Viking Therapeutics, Inc. - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

Commission File Number 001-37355

Viking Therapeutics, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 704-4660

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the 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   ☐    No   ☒

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.     Yes   ☐    No    ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.     Yes   ☒    No    ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files).     Yes ☒    No    ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.:

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).     Yes  ☐    No   ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing price of the shares of common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on June 30, 2020 (the last trading day of the registrant’s second fiscal quarter of 2020), was $469,584,214. Shares of voting stock held by directors, officers and stockholders or stockholder groups whose beneficial ownership exceeds 5% of the registrant’s common stock outstanding have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. The number of shares owned by stockholders whose beneficial ownership exceeds 5% was determined based upon information supplied by such persons and upon Schedules 13D and 13G, if any, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This assumption regarding affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

The number of shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of January 31, 2021 was 74,133,121.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Table of Contents

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This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include estimates of our expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing; statements regarding our ability to develop, acquire and advance drug candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical trials and preclinical studies; statements concerning new product candidates; risks and uncertainties associated with our research and development activities, including our clinical trials and preclinical studies; our expectations regarding the potential market size and the size of the patient populations for our drug candidates, if approved for commercial use, and our ability to serve such markets; statements regarding our ability to maintain and establish collaborations or obtain additional funding; statements regarding developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry and other matters that do not relate strictly to historical facts or statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. These statements are often identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may” or “will,” the negative versions of these terms and similar expressions or variations. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of our management based on information currently available to management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially and adversely from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below, and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of such statement.

Throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Viking,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K refer to Viking Therapeutics, Inc.

PART I

Item 1. Business.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, first-in-class or best-in-class therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders.

Our lead clinical program’s drug candidate, VK2809, is an orally available, tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta, or TRß. In November 2019, we initiated the VOYAGE study, a Phase 2b clinical trial of VK2809 in patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.

The VOYAGE study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial designed to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of VK2809 in patients with biopsy-confirmed NASH and fibrosis ranging from stages F1 to F3. The study is targeting enrollment of approximately 340 patients across five treatment arms.  The primary endpoint of the study will evaluate the relative change in liver fat content, as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), from baseline to week 12 in subjects treated with VK2809 as compared to placebo. Secondary objectives include evaluation of histologic changes assessed by hepatic biopsy after 52 weeks of dosing.

VK2809 has been evaluated in seven completed clinical studies, which enrolled more than 300 subjects. No serious adverse events, or SAEs, have been observed in subjects receiving VK2809 in these completed studies, and overall tolerability remains encouraging. In addition, the compound has been evaluated in chronic toxicity studies of up to 12 months in duration.

We are also developing VK0214, which is also an orally available, tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of TRß for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, or X-ALD, a rare X-linked, inherited neurological disorder characterized by a breakdown in the protective barriers surrounding brain and nerve cells. The disease, for which there is no approved treatment, is caused by mutations in a peroxisomal transporter of very long chain fatty acids, or VLCFA, known as ABCD1. As a result, transporter function is impaired and patients are unable to efficiently metabolize VLCFA. The TRß receptor is known to regulate expression of an alternative VLCFA transporter, known as ABCD2. Various preclinical models have demonstrated that increased expression of ABCD2 can lead to normalization of VLCFA metabolism. Preliminary data suggest that VK0214 stimulates ABCD2 expression in an in vitro model and reduces VLCFA levels in an in vivo model of X-ALD. In September of 2020, we initiated a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled Phase 1 single ascending dose, or SAD, and multiple ascending dose, or MAD, clinical trial of VK0214 in healthy subjects.

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The primary objectives of the study include evaluation of the safety and tolerability of single and multiple oral doses of VK0214, as well as identification of VK0214 doses for further clinical development in the setting of X-ALD.

Other clinical programs include VK5211, an orally available, non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator, or SARM. In November 2017, we announced positive top-line results from a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial in 108 patients recovering from non-elective hip fracture surgery. Top-line data showed that the trial achieved its primary endpoint, demonstrating statistically significant, dose dependent increases in lean body mass, less head, following treatment with VK5211 as compared to placebo. The study also achieved certain secondary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant increases in appendicular lean body mass and total lean body mass for all doses of VK5211, compared to placebo. VK5211 demonstrated encouraging safety and tolerability in this study, with no drug-related SAEs reported. Our intent is to continue to pursue partnering or licensing opportunities prior to conducting additional clinical studies.

We have exclusive worldwide rights to a portfolio of five drug candidates in clinical trials or preclinical studies, which are based on small molecules licensed from Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, or Ligand. Details regarding our license agreement with Ligand are discussed under the heading “Agreements with Ligand” under Part I, “Item 1. Business” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our Development Pipeline

The following table highlights our current development pipeline:

Key: TRß, thyroid receptor beta; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; X-ALD, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.

We also have three additional programs targeting metabolic diseases and anemia. The most advanced is VK0612, a first-in-class, orally available Phase 2b-ready drug candidate for type 2 diabetes. Preliminary clinical data suggest VK0612 has the potential to provide substantial glucose-lowering effects, with an attractive safety and convenience profile compared with existing type 2 diabetes therapies. Our preclinical programs are focused on developing inhibitors of diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1, or DGAT-1, for the potential treatment of obesity and dyslipidemia and on identifying orally available erythropoietin, or EPO, receptor, or EPOR, agonists for the potential treatment of anemia.

Novel Selective TRß Agonists for Metabolic Disorders and Adrenoleukodystrophy

Summary Overview

VK2809 and VK0214 are novel, orally available, selective TRß agonists in development for metabolic disorders and X-ALD.  Thyroid hormone receptors are found in various tissues throughout the body. TRß is the major receptor isoform expressed in the liver and thyroid hormone receptor alpha, or TRa, is the major isoform expressed in the heart. The unique properties of our TRß agonists are designed to reduce or eliminate the deleterious effects of extra-hepatic thyroid receptor activation. In particular, high tissue and TRß selectivity may lead to reduced activity at the TRa receptor, which can be associated with increased respiration and cardiac tissue hypertrophy. Selective activation of the TRß receptor in liver tissue is believed to favorably affect cholesterol and lipoprotein levels via multiple mechanisms, including increasing the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptors and increasing mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. These characteristics in turn lead to reductions of LDL-C, plasma and liver triglycerides. In addition, our chemical structures are not substrates for certain transporters involved in the uptake of thyroid hormone. Various animal models have shown that our molecules, as a result of their unique profiles, may have reduced cardiovascular effects versus thyroid hormone and other thyromimetics.  As a result of these characteristics, we believe our selective TRß agonists are capable of eliciting a unique lipid lowering profile without eliciting unwanted effects on the heart and thyroid hormone axis.

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VK2809 in NASH

In November 2019, we initiated the VOYAGE study, a Phase 2b clinical trial of VK2809 in patients with biopsy-confirmed NASH.

The VOYAGE study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial designed to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of VK2809 in patients with biopsy-confirmed NASH and fibrosis ranging from stages F1 to F3. The study is targeting enrollment of approximately 340 patients across five treatment arms.  The primary endpoint of the study will evaluate the relative change in liver fat content, as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), from baseline to week 12 in subjects treated with VK2809 as compared to placebo. Secondary objectives include evaluation of histologic changes assessed by hepatic biopsy after 52 weeks of dosing.

VK2809 in NAFLD

In September 2018, we announced top-line results from our 12-week, Phase 2 clinical trial of our lead clinical program’s drug candidate, VK2809, in patients with NAFLD and elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL-C. The study successfully achieved its primary endpoint, with patients receiving VK2809 demonstrating statistically significant reductions in LDL-C compared with placebo.  In addition, the trial’s secondary endpoint was achieved, with VK2809-treated patients experiencing statistically significant reductions in liver fat content compared with placebo.  VK2809 demonstrated encouraging safety and tolerability in this study, with no SAEs reported.

Top-line study results from the Phase 2 clinical trial include:

Reduction in LDL-C

Patients receiving VK2809 demonstrated statistically significant reductions in LDL-C of 20% or more, compared with placebo-treated patients.  In addition, VK2809-treated patients demonstrated statistically significant improvements in other lipids, including atherogenic proteins apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein (a).  

Reduction in Liver Fat Content

Patients receiving VK2809 experienced statistically significant reductions in liver fat content, as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, proton density fat fraction, or MRI-PDFF, relative to placebo after 12 weeks of treatment.

Safety and Tolerability

No SAEs were reported among patients receiving VK2809 or placebo. Mean alanine aminotransferase, or ALT, levels among patients receiving VK2809 were reduced relative to those of patients receiving placebo.  Among patients with elevated baseline ALT levels, those receiving VK2809 also demonstrated reduction relative to placebo.  There were no clinically or numerically meaningful differences in direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase or international normalized ratio between patients treated with VK2809 or placebo.  In addition, no meaningful changes to the thyroid hormone axis were observed among VK2809-treated patients compared with placebo-treated patients.

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VK2809 Summary Characteristics

VK2809 has been evaluated in one Phase 2 clinical trial and six Phase 1 clinical trials. Based on these clinical and additional preclinical data, we believe VK2809 has the following important characteristics that may benefit patients with metabolic or lipid disorders:  

Phase 1 Clinical Data for VK2809

VK2809 has also been evaluated in seven Phase 1 clinical trials. The initial Phase 1 safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic study of VK2809 was conducted in 2006. This was followed by a 14-day Phase 1b clinical trial in 56 patients with mild hypercholesterolemia, defined as baseline plasma LDL-C of at least 100 mg/dL. This study was initiated in 2007 and completed in 2008. VK2809 was shown to be safe and well-tolerated across doses ranging from 0.25 mg to 40 mg per day. There were no serious adverse events, and the frequency of adverse events in VK2809-treated patients was similar to placebo-treated patients. The clinical trial results also showed dose-related reductions in fasting LDL-C and fasting triglyceride, or TG, levels at day 14. Significant placebo-adjusted LDL-C reductions from baseline were observed at doses of 5 mg and above and ranged from approximately 15%-41%, while placebo-adjusted TG levels were reduced by more than 30% at doses of 2.5 mg and above. In addition, statistically significant reductions of lipoprotein a, or Lp(a), and apolipoprotein, or Apo(B), which are believed to be positively associated with a patient’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, were observed in certain cohorts. In addition, VK2809 was evaluated in five additional Phase 1 studies, evaluating the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, potential drug-drug interaction of VK2809 when co-administered with a statin, alternative dosing regimens and hepatic impairment, respectively.

VK0214 in X-linked Adrenoleukodystrophy

We are developing VK0214 for X-ALD, a rare X-linked, inherited neurological disorder characterized by a breakdown in the protective barriers surrounding brain and nerve cells. X-ALD is caused by mutations in a peroxisomal transporter of VLCFA known as ABCD1. As a result, transporter function is impaired and patients are unable to efficiently metabolize VLCFA. TRß is known to regulate expression of an alternative VLCFA transporter, known as ABCD2. Various preclinical models have demonstrated that increased expression of ABCD2 can lead to normalization of VLCFA metabolism. Preliminary data suggest that VK0214 stimulates ABCD2 expression in an in vitro model and reduces VLCFA levels in an in vivo model of X-ALD.  In September of 2020, we initiated a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled Phase 1 SAD and MAD clinical trial of VK0214 in healthy subjects. The primary objectives of the study include evaluation of the safety and tolerability of single and multiple oral doses of VK0214, as well as identification of VK0214 doses for further clinical development in the setting of X-ALD.

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X-ALD is a rare, often fatal condition believed to occur with an incidence of approximately one in 17,000 births. X-ALD is caused by mutations in the gene encoding for ABCD1, which is located on the X chromosome. Men have one X chromosome, while women have two. Because of this, an inherited mutation in the ABCD1 gene is more likely to manifest in males relative to females. The ABCD1 protein plays a critical role in the transport of VLCFA into a cellular organelle called the peroxisome, where VLCFA metabolism and disposal occur. Without functional ABCD1, VLCFA accumulate in cells, including neural cells, where they can lead to membrane disruption and damage to the myelin sheath, a protective and insulating membrane that surrounds nerve cells in the brain. This damage can result in decreased motor coordination and function, visual and hearing disturbances, the loss of cognitive function, dementia, seizures, adrenal dysfunction and other complications, including death. X-ALD is divided into various sub-segments, which are broadly characterized by the presence or absence of brain inflammation:

There is a clear unmet medical need for patients suffering from X-ALD. CALD has been more commonly targeted for treatment due to its devastating effects, which are often manifested at a young age. For these patients, the only currently effective treatment option is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell, or HSC, transplant. In this procedure, the patient is treated with HSCs containing the properly functioning copy of the ABCD1 gene, contributed by a donor other than the patient. Additionally, a method of ex vivo insertion of a functional copy of the ABCD1 gene via an HIV-1 based lentiviral vector into the patient’s own HSCs to correct the aberrant expression of ABCD1 in patients with CALD is also in development. Over time with either method, as the transplanted cells grow and repopulate, a partial restoration of ABCD1 function can be achieved, leading many patients to resolution of progression in the cerebral form of the disease. While these forms of genetic correction have also shown potential clinical benefits, there is currently no approved therapy for X-ALD. In addition, recent data suggest that, even among successfully transplanted patients, AMN can develop. We believe our thyroid receptor agonists, which have the potential to normalize metabolism of VLCFAs peripherally, and potentially centrally, may positively impact all forms of X-ALD, including the currently untreatable AMN form.

VK5211: A Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM) for Hip Fracture

VK5211 is an orally available, non-steroidal SARM in development for the treatment of patients recovering from non-elective hip fracture surgery. VK5211 is designed to selectively produce the therapeutic benefits of testosterone in muscle and bone tissue with improved safety and tolerability. Tissue selectivity is critical in treating patients recovering from hip fracture. These patients experience elevated rates of metabolic breakdown of muscle tissue and loss of bone mineral density, or BMD. This results in a loss of muscle strength, an increased risk of additional fractures and increased mortality.

Androgens and Androgen Receptors

Androgens are important for the proper regulation of the reproductive system and play critical roles in the homeostasis of the muscular, skeletal, cardiovascular, metabolic and central nervous systems. The most predominant androgen hormone is testosterone. Testosterone is predominately produced in the testes in men and in the adrenal glands and ovaries in women, albeit at lower levels than in men. Testosterone stimulates the growth of muscle and bone, also known as anabolic effects, as well as the growth of the prostate and sebaceous gland, also known as androgenic effects and, as such, testosterone is considered a non-tissue-selective androgen.

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While testosterone preparations are widely used for the treatment of male hypogonadism, the androgenic activity of testosterone limits its use in women and in elderly men who have a higher risk of developing benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, a benign increase in prostate size and prostate cancer. In men, the lack of selectivity of anabolic steroids may result in side effects such as acne, hair loss and progression of BPH and/or prostate cancer. In women, exposure to exogenous testosterone can be associated with hair growth, acne and masculinization. Furthermore, testosterone must be administered by intramuscular injections, transdermal patches or gels. These routes of administration can be inconvenient or associated with potential safety issues. We believe VK5211’s selectivity, limited off-target effects and convenient route of administration may make it superior to off-label testosterone for treating hip fracture and other muscle wasting disorders.

SARMs are a class of small molecules designed to elicit the benefits of androgens on tissues such as muscle and bone, without the undesirable effects on prostate and sebaceous glands, by selectively activating androgen receptors in certain tissues. We believe that, based on their robust activity on muscle and bone, SARMs can be used for the potential treatment of a number of diseases or disorders, including hip fracture, muscle wasting, osteoporosis, frailty and hormone deficiency in both men and women in cases where testosterone supplements or anabolic steroid treatments are ineffective or where the side effect profile is inappropriate.

Clinical Data for VK5211

In November 2017, we announced positive top-line results from our 12-week, Phase 2 clinical trial of VK5211 in patients who recently suffered a hip fracture.  Top-line data showed that the trial achieved its primary endpoint, demonstrating statistically significant, dose dependent increases in lean body mass, less head, following treatment with VK5211 as compared to placebo.  The study also achieved certain secondary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant increases in appendicular lean body mass and total lean body mass for all doses of VK5211, compared to placebo.  VK5211 demonstrated encouraging safety and tolerability in this study, with no drug-related SAEs reported.

The Phase 2 clinical trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group, international study designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of VK5211 in patients recovering from hip fracture surgery.  A total of 108 patients were randomized to receive once-daily VK5211 doses of 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg, 2.0 mg, or placebo for 12 weeks.  Top-line results include:

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In addition to the Phase 2 clinical trial described above, VK5211 has been evaluated in three Phase 1 clinical trials.  In these trials, VK5211 was shown to be safe and well-tolerated at all doses following daily oral administration for up to 21 days. There were no reported serious adverse events determined to be related to treatment, and no clinically significant changes in liver function tests, prostate-specific antigen, hematocrit or electrocardiogram readings were observed. Moreover, subjects treated with VK5211 for 21 days experienced statistically significant increases in lean muscle mass, and positive dose-dependent trends in functional exercise and strength measures were consistent with anabolic activity.

The first Phase 1 clinical trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 48 healthy male volunteers conducted in 2009. In this clinical trial, six cohorts received an escalating single dose of VK5211 ranging from 0.1 mg to 22 mg. The primary objective of this clinical trial was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of escalating single doses of VK5211 in healthy male subjects. Secondary objectives of the first Phase 1 clinical trial included a determination of the pharmacokinetics, or PK, and pharmacodynamics, or PD, of single escalating doses of VK5211 in healthy male subjects. The results showed that single doses at the levels administered were well-tolerated and no serious or severe adverse events were observed among subjects receiving VK5211. The PD results showed dose-related decreases in total testosterone and sex-hormone binding protein, consistent with the mechanism of action of selective androgen receptor modulation. A dose-related decrease in fasting serum high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, was also observed. VK5211 was well-tolerated and demonstrated predictable dose-proportional increases in systemic exposure.

In a subsequent Phase 1 multiple ascending dose clinical trial, which commenced in 2010 and was completed in 2011, 76 healthy men in three cohorts were dosed daily with placebo, 0.1 mg, 0.3 mg or 1 mg of VK5211 for 21 days. The primary objective of the second Phase 1 clinical trial for VK5211 was to assess the safety and tolerability of escalating doses of VK5211 following repeated once-daily oral administration for 21 days in healthy men. Secondary objectives included a determination of the PK and PD of VK5211 following repeated once-daily oral administration for 21 days. Exploratory objectives included a determination of the effects of 21 days of treatment with VK5211 on lean body mass measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scan, maximal voluntary strength measured by the one repetition maximum method, and stair climbing power. The average body mass index in all cohorts ranged from 24.6 kg/m² to 27.0 kg/m². In this clinical trial, subjects receiving 1 mg doses of VK5211 demonstrated a statistically significant 1.2 kilogram average increase in lean body mass. Positive, dose-dependent trends in strength and performance measurements were also observed. There were no significant changes or trends in fat mass across cohorts. VK5211 was shown to be safe and well tolerated, with a similar frequency of adverse events between the treated and placebo groups.  There were no drug-related serious adverse events.  In addition, there were no significant changes in hemoglobin, prostate-specific antigen, liver function tests or QT interval at any dose. VK5211 also displayed a favorable pharmacokinetic profile, without any changes in prostate-specific antigen. 

In September 2015, we completed a Phase 1 clinical trial of VK5211 in 24 healthy male and female subjects aged 65 and over. Subjects received once-daily oral doses of VK5211 for seven days. The results of this study showed VK5211 to be safe and well-tolerated, with predictable pharmacokinetic properties.

VK5211 Summary Characteristics

Based on the Phase 2 study, the three Phase 1 studies, and additional preclinical data, we believe VK5211 has the following important characteristics that may suggest therapeutic benefits in patients recovering from hip fracture surgery:

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Hip Fracture and Other Muscle Wasting Market Opportunities

More than 300,000 patients in the U.S. experience hip fractures each year, and approximately 50% lose the ability to live independently following the injury. The number of hip fractures is expected to grow in the U.S. as the population ages. Due to required limitations in mobility following hip fracture, patients experience muscle atrophy, or deterioration from lack of use, which impacts the time required for rehabilitation to restore physical function. We believe VK5211’s potential stimulatory effect on lean body mass could result in benefits to patients recovering from hip fracture or other conditions requiring orthopedic intervention, such as hip or knee replacement surgery. Currently, there are no approved therapies to assist in the maintenance or restoration of LBM, BMD or restoration of functional performance for these patients.

Hip fracture in the elderly is a serious and debilitating condition with a high mortality rate. One year mortality in this group is estimated to range from 20% to 30% and an estimated 50% of patients lose the ability to walk independently. As a result of the loss of mobility, and additional morbidities caused by the hip fracture, 20% of patients will require stays at long-term care facilities. Studies show that following hip fracture, patients experience a severe and rapid decline in LBM and BMD. These reported rates of decline are 12 to 75 times the rates observed in persons of similar age and demographics who have not sustained a hip fracture. Loss of LBM is believed to contribute to morbidity, disability and risk of re-fracture in hip fracture patients. Loss of BMD is associated with an increased risk of mortality and re-fracture.

Three Pipeline Programs Target Metabolic Disease with Large Unmet Medical Need

We have a pipeline with three additional programs targeting metabolic diseases and anemia. Our pipeline programs include VK0612, a first-in-class, orally available Phase 2b-ready drug candidate for type 2 diabetes. Preliminary clinical data suggest VK0612 has the potential to provide substantial glucose-lowering effects, with an attractive safety and convenience profile compared with existing type 2 diabetes therapies. Our preclinical programs are focused on developing inhibitors of DGAT-1 for the potential treatment of obesity and dyslipidemia and on identifying orally available EPOR agonists for the potential treatment of anemia.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, or FBPase, Inhibitor Program

VK0612 is a first-in-class, orally available drug candidate for type 2 diabetes, one of the largest global healthcare challenges today. Preliminary clinical data suggest VK0612 has the potential to provide substantial glucose-lowering effects, with an attractive safety and convenience profile compared with existing type 2 diabetes therapies. VK0612 is a potent, selective inhibitor of FBPase an enzyme that plays an important role in endogenous glucose production, or the synthesis of glucose by the body. We believe the inhibition of FBPase provides an attractive approach to controlling blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes. VK0612 has demonstrated potent glucose lowering effects in diabetic animal models. Clinical trials have shown that VK0612 is safe, well-tolerated and leads to significant glucose-lowering effects in patients with type 2 diabetes.

DGAT-1 Inhibitor Program

We are developing small molecule inhibitors of the enzyme DGAT-1 for the potential treatment of metabolic disorders such as obesity and dyslipidemia. According to the CDC, approximately 42% of the adult U.S. population is obese, with the prevalence expected to exceed 50% by 2030. The World Health Organization estimates at least 650 million people are currently obese worldwide. DGAT-1 is a potential therapeutic target for reduction of triglyceride levels in the circulation and fat accumulation in adipose tissues. DGAT-1 null mice exhibit both reduced post-meal plasma triglyceride levels and increased energy expenditure, but have normal levels of circulating free fatty acids. Conversely, transgenic mice that overexpress DGAT-1 in adipose tissue are predisposed to obesity when fed a high-fat diet and have elevated levels of circulating free fatty acids. We have developed a series of novel compounds with tissue- targeting properties intended to mitigate potential side effects by selectively targeting the enterocyte, or intestinal absorptive cells, in the intestine, to inhibit dietary triglyceride uptake, or the liver, to inhibit de novo triglyceride synthesis. We plan to conduct further preclinical studies and file an investigation new drug application, or IND, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, at a future date.

Competition

The biopharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. While we believe that our technology, knowledge, experience and scientific resources provide us with competitive advantages, we face potential competition from many different sources, including commercial biopharmaceutical enterprises, academic institutions, government agencies and private and public research institutions. Any drug candidates that we

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successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future.

Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical studies, clinical trials, regulatory approvals and marketing approved products than we do. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Our competitors may succeed in developing technologies and therapies that are more effective, better tolerated or less costly than any that we are developing, or that would render our drug candidates obsolete and noncompetitive. Even if we obtain regulatory approval of any of our drug candidates, our competitors may succeed in obtaining regulatory approvals for their products earlier than we do. We will also face competition from these third parties in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, in establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, and in acquiring and in-licensing technologies and products complementary to our programs or advantageous to our business.

The key competitive factors affecting the success of each of our drug candidates, if approved, are likely to be its efficacy, safety, tolerability, frequency and route of administration, convenience and price, the level of branded and generic competition and the availability of coverage and reimbursement from government and other third-party payors.

VK2809

While no therapies are currently approved for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, we are aware of numerous development-stage programs targeting this disease, including obeticholic acid from Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., cenicriviroc from Allergan plc (now part of AbbVie Inc.), resmetirom (MGL-3196) from Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., arachidyl amido cholanoic acid from Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd., belapectin (GR-MD-02) from Galectin Therapeutics Inc., MSDC-0602K from Cirius Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Octeta Therapeutics, LLC), tesamorelin from Theratechnologies Inc., firsocostat (GS-0976) and cilofexor (GS-9674) from Gilead Sciences, Inc., semaglutide from Novo Nordisk A/S, NGM282 (aldafermin) and NGM313 (MK-3655) from NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., tropifexor and licogliflozin from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, pegbelfermin (BMS-986036) and CC-90001 from Bristol-Myers Squibb, lanifibranor from Inventiva S.A., tirzepatide from Eli Lilly and Company, RG7992 from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, and EDP-305 from Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In addition, we are aware of active programs at 89bio, Inc., Akero Therapeutics, Inc., Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ascletis Biopharmaceutical, AstraZeneca PLC, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., CytoDyn Inc., Durect Corporation, Enyo Pharma SA, Forma Therapeutics, Inc., Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., HighTide Therapeutics Inc., Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Kowa Company, Ltd., Lipocine, MediciNova Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Metacrine, Inc., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Nitto Denko Corporation, NorthSea Therapeutics BV, NuSirt Biopharma, Inc., Pfizer Inc., Poxel SA, Sagimet Biosciences, Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Yuhan Corporation and Zydus Cadila.

VK5211

In the U.S., there are currently no marketed therapies for the maintenance or improvement of lean body mass, bone mineral density or physical function in patients recovering from non-elective hip fracture surgery. However, VK5211, if approved, will face competition from experimental therapies that are in various stages of clinical development for conditions characterized by muscle wasting by companies including Biophytis SA and Helsinn Group. In addition, nutritional and growth hormone-based therapies are sometimes used in patients experiencing muscle wasting.

VK0214

In the U.S., there are currently no marketed therapies for the treatment of X-linked X-ALD. Hematopoietic stem cell therapy has been used to treat CALD, the most severe form of X-ALD. More recently, gene therapy has been shown to be effective in CALD as well. However, both treatments are invasive, requiring surgical intervention, and these do not appear to have an effect on AMN, the most pervasive form of X-ALD. There are several experimental therapies that are in various stages of clinical development for X-ALD by companies, including Autobahn Therapeutics, bluebird bio, Inc., Minoryx Therapeutics S.L., Neuralgene, Orpheris, Inc., Poxel SA, ReceptoPharm, Inc. and SwanBio Therapeutics, Inc., which may be competitive with VK0214, if approved.

Manufacturing and Supply

We do not have any manufacturing facilities and do not intend to develop any manufacturing capabilities. We believe that we have sufficient supplies of drug substance to allow for completion of our planned clinical studies. Bulk active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, and certain dosage forms are currently in storage in compliance with good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, requirements. We believe that a majority of the existing API will be suitable for formulation into clinical trial material. We also have identified multiple

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contract manufacturers to provide commercial supplies of the formulated drug candidates if they are approved for marketing. We intend to secure contract manufacturers with established track records of quality product supply and significant experience with the regulatory requirements of the FDA and the European Medicines Agency, or EMA.

Our History

We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on September 24, 2012. Since our incorporation, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts to raising capital, building infrastructure and obtaining the worldwide rights to certain technology, including VK2809, VK0214 and VK5211, and conducting certain clinical trials and preclinical studies related to these programs. Each of our programs is based on small molecules licensed from Ligand pursuant to our Master License Agreement with Ligand, which we entered into on May 21, 2014.

Agreements with Ligand

Master License Agreement

On May 21, 2014, we entered into a Master License Agreement, as amended on each of September 6, 2014, April 8, 2015 and March 21, 2016, or the Master License Agreement, with Ligand pursuant to which, among other things, Ligand granted to us and our affiliates an exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-bearing right and license under (1) patents related to (a) our VK2809 and VK0214 programs and any other compounds comprised by specified TRß patents and any derivatives of such compounds, or TRß Compounds, (b) our VK5211 program and any other compounds comprised by specified SARM patents and derivatives of such compounds, or SARM Compounds, (c) our VK0612 program and any other compounds comprised by specified FBPase patents and derivatives of such compounds, or FBPase Compounds, (d) our DGAT-1 program and any other compounds comprised by specified DGAT-1 patents and derivatives of such compounds, or DGAT-1 Compounds, and (e) our EPOR program and any other compounds comprised by specified EPOR patents and derivatives of such compounds, or EPOR Compounds, and; (2) related know-how controlled by Ligand; and (3) physical quantities of TRß Compounds, SARM Compounds, FBPase Compounds, DGAT-1 Compounds and EPOR Compounds or, collectively, the Licensed Technology, to research, develop, manufacture, have manufactured, use and commercialize the Licensed Technology in and for all therapeutic and diagnostic uses in humans or animals. We have the right to sublicense these rights in certain circumstances. Pursuant to the terms of the Master License Agreement, we have the exclusive right and sole responsibility and decision-making authority for researching and developing any pharmaceutical products that contain or comprise one or any combination of a TRß Compound, SARM Compound, FBPase Compound, DGAT-1 Compound or EPOR Compound, or, collectively, the Licensed Products. We also have the exclusive right and sole responsibility and decision-making authority to conduct all clinical trials and preclinical studies that we believe are appropriate to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary for commercialization of the Licensed Products, and we will own and maintain all regulatory filings and all regulatory approvals for the Licensed Products. Additionally, pursuant to the terms of the Master License Agreement, we have the sole decision-making authority and responsibility and the exclusive right to commercialize any of the Licensed Products, either by ourselves or, in certain circumstances, through sublicensees selected by us. We also have the exclusive right to manufacture or have manufactured any Licensed Product ourselves or, in certain circumstances, through sublicensees or third parties selected by us. We will own any intellectual property that we develop in connection with the license granted under the Master License Agreement.

As partial consideration for the grant of the rights and licenses to us under the Master License Agreement, we issued to Ligand at the closing of our initial public offering of our common stock, or the IPO, 3,655,964 shares of our common stock having an estimated aggregate value of $29.2 million.

As further partial consideration for the grant of the rights and licenses to us by Ligand under the Master License Agreement, we have agreed to pay to Ligand certain one-time, non-refundable milestone payments in connection with Licensed Products containing (1) VK2809, VK0214 or any other TRß Compound, in an aggregate amount of up to $75.0 million per indication (for up to a total of three indications) upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and up to $150.0 million upon the achievement of certain sales milestones; (2) VK5211 or any other SARM Compound, in an aggregate amount of up to $85.0 million per indication (for up to a total of two indications) upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and up to $100.0 million upon the achievement of certain sales milestones; (3) VK0612 or any other FBPase Compound, in an aggregate amount of up to $60.0 million per indication (for up to a total of four indications) upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and up to $150.0 million upon the achievement of certain sales milestones; (4) any EPOR Compound, in an aggregate amount of up to $48.0 million per indication (for up to a total of three indications) upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and up to $50.0 million upon the achievement of certain sales milestones; and (5) any DGAT-1 Compound, in an aggregate amount of up to $78.0 million per indication (for up to a total of two indications) upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and up to $150.0 million upon the achievement of certain sales milestones. Additionally, we will pay to Ligand a one-time, non-refundable milestone payment of $2.5 million upon the occurrence of the first commercial sale of VK0612 or any other FBPase Compound by one of our sublicensees. We will also pay to Ligand royalties on aggregate annual worldwide net sales of Licensed Products by us, our affiliates and our sublicensees at tiered percentage rates in the

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following ranges based upon net sales: (a) low-to-middle single digit royalties upon sales of VK2809, VK0214 or any other TRß Compound,  (b) upper single digit royalties upon sales of VK5211 or any other SARM Compound, (c) upper single digit royalties upon sales of VK0612 or any other FBPase Compound, (d) low-to-middle single digit royalties upon sales of any DGAT-1 Compound, and (e) middle-to-upper single digit royalties upon sales of any EPOR Compound; in each case subject to reduction in certain circumstances.

The term of the Master License Agreement will continue unless the agreement is terminated by us or Ligand. Ligand has the right to terminate the Master License Agreement under certain circumstances, including, but not limited to: (1) in the event of our insolvency or bankruptcy; (2) if we do not pay an undisputed amount owing under the Master License Agreement when due and fail to cure such default within a specified period of time; or (3) if we default on certain of our material and substantial obligations and fail to cure the default within a specified period of time. We have the right to terminate the Master License Agreement under certain circumstances, including, but not limited to: (i) if Ligand does not pay an undisputed amount owing under the Master License Agreement when due and fails to cure such default within a specified period of time, or (ii) if Ligand defaults on certain of its material and substantial obligations and fails to cure the default within a specified period of time. In addition, provisions of the Master License Agreement can be terminated on a licensed program-by-program basis under certain circumstances. In the event that the Master License Agreement is terminated in its entirety or with respect to a specific licensed program for any reason: (A) all licenses granted to us under the Master License Agreement (or with respect to the specific licensed program) will terminate and we will, upon Ligand’s request (subject to Ligand assuming legal responsibility for any clinical trials of the Licensed Products then ongoing), assign and transfer to Ligand (or to such transferee as Ligand may direct), at no cost to Ligand, all regulatory documentation and all regulatory approvals prepared or obtained by us or on our behalf related to the Licensed Products (or those related to the specific licensed program), or, if Ligand does not make such a request, we will wind down any ongoing clinical trials with respect to the Licensed Products (or those related to the specific licensed program) at no cost to Ligand; (B) we will, upon Ligand’s request, sell and transfer to Ligand (or to such transferee as Ligand may direct), at a price equal to 125% of our costs of goods, any and all chemical, biological or physical materials relating to or comprising the Licensed Products (or those related to the specific licensed program); (C) we will have, for a period of six months following termination, the right to sell on the normal business terms in existence before such termination any finished commercial inventory of Licensed Products (or those related to the specific licensed program) which remains on hand, so long as we pay to Ligand the applicable royalties and sales milestones; (D) Ligand has the right to require us to assign to Ligand the trademarks owned by us relating to the Licensed Products (or those related to the specific licensed program); and (E) we will grant to Ligand a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing sublicensable license under any patent rights and know-how controlled by us to the extent necessary to make, have made, import, use, offer to sell and sell the Licensed Products (or those related to the specific licensed program) anywhere in the world at a royalty rate in the low single digits.

Under the Master License Agreement, we have agreed to indemnify Ligand for claims relating to the performance of our obligations under the Master License Agreement, any breach of the representations and warranties made by us under the Master License Agreement, clinical trials conducted by us and the research, development and commercialization of the Licensed Products by us and our affiliates, sublicensees, distributors and agents. In addition, Ligand has agreed to indemnify us for claims relating to the performance of its obligations under the Master License Agreement, its breach of representations and warranties under the agreement and its research and development of the licensed compounds before the effective date of the Master License Agreement. Each party’s indemnification obligations will not apply to the extent the claims result from the negligence or willful misconduct of the indemnified party or any of its employees, agents, officers or directors or from the indemnified party’s breach of its representations or warranties set forth in the Master License Agreement.

Management Rights Letter

As a condition to entering into the Master License Agreement, we entered into a Management Rights Letter with Ligand, dated as of May 21, 2014, or the Management Rights Letter. Pursuant to the Management Rights Letter, we agreed to: (1) expand the size of our board of directors so as to create one new directorship on our board of directors, and (2) appoint an individual named by Ligand, or the Ligand Director, to fill the newly-created directorship. Pursuant to the terms of the Management Rights Letter, the Ligand Director is entitled to receive the same compensation, including cash payments and equity incentive grants, as is provided to our other directors; however, the Ligand Director is not entitled to receive the compensation provided to our directors in their capacity as members of a committee of our board of directors. Furthermore, we agreed to provide Ligand with advance written notice of the date of the annual meeting of our stockholders for each year in which the Ligand Director is up for election so as to permit Ligand to designate the Ligand Director for election at such annual meeting, and to nominate the Ligand Director to our board of directors at each such annual meeting of our stockholders. In addition, under the Management Rights Letter, we granted Ligand certain contractual management rights in the event Ligand is not represented on our board of directors, including the right to consult with us and offer advice to our management on significant business issues and the right to receive copies of all notices, minutes, consents and other material that we provide to our directors, subject to certain exceptions. We also agreed that, upon the consummation of the IPO, we would appoint a Chairperson of our board of directors who is “independent” under applicable Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, rules and the rules and listings standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. In accordance with the terms of the Management Rights Letter, Matthew W. Foehr was appointed to our board of directors as the Ligand Director and Lawson Macartney, DVM, Ph.D. was

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appointed Chairperson of our board of directors. The Management Rights Letter will terminate upon the earliest to occur of: (a) the liquidation, dissolution or indefinite cessation of our business operations; (b) the execution by us of a general assignment for the benefit of creditors or the appointment of a receiver or trustee to take possession of our property and assets; (c) an acquisition of us by means of any transaction or series of related transactions (including, without limitation, any reorganization, merger or consolidation) if our stockholders of record as constituted immediately prior to such transaction hold less than 50% of the voting power of the surviving or acquiring entity; (d) the date that Ligand and its affiliates collectively cease to beneficially own at least 7.5% of our outstanding voting stock; or (e) May 21, 2024.

Voting Agreement

In connection with the terms of the Management Rights Letter, we, Ligand, Brian Lian, Ph.D., and our former Chief Operating Officer, entered into a Voting Agreement dated as of May 21, 2014, or the Voting Agreement, pursuant to which each of Ligand, Dr. Lian and our former Chief Operating Officer agreed to vote all of his or its shares of our voting securities so as to elect the Ligand Director as a member of our board of directors, and, if requested by Ligand, to vote in favor of any removal of the Ligand Director or selection of a new Ligand Director. The Voting Agreement will terminate under the same circumstances in which the Management Rights Letter will terminate.

Registration Rights Agreement

As a condition to the parties entering into the Master License Agreement, we entered into a Registration Rights Agreement, dated May 21, 2014, as amended on January 22, 2016, with Ligand, or the Registration Rights Agreement, pursuant to which we granted certain registration rights to Ligand with respect to (1) the securities issued by us to Ligand pursuant to the Master License Agreement and the securities issuable by us to Ligand pursuant to a Secured Convertible Promissory Note previously issued by us to Ligand, or, collectively, the Viking Securities, (2) the shares of our common stock issued or issuable upon conversion of the Viking Securities, if applicable, and (3) the shares of our common stock issued as a dividend or other distribution with respect to, in exchange for or in replacement of the Viking Securities, or, collectively, the Registrable Securities.

Mandatory Resale Registration Rights

Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, on February 14, 2017, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, covering the resale of the full amount of the Registrable Securities.  If, on any day after the Registration Statement is declared effective by the SEC Staff, sales of all of the Registrable Securities required to be included in the Registration Statement cannot be made pursuant to the Registration Statement, then we will, subject to certain exceptions, be obligated to pay to Ligand an amount in cash equal to 1% of the aggregate value of the Registrable Securities, measured as of the date of their issuance, on the day of such failure or ineffectiveness of, or inability to use, the Registration Statement and on every thirtieth day thereafter (pro-rated for partial periods) until such failure or ineffectiveness of, or inability to use, the Registration Statement is cured; up to a maximum of 5% of the aggregate value of the Registrable Securities, measured as of the date of their issuance.

Pursuant to the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, we also agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to keep each Registration Statement filed pursuant to the agreement effective with respect to all Registrable Securities until the earlier of (1) the date on which all shares of Registrable Securities may immediately be sold under Rule 144, as promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act, or Rule 144, during any 90-day period, or (2) the date on which all of the Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement that are held by Ligand are sold.

Additionally, we have the right during certain periods after the effective date of the Registration Statement covering the resale of the Registrable Securities, to delay the disclosure of material, non-public information if, in the good faith opinion of our board of directors, it is not in our best interests to disclose the information. In addition, we have the ability to prohibit sales under the Registration Statement during certain periods, subject to certain limitations.

Government Regulation

FDA Regulation and Marketing Approval

In the U.S., the FDA regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, as amended, or FDCA, and related regulations. Drugs are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. regulatory requirements at any time during the drug development process, approval process or after approval may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions and non-approval of drug candidates. These sanctions could include the imposition by the FDA or an Institutional Review Board, or IRB, of a clinical hold on clinical trials, the FDA’s refusal to approve pending applications or related supplements, withdrawal of an approval, untitled or warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, restitution, disgorgement, civil penalties or criminal prosecution. Such

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actions by government agencies could also require us to expend a large amount of resources to respond to the actions. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us.

The FDA and comparable regulatory agencies in state and local jurisdictions and in foreign countries impose substantial requirements upon the clinical development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products.

These agencies and other federal, state and local entities regulate research and development activities and the testing, manufacture, quality control, safety, effectiveness, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, record-keeping, approval, post-approval monitoring, advertising, promotion, sampling and import and export of our products. Our drugs must be approved by the FDA through the new drug application, or NDA, process before they may be legally marketed in the U.S. See “The NDA Approval Process” under Part I, “Item 1. Business” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The process required by the FDA before drugs may be marketed in the U.S. generally involves the following:

IND and Clinical Trials

Prior to commencing the first clinical trial, an IND, which contains the results of preclinical studies along with other information, such as information about product chemistry, manufacturing and controls and a proposed protocol, must be submitted to the FDA. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA unless the FDA within the 30-day time period raises concerns or questions about the conduct of the clinical trial. In such a case, the IND sponsor must resolve any outstanding concerns with the FDA before the clinical trial may begin. A separate submission to the existing IND must be made for each successive clinical trial to be conducted during drug development. Further, an independent IRB for each site proposing to conduct the clinical trial must review and approve the investigational plan for any clinical trial before it commences at that site. Informed written consent must also be obtained from each trial subject. Regulatory authorities, including the FDA, an IRB, a data safety monitoring board or the sponsor, may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the participants are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk or that the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with FDA requirements.

For purposes of NDA approval, human clinical trials are typically conducted in sequential phases that may overlap:

All clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with FDA regulations, GCP requirements and their protocols in order for the data to be considered reliable for regulatory purposes.

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An investigational drug product that is a combination of two different drugs in the same dosage form must comply with an additional rule that requires that each component make a contribution to the claimed effects of the drug product. This typically requires larger studies that test the drug against each of its components. In addition, typically, if a drug product is intended to treat a chronic disease, as is the case with some of our products, safety and efficacy data must be gathered over an extended period of time, which can range from six months to three years or more. Government regulation may delay or prevent marketing of drug candidates or new drugs for a considerable period of time and impose costly procedures upon our activities.

Disclosure of Clinical Trial Information

Sponsors of clinical trials of FDA-regulated products, including drugs, are required to register and disclose certain clinical trial information. Information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, study sites and investigators, and other aspects of the clinical trial, is then made public as part of the registration. Sponsors are also obligated to discuss the results of their clinical trials after completion. Disclosure of the results of these trials can be delayed until the new product or new indication being studied has been approved. Competitors may use this publicly available information to gain knowledge regarding the progress of development programs.

The NDA Approval Process

In order to obtain approval to market a drug in the U.S., a marketing application must be submitted to the FDA that provides data establishing to the FDA’s satisfaction the safety and effectiveness of the investigational drug for the proposed indication. Each NDA submission requires a substantial user fee payment (currently exceeding $2.8 million for fiscal year 2021) unless a waiver or exemption applies. The application includes all relevant data available from pertinent non-clinical studies, or preclinical studies and clinical trials, including negative or ambiguous results as well as positive findings, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacturing, controls and proposed labeling, among other things. Data can come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and effectiveness of a use of a product, or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators that meet GCP requirements.

During the development of a new drug, sponsors are given opportunities to meet with the FDA at certain points. These points may be prior to submission of an IND, at the end of Phase 2 clinical trials, and before an NDA is submitted. Meetings at other times may be requested. These meetings can provide an opportunity for the sponsor to share information about the data gathered to date, for the FDA to provide advice and for the sponsor and the FDA to reach agreement on the next phase of development. Sponsors typically use the end-of-Phase 2 clinical trials meetings to discuss their Phase 2 clinical trials results and present their plans for the pivotal Phase 3 registration trial that they believe will support approval of the new drug.

Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional preclinical safety studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the drug and finalize a process for the NDA sponsor’s manufacturing the product in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the drug candidate and the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final drugs. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the drug candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf-life.

The results of drug development, non-clinical studies and clinical trials, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests conducted on the chemistry of the drug, proposed labeling and other relevant information are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA requesting approval to market the product. The FDA reviews all NDAs submitted to ensure that they are sufficiently complete for substantive review before it accepts them for filing. It may request additional information rather than accept an NDA for filing. In this event, the NDA must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application is also subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. The FDA has 60 days from its receipt of an NDA to conduct an initial review to determine whether the application will be accepted for filing based on the FDA’s threshold determination that the application is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. If the NDA submission is accepted for filing, the FDA reviews the NDA to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe and effective for its intended use, and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to assure and preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality and purity. The FDA has agreed to specific performance goals on the review of NDAs and seeks to review standard NDAs within 12 months from submission of the NDA. The review process may be extended by the FDA for three additional months to consider certain late submitted information or information intended to clarify information already provided in the submission. After the FDA completes its initial review of an NDA, it will communicate to the sponsor that the drug will either be approved, or it will issue a complete response letter to communicate that the NDA will not be approved in its current form and inform the sponsor of changes that must be made or additional clinical, non-clinical or manufacturing data that must be received before the application can be approved, with no implication regarding the ultimate approvability of the application or the timing of any such approval, if ever. If, or when, those deficiencies have been addressed to the FDA’s satisfaction in a resubmission of the NDA, the FDA will issue an approval letter. The FDA has committed to reviewing such resubmissions in two to six months depending on the type of information included. The FDA may refer applications for novel drug

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products or drug products that present difficult questions of safety or effectiveness to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and, if so, under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.

Before approving an NDA, the FDA typically will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving an NDA, the FDA may inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP regulations. If the FDA determines the application, manufacturing process or manufacturing facilities are not acceptable, it typically will outline the deficiencies and often will request additional testing or information. This may significantly delay further review of the application. If the FDA finds that a clinical site did not conduct the clinical trial in accordance with GCP regulations, the FDA may determine the data generated by the clinical site should be excluded from the primary efficacy analyses provided in the NDA. Additionally, notwithstanding the submission of any requested additional information, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval.

The FDA may require, or companies may pursue, additional clinical trials after a product is approved. These so-called Phase 4 or post-approval clinical trials may be made a condition to be satisfied for continuing drug approval. The results of Phase 4 clinical trials can confirm the effectiveness of a drug candidate and can provide important safety information. In addition, the FDA now has express statutory authority to require sponsors to conduct post-marketing trials to specifically address safety issues identified by the agency. See “Post-Marketing Requirements” under Part I, “Item 1. Business” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The FDA also has authority to require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or a REMS, from manufacturers to ensure that the benefits of a drug outweigh its risks. A sponsor may also voluntarily propose a REMS as part of the NDA submission. The need for a REMS is determined as part of the review of the NDA. Based on statutory standards, elements of a REMS may include “dear doctor letters,” a medication guide, more elaborate targeted educational programs, and in some cases elements to assure safe use, or ETASU, which is the most restrictive REMS. ETASU can include, but are not limited to, special training or certification for prescribing or dispensing, dispensing only under certain circumstances, special monitoring and the use of patient registries. These elements are negotiated as part of the NDA approval, and in some cases if consensus is not obtained until after the Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992, as amended, review cycle, the approval date may be delayed. Once adopted, REMS are subject to periodic assessment and modification.

Changes to some of the conditions established in an approved application, including changes in indications, labeling, manufacturing processes or facilities, require submission and FDA approval of a new NDA or NDA supplement before the change can be implemented. An NDA supplement for a new indication typically requires clinical data similar to that in the original application, and the FDA uses the same procedures and actions in reviewing NDA supplements as it does in reviewing NDAs.

Even if a drug candidate receives regulatory approval, the approval may be limited to specific disease states, patient populations and dosages, or might contain significant limitations on use in the form of warnings, precautions or contraindications, or in the form of onerous risk management plans, restrictions on distribution or post-marketing trial requirements. Further, even after regulatory approval is obtained, later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product may result in restrictions on the product or even complete withdrawal of the product from the market. Delay in obtaining, or failure to obtain, regulatory approval for our products, or obtaining approval but for significantly limited use, would harm our business. In addition, we cannot predict what adverse governmental regulations may arise from future U.S. or foreign governmental action.

Orphan Designation and Exclusivity

The FDA may grant orphan drug designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or if it affects more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the drug for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales in the United States.

Orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical study costs, tax advantages, and user-fee waivers. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process. In addition, the first NDA or Biologics License Application, or BLA, applicant to receive orphan drug designation for a particular drug is entitled to orphan drug exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application to market the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years in the United States, except in limited circumstances. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug for the same disease or condition, or the same drug for a different disease or condition.

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The Hatch-Waxman Amendments

Under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, as amended, commonly known as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, a portion of a product’s U.S. patent term that was lost during clinical development and regulatory review by the FDA may be restored. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments also provide a process for listing patents pertaining to approved products in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (commonly known as the Orange Book) and for a competitor seeking approval of an application that references a product with listed patents to make certifications pertaining to such patents. In addition, the Hatch-Waxman Amendments provide for a statutory protection, known as non-patent exclusivity, against the FDA’s acceptance or approval of certain competitor applications.

Patent Term Restoration

Patent term restoration can compensate for time lost during drug development and the regulatory review process by returning up to five years of patent life for a patent that covers a new product or its use. This period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an IND (falling after issuance of the patent) and the submission date of an NDA, plus the time between the submission date of an NDA and the approval of that application, provided the sponsor acted with diligence. Patent term restorations, however, cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval and only one patent applicable to an approved drug may be extended and the extension must be applied for prior to expiration of the patent. The United States Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration.

Orange Book Listing

In seeking approval for a drug through an NDA, applicants are required to list with the FDA each patent whose claims cover the applicant’s product. Upon approval of a drug, each of the patents listed by the NDA holder listed in the drug’s application or otherwise are then published in the FDA’s Orange Book. Drugs listed in the Orange Book can, in turn, be cited by potential generic competitors in support of approval of an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA. An ANDA provides for marketing of a drug product 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. Other than the requirement for bioequivalence testing, ANDA applicants are not required to conduct, or submit results of, preclinical studies or clinical trials to prove the safety or effectiveness of their drug product. 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 product in the FDA’s Orange Book. Specifically, the applicant must certify that: (1) the required patent information has not been filed; (2) the listed patent has expired; (3) the listed patent has not expired but will expire on a particular date and approval is sought after patent expiration; or (4) the listed patent is invalid or will not be infringed by the new product. The ANDA applicant may also elect to submit a Section VIII statement certifying that its proposed ANDA label does not contain (or carves out) any language regarding the patented method-of-use rather than certify to a listed method-of-use patent. If the applicant does not challenge the listed patents, the ANDA application will not be approved until all the listed patents claiming the referenced product have expired.

A certification that the new product will not infringe the already approved product’s listed patents, or that such patents are invalid, is called a Paragraph IV certification. 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.

An applicant submitting an NDA under Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA, which permits the filing of an NDA where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies not conducted by, or for, the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference, is required to certify to the FDA regarding any patents listed in the Orange Book for the approved product it references to the same extent that an ANDA applicant would.

Market Exclusivity

Market exclusivity provisions under the FDCA also can delay the submission or the approval of certain applications. The FDCA provides a five-year period of non-patent marketing exclusivity within the U.S. to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity. A drug is a new chemical entity if the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, which is the molecule or ion responsible for the action of the drug substance. During the exclusivity period, the FDA may not accept for review an ANDA or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company for another version of such drug where the

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applicant does not own or have a legal right of reference to all the data required for approval. However, an application may be submitted after four years if it contains a Paragraph IV certification. The FDCA also provides three years of marketing exclusivity for an NDA, 505(b)(2) NDA or supplement to an existing NDA if new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant are deemed by the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application, for example, for new indications, dosages or strengths of an existing drug. This three-year exclusivity covers only the conditions associated with the new clinical investigations and does not prohibit the FDA from approving ANDAs for drugs containing the original active agent. Five-year and three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of a full NDA; however, an applicant submitting a full NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the non-clinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness.

Post-Marketing Requirements

Following approval of a new product, a pharmaceutical company and the approved product are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, monitoring and record-keeping activities, reporting to the applicable regulatory authorities of adverse experiences with the product, providing the regulatory authorities with updated safety and efficacy information, product sampling and distribution requirements, and complying with promotion and advertising requirements, which include, among others, standards for direct-to-consumer advertising, restrictions on promoting drugs for uses or in patient populations that are not described in the drug’s approved labeling (known as “off-label use”), limitations on industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and requirements for promotional activities involving the internet, including social media. Although physicians may prescribe legally available drugs for off-label uses, manufacturers may not market or promote such off-label uses. Modifications or enhancements to the product or its labeling or changes of the site of manufacture are often subject to the approval of the FDA and other regulators, who may or may not grant approval, or may include in a lengthy review process.

Prescription drug advertising is subject to federal, state and foreign regulations. In the U.S., the FDA regulates prescription drug promotion, including direct-to-consumer advertising. Prescription drug promotional materials must be submitted to the FDA in conjunction with their first use. Any distribution of prescription drug products and pharmaceutical samples must comply with the U.S. Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987, as amended, or the PDMA, a part of the FDCA.

In the U.S., once a product is approved, its manufacture is subject to comprehensive and continuing regulation by the FDA. The FDA regulations require that products be manufactured in specific, approved facilities and in accordance with cGMP. We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties for the production of clinical and commercial quantities of our products in accordance with cGMP regulations. cGMP regulations require, among other things, quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation and the obligation to investigate and correct any deviations from cGMP. Drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance. These regulations also impose certain organizational, procedural and documentation requirements with respect to manufacturing and quality assurance activities. NDA holders using contract manufacturers, laboratories or packagers are responsible for the selection and monitoring of qualified firms and, in certain circumstances, qualified suppliers to these firms. These firms and, where applicable, their suppliers are subject to inspections by the FDA at any time, and the discovery of violative conditions, including failure to conform to cGMP, could result in enforcement actions that interrupt the operation of any such product or may result in restrictions on a product, manufacturer, or holder of an approved NDA, including, among other things, recall or withdrawal of the product from the market.

The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, also known as Phase 4 testing, REMS to monitor the effects of an approved product or place conditions on an approval that could restrict the distribution or use of the product. Discovery of previously unknown problems with a product or the failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements can have negative consequences, including adverse publicity, judicial or administrative enforcement, untitled or warning letters from the FDA, mandated corrective advertising or communications with doctors, withdrawal of approval, and civil or criminal penalties, among others. 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, and also may require the implementation of other risk management measures. Also, new government requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, may be established, or the FDA’s policies may change, which could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our products in development.

Reimbursement, Anti-Kickback and False Claims Laws and Other Regulatory Matters

In the U.S., the research, manufacturing, distribution, sale and promotion of drug products and medical devices are potentially subject to regulation by various federal, state and local authorities in addition to the FDA, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, other divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (e.g., the Office of Inspector General), the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Occupational

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Safety & Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, state Attorneys General and other state and local government agencies. For example, sales, marketing and scientific/educational grant programs must comply with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act of 1986, as amended, or the federal False Claims Act, the privacy regulations promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, or HIPAA, and similar state laws. Pricing and rebate programs must comply with the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended, and the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, as amended. If products are made available to authorized users of the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services Administration, additional laws and requirements apply. The handling of any controlled substances must comply with the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act. Products must meet applicable child-resistant packaging requirements under the U.S. Poison Prevention Packaging Act. All of these activities are also potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or the MMA, established the Medicare Part D program to provide a voluntary prescription drug benefit to Medicare beneficiaries. Under Part D, Medicare beneficiaries may enroll in prescription drug plans offered by private entities which will provide coverage of outpatient prescription drugs. Unlike Medicare Part A and B, Part D coverage is not standardized. Part D prescription drug plan sponsors are not required to pay for all covered Part D drugs, and each drug plan can develop its own drug formulary that identifies which drugs it will cover and at what tier or level. However, Part D prescription drug formularies must include drugs within each therapeutic category and class of covered Part D drugs, though not necessarily all the drugs in each category or class. Any formulary used by a Part D prescription drug plan must be developed and reviewed by a pharmacy and therapeutic committee. Government payment for some of the costs of prescription drugs may increase demand for products for which we receive regulatory approval. However, any negotiated prices for our products covered by a Part D prescription drug plan will likely be lower than the prices we might otherwise obtain. Moreover, while the MMA applies only to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payors often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own payment rates. Any reduction in payment that results from the MMA may result in a similar reduction in payments from non-government payors.

The distribution of pharmaceutical products is subject to additional requirements and regulations, including extensive record-keeping, licensing, storage and security requirements intended to prevent the unauthorized sale of pharmaceutical products.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides funding for the federal government to compare the effectiveness of different treatments for the same illness. A plan for the research will be developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institutes for Health, and periodic reports on the status of the research and related expenditures will be made to Congress. Although the results of the comparative effectiveness studies are not intended to mandate coverage policies for public or private payors, it is not clear what effect, if any, the research will have on the sales of our drug candidate, if any such product or the condition that it is intended to treat is the subject of a clinical trial. It is also possible that comparative effectiveness research demonstrating benefits in a competitor’s product could adversely affect the sales of our drug candidate. If third-party payors do not consider our products to be cost-effective compared to other available therapies, they may not cover our products after approval as a benefit under their plans or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow us to sell our products on a profitable basis.

In addition, in some foreign countries, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing drug pricing vary widely from country to country. For example, the European Union provides options for its member states to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. A member state may approve a specific price for the medicinal product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. There can be no assurance that any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products. Historically, products launched in the European Union do not follow price structures of the U.S. and generally tend to be priced significantly lower than in the U.S.

As noted above, in the U.S., we are subject to complex laws and regulations pertaining to healthcare “fraud and abuse,” including, but not limited to, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act, and other state and federal laws and regulations. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute makes it illegal for any person, including a prescription drug manufacturer, or a party acting on its behalf, to knowingly and willfully solicit, receive, offer or pay any remuneration that is intended to induce the referral of business, including the purchase, order or prescription of a particular drug, or other good or service for which payment in whole or in part may be made under a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Violations of this law are punishable by up to five years in prison, criminal fines, administrative civil money penalties and exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs. In addition, many states have adopted laws similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Some of these state prohibitions apply to the referral of patients for healthcare services reimbursed by any insurer, not just federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Due to the breadth of these federal and state anti-kickback laws, the absence of guidance in the form of regulations or court decisions and the potential for additional legal or regulatory change in this area, it is possible that our future sales and marketing practices or our future relationships with medical professionals might be challenged under anti-kickback laws, which could harm us.

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Because we intend to commercialize products that could be reimbursed under a federal healthcare program and other governmental healthcare programs, we plan to develop a comprehensive compliance program that establishes internal controls to facilitate adherence to the rules and program requirements to which we will or may become subject.

The federal False Claims Act prohibits anyone from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, for payment to federal programs (including Medicare and Medicaid) claims for items or services, including drugs, that are false or fraudulent, claims for items or services not provided as claimed or claims for medically unnecessary items or services. Although we would not submit claims directly to payors, manufacturers can be held liable under these laws if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims by, for example, providing inaccurate billing or coding information to customers or promoting a product off-label. In addition, our future activities relating to the reporting of wholesaler or estimated retail prices for our products, the reporting of prices used to calculate Medicaid rebate information and other information affecting federal, state and third-party reimbursement for our products, and the sale and marketing of our products, are subject to scrutiny under this law. For example, pharmaceutical companies have been found liable under the federal False Claims Act in connection with their off-label promotion of drugs. Penalties for a federal False Claims Act violation include three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus mandatory civil penalties effective in 2020 of between $11,665 and $23,331 for each separate false claim (each of which is subject to adjustment for inflation), the potential for exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs and, although the federal False Claims Act is a civil statute, conduct that results in a federal False Claims Act violation may also implicate various federal criminal statutes. If the government were to allege that we were, or convict us of, violating these false claims laws, we could be subject to a substantial fine and may suffer a decline in our stock price. In addition, private individuals have the ability to bring actions under the federal False Claims Act and certain states have enacted laws modeled after the federal False Claims Act.

There are also an increasing number of state laws that require manufacturers to make reports to states on pricing and marketing information. Many of these laws contain ambiguities as to what is required to comply with the laws. In addition, as discussed below, beginning in 2013, a similar federal requirement requires manufacturers to track and report to the federal government certain payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals in the previous calendar year. These laws may affect our sales, marketing and other promotional activities by imposing administrative and compliance burdens on us. In addition, given the lack of clarity with respect to these laws and their implementation, our reporting actions could be subject to the penalty provisions of the pertinent state, and soon federal, authorities.

The failure to comply with regulatory requirements subjects companies to possible legal or regulatory action. Depending on the circumstances, failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements can result in criminal prosecution, fines or other penalties, injunctions, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of product approvals or refusal to allow a company to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts.

Changes in regulations, statutes or the interpretation of existing regulations could impact our business in the future by requiring, for example: (1) changes to our manufacturing arrangements; (2) additions or modifications to product labeling; (3) the recall or discontinuation of our products; or (4) additional record-keeping requirements. If any such changes were to be imposed, they could adversely affect the operation of our business.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, collectively the PPACA, was enacted, which includes measures that have or will significantly change the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Among the provisions of the PPACA of greatest importance to the pharmaceutical industry are the following:

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There have been continued public announcements by members of the U.S. Congress regarding plans to repeal and replace the PPACA.  For example, on December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was signed into law, which, among other things, eliminated the individual mandate requiring most Americans (other than those who qualify for a hardship exemption) to carry a minimum level of health coverage, effective January 1, 2019.  President Biden and his administration has announced plans to amend the PPACA to, among other things, expand the scope of the law. We cannot predict the ultimate form or timing of any repeal, replacement, amendment, expansion or other modification of the PPACA or the effect such a repeal, replacement, amendment, expansion or other modification would have on our business.

Pediatric Exclusivity and Pediatric Use

Under the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, or the BPCA, certain drugs may obtain an additional six months of exclusivity if the sponsor submits information requested in writing by the FDA, or a Written Request, relating to the use of the active moiety of the drug in children. Conditions for exclusivity include the FDA’s determination that information relating to the use of a new drug in the pediatric population may produce health benefits in that population, the FDA making a written request for pediatric studies and the applicant agreeing to perform, and reporting on, the requested studies within the statutory timeframe. The FDA may not issue a Written Request for studies on unapproved or approved indications or where it determines that information relating to the use of a drug in a pediatric population, or part of the pediatric population, may not produce health benefits in that population. Applications under the BPCA are treated as priority applications, with all of the benefits that designation confers.

We have not received a Written Request for such pediatric studies, although we may ask the FDA to issue a Written Request for such studies in the future. To receive the six-month pediatric market exclusivity, we would need to receive a Written Request from the FDA, conduct the requested studies in accordance with a written agreement with the FDA or, if there is no written agreement, in accordance with commonly accepted scientific principles, and submit reports of the studies. A Written Request may include studies for indications that are not currently in the labeling if the FDA determines that such information will benefit the public health. The FDA will accept the reports upon its determination that the studies were conducted in accordance with, and are responsive to, the

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original Written Request or commonly accepted scientific principles, as appropriate, and that the reports comply with the FDA’s filing requirements.

Under the Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003, or the PREA, an NDA or supplement thereto must contain data that is adequate to assess the safety and effectiveness of the drug product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations, and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The PREA also authorizes the FDA to require holders of approved NDAs for marketed drugs to conduct pediatric studies under certain circumstances. With the enactment of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, or the FDASIA, in 2012, sponsors must also submit pediatric study plans prior to the assessment data. Those plans must contain an outline of the proposed pediatric study or studies the applicant plans to conduct, including study objectives and design, any deferral or waiver requests, and other information required by regulation. The applicant, the FDA and the FDA’s internal review committee must then review the information submitted, consult with each other and agree upon a final plan. The FDA or the applicant may request an amendment to the plan at any time.

The FDA may, on its own initiative or at the request of the applicant, grant deferrals for submission of some or all pediatric data until after approval of the product for use in adults, or full or partial waivers from the pediatric data requirements. Additional requirements and procedures relating to deferral requests and requests for extension of deferrals are contained in the FDASIA. Unless otherwise required by regulation, the pediatric data requirements do not apply to products with orphan designation.

Intellectual Property

We have in-licensed from Ligand patents and patent applications that contain claims that recite our compounds, as set forth below. We have filed additional patent applications in the U.S., E.U. and other foreign jurisdictions on our clinical and preclinical programs. Information regarding the issued patents and pending patent applications, as of December 31, 2020, are as follows:

Corporate Information

We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on September 24, 2012. Our principal executive offices are located at 12340 El Camino Real, San Diego, CA 92130, and our telephone number is (858) 704-4660. Our website address is www.vikingtherapeutics.com. We do not incorporate the information on, or accessible through, our website into this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and you should not consider any information on, or accessible through, our website as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have included our website address in this Annual Report on Form 10-K solely as an inactive textual reference.

Employees

As of December 31, 2020, we had eighteen full-time employees and two part-time employees, eight of whom hold a Ph.D. or M.D. degree. All employees are engaged in research and development, business development and finance. None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. We have never experienced a material work stoppage or disruption to our business relating to employee matters. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors.

You should consider carefully the following information about the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings in evaluating our business. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects would likely be materially and adversely affected. In these circumstances, the market price of our common stock would likely decline.

Risk Factor Summary

Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below under the heading “Risk Factors” and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC before making an investment decision regarding our common stock.

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Risks Relating to Our Business

We are a clinical-stage company, have a very limited operating history and are expected to incur significant operating losses during the next stages of our corporate development.

We are a clinical-stage company. Since our incorporation in September 2012, our operations have been limited to raising capital, building infrastructure, obtaining the worldwide rights to certain technology from Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, or Ligand, and planning, preparing and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials of our drug candidates, including VK2809, VK5211 and VK0612, which are currently in Phase 2 clinical development, VK0214, which recently commenced a Phase 1 clinical trial, and the diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1, or DGAT-1 and erythropoietin receptor, or EPOR programs, which are each currently in preclinical development. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to obtain marketing approval for any of our drug candidates or successfully overcome the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in the biopharmaceutical industry. We also have not generated any revenue to date, and we continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses. As of December 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $168.2 million. For the foreseeable future, we expect to continue to incur losses, which will increase significantly from historical levels as we expand our drug development activities, seek potential partnering opportunities and/or regulatory approvals for our drug candidates and begin to commercialize them if they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, or comparable foreign authorities. Even if we succeed in partnering or developing and commercializing one or more drug candidates, we may never become profitable. If we fail to achieve or maintain profitability, it would adversely affect the value of our common stock.

We are substantially dependent on technologies we licensed from Ligand, and if we lose the license to such technologies or our master license agreement with Ligand, or the Master License Agreement, is terminated for any reason, our ability to develop existing and new drug candidates would be harmed, and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Our business is substantially dependent upon technology licensed from Ligand. Pursuant to the Master License Agreement, we have been granted exclusive worldwide rights to VK2809, VK0214, VK5211, VK0612 and preclinical programs for metabolic disorders and anemia. Selective androgen receptor modulators, or SARMs, such as the one used in our VK5211 program, are key compounds used by us in the development and commercialization of our drug candidates. Most of the intellectual property related to our drug candidates is currently owned by Ligand, and we have the rights to use such intellectual property pursuant to the Master License Agreement. Therefore, our ability to develop and commercialize our drug candidates depends entirely on the effectiveness and continuation of the Master License Agreement. If we lose the right to license any of these key compounds, our ability to develop existing and new drug candidates would be harmed.

Ligand has the right to terminate the Master License Agreement under certain circumstances, including, but not limited to: (1) in the event of our insolvency or bankruptcy, (2) if we do not pay an undisputed amount owing under the Master License Agreement when due and fail to cure such default within a specified period of time, or (3) if we default on certain of our material obligations and fail to cure the default within a specified period of time.

We are dependent on the success of one or more of our current drug candidates and we cannot be certain that any of them will receive regulatory approval or be commercialized.

We have spent significant time, money and effort on the licensing and development of our core metabolic and endocrine disease assets, VK2809, VK0214, VK5211, VK0612 and our earlier-stage assets, the DGAT-1 and EPOR programs. To date, no pivotal clinical trials designed to provide clinically and statistically significant proof of efficacy, or to provide sufficient evidence of safety to justify approval, have been completed with any of our drug candidates. All of our drug candidates will require additional development, including clinical trials as well as further preclinical studies to evaluate their toxicology, carcinogenicity and pharmacokinetics and optimize their formulation, and regulatory clearances before they can be commercialized. Positive results obtained during early development do not necessarily mean later development will succeed or that regulatory clearances will be obtained. Our drug development efforts may not lead to commercial drugs, either because our drug candidates fail to be safe and effective or because we have inadequate financial or other resources to advance our drug candidates through the clinical development and approval processes. If any of our drug candidates fail to demonstrate safety or efficacy at any time or during any phase of development, we would experience potentially significant delays in, or be required to abandon, development of the drug candidate.

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We do not anticipate that any of our current drug candidates will be eligible to receive regulatory approval from the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities and begin commercialization for a number of years, if ever. Even if we ultimately receive regulatory approval for any of these drug candidates, we or our potential future partners, if any, may be unable to commercialize them successfully for a variety of reasons. These include, for example, the availability of alternative treatments, lack of cost-effectiveness, the cost of manufacturing the product on a commercial scale and competition with other drugs. The success of our drug candidates may also be limited by the prevalence and severity of any adverse side effects. If we fail to commercialize one or more of our current drug candidates, we may be unable to generate sufficient revenues to attain or maintain profitability, and our financial condition and stock price may decline.

If development of our drug candidates does not produce favorable results, we and our collaborators, if any, may be unable to commercialize these products.

To receive regulatory approval for the commercialization of our core metabolic and endocrine disease assets, VK2809, VK0214, VK5211, VK0612 and our earlier-stage assets, the DGAT-1and EPOR programs, or any other drug candidates that we may develop, adequate and well-controlled clinical trials must be conducted to demonstrate safety and efficacy in humans to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign authorities. In order to support marketing approval, these agencies typically require successful results in one or more Phase 3 clinical trials, which our current drug candidates have not yet reached and may never reach. The development process is expensive, can take many years and has an uncertain outcome. Failure can occur at any stage of the process. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, the development process that could delay or prevent commercialization of our current or future drug candidates, including the following:

Success in early development does not mean that later development will be successful because, for example, drug candidates in later-stage clinical trials may fail to demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy despite having progressed through initial clinical trials.

We licensed all of the intellectual property related to our drug candidates from Ligand pursuant to the Master License Agreement. In September 2018, we reported positive top-line results from a Phase 2 clinical trial for VK2809. In late 2017, we reported positive top-line results from a Phase 2 clinical trial for VK5211. However, there is no guarantee that the results of our Phase 2 clinical trials for VK2809 or VK5211 will be repeated for our other drug candidates or lead to other positive outcomes.  As a company, we have conducted only a limited number of clinical trials and preclinical studies for our drug candidates. Therefore, we have limited experience in conducting clinical trials for our drug candidates. Since our experience with our drug candidates is limited, we will need to train our existing personnel and hire additional personnel in order to successfully administer and manage our clinical trials and other studies as planned, which may result in delays in completing such planned clinical trials and preclinical studies. Moreover, to date our drug candidates have been tested in less than the number of patients that will likely need to be studied to obtain regulatory approval. The data collected from clinical trials with larger patient populations may not demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy to support regulatory approval of these drug candidates.

We currently do not have strategic collaborations in place for clinical development of any of our current drug candidates. Therefore, in the future, we or any potential future collaborative partner will be responsible for establishing the targeted endpoints and goals for development of our drug candidates. These targeted endpoints and goals may be inadequate to demonstrate the safety and efficacy levels required for regulatory approvals. Even if we believe data collected during the development of our drug candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support marketing approval by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities. Further, data generated during development can be interpreted in different ways, and the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities may interpret such data in different ways than us or our collaborators. Our failure to adequately demonstrate the safety and efficacy of

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our drug candidates would prevent our receipt of regulatory approval, and ultimately the potential commercialization of these drug candidates.

Since we do not currently possess the resources necessary to independently develop and commercialize our drug candidates, including our core metabolic and endocrine disease assets, VK2809, VK0214, VK5211, VK0612 and our earlier-stage assets, the DGAT-1 and EPOR programs, or any other drug candidates that we may develop, we may seek to enter into collaborative agreements to assist in the development and potential future commercialization of some or all of these assets as a component of our strategic plan. However, our discussions with potential collaborators may not lead to the establishment of collaborations on acceptable terms, if at all, or it may take longer than expected to establish new collaborations, leading to development and potential commercialization delays, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We expect to continue to incur significant research and development expenses, which may make it difficult for us to attain profitability.

We expect to expend substantial funds in research and development, including preclinical studies and clinical trials of our drug candidates, and to manufacture and market any drug candidates in the event they are approved for commercial sale. We also may need additional funding to develop or acquire complementary companies, technologies and assets, as well as for working capital requirements and other operating and general corporate purposes. Moreover, our planned increases in staffing will dramatically increase our costs in the near and long-term.

However, our spending on current and future research and development programs and drug candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. Due to our limited financial and managerial resources, we must focus on a limited number of research programs and drug candidates and on specific indications. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities.

Because the successful development of our drug candidates is uncertain, we are unable to precisely estimate the actual funds we will require to develop and potentially commercialize them. In addition, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue, even if we are able to commercialize any of our drug candidates, to become profitable.

Given our lack of current cash inflows, it is expected that we may need to raise additional capital; however, it may be unavailable to us or, even if capital is obtained, may cause dilution or place significant restrictions on our ability to operate our business.

Since we will be unable to generate sufficient, if any, cash inflows to fund our operations for the foreseeable future, we may need to seek additional equity or debt financing to provide the capital required to maintain or expand our operations. As of December 31, 2020, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments totaling $248.4 million. There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient additional capital on acceptable terms or at all. If such additional financing is not available on satisfactory terms, or is not available in sufficient amounts, we may be required to delay, limit or eliminate the development of business opportunities and our ability to achieve our business objectives, our competitiveness, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In addition, we may be required to grant rights to develop and market drug candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. Our inability to fund our business could lead to the loss of your investment. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:

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On July 11, 2018, we filed with the SEC a universal Shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-226133), or the Shelf Registration Statement. The Shelf Registration Statement initially provided us with the ability to offer up to $450.0 million of securities, including equity, debt and other securities as described in the Shelf Registration Statement. The Shelf Registration Statement was declared effective by the SEC on July 19, 2018. Pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement, we may offer additional securities from time to time and through one or more methods of distribution, subject to market conditions and our capital needs.

On August 1, 2019, we entered into an At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement, or the ATM Agreement, with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., or each, an Agent and, together, the Agents, pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, through or to the Agents, as sales agent or principal, or the ATM Offering, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $75.0 million, or the Shares. Any Shares offered and sold in the ATM Offering will be issued pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement and the 424(b) prospectus supplement relating to the ATM Offering dated August 1, 2019.

As of December 31, 2020, approximately $199.3 million of securities remain available and unallocated for offerings of securities under the 2018 Shelf Registration Statement.

If we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders may be reduced, and accordingly these stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may also issue equity securities that provide for rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of our common stock. Given our need for cash and that equity issuances are the most common type of fundraising for companies like ours, the risk of dilution is particularly significant for stockholders of our company.

Our business may be adversely affected by the effects of health epidemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December 2019, COVID-19 was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China and has since spread to many other countries, including the United States. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. On March 19, 2020, the Governor of California and the State Public Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health ordered all individuals living in the State of California to stay at their place of residence for an indefinite period of time (subject to certain exceptions to facilitate authorized necessary activities) to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The executive order exempts certain individuals needed to maintain continuity of operations of essential critical infrastructure sectors as determined by the federal government and additional sectors as the State Public Health Officer may designate as critical to protect health and well-being of all Californians. Under California’s shelter-in-place order, our corporate office was temporarily closed and employees primarily tele-worked from their homes. In May 2020, the Governor of California issued an executive order that informed local health jurisdictions and industry sectors that they may gradually reopen under new modifications and guidance provided by the state of California. In May 2020, our office reopened and our employees resumed working from our offices. In August 2020, the state of California released revised criteria for loosening and tightening restrictions on certain activities on generally a county-by-county basis. Under the executive orders, San Diego County, where our principal executive offices are located, continues to be subject to certain restrictions. These orders and others may be further modified, amended and adopted depending upon the COVID-19 transmission rates in our county and state, as well as other factors. If we are required to close our office in the future for an extended period of time and employees return to tele-working from their homes, then employee productivity may decline and we may be unable to complete certain tasks and operations that cannot be completed from home.

Government-imposed travel restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place, shutdowns and similar government orders have resulted, and may continue to result, in direct operational and administrative disruptions to our facilities. Our operations would be disrupted if any of our employees or employees of our business partners were suspected of having contracted COVID-19, which could require quarantine of some or all such employees or closure of our facilities for disinfection. Any restrictions on the conduct of business operations related to COVID-19 could also impact the operation of our suppliers. Global and domestic supply chains and the timely

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availability of raw materials and products may be materially disrupted by quarantines, factory slowdowns or shutdowns, border closings and travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Any manufacturing supply interruption of materials could adversely affect our ability to conduct ongoing and future research and testing activities.

In addition, our clinical trials have been affected by and may continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical site initiation and patient enrollment have and may continue to be delayed due to prioritization of hospital resources toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Some patients have not been and others may not be able to comply with clinical trial protocols if quarantines impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services. Similarly, any inability to recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19, may adversely impact our clinical trial operations. We and our third-party CROs may need to make certain adjustments to the operation of our trials in an effort to ensure the monitoring and safety of patients and minimize risks to trial integrity during the pandemic in accordance with the guidance issued by the FDA on March 18, 2020 and generally, and may need to make further adjustments in the future. Many of these adjustments are new and untested, may not be effective, and may have unforeseen effects on the enrollment, progress and completion of these trials and the findings from these trials.

The spread of COVID-19, which has caused a broad impact globally and led to extreme volatility in capital markets, may materially affect us economically. While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic could result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could in the future negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of our common stock.

Management continues to monitor the global situation on our financial condition, liquidity, operations, suppliers, industry and workforce, and intends to follow health and safety guidelines as they evolve. Given the daily evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global responses to curb its spread, we are not currently able to predict how long the pandemic will last, or to estimate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity for fiscal year 2021.

Our drug candidates may cause undesirable side effects that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or commercialization or have other significant adverse implications on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Undesirable side effects observed in clinical trials or in supportive preclinical studies with our drug candidates could interrupt, delay or halt their development and could result in the denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities for any or all targeted indications or adversely affect the marketability of any such drug candidates that receive regulatory approval. In turn, this could eliminate or limit our ability to commercialize our drug candidates.

Our drug candidates may exhibit adverse effects in preclinical toxicology studies and adverse interactions with other drugs. There are also risks associated with additional requirements the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities may impose for marketing approval with regard to a particular disease.

Our drug candidates may require a risk management program that could include patient and healthcare provider education, usage guidelines, appropriate promotional activities, a post-marketing observational study, and ongoing safety and reporting mechanisms, among other requirements. Prescribing could be limited to physician specialists or physicians trained in the use of the drug, or could be limited to a more restricted patient population. Any risk management program required for approval of our drug candidates could potentially have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Undesirable side effects involving our drug candidates may have other significant adverse implications on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example:

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In addition, if any of our drug candidates receive marketing approval and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by the product:

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

Our efforts to discover drug candidates beyond our current drug candidates may not succeed, and any drug candidates we recommend for clinical development may not actually begin clinical trials.

We intend to continue to use our technology, including our licensed technology, knowledge and expertise to develop novel drugs to address some of the world’s most widespread and costly chronic diseases. We intend to expand our existing pipeline of core assets by advancing drug compounds from current ongoing discovery programs into clinical development. However, the process of researching and discovering drug compounds is expensive, time-consuming and unpredictable. Data from our current preclinical programs may not support the clinical development of our lead compounds or other compounds from these programs, and we may not identify any additional drug compounds suitable for recommendation for clinical development. Moreover, any drug compounds we recommend for clinical development may not demonstrate, through preclinical studies, indications of safety and potential efficacy that would support advancement into clinical trials. Such findings would potentially impede our ability to maintain or expand our clinical development pipeline. Our ability to identify new drug compounds and advance them into clinical development also depends upon our ability to fund our research and development operations, and we cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

Delays in the commencement or completion of clinical trials could result in increased costs to us and delay our ability to establish strategic collaborations.

Delays in the commencement or completion of clinical trials could significantly impact our drug development costs. We do not know whether planned clinical trials will begin on time or be completed on schedule, if at all. The commencement of clinical trials can be delayed for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, delays related to:

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In addition, once a clinical trial has begun, it may be suspended or terminated by us, our collaborators, the institutional review boards or data safety monitoring boards charged with overseeing our clinical trials, the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities due to a number of factors, including:

If we experience delays in the completion or termination of any clinical trial of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of our product candidates will be harmed, and our ability to commence product sales and generate product revenues from any of our product candidates will be delayed. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs and slow down our product candidate development and approval process. Delays in completing our clinical trials could also allow our competitors to obtain marketing approval before we do or shorten the patent protection period during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates.

Results of earlier clinical trials may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials.

The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials of product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy results despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. Many companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to adverse safety profiles or lack of efficacy, notwithstanding promising results in earlier studies. Similarly, our future clinical trial results may not be successful for these or other reasons.

This drug candidate development risk is heightened by any changes in the planned clinical trials compared to the completed clinical trials. As product candidates are developed through preclinical to early to late stage clinical trials towards approval and commercialization, it is customary that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing and methods of administration, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. While these types of changes are common and are intended to optimize the product candidates for late stage clinical trials, approval and commercialization, such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives.

Any of these changes could make the results of our planned clinical trials or other future clinical trials we may initiate less predictable and could cause our product candidates to perform differently, including causing toxicities, which could delay completion of our clinical trials, delay approval of our product candidates and/or jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenues.

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

We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials as required by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. Patient enrollment, a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, is affected by many factors, including the size and nature of the patient population, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the trial, the design of the clinical trial, competing clinical trials and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the drug being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs that may be approved for the indications we are investigating. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted, and may continue to negatively impact, our ability to recruit and enroll patients for our clinical trials, as they may be reluctant or unable to visit clinical sites, or may delay seeking treatment for chronic conditions.

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If we fail to enroll and maintain the number of patients for which the clinical trial was designed, the statistical power of that clinical trial may be reduced, which would make it harder to demonstrate that the product candidate being tested in such clinical trial is safe and effective. Additionally, enrollment delays in our clinical trials may result in increased development costs for our product candidates, which would cause the value of our company to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing. Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for any of our current or future clinical trials would result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether.

We intend to rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and perform other tasks for us. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines, or comply with regulatory requirements, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our drug candidates and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be substantially harmed.

We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third-party CROs, medical institutions, clinical investigators and contract laboratories to monitor and manage data for our licensed ongoing preclinical and clinical programs. Nevertheless, we maintain responsibility for ensuring that each of our clinical trials and preclinical studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory, and scientific standards and our reliance on these third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our CROs and other vendors are required to comply with current requirements on good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, good clinical practices, or GCP, and good laboratory practice, or GLP, which are a collection of laws and regulations enforced by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities for all of our drug candidates in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these regulations through periodic inspections of preclinical study and clinical trial sponsors, principal investigators, preclinical study and clinical trial sites, and other contractors. If we or any of our CROs or vendors fail to comply with applicable regulations, the data generated in our preclinical studies and clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities may require us to perform additional preclinical studies and clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with products produced consistent with cGMP regulations. Our failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the development and regulatory approval processes.

If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs, medical institutions, clinical investigators or contract laboratories terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. In addition, our CROs are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such CROs, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing preclinical and clinical programs. In addition, our CROs and their employees may be adversely affected or delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. If CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols, regulatory requirements, or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our drug candidates. CROs may also generate higher costs than anticipated. As a result, our business, financial condition, results of operations and the commercial prospects for our drug candidates could be materially and adversely affected, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.

Switching or adding additional CROs, medical institutions, clinical investigators or contract laboratories involves additional cost and requires management’s time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work replacing a previous CRO. As a result, delays occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In addition, our CROs may need to make certain adjustments to the operation of our trials in an effort to ensure the monitoring and safety of patients and minimize risks to trial integrity during the pandemic in accordance with the guidance issued by the FDA on March 18, 2020 and generally, and may need to make further adjustments in the future. Many of these adjustments are new and untested, may not be effective, and may have unforeseen effects on the enrollment, progress and completion of these trials and the findings from these trials.

Our drug candidates are subject to extensive regulation under the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities, which can be costly and time consuming, cause unanticipated delays or prevent the receipt of the required approvals to commercialize our drug candidates.

The clinical development, manufacturing, labeling, storage, record-keeping, advertising, promotion, export, marketing and distribution of our drug candidates are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other U.S. regulatory agencies, EMA or comparable authorities in foreign markets. In the U.S., neither we nor our collaborators are permitted to market our drug candidates until we or our

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collaborators receive approval of a new drug application, or an NDA, from the FDA or receive similar approvals abroad. The process of obtaining these approvals is expensive, often takes many years, and can vary substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the drug candidates involved. Approval policies or regulations may change and may be influenced by the results of other similar or competitive products, making it more difficult for us to achieve such approval in a timely manner or at all. For example, the FDA has released draft guidance regarding clinical trials for drug candidates treating diabetes that may result in more stringent requirements for the clinical trials and regulatory approval of such drug candidates. This and any future guidance that may result from recent FDA advisory panel discussions on the topic of diabetes, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, and other metabolic indications, may make it more expensive to develop and commercialize such drug candidates for such indications. Such increased expense could make it more difficult to obtain favorable terms in the collaborative arrangements we require to maximize the value of our programs seeking to develop new drug candidates for diabetes. In addition, as a company, we have not previously filed NDAs with the FDA or filed similar applications with other foreign regulatory agencies. This lack of experience may impede our ability to obtain FDA or other foreign regulatory agency approval in a timely manner, if at all, for our drug candidates for which development and commercialization is our responsibility.

Despite the time and expense invested, regulatory approval is never guaranteed. The FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities can delay, limit or deny approval of a drug candidate for many reasons, including:

Our inability to obtain these approvals would prevent us from commercializing our drug candidates.

Even if our drug candidates receive regulatory approval in the U.S., we may never receive approval or commercialize our products outside of the U.S.

In order to market any products outside of the U.S., we must establish and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries regarding safety and efficacy. Approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional product testing and additional administrative review periods. The time required to obtain approval in other countries might differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. The regulatory approval process in other countries may include all of the risks detailed above regarding FDA approval in the U.S. as well as other risks. Regulatory approval in one country does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in others. Failure to obtain regulatory approval in other countries or any delay seeking or obtaining such approval would impair our ability to develop foreign markets for our drug candidates.

Even if any of our drug candidates receive regulatory approval, our drug candidates may still face future development and regulatory difficulties.

If any of our drug candidates receive regulatory approval, the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities may still impose significant restrictions on the indicated uses or marketing of the drug candidates or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies and trials. In addition, regulatory agencies subject a product, its manufacturer and the manufacturer’s facilities to continual review and periodic inspections. If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product, our collaborators or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. Our drug candidates will also be subject to ongoing FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities’ requirements for the labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, record-keeping and submission of safety and other post-market information on the drug. If our drug candidates fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:

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The FDA, EMA and comparable foreign authorities actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses.

The FDA, EMA and comparable foreign authorities strictly regulate the promotional claims that may be made about prescription products, such as our drug candidates, if approved. In particular, a product may not be promoted for uses that are not approved by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities as reflected in the product’s approved labeling. If we receive marketing approval for our drug candidates for our proposed indications, physicians may nevertheless use our products for their patients in a manner that is inconsistent with the approved label, if the physicians personally believe in their professional medical judgment that our products could be used in such manner. However, if we are found to have promoted our products for any off-label uses, the federal government could levy civil, criminal or administrative penalties, and seek fines against us. Such enforcement has become more common in the industry. The FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities could also request that we enter into a consent decree or a corporate integrity agreement or seek a permanent injunction against us under which specified promotional conduct is monitored, changed or curtailed. If we cannot successfully manage the promotion of our drug candidates, if approved, we could become subject to significant liability, which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If our competitors have drug candidates that are approved faster, marketed more effectively, are better tolerated, have a more favorable safety profile or are demonstrated to be more effective than ours, our commercial opportunity may be reduced or eliminated.

The biopharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. While we believe that our technology, knowledge, experience and scientific resources provide us with competitive advantages, we face potential competition from many different sources, including commercial biopharmaceutical enterprises, academic institutions, government agencies and private and public research institutions. Any drug candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future.

Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical studies, clinical trials, regulatory approvals and marketing approved products than we do. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Our competitors may succeed in developing technologies and therapies that are more effective, better tolerated or less costly than any which we are developing, or that would render our drug candidates obsolete and noncompetitive. Even if we obtain regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates, our competitors may succeed in obtaining regulatory approvals for their products earlier than we do. We will also face competition from these third parties in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, in establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, and in acquiring and in-licensing technologies and products complementary to our programs or advantageous to our business.

The key competitive factors affecting the success of each of our drug candidates, if approved, are likely to be its efficacy, safety, tolerability, frequency and route of administration, convenience and price, the level of branded and generic competition and the availability of coverage and reimbursement from government and other third-party payors.

VK2809

While no therapies are currently approved for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, we are aware of numerous development-stage programs targeting this disease, including obeticholic acid from Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., cenicriviroc from Allergan plc (now part of AbbVie Inc.), resmetirom (MGL-3196) from Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., arachidyl amido cholanoic acid from Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd., belapectin (GR-MD-02) from Galectin Therapeutics Inc., MSDC-0602K from Cirius Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Octeta Therapeutics, LLC), tesamorelin from Theratechnologies Inc., firsocostat (GS-0976) and cilofexor (GS-9674) from Gilead Sciences, Inc., semaglutide from Novo Nordisk A/S, NGM282 (aldafermin) and NGM313 (MK-3655) from NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., tropifexor and licogliflozin from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, pegbelfermin (BMS-986036) and CC-90001 from Bristol-Myers Squibb, lanifibranor from Inventiva S.A., tirzepatide from Eli Lilly and Company, RG7992 from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, and EDP-305 from Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In addition, we are aware of

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active programs at 89bio, Inc., Akero Therapeutics, Inc., Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ascletis Biopharmaceutical, AstraZeneca PLC, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., CytoDyn Inc., Durect Corporation, Enyo Pharma SA, Forma Therapeutics, Inc., Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., HighTide Therapeutics Inc., Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Kowa Company, Ltd., Lipocine, MediciNova Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Metacrine, Inc., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Nitto Denko Corporation, NorthSea Therapeutics BV, NuSirt Biopharma, Inc., Pfizer Inc., Poxel SA, Sagimet Biosciences, Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Yuhan Corporation and Zydus Cadila.

VK5211

In the U.S., there are currently no marketed therapies for the maintenance or improvement of lean body mass, bone mineral density or physical function in patients recovering from non-elective hip fracture surgery. However, VK5211, if approved, will face competition from experimental therapies that are in various stages of clinical development for conditions characterized by muscle wasting by companies including Biophytis SA and Helsinn Group. In addition, nutritional and growth hormone-based therapies are sometimes used in patients experiencing muscle wasting.

VK0214

In the U.S., there are currently no marketed therapies for the treatment of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, or X-ALD. Hematopoietic stem cell therapy has been used to treat the most severe form of X-ALD, cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, or CALD. More recently, gene therapy has been shown to be effective in CALD as well. However, both treatments are invasive, requiring surgical intervention, and these do not appear to have an effect on the most pervasive form of X-ALD, adrenomyeloneuropathy, or AMN. There are several experimental therapies that are in various stages of clinical development for X-ALD by companies, including Autobahn Therapeutics, bluebird bio, Inc., Minoryx Therapeutics S.L., Neuralgene, Orpheris, Inc., Poxel SA, ReceptoPharm, Inc. and SwanBio Therapeutics, Inc., which may be competitive with VK0214, if approved.

We, or any future collaborators, may not be able to obtain orphan drug designation or orphan drug exclusivity for our product candidates.

Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and Europe, may designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product as an orphan drug if it is a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States. While we received orphan drug designation from the FDA for VK0214 for the treatment X-ALD in December 2016, we, or any future collaborators, may not be granted orphan drug designations for our product candidates in the U.S. or in other jurisdictions.

Even if we, or any future collaborators, obtain orphan drug designation for a product candidate, we, or they, may not be able to obtain orphan drug exclusivity for that product candidate. Generally, a product with orphan drug designation only becomes entitled to orphan drug exclusivity if it receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, in which case the FDA or the EMA will be precluded from approving another marketing application for the same drug for that indication for the applicable exclusivity period. The applicable exclusivity period is seven years in the United States and ten years in Europe. The European exclusivity period can be reduced to six years if a drug no longer meets the criteria for orphan drug designation or if the drug is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified. Orphan drug exclusivity may be lost if the FDA or the EMA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.

Even if we, or any future collaborators, obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a product, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition because FDA has taken the position that, under certain circumstances, another drug with the same active moiety can be approved for the same condition. Specifically, the FDA’s regulations provide that it can approve another drug with the same active moiety for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later drug is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care.

We are subject to a multitude of manufacturing risks, any of which could substantially increase our costs and limit supply of our drug candidates.

The process of manufacturing our drug candidates is complex, highly regulated and subject to several risks. For example, the process of manufacturing our drug candidates is extremely susceptible to product loss due to contamination, equipment failure or improper installation or operation of equipment, or vendor or operator error. Even minor deviations from normal manufacturing processes for any of our drug candidates could result in reduced production yields, product defects and other supply disruptions. If microbial, viral, or other contaminations are discovered in our drug candidates or in the manufacturing facilities in which our drug candidates are made, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the

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contamination. In addition, the manufacturing facilities in which our drug candidates are made could be adversely affected by equipment failures, labor shortages, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics, power failures and numerous other factors.

In addition, any adverse developments affecting manufacturing operations for our drug candidates may result in shipment delays, inventory shortages, lot failures, withdrawals or recalls, or other interruptions in the supply of our drug candidates. We also may need to take inventory write-offs and incur other charges and expenses for drug candidates that fail to meet specifications, undertake costly remediation efforts, or seek costlier manufacturing alternatives.

We rely completely on third parties to manufacture our preclinical and clinical drug supplies, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed if those third parties fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of drug product, or fail to do so at acceptable quality levels or prices.

We do not currently have, nor do we plan to acquire, the infrastructure or capability internally to manufacture our preclinical and clinical drug supplies for use in our clinical trials, and we lack the resources and the capability to manufacture any of our drug candidates on a clinical or commercial scale. We rely on our manufacturers to purchase from third-party suppliers the materials necessary to produce our drug candidates for our clinical trials. There are a limited number of suppliers for raw materials that we use to manufacture our drugs, and there may be a need to identify alternate suppliers to prevent a possible disruption of the manufacture of the materials necessary to produce our drug candidates for our clinical trials, and, if approved, ultimately for commercial sale. We do not have any control over the process or timing of the acquisition of these raw materials by our manufacturers. Although we generally do not begin a clinical trial unless we believe we have a sufficient supply of a drug candidate to complete such clinical trial, any significant delay or discontinuity in the supply of a drug candidate, or the raw material components thereof, for an ongoing clinical trial due to the need to replace a third-party manufacturer could considerably delay completion of our clinical trials, product testing and potential regulatory approval of our drug candidates, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We and our contract manufacturers are subject to significant regulation with respect to manufacturing our drug candidates. The manufacturing facilities on which we rely may not continue to meet regulatory requirements.

All entities involved in the preparation of therapeutics for clinical trials or commercial sale, including our existing contract manufacturers for our drug candidates, are subject to extensive regulation. Components of a finished therapeutic product approved for commercial sale or used in late-stage clinical trials must be manufactured in accordance with cGMP. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational products and products approved for sale. Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of contaminants or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of our drug candidates that may not be detectable in final product testing. We or our contract manufacturers must supply all necessary documentation in support of an NDA or marketing authorization application, or MAA, on a timely basis and must adhere to GLP and cGMP regulations enforced by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities through their facilities inspection program. Some of our contract manufacturers may not have produced a commercially approved pharmaceutical product and therefore may not have obtained the requisite regulatory authority approvals to do so. The facilities and quality systems of some or all of our third-party contractors must pass a pre-approval inspection for compliance with the applicable regulations as a condition of regulatory approval of our drug candidates or any of our other potential products. In addition, the regulatory authorities may, at any time, audit or inspect a manufacturing facility involved with the preparation of our drug candidates or any of our other potential products or the associated quality systems for compliance with the regulations applicable to the activities being conducted. Although we oversee the contract manufacturers, we cannot control the manufacturing process of, and are completely dependent on, our contract manufacturing partners for compliance with the regulatory requirements. If these facilities do not pass a pre-approval plant inspection, regulatory approval of the products may not be granted or may be substantially delayed until any violations are corrected to the satisfaction of the regulatory authority, if ever.

The regulatory authorities also may, at any time following approval of a product for sale, audit the manufacturing facilities of our third-party contractors. If any such inspection or audit identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations or if a violation of our product specifications or applicable regulations occurs independent of such an inspection or audit, we or the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly or time consuming for us or a third party to implement, and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we or any of our third-party manufacturers fail to maintain regulatory compliance, the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign authorities can impose regulatory sanctions including, among other things, refusal to approve a pending application for a drug candidate, withdrawal of an approval, or suspension of production. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

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Additionally, if supply from one manufacturer is interrupted, an alternative manufacturer would need to be qualified through an NDA supplement or MAA variation, or equivalent foreign regulatory filing, which could result in further delay. The regulatory agencies may also require additional studies or trials if a new manufacturer is relied upon for commercial production. Switching manufacturers may involve substantial costs and is likely to result in a delay in our desired clinical and commercial timelines.

These factors could cause us to incur higher costs and could cause the delay or termination of clinical trials, regulatory submissions, required approvals, or commercialization of our drug candidates. Furthermore, if our suppliers fail to meet contractual requirements and we are unable to secure one or more replacement suppliers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, our clinical trials may be delayed, or we could lose potential revenue.

Any collaboration arrangement that we may enter into in the future may not be successful, which could adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our current and potential future drug candidates.

We may seek collaboration arrangements with biopharmaceutical companies for the development or commercialization of our current and potential future drug candidates. To the extent that we decide to enter into collaboration agreements, we will face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Moreover, collaboration arrangements are complex and time consuming to negotiate, execute and implement. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish and implement collaborations or other alternative arrangements should we choose to enter into such arrangements, and the terms of the arrangements may not be favorable to us. If, and when, we collaborate with a third party for development and commercialization of a drug candidate, we can expect to relinquish some or all of the control over the future success of that drug candidate to the third party. The success of our collaboration arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and activities of our collaborators. Collaborators generally have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations.

Disagreements between parties to a collaboration arrangement can lead to delays in developing or commercializing the applicable drug candidate and can be difficult to resolve in a mutually beneficial manner. In some cases, collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies and other third parties are terminated or allowed to expire by the other party. Any such termination or expiration would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to develop our own commercial organization or enter into agreements with third parties to sell and market our drug candidates, we may be unable to generate significant revenues.

We do not have a sales and marketing organization, and we have no experience as a company in the sales, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products. If any of our drug candidates are approved for commercialization, we may be required to develop our sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, or make arrangements with a third party to perform sales and marketing services. Developing a sales force for any resulting product or any product resulting from any of our other drug candidates is expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch. We may be unable to establish and manage an effective sales force in a timely or cost-effective manner, if at all, and any sales force we do establish may not be capable of generating sufficient demand for our drug candidates. To the extent that we enter into arrangements with collaborators or other third parties to perform sales and marketing services, our product revenues are likely to be lower than if we marketed and sold our drug candidates independently. If we are unable to establish adequate sales and marketing capabilities, independently or with others, we may not be able to generate significant revenues and may not become profitable.

The commercial success of our drug candidates depends upon their market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and the medical community.

Even if our drug candidates obtain regulatory approval, our products, if any, may not gain market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and the medical community. The degree of market acceptance of any of our approved drug candidates will depend on a number of factors, including:

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In addition, the potential market opportunity for our drug candidates is difficult to precisely estimate. Our estimates of the potential market opportunity for our drug candidates include several key assumptions based on our industry knowledge, industry publications, third-party research reports and other surveys. Independent sources have not verified all of our assumptions. If any of these assumptions proves to be inaccurate, then the actual market for our drug candidates could be smaller than our estimates of our potential market opportunity. If the actual market for our drug candidates is smaller than we expect, our product revenue may be limited, it may be harder than expected to raise funds and it may be more difficult for us to achieve or maintain profitability. If we fail to achieve market acceptance of our drug candidates in the U.S. and abroad, our revenue will be limited and it will be more difficult to achieve profitability.

If we fail to obtain and sustain an adequate level of reimbursement for our potential products by third-party payors, potential future sales would be materially adversely affected.

There will be no viable commercial market for our drug candidates, if approved, without reimbursement from third-party payors. Reimbursement policies may be affected by future healthcare reform measures. We cannot be certain that reimbursement will be available for our current drug candidates or any other drug candidate we may develop. Additionally, even if there is a viable commercial market, if the level of reimbursement is below our expectations, our anticipated revenue and gross margins will be adversely affected.

Third-party payors, such as government or private healthcare insurers, carefully review and increasingly question and challenge the coverage of and the prices charged for drugs. Reimbursement rates from private health insurance companies vary depending on the company, the insurance plan and other factors. Reimbursement rates may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. There is a current trend in the U.S. healthcare industry toward cost containment.

Large public and private payors, managed care organizations, group purchasing organizations and similar organizations are exerting increasing influence on decisions regarding the use of, and reimbursement levels for, particular treatments. Such third-party payors, including Medicare, may question the coverage of, and challenge the prices charged for, medical products and services, and many third-party payors limit coverage of or reimbursement for newly approved healthcare products. In particular, third-party payors may limit the covered indications. Cost-control initiatives could decrease the price we might establish for products, which could result in product revenues being lower than anticipated. We believe our drugs will be priced significantly higher than existing generic drugs and consistent with current branded drugs. If we are unable to show a significant benefit relative to existing generic drugs, Medicare, Medicaid and private payors may not be willing to provide reimbursement for our drugs, which would significantly reduce the likelihood of our products gaining market acceptance.

We expect that private insurers will consider the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, safety and tolerability of our potential products in determining whether to approve reimbursement for such products and at what level. Obtaining these approvals can be a time consuming and expensive process. Our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially adversely affected if we do not receive approval for reimbursement of our potential products from private insurers on a timely or satisfactory basis. Limitations on coverage could also be imposed at the local Medicare carrier level or by fiscal intermediaries. Medicare Part D, which provides a pharmacy benefit to Medicare patients as discussed below, does not require participating prescription drug plans to cover all drugs within a class of products. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected if Part D prescription drug plans were to limit access to, or deny or limit reimbursement of, our drug candidates or other potential products.

Reimbursement systems in international markets vary significantly by country and by region, and reimbursement approvals must be obtained on a country-by-country basis. In many countries, the product cannot be commercially launched until reimbursement is approved. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after

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initial approval is granted. The negotiation process in some countries can exceed 12 months. 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 products to other available therapies. If the prices for our potential products are reduced or if governmental and other third-party payors do not provide adequate coverage and reimbursement of our drugs, our future revenue, cash flows and prospects for profitability will suffer.

Current and future legislation may increase the difficulty and cost of commercializing our drug candidates and may affect the prices we may obtain if our drug candidates are approved for commercialization.

In the U.S. and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of adopted and proposed legislative and regulatory changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay regulatory approval of our drug candidates, restrict or regulate post-marketing activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any of our drug candidates for which we obtain regulatory approval.

In the U.S., the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or the MMA, changed the way Medicare covers and pays for pharmaceutical products. Cost reduction initiatives and other provisions of this legislation could limit the coverage and reimbursement rate that we receive for any of our approved products. While the MMA only applies to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payors often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates. Therefore, any reduction in reimbursement that results from the MMA may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors.

In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, collectively the PPACA, was enacted. The PPACA was intended to broaden access to health insurance, reduce or constrain the growth of healthcare spending, enhance remedies against healthcare fraud and abuse, add new transparency requirements for healthcare and health insurance industries, impose new taxes and fees on the health industry and impose additional health policy reforms. The PPACA increased manufacturers’ rebate liability under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program by increasing the minimum rebate amount for both branded and generic drugs and revised the definition of “average manufacturer price,” or AMP, which may also increase the amount of Medicaid drug rebates manufacturers are required to pay to states. The legislation also expanded Medicaid drug rebates and created an alternative rebate formula for certain new formulations of certain existing products that is intended to increase the rebates due on those drugs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, which administers the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, also has proposed to expand Medicaid rebates to the utilization that occurs in the territories of the U.S., such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Further, beginning in 2011, the PPACA imposed a significant annual fee on companies that manufacture or import branded prescription drug products and required manufacturers to provide a 50% discount off the negotiated price of prescriptions filled by beneficiaries in the Medicare Part D coverage gap, referred to as the “donut hole.” Legislative and regulatory proposals have been introduced at both the state and federal level to expand post-approval requirements and restrict sales and promotional activities for pharmaceutical products.

There have been public announcements by members of the U.S. Congress regarding plans to repeal and replace the PPACA and Medicare. For example, on December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was signed into law, which, among other things, eliminated the individual mandate requiring most Americans (other than those who qualify for a hardship exemption) to carry a minimum level of health coverage, effective January 1, 2019. On December 14, 2018, a U.S. District Court Judge in the Northern District of Texas, or the Texas District Court Judge, ruled that the individual mandate is a critical and inseverable feature of the PPACA, and therefore, because it was repealed as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the remaining provisions of the PPACA are invalid as well. On December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the District Court’s ruling with respect to the individual mandate but remanded the case to the District Court to consider whether other parts of the law can remain in effect. In November 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case and is expected to issue an opinion by June 2021. It is unclear how this decision, subsequent appeals, and other efforts to repeal and replace the PPACA will impact the law and our business. In addition, President Biden and his administration has announced plans to amend the PPACA to, among other things, expand the scope of the law. We are not sure whether additional legislative changes will be enacted, or whether the FDA regulations, guidance or interpretations will be changed, or what the impact of such changes on the marketing approvals of our drug candidates, if any, may be. In addition, increased scrutiny by the U.S. Congress of the FDA’s approval process may significantly delay or prevent marketing approval, as well as subject us to more stringent product labeling and post-marketing approval testing and other requirements.

Moreover, payment methodologies may be subject to changes in healthcare legislation and regulatory initiatives. For example, CMS may develop new payment and delivery models, such as bundled payment models. In addition, recently there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under government payor programs, and review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs. We expect that additional U.S. federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that the U.S. federal government will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our drug candidates, if approved for commercialization.

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In Europe, the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020, and entered into a transition period that expired on December 31, 2020. A significant portion of the previous regulatory framework in the United Kingdom was derived from the regulations of the European Union. In 2021, the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, and the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, released guidance explaining the new regulatory framework. We cannot predict the consequences or impact that the new regulatory framework will have on our future operations, if any, in these jurisdictions.

Changes in government funding for the FDA and other government agencies could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, properly administer drug innovation, or prevent our product candidates from being developed or commercialized, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including budget and funding levels, ability to hire and retain key personnel, and statutory, regulatory and policy changes. In addition, the FDA may currently be devoting more internal resources to monitoring and evaluating matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, there may be delays in necessary interactions with regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government or contractor personnel. Average review times at the agency have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of other agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable.

In December 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law. This legislation is designed to advance medical innovation and empower the FDA with the authority to directly hire positions related to drug and device development and review. However, government proposals to reduce or eliminate budgetary deficits may include reduced allocations to the FDA and other related government agencies. These budgetary pressures may result in a reduced ability by the FDA to perform their respective roles; including the related impact to academic institutions and research laboratories whose funding is fully or partially dependent on both the level and timing of funding from government sources.

Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for our product candidates to be reviewed or approved by necessary government agencies, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to “fraud and abuse” and similar laws and regulations, and a failure to comply with such regulations or prevail in any litigation related to noncompliance could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In the U.S., we are subject to various federal and state healthcare “fraud and abuse” laws, including anti-kickback laws, false claims laws and other laws intended, among other things, to reduce fraud and abuse in federal and state healthcare programs. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute makes it illegal for any person, including a prescription drug manufacturer, or a party acting on its behalf, to knowingly and willfully solicit, receive, offer or pay any remuneration that is intended to induce the referral of business, including the purchase, order or prescription of a particular drug, or other good or service for which payment in whole or in part may be made under a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Although we seek to structure our business arrangements in compliance with all applicable requirements, these laws are broadly written, and it is often difficult to determine precisely how the law will be applied in specific circumstances. Accordingly, it is possible that our practices may be challenged under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

The federal False Claims Act prohibits anyone from, among other things, knowingly presenting or causing to be presented for payment to the government, including the federal healthcare programs, claims for reimbursed drugs or services that are false or fraudulent, claims for items or services that were not provided as claimed, or claims for medically unnecessary items or services. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, we are prohibited from knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private payors, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services to obtain money or property of any healthcare benefit program. Violations of fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by criminal or civil sanctions, including penalties, fines or exclusion or suspension from federal and state healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and debarment from contracting with the U.S. government. In addition, private individuals have the ability to bring actions on behalf of the government under the federal False Claims Act as well as under the false claims laws of several states.

Many states have adopted laws similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, some of which apply to the referral of patients for healthcare services reimbursed by any source, not just governmental payors. In addition, some states have passed laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the April 2003 Office of Inspector General Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers or the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals. Several states also impose other marketing restrictions or require pharmaceutical companies to make

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marketing or price disclosures to the state. There are ambiguities as to what is required to comply with these state requirements and if we fail to comply with an applicable state law requirement we could be subject to penalties.

Neither the government nor the courts have provided definitive guidance on the application of fraud and abuse laws to our business. Law enforcement authorities are increasingly focused on enforcing these laws, and it is possible that some of our practices may be challenged under these laws. Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. If we are found in violation of one of these laws, we could be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from governmental funded federal or state healthcare programs and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If this occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

If we face allegations of noncompliance with the law and encounter sanctions, our reputation, revenues and liquidity may suffer, and any of our drug candidates that are ultimately approved for commercialization could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market.

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response, and could generate negative publicity. Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to generate revenues from any of our drug candidates that are ultimately approved for commercialization. If regulatory sanctions are applied or if regulatory approval is withdrawn, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected. Additionally, if we are unable to generate revenues from product sales, our potential for achieving profitability will be diminished and our need to raise capital to fund our operations will increase.

If we fail to retain current members of our senior management and scientific personnel, or to attract and keep additional key personnel, we may be unable to successfully develop or commercialize our drug candidates.

Our success depends on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management and scientific personnel. As of December 31, 2020, we had eighteen full-time employees, two part-time employees and a small number of consultants, which may make us more reliant on our individual employees than companies with a greater number of employees. The loss of any of our key personnel, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, could delay or prevent the development of our drug candidates. These personnel are “at-will” employees and may terminate their employment with us at any time; however, our current executive officer has agreed to provide us with at least 60 days’ advance notice of resignation pursuant to his employment agreement with us. The replacement of key personnel likely would involve significant time and costs, and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives. We do not maintain “key person” insurance on any of our employees.

From time to time, our management seeks the advice and guidance of certain scientific advisors and consultants regarding clinical and regulatory development programs and other customary matters. These scientific advisors and consultants are not our employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability to us. In addition, our scientific advisors may have arrangements with other companies to assist those companies in developing products or technologies that may compete with ours.

Competition for qualified personnel is intense, especially in the greater San Diego, California area where we have a substantial presence and need for highly skilled personnel. We may not be successful in attracting qualified personnel to fulfill our current or future needs. Competitors and others have in the past attempted, and are likely in the future to attempt, to recruit our employees. While our employees are required to sign standard agreements concerning confidentiality and ownership of inventions, we generally do not have employment contracts or non-competition agreements with any of our personnel. The loss of the services of any of our key personnel, the inability to attract or retain highly qualified personnel in the future or delays in hiring such personnel, particularly senior management and other technical personnel, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We will need to increase the size of our organization and may not successfully manage our growth.

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a small number of employees, and our management systems currently in place are not likely to be adequate to support our future growth plans. Our ability to grow and to manage our growth effectively will require us to hire, train, retain, manage and motivate additional employees and to implement and improve our operational, financial and management systems. These demands also may require the hiring of additional senior management personnel or the development of additional expertise by our senior management personnel. Hiring a significant number of additional employees, particularly those at the management level, would increase our expenses significantly. Moreover, if we fail to expand and enhance our operational, financial and management systems in conjunction with our potential future growth, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Our management’s relative lack of public company experience could put us at greater risk of incurring fines or regulatory actions for failure to comply with federal securities laws and could put us at a competitive disadvantage, and could require our management to devote additional time and resources to ensure compliance with applicable corporate governance requirements.

Our management team has limited experience in managing and operating a public company, which could have an adverse effect on their ability to quickly respond to problems or adequately address issues and matters applicable to public companies. Any failure to comply with federal securities laws, rules or regulations could subject us to fines or regulatory actions, which may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, since our management team has limited public company experience, we may have to dedicate additional time and resources to comply with legally mandated corporate governance policies relative to our competitors whose management teams have more public company experience.

We are exposed to product liability, non-clinical and clinical liability risks which could place a substantial financial burden upon us, should lawsuits be filed against us.

Our business exposes us to potential product liability and other liability risks that are inherent in the testing, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical formulations and products. In addition, the use in our clinical trials of pharmaceutical products and the subsequent sale of these products by us or our potential collaborators may cause us to bear a portion of or all product liability risks. A successful liability claim or series of claims brought against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We currently maintain product liability insurance; however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to maintain such insurance, and we may be unable to obtain replacement product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or in adequate amounts. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated adverse effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could adversely affect our results of operations and business.

Our research and development activities involve the use of hazardous materials, which subject us to regulation, related costs and delays and potential liabilities.

Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, chemicals and various radioactive compounds, and we will need to develop additional safety procedures for the handling and disposing of hazardous materials. If an accident occurs, we could be held liable for resulting damages, which could be substantial. We are also subject to numerous environmental, health and workplace safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures, exposure to blood-borne pathogens and the handling of biohazardous materials. Additional federal, state and local laws and regulations affecting our operations may be adopted in the future. We may incur substantial costs to comply with, and substantial fines or penalties if we violate any of these laws or regulations.

We rely significantly on information technology and any failure, inadequacy, interruption or security lapse of that technology, including any cybersecurity incidents, could harm our ability to operate our business effectively.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of third parties with which we contract, including our CROs and other business partners, are vulnerable to damage from cyber-attacks, computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. System failures, accidents or security breaches could cause interruptions in our operations or the operations of our CROs and other business partners, and could result in a material disruption of our drug development and clinical activities and business operations, in addition to possibly requiring substantial expenditures of resources to remedy. The loss of drug development or clinical trial data could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and our development programs and the development of our drug candidates could be delayed.

Our employees and consultants may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements.

We are exposed to the risk of employee or consultant fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by our employees or consultants could include intentional failures to comply with FDA regulations, provide accurate information to the FDA, comply with manufacturing standards, comply with federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations, report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commissions, customer

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incentive programs and other business arrangements. Employee and consultant misconduct also could involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter such misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and result in the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions against us.

Business disruptions such as natural disasters could seriously harm our future revenues and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.

Our corporate headquarters are located in greater San Diego, California, a region known for seismic activity. In addition, one of our third-party manufacturers is located in the southeastern part of the United States, an area subject to hurricanes and related natural disasters. Our suppliers may also experience a disruption in their business as a result of natural disasters. A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, hurricane, flood or fire, could severely damage or destroy our headquarters or facilities or the facilities of our manufacturers or suppliers, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, terrorist acts or acts of war targeted at the U.S., and specifically the greater San Diego, California region, could cause damage or disruption to us, our employees, facilities, partners and suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may engage in strategic transactions that could impact our liquidity, increase our expenses and present significant distractions to our management.

From time to time, we may consider strategic transactions, such as acquisitions of companies, asset purchases and out-licensing or in-licensing of products, drug candidates or technologies. Additional potential transactions that we may consider include a variety of different business arrangements, including spin-offs, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, divestitures, business combinations and investments. Any such transaction may require us to incur non-recurring or other charges, may increase our near- and long-term expenditures and may pose significant integration challenges or disrupt our management or business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, these transactions may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including:

Accordingly, although there can be no assurance that we will undertake or successfully complete any transactions of the nature described above, any transactions that we do complete may be subject to the foregoing or other risks, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Our employment agreements with our officers and certain other employees may require us to pay severance benefits to any of those persons who are terminated in connection with a change in control of our company, which could harm our financial condition or results.

Our officers and certain employees are parties to employment agreements that contain change in control and severance provisions in the event of a termination of employment in connection with a change in control of our company providing for cash payments for severance and other benefits and acceleration of vesting of stock options and shares of restricted stock. The accelerated vesting of options and shares of restricted stock could result in dilution to our existing stockholders and lower the market price of our common stock. The payment of these severance benefits could harm our financial condition and results. In addition, these potential severance payments may discourage or prevent third parties from seeking a business combination with us.

Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property

We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to our drug candidates through acquisitions and in-licenses.

We currently have intellectual property rights to develop our drug candidates through a license from Ligand. As of December 31, 2020, we owned or co-owned seventy-three patent applications and did not own any patents. Because our programs require the use of proprietary rights held by Ligand, the growth of our business will likely depend in part on our ability to maintain and exploit these proprietary rights. In addition, we may need to acquire or in-license additional intellectual property in the future. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes or other intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for our drug candidates. We face competition with regard to acquiring and in-licensing third-party intellectual property rights, including from a number of more established companies. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cash resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license intellectual property rights to us. We also may be unable to acquire or in-license third-party intellectual property rights on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment.

We may enter into collaboration agreements with U.S. and foreign academic institutions to accelerate development of our current or future preclinical drug candidates. Typically, these agreements include an option for us to negotiate a license to the institution’s intellectual property rights resulting from the collaboration. Even with such an option, we may be unable to negotiate a license within the specified timeframe or under terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to license rights from a collaborating institution, the institution may offer the intellectual property rights to other parties, potentially blocking our ability to pursue our desired program.

If we are unable to successfully obtain required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain our existing intellectual property rights, we may need to abandon development of the related program and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to comply with our obligations in the agreements under which we in-license intellectual property and other rights from third parties or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose intellectual property rights that are important to our business.

The Master License Agreement is important to our business and we expect to enter into additional license agreements in the future. The Master License Agreement imposes, and we expect that future license agreements will impose, various diligence, milestone payment, royalty and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our obligations under these agreements, or if we file for bankruptcy, we may be required to make certain payments to the licensor, we may lose the exclusivity of our license, or the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to develop or market products covered by the license. Additionally, the milestone and other payments associated with these licenses could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Pursuant to the terms of the Master License Agreement, Ligand may terminate the Master License Agreement under certain circumstances, including, but not limited to: (1) in the event of our insolvency or bankruptcy, (2) if we do not pay an undisputed amount owing under the Master License Agreement when due and fail to cure such default within a specified period of time, or (3) if we default on certain of our material obligations and fail to cure the default within a specified period of time. If the Master License Agreement is terminated in its entirety or with respect to a specific licensed program for any reason, among other consequences, all licenses granted to us under the Master License Agreement (or with respect to the specific licensed program) will terminate and we may be requested to assign and transfer to Ligand certain regulatory documentation and regulatory approvals related to the licensed programs (or those related to the specific licensed program), and we may be required to wind down any ongoing clinical trials with respect to the licensed programs (or those related to the specific licensed program). Additionally, Ligand may require us to assign to Ligand the trademarks owned by us relating to the licensed programs (or those related to the specific licensed program), and we would

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be obligated to grant to Ligand a license under any patent rights and know-how controlled by us to the extent necessary to make, have made, import, use, offer to sell and sell the licensed programs (or those related to the specific licensed program) anywhere in the world at a royalty rate in the low single digits.

In some cases, patent prosecution of our licensed technology may be controlled solely by the licensor. If our licensor fails to obtain and maintain patent or other protection for the proprietary intellectual property we in-license, then we could lose our rights to the intellectual property or our exclusivity with respect to those rights, and our competitors could market competing products using the intellectual property. In certain cases, we may control the prosecution of patents resulting from licensed technology. In the event we breach any of our obligations related to such prosecution, we may incur significant liability to our licensing partners. Licensing of intellectual property is of critical importance to our business and involves complex legal, business and scientific issues. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including, but not limited to:

If disputes over intellectual property and other rights that we have in-licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected drug candidates. If we fail to comply with any such obligations to our licensor, such licensor may terminate their licenses to us, in which case we would not be able to market products covered by these licenses. The loss of our license with Ligand, and potentially other licenses that we enter into in the future, would have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may be required to pay milestones and royalties to Ligand in connection with our use of the licensed technology under the Master License Agreement, which could adversely affect the overall profitability for us of any products that we may seek to commercialize.

Under the terms of the Master License Agreement, we may be obligated to pay Ligand up to an aggregate of approximately $1.54 billion in development, regulatory and sales milestones. We will also be required to pay Ligand single-digit royalties on future worldwide net product sales. These royalty payments could adversely affect the overall profitability for us of any products that we may seek to commercialize.

We may not be able to protect our proprietary or licensed technology in the marketplace.

We depend on our ability to protect our proprietary or licensed technology. We rely on trade secret, patent, copyright and trademark laws, and confidentiality, licensing and other agreements with employees and third parties, all of which offer only limited protection. Our success depends in large part on our ability, Ligand’s and any future licensor’s or licensee’s ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the U.S. and other countries with respect to our proprietary or licensed technology and products. We currently in-license most of our intellectual property rights to develop our drug candidates and may in-license additional intellectual property rights in the future. Under the terms of the Master License Agreement, Ligand has the first right to file, prosecute and maintain the patents subject to the Master License Agreement in its name. We cannot be certain that patent enforcement activities by our current or future licensors have been or will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in valid and enforceable patents or other intellectual property rights. We also cannot be certain that our current or future licensors will allocate sufficient resources or prioritize their or our enforcement of such patents. Even if we are not a party to these legal actions, an adverse outcome could prevent us from continuing to license intellectual property that we may need to operate our business, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We believe we will be able to obtain, through prosecution of patent applications covering technology licensed from others, adequate patent protection for our proprietary drug technology, including those related to our in-licensed intellectual property. If we are compelled to spend significant time and money protecting or enforcing our licensed patents and future patents we may own,

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designing around patents held by others or licensing or acquiring, potentially for large fees, patents or other proprietary rights held by others, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. If we are unable to effectively protect the intellectual property that we own or in-license, other companies may be able to offer the same or similar products for sale, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The patents of others from whom we may license technology, and any future patents we may own, may be challenged, narrowed, invalidated or circumvented, which could limit our ability to stop competitors from marketing the same or similar products or limit the length of term of patent protection that we may have for our products.

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

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other governmental fees on patents and/or patent applications will be due to be paid to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, and various governmental patent agencies outside of the U.S. in several stages over the lifetime of the applicable patent and/or patent application. The USPTO and various non-U.S. governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. However, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. If this occurs with respect to our in-licensed patents or patent applications we may file in the future, our competitors might be able to use our technologies, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The patent positions of pharmaceutical products are often complex and uncertain. The breadth of claims allowed in pharmaceutical patents in the U.S. and many jurisdictions outside of the U.S. is not consistent. For example, in many jurisdictions, the support standards for pharmaceutical patents are becoming increasingly strict. Some countries prohibit method of treatment claims in patents. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretations of patent laws in the U.S. and other countries may diminish the value of our licensed or owned intellectual property or create uncertainty. In addition, publication of information related to our current drug candidates and potential products may prevent us from obtaining or enforcing patents relating to these drug candidates and potential products, including without limitation composition-of-matter patents, which are generally believed to offer the strongest patent protection.

Our intellectual property includes licenses covering issued patents and pending patent applications for composition of matter and method of use. As of December 31, 2020, for each of VK2809 and VK0214, we in-licensed two patents and one patent application in the U.S. and additional patents or patent applications in certain foreign jurisdictions, and owned or co-owned and in-licensed two PCT applications, five U.S. patent applications, one U.S. provisional application, and additional patent applications in certain foreign jurisdictions. We also in-licensed one additional U.S. patent and patent applications in certain foreign jurisdictions directed to VK0214; and owned one additional U.S. patent application and applications in certain foreign jurisdictions directed to VK2809 as of December 31, 2020. For VK5211, as of December 31, 2020, we in-licensed nine patents in the U.S. and several other patents in certain foreign jurisdictions. For VK0612, as of December 31, 2020, we in-licensed one patent in India, and own one pending U.S. application and several foreign applications. With respect to our other current drug candidates, we have a license covering several issued patents and pending patent applications both in the U.S. and in certain foreign jurisdictions.

Patents that we currently license and patents that we may own or license in the future do not necessarily ensure the protection of our licensed or owned intellectual property for a number of reasons, including, without limitation, the following:

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If we encounter delays in our development or clinical trials, the period of time during which we could market our potential products under patent protection would be reduced.

Our competitors may be able to circumvent our licensed patents or future patents we may own by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner. Our competitors may seek to market generic versions of any approved products by submitting abbreviated new drug applications to the FDA in which our competitors claim that our licensed patents or any future patents we may own are invalid, unenforceable or not infringed. Alternatively, our competitors may seek approval to market their own products similar to or otherwise competitive with our products. In these circumstances, we may need to defend or assert our licensed patents or any future patents we may own, including by filing lawsuits alleging patent infringement. In any of these types of proceedings, a court or other agency with jurisdiction may find our licensed patents or any future patents we may own invalid or unenforceable. We may also fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Even if we own or in-license valid and enforceable patents, these patents still may not provide protection against competing products or processes sufficient to achieve our business objectives.

The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, ownership, priority, validity or enforceability. In this regard, third parties may challenge our licensed patents or any future patents we may own in the courts or patent offices in the U.S. and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and potential products. In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new drug candidates, patents protecting such drug candidates might expire before or shortly after such drug candidates are commercialized.

We may infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may prevent or delay our drug development efforts and prevent us from commercializing or increase the costs of commercializing our products.

Our commercial success depends significantly on our ability to operate without infringing the patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties. For example, there could be issued patents of which we are not aware that our current or potential future drug candidates infringe. There also could be patents that we believe we do not infringe, but that we may ultimately be found to infringe.

Moreover, patent applications are in some cases maintained in secrecy until patents are issued. The publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature frequently occurs substantially later than the date on which the underlying discoveries were made and patent applications were filed. Because patents can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending applications of which we are unaware that may later result in issued patents that our drug candidates or potential products infringe. For example, pending applications may exist that claim or can be amended to claim subject matter that our drug candidates or potential products infringe. Competitors may file continuing patent applications claiming priority to already issued patents in the form of continuation, divisional, or continuation-in-part applications, in order to maintain the pendency of a patent family and attempt to cover our drug candidates.

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Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization and may sue us for patent or other intellectual property infringement. These lawsuits are costly and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and divert the attention of managerial and scientific personnel. If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our drug candidates, potential products or methods either do not infringe the claims of the relevant patent or that the patent claims are invalid, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity is difficult. For example, in the U.S., proving invalidity requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in pursuing these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. If a court holds that any third-party patents are valid, enforceable and cover our products or their use, the holders of any of these patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize our products unless we acquire or obtain a license under the applicable patents or until the patents expire.

We may not be able to enter into licensing arrangements or make other arrangements at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms. Any inability to secure licenses or alternative technology could result in delays in the introduction of our products or lead to prohibition of the manufacture or sale of products by us. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease commercializing the infringing technology or product. In addition, in any such proceeding or litigation, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our drug candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any claims by third parties that we have misappropriated their confidential information or trade secrets could have a similar material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations.

Any claims or lawsuits relating to infringement of intellectual property rights brought by or against us will be costly and time consuming and may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be required to initiate litigation to enforce or defend our licensed and owned intellectual property. For example, we are currently aware of at least two third-party companies that are selling products in the U.S. bearing the name “LGD-4033,” which is the name previously used by Ligand to refer to VK5211, without authority from either us or Ligand, and we may experience other potential intellectual property infringement in the future. Lawsuits to protect our intellectual property rights can be very time consuming and costly. There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biopharmaceutical industry generally. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating expenses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities.

In any infringement litigation, any award of monetary damages we receive may not be commercially valuable. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which typically last for years before they are resolved. Further, any claims we assert against a perceived infringer could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we have infringed their patents. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

In addition, our licensed patents and patent applications, and patents and patent applications that we may apply for, own or license in the future, could face other challenges, such as interference proceedings, opposition proceedings, re-examination proceedings and other forms of post-grant review. Any of these challenges, if successful, could result in the invalidation of, or in a narrowing of the scope of, any of our licensed patents and patent applications and patents and patent applications that we may apply for, own or license in the future. Any of these challenges, regardless of their success, would likely be time consuming and expensive to defend and resolve and would divert our management and scientific personnel’s time and attention.

In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

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Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves both technological and legal complexity and is costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. For example, on September 16, 2011, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, was signed into law. The Leahy-Smith Act included a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law, including provisions that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and that may also affect patent litigation. In particular, under the Leahy-Smith Act, the United States transitioned in March 2013 to a “first to file” system in which the first inventor to file a patent application is typically entitled to the patent. Third parties are allowed to submit prior art before the issuance of a patent by the USPTO, and may become involved in post-grant proceedings, including opposition, derivation, reexamination, inter partes review or interference proceedings challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope or enforceability of, or invalidate, our patent rights, which could adversely affect our competitive position.

In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce patents that we might obtain in the future.

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

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on drug candidates throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Competitors may use our licensed and owned technologies in jurisdictions where we have not licensed or obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we may obtain or license patent protection, but where patent enforcement is not as strong as that in the U.S. These products may compete with our products in jurisdictions where we do not have any issued or licensed patents and any future patent claims or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from so competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biopharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our licensed patents and future patents we may own, or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Further, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the U.S. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our licensed and owned intellectual property both in the U.S. and abroad. For example, China, where we currently have a number of licensed patents and licensed patent applications, currently affords less protection to a company’s intellectual property than some other jurisdictions. As such, the lack of strong patent and other intellectual property protection in China may significantly increase our vulnerability regarding unauthorized disclosure or use of our intellectual property and undermine our competitive position. Proceedings to enforce our future patent rights, if any, in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial cost and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business.

Many countries, including European Union countries, India, Japan and China, have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled under certain circumstances to grant licenses to third parties. In those countries, as of December 31, 2020, we had several licensed patents and several licensed patent applications and may have limited remedies if such patents are infringed or if we are compelled to grant a license to a third party, which could materially diminish the value of such patents. This could limit our potential revenue opportunities. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we own or license.

We may be unable to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

In order to protect our proprietary and licensed technology and processes, we rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our corporate partners, employees, consultants, manufacturers, outside scientific collaborators and sponsored researchers and other advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of our confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. Failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.

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We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

We employ individuals who were previously employed at other biopharmaceutical companies. Although we have no knowledge of any such claims against us, we may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of our employees’ former employers or other third parties. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. There is no guarantee of success in defending these claims, and even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and other employees. To date, none of our employees have been subject to such claims.

We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our licensed patents, any future patents we may own and other intellectual property.

Although we are not currently experiencing any claims challenging the inventorship of our licensed patents or our licensed or owned intellectual property, we may in the future be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an interest in our licensed patents or other licensed or owned intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. For example, we may have inventorship disputes arise from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved in developing our drug candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.

If we do not obtain additional protection under the Hatch-Waxman Amendments and similar foreign legislation extending the terms of our licensed patents and any future patents we may own, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of FDA regulatory approval for our drug candidates, one or more of our licensed U.S. patents or future U.S. patents that we may license or own may be eligible for limited patent term restoration under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent restoration term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during drug development and the FDA regulatory review process. This period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an investigational new drug application (falling after issuance of the patent), and the submission date of an NDA, plus the time between the submission date of an NDA and the approval of that application. Patent term restorations, however, cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval by the FDA.

The application for patent term extension is subject to approval by the USPTO, in conjunction with the FDA. It takes at least six months to obtain approval of the application for patent term extension. We may not be granted an extension because of, for example, failing to apply within applicable deadlines, failing to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise failing to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or restoration or the term of any such extension is less than we request, the period during which we will have the right to exclusively market our product will be shortened and our competitors may obtain earlier approval of competing products, and our ability to generate revenues could be materially adversely affected.

Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile.

The trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile. Our stock price could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including the following:

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In addition, the stock market, in general, and small biopharmaceutical companies, in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Further, a decline in the financial markets and related factors beyond our control may cause our stock price to decline rapidly and unexpectedly.

An active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained, and you may not be able to resell your common stock at a desired market price.

If no active trading market for our common stock is sustained, you may be unable to sell your shares when you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider attractive or satisfactory. The lack of an active market may also adversely affect our ability to raise capital by selling securities in the future, or impair our ability to acquire or in-license other drug candidates, businesses or technologies using our shares as consideration.

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Our management owns a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.

As of December 31, 2020, our executive officers, directors and 5% or greater stockholders beneficially owned 37.0% of our common stock. Therefore, our executive officers, directors and 5% or greater stockholders have the ability to influence us through this ownership position.

This concentration of stock ownership may adversely affect the trading price for our common stock because investors often perceive disadvantages in owning stock in companies with controlling stockholders. As a result, these stockholders, if they acted together, could materially influence all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers or other business combination transactions. These stockholders may be able to determine all matters requiring stockholder approval. The interests of these stockholders may not always coincide with our interests or the interests of other stockholders. This may also prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that you may feel are in your best interest as one of our stockholders and they may act in a manner that advances their best interests and not necessarily those of other stockholders, including seeking a premium value for their common stock, and might affect the prevailing market price for our common stock.

Ligand is one of our largest stockholders, which may limit the ability of our stockholders to influence corporate matters and may give rise to conflicts of interest.

As of December 31, 2020, Ligand and its affiliates beneficially owned approximately 9.8% of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, Ligand may be able to exert influence over us and any action requiring the approval of the holders of our common stock, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers or other business combination transactions. This concentration of voting power may make it less likely that any other holder of our common stock or our board of directors will be able to affect the way we are managed and could delay or prevent an acquisition of us on terms that other stockholders may desire.

Furthermore, the interests of Ligand may not be aligned with our other stockholders and this could lead to actions that may not be in the best interests of our other stockholders. For example, Ligand may have different tax positions or strategic plans for us, which could influence its decisions regarding whether and when we should dispose of assets or incur new indebtedness. In addition, Ligand’s significant ownership in us may discourage someone from making a significant equity investment in us, or could discourage transactions involving a change in control, including transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over the then-current market price.

Pursuant to the management rights letter between us and Ligand, dated May 21, 2014, Ligand has the right to nominate one individual for election to our board of directors. Matthew W. Foehr, Ligand’s President and Chief Operating Officer, is the current member of our board of directors nominated by Ligand. As a result of our relationship with Ligand, there may be transactions between us and Ligand that could present an actual or perceived conflict of interest. These conflicts of interest may lead Mr. Foehr to recuse himself from deliberation and voting as a member of our board of directors with respect to any transactions involving Ligand or its affiliates.

We are a “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and if we decide to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies, our common stock could be less attractive to investors.

For so long as we qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” we will have the option to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting and other requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “smaller reporting companies,” including, but not limited to reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. In addition, for as long as we are deemed neither a large accelerated filer nor accelerated filer, we will continue to use the exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

We will remain a smaller reporting company and non-accelerated filer until we have a public float of $700 million or more and annual revenues of less than $100 million, or a public float of $250 million or more and annual revenues of $100 million or more. Our public float on June 30, 2020 was less than $700 million and our annual revenues were less than $100 million,

We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

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Our internal control over financial reporting may not meet the standards required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, could have a material adverse effect on our business and share price.

Our management is currently required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. However, as a smaller reporting company and a non-accelerated filer and in accordance with new SEC rules effective in 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 for as long as we are not deemed an “accelerated filer” or “large accelerated filer.” The rules governing the standards that must be met for our management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation.

In connection with the implementation of the necessary procedures and practices related to internal control over financial reporting, we may identify deficiencies or material weaknesses that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the deadline imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for compliance with the requirements of Section 404. In addition, we may encounter problems or delays in completing the implementation of any requested improvements and receiving a favorable attestation in connection with the attestation provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. Failure to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and in a timely manner.

As a result of operating as a public company, we may incur significantly increased costs and our management and other personnel will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.

As a public company and particularly after we cease to be a “smaller reporting company” and “non-accelerated filer,” we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC have imposed various requirements on public companies. There are significant corporate governance and executive compensation related provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act that require the SEC to adopt additional rules and regulations in these areas. Stockholder activism, the current political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact (in ways we cannot currently anticipate) the manner in which we operate our business. We have a small management team that, along with other personnel, will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain our current levels of such insurance coverage.

As a publicly traded company, we have incurred and will incur legal, accounting and other expenses associated with the SEC reporting requirements applicable to a company whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act, as well as corporate governance requirements, including those under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and other rules implemented by the SEC and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. In addition, we expect that we will need to hire additional personnel in our finance department to help us comply with the various requirements applicable to public companies. The expenses incurred by public companies generally to meet SEC reporting, finance and accounting and corporate governance requirements have been increasing in recent years as a result of changes in rules and regulations and the adoption of new rules and regulations applicable to public companies.

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

The trading market for our common stock depends, 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 cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. In addition, if our operating results fail to meet the forecast of analysts, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market by our existing stockholders, exercises and sales of outstanding warrants or future issuances of our common stock or rights to purchase our common stock, could cause our stock price to fall.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock by our existing stockholders, including Ligand, in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to

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raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.

Our management will continue to have broad discretion over the use of the proceeds we received from our prior financings and available cash, and might not apply the proceeds in ways that increase the value of your investment.  

Our management will continue to have broad discretion to use the net proceeds from our prior financings and available cash and you will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of these proceeds. Our management might not apply the proceeds in ways that ultimately increase the value of your investment and the failure by our management to apply these proceeds effectively could harm our business. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of these remaining net proceeds, their ultimate use may vary substantially from their currently intended use. If we do not invest or apply these net proceeds in ways that enhance stockholder value, we may fail to achieve the expected financial results, which could cause our stock price to decline.

We are at risk of securities class action litigation.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biopharmaceutical companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards may be subject to certain limitations.

As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $31.0 million of federal net operating loss carryforwards, of which $17.8 million will begin to expire in 2032 and the remaining $13.2 million of which can be carried forward indefinitely. We have $30.6 million of state net operating loss carryforwards that will begin to expire in 2034. Our ability to utilize our federal net operating loss carryforwards may be limited under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code. In the event of an “ownership change,” Section 382 imposes an annual limitation on the amount of post-ownership change taxable income that may be offset with pre-ownership change net operating losses of the loss corporation experiencing the ownership change. An “ownership change” is defined by Section 382 as a cumulative change in ownership of our company of more than 50% within a three-year period. Our initial public offering in May 2015 resulted in an “ownership change” of us. Additionally, we have determined that our underwritten public offering of common stock completed in February 2018 resulted in an “ownership change” of us. We performed an analysis as of both dates in May 2015 and February 2018 and determined that, while the amount of net operating losses available to use each year may be limited, the full amounts of the $15.8 million federal and $15.8 million state tax net operating loss carryforwards are available for utilization as of December 31, 2020. Based on the 2018 limitation, 2021 is the last year for the Section 382 limitation, and the full amounts of the $25.2 million federal and $24.8 million state tax net operating loss carryforwards will be available for utilization as of December 31, 2021. We also performed an analysis as of June 11, 2018 and September 25, 2018, the dates of the closings of our underwritten public offerings of 8,625,000 shares and 9,500,000 shares of our common stock, respectively, and determined at each date that there was no deemed ownership change. In addition, current or future changes in our stock ownership may trigger an “ownership change,” some of which may be outside our control. Accordingly, our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards to offset federal taxable income, if any, will likely be limited by Section 382, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us.

We may never pay dividends on our common stock so any returns would be limited to the appreciation of our stock.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividend on our common stock. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult or expensive for a third party to acquire us or change our board of directors or current management.

Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management. These provisions include:

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These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless such transactions are approved in advance by our board of directors or ratified by our board of directors and certain of our stockholders. This provision could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control, whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Further, other provisions of Delaware law may also discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us.

Our amended and restated bylaws designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us or our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of our amended and restated bylaws, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or the DGCL, (4) any action asserting a claim against us or our directors, officers or employees that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, or (5) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated bylaws or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to this provision of our amended and restated bylaws. This choice-of-forum provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our amended and restated bylaws inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.

Our facilities consist of office space in San Diego, California.  We lease approximately 7,149 square feet of space for our headquarters in San Diego, California under an agreement that expires on January 31, 2022.  We believe that our existing facilities are adequate to meet our current needs, and that suitable additional alternative spaces will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms.

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

From time to time, we may be party to lawsuits in the ordinary course of business. We are not presently a party to any legal proceedings, the outcome of which, if determined adversely to us, would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.  

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 28, 2015 and trades under the symbol “VKTX”. Prior to April 28, 2015, there was no public market for our common stock. Warrants to purchase shares of our common stock issued as part of the underwritten public offering in April 2016 began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “VKTXW” effective April 8, 2016.  

Holders of Record

As of December 31, 2020, there were approximately five stockholders of record of our common stock and one holder of record of our publicly traded warrants. Certain shares and warrants are held in “street” name and, accordingly, the number of beneficial owners of such shares is not known or included in the foregoing number.

Performance Graph

We are a smaller reporting company, as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are not required to provide a performance graph.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

Not required.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

You should read the following discussion and analysis in conjunction with Part II, “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” included below in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Operating results are not necessarily indicative of results that may occur in future periods.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from our expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those set forth in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based on information available to us as of the time we file this Annual Report on Form 10-K and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, first-in-class or best-in-class therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders.

Our lead clinical program’s drug candidate, VK2809, is an orally available, tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta, or TRß. In November 2019, we initiated the VOYAGE study, a Phase 2b clinical trial of VK2809 in patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.

The VOYAGE study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial designed to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of VK2809 in patients with biopsy-confirmed NASH and fibrosis ranging from stages F1 to F3. The study is targeting enrollment of approximately 340 patients across five treatment arms. The primary endpoint of the study will evaluate the relative change in liver fat content, as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), from baseline to week 12 in subjects treated with VK2809 as compared to placebo. Secondary objectives include evaluation of histologic changes assessed by hepatic biopsy after 52 weeks of dosing.

VK2809 has been evaluated in seven completed clinical studies, which enrolled more than 300 subjects. No serious adverse events, or SAEs, have been observed in subjects receiving VK2809 in these completed studies, and overall tolerability remains encouraging. In addition, the compound has been evaluated in chronic toxicity studies of up to 12 months in duration.

We are also developing VK0214, which is also an orally available, tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of TRß for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, or X-ALD, a rare X-linked, inherited neurological disorder characterized by a breakdown in the protective barriers surrounding brain and nerve cells. The disease, for which there is no approved treatment, is caused by mutations in a peroxisomal transporter of very long chain fatty acids, or VLCFA, known as ABCD1. As a result, transporter function is impaired and patients are unable to efficiently metabolize VLCFA. The TRß receptor is known to regulate expression of an alternative VLCFA transporter, known as ABCD2. Various preclinical models have demonstrated that increased expression of ABCD2 can lead to normalization of VLCFA metabolism. Preliminary data suggest that VK0214 stimulates ABCD2 expression in an in vitro model and reduces VLCFA levels in an in vivo model of X-ALD. In September of 2020, we initiated a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled Phase 1 single ascending dose, or SAD, and multiple ascending dose, or MAD, clinical trial of VK0214 in healthy patients. The primary objectives of the study include evaluation of the safety and tolerability of single and multiple oral doses of VK0214, as well as identification of VK0214 doses for further clinical development in the setting of X-ALD.

Other clinical programs include VK5211, an orally available, non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator, or SARM. In November 2017, we announced positive top-line results from a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial in 108 patients recovering from non-elective hip fracture surgery. Top-line data showed that the trial achieved its primary endpoint, demonstrating statistically significant, dose dependent increases in lean body mass, less head, following treatment with VK5211 as compared to placebo. The study also achieved certain secondary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant increases in appendicular lean body mass and total lean body mass for all doses of VK5211, compared to placebo. VK5211 demonstrated encouraging safety and tolerability in this study, with no drug-related SAEs reported. Our intent is to continue to pursue partnering or licensing opportunities prior to conducting additional clinical studies.

We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on September 24, 2012. Since our incorporation, we have devoted most of our efforts towards conducting certain clinical trials and preclinical studies related to our VK2809, VK0214 and VK5211 programs, as well as efforts towards raising capital and building infrastructure. We obtained exclusive worldwide rights to our VK2809, VK0214 and VK5211 programs and certain other assets pursuant to an exclusive license agreement with Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, or Ligand. The terms of this license agreement are detailed in the Master License Agreement with Ligand, which we entered into on

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May 21, 2014, as amended, or the Master License Agreement. A summary of the Master License Agreement can be found under the heading “Agreements with Ligand—Master License Agreement” under Part I, “Item 1. Business” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We are subject to risks and uncertainties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business is highly uncertain and difficult to predict, as the responses that we, other businesses and governments are taking continue to evolve. Furthermore, capital markets and economies worldwide have also been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is possible that it could cause a local and/or global economic slowdown or recession. Policymakers around the globe have responded with fiscal policy actions to support the healthcare industry and economy as a whole. The magnitude and overall effectiveness of these actions remain uncertain.

In addition, our clinical trials have been affected by and may continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical site initiation and patient enrollment have been, and may continue to be delayed due to prioritization of hospital resources toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Some patients have not been able and others may not be able to comply with clinical trial protocols if quarantines impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services. Similarly, any inability to recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19, may adversely impact our clinical trial operations.

The severity of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the duration and severity of the pandemic and the extent and severity of the impact on our service providers, suppliers, contract research organizations, or CROs, and our clinical trials, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted, as well as the timing and potential rollout of any vaccines and the willingness of the general population to be vaccinated. As of the date of issuance of our financial statements, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may materially impact our financial condition, liquidity or results of operations is still uncertain.

Financial Operations Overview

Revenues

To date, we have not generated any revenue. We do not expect to receive any revenue from any drug candidates that we develop unless and until we obtain regulatory approval for, and commercialize, our drug candidates or enter into collaborative agreements with third parties.

Research and Development Expenses

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we charged $31.9 million to research and development expense primarily related to our efforts in continuing to conduct the VK2809 Phase 2b VOYAGE clinical trial as well as preparing for and initiating the VK0214 Phase 1 SAD and MAD study in healthy patients. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we charged $23.6 million to research and development expense primarily related to our efforts to prepare for the initiation of the VK2809 Phase 2b VOYAGE clinical trial as well as certain toxicology studies for VK2809 and in vivo studies for VK0214. We expect that our ongoing research and development expenses will consist of costs incurred for the development of our drug candidates, including, but not limited to:

We expense all research and development costs as incurred.

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The process of conducting the necessary clinical research to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time consuming and the successful development of our drug candidates is highly uncertain. Our future research and development expenses will depend on the clinical success of each of our drug candidates, as well as ongoing assessments of the commercial potential of such drug candidates. In addition, we cannot forecast with any degree of certainty which drug candidates may be subject to future collaborations, when such arrangements will be secured, if at all, and to what degree such arrangements would affect our development plans and capital requirements. We expect to incur increased research and development expenses in the future as we continue our efforts towards advancing our VK2809 and VK0214 programs and seek to advance our additional programs.

General and Administrative Expenses

Our general and administrative expenses have generally increased year-over-year as we have hired additional employees, issued additional equity awards, which has resulted in increased stock-based compensation expense, implemented certain systems to increase efficiency, and incurred additional costs for insurance, legal and accounting related to operating as a public company. We expect that our general and administrative expenses will continue to increase in the future in order to support our expected increase in research and development activities, including increased salaries and other related costs, stock-based compensation and consulting fees for executive, finance, accounting and business development functions. We also expect general and administrative expenses to increase as a result of additional costs associated with being a public company, including expenses related to compliance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, additional insurance expenses, investor relations activities and other administration and professional services. Other significant costs are expected to include legal fees relating to patent and corporate matters, facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, and fees for accounting and other consulting services.

Other Income (Expense)

Other income (expense) includes interest income earned from our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Smaller Reporting Company and Non-Accelerated Filer

Until December 31, 2020, we were deemed an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the rules under the Securities Act, and we utilized certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that were applicable to public companies that were not emerging growth companies. For example, as an emerging growth company, we were not required to provide an auditor’s attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual reports on Form 10-K as otherwise required by Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended. Effective December 31, 2020, we are no longer an emerging growth company as December 31, 2020 was the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering. In March 2020, the SEC released final rules amending the definitions for accelerated and large accelerated filers. In addition, these final rules also exclude from these definitions of accelerated and large accelerated filers an issuer that is eligible to be a smaller reporting company and non-accelerated filer. As our public float on June 30, 2020 was less than $700 million and our annual revenues are less than $100 million, we are now deemed a smaller reporting company and a non-accelerated filer. As a non-accelerated filer and in accordance with these new rules, we will continue to not be required to provide an auditor’s attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting in this and potentially future annual reports on Form 10-K as otherwise required by Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended. In addition, as a smaller reporting company, we have the ability to take advantage of several “scaled disclosure” accommodations in accordance with the smaller reporting company rules.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these 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 the financial statements, as well as the reported revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments related to our preclinical, nonclinical and clinical development costs and drug manufacturing costs. 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 readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe that the following accounting policies will be critical to understanding our historical and

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future performance, as these policies relate to the significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates in the preparation of our financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

We have not recorded any revenues since our inception. However, in the future, we may enter into collaborative research and licensing agreements, under which we could be eligible for payments made in the form of upfront license fees, research funding, cost reimbursement, contingent event-based payments and/or royalties.

On January 1, 2018, we adopted Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers and all related amendments, or ASC 606 or the new revenue standard. ASC 606 is a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The revenue standard is based on the principle that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve this core principle, ASC 606 provides that an entity should apply the following steps: (1) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The new revenue standard also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, and costs to obtain or fulfill contracts. We will apply ASC 606 prospectively to all contracts.

Research and Development

All costs of research and development are expensed in the period incurred. Research and development costs primarily consist of fees paid to contract research organizations, or CROs, and clinical trial sites, employee and consultant related expenses, which include salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation for research and development personnel, external research and development expenses incurred pursuant to agreements with third-party manufacturing organizations, facilities costs, travel costs, dues and subscriptions, depreciation and materials used in preclinical studies, clinical trials and research and development.

We estimate our preclinical study and clinical trial expenses based on the services we received pursuant to contracts with research institutions and CROs that conduct and manage preclinical studies and clinical trials on our behalf. Clinical trial-related contracts vary significantly in length, and may be for a fixed amount, based on milestones or deliverables, a variable amount based on actual costs incurred, capped at a certain limit, or for a combination of these elements. We accrue service fees based on work performed, which relies on estimates of total costs incurred based on milestones achieved, patient enrollment and other events. The majority of our service providers invoice us in arrears, and to the extent that amounts invoiced differ from our estimates of expenses incurred, we accrue for additional costs. The financial terms of these agreements vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven expenses and payment flows. Preclinical study and clinical trial expenses include:

Payments under some of these agreements depend on factors such as the milestones accomplished, including enrollment of certain numbers of patients, site initiation and the completion of clinical trial milestones. To date, we have not experienced any events requiring us to make material adjustments to our accruals for service fees. If we do not identify costs that we have begun to incur or if we underestimate or overestimate the level of services performed or the costs of these services, our actual expenses could differ from our estimates, which could materially affect our results of operations. Adjustments to our accruals are recorded as changes in estimates become evident. Furthermore, based on amounts invoiced to us by our service providers, we may also record payments made to those providers as prepaid expenses that will be recognized as expense in future periods as services are rendered.

In May 2014, we entered into the Master License Agreement, pursuant to which we acquired certain rights to a number of research and development programs from Ligand. In doing so, we updated our policy on research and development to include the purchase of rights to intangible assets. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, Topic 730, Research and Development, intangible assets that are acquired and have an alternative future use, as defined, should be capitalized and reported as an intangible asset; however, the cost of acquired intangible assets that do not have alternative future uses should be reported as research and development expense as incurred. We note that intangible assets acquired that are in the preclinical or clinical stages of development when acquired, and not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, are deemed to have not satisfied the definition of having

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an alternative future use, as defined. Accordingly, assets acquired in the preclinical and clinical stages of development are expensed as incurred in our statement of operations.

Patent Costs

Costs related to filing and pursuing patent applications are expensed as incurred to general and administrative expense, as recoverability of such expenditures is uncertain.

Stock-Based Compensation

We generally use the straight-line method to allocate compensation cost to reporting periods over each optionee’s requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period, and estimate the fair value of stock-based awards or restricted stock units to employees and directors using the Black-Scholes option-valuation model. The Black-Scholes model requires the input of subjective assumptions, including volatility, the expected term and the fair value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant, among other inputs. For restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards, we generally use the straight-line method to allocate compensation cost to reporting periods over the holder’s requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period, and use the fair value at grant date to value the awards. For restricted stock that vests upon the satisfaction of certain performance conditions, we recognize stock-based compensation expense when it becomes probable that the performance conditions will be met. At the grant date, we determine the grant date fair value, as a publicly traded company, using the intrinsic value, or the closing price of our stock on the date of grant. At the point where the criteria are deemed probable of being met, we record stock-based compensation with a cumulative catch-up expense in the period first recognized and then on a straight-line basis over the remaining period for which the performance criteria are expected to be completed.

For our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP, we generally recognize compensation expense for the fair value of the purchase options, as measured on the grant date, and use the graded vesting method to allocate this compensation cost to each purchase period within the related two-year offering period. As our ESPP also allows for up to one increase in contributions during each purchase period, then as an employee elects to increase their contributions, we treat this as an accounting modification. The pre- and post-modification values are calculated on the date of the modification, and the incremental expense is then amortized over the remaining purchase periods.

Income Taxes

We account for our income taxes using the liability method whereby deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary differences between the basis used for financial reporting and income tax reporting purposes. Deferred income taxes are provided based on the enacted tax rates in effect at the time such temporary differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that we will not realize those tax assets through future operations.

ASC Topic 740-10, Income Taxes, clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in our financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP.  Income tax positions must meet a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold to be recognized. Income tax positions that previously failed to meet the more-likely-than-not threshold are recognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which that threshold is met. Previously recognized tax positions that no longer meet the more-likely-than-not threshold are derecognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which that threshold is no longer met.

Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties accrued on any unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

Net Loss per Common Share

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period, without consideration for common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common share equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock method. For purposes of this calculation, we currently do not have any deemed common share equivalents; therefore, our basic and diluted net loss per share calculations are the same. 

Segments

We operate in only one segment. Management uses cash flows as the primary measure to manage our business and does not segment our business for internal reporting or decision making purposes.

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Results of Operations

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

Research and Development Expenses

The following table summarizes our research and development expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands, except % change).

The increase in research and development expenses during the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily due to increased expenses related to our clinical study efforts of $9.5 million, salaries and benefits of $668,000, stock-based compensation of $405,000 and the manufacturing of our drug candidates of $278,000 partially offset by decreased expenses related to services provided by certain third-party consultants of $1.5 million, pre-clinical study efforts of $908,000 and travel of $40,000.

General and Administrative Expenses

The following table summarizes our general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands, except % change).

The increase in general and administrative expenses during the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily due to increased expenses related to stock-based compensation of $1.7 million, salaries and wages of $295,000 and insurance expense of $173,000 partially offset by decreased expenses related to services provided by certain third-party consultants of $201,000, professional fees of $116,000, legal and patent expenses of $83,000 and travel of $71,000.

Other Income (Expense)

The following table summarizes our other income (expense) for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands, except % change).

Other income (expense) recognized during the year ended December 31, 2020 consisted primarily of interest income of $3.3 million, offset by expense relating to the amortization of certain financing costs of $106,000.

Other income (expense) recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019 consisted primarily of interest income of $7.1 million, offset by expense relating to the amortization of certain financing costs of $146,000.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have incurred losses and negative cash flows from operations and have not generated any revenues since our inception. As of December 31, 2020, we had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $248.4 million. As such, we believe our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to fund our operations through at least the first quarter of 2022, which is more than one year after the date our December 31, 2020 financial statements were issued.

Our primary use of cash is to fund operating expenses, which to date have consisted of the cost to obtain the license of intellectual property from Ligand, certain research and development expenses related to furthering the development of VK2809, VK0214 and VK5211 efforts and general and administrative expenses. Since we have not generated any revenues to date, we have incurred operating losses since our inception. Cash used to fund operating expenses is impacted by the timing of payment of these expenses, as reflected in the change in our outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses.

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On July 11, 2018, we filed with the SEC a universal Shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-226133), or the Shelf Registration Statement. The Shelf Registration Statement initially provided us with the ability to offer up to $450.0 million of securities, including equity, debt and other securities as described in the Shelf Registration Statement. The Shelf Registration Statement was declared effective by the SEC on July 19, 2018.  

Pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement, we may offer additional securities from time to time and through one or more methods of distribution, subject to market conditions and our capital needs. Specific terms and prices will be determined at the time of each offering under a separate prospectus supplement, which will be filed with the SEC at the time of any offering.

On August 1, 2019, we entered into an At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement, or the ATM Agreement, with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., or each, an Agent and, together, the Agents, pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, through or to the Agents, as sales agent or principal, or the ATM Offering, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $75.0 million, or the Shares.  Any Shares offered and sold in the ATM Offering will be issued pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement and the 424(b) prospectus supplement relating to the ATM Offering dated August 1, 2019. No shares of our common stock were sold under the ATM Agreement from its inception through December 31, 2020.

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated below (in thousands):

Cash Used in Operating Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities of $21.8 million primarily reflected our net losses for the period, adjusted by non-cash charges such as stock-based compensation, amortization of investment premiums, amortization of financing costs and amortization of right of use asset as well as changes in our working capital accounts, primarily consisting of an increase in accrued interest, net of interest received on maturity of investments, accounts payable and accrued expenses and a decrease in prepaid expenses and lease liability.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, cash used in operating activities of $24.8 million primarily reflected our net losses for the period, adjusted by non-cash charges such as amortization of investment premiums, amortization of financing costs, amortization of non-cash clinical trial costs, and stock-based compensation as well as changes in our working capital accounts, primarily consisting of an increase in prepaid expenses, accrued interest, net of interest received on maturity of investments, accounts payable and accrued expenses.

Cash Provided by Investing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020, cash provided by investing activities of $41.6 million resulted primarily from the proceeds of sales and maturities of investments of $322.2 million, partially offset by the purchase of investments of $280.6 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, cash provided by investing activities of $7.5 million resulted primarily from the proceeds of sales and maturities of investments of $369.9 million, partially offset by the purchase of investments of $362.4 million.

Cash Provided by Financing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020, cash provided by financing activities was $950,000, which consisted primarily of proceeds from certain warrant exercises of $854,000 and proceeds from certain stock option exercises and employee stock purchase plan purchases of $418,000, partially offset by the value of shares withheld to cover taxes of $296,000 and payments of certain financing costs of $26,000.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, cash provided by financing activities was $887,000, which consisted primarily of proceeds from certain warrant exercises of $783,000 and proceeds from certain stock option exercises and employee stock purchase plan purchases of $328,000, partially offset by the value of shares withheld to cover taxes of $151,000 and payments of certain financing costs of $73,000.

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Future Funding Requirements

As of December 31, 2020, and based upon our current operating plan, we believe that we will have sufficient cash to meet our projected operating requirements for at least the next 12 months following the issuance of the financial statements. We anticipate, however, that we will continue to generate losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect the losses to increase materially as we continue the development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our drug candidates, and seek to commercialize any drugs for which we receive regulatory approval. We will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations and complete our ongoing and planned clinical trials. Although we expect to finance future cash needs through public or private equity or debt offerings, funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our drug development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market drug candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

We are a smaller reporting company, as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are not required to provide the information required under this item.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

We are a smaller reporting company, as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are not required to provide the information required under this item.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The information required by this Item 8 is contained on the pages indicated in Part IV, Item 15(a)(1) of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

None

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Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures designed 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. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.  In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Based on our management’s evaluation (with the participation of the individuals serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer) of our disclosure controls and procedures as required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, each of the individuals serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer has concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level as of December 31, 2020, the end of the period covered by this report.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act).  Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the individuals serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework). Based on this assessment, our management concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, our internal control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.

Attestation Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to the deferral allowed given we are neither an accelerated or large accelerated filer.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information.

Effective February 15, 2021, Greg Zante, our Chief Financial Officer and principal financial officer, was appointed our principal accounting officer until such time as his successor is appointed, or until his earlier resignation or removal. There are no reportable family relationships or related party transactions (as defined in Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K) involving us and Mr. Zante.

Mr. Zante has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2021. Prior to Mr. Zante’s appointment as our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Zante served as our Senior Vice President of Finance since August 2019 and as Vice President, Finance & Operations from December 2016 to July 2019. Mr. Zante possesses nearly 25 years of financial management experience at public and private companies in the biotechnology and accounting industries. Prior to joining us, Mr. Zante was Chief Financial Officer at Dance Biopharm, Inc., a diabetes-focused biopharmaceutical company, from 2013 to 2016, where he managed the company’s private financing strategy and positioned it for initial public offering activities. Mr. Zante has also previously held senior positions at several biopharmaceutical companies including Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. from 2003 to 2013, Calyx Therapeutics Inc. from 2001 to 2003 and Matrix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2000 to 2001. He is a certified public accountant in the State of California and previously served as a senior staff accountant at Ernst & Young. He holds a BA in Business-Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Mr. Zante’s annualized salary is currently $400,000 and he is currently eligible to receive an annual performance bonus of up to 40% of his base salary for fiscal year 2021. His salary and performance bonus percentage may be adjusted in the future at the discretion of the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors. Mr. Zante’s employment is on an “at will” basis. Mr. Zante was not awarded any equity in connection with his appointment as our principal accounting officer.

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PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

The information required by this item will be contained in our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A to be filed with the SEC in connection with our 2021 annual meeting of stockholders, or the Proxy Statement, which we expect to file not later than 120 days after the end of our year ended December 31, 2020, and is incorporated in this report by reference.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

The information required by this item will be contained in the Proxy Statement, which we expect to file not later than 120 days after the end of our year ended December 31, 2020, and is incorporated in this report by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

The information required by this item will be contained in the Proxy Statement, which we expect to file not later than 120 days after the end of our year ended December 31, 2020, and is incorporated in this report by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

The information required by this item will be contained in the Proxy Statement, which we expect to file not later than 120 days after the end of our year ended December 31, 2020, and is incorporated in this report by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

The information required by this item will be contained in the Proxy Statement, which we expect to file not later than 120 days after the end of our year ended December 31, 2020, and is incorporated in this report by reference.

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PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.  

(a)(1) The Financial Statements required to be filed by Items 8 and 15(c) of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and filed herewith, are as follows:

(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules have been omitted because they are either not applicable or the required information is included in the financial statements or notes thereto listed in (a)(1) above.

(a)(3) Exhibits.

The following exhibits are filed herewith or incorporated herein by reference:

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Attached as Exhibit 101 to this report are the following formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, (ii) Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, (iii) Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the period from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2020, (iv) Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, and (v) Notes to Financial Statements.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

None.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints, jointly and severally, Brian Lian, Ph.D. and Greg Zante, and each of them acting individually, as his attorney-in-fact, each with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

F-1

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of

Viking Therapeutics, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”).  In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Accrual for preclinical study and clinical trial costs

As described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company estimates its preclinical study and clinical trial expenses based on the services it received pursuant to contracts with research institutions and contract research organizations (“CROs”) that conduct and manage preclinical studies and clinical trials on the Company’s behalf. Clinical trial-related contracts vary significantly in length, and may be for a fixed amount based on milestones or deliverables, a variable amount based on actual costs incurred, capped at a certain limit, or a combination of these elements. The Company accrues service fees based on work performed, which relies on estimates of total costs incurred based on milestones achieved, patient enrollment and other events. The majority of the Company’s service providers invoice the Company in arrears, and to the extent that amounts invoiced differ from its estimates of expenses incurred, the Company accrues for additional costs. The financial terms of these agreements vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven expenses and payment flows.

The principal consideration for our determination that performing procedures related to the preclinical study and clinical trial expenses, specifically related to the year-end accrual for preclinical study and clinical trial costs, is a critical audit matter is that there

F-2

was judgment by management in determining the achievement of milestones, patient enrollments and occurrence of other events that creates a present obligation for the Company to pay the research institutions and CROs for their services.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included, among others, (i) obtaining an understanding the Company’s estimation process relating to accrual for preclinical study and clinical trial costs; (ii) testing management’s identification of milestones, patient enrollment requirements and other events in its contracts with the research institutions and CROs; (iii) testing management’s determination of the accrual for preclinical study and clinical trial costs for a sample of such milestones, patient enrollments and other events; and (iv) testing the mathematical accuracy of the schedule of accrual for preclinical study and clinical trial costs prepared by management.

/s/ Marcum LLP

Marcum LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2014.

Costa Mesa, California

February 17, 2021

F-3

Viking Therapeutics, Inc.

Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)