Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. - Annual Report: 2009 (Form 10-K)

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Form 10-K

 

 

Commission File No. 001-34186

 

VANDA PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

9605 Medical Center Drive, Suite 300

Rockville, Maryland 20850

(240) 599-4500

(Address and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

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

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

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 þ     No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).  Yes o     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).  Yes o     No þ

 

The aggregate market value of the 19,506,882 shares of Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $229,596,001 as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter based on the closing price of the registrant’s Common Stock on such date. Shares of Common Stock held by each executive officer, director and stockholders known by the registrant to own 10% or more of the outstanding stock based on public filings and other information known to the registrant have been excluded since such persons may be deemed affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

 

The number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding as of March 12, 2010 was 27,860,232.

 

The exhibit index as required by Item 601(a) of Regulation S-K is included in Item 15 of Part IV of this report.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

 

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Form 10-K

Table of Contents

 

 

Various statements in this report are “forward-looking statements” under the securities laws. Words such as, but not limited to, “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “targets,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” and “could,” and similar expressions or words, identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks, changes in circumstances, assumptions and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements include, among others:

 

 

All written and verbal forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. We caution investors not to rely too heavily on the forward-looking statements we make or that are made on our behalf. We undertake no obligation, and specifically decline any obligation, to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

We encourage you to read the discussion and analysis of our financial condition and our consolidated financial statements contained in this annual report on Form 10-K. We also encourage you to read Item 1A of Part 1 of this annual report on Form 10-K, entitled “Risk Factors,” which contains a more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business. In addition to the risks described above and in Item 1A of this report, other unknown or unpredictable factors also could affect our results. There can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by us will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, us. Therefore no assurance can be given that the outcomes stated in such forward-looking statements and estimates will be achieved.

 

Overview

 

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (We, Vanda or the Company) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of clinical-stage products for central nervous system disorders. We believe that each of our products and partnered products will address a large market with significant unmet medical needs by offering advantages over currently available therapies. Our product portfolio includes:

 

 

Throughout this annual report on Form 10-K, we refer to Fanapt^tm within the U.S. and Canada as our partnered product and we refer to Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada and tasimelteon as our products. All other compounds are referred to herein as our product candidates. In addition, we refer to our partnered products, products and product candidates collectively as our compounds. Moreover, we refer to drug products generally as drugs or products.

Since we began our operations in March 2003, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to the in-licensing and clinical development of our compounds. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability largely depends on Novartis’ ability to successfully commercialize Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and to successfully develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm in Canada and upon our ability, alone or with others, to complete the development of our products or product candidates, and to obtain the regulatory approvals for and manufacture, market and sell our products and product candidates. The results of our operations will vary significantly from year-to-year and quarter-to-quarter and depend on a number of factors, including risks related to our business, risks related to our industry, and other risks which are detailed in Item 1A of Part I of this annual report on Form 10-K, entitled “Risk Factors”.

 

Our activities will necessitate significant uses of working capital throughout 2010 and beyond. However, for the immediate future, we expect to continue to operate on a reduced spending plan. We are currently concentrating our efforts on supporting Novartis’ commercial launch of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. In addition, we intend to engage in discussions with several foreign regulatory agencies to review their filing requirements with respect to Fanapt^tm. We also plan to continue the clinical, regulatory and commercial evaluation of tasimelteon, including exploring the path to a NDA for tasimelteon.

 

Our founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mihael H. Polymeropoulos, M.D., started our operations early in 2003 after establishing and leading the Pharmacogenetics Department at Novartis. In acquiring and developing our compounds, we have relied upon our deep expertise in the scientific disciplines of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics. These scientific disciplines examine both genetic variations among people that influence response to a particular drug, and the multiple pathways through which drugs affect people. We believe that the combination of our expertise in these disciplines and our drug development expertise may provide us with preferential access to compounds discovered by other pharmaceutical companies, and will allow us to identify new uses for these compounds. These capabilities should also enable us to shorten the time it takes to commercialize a drug when compared to traditional approaches.

 

Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon both target large prescription markets with significant unmet medical needs. We believe that Fanapt^tm may address some of the shortcomings of other currently available drugs, based on its observed safety profile and the extended release injectable formulation for Fanapt^tm that Novartis plans to develop further. Approved drugs in both the sleep and mood disorders markets have sub-optimal safety and efficacy profiles. We believe tasimelteon may represent a breakthrough in each of these markets, based on the compound’s demonstrated efficacy and safety to date and its novel mechanism of action.

 

Our strategy

 

Our goal is to create a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products that address critical unmet medical needs through the application of our drug development expertise and our pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics expertise. The key elements of our strategy to accomplish this goal are to:

 

 

 

Development programs

 

We have the following products and partnered products in clinical development:

 

 

Fanapt^tm

 

Fanapt^tm is a compound for the treatment of schizophrenia. On May 6, 2009, the FDA granted U.S. marketing approval of Fanapt^tm for the acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults. On October 12, 2009, we entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis. We had originally entered into a sublicense agreement with Novartis on June 4, 2004 pursuant to which we obtained certain worldwide exclusive licenses from Novartis relating to Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis has exclusive commercialization rights to all formulations of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. On January 11, 2010, Novartis launched Fanapt^tm in the U.S. Except for two post-approval studies started by us prior to the execution date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement, both of which were substantially completed by December 31, 2009, Novartis is responsible for the further clinical development activities in the U.S. and Canada, including the development of a long-acting injectable (or depot)

formulation of Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million and will be eligible for additional payments totaling up to $265.0 million upon the achievement of certain commercial and development milestones for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We will also receive royalties, which, as a percentage of net sales, are in the low double-digits, on net sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we will no longer be required to make any future milestone payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm or any future royalty payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We retain exclusive rights to Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada and we will have exclusive rights to use any of Novartis’ data for Fanapt^tm for developing and commercializing Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada. At Novartis’ option, we will enter into good faith discussions with Novartis relating to the co-commercialization of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada or, alternatively, Novartis will receive a royalty on net sales of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada.

 

Therapeutic opportunity

 

Schizophrenia is a chronic, debilitating mental disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, racing thoughts and other psychotic symptoms (collectively referred to as “positive symptoms”), as well as moodiness, anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure), loss of interest, eating disturbances and withdrawal (collectively referred to as “negative symptoms”), and additionally attention and memory deficits (collectively referred to as “cognitive symptoms”). Schizophrenia develops in late adolescence or early adulthood in approximately 1% of the world’s population. Most schizophrenia patients today are treated with drugs known as “atypical” antipsychotics, which were first approved in the U.S. in the late 1980s. These antipsychotics have been named “atypical” for their ability to treat a broader range of negative symptoms than the first-generation “typical” antipsychotics, which were introduced in the 1950s and are now generic. Atypical antipsychotics are generally regarded as having improved side effect profiles and efficacy relative to typical antipsychotics and currently comprise approximately 90% of schizophrenia prescriptions. Currently approved atypical antipsychotics include, in addition to Fanapt^tm, olanzapine (Zyprexa^®) by Eli Lilly and Company, risperidone (Risperdal^®) and paliperidone (Invega^®), each by Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., quetiapine (Seroquel^®) by AstraZeneca, aripiprazole (Abilify^®) by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), ziprasidone (Geodon^®) by Pfizer, asenapine (Saphris^®) by Schering-Plough and generic clozapine.

 

Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis will be responsible for the further clinical development of the long-acting injectable or depot formulation of Fanapt^tm. The depot formulation is administered once every four weeks and we believe will be a compelling complement to the oral formulation for both physicians and patients. Novartis conducted a two-month Phase I/IIa safety trial of this formulation in schizophrenia patients, in which it demonstrated the benefit of consistent release over a four-week time period with no greater side effects relative to oral dosing. The commercial potential for the extended-release injectable formulation has been demonstrated by the success of the injectable formulation for risperidone, Risperdal^® Consta^®, which achieved worldwide sales of approximately $1.3 billion in 2008, according to Alkermes Company press releases.

 

Intellectual property

 

Fanapt^tm and its metabolites, formulations, genetic markers and uses are covered by a total of twenty-two patent and patent application families worldwide. The primary new chemical entity patent covering Fanapt^tm expires normally in 2011 in the U.S. and 2010 in most of the major markets in Europe. In the U.S., the United States Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, more commonly known as the “Hatch-Waxman Act” provides for an extension of new chemical entity patents for a period of up to five years following the expiration of the patent covering that compound to compensate for time spent in development. We believe that Fanapt^tm will qualify for the full five-year patent term extension and, in addition, will be eligible for 6 months of pediatric exclusivity. In Europe, statutes provide for ten years of data exclusivity (with the potential for an additional year if the drug is developed for a significant new indication). No generic versions of Fanapt^tm would be permitted to be marketed or sold during this 10-year (or 11-year) period in most European countries. Consequently, assuming that patent term restoration and pediatric exclusivity are granted by the PTO and FDA and that we receive regulatory approval in Europe, we expect

that Novartis’ rights to commercialize Fanapt^tm will be exclusive until May 2017 in the U.S. and for at least 10 years from approval in Europe. Additionally, the patent application covering the depot formulation of Fanapt^tm, which Novartis will be responsible for, if it is granted, will expire normally in 2023 in the U.S. Several other patent applications covering metabolites, uses, formulations and genetic markers relating to Fanapt^tm extend beyond 2020.

 

We acquired worldwide, exclusive rights to the new chemical entity patent covering Fanapt^tm and certain related intellectual property from Novartis under a sublicense agreement we entered into in 2004, which was restated and amended in 2009. Please see “License agreements” below for a more complete description of the rights we acquired from and relinquished to Novartis with respect to Fanapt^tm.

 

Tasimelteon

 

Tasimelteon is an oral compound in development for sleep and mood disorders, including CRSD. The compound binds selectively to the brain’s melatonin receptors, which are thought to govern the body’s natural sleep/wake cycle. Compounds that bind selectively to these receptors are thought to be able to help treat sleep disorders, and additionally are believed to offer potential benefits in mood disorders. We announced positive top-line results from our Phase III trial of tasimelteon in transient insomnia in November 2006. In June 2008, we announced positive top-line results from the Phase III trial of tasimelteon in chronic primary insomnia. On January 19, 2010, the FDA granted orphan drug designation status for tasimelteon in a specific CRSD, Non-24-Hour Sleep/Wake Disorder in blind individuals without light perception. The FDA grants orphan drug designation to drugs that may provide significant therapeutic advantage over existing treatments and target conditions affecting 200,000 or fewer U.S. patients per year. Orphan drug designation provides potential financial and regulatory incentives, including study design assistance, tax credits, waiver of FDA user fees, and up to seven years of market exclusivity upon marketing approval. We will continue to explore the path to a NDA for tasimelteon.

 

Therapeutic opportunity

 

Sleep disorders are segmented into three major categories: primary insomnia, secondary insomnia and circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Insomnia is a symptom complex that comprises difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or non-refreshing sleep, in combination with daytime dysfunction or distress. The symptom complex can be an independent disorder (primary insomnia) or be a result of another condition such as depression or anxiety (secondary insomnia). CRSD results from a misalignment of the sleep/wake cycle and an individual’s daily activities or lifestyle. The circadian rhythm is the rhythmic output of the human biological clock and is governed primarily by the hormone melatonin. Both the timing of behavioral events (activity, sleep, and social interactions) and the environmental light/dark cycle result in a sleep/wake cycle that follows the circadian rhythm. Examples of CRSD includes transient disorders such as jet lag and chronic disorders such as shift work sleep disorder and Non-24-Hour Sleep/Wake Disorder. Market research we have conducted with LEK Consulting indicates that CRSD represents a significant portion of the market for sleep disorders.

 

While there are no FDA-approved treatments for insomnia specifically related to CRSD, there are a number of drugs approved and prescribed for patients with sleep disorders. The most commonly prescribed drugs are hypnotics, such as generic zolpidem, zolpidem tartrate (Ambien CR^®, sanofi-aventis), eszopiclone (Lunesta^®, Sepracor, Inc.) and zaleplon (Sonata^®, King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). Hypnotics work by acting upon a set of brain receptors known as GABA receptors, which are separate and distinct from the melatonin receptors to which tasimelteon binds. Several drugs in development, including indiplon (Neurocrine Biosciences), also utilize a mechanism of action involving binding to GABA receptors. Members of the benzodiazapine class of sedatives are also approved for insomnia, but their usage has declined due to an inferior safety profile compared to hypnotics. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that sedative antidepressants, such as trazodone and doxepin, are prescribed off-label for insomnia. FDA approved drugs for the treatment of insomnia also include ramelteon (Rozerem^tm, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Limited), a compound with a mechanism of action similar to tasimelteon.

Limitations of current treatments

 

We believe that each of the drugs currently used to treat insomnia has inherent limitations that leave patients underserved. The key limitations include the potential for abuse, significant side effects, and a failure to address the underlying causes of sleeplessness:

 

 

Potential advantages of tasimelteon

 

We believe that tasimelteon may offer efficacy similar to the most efficacious of the approved sleep drugs, and that it may provide significant benefits to patients beyond those offered by the approved drugs. We believe that tasimelteon is unlikely to be scheduled as a controlled substance by the DEA because Rozerem^tm, which has a similar mechanism of action to tasimelteon, was shown not to have potential for abuse and was not classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance by the DEA. However, despite the fact that the drugs have a similar mechanism of action, our Phase III results have demonstrated that tasimelteon may offer superior sleep maintenance to Rozerem^tm. Tasimelteon also appears to be safe and well-tolerated, with no significant side effects or effects on next-day performance. For patients with circadian rhythm disorders, tasimelteon may be able to align the patient’s sleep/wake cycle with his or her lifestyle, something we believe no approved sleep therapy has demonstrated. For example, in our Phase II trial of tasimelteon in transient insomnia with 37 healthy participants, tasimelteon induced a statistically significant (p<0.025) shift in circadian rhythm of up to five hours on the first night.

 

Overview of Phase III clinical trials

 

In November 2006, we reported positive top-line results in a randomized, double-blind, multi-center, placebo-controlled Phase III trial that enrolled 412 adults in a sleep laboratory setting using a phase-advance, first-night assessment model of induced transient insomnia. The trial examined tasimelteon dosed 30 minutes before bedtime at 20, 50 and 100 milligrams versus placebo.

 

Tasimelteon achieved significant results in multiple endpoints, demonstrating a benefit in both sleep onset, or time to fall asleep, and sleep maintenance, or ability to stay asleep. Based on these trial results, we believe that tasimelteon will compare favorably to efficacy achieved by currently approved insomnia drugs, not only for circadian rhythm sleep disorders but also for other types of insomnia. The Phase III trial also demonstrated that tasimelteon was safe and well-tolerated, with no significant side effects versus placebo and no impairment of next-day performance or mood.

 

In June 2008, we reported positive top-line results in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III trail in chronic primary insomnia that enrolled 324 patients. The trial examined tasimelteon at 20 and 50 milligrams versus placebo over a period of 35 days. The trial measured time to fall asleep and sleep maintenance, as well as next-day performance. We will need to conduct additional Phase III trials of

tasimelteon for the treatment of chronic sleep disorders to receive FDA approval of tasimelteon for the treatment of insomnia.

 

Potential indication for depression

 

We believe that tasimelteon may also be effective in treating depression. Agomelatine, another drug that acts on the brain’s melatonin receptors, has demonstrated efficacy and safety in the treatment of depression that compared favorably to an approved antidepressant, Paxil^® (paroxetine, GSK), in a Phase III trial. While the precise mechanism for the effect of drugs like tasimelteon, agomelatine and Rozerem^tm, which act on the brain’s melatonin receptors, is currently unknown, it is possible that, by improving sleep, these drugs could improve mood, since depressed patients are likely to have sleep disorders. It is also possible that mood disorders such as depression have an association with circadian rhythm misalignments.

 

We believe that tasimelteon will be differentiated from approved antidepressants in several ways. In the Phase III trial of agomelatine described above, agomelatine showed significantly improved mood in two weeks, versus four weeks for Paxil^®. Consequently, tasimelteon may, with its similar properties to agomelatine, offer a more rapid onset of action than approved antidepressants. We believe that tasimelteon should also have an improved side effect profile when compared to approved products because we believe that it should not have the sexual side effects, weight gain, and sleep disruption associated with these products.

 

Tasimelteon is ready for Phase II trials in depression. It has demonstrated an antidepressant effect in animal models and has completed several Phase I trials, including one with four weeks of exposure, showing none of the serious side effects associated with the approved antidepressants.

 

Intellectual property

 

Tasimelteon and its formulations and uses are covered by a total of eleven patent and patent application families worldwide. The primary new chemical entity patent covering tasimelteon expires normally in 2017 in the U.S. and in most European markets. We believe that, like Fanapt^tm, tasimelteon will meet the various criteria of the Hatch-Waxman Act and will receive five additional years of patent protection in the U.S., which would extend its patent protection in the U.S. until 2022. In Europe, data exclusivity will protect tasimelteon for at least ten years from approval. Additional patent applications directed to specific sleep disorders and to methods of administration, if issued, would provide exclusivity for such indications and methods of administration until at least 2026.

 

Our rights to the new chemical entity patent covering tasimelteon and related intellectual property have been acquired through a license with BMS. Please see “License agreements” below for a discussion of this license.

 

License agreements

 

Our rights to develop and commercialize our products and product candidates are subject to the terms and conditions of licenses granted to us by other pharmaceutical companies.

 

Fanapt^tm

 

We acquired exclusive worldwide rights to patents and patent applications for Fanapt^tm through a sublicense agreement with Novartis. A predecessor company of sanofi-aventis, Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc. (HMRI), discovered Fanapt^tm and completed early clinical work on the compound. In 1996, following a review of its product portfolio, HMRI licensed its rights to the Fanapt^tm patents and patent applications to Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Titan) on an exclusive basis. In 1997, soon after it had acquired its rights, Titan sublicensed its rights to Fanapt^tm on an exclusive basis to Novartis. In June 2004, we acquired exclusive worldwide rights to these patents and patent applications as well as certain Novartis patents and patent applications to develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm through a sublicense agreement with Novartis. In partial consideration for this sublicense, we paid Novartis an initial license fee of $0.5 million and were obligated to make future milestone payments to Novartis of less than $100.0 million in the aggregate (the majority of

which were tied to sales milestones), as well as royalty payments to Novartis at a rate which, as a percentage of net sales, was in the mid-twenties. In November 2007, we met a milestone under this sublicense agreement relating to the acceptance of our filing of the NDA for Fanapt^tm for the treatment of schizophrenia and made a corresponding payment of $5.0 million to Novartis. As a result of the FDA’s approval of the NDA for Fanapt^tm, we met an additional milestone under this sublicense agreement which required us to make a payment of $12.0 million to Novartis.

 

On October 12, 2009, we entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis which amended and restated our June 2004 sublicense agreement with Novartis relating to Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis has exclusive commercialization rights to all formulations of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Novartis began selling Fanapt^tm in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2010. Except for two post-approval studies started by us prior to the execution date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement, both of which were substantially completed by December 31, 2009, Novartis is responsible for the further clinical development activities in the U.S. and Canada, including the development of a long-acting injectable (or depot) formulation of Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million and are eligible for additional payments totaling up to $265.0 million upon the achievement of certain commercial and development milestones for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We will also receive royalties, which, as a percentage of net sales, are in the low double-digits, on net sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we will no longer be required to make any future milestone payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm or any future royalty payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We retain exclusive rights to Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada and we will have exclusive rights to use any of Novartis’ data for Fanapt^tm for developing and commercializing Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada. At Novartis’ option, we will enter into good faith discussions with Novartis relating to the co-commercialization of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada or, alternatively, Novartis will receive a royalty on net sales of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada.

 

We may lose our rights to develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada if we fail to comply with certain requirements in the amended and restated sublicense agreement regarding our financial condition, or if we fail to comply with certain diligence obligations regarding our development or commercialization activities or if we otherwise breach the amended and restated sublicense agreement and fail to cure such breach. Our rights to develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada may be impaired if we do not cure breaches by Novartis of similar obligations contained in its sublicense agreement with Titan for Fanapt^tm. We are not aware of any such breach by Novartis. In addition, if Novartis breaches the amended and restated sublicense agreement with respect to its commercialization activities in the U.S. or Canada, we may terminate Novartis’ commercialization rights in the applicable country and we would no longer receive royalty payments from Novartis in connection with such country in the event of such termination.

 

Tasimelteon

 

In February 2004, we entered into a license agreement with BMS under which we received an exclusive worldwide license under certain patents and patent applications, and other licenses to intellectual property, to develop and commercialize tasimelteon. In partial consideration for the license, we paid BMS an initial license fee of $0.5 million. We are also obligated to make future milestone payments to BMS of less than $40.0 million in the aggregate (the majority of which are tied to sales milestones) as well as royalty payments based on the net sales of tasimelteon at a rate which, as a percentage of net sales, is in the low teens. We made a milestone payment to BMS of $1.0 million under this license agreement in 2006 relating to the initiation of our first Phase III clinical trial for tasimelteon. We are also obligated under this agreement to pay BMS a percentage of any sublicense fees, upfront payments and milestone and other payments (excluding royalties) that we receive from a third party in connection with any sublicensing arrangement, at a rate which is in the mid-twenties. We have agreed with BMS in our license agreement for tasimelteon to use our commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize tasimelteon and to meet certain milestones in initiating and completing certain clinical work.

 

BMS holds certain rights with respect to tasimelteon in the license agreement. If we have not agreed to one or more partnering arrangements to develop and commercialize tasimelteon in certain significant markets

with one or more third parties by a certain date, BMS has the option to exclusively develop and commercialize tasimelteon on its own on pre-determined financial terms, including milestone and royalty payments.

 

Either party may terminate the tasimelteon license agreement under certain circumstances, including a material breach of the agreement by the other. In the event that BMS has not exercised its option to reacquire the rights to tasimelteon and we terminate our license, or if BMS terminates our license due to our breach, all rights licensed and developed by us under this agreement will revert or otherwise be licensed back to BMS on an exclusive basis.

 

Government regulation

 

Government authorities in the U.S., at the federal, state and local level, as well as foreign countries and local foreign governments, regulate the research, development, testing, manufacture, labeling, promotion, advertising, distribution, sampling, marketing, import and export of our products. Other than Fanapt^tm in the U.S., all of our compounds will require regulatory approval by government agencies prior to commercialization. In particular, human pharmaceutical products are subject to rigorous pre-clinical and clinical trials and other approval procedures of the FDA and similar regulatory authorities in foreign countries. The process of obtaining these approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate domestic and foreign laws, rules and regulations require the expenditure of significant time and human and financial resources.

 

United States government regulation

 

FDA approval process

 

In the U.S., the FDA regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and implements regulations. If we fail to comply with the applicable requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process, or after approval, we may become subject to administrative or judicial sanctions. These sanctions could include the FDA’s refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawals of approvals, clinical holds, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of our operations, injunctions, fines, civil penalties or criminal prosecution. Any such sanction could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

The steps required before a drug may be marketed in the U.S. include:

 

 

Pre-clinical studies generally are conducted in laboratory animals to evaluate the potential safety and activity of a drug. Violation of the FDA’s cGLP regulations can, in some cases, lead to invalidation of the studies, requiring these studies to be replicated. In the U.S., drug developers submit the results of pre-clinical trials, together with manufacturing information and analytical and stability data, to the FDA as part of the IND, which must become effective before clinical trials can begin in the U.S.. An IND becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions about issues such as the proposed clinical trials outlined in the IND. In that case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding FDA concerns or questions before clinical trials can proceed. If these concerns or questions are unresolved, the FDA may not allow the clinical trials to commence.

Pilot studies generally are conducted in a limited patient population, approximately three to 25 subjects, to determine whether the drug warrants further clinical trials based on preliminary indications of efficacy. These pilot studies may be performed in the U.S. after an IND has become effective or outside of the U.S. prior to the filing of an IND in the U.S. in accordance with government regulations and institutional procedures.

 

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in assessing the safety and the effectiveness of the drug. Each protocol must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND prior to beginning the trial.

 

Typically, clinical evaluation involves a time-consuming and costly three-Phase sequential process, but the phases may overlap. Each trial must be reviewed, approved and conducted under the auspices of an independent Institutional Review Board, and each trial must include the patient’s informed consent.

 

 

Phase I, II and III testing may not be completed successfully within any specified time period, if at all. The FDA closely monitors the progress of each of the three phases of clinical trials that are conducted in the U.S. and may, at its discretion, reevaluate, alter, suspend or terminate the testing based upon the data accumulated to that point and the FDA’s assessment of the risk/benefit ratio to the patient. A clinical program is designed after assessing the causes of the disease, the mechanism of action of the active pharmaceutical ingredient of the drug and all clinical and pre-clinical data of previous trials performed. Typically, the trial design protocols and efficacy endpoints are established in consultation with the FDA. Upon request through a special protocol assessment, the FDA can also provide specific guidance on the acceptability of protocol design for clinical trials. The FDA or we may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time for various reasons, including a finding that the subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. The FDA can also request additional clinical trials be conducted as a condition to drug approval. During all clinical trials, physicians monitor the patients to determine effectiveness and to observe and report any reactions or other safety risks that may result from use of the drug.

 

Assuming successful completion of the required clinical trials, drug developers submit the results of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, together with other detailed information including information on the manufacture and composition of the drug, to the FDA, in the form of an NDA, requesting approval to market the drug for one or more indications. In most cases, the NDA must be accompanied by a substantial user fee.

The FDA reviews an NDA to determine, among other things, whether a drug is safe and effective for its intended use.

 

Before approving an NDA, the FDA will inspect the facility or facilities where the drug is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the application unless cGMP compliance is satisfactory. The FDA will issue an approval letter if it determines that the application, manufacturing process and manufacturing facilities are acceptable. If the FDA determines that the NDA, manufacturing process or manufacturing facilities are not acceptable, it will outline the deficiencies in the submission and will often request additional testing or information. Notwithstanding the submission of any requested additional information, the FDA may ultimately decide that the NDA does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval and refuse to approve the NDA by issuing a “not approvable” letter which is not subsequently withdrawn or reversed by the FDA.

 

The testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and each may take several years to complete. The FDA may not grant approval on a timely basis, or at all. We may encounter difficulties or unanticipated costs in our efforts to secure necessary governmental approvals, which could delay or preclude us from marketing our products and product candidates. Furthermore, the FDA may prevent a drug developer from marketing a drug under a label for its desired indications or place other conditions on distribution as a condition of any approvals, which may impair commercialization of the drug. After approval, some types of changes to the approved drug, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further FDA review and approval. Similar regulatory procedures must also be complied within countries outside the U.S.

 

If the FDA approves the new drug application, the drug becomes available for physicians to prescribe in the U.S. After approval of our products and product candidates, we have to comply with a number of post-approval requirements, including delivering periodic reports to the FDA, submitting descriptions of any adverse reactions reported, and complying with drug sampling and distribution requirements. We also are required to provide updated safety and efficacy information and to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotional labeling. Also, our quality control and manufacturing procedures must continue to conform to cGMP after approval. Drug manufacturers and their subcontractors are required to register their facilities and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA to assess compliance with cGMP which imposes certain procedural and documentation requirements relating to quality assurance and quality control. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMP and other aspects of regulatory compliance. The FDA may require post market testing and surveillance to monitor the drug’s safety or efficacy, including additional studies, known as Phase IV trials, to evaluate long-term effects.

 

In addition to studies requested by the FDA after approval, we may have to conduct other trials and studies to explore use of the approved product for treatment of new indications, which require FDA approval. The purpose of these trials and studies is to broaden the application and use of the product and its acceptance in the medical community.

 

We use, and will continue to use, third-party manufacturers to produce our products and product candidates in clinical and commercial quantities. Future FDA inspections may identify compliance issues at our facilities or at the facilities of our contract manufacturers that may disrupt production or distribution, or require substantial resources to correct. In addition, discovery of problems with a product or the failure to comply with requirements may result in restrictions on a product, manufacturer or holder of an approved NDA, including withdrawal or recall of the product from the market or other voluntary or FDA-initiated action that could delay further marketing. Newly discovered or developed safety or effectiveness data may require changes to a product’s approved labeling, including the addition of new warnings and contraindications.

 

On September 27, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act, or the FDAAA, was enacted into law, amending both the FDC Act and the Public Health Service Act. The FDAAA makes a number of substantive and incremental changes to the review and approval processes in ways that could make it more difficult or costly to obtain approval for new pharmaceutical products, or to produce, market and distribute existing pharmaceutical products. Most significantly, the law changes the FDA’s handling of postmarked drug product safety issues by giving the FDA authority to require post approval studies or clinical

trials, to request that safety information be provided in labeling, or to require an NDA applicant to submit and execute a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS.

 

The FDAAA also reauthorized the authority of the FDA to collect user fees to fund the FDA’s review activities and made certain changes to the user fee provisions to permit the use of user fee revenue to fund the FDA’s drug product safety activities and the review of Direct-to-Consumer advertisements.

 

In addition, new government requirements may be established that could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our products and product candidates under development.

 

The Hatch-Waxman Act

 

In seeking approval for a drug through an NDA, applicants are required to list with the FDA each patent with claims that cover the applicant’s drug. Upon approval of a drug, each of the patents listed in the application for the drug is then published in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book. Drugs listed in the Orange Book can, in turn be cited by potential competitors in support of approval of an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA. An ANDA provides for marketing of a drug that has the same active ingredients in the same strengths and dosage form as the listed drug and has been shown through bioequivalence testing to be therapeutically equivalent to the listed drug. ANDA applicants are not required to conduct or submit results of pre-clinical or clinical tests to prove the safety or effectiveness of their drug, other than the requirement for bioequivalence testing. Drugs approved in this way are commonly referred to as “generic equivalents” to the listed drug, and can often be substituted by pharmacists under prescriptions written for the original listed drug.

 

The ANDA applicant is required to certify to the FDA concerning any patents listed for the approved drug in the FDA’s Orange Book. Specifically, the applicant must certify that: (i) the required patent information has not been filed; (ii) the listed patent has expired; (iii) the listed patent has not expired, but will expire on a particular date and approval is sought after patent expiration; or (iv) the listed patent is invalid or will not be infringed by the new drug. A certification that the new drug will not infringe the already approved drug’s listed patents or that such patents are invalid is called a Paragraph IV certification. If the applicant does not challenge the listed patents, the ANDA application will not be approved until all the listed patents claiming the referenced drug have expired.

 

If the ANDA applicant has provided a Paragraph IV certification to the FDA, the applicant must also send notice of the Paragraph IV certification to the NDA and patent holders once the ANDA has been accepted for filing by the FDA. The NDA and patent holders may then initiate a patent infringement lawsuit in response to the notice of the Paragraph IV certification. The filing of a patent infringement lawsuit within 45 days of the receipt of a Paragraph IV certification automatically prevents the FDA from approving the ANDA until the earlier of 30 months, expiration of the patent, settlement of the lawsuit or a decision in the infringement case that is favorable to the ANDA applicant.

 

The ANDA application also will not be approved until any non-patent exclusivity, such as exclusivity for obtaining approval of a new chemical entity, listed in the Orange Book for the referenced drug has expired. Federal law provides a period of five years following approval of a drug containing no previously approved active ingredients, during which ANDAs for generic versions of those drugs cannot be submitted unless the submission contains a Paragraph IV challenge to a listed patent, in which case the submission may be made four years following the original drug approval. Federal law provides for a period of three years of exclusivity following approval of a listed drug that contains previously approved active ingredients but is approved in a new dosage form, route of administration or combination, or for a new use, the approval of which was required to be supported by new clinical trials conducted by or for the sponsor, during which FDA cannot grant effective approval of an ANDA based on that listed drug.

 

Foreign regulation

 

Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product or product candidate, we must obtain approval by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries before we can commence clinical trials or marketing

of the product or product candidate in those countries. The approval process varies from country to country, and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement also vary greatly from country to country. Although governed by the applicable country, clinical trials conducted outside of the U.S. typically are administered with the three-Phase sequential process that is discussed above under “United States government regulation.” However, the foreign equivalent of an IND is not a prerequisite to performing pilot studies or Phase I clinical trials.

 

Under European Union regulatory systems, we may submit marketing authorization applications either under a centralized or decentralized procedure. The centralized procedure, which is available for drugs produced by biotechnology or which are highly innovative, provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization that is valid for all European Union member states. This authorization is a marketing authorization approval. The decentralized procedure provides for mutual recognition of national approval decisions. Under this procedure, the holder of a national marketing authorization may submit an application to the remaining member states. Within 90 days of receiving the applications and assessment report, each member state must decide whether to recognize approval. This procedure is referred to as the mutual recognition procedure.

 

In addition, regulatory approval of prices is required in most countries other than the U.S. We face the risk that the resulting prices would be insufficient to generate an acceptable return to us or our partners.

 

Third-party reimbursement and pricing controls

 

In the U.S. and elsewhere, sales of pharmaceutical products depend in significant part on the availability of reimbursement to the consumer from third-party payors, such as government and private insurance plans. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services. It will be time consuming and expensive for us or our partners to go through the process of seeking reimbursement from Medicare and private payors. Our compounds may not be considered cost-effective, and coverage and reimbursement may not be available or sufficient to allow us or our partners to sell our compounds on a competitive and profitable basis. The passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 imposes new requirements for the distribution and pricing of prescription drugs which may affect the marketing of our compounds.

 

In many foreign markets, including the countries in the European Union and Japan, pricing of pharmaceutical products is subject to governmental control. In the U.S., there have been, and we expect that there will continue to be, a number of federal and state proposals to implement similar governmental pricing control. While we cannot predict whether such legislative or regulatory proposals will be adopted, the adoption of such proposals could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and profitability.

 

Marketing and sales

 

On October 12, 2009, we entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis. We had originally entered into a sublicense agreement with Novartis on June 4, 2004 pursuant to which we obtained certain worldwide exclusive licenses from Novartis relating to Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis has exclusive commercialization rights to all formulations of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Novartis began selling Fanapt^tm in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2010. Except for two post-approval studies started by us prior to the execution date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement, both of which were substantially completed by December 31, 2009, Novartis is responsible for the further clinical development activities in the U.S. and Canada, including the development of a long-acting injectable (or depot) formulation of Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million and will be eligible for additional payments totaling up to $265.0 million upon the achievement of certain commercial and development milestones for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We will also receive royalties, which, as a percentage of net sales, are in the low double-digits, on net sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we will no longer be required to make any future milestone payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm or any future royalty payments with respect to

sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We retain exclusive rights to Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada and we will have exclusive rights to use any of Novartis’ data for Fanapt^tm for developing and commercializing Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada. At Novartis’ option, we will enter into good faith discussions with Novartis relating to the co-commercialization of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada or, alternatively, Novartis will receive a royalty on net sales of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada. In addition, given the range of potential indications for tasimelteon, we may pursue one or more partnerships for the development and commercialization of tasimelteon worldwide.

 

Patents and proprietary rights; Hatch-Waxman protection

 

We and our partners will be able to protect our compounds from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our compounds are covered by valid and enforceable patents, either licensed in from third parties or generated internally, that give us or our partners sufficient proprietary rights. Accordingly, patents and other proprietary rights are essential elements of our business.

 

Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon are covered by new chemical entity and other patents. These patents cover the active pharmaceutical ingredient and provide patent protection for all formulations containing these active pharmaceutical ingredients. The new chemical entity patent for Fanapt^tm is owned by sanofi-aventis, and other patents and patent applications relating to Fanapt^tm are owned by Novartis. BMS owns the new chemical entity patent for tasimelteon. We originally obtained exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the compounds covered by these patents through license and sublicense arrangements. However, pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis, Novartis obtained exclusive commercialization rights to all formulations of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. For more on these license and sublicense arrangements, please see “License agreements” above. In addition, we have generated intellectual property, and filed patent applications covering this intellectual property, for each of these compounds.

 

The new chemical entity patent covering Fanapt^tm expires normally in 2011 in the U.S. and in 2010 in most European markets. The new chemical entity patent covering tasimelteon expires in 2017 in the U.S. and most European markets. Additionally, for each of our late-stage compounds, an additional period of exclusivity in the U.S. of up to five years following the expiration of the patent covering that compound may be obtained pursuant to the Hatch-Waxman Act. Fanapt^tm will also be eligible for 6 months of additional protection for successfully completing studies in the pediatric population. These studies, for which Novartis is responsible, are required by the FDA approval letter. In Europe, statutes provide for ten years of data exclusivity with the potential for an additional year if the company develops the drug for a significant new indication. No generic versions of Fanapt^tm would be permitted to be marketed or sold during this 10-year (or 11-year) period in most European countries. Consequently, assuming that patent term restoration and pediatric exclusivity are granted by the PTO and FDA and that we receive regulatory approval in Europe, we expect that Novartis’ rights to commercialize Fanapt^tm will be exclusive until May 2017 in the U.S. and for at least 10 years from approval in Europe. Additionally, the U.S. patent application covering the depot formulation of Fanapt^tm, which Novartis will be responsible for, if it is granted, will expire in 2023. Several other patent applications covering metabolites, uses, formulations and genetic markers relating to Fanapt^tm extend beyond 2020.

 

Aside from the new chemical entity patents covering Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon, as of December 31, 2009 we had thirteen pending provisional patent applications in the U.S., nine U.S. national stage applications under U.S.C. 371 and seven pending Patent Cooperation Treaty applications. The claims in these various patents and patent applications are directed to compositions of matter, including claims covering other product candidates, pharmaceutical compositions, genetic markers, and methods of use.

 

For proprietary know-how that is not appropriate for patent protection, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our discovery process that involve proprietary know-how and technology that is not covered by patent applications, we generally rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect our interests. We require all of our employees, consultants and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements. Where it is necessary to share our proprietary information or data with outside parties, our policy is to make available only that information and data required to accomplish the desired purpose and only pursuant to a duty of confidentiality on the part of those parties.

Manufacturing

 

We currently depend on, and expect to continue to depend on, a small number of third-party manufacturers to produce sufficient quantities of our products and product candidates for use in our clinical studies. We are not obligated to obtain our products and product candidates from any particular third-party manufacturer and we believe that we would be able to obtain our products and product candidates from a number of third-party manufacturers at comparable cost.

 

If any of our products or product candidates are approved for commercial use in the future, we plan to rely on third-party contract manufacturers to produce sufficient quantities for large-scale commercialization. If we do enter into commercial manufacturing arrangements with third parties, these third-party manufacturers will be subject to extensive governmental regulation. Specifically, regulatory authorities in the markets which we intend to serve will require that drugs be manufactured, packaged and labeled in conformity with cGMP or equivalent foreign standards. We intend to engage only those contract manufacturers who have the capability to manufacture drugs in compliance with cGMP and other applicable standards in bulk quantities for commercial use.

 

Competition

 

The pharmaceutical industry and the central nervous system segment of that industry, in particular, is highly competitive and includes a number of established large and mid-sized companies with greater financial, technical and personnel resources than we have and significantly greater commercial infrastructures than we have. Our market segment also includes several smaller emerging companies whose activities are directly focused on our target markets and areas of expertise. Our partnered product and if approved in the future, our other compounds, will compete with numerous therapeutic treatments offered by these competitors. While we believe that our compounds will have certain favorable features, existing and new treatments may also possess advantages. Additionally, the development of other drug technologies and methods of disease prevention are occurring at a rapid pace. These developments may render our compounds or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive.

 

We believe the primary competitors for Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon are as follows:

 

 

Our ability to compete successfully will depend in part on our ability to utilize our pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics and drug development expertise to identify, develop, secure rights to and obtain regulatory approvals for promising pharmaceutical compounds before others are able to develop competitive products. Our ability to compete successfully will also depend on our ability to attract and retain skilled and experienced personnel. Additionally, our ability to compete may be affected because insurers and other third-party payors in some cases seek to encourage the use of cheaper, generic products, which could make our compounds less attractive.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2009, we had 20 full-time employees. Of these employees, 11 were primarily engaged in research and development activities. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We have not experienced any work stoppages and consider our employee relations to be good.

 

Corporate information

 

We were incorporated in Delaware in 2002. Our principal executive offices are located at 9605 Medical Center Drive, Suite 300, Rockville, Maryland, 20850 and our telephone number is (240) 599-4500. Our website address is www.vandapharma.com.

 

Available Information

 

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. files annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements, and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). The public may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Also, the SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC. The public can obtain any documents that we file with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

 

We also make available free of charge on our Internet website at www.vandapharma.com our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and, if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

 

Our code of ethics, other corporate policies and procedures, and the charters of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee are available through our Internet website at www.vandapharma.com.

 

 

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this report, including the consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing at the end of this annual report on Form 10-K, with respect to any investment in shares of our common stock. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects would likely be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks related to our business and industry

 

Novartis began selling, marketing and distributing our first approved product, Fanapt^tm, in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2010 and we will depend heavily on the success of this product in the marketplace.

 

Our ability to generate revenue for the next few years will depend substantially on the success of Fanapt^tm and the sales of this product by Novartis in the U.S. and Canada. The ability of Fanapt^tm to generate revenue at the levels we expect will depend on many factors, including the following:

 

 

We have entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis to commercialize Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada and to further develop and commercialize a long-acting injectable (or depot) formulation of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. As such, we will not be involved in the marketing or sales efforts for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Our future revenues depend substantially on royalties and milestone payments we may receive from Novartis. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million and will be eligible for additional payments totaling up to $265.0 million upon Novartis’ achievement of certain commercial and development milestones for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada, which may or may not be achieved or met. We will also receive royalties, which, as a percentage of net sales, are in the low double-digits, on net sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Such royalties may not be significant and will depend on numerous factors. We cannot control the amount and timing of resources that Novartis may devote to Fanapt^tm or the depot formulation of Fanapt^tm. If Novartis fails to successfully commercialize Fanapt^tm in the U.S., fails to develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm in Canada or further develop a long-acting injectable (or depot) formulation of Fanapt^tm, if Novartis’ efforts are not effective, or if Novartis focuses its efforts on other schizophrenia therapies or schizophrenia drug candidates, our business will be negatively affected. If Novartis does not successfully commercialize Fanapt^tm in the U.S. or Canada, we will receive limited revenues from them.

Although we have developed and continue to develop additional products and product candidates for commercial introduction, we expect to be substantially dependent on sales from Fanapt^tm for the foreseeable future. For reasons outside of our control, including those mentioned above, sales of Fanapt^tm may not meet our expectations. Any significant negative developments relating to Fanapt^tm, such as safety or efficacy issues, the introduction or greater acceptance of competing products or adverse regulatory or legislative developments, will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

 

If our compounds are determined to be unsafe or ineffective in humans, whether commercially or in clinical trials, our business will be materially harmed.

 

Despite the FDA’s approval of the NDA for Fanapt^tm and the positive results of our completed trials for Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon, we are uncertain whether either of these products will ultimately prove to be effective and safe in humans. Frequently, products that have shown promising results in clinical trials have suffered significant setbacks in later clinical trials or even after they are approved for commercial sale. Future uses of our compounds, whether in clinical trials or commercially, may reveal that the product is ineffective, unacceptably toxic, has other undesirable side effects, is difficult to manufacture on a large scale, is uneconomical, infringes on proprietary rights of another party or is otherwise not fit for further use. If our compounds are determined to be unsafe or ineffective in humans, our business will be materially harmed.

 

Clinical trials for our compounds are expensive and their outcomes are uncertain. Any failure or delay in completing clinical trials for our compounds could severely harm our business.

 

Pre-clinical studies and clinical trials required to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our compounds are time-consuming and expensive and together take several years to complete. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any of our compounds, we or our partners must demonstrate through preclinical testing and clinical trials that such compound is safe and effective for use in humans. We have incurred, and we will continue to incur, substantial expense for, and devote a significant amount of time to, preclinical testing and clinical trials.

 

Historically, the results from preclinical testing and early clinical trials often have not predicted results of later clinical trials. A number of new drugs have shown promising results in clinical trials, but subsequently failed to establish sufficient safety and efficacy data to obtain necessary regulatory approvals. Clinical trials conducted by us, by our partners or by third parties on our or our partners’ behalf may not demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals for our compounds. Regulatory authorities may not permit us or our partners to undertake any additional clinical trials for our compounds, and it may be difficult to design efficacy studies for our compounds in new indications.

 

Clinical development efforts performed by us or our partners may not be successfully completed. Completion of clinical trials may take several years or more. The length of time can vary substantially with the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of the compounds. The commencement and rate of completion of clinical trials for our compounds may be delayed by many factors, including:

 

 

If we or our partners fail to complete successfully one or more clinical trials for our compounds, we or they may not receive the regulatory approvals needed to market that compound. Therefore, any failure or delay in commencing or completing these clinical trials would harm our business materially.

 

We and our partners face heavy government regulation. FDA regulatory approval of our compounds is uncertain and we and our partners are continually at risk of the FDA requiring us or them to discontinue marketing any compounds that have obtained, or in the future may obtain, regulatory approval.

 

The research, testing, manufacturing and marketing of compounds such as those that we have developed or we or in regard to partnered products, our partners, are developing are subject to extensive regulation by federal, state and local government authorities, including the FDA. To obtain regulatory approval of such compounds, we or our partners must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the applicable regulatory agency that, among other things, the compound is safe and effective for its intended use. In addition, we or our partners must show that the manufacturing facilities used to produce such compounds are in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices regulations or cGMP.

 

The process of obtaining FDA and other required regulatory approvals and clearances can take many years and will require us and, in the case of partnered products, our partners to expend substantial time and capital. Despite the time and expense expended, regulatory approval is never guaranteed. The number of pre-clinical and clinical trials that will be required for FDA approval varies depending on the compound, the disease or condition that the compound is in development for, and the requirements applicable to that particular compound. The FDA can delay, limit or deny approval of a compound for many reasons, including that:

 

 

For example, if certain of our or our partners’ methods for analyzing trial data are not accepted by the FDA, we or our partners may fail to obtain regulatory approval for our compounds.

 

Moreover, the marketing, distribution and manufacture of approved products remain subject to extensive ongoing regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could result in, among other things:

 

 

 

Any delay or failure to obtain regulatory approvals for our compounds will result in increased costs, could diminish competitive advantages that we may attain and would adversely affect the marketing of our compounds. Other than Fanapt^tm in the U.S., which is being marketed and sold by Novartis, we have not received regulatory approval to market any of our compounds in any jurisdiction.

 

Even following regulatory approval of our compounds, the FDA may impose limitations on the indicated uses for which such compounds may be marketed, subsequently withdraw approval or take other actions against us, our partners or such compounds that are adverse to our business. The FDA generally approves drugs for particular indications. An approval for a more limited indication reduces the size of the potential market for the product. Product approvals, once granted, may be withdrawn if problems occur after initial marketing.

 

We and our partners also are subject to numerous federal, state and local laws, regulations and recommendations relating to safe working conditions, laboratory and manufacturing practices, the environment and the use and disposal of hazardous substances used in connection with discovery, research and development work. In addition, we cannot predict the extent to which new governmental regulations might significantly impede the discovery, development, production and marketing of our compounds. We or our partners may be required to incur significant costs to comply with current or future laws or regulations, and we may be adversely affected by the cost of such compliance.

 

We intend to seek regulatory approvals for our compounds in foreign jurisdictions, but we may not obtain any such approvals.

 

Pursuant to our amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis, we retained the right to develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada. We intend to market our compounds outside the U.S. and Canada with one or more commercial partners. In order to market our compounds in foreign jurisdictions, we may be required to obtain separate regulatory approvals and to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The approval procedure varies among countries and jurisdictions and can involve additional trials, and the time required to obtain approval may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. We have no experience obtaining any such foreign approvals. Additionally, the foreign regulatory approval process may include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. For all of these reasons, we may not obtain foreign regulatory approvals on a timely basis, if at all. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions, and approval by one foreign regulatory authority does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or jurisdictions or by the FDA. We may not be able to file for regulatory approvals and may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our compounds in any market. The failure to obtain these approvals could harm our business materially.

 

Our compounds may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or limit their marketability.

 

Undesirable side effects caused by our compounds could interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in the denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications, and in turn prevent us or our partners from commercializing or continuing the commercialization of such compounds and generating revenues from their sale. We and our partners, as applicable, will continue to assess the side effect profile of our compounds in ongoing clinical development programs. However, we cannot predict whether the commercial use of our approved compounds (or our compounds in development, if and when they are approved for commercial use) will produce undesirable or unintended side effects that have not been evident in the use of, or in clinical trials conducted for, such compounds to date. Additionally, incidents of product misuse may occur. These events, among others, could result in product recalls, product liability actions or withdrawals or additional regulatory controls, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, if after receiving marketing approval of a compound, we, our partners or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such compound, we or our partners could face one or more of the following:

 

 

Any of these events could prevent us or our partners from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected compound or could substantially increase the costs and expenses of commercializing the compound, which in turn could delay or prevent us from generating significant revenues from its sale.

 

Even after we or our partners obtain regulatory approvals of a product, acceptance of such compound in the marketplace is uncertain and failure to achieve market acceptance will prevent or delay our ability to generate revenues.

 

Even after obtaining regulatory approvals for the sale of our compounds, the commercial success of these compounds will depend, among other things, on their acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and other members of the medical community as a therapeutic and cost-effective alternative to competing products and treatments. The degree of market acceptance of any compound will depend on a number of factors, including the demonstration of its safety and efficacy, its cost-effectiveness, its potential advantages over other therapies, the reimbursement policies of government and third-party payors with respect to such compound, our ability to attract corporate partners, including pharmaceutical companies, to assist in commercializing our compounds, receipt of regulatory clearance of marketing claims for the uses that we or our partners are developing and the effectiveness of our and our partners’ marketing and distribution capabilities. If our approved compounds fail to gain market acceptance, we may be unable to earn sufficient revenue to continue our business. If our approved compounds do not become widely accepted by physicians, patients, third-party payors and other members of the medical community, it is unlikely that we will ever become profitable.

 

If we fail to obtain the capital necessary to fund our research and development activities and commercialization efforts, we may be unable to continue operations or we may be forced to share our rights to commercialize our products and product candidates with third parties on terms that may not be attractive to us.

 

Our activities will necessitate significant uses of working capital throughout 2010 and beyond. As of December 31, 2009, we had cash of approximately $205.3 million. Our long term capital requirements are expected to depend on many factors, including, among others:

 

 

 

We expect to receive royalty payments and hope to receive milestone payments relating to Fanapt^tm in connection with our amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis. However, if Fanapt^tm is not as commercially successful as we expect and we do not receive such payments, we may need to raise additional capital to fund our anticipated operating expenses and execute on our business plans. In our capital-raising efforts, we may seek to sell debt securities or additional equity securities or obtain a bank credit facility, or enter into partnerships or other collaboration agreements. The sale of additional equity or debt securities, if convertible, could result in dilution to our stockholders and may also result in a lower price for our common stock. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could also result in covenants that could restrict our operations. However, given the current global economic climate, we may have more difficulty raising funds than we would during a period of economic stability, and we may not be able to raise additional funds on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to secure sufficient capital to fund our activities, we may not be able to continue operations, or we may have to enter into partnerships or other collaboration agreements that could require us to share commercial rights to our products to a greater extent or at earlier stages in the drug development process than is currently intended. These partnerships or collaborations, if consummated prior to proof-of-efficacy or safety of a given product, could impair our ability to realize value from that product. If additional financing is not available when required or is not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our operations and planned growth, develop or enhance our technologies or products, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive market pressures, any of which would materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We have a history of operating losses, anticipate future losses and may never become profitable on a sustained basis.

 

We have a limited operating history. As of December 31, 2009, we have accumulated net losses of approximately $260.8 million. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability largely depends on Novartis’ ability to successfully commercialize Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada and upon our ability, alone or with others, to complete the development of our products or product candidates, obtain the regulatory approvals and manufacture, market and sell our products and product candidates. We and our partners may be unable to achieve these goals.

 

Although we have generated some licensing-related and other revenue to date and have received an upfront payment of $200.0 million pursuant to our amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis, as well as product revenue of $2.0 million from the sale of our finished product to Novartis, we have not generated any revenue from the commercial sale of our compounds and we cannot estimate with precision the extent of our future losses. We have been engaged in identifying and developing compounds since March 2003, which has required, and will continue to require, significant research and development expenditures. This relatively limited operating history may not be adequate to enable you to fully assess our ability to develop and commercialize our technologies and compounds, obtain FDA or other regulatory approvals and achieve market acceptance of our compounds and respond to competition.

 

A major component of our revenue for the foreseeable future will depend on Novartis’ and our ability to sell Fanapt^tm. Fanapt^tm may not be as commercially successful as we expect, Novartis may not succeed in commercializing Fanapt^tm in the U.S., developing and commercializing Fanapt^tm in Canada and we may not succeed in commercializing Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we may not succeed in

commercializing any other compounds. We cannot assure you that we will be profitable even if our compounds are successfully commercialized. We may be unable to fully develop, obtain regulatory approval for, commercialize, manufacture, market, sell and derive revenue from our compounds in the timeframes we project, if at all, and our inability to do so would materially and adversely impact the market price of our common stock and our ability to raise capital and continue operations.

 

There can be no assurance that we will achieve sustained profitability. Our ability to achieve sustained profitability in the future depends, in part, upon:

 

 

In addition, the amount we spend will impact our profitability. Our spending will depend, in part, upon:

 

 

We may not achieve all or any of these goals and, thus, we cannot provide assurances that we will ever be profitable on a sustained basis or achieve significant revenues. Even if we do achieve some or all of these goals, we may not achieve significant or sustained commercial success.

 

If our contract research organizations do not successfully carry out their duties or if we lose our relationships with contract research organizations, our drug development efforts could be delayed.

 

Our arrangements with contract research organizations are critical to our success in bringing our products and product candidates to the market and promoting such marketed products profitably. We are dependent on

contract research organizations, third-party vendors and investigators for pre-clinical testing and clinical trials related to our drug discovery and development efforts and we will likely continue to depend on them to assist in our future discovery and development efforts. These parties are not our employees and we cannot control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our programs. As such, they may not complete activities on schedule or may not conduct our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols. The parties with which we contract for execution of our clinical trials play a significant role in the conduct of the trials and the subsequent collection and analysis of data. If they fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our drug development programs or if their performance is substandard, it will delay the development, approval and commercialization of our products and product candidates. Moreover, these parties may also have relationships with other commercial entities, some of which may compete with us. If they assist our competitors, it could harm our competitive position.

 

Our contract research organizations could merge with or be acquired by other companies or experience financial or other setbacks unrelated to our collaboration that could, nevertheless, materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

If we lose our relationship with any one or more of these parties, we could experience a significant delay in both identifying another comparable provider and then contracting for its services. We may be unable to retain an alternative provider on reasonable terms, if at all. Even if we locate an alternative provider, it is likely that this provider may need additional time to respond to our needs and may not provide the same type or level of service as the original provider. In addition, any provider that we retain will be subject to current Good Laboratory Practices or cGLP, and similar foreign standards and we do not have control over compliance with these regulations by these providers. Consequently, if these practices and standards are not adhered to by these providers, the development and commercialization of our products or product candidates could be delayed.

 

We rely on a limited number of third party manufacturers to formulate and manufacture our products and product candidates and our business will be seriously harmed if these manufacturers are not able to satisfy our demand and alternative sources are not available.

 

Our expertise is primarily in the research and development and pre-clinical and clinical trial phases of product development. We do not have an in-house manufacturing capability and depend completely on a small number of third-party manufacturers and active pharmaceutical ingredient formulators for the manufacture of our products and product candidates. Therefore, we are dependent on third parties for our formulation development and manufacturing of our products and product candidates. This may expose us to the risk of not being able to directly oversee the production and quality of the manufacturing process and provide ample commercial supplies to successfully launch and maintain the marketing of our products and product candidates. Furthermore, these third party contractors, whether foreign or domestic, may experience regulatory compliance difficulty, mechanical shut downs, employee strikes, or other unforeseeable events that may delay or limit production. Our inability to adequately establish, supervise and conduct (either ourselves or through third parties) all aspects of the formulation and manufacturing processes would have a material adverse effect on our ability to develop and commercialize our products and product candidates.

 

We do not have long-term agreements with any of these third parties, and if they are unable or unwilling to perform for any reason, we may not be able to locate alternative acceptable manufacturers or formulators or enter into favorable agreements with them. Any inability to acquire sufficient quantities of our products or product candidates in a timely manner from these third parties could adversely affect sales of our products, delay clinical trials and prevent us from developing our products and product candidates in a cost-effective manner or on a timely basis. In addition, manufacturers of our products and product candidates are subject to cGMP and similar foreign standards and we do not have control over compliance with these regulations by our manufacturers. If one of our contract manufacturers fails to maintain compliance, the production of our products or product candidates could be interrupted, resulting in delays and additional costs. In addition, if the facilities of such manufacturers do not pass a pre-approval or post-approval plant inspection, the FDA will not grant approval and may institute restrictions on the marketing or sale of our products or product candidates.

Our manufacturing strategy presents the following additional risks:

 

 

Materials necessary to manufacture our compounds may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, which may delay the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our compounds.

 

We and our partners rely on manufacturers to purchase from third-party suppliers the materials necessary to produce our compounds for our clinical trials and commercialization. Suppliers may not sell these materials to such manufacturers at the times we or our partners need them or on commercially reasonable terms. We do not have any control over the process or timing of the acquisition of these materials by these manufacturers. Moreover, we currently do not have any agreements for the commercial production of these materials. If the manufacturers are unable to obtain these materials for our or our partners’ clinical trials, product testing, potential regulatory approval of our compounds and commercial scale manufacturing could be delayed, significantly affecting our and our partners’ ability to further develop and commercialize our compounds. If we, our manufacturers or, in the case of our partnered products, our partners are unable to purchase these materials for our products or partnered products, as applicable, there would be a shortage in supply or the commercial launch of such products or partnered products would be delayed, which would materially affect our or our partners’ ability to generate revenues from the sale of such products or partnered products.

 

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

 

Our future success will depend on our or our partners’ ability to demonstrate and maintain a competitive advantage with respect to our compounds and our ability to identify and develop additional products or product candidates through the application of our pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics expertise. Large, fully integrated pharmaceutical companies, either alone or together with collaborative partners, have substantially greater financial resources and have significantly greater experience than we do in:

 

 

These companies may invest heavily and quickly to discover and develop novel products that could make our compounds obsolete. Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection, receiving FDA approval or commercializing superior products or other competing products before we do. Technological developments or the FDA’s approval of new therapeutic indications for existing products may make our compounds obsolete or may make them more difficult to market successfully, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

Fanapt^tm, and our other compounds, if successfully developed and approved for commercial sale, will compete with a number of drugs and therapies currently manufactured and marketed by major pharmaceutical and other biotechnology companies. Our compounds may also compete with new products currently under development by others or with products which may cost less than our compounds. Physicians, patients, third party payors and the medical community may not accept or utilize any of our compounds that may be approved. If Fanapt^tm (and our other compounds, if and when approved) do not achieve significant market

acceptance, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially adversely affected. We believe the primary competitors for Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon are as follows:

 

 

Additionally, our ability to compete may be affected because insurers and other third-party payors in some cases seek to encourage the use of cheaper, generic products, which could make our compounds less attractive.

 

We have no experience selling, marketing or distributing products and no internal capability to do so, which may make commercializing our products and product candidates difficult.

 

At present, we have no marketing experience or sales capabilities. Therefore, in order for us to commercialize Fanapt^tm, outside the U.S. and Canada, or our other compounds, we must either acquire or internally develop sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, or enter into collaborations with partners to perform these services for us. We may, in some instances, rely significantly on sales, marketing and distribution arrangements with our collaborative partners and other third parties. For example, we rely completely on Novartis to market, sell and distribute Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada and our future revenues are materially dependent on the success of the efforts of Novartis.

 

For the commercialization of Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada or our other compounds, we may not be able to establish sales and distribution partnerships on acceptable terms or at all, and if we do enter into a distribution arrangement, our success will be materially dependent upon the performance of our partner. In the event that we attempt to acquire or develop our own in-house sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our products and product candidates without partners or licensees include:

 

 

 

The cost of establishing and maintaining a sales, marketing and distribution organization may exceed its cost effectiveness. If we fail to develop sales and marketing capabilities, if sales efforts are not effective or if costs of developing sales and marketing capabilities exceed their cost effectiveness, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

 

If we cannot identify, or enter into licensing arrangements for, new products or product candidates, our ability to develop a diverse product portfolio will be limited.

 

A component of our business strategy is acquiring rights to develop and commercialize compounds discovered or developed by other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for which we may find effective uses and markets through our unique pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics expertise. Competition for the acquisition of these compounds is intense. If we are not able to identify opportunities to acquire rights to commercialize additional products or product candidates, we may not be able to develop a diverse portfolio of products and product candidates and our business may be harmed. Additionally, it may take substantial human and financial resources to secure commercial rights to promising products or product candidates. Moreover, if other firms develop pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics capabilities, we may face increased competition in identifying and acquiring additional products or product candidates.

 

We may not be successful in the development of products for our own account.

 

In addition to our business strategy of acquiring rights to develop and commercialize products and product candidates, we may develop products and product candidates for our own account by applying our technologies to off-patent drugs as well as developing our own proprietary molecules. Because we will be funding the development of such programs, there is a risk that we may not be able to continue to fund all such programs to completion or to provide the support necessary to perform the clinical trials, obtain regulatory approvals or market any approved products. We expect the development of products for our own account to consume substantial resources. If we are able to develop commercial products on our own, the risks associated with these programs may be greater than those associated with our programs with collaborative partners.

 

If we lose key scientists or management personnel, or if we fail to recruit additional highly skilled personnel, it will impair our ability to identify, develop and commercialize products.

 

We are highly dependent on principal members of our management team and scientific staff, including our Chief Executive Officer, Mihael H. Polymeropoulos, M.D. These executives each have significant pharmaceutical industry experience. The loss of any such executives, including Dr. Polymeropoulos, or any other principal member of our management team or scientific staff, would impair our ability to identify, develop and market new products. Our management and other employees may voluntarily terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss of the services of these or other key personnel, or the inability to attract and retain additional qualified personnel, could result in delays to development or approval, loss of sales and diversion of management resources. In addition, we depend on our ability to attract and retain other highly skilled personnel, including research scientists. Competition for qualified personnel is intense, and the process of hiring and integrating such qualified personnel is often lengthy. We may be unable to recruit such personnel on a timely basis, if at all, which would negatively impact our development and commercialization programs.

 

Additionally, we do not currently maintain “key person” life insurance on the lives of our executives or any of our employees. This lack of insurance means that we may not have adequate compensation for the loss of the services of these individuals.

Product liability lawsuits could divert our resources, result in substantial liabilities and reduce the commercial potential of our compounds.

 

The risk that we may be sued on product liability claims is inherent in the development and sale of pharmaceutical products. For example, we face a risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our products and product candidates in clinical trials and will face even greater risks upon commercialization by us or our partners of our compounds. We believe that we may be at a greater risk of product liability claims relative to other pharmaceutical companies because our compounds are intended to treat behavioral disorders, and it is possible that we may be held liable for the behavior and actions of patients who use our compounds. These lawsuits may divert our management from pursuing our business strategy and may be costly to defend. In addition, if we are held liable in any of these lawsuits, we may incur substantial liabilities and we or our partners may be forced to limit or forego further commercialization of one or more of our compounds. Although we maintain product liability insurance, our aggregate coverage limit under this insurance is $10.0 million, and while we believe this amount of insurance is sufficient to cover our product liability exposure, these limits may not be high enough to fully cover potential liabilities. As our development activities and commercialization efforts progress and we and our partners sell our compounds, this coverage may be inadequate, we may be unable to obtain adequate coverage at an acceptable cost or we may be unable to get adequate coverage at all or our insurer may disclaim coverage as to a future claim. This could prevent the commercialization or limit the commercial potential of our compounds. Even if we are able to maintain insurance that we believe is adequate, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected by a product liability claim. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of products liability litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace. Product liability litigation and other related proceedings may also require significant management time.

 

Legislative or regulatory reform of the healthcare system in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions may affect our or our partners’ ability to sell our products or partnered products profitably.

 

The continuing efforts of the U.S. and foreign governments, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of health care services to contain or reduce health care costs may adversely affect our or our partners’ ability to set prices for our products or partnered products which we or our partners believe are fair, and our ability to generate revenues and achieve and maintain profitability.

 

Specifically, in both the U.S. and some foreign jurisdictions there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect our or our partners’ ability to sell our products or partnered products profitably. In the U.S., the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 reformed the way Medicare covered and provided reimbursement for pharmaceutical products. This legislation could decrease the coverage and price that we or our partners may receive for our products or partnered products. Other third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services. It will be time-consuming and expensive for us or our partners to go through the process of seeking reimbursement from Medicare and private payors. Our products or partnered products may not be considered cost effective, and coverage and reimbursement may not be available or sufficient to allow the sale of such products on a competitive and profitable basis. Further federal and state proposals and healthcare reforms are likely which could limit the prices that can be charged for the drugs we develop and may further limit our commercial opportunity. Our results of operations could be materially adversely affected by the Medicare prescription drug coverage legislation, by the possible effect of this legislation on amounts that private insurers will pay and by other healthcare reforms that may be enacted or adopted in the future.

 

In some foreign countries, including major markets in the European Union and Japan, the pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is subject to governmental control. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take nine to twelve months or longer after the receipt of regulatory marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of our product to other available therapies. Our

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

 

Our business is subject to extensive governmental regulation and oversight and changes in laws could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

 

Our business is subject to extensive government regulation and oversight. As a result, we may become subject to governmental actions which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, including:

 

 

In addition, the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 or the FDAAA included new authorization for the FDA to require post-market safety monitoring, along with a clinical trials registry, and expanded authority for the FDA to impose civil monetary penalties on companies that fail to meet certain commitments. The amendments among other things, require some new drug applicants to submit risk evaluation and minimization strategies to monitor and address potential safety issues for products upon approval, grant the FDA the authority to impose risk management measures for marketed products and to mandate labeling changes in certain circumstances, and establish new requirements for disclosing the results of clinical trials. Companies that violate the law are subject to substantial civil monetary penalties. Additional measures have also been enacted to address the perceived shortcomings in the FDA’s handling of drug safety issues, and to limit pharmaceutical company sales and promotional practices. While we expect the FDAAA to have a substantial effect on the pharmaceutical industry, the extent of that effect is not yet known. As the FDA issues regulations, guidance and interpretations relating to the new legislation, the impact on the industry as well as our business will become clearer. The requirements and other changes that the FDAAA imposes may make it more difficult, and likely more costly, to obtain approval of new pharmaceutical products and to produce, market and distribute existing products. Our and our partners’ ability to commercialize approved products successfully may be hindered, and our business may be harmed as a result.

 

Failure to comply with government regulations regarding the sale and marketing of our products or partnered products could harm our business.

 

Our and our partners’ activities, including the sale and marketing of our products or partnered products, are subject to extensive government regulation and oversight, including regulation under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other federal and state statutes. We are also subject to the provisions of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and several similar state laws, which prohibit payments intended to induce physicians or others either to purchase or arrange for or recommend the purchase of healthcare products or services. While the federal law applies only to products or services for which payment may be made by a federal healthcare program, state laws may apply regardless of whether federal funds may be involved. These laws constrain the sales, marketing and other promotional activities of manufacturers of drugs and biologicals, such as us, by limiting the kinds of financial arrangements, including sales programs, with hospitals, physicians, and other potential purchasers of drugs and biologicals. Other federal and state laws generally prohibit individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other third party payors that are false or fraudulent, or are for items or services that were not provided as claimed. Anti-kickback and false claims laws prescribe civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance that can be substantial, including the possibility of exclusion from federal healthcare programs (including Medicare and Medicaid).

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been the target of lawsuits and investigations alleging violations of government regulation, including claims asserting antitrust violations, violations of the Federal False Claim Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Prescription Drug Marketing Act and other violations in connection with off-label promotion of products and Medicare and/or Medicaid reimbursement or related to environmental matters and claims under state laws, including state anti-kickback and fraud laws.

 

While we continually strive to comply with these complex requirements, interpretations of the applicability of these laws to marketing practices are ever evolving. If any such actions are instituted against us or our partners and we or they are not successful in defending such actions or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant and material impact on our business, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions. Even an unsuccessful challenge could cause adverse publicity and be costly to respond to, and thus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

Future transactions may harm our business or the market price of our stock.

 

We regularly review potential transactions related to technologies, products or product rights and businesses complementary to our business. These transactions could include:

 

 

We may choose to enter into one or more of these transactions at any time, which may cause substantial fluctuations in the market price of our stock. Moreover, depending upon the nature of any transaction, we may experience a charge to earnings, which could also materially adversely affect our results of operations and could harm the market price of our stock.

 

We may undertake strategic acquisitions in the future, and difficulties integrating such acquisitions could damage our ability to achieve or sustain profitability.

 

Although we have no experience in acquiring businesses, we may acquire businesses that complement or augment our existing business. If we acquire businesses with promising product candidates or technologies, we may not be able to realize the benefit of acquiring such businesses if we are unable to move one or more products or product candidates through preclinical and/or clinical development to regulatory approval and commercialization. Integrating any newly acquired businesses or technologies could be expensive and time-consuming, resulting in the diversion of resources from our current business. We may not be able to integrate any acquired business successfully. We cannot assure you that, following an acquisition, we will achieve revenues, specific net income or loss levels that justify the acquisition or that the acquisition will result in increased earnings, or reduced losses, for the combined company in any future period. Moreover, we may need to raise additional funds through public or private debt or equity financing to acquire any businesses, which would result in dilution for stockholders or the incurrence of indebtedness. We may not be able to operate acquired businesses profitably or otherwise implement our growth strategy successfully.

 

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly.

 

Our operating results will continue to be subject to quarterly fluctuations. The revenues we generate, if any, and our operating results will be affected by numerous factors, including:

 

 

 

If our quarterly operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Furthermore, any quarterly fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate substantially. We believe that quarterly comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of our future performance.

 

Risks related to intellectual property and other legal matters

 

Our rights to develop and commercialize our product and, product candidates are subject in part to the terms and conditions of licenses or sublicenses granted to us by other pharmaceutical companies. With respect to tasimelteon, these terms and conditions include an option in favor of the licensor to reacquire rights to commercialize and develop this product in certain circumstances.

 

Fanapt^tm (iloperidone) is based in part on patents and other intellectual property owned by sanofi-aventis and Novartis. Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Titan) holds an exclusive license from sanofi-aventis to the intellectual property owned by sanofi-aventis, and Titan has sublicensed its rights under such license on an exclusive basis to Novartis. We acquired exclusive rights to this and other intellectual property through a further sublicense from Novartis. The sublicense with Novartis was amended and restated in October of 2009 to provide Novartis with exclusive rights to commercialize Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada and further develop and commercialize a long — acting injectable or depot formulation of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We retained exclusive rights to Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada and we will have exclusive rights to use any of Novartis’ data for Fanapt^tm for developing and commercializing Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada. At Novartis’ option, we will enter into good faith discussions with Novartis relating to the co-commercialization of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada or, alternatively, Novartis will receive a royalty on net sales of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada. We may lose our rights to develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada if we fail to comply with certain requirements in the amended and restated sublicense agreement regarding our financial condition, or if we fail to comply with certain diligence obligations regarding our development or commercialization activities or if we otherwise breach the amended and restated sublicense agreement and fail to cure such breach. Our rights to develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada may be impaired if we do not cure breaches by Novartis of similar obligations contained in its sublicense agreement with Titan, although we are not aware of any such breach by Novartis. Our loss of rights in Fanapt^tm to Novartis would have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, if Novartis breaches the amended and restated sublicense agreement with respect to its commercialization activities in the U.S. or Canada, we may terminate Novartis’ commercialization rights in the applicable country. We would no longer receive royalty payments from Novartis in connection with such country in the event of such termination.

 

Tasimelteon is based in part on patents that we have licensed on an exclusive basis and other intellectual property licensed from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS). BMS holds certain rights with respect to tasimelteon in the license agreement. If we have not agreed to one or more partnering arrangements to develop and commercialize tasimelteon in certain significant markets with one or more third parties by a certain date,

BMS has the option to exclusively develop and commercialize tasimelteon on its own on pre-determined financial terms, including milestone and royalty payments. BMS may terminate our license if we fail to meet certain milestones or if we otherwise breach our royalty or other obligations in the agreement. In the event that we terminate our license, or if BMS terminates our license due to our breach, all of our rights to tasimelteon (including any intellectual property we develop with respect to tasimelteon) will revert back to BMS or otherwise be licensed back to BMS on an exclusive basis. Any termination or reversion of our rights to develop or commercialize tasimelteon, including any reacquisition by BMS of our rights, may have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

If our efforts to protect the proprietary nature of the intellectual property related to our compounds are not adequate, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

 

In addition to the rights we have licensed from Novartis and BMS relating to our compounds, we rely upon intellectual property we own relating to these compounds, including patents, patent applications and trade secrets. As of December 31, 2009 we had thirteen pending provisional patent applications in the U.S., nine U.S. national stage applications under U.S.C. 371 and seven pending Patent Cooperation Treaty applications, which permit the pursuit of patents outside of the U.S., relating to our compounds in clinical development. Our patent applications may be challenged or fail to result in issued patents and our existing or future patents may be too narrow to prevent third parties from developing or designing around these patents. In addition, we generally rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect certain proprietary know-how that is not patentable, for processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and for any other elements of our drug development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information and technology that is not covered by patent applications. While we require all of our employees, consultants, advisors and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information and technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot be certain that this know-how, information and technology will not be disclosed or that competitors will not 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 as the laws of the U.S. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the U.S. and abroad. If we are unable to protect or defend the intellectual property related to our technologies, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market.

 

If we do not obtain protection under the Hatch-Waxman Act and similar foreign legislation to extend our patents and to obtain market exclusivity for our products and partnered products, our business will be materially harmed.

 

The United States Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, more commonly known as the “Hatch-Waxman Act,” provides for an extension of patent term for drugs for a period of up to five years to compensate for time spent in development. Assuming we gain a five-year patent term restoration for tasimelteon, and that we continue to have rights under our license agreement with respect to this product, we would have exclusive rights to tasimelteon’s U.S. “new chemical entity” patent (the primary patent covering the compound as a new composition of matter) until 2022. During the second quarter of 2009, we submitted to the PTO our application to extend the term of our patent relating to Fanapt^tm under the Hatch-Waxman Act. As of this time, the PTO has preliminarily determined that the patent is eligible for patent term restoration under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Assuming we gain a five-year extension for Fanapt^tm, pursuant to the terms and conditions of our amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis would have the benefit of exclusive rights to the new chemical entity patent until 2016, with a further six months of pediatric exclusivity. A directive in the European Union provides that companies that receive regulatory approval for a new compound will have a 10-year period of market exclusivity for that compound (with the possibility of a further one-year extension) in most countries in Europe, beginning on the date of such European regulatory approval, regardless of when the European new chemical entity patent covering such compound expires. A generic version of the approved drug may not be marketed or sold in Europe during such market exclusivity period. This directive may be of particular importance with respect to Fanapt^tm, since the European new chemical entity patent for Fanapt^tm will expire prior to the end of this 10-year period of market exclusivity.

However, there is no assurance that we will receive the extensions of our patents or other exclusive rights available under the Hatch-Waxman Act or similar foreign legislation. If we fail to receive such extensions and exclusive rights, our ability or our partners’ ability to prevent competitors from manufacturing, marketing and selling generic versions of our products or partnered products will be materially impaired.

 

Litigation or third-party claims of intellectual property infringement could require us to divert resources and may prevent or delay our drug discovery and development efforts.

 

Our commercial success depends in part on our not infringing the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. Furthermore, parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to develop and commercialize one or more of our products. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would divert substantial financial and employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, obtain one or more licenses from third parties or pay royalties. In addition, even in the absence of litigation, we may need to obtain additional licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our products. 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 develop and commercialize further one or more of our products.

 

In addition, in the future we could be required to initiate litigation to enforce our proprietary rights against infringement by third parties. Prosecution of these claims to enforce our rights against others could divert substantial financial and employee resources from our business. If we fail to enforce our proprietary rights against others, our business will be harmed.

 

If we use hazardous and biological materials in a manner that causes injury or violates applicable law, we may be liable for damages.

 

Our research, development and commercialization activities involve the controlled use of potentially hazardous substances, including toxic chemical and biological materials. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of such materials comply with state and federal standards, there will always be the risk of contamination, injury or other damages resulting from these hazardous substances. If we were to become liable for an accident, or if we or our partners were to suffer an extended facility shutdown, we could incur significant costs, damages and penalties that could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

In addition, our operations produce hazardous waste products. While third parties are responsible for disposal of our hazardous waste, we could be liable under environmental laws for any required cleanup of sites at which our waste is disposed. Federal, state, foreign and local laws and regulations govern the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations at any time, or if they change, we may be subject to criminal sanctions and substantial civil liabilities, which may adversely affect our business.

 

Even if we continue to comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding hazardous materials, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or discharge and our resultant liability for any injuries or other damages caused by these accidents. Although we maintain pollution liability insurance, our coverage limit under this insurance is $2.0 million, and while we believe this amount and type of insurance is sufficient to cover risks typically associated with our handling of materials, the insurance may not cover all environmental liabilities, and these limits may not be high enough to cover potential liabilities for these damages fully. The amount of uninsured liabilities may exceed our financial resources and materially harm our business.

Risks related to our common stock

 

Our stock price has been highly volatile and may be volatile in the future, and purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses.

 

The realization of any of the risks described in these risk factors or other unforeseen risks could have a dramatic and adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. Between December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2009, the high and low sale prices of our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market varied between $16.65 and $0.47. Additionally, market prices for securities of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including ours, have historically been very volatile. The market for these securities has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations for reasons that were unrelated to the operating performance of any one company.

 

The following factors, in addition to the other risk factors described in this section, may also have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock:

 

 

As a result of these factors, holders of our common stock might be unable to sell their shares at or above the price they paid for such shares.

 

If there are substantial sales of our common stock, our stock price could decline.

 

A small number of institutional investors and private equity funds hold a significant number of shares of our common stock. Sales by these stockholders of a substantial number of shares, or the expectation of such sales, could cause a significant reduction in the market price of our common stock. Additionally, a small number of early investors in our company have rights, subject to certain conditions, to require us to file registration statements to permit the resale of their shares in the public market or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders.

In addition to our outstanding common stock, as of December 31, 2009, there were a total of 4,516,739 shares of common stock that we have registered and that we are obligated to issue upon the exercise of currently outstanding options and restricted stock units granted under our Second Amended and Restated Management Equity Plan and 2006 Equity Incentive Plan. Upon the exercise or settlement of these options or restricted stock units, as the case may be, in accordance with their respective terms, these shares may be resold freely, subject to restrictions imposed on our affiliates under Rule 144. If significant sales of these shares occur in short periods of time, these sales could reduce the market price of our common stock. Any reduction in the trading price of our common stock could impede our ability to raise capital on attractive terms.

 

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports or publish unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

 

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who covers the Company downgrades our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover us or fails to publish regular reports on us, interest in the purchase of our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

 

Our business could be negatively affected as a result of the actions of activist stockholders.

 

Proxy contests have been waged against many companies in the biopharmaceutical industry, including us, over the last few years. If faced with another proxy contest, we may not be able to respond successfully to the contest, which would be disruptive to our business. Even if we are successful, our business could be adversely affected by a proxy contest involving us or our partners because:

 

 

These actions could cause our stock price to experience periods of volatility.

 

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter and bylaws, and in Delaware law, and our rights plan could prevent or delay a change in control of our company.

 

We are a Delaware corporation and the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a change in our management or control over us that stockholders may consider favorable. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws:

 

 

 

Moreover, on September 25, 2008, our board of directors adopted a rights agreement, the provisions of which could result in significant dilution of the proportionate ownership of a potential acquirer and, accordingly, could discourage, delay or prevent a change in our management or control over us.

 

Unstable market, credit and financial conditions may exacerbate certain risks affecting our business and have serious adverse consequences on our business.

 

The recent economic downturn and market instability has made the business climate more volatile and more costly. Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by unpredictable and unstable market conditions. If the current equity and credit markets deteriorate further, or do not improve, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult, more costly, and more dilutive. While we believe we have adequate capital resources to meet current working capital and capital expenditure requirements, a lingering economic downturn or significant increase in our expenses could require additional financing on less than attractive rates or on terms that are excessively dilutive to existing stockholders. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our stock price and could require us to delay or abandon clinical development plans.

 

Sales of our products and partnered products will be dependent, in large part, on reimbursement from government health administration authorities, private health insurers, distribution partners and other organizations. As a result of the current credit and financial market conditions, these organizations may be unable to satisfy their reimbursement obligations or may delay payment. In addition, federal and state health authorities may reduce Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and private insurers may increase their scrutiny of claims. A reduction in the availability or extent of reimbursement could negatively affect our or our partners’ product sales and revenue. Customers may also reduce spending during times of economic uncertainty.

 

In addition, we rely on third parties for several important aspects of our business. For example, we depend upon Novartis for both royalty revenue and the further clinical development of Fanapt^tm, we use third party contract research organizations for many of our clinical trials, and we rely upon several single source providers of raw materials and contract manufacturers for the manufacture of our products and product candidates. Due to the recent tightening of global credit and the continued deterioration in the financial markets, there may be a disruption or delay in the performance of our third party contractors, suppliers or partners. If such third parties are unable to satisfy their commitments to us, our business would be adversely affected.

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

Our current headquarters are located in Rockville, Maryland, consisting of approximately 27,000 square feet of office and laboratory space. Our lease for this facility expires in 2016.

 

Management believes that the leased facilities are suitable and adequate to meet the Company’s anticipated needs.

 

The Company is not a party to any material pending legal proceedings, and management is not aware of any contemplated proceedings by any governmental authority against the Company.

 

 

 

Our common stock is quoted on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “VNDA.” The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the range of high and low sale prices of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Global Market.

 

 

 

As of March 12, 2010, there were 17 holders of record of our common stock.

 

Dividends

 

The Company has not paid dividends to its stockholders (other than a dividend of preferred share purchase rights which was declared on September 25, 2008) since its inception and does not plan to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company currently intends to retain earnings, if any, to finance the growth of the Company.

Market Price of and Dividends on the Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

 

The following graph shows the cumulative total return, assuming the investment of $100 on April 12, 2006 (the date of the initial public offering) on an investment in each of the Company’s common stock, the NASDAQ Composite Index and the Amex Biotechnology Index (in either case, assuming reinvestment of dividends). The comparisons in the table are required by the SEC and are not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of the Company’s common stock. We have not paid dividends to our stockholders since the inception (other than a dividend of preferred share purchase rights which was declared on September 25, 2008) and do not plan to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. The following graph and related information is being furnished solely to accompany this Form 10-K pursuant to Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K and shall not be deemed “soliciting materials” or to be “filed” with the SEC (other than as provided in Item 201), nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, whether made before or after the date hereof, and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any such filing.

 

 

The consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2009 and 2008 are each derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K. The consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005 are each derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included herein. Our historical results for any prior period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period.

 

The following data should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes and the section entitled “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

 

 

 

 

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing at the end of this annual report on Form 10-K. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K include historical information and other information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and contain forward-looking statements that involve risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to those set forth under the “Risk Factors” section of this report and elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

Overview

 

We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of clinical-stage products for central nervous system disorders. We believe that each of our products and partnered products will address a large market with significant unmet medical needs by offering advantages over currently available therapies. Our product portfolio includes:

 

 

Since we began our operations in March 2003, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to the in-licensing and clinical development of our compounds. Our ability to generate additional revenues largely depends on Novartis’ ability to successfully commercialize Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and to successfully develop and commercialize Fanapt^tm in Canada and upon our ability, alone or with others, to complete the development of our products or product candidates, and to obtain the regulatory approvals for and manufacture, market and sell our compounds. The results of our operations will vary significantly from year-to-year and quarter-to- quarter and depend on a number of factors, including risks related to our business, risks related to our industry, and other risks which are detailed in Item 1A of Part I of this annual report on Form 10-K, entitled “Risk Factors”.

 

We completed our initial public offering in April 2006. The offering totaled 5,964,188 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $10.00, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $53.3 million, after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions as well as offering expenses. Upon completion of the initial public offering, all shares of the Company’s Series A preferred stock and Series B preferred stock were converted into an aggregate of 15,794,632 shares of common stock.

 

In January 2007 we completed our follow-on offering, consisting of 4,370,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $27.29 per share, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $111.3 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

 

Our activities will necessitate significant uses of working capital throughout 2010 and beyond. However, for the immediate future, we expect to continue to operate on a reduced spending plan with our fixed overhead costs expected to be approximately $10.0 million to $12.0 million per year.

 

Fanapt^tm.  We have developed Fanapt^tm, and will continue to develop it outside the U.S. and Canada, to treat schizophrenia. On May 6, 2009, the FDA granted U.S. marketing approval of Fanapt^tm for the acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults. On October 12, 2009, we entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis relating to Fanapt^tm. We had originally entered into a sublicense agreement with Novartis on June 4, 2004 pursuant to which we obtained certain worldwide exclusive licenses from Novartis relating to Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis has exclusive commercialization rights to all formulations of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Except for two post-approval studies started by us prior to the execution date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement, both of which were substantially completed by December 31, 2009, Novartis is responsible for the further clinical development activities in the U.S. and Canada, including the development of a long-acting injectable (or depot) formulation of Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million and will be eligible for additional payments totaling up to $265.0 million upon the achievement of certain commercial and development milestones for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We will also receive royalties, which, as a percentage of net sales, are in the low double-digits, on net sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we will no longer be required to make any future milestone payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm or any future royalty payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We retain exclusive rights to Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada and we will have exclusive rights to use any of Novartis’ data for Fanapt^tm for developing and commercializing Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada. At Novartis’ option, we will enter into good faith discussions with Novartis relating to the co-commercialization of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada or, alternatively, Novartis will receive a royalty on net sales of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada. Novartis launched Fanapt^tm in the U.S. on January 11, 2010.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2009 we incurred approximately $9.5 million in research and development costs directly attributable to our development of Fanapt^tm. As a result of the FDA’s approval of the NDA for Fanapt^tm, we met an additional milestone under the original sublicense agreement which required

us to make a license payment of $12.0 million to Novartis. The $12.0 million was capitalized and will be amortized over the remaining life of the U.S. patent for Fanapt^tm.

 

Tasimelteon.  Tasimelteon is our product under development to treat sleep and mood disorders. Tasimelteon is a melatonin receptor agonist that works by adjusting the human “body clock” or circadian rhythm. Tasimelteon has successfully completed a Phase III trial for the treatment of transient insomnia in November 2006. In June 2008, we announced positive top-line results from the Phase III trial of tasimelteon in chronic primary insomnia. The trial was a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study with 324 patients. The trial measured time to fall asleep and sleep maintenance, as well as next-day performance. On January 19, 2010, the FDA granted orphan designation status for tasimelteon in the CRSD, Non-24-Hour Sleep/Wake Disorder in blind individuals without light perception. The FDA grants orphan drug designation to drugs that may provide significant therapeutic advantage over existing treatments and target conditions affecting 200,000 or fewer U.S. patients per year. Orphan drug designation provides potential financial and regulatory incentives including study design assistance, waiver of FDA user fees, tax credits, and up to seven years of market exclusivity upon marketing approval. We will continue to explore the path to an NDA for tasimelteon. Tasimelteon is also ready for Phase II trials for the treatment of depression.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2009, we incurred approximately $2.5 million in direct research and development costs directly attributable to our development of tasimelteon.

 

Revenues.  Our revenues are derived primarily from our amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis and include an up-front payment, product sales and future milestone and royalty payments. Revenue is considered both realizable and earned when each one of the following four conditions is met: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (2) the arrangement fee is fixed or determinable, (3) delivery or performance has occurred and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. Revenue from the $200.0 million upfront payment will be recognized ratably on a straight-line basis from the date the amended and restated sublicense agreement became effective (November 27, 2009) through the expected life of the U.S. patent for Fanapt^tm (May 15, 2017). Approximately $2.6 million of the $200.0 million upfront payment was recognized as revenue for the year ended December 31, 2009. Revenue related to product sales is recognized upon delivery to Novartis. For the year ended December 31, 2009, we recognized approximately $2.0 million in product revenue related to the sale of inventory to Novartis. We will recognize revenue from Fanapt^tm royalties and commercial and development milestones from Novartis when realizable and earned.

 

Research and development expenses.  Our research and development expenses consist primarily of fees for services provided by third parties in connection with our clinical trials, costs of contract manufacturing services, milestone license fees, costs of materials used in clinical trials and research and development, cost for regulatory consultants and filings, depreciation of capital resources used to develop our compounds, related facilities costs, and salaries, other employee-related costs and stock-based compensation for the research and development personnel. We expense research and development costs as they are incurred for compounds in the development stage, including certain payments under our license agreements. Prior to FDA approval, all Fanapt^tm manufacturing-related and milestone costs were included in research and development expenses. Post FDA approval of Fanapt^tm, manufacturing and milestone costs related to this product are being capitalized. Costs related to the acquisition of intellectual property have been expensed as incurred since the underlying technology associated with these acquisitions were made in connection with the Company’s research and development efforts and have no alternative future use. Milestone payments are accrued in accordance with the FASB guidance on accounting for contingencies which states that milestone payments be accrued when it is deemed probable that the milestone event will be achieved. We believe that significant investment in product development is a competitive necessity and plan to continue these investments in order to realize the potential of our products and product candidates and pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics expertise. For the year ended December 31, 2009, we incurred research and development expenses in the aggregate of approximately $13.9 million, including stock-based compensation expenses of approximately $2.0 million. We expect our research and development expenses to increase as we continue to develop our products and product candidates. We also expect to incur licensing costs in the future that could be substantial, as we continue our efforts to develop our products and product candidates and to evaluate potential in-license product candidates.

The following table summarizes our product development initiatives for the years ended December 31, 2009 to December 31, 2007. Included in the following table are the research and development expenses recognized in connection with the clinical development of Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon. Included in “Other product candidates” are the costs directly related to research initiatives for all other product candidates.

 

 

 

 

General and administrative expenses.  General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, other employee-related costs and stock-based compensation for personnel, serving executive, business development, marketing, finance, accounting, information technology and human resource functions, facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, insurance costs and professional fees for legal, accounting and other professional services. General and administrative expenses also include third party expenses incurred to support business development, marketing and other business activities related to Fanapt^tm. For the year ended December 31, 2009, we incurred general and administrative expenses in the aggregate of approximately $23.7 million, including stock-based compensation expenses of approximately $8.7 million.

 

Interest and other income, net.  Interest income consists of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash.

 

Critical accounting policies

 

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements, as well as the reported revenues and expenses during the reported periods. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

 

Our significant accounting policies are described in the notes to our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 included in this annual report on Form 10-K. However, we believe that the following accounting policies are important to understanding and evaluating our reported financial results, and we have accordingly included them in this discussion.

 

Inventory.  We value our inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value. We analyze our inventory levels quarterly and write down inventory that has become obsolete, or has a cost basis in excess of

its expected net realizable value and inventory quantities in excess of expected requirements. Expired inventory is disposed of and the related costs are written off to cost of sales. Prior to FDA approval, all Fanapt^tm manufacturing-related costs were included in research and development expenses. Subsequent to FDA approval of Fanapt^tm, manufacturing costs related to this product are capitalized. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis, we have sold the majority of our finished product to Novartis and plan to sell the remainder in early 2010.

 

Intangible asset, net.  Costs incurred for products or product candidates not yet approved by the FDA and for which no alternative future use exists are recorded as expense. In the event a product or product candidate has been approved by the FDA or an alternative future use exists for a product or product candidate, patent and license costs are capitalized and amortized over the expected patent life of the related product or product candidate. Milestone payments to our partners are recognized when it is deemed probable that the milestone event will occur.

 

As a result of the FDA’s approval of the NDA for Fanapt^tm, we met a milestone under our original sublicense agreement with Novartis which required us to make a payment of $12.0 million to Novartis. The $12.0 million is being amortized on a straight line basis over the remaining life of the U.S. patent for Fanapt^tm, which we expect to last until May 15, 2017. This includes the Hatch-Waxman extension that extends patent protection for drug compounds for a period of up to five years to compensate for time spent in development and a six-month pediatric term extension. This term is our best estimate of the life of the patent; if, however, the Hatch-Waxman or pediatric extensions are not granted, the intangible asset will be amortized over a shorter period. Amortization of the intangible asset is recorded as a component of cost of goods sold.

 

The carrying values of intangible assets are periodically reviewed to determine if the facts and circumstances suggest that a potential impairment may have occurred. We had no impairments of our intangible assets for the year ended December 31, 2009.

 

Accrued expenses.  As part of the process of preparing financial statements, we are required to estimate accrued expenses. The estimation of accrued expenses involves identifying services that have been performed on our behalf, and then estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for such services as of each balance sheet date in the financial statements. Accrued expenses include professional service fees, such as lawyers and accountants, contract service fees, such as those under contracts with clinical monitors, data management organizations and investigators in conjunction with clinical trials, fees to contract manufacturers in conjunction with the production of clinical materials, fees for marketing and other commercialization activities, and severance-related costs due to our workforce reduction that took place in December of 2008. Pursuant to our assessment of the services that have been performed on clinical trials and other contracts, we recognize these expenses as the services are provided. Our assessments include, but are not limited to: (1) an evaluation by the project manager of the work that has been completed during the period, (2) measurement of progress prepared internally and/or provided by the third-party service provider, (3) analyses of data that justify the progress, and (4) management’s judgment. In the event that we do not identify certain costs that have begun to be incurred or we under- or over-estimate the level of services performed or the costs of such services, our reported expenses for such period would be too low or too high.

 

Revenue Recognition.  Our revenues are derived primarily from our amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis and include an up-front payment, product revenue and future milestone and royalty revenues. Revenue is considered both realizable and earned when each one of the following four conditions is met: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (2) the arrangement fee is fixed or determinable, (3) delivery or performance has occurred and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis has the right to commercialize and develop Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Under the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million in December of 2009. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we and Novartis established a Joint Steering Committee (JSC) following the effective date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement. We expect to have an active role on the JSC and concluded that the JSC constitutes a deliverable under the amended and restated sublicense agreement and that revenue related to the upfront payment will be recognized ratably over the term of the JSC; however, the delivery or performance has no

term as the exact length of the JSC is undefined. As a result, we deem the performance period of the JSC to be the life of the U.S. patent of Fanapt^tm, which we expect to last until May 15, 2017. This includes the Hatch-Waxman extension that provides patent protection for drug compounds for a period of up to five years to compensate for time spent in development and a six-month pediatric term extension. This term is our best estimate of the life of the patent. Revenue will be recognized ratably from the date the amended and restated sublicense agreement became effective (November 27, 2009) through the expected life of the U.S. patent for Fanapt^tm (May 15, 2017). We will recognize revenue related to Fanapt^tm royalties and commercial and development milestones as they are realizable and earned, and product revenue upon delivery of our products to Novartis.

 

Stock-based compensation.  We adopted the FASB guidance on share based payments January 1, 2006 using the modified prospective transition method of implementation and adopted the accelerated attribution method.

 

We currently use the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options. The determination of the fair value of stock options on the date of grant using an option pricing model is affected by our stock price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables. These variables include the expected stock price volatility over the expected term of the awards, actual and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors, risk-free interest rate and expected dividends. Expected volatility rates are based on historical volatility of the common stock of comparable entities and other factors due to the lack of historic information of our publicly traded common stock. The expected term of options granted is based on the transition approach provided by FASB guidance as the options meet the “plain vanilla” criteria required by this method. The risk-free interest rates are based on the U.S. Treasury yield for a period consistent with the expected term of the option in effect at the time of the grant. We have not paid dividends to our stockholders since our inception and do not plan to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. The stock-based compensation expense for a period is also affected by expected forfeiture rate for the respective option grants. If our estimates of the fair value of these equity instruments or expected forfeitures are too high or too low, it would have the effect of overstating or understating expenses.

 

Total stock-based compensation expense, related to all of our stock-based awards for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, was comprised of the following:

 

 

Since we had a net operating loss carryforward as of December 31, 2009, no excess tax benefits for the tax deductions related to stock-based awards were recognized in the consolidated statements of operations. Additionally, no incremental tax benefits were recognized from stock options exercised in 2009 or 2008 which would have resulted in a reclassification to reduce net cash used in operating activities with an offsetting increase in net cash provided by financing activities.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In September 2009, the FASB issued new accounting guidance related to the revenue recognition of multiple element arrangements. The new guidance states that if vendor-specific objective evidence or third party evidence for deliverables in an arrangement cannot be determined, companies will be required to develop a best estimate of the selling price to separate deliverables and allocate arrangement consideration using the relative selling price method. The accounting guidance will be applied prospectively and will become effective during the first quarter of 2011. Early adoption is allowed. We will adopt this guidance beginning January 1, 2011 and we do not expect this accounting guidance to materially impact our financial statements.

In January 2010, the FASB issued new accounting guidance related to the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements and provides clarification for existing disclosures requirements. More specifically, this update will require (a) an entity to disclose separately the amounts of significant transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2 fair value measurements and to describe the reasons for the transfers; and (b) information about purchases, sales, issuances and settlements to be presented separately (i.e. present the activity on a gross basis rather than net) in the reconciliation for fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3 inputs). This guidance clarifies existing disclosure requirements for the level of disaggregation used for classes of assets and liabilities measured at fair value and requires disclosures about the valuation techniques and inputs used to measure fair value for both recurring and nonrecurring fair value measurements using Level 2 and Level 3 inputs. The new disclosures and clarifications of existing disclosure are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the disclosure requirements for related to the purchases, sales, issuances and settlements in the rollforward activity of Level 3 fair value measurements. Those disclosure requirements are effective for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2010. We do not believe the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

 

Results of operations

 

We have a limited history of operations. We anticipate that our results of operations will fluctuate for the foreseeable future due to several factors, including any possible payments made or received pursuant to licensing or collaboration agreements, progress of our research and development efforts, and the timing and outcome of clinical trials and related possible regulatory approvals. On October 12, 2009, we entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis relating to Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million. of which we recognized $2.6 million as revenue in 2009. The remaining amounts will be recognized ratably over the U.S. patent life of Fanapt^tm which we expect to last until May 15, 2017. This includes the Hatch-Waxman extension that provides patent protection for drug compounds for a period of up to five years to compensate for time spent in development and a six-month pediatric term extension. This term is our best estimate of the life of the patent. In addition, we recognized $2.0 million of product revenue in 2009 for product sold to Novartis. We will be eligible for additional payments totaling up to $265.0 million upon the achievement of certain commercial and development milestones for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We will also receive royalties, which, as a percentage of net sales, are in the low double-digits, on net sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada.

 

Year ended December 31, 2009 compared to year ended December 31, 2008

 

Research and development expenses.  Research and development expenses decreased by approximately $10.1 million, or 42.0%, to approximately $13.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 compared to approximately $23.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2008.

 

The following table discloses the components of research and development expenses reflecting all of our project expenses for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008:

 

Direct costs decreased by approximately $9.8 million primarily as a result of lower clinical trial and manufacturing expenses and lower salary and benefit expenses due to a reduced workforce. Clinical trials expense decreased by approximately $7.4 million primarily due to the Phase III clinical trial for tasimelteon in chronic primary insomnia being completed in 2008. Contract research and development, consulting, materials and other direct costs decreased by approximately $1.0 million primarily as a result of lower manufacturing costs for tasimelteon, and Fanapt^tm manufacturing expenses being capitalized post FDA approval.

 

General and administrative expenses.  General and administrative expenses decreased by approximately $5.2 million, or 17.9%, to approximately $23.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $28.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2008.

 

The following table analyzes the components of our general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008:

 

 

Salaries, benefits and related costs decreased by approximately $2.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 as a result of a workforce reduction that took place in December 2008. Stock-based compensation expense decreased by approximately $2.9 million as a result of the full vesting of non-qualified options issued at a higher fair market value. Marketing, legal, accounting and other professional services increased by $501,000 for the year ended December 31, 2009 as a result of higher legal, consulting and financial advisor fees related to the Novartis agreement, netted with lower marketing expenses relating to Fanapt^tm.

 

Other income, net.  Net other income for the year ended December 31, 2009 was approximately $0.1 million compared to approximately $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2008. Interest income decreased by approximately $1.7 million due to lower average cash and marketable securities balances for the year combined with a lower rate of return on investments.

 

The following table analyzes the components of our other income, net amounts:

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2008 compared to year ended December 31, 2007

 

Research and development expenses.  Research and development expenses decreased by approximately $23.3 million, or 49%, to approximately $23.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to approximately $47.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.

The following table discloses the components of research and development expenses reflecting all of our project expenses for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007:

 

 

Direct costs decreased by approximately $23.1 million primarily as a result of the absence of any milestone license payments in 2008, lower expenses related to the NDA for Fanapt^tm and lower clinical trial and manufacturing expenses and by decreases in stock-based compensation expense. Clinical trials expense decreased by approximately $7.2 million primarily due to the costs incurred in 2007 in our Phase III trial of Fanapt^tm in schizophrenia and in our tasimelteon clinical pharmacology trials that were completed in 2007. The clinical trial costs incurred in 2008 related primarily to our Phase III trial of tasimelteon in primary insomnia that we initiated during the third quarter of 2007. Contract research and development, consulting, materials and other direct costs decreased by approximately $7.5 million primarily as a result of decreased development costs incurred in connection with the lower manufacturing costs for the Fanapt^tm and tasimelteon programs offset by the increase in consulting fees incurred with the engagement of the regulatory consultant to assist us in our efforts to obtain FDA approval of the Fanapt^tm NDA. Prior to FDA approval of our products, manufacturing related costs were included in research and development expense. There were no milestone license fees incurred in 2008. Stock-based compensation expense decreased by approximately $2.5 million as a result of the lower fair value of options granted during 2008 compared to options granted in prior periods and the reversal of cumulative amortization of deferred stock-based compensation related to the cancellation of unvested options in connection with the workforce reduction in December 2008.

 

General and administrative expenses.  General and administrative expenses decreased by approximately $3.9 million, or 12%, to approximately $28.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 from approximately $32.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.

 

The following table analyzes the components of our general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007:

 

 

Salaries, benefits and related costs increased by approximately $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 due to a severance accrual of $1.0 million related to the workforce reduction in

December 2008. Stock-based compensation expense decreased by approximately $3.6 million as a result of the reversal of cumulative amortization of deferred stock-based compensation related to the cancellation of unvested options in connection with the workforce reduction in December 2008 and to the lower fair value of options granted during 2008 compared to options granted in prior periods. Marketing and related consulting services decreased by approximately $2.3 million due to the decrease in our market research and other pre-commercial launch activities following receipt of the not-approvable letter from the FDA regarding the NDA for Fanapt^tm. Legal and other professional expenses increased by approximately $577,000 due primarily to a higher level of consulting activity in 2008 in support of business development activities. Other expenses decreased by approximately $277,000 primarily due to lower accounting fees than those incurred in 2007 to initially bring the Company in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley.

 

Other income, net.  Net other income for the year ended December 31, 2008 was approximately $1.8 million compared to approximately $6.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2007. Interest income decreased by approximately $4.1 million due to lower average cash and marketable securities balances for the year and lower short-term interest rates which generated substantially lower interest income than in 2007. Other income for the year ended December 31, 2007 included approximately $71,000 in revenue recognized from a grant from the Economic Development Board in Singapore. We do not expect to receive similar grants in the future.

 

The following table analyzes the components of our other income, net amounts:

 

 

Intangible Asset, Net

 

The intangible asset consisted of the following:

 

 

On May 6, 2009, we announced that the FDA had approved the NDA for Fanapt^tm. As a result of the FDA’s approval of the NDA, we met a milestone under our original sublicense agreement with Novartis which required us to make a payment of $12.0 million to Novartis. The $12.0 million was capitalized and will be amortized over the remaining life of the U.S. patent for Fanapt^tm, which we expect to last until May 15, 2017. This includes the Hatch-Waxman extension that provides patent protection for drug compounds for a period of up to five years to compensate for time spent in development and a six-month pediatric term extension. This term is our best estimate of the life of the patent; if, however, the Hatch-Waxman or pediatric extensions are not granted, the intangible asset will be amortized over a shorter period.

 

Intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful economic life using the straight line method. Amortization expense was approximately $983,000 for the year ended December 31, 2009. We capitalized and began amortizing the asset immediately following the FDA approval of the NDA for Fanapt^tm.

The following table summarizes our intangible asset amortization schedule as of December 31, 2009:

 

 

Inventory

 

Inventory consisted of the following:

 

 

Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis, Novartis is obligated to purchase all Fanapt^tm inventory, subject to such inventory meeting certain requirements. We sold the majority of our finished product to Novartis in 2009 and plan to sell the remainder in early 2010.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

Revenue consisted of the following:

 

 

We entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis on October 12, 2009, pursuant to which Novartis has the right to commercialize and develop Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Under the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million in December of 2009. Revenue will be recognized ratably from the date the amended and restated sublicense agreement became effective (November 27, 2009) through the expected life of the U.S. patent for Fanapt^tm (May 15, 2017). This includes the Hatch-Waxman extension that provides patent protection for drug compounds for a period of up to five years to compensate for time spent in development and a six-month pediatric term extension. This term is our best estimate of the life of the patent. For the year ended December 31, 2009, we recognized approximately $2.6 million of revenue under the amended and restated sublicense agreement, deferring approximately $197.4 million. We recognize product revenue upon delivery of our products to Novartis.

 

Liquidity and capital resources

 

As of December 31, 2009, our total cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were approximately $205.3 million compared to approximately $46.5 million at December 31, 2008. Our cash and cash equivalents are deposits in operating accounts and highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less at date of purchase and consist of time deposits, investments in money market funds with commercial banks and financial institutions, and commercial paper of high-quality corporate issuers. As of December 31, 2009, we also held a non-current deposit of $430,000 that is used to collateralize a letter of credit issued for our current office lease in Rockville, Maryland which expires in 2016.

As of December 31, 2009 and 2008 our liquidity resources are summarized as follows:

 

 

As of December 31, 2009, we maintained all of our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities in three financial institutions. Deposits held with these institutions may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits, but we do not anticipate any losses with respect to such deposits.

 

In September 2006, the FASB issued guidance on fair value measurements which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in accordance with GAAP, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. In February 2008, the FASB agreed to delay the effective date of this guidance for all nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities, except those that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis, to fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2008. We have adopted the provisions of the guidance as of January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2009, for financial assets and liabilities and non financial assets and liabilities, respectively. Although the adoption of this guidance did not materially impact our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flow, we are now required to provide additional disclosures as part of our financial statements.

 

FASB guidance establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include:

 

 

As December 31, 2009, we did not hold any assets or liabilities that are required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis.

 

As of December 31, 2008, we held certain assets that are required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis.

 

 

Our activities will necessitate significant uses of working capital throughout 2010 and beyond. However, for the immediate future, we expect to continue to operate on a reduced spending plan. We are currently concentrating our efforts on supporting Novartis’ commercial launch of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. In addition, we intend to engage in discussions with several foreign regulatory agencies to review their filing requirements

with respect to Fanapt^tm. We also plan to continue the clinical, regulatory and commercial evaluation of tasimelteon, including exploring the path to a NDA for tasimelteon.

 

Cash flow

 

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007.

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2009 compared to year ended December 31, 2008

 

Net cash provided by operations was approximately $169.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 and $46.0 million was used in operations for the year ended December 31, 2008. The net loss for the year ended December 31, 2009 of approximately $35.9 million was offset primarily by non-cash charges for depreciation and amortization of approximately $1.6 million, stock-based compensation of approximately $11.2 million, increases in prepaid expenses of $0.8 million, increases in accounts receivable of $3.2 million, increases in accrued expenses and accounts payable of approximately $1.3 million, increases in inventory of $2.4 million and increases in deferred revenue of $197.4 million and $0.1 million of changes in other working capital. Net cash used by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2009 was approximately $4.7 million and consisted of the acquisition of an intangible asset of $12.0 million and net maturities and sales of marketable securities of approximately $7.3 million. Net cash provided from financing activities resulted from the exercise of employees stock options for the year ended December 31, 2009 was $1.6 million.

 

Year ended December 31, 2008 compared to year ended December 31, 2007

 

Net cash used in operations was approximately $46.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 and $51.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2007. The net loss for the year ended December 31, 2008 of approximately $51.1 million was offset primarily by non-cash charges for depreciation and amortization of approximately $531,000, stock-based compensation of approximately $13.4 million, and decreases in accrued expenses and accounts payable of approximately $9.4 million, principally related to clinical trial expenses. Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2008 was approximately $43.1 million and consisted primarily of net maturities and sales of marketable securities of approximately $44.0 million. There was no net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2008.

 

Contractual obligations and commitments

 

Operating leases.  Our commitments under operating leases shown below consist of payments relating to our real estate leases for our current headquarters located in Rockville, Maryland, which expires in 2016.

 

The following table summarizes our long-term contractual cash obligations as of December 31, 2009:

 

 

Severance payments.  On December 16, 2008, we committed to a plan of termination that resulted in a work force reduction of 17 employees, including two officers, in order to reduce operating costs. We commenced notification of employees affected by the workforce reduction on December 17, 2008.

The following table summarizes the activity in the year ended December 31, 2009 for the liability for the cash portion of severance costs related to the workforce reduction:

 

 

Consulting fees.  We had engaged a regulatory consultant to us assist in our efforts to obtain FDA approval of the Fanapt^tm NDA. We had committed to initial consulting expenses in the aggregate amount of $2.0 million pursuant to this engagement, which was expensed in 2008. In addition, we retained the services of the consultant on a monthly basis at a retainer fee of $0.25 million per month effective as of January 1, 2009. We became obligated to pay the consultant a success fee of $6.0 million as a result of the approval by the FDA of the NDA for Fanapt^tm. This fee, which was fully expensed in May 2009 and offset by the aggregate amount of all monthly retainer fees previously paid to the consultant, was paid in monthly $1.0 million increments, with the last payment occurring in October 2009. In addition to these fees, we reimbursed the consultant for its ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred in connection with its engagement.

 

We also engaged financial advisors and consultants to advise us in connection with our business development activities. Pursuant to our agreements with these advisors and consultants, we became obligated to pay aggregate fees of approximately $3.5 million following the effective date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis. Of the $3.5 million, $2.0 million was paid by December 31, 2009 and the remaining balance was paid in early 2010.

 

Other contracts.  We have entered into agreements with clinical supply manufacturing organizations and other outside contractors who will be responsible for additional services supporting our ongoing clinical development processes. These contractual obligations are not reflected in the table above because we may terminate them on no more than 60 days notice without incurring additional charges (other than charges for work completed but not paid for through the effective date of termination and other costs incurred by our contractors in closing out work in progress as of the effective date of termination).

 

Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis, except for two post-approval studies started by us prior to the execution date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement, both of which were substantially completed by December 31, 2009, Novartis is responsible for the further clinical development activities in the U.S. and Canada, including the development of a long-acting injectable (or depot) formulation of Fanapt^tm. The cash obligation with respect to the study which we expect to complete in the second quarter of 2010 is approximately $462,000.

 

License agreements.  In February 2004 and June 2004, we entered into separate licensing agreements with BMS and Novartis, respectively, for the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize tasimelteon and Fanapt^tm. On October 12, 2009, we entered into an amended and restated sublicense agreement with Novartis. We are obligated to make (in the case of tasimelteon and, in the case of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada, are entitled to receive) payments under the conditions in the agreements upon the achievement of specified clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. If the products are successfully commercialized we will be required to pay certain royalties (and in the case of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada, will be entitled to receive) based on net sales for each of the licensed products. Please see the notes to the consolidated financial statements included with this report for a more detailed description of these license agreements.

 

As a result of the successful commencement of the Phase III clinical study of tasimelteon in March 2006, we met the first milestone specified in our licensing agreement with BMS and subsequently paid a license fee of $1.0 million.

As a result of the acceptance by FDA of the NDA for Fanapt^tm in October 2007, we met a milestone under our original sublicense agreement with Novartis and subsequently paid a $5.0 million milestone fee. As a result of the FDA’s approval of the NDA for Fanapt^tm, we met an additional milestone under the original sublicense agreement with Novartis which required us to make a payment of $12.0 million to Novartis. The $12.0 million was capitalized and will be amortized over the remaining life of the U.S. patent for Fanapt^tm, which we expect to last until May 15, 2017. This includes the Hatch-Waxman extension that provides patent protection for drug compounds for a period of up to five years to compensate for time spent in development and a six-month pediatric term extension. This term is the Company’s best estimate of the life of the patent; if, however, the Hatch-Waxman or pediatric extensions are not granted, the intangible asset will be amortized over a shorter period. No amounts were recorded as liabilities relating to the license agreements included in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2009, since the amounts, timing and likelihood of these payments are unknown and will depend on the successful outcome of future clinical trials, regulatory filings, favorable regulatory approvals, growth in product sales and other factors.

 

Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, Novartis has exclusive commercialization rights to all formulations of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. Except for two post-approval studies started by us prior to the execution date of the amended and restated sublicense agreement, both of which were substantially completed by December 31, 2009, Novartis is responsible for the further clinical development activities in the U.S. and Canada, including the development of a long-acting injectable (or depot) formulation of Fanapt^tm. Pursuant to the amended and restated sublicense agreement, we received an upfront payment of $200.0 million and will be eligible for additional payments totaling up to $265.0 million upon the achievement of certain commercial and development milestones for Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We will also receive royalties, which, as a percentage of net sales, are in the low double-digits, on net sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we will no longer be required to make any future milestone payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm or any royalty payments with respect to sales of Fanapt^tm in the U.S. and Canada. We retain exclusive rights to Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada and we will have exclusive rights to use any of Novartis’ data for Fanapt^tm for developing and commercializing Fanapt^tm outside the U.S. and Canada. At Novartis’ option, we will enter into good faith discussions with Novartis relating to the co-commercialization of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada or, alternatively, Novartis will receive a royalty on net sales of Fanapt^tm outside of the U.S. and Canada.

 

 

Interest rates

 

Our exposure to market risk is currently confined to our cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash. We currently do not hedge interest rate exposure. We have not used derivative financial instruments for speculation or trading purposes. Because of the short-term maturities of our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities, we do not believe that an increase in market rates would have any significant impact on the realized value of our investments.

 

Effects of inflation

 

Our most liquid assets are cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities. Because of their liquidity, these assets are not directly affected by inflation. We also believe that we have intangible assets in the value of our intellectual property. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, we have not capitalized the value of this intellectual property on our balance sheet. Due to the nature of this intellectual property, we believe that these intangible assets are not affected by inflation. Because we intend to retain and continue to use our equipment, furniture and fixtures and leasehold improvements, we believe that the incremental inflation related to replacement costs of such items will not materially affect our operations. However, the rate of inflation affects our expenses, such as those for employee compensation and contract services, which could increase our level of expenses and the rate at which we use our resources.

Marketable securities

 

We deposit our cash with financial institutions that we consider to be of high credit quality and purchase marketable securities which are generally investment grade, liquid, short-term fixed income securities and money-market instruments denominated in U.S. dollars.

 

Off-balance sheet arrangements

 

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in Item 303(a)(4) of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation S-K.

 

 

The consolidated financial statements and related financial statement schedules required to be filed are indexed on page 61 and are incorporated herein.

 

 

None.

 

 

Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Under the supervision and with the participation of the our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2009. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective as of December 31, 2009, the end of the period covered by this annual report, to ensure that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that 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 that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

The Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting, as defined in the Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Management conducted an assessment of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on the framework established by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control — Integrated Framework. Based on the assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2009, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the fourth quarter of 2009 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears on page 62 of this Form 10-K.

 

 

None.

 

 

Information required under this item will be contained in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, under the captions “Election of Directors,” “Executive Officers,” “Corporate Governance”, and “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” and is incorporated herein by reference pursuant to General Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K.

 

 

Information required under this item will be contained in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, under the captions “Corporate Governance” and “Executive Compensation,” and is incorporated herein by reference pursuant to General Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, except that information required by Item 407(e)(5) of Regulation S-K will be deemed furnished in this Form 10-K and will not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.

 

 

In addition to the information set forth under the caption “Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans” in Part II of this annual report on Form 10-K, information required under this item will be contained in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, under the caption “Security Ownership by Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and is incorporated herein by reference pursuant to General Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K.

 

 

Information required under this item will be contained in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, under the caption “Corporate Governance” and is incorporated herein by reference pursuant to General Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K.

 

 

Information required under this item will be contained in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, under the caption “Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” and is incorporated herein by reference pursuant to General Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K.

 

 

The consolidated financial statements filed as part of this annual report on Form 10-K are listed and indexed at page 61. Certain schedules are omitted because they are not applicable, or not required, or because the required information is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

 

The Exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index immediately preceding the Exhibits are filed as part of this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this annual report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Rockville, Maryland, on March 15, 2010.

 

VANDA PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

 

Mihael H. Polymeropoulos, M.D.

Chief Executive Officer

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1934, this annual report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

 

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.

 

Index to consolidated financial statements