits on potential future sales of seltorexant worldwide in certain indications, with no further financial obligations to Janssen.

On January 19, 2021, we entered into an agreement under which Royalty Pharma acquired our royalty interest in seltorexant for an upfront payment of $60 million and up to an additional $95 million in potential milestone payments, contingent upon the achievement of certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones for seltorexant by Janssen. Janssen is currently conducting two Phase 3 studies with seltorexant, a third Phase 3 study was discontinued during 2022.

Uses of Funds

To date, we have not generated any revenue from sales of products. We have only generated collaborative revenue due to opting out of our license and co-development agreement with Janssen. Furthermore, the $60 million payment received from Royalty Pharma for the sale of our royalty interests in seltorexant has been included on our balance sheet under Liability related to the sale of future royalties. We do not know when, or if, we will generate any revenue from sales of our products, or from the potential future non-cash royalty revenue associated with the sale of our royalty interests in seltorexant to Royalty Pharma. We do not expect to generate significant revenue from product sales unless and until we obtain regulatory approval of and commercialize any of our product candidates. At the same time, we expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing development activities, particularly as we continue the research, development and clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, our product candidates. We also expect to continue to incur costs associated with operating as a public company. In addition, subject to obtaining regulatory approval of any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses for product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenue from product sales, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, government or other third party funding, commercialization, marketing and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of our common stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Additional debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through government or other third party funding, commercialization, marketing and distribution arrangements or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. There can be no assurance that such additional funding, if available, can be obtained on terms acceptable to us, and our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by global economic conditions, including the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other factors. If we are unable to obtain additional financing, future operations would need to be scaled back or discontinued. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash will be sufficient to meet our cash commitments for at least the next 12 months after the date that the financial statements are issued. The timing of future capital requirements depends upon many factors

19

including the size and timing of future clinical trials, the timing and scope of any strategic partnering activity and the progress of other research and development activities.

Cash Flows

The tables below set forth our significant sources and uses of cash for the periods.

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities of approximately $0.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2023 was primarily due to our net loss of $7.0 million, partially offset by a $3.1 million decrease in refundable regulatory fees, non-cash interest expense for the sale of future royalties of $2.0 million, an increase in accrued expenses of $1.1 million, stock-based compensation expense of $0.4 million, and a $0.3 million decrease in prepaid expenses.

Net cash used in operating activities of approximately $5.8 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022 was primarily due our net loss of $9.8 million and a $0.3 million decrease in accounts payable, partially offset by non-cash interest expense for the sale of future royalties of $1.8 million, stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million, a $0.7 million decrease in prepaid expense, and an increase in accrued expenses of $0.7 million.

Net Cash Provided by Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities was zero during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was zero during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.

Reverse Stock Split

On June 17, 2022, we filed a Certificate of Amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amendment”) with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect a one-for-eight (1-for-8) reverse stock split of our outstanding common stock. The Amendment became effective at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 17, 2022. A series of alternate amendments to effect a reverse stock split was approved by our stockholders at our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 10, 2022, and the specific one-for-eight (1-for-8) reverse stock split was subsequently approved by our board of directors on June 10, 2022.

The Amendment provided that, at the effective time of the Amendment, every eight (8) shares of our issued and outstanding common stock automatically combined into one issued and outstanding share of common stock, without any change in par value per share. The reverse stock split affected all shares of our common stock outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Amendment. As a result of the reverse stock split, proportionate adjustments were made to the per share exercise price and/or the number of shares issuable upon the exercise or vesting of all stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards issued by us and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Amendment, which resulted in a proportionate decrease in the number of shares of our common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise or vesting of such stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards, and, in the case of stock options, a proportionate increase in the exercise price of all such stock options. In addition, the number of shares reserved for issuance under our equity compensation plans immediately prior to the effective time of the Amendment was reduced proportionately. The reverse stock split did not affect the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance under our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which remained at 125,000,000 shares.

20

No fractional shares were issued as a result of the reverse stock split. Stockholders of record who would otherwise have been entitled to receive a fractional share received a cash payment in lieu thereof. The reverse stock split affected all stockholders proportionately and did not affect any stockholder’s percentage ownership of our common stock (except to the extent that the reverse stock split results in any stockholder owning only a fractional share). As a result of the reverse stock split, the number of our outstanding shares of common stock as of June 17, 2022 decreased from 42,721,566 (pre-split) shares to 5,340,193 (post-split) shares.

All share and per share amounts in the accompanying financial statements, related footnotes, and management's discussion and analysis have been adjusted retroactively to reflect the reverse stock split as if it had occurred at the beginning of the earliest period presented. Our common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market on a split-adjusted basis when the market opened on June 21, 2022. Effective September 12, 2022, we transferred the listing of our common stock from The Nasdaq Global Market to The Nasdaq Capital Market.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

In our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, our most critical accounting policies and estimates upon which our financial status depends were identified as those relating to research and development costs; in-process research and development; goodwill; income taxes; and the liability related to the sale of future royalties. We reviewed our policies and determined that those policies were our most critical accounting policies for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and are adopted by us as of the specified effective date. See Note 2 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and Note 2 in our condensed consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-Q for a description of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our financial statements. We believe that the impact of recently issued, but not yet adopted, accounting pronouncements will not have a material impact on the condensed consolidated financial statements or do not apply to our operations.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Not applicable.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) and Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer), evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2023. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2023, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in internal control over financial reporting during our latest fiscal quarter that would have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

21

PART II

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may be subject to various legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of our business activities. Although the results of litigation and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we do not believe we are party to any claim or litigation, the outcome of which, if determined adversely to us, would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

We operate in a rapidly changing environment that involves a number of risks which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results, some of which are beyond our control. In addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the risks and uncertainties that we believe are most important for you to consider are discussed in Part I-Item 1A under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 8, 2023. The risk factors set forth below are risk factors containing changes, which may be material, from the risk factors previously disclosed in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the SEC.

We have incurred significant losses since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses over the next several years and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

We are a clinical development-stage biopharmaceutical company. In November 2013, we merged with Sonkei Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Sonkei”), and, in February 2014, we acquired Mind-NRG Sarl (“Mind-NRG”), which were also clinical development-stage biopharmaceutical companies. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate effect or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. In August 2022, we submitted a New Drug Application (“NDA”) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for our lead product candidate, roluperidone. The FDA subsequently notified us that they would not accept the file for review, issuing a refusal to file letter (“RTF”) in October 2022. In December 2022, following a Type A meeting held on November 30, 2022, the FDA confirmed the RTF remained in effect with respect to our NDA for roluperidone. On May 1, 2023, we announced that the FDA filed our NDA for roluperidone on April 27, 2023. The decision to file the NDA followed our request for formal dispute resolution and appeal of the October 2022 RTF. On May 8, 2023, we received confirmation from the FDA that the NDA for roluperidone has been assigned a standard review classification, and that the FDA has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of February 26, 2024. The FDA advised that it identified potential review issues that had been previously cited in the RTF decision letter, which included those discussed at the Type C meeting in March 2022, namely: (i) the potential impact of roluperidone administration on the efficacy and safety of antipsychotic drugs, or more specifically, the psychiatric division (the “Division”) wanted reassurance that those patients administered roluperidone who manifest worsening of schizophrenia symptoms and in the opinion of the clinician/investigators need treatment with antipsychotics, do not experience a diminished benefit of the antipsychotic treatment or unexpected adverse effects; (ii) the comparability of US and non-US schizophrenia patients, or more specifically, the Division wanted to be reassured that data collected in MIN-101C03 in non-US patients is applicable to US patients; (iii) supporting statistical evidence of efficacy of roluperidone on negative symptoms; and (iv) the ability of clinicians to identify patients who might benefit from roluperidone. See also the section titled “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Clinical and Regulatory Updates—Type C Meeting (March 2, 2022)” for more information. While the FDA filed the NDA for roluperidone, we may never succeed in any or all these activities and, even if we do, we may never generate sufficient revenue to achieve profitability.

We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we may never generate product revenue or achieve profitability. As of March 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $373.8 million.

22

We expect to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our research and development of, and/or seek regulatory approvals for, roluperidone and other potential product candidates. If any of our product candidates fail in clinical trials or do not obtain regulatory approval, or if any of our product candidates, if approved, fail to achieve market acceptance, we may never generate revenue or become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Failure to become and remain profitable may adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and our ability to raise capital and continue operations. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenues. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position and working capital.

We will require additional capital to finance our operations, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations.

Our operations and the historic operations of Sonkei and Mind-NRG have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. As of March 31, 2023, we had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $36.1 million. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash will be sufficient to meet our cash commitments for at least the next 12 months after the date that our interim condensed financial statements are issued. The process of drug development can be costly, and the timing and outcomes of clinical trials are uncertain. The assumptions upon which we have based our estimates are routinely evaluated and may be subject to change. The actual amount of our expenditures will vary depending upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the design, timing and duration of future clinical trials, the progress of our research and development programs, the infrastructure to support a commercial enterprise, the cost of a commercial product launch, and the level of financial resources available.

We will require additional capital to continue advancing the development, regulatory approval process and potential commercialization of roluperidone and other potential product candidates that we may develop in the future. Because the length of time and activities associated with successful development of product candidates are highly uncertain, we are unable to estimate with certainty the actual funds we will require for development and any approved marketing and commercialization activities. Additional capital may not be available in sufficient amounts or on reasonable terms, if at all, and our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by global economic conditions, including the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other factors. Our future funding requirements, both short and long-term, will depend on many factors, including:

If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to delay, limit or terminate the development or commercialization of one or more of our product candidates or other operations, including potentially discontinue operations altogether. In addition, when we need to secure additional financing, such additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. Any of these events could significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects, and our stockholders could lose all or part of their investment in our company.

We cannot give any assurance that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval in a timely manner or at all, which is necessary before they can be commercialized.

23

The regulatory approval process is expensive and the time required to obtain approval from the European Commission (following the opinion of the Committee of Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”)), FDA or other comparable regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions to sell any product is uncertain and may take years.

Whether regulatory approval will be granted is unpredictable and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. Moreover, the filing of an application for regulatory approval, including NDA, or Biologics License Application (“BLA”), a Marketing Authorization Application (“MAA”) in the EEA, or comparable foreign regulatory applications for approval, requires a payment of a significant user fee upon submission. The filing of applications for regulatory approval of our product candidates may be delayed due to our lack of financial resources to pay such user fee.

If, following submission, our application is not accepted for substantive review or approved, the EMA, FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require that we conduct additional clinical or pre-clinical trials, provide additional data, manufacture additional validation batches or develop additional analytical tests methods before they will reconsider our application. On October 14, 2022, we received a refusal-to-file communication from the FDA for our NDA submission for roluperidone, our lead product candidate, which decision was confirmed by the FDA in a subsequent Type A meeting. On April 27, 2023, the FDA filed our NDA for roluperidone following our request for formal dispute resolution and appeal of the refusal-to-file letter. On May 8, 2023, we received confirmation from the FDA that our NDA for roluperidone had been assigned a standard review classification and a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”) goal date of February 26, 2024. The FDA also advised that it identified potential review issues that had been previously cited in the RTF decision letter, which included those discussed at the Type C meeting in March 2022, namely: (i) the potential impact of roluperidone administration on the efficacy and safety of antipsychotic drugs, or more specifically, the Division wanted reassurance that those patients administered roluperidone who manifest worsening of schizophrenia symptoms and in the opinion of the clinician/investigators need treatment with antipsychotics, do not experience a diminished benefit of the antipsychotic treatment or unexpected adverse effects; (ii) the comparability of US and non-US schizophrenia patients, or more specifically, the Division wanted to be reassured that data collected in MIN-101C03 in non-US patients is applicable to US patients; (iii) supporting statistical evidence of efficacy of roluperidone on negative symptoms; and (iv) the ability of clinicians to identify patients who might benefit from roluperidone. See also the section titled “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Clinical and Regulatory Updates—Type C Meeting (March 2, 2022)” for more information. [Author1] Even though the NDA has been filed by the FDA, the review issues may prevent approval and result in a Complete Response Letter, potentially requiring additional studies. [Author2] Additional studies and data would impose increased costs and delays in the regulatory approval process, which may require us to expend more resources than we have available. In addition, the EMA, FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not consider any additional required trials, data or information that we perform or provide to be sufficient, or we may decide, or be required, to abandon the program.

Moreover, policies, regulations, or the type and amount of pre-clinical and clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. It is possible that none of our existing product candidates or any of our future product candidates will ever obtain regulatory approval, even if we expend substantial time and resources seeking such approval.

Our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:

24

Even if we obtain approval for a particular product, regulatory authorities may approve that product for fewer or more limited indications, including more limited patient populations, than we request, may require that contraindications, warnings, or precautions be included in the product labeling, including a boxed warning, may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials or other post-market requirements, including risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (“REMS”) or comparable foreign strategies, or may approve a product candidate with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product. Any of the foregoing could materially harm the commercial prospects for our product candidates.

A variety of risks associated with international operations could materially adversely affect our business.

We own one Swiss subsidiary, expect to engage in significant cross-border activities, and we will be subject to risks related to international operations, including:

If any of these issues were to occur, our business could be materially harmed.

In addition, we publish privacy policies, marketing materials and other statements, such as compliance with certain certifications or self-regulatory principles, regarding data privacy and security. If these policies, materials or statements are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators or other adverse consequences.

Our common stock may be delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market which could negatively impact the price of our common stock, liquidity and our ability to access the capital markets.

Our common stock is currently listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “NERV.” The listing standards of The Nasdaq Capital Market provide that a company, in order to qualify for continued listing, must maintain a minimum stock price of $1.00 and satisfy standards relative to minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum market value of publicly held shares and various additional requirements. If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange for failure to meet the listing standards, we and our stockholders could face significant negative consequences including:

25

Delisting from The Nasdaq Capital Market could also result in other negative consequences, including the potential loss of confidence by suppliers, customers and employees, the loss of institutional investor interest and fewer business development opportunities.

As previously reported, on January 12, 2022, we received a deficiency letter from Nasdaq notifying us that, for the previous 30 consecutive business days, the closing bid price of our shares of common stock had not been maintained at the minimum required closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share, as required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market, where our securities were listed for trading at the time. In accordance with the listing rules of Nasdaq, we were given 180 calendar days, or until July 11, 2022, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. On June 17, 2022, we implemented a one-for-eight (1-for-8) reverse stock split of our outstanding commons stock in an effort to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share. On July 6, 2022, we received a letter from Nasdaq notifying us that the closing bid price of our common stock had been at $1.00 per share or greater for the last 10 consecutive business days and we had regained compliance with Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 5450(a)(1) and this matter was closed.

On March 8, 2022, we received a second deficiency letter from Nasdaq that our stockholders’ equity as reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 did not satisfy The Nasdaq Global Market continued listing requirement of $10 million as set forth in Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 5450(b)(1). We had 45 calendar days from the date of this letter to submit to Nasdaq a plan to regain compliance with such requirement. Nasdaq later extended the deadline for such submission, and we subsequently submitted our plans to regain compliance on May 2, 2022, May 24, 2022 and May 25, 2022. On June 3, 2022, we received a letter from Nasdaq notifying us that it has determined to grant us an extension until September 5, 2022 to regain compliance with Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 5450(b)(1). In September 2022, we submitted an application to Nasdaq to transfer our common stock from The Nasdaq Global Market to The Nasdaq Capital Market, as allowed under Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 5810(c)(3)(A). Based on our meeting the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market, our application was approved by Nasdaq. Effective September 12, 2022, we transferred the listing of our common stock from The Nasdaq Global Market to The Nasdaq Capital Market.

Also as previously reported, on December 1, 2022, we received a deficiency letter from Nasdaq notifying us that for the last 30 consecutive business days, our minimum Market Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) was below the minimum of $35 million required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2). In accordance with the listing rules of Nasdaq, we have been provided an initial period of 180 calendar days, or until May 30, 2023, to regain compliance. The letter states that the Nasdaq staff will provide written notification that we have achieved compliance with Rule 5550(b)(2) if at any time before May 30, 2023, our MVLS closes at $35 million or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days. If compliance is not achieved by May 30, 2023, we expect that Nasdaq would provide written notification to us that our securities are subject to delisting.

While we will continue to monitor our MVLS and consider available options to regain compliance with the Nasdaq minimum MVLS requirements, which may include applying for an extension of the compliance period or appealing to a Nasdaq Hearings Panel, there can be no assurance that we will be able to regain compliance with the Nasdaq minimum MVLS requirements or otherwise maintain compliance with the other Nasdaq listing requirements.

In particular, our share price may continue to decline for a number of reasons, including many that are beyond our control. See the risk factor captioned “The market price of our stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment”, described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

If we fail to comply with the continued listing standards of The Nasdaq Capital Market, we may seek to list our common stock on the NYSE American or on a regional stock exchange or, if one or more broker-dealer market makers comply with applicable requirements, the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market. Listing on such other market or exchange could reduce the liquidity of our common stock. If our common stock were to trade in the OTC market, an investor would find it more difficult to dispose of, or to obtain accurate quotations for the price of, the common stock. Delisting of the common stock could depress our stock price, substantially limit liquidity of our common stock and materially adversely affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Further, delisting of the common stock would likely result in the common stock becoming a “penny stock” under the Exchange Act.

Even if we commercialize any of our product candidates, these products may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives, which could harm our business.

26

The laws that govern regulatory approvals, pricing and reimbursement for new drug products vary widely from country to country. Current and future legislation may significantly change the approval requirements in ways that could involve additional costs and cause delays in obtaining approvals. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed or soon thereafter. Additionally, in some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain regulatory approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which could negatively impact the revenues we generate from the sale of the product in that particular country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates even if our product candidates obtain regulatory approval.

In international markets, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies. In the European Union (“EU”), the pricing and reimbursement schemes of medicinal products is governed by the national legislation of each EU Member State and also vary widely from country to country. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after receipt of regulatory approval for a product. Some countries provide that products may be marketed only after a reimbursement price has been agreed. Some countries may require the completion of additional studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies (so called health technology assessments) in order to obtain reimbursement or pricing approval.

In addition, there can be considerable pressure by governments and other stakeholders on prices and reimbursement levels, including as part of cost containment measures in the current economic climate in the European Union. There is very limited harmonization between EU Member States regarding pricing and reimbursement practices.

Reference pricing used by various European Union Member States and parallel distribution, or arbitrage between low-priced and high-priced Member States, can further reduce prices. In particular, Germany, Portugal and Spain have all introduced a number of short-term measures to lower healthcare spending, including mandatory discounts, clawbacks and price referencing rules, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Moreover, in the European Economic Area some countries require the completion of additional studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular medicinal product candidate to currently available therapies. This Health Technology Assessment, or HTA process, which is currently governed by the national laws of the individual EU Member States, is the procedure according to which the assessment of the public health impact, therapeutic impact and the economic and societal impact of use of a given medicinal product in the national healthcare systems of the individual country is conducted. The outcome of HTA regarding specific medicinal products will often influence the pricing and reimbursement status granted to these medicinal products by the competent authorities of individual EU Member States. On January 31, 2018, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation on health technologies assessment. The proposed regulation is intended to boost cooperation among EU Member States in assessing health technologies, including new medicinal products, and providing the basis for cooperation at EU level for joint clinical assessments in these areas. In December 2021, the HTA Regulation was adopted and entered into force on January 11, 2022. It will apply from 2025.

There can be no assurance that our products will be considered cost-effective, that an adequate level of reimbursement will be available or that a foreign country’s reimbursement policies will not adversely affect our ability to sell our products profitably.

If reimbursement of our drugs is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business could be materially harmed.

Our ability to commercialize any products successfully will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from government health administration authorities and other third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations. Government authorities and other third-party payors determine which medications they will cover and establish reimbursement levels. Assuming we obtain coverage for a given product by a third-party payor, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Patients who are prescribed medications for the treatment of their conditions, and their prescribing physicians, generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their prescription drugs. Patients are unlikely to use our products unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover all or a significant portion of the cost of our products. Therefore, coverage and adequate reimbursement is critical to new product acceptance. Coverage decisions may depend upon clinical and economic standards that disfavor new drug products when more established or lower cost therapeutic alternatives are already available or subsequently become available.

27

Government authorities and other third-party payors are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs, such as by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. Increasingly, third-party payors are requiring that drug companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices as a condition of coverage, are using restrictive formularies and preferred drug lists to leverage greater discounts in competitive classes, and are challenging the prices charged for medical products. In addition, in the United States, federal programs impose penalties on drug manufacturers in the form of mandatory additional rebates and/or discounts if commercial prices increase at a rate greater than the Consumer Price Index-Urban, and these rebates and/or discounts, which can be substantial, may impact our ability to raise commercial prices. Further, in the United States there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under government payor programs, and review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs. We expect that additional U.S. federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that the U.S. federal government will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures.

Additionally, no uniform policy requirement for coverage and reimbursement for drug products exists among third-party payors in the United States. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance.

We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Coverage and reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any product candidate for which we obtain regulatory approval. If coverage and reimbursement are not available or reimbursement is available only to limited levels, we may not successfully commercialize any product candidate for which we obtain regulatory approval.

There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the drug is approved by the European Commission, FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Moreover, eligibility for coverage and reimbursement does not imply that a drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Interim reimbursement levels for new drugs, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may only be temporary. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Prices paid for a drug also vary depending on the class of trade. Prices charged to government customers and certain customers that receive federal funds are subject to price controls, and private institutions may obtain discounts through group purchasing organizations or use formularies to leverage discounts. Net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and profitable reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved products that we develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.

Additionally, there has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Presidential executive orders, Congressional inquiries and proposed federal and proposed and enacted state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. For example, in July 2021, the Biden administration released an executive order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” with multiple provisions aimed at prescription drugs. In response to Biden’s executive order, on September 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released a Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices that outlines principles for drug pricing reform and sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue as well as potential administrative actions HHS can take to advance these principles. Further, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) into law which, among other things, (1) directs HHS to negotiate the price of certain single-source drugs and biologics covered under Medicare and (2) imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation. The IRA permits HHS to implement many of these provisions through guidance, as opposed to regulation, for the initial years. HHS has and will continue to issue and update guidance as these programs are implemented. These provisions will take effect progressively starting in fiscal year 2023, although they may be subject to legal challenges. It is currently unclear how the IRA will be implemented but is likely to have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry. Further, in response to the Biden administration’s October 2022 executive order, on February 14, 2023, HHS released a report outlining three new models for testing by the CMS Innovation Center which will be evaluated on their ability to lower the cost of drugs, promote accessibility, and improve quality of care. It is unclear whether the models will be utilized in any health reform measures in the future.

28

At the state level, legislatures are passing increasing amounts of legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

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

In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, processing) personal data and other sensitive data, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we collect about trial participants in connection with clinical trials, sensitive third-party data, and employee data. Our data processing activities may subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements, and other obligations relating to data privacy and security.

In the United States, federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including data breach notification laws, personal data privacy laws, and consumer protection laws (e.g. Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act). For example, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), imposes specific requirements relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. In addition, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) requires businesses to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of California residents to exercise certain privacy rights. The CCPA provides for civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. Although the CCPA exempts some data processed in the context of clinical trials, the CCPA may increase compliance costs and potential liability with respect to other personal data maintained about California residents.

In addition, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”), effective January 1, 2023, expands the CCPA’s requirements, adds a new right for individuals to correct their personal information, and establishes a new regulatory agency to implement and enforce the law. Other states, such as Virginia, Colorado and Utah, have also passed comprehensive privacy laws, and similar laws are being considered in several other states. While these states, like the CCPA, also exempt some data processed in the context of clinical trials, these developments may further complicate compliance efforts, and may increase legal risk and compliance costs for us, the third parties upon whom we rely. In addition, data privacy and security laws have been proposed at the federal, state, and local levels in recent years, which could further complicate compliance efforts.

Outside the United States, an increasing number of laws, regulations, and industry standards may apply to data privacy and security, including the GDPR, as described in preceding risk factors, imposes strict requirements for processing personal data, and violators of these laws face significant penalties.

Certain jurisdictions, such as the EU, Switzerland and the UK, have enacted cross-border personal data transfer laws regulating personal data flows to third countries. In addition to personal data transfer restrictions, other countries (such as Russia and China) have adopted or proposed laws prohibiting certain businesses from transferring data outside those countries, which may increase the cost and complexity of doing business or require us not to conduct business in certain countries. Existing mechanisms that facilitate cross-border personal data transfers may change or be invalidated and may pose additional compliance burdens. For example, absent appropriate safeguards or other circumstances, the EU GDPR generally restricts the transfer of personal data to countries outside of the European Economic Area (“EEA”) that the European Commission does not consider to provide an adequate level of data privacy and security, such as the United States. The European Commission released a set of “Standard Contractual Clauses” (“SCCs”) that are designed to be a valid mechanism to facilitate personal data transfers out of the EEA to these jurisdictions. Currently, these SCCs are a valid mechanism to transfer personal data outside of the EEA. Additionally, the SCCs impose additional compliance burdens, such as conducting transfer impact assessments to determine whether additional security measures are necessary to protect the at-issue personal data. If we cannot implement a valid personal data transfer mechanism, we may face increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines, and injunctions against processing or transferring personal data, as well as other adverse consequences. In particular we may be unable to import personal data to the United States, which could significantly and negatively impact our business operations, including by limiting our ability to conduct clinical trial activities in Europe and elsewhere; limiting our ability to collaborate with parties that are subject to such cross-border data transfer or localization laws; or requiring us to increase our personal data processing capabilities and infrastructure in foreign countries at significant expense.

29

In addition to data privacy and security laws, we may be contractually subject to data privacy and security obligations, including industry standards adopted by industry groups and may become subject to new data privacy and security obligations in the future. For example, certain privacy laws require our customers to impose specific contractual restrictions on their service providers. We publish privacy policies, marketing materials and other statements, such as compliance with certain certifications or self-regulatory principles, regarding data privacy and security. If these policies, materials or statements are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators or other adverse consequences.

Obligations related to data privacy and security are quickly changing, becoming increasingly stringent and, creating regulatory uncertainty. Additionally, these obligations may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or conflict among jurisdictions. Preparing for and complying with these obligations requires us to devote significant resources. These obligations may necessitate changes to our information technologies, systems, and practices and to those of any third parties that process personal data on our behalf.

We may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed in our efforts to comply with our data privacy and security obligations). Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties upon whom we rely may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations and compliance posture. For example, any failure by a third-party processor to comply with applicable law, regulations, or contractual obligations could result in adverse effects, including proceedings against us by governmental entities or others.

If we or the third parties on which we rely fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable data privacy and security obligations, we could face significant consequences, including but not limited to: government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-action claims); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; bans on processing personal data; orders to destroy or not use personal data; and imprisonment of company officials. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, including but not limited to: loss of customers; interruptions or stoppages in our business operations (including, as relevant, clinical trials); inability to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions; limited ability to develop or commercialize our products; expenditure of time and resources to defend any claim or inquiry; adverse publicity; or revision or restructuring of our operations.

If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; and other adverse consequences.

In the ordinary course of our business, we or the third parties upon which we rely, may process proprietary, confidential, and sensitive data, including personal data (such as health-related data and data related to clinical trials), intellectual property, and trade secrets (collectively, sensitive information). We may rely upon third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive information in a variety of contexts, including, without limitation, third-party providers of cloud-based infrastructure, encryption and authentication technology, employee email, content delivery to customers, and other functions. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. While we may be entitled to damages if our third-party service providers fail to satisfy their privacy or security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover such award. In addition, supply-chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties’ infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners’ supply chains have not been compromised. We may also share or receive sensitive information with or from third parties.

Cyberattacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive information and information technology systems, and those of the third parties upon which we rely. Such threats are prevalent continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, “hacktivists,” organized criminal threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation states, and nation-state-supported actors. Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyber-attacks, including without limitation nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we and the third parties upon which we rely may be vulnerable to a heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory cyber-attacks, that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce, sell and distribute our goods and services. We and the third parties upon which we rely may be subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing), personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software

30

bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, telecommunications failures, earthquakes, fires, floods, and other similar threats.

In particular, ransomware attacks, including by organized criminal threat actors, nation-states, and nation-state-supported actors, are becoming increasingly prevalent and severe and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. Similarly, supply-chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties and infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners’ supply chains have not been compromised or that they do not contain exploitable defects or bugs that could result in a breach of or disruption to our information technology systems or the third-party information technology systems that support us and our services. Future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies. Furthermore, we may discover security issues that were not found during due diligence of such acquired or integrated entities, and it may be difficult to integrate companies into our information technology environment and security program. Remote work has become more common and has increased risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our employees utilize network connections, computers and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations.

Any of the previously identified or similar threats could cause a security incident or other interruption. A security incident or other interruption could result in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive information. A security incident or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties upon whom we rely) to provide our services. We may expend significant resources or modify our business activities (including our clinical trial activities) to try to protect against security incidents. Certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures, industry-standard or reasonable security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive information.

While we have implemented security measures designed to protect against security incidents, there can be no assurance that these measures, or those of a third party upon whom we rely, will be effective. For example, an external contractor experienced a cyberattack in 2019, which resulted in a disruption to patient recruitment in our Phase 3 clinical trial of roluperidone. We may be unable in the future to detect vulnerabilities in our information technology systems. We take steps to detect and remediate vulnerabilities, but we may not be able to detect and remediate all vulnerabilities because the threats and techniques used to exploit the vulnerability change frequently and are often sophisticated in nature. Therefore, such vulnerabilities could be exploited but may not be detected until after a security incident has occurred. Despite our efforts to identify and address vulnerabilities, if any, in our information technology systems, our efforts may not be successful. These vulnerabilities pose material risks to our business. Further, we may experience delays in developing and deploying remedial measures designed to address any such identified vulnerabilities.

Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us to notify relevant stakeholders of security incidents. Such disclosures are costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse consequences. If we (or a third party upon whom we rely) experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience adverse consequences. These consequences may include: government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive information (including personal data); litigation (including class claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms. Security incidents and attendant consequences may negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business. In addition to experiencing a security incident, third parties may gather, collect, or infer sensitive information about us from public sources, data brokers, or other means that reveals competitively sensitive details about our organization and could be used to undermine our competitive advantage or market position.

Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None.

31

Item 3. Defaults upon Senior Securities

Not applicable.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

Not applicable.

32

Item 6. Exhibits

The following exhibits are incorporated by reference or filed as part of this report.

+ These certifications are being furnished solely to accompany this quarterly report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, and are not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the registrant, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

33

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) 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.

Date: May 15, 2023

34