There have been no material changes to the risk factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, except as set forth below:
+Added: The near-term growth of our business is substantially dependent on our ability to continue to grow the appropriate use of DEFINITY in suboptimal echocardiograms in the face of increased segment competition from other existing echocardiography agents and potential generic competitors.
+Added: The growth of our business is substantially dependent on our ability to continue to grow the appropriate use of DEFINITY in suboptimal echocardiograms.
+Added: There were approximately 31.5 million echocardiograms in 2020 according to a third-party source.
+Added: Assuming 20% of echocardiograms produce suboptimal images, as stated in the clinical literature, we estimate that approximately 6.3 million echocardiograms in 2020 produced suboptimal images.
+Added: We estimate that DEFINITY held over 80% of the U.S.
+Added: market for ultrasound enhancing agents in echocardiography procedures as of December 31, 2020.
+Added: DEFINITY currently competes with Optison, a GE Healthcare product, Lumason, a Bracco Diagnostics Inc.
+Added: (“Bracco”) product (known as SonoVue outside the U.S.), as well as echocardiography without ultrasound enhancing agents and other non-echocardiography agents.
+Added: We launched DEFINITY in 2001, and we continue to actively pursue additional patents in connection with DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT, both in the U.S.
+Added: and internationally.
+Added: for DEFINITY we now own a total of four Orange Book-listed method of use patents, one of which expires in 2035 and three of which expire in 2037, as well as additional manufacturing patents that are not Orange Book-listed expiring in 2021, 2023 and 2037.
+Added: for DEFINITY RT, we own a total of five Orange Book-listed patents, including a composition of matter patent which expires in 2035.
+Added: Outside of the U.S., while our original DEFINITY patent protection and regulatory exclusivity have generally expired, we are currently prosecuting additional DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT patents to obtain similar patent protection as in the U.S.
+Added: The Orange Book-listed patents include a patent on the use of VIALMIX RFID, which expires in 2037;
+Added: additional VIALMIX RFID patent applications have been submitted in major markets throughout the world.
+Added: Because our Orange Book-listed composition of matter patent expired in June 2019, we may face generic DEFINITY challengers in the near to intermediate term.
+Added: Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, the FDA can approve ANDAs for generic versions of drugs before the expiration of an Orange Book-listed patent covering the innovator product if the ANDA applicant demonstrates, among other things, that (i) its generic candidate is the same as the innovator product by establishing bioequivalence and providing relevant chemistry, manufacturing and product data, and (ii) the marketing of that generic candidate does not infringe an Orange Book-listed patent or that an Orange Book-listed patent is invalid.
+Added: The ANDA applicant must also give Notice to the innovator, which would then enable the innovator to challenge the ANDA applicant in court within 45 days of receiving such Notice.
+Added: If the innovator challenges the ANDA applicant in court in a timely manner, then FDA approval to commercialize the generic candidate will be stayed (that is, delayed) for up to 30 months while the dispute between the innovator and the ANDA applicant is resolved in court.
+Added: The 30 month stay can be shortened if the patent infringement suit is resolved in the ANDA applicant’s favor before the 30 month stay expires, and this may involve a successful challenge of the patent’s validity in USPTO proceedings and appeals process.
+Added: As of the date of filing of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we have not received any such Notice from any ANDA applicant, but we can give no assurance that we will not receive a Notice in the future.
+Added: If we were to receive any such Notice in the future, we would review the Notice, evaluate the strength of any potential patent infringement claims, and be prepared to challenge the ANDA applicant in a timely fashion, which would thereby trigger the stay of up to 30 months.
+Added: We can give no assurance that we would have grounds to file a patent infringement suit, that we would obtain the full 30 month stay, that we would be successful on the merits asserting that a generic candidate infringes our Orange Book-listed patent, or that we would be successful defending the validity of our Orange Book-listed patent in court or in a USPTO adversarial proceeding.
+Added: In addition, as discussed in our risk factor “Our business and industry are subject to complex and costly regulations.
+Added: If government regulations are interpreted or enforced in a manner adverse to us or our business, we may be subject to enforcement actions, penalties, exclusion and other material limitations on our operations.”set forth below, if the FDA reclassified one or more of our imaging agents, such as DEFINITY, as a “device” rather than a “drug”, we do not know when such reclassification would become effective, how any transition rules would be formulated or applied, and whether or not the legal framework provided by the Hatch-Waxman Act would be preserved for some time after such reclassification.
+Added: As part of our microbubble franchise strategy, (i) we have developed and received FDA approval for DEFINITY RT, a modified formulation of DEFINITY, (ii) we look for other opportunities to expand our microbubble franchise, including new applications beyond echocardiography and ultrasound enhancing agent imaging generally such as our strategic arrangements with Cerevast, CarThera and Insightec, and (iii) we have completed construction of our specialized in-house manufacturing capabilities at our North Billerica facility for DEFINITY and, potentially, other sterile vial products.
+Added: However, we can give no assurance that our microbubble franchise strategy will be successful or that a modified formulation, new applications or new manufacturing capabilities will grow our microbubble franchise.
+Added: We believe DEFINITY RT will become commercially available in the fourth quarter of 2021, although that timing cannot be assured.
+Added: If we are not able to continue to (i) grow DEFINITY and DEFINITY RT sales, which depend on one or more of the growth of echocardiograms, the growth in the appropriate use of ultrasound enhancing agents in suboptimal echocardiograms, and our ability to sustain and grow our leading position in the U.S.
+Added: echocardiography ultrasound enhancing agent market, or (ii) be successful with our microbubble franchise strategy, we may not be able to continue to grow the revenue and cash flow of our business, which could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
+Added: Our dependence upon third parties for the manufacture and supply of a substantial portion of our products could prevent us from delivering our products to our customers in the required quantities, within the required timeframes, or at all, which could result in order cancellations and decreased revenues.
+Added: We obtain a substantial portion of our products from third party manufacturers and suppliers.
+Added: We rely on JHS as our sole source manufacturer of DEFINITY, NEUROLITE, Cardiolite and evacuation vials.
+Added: We rely on SBL as our sole source manufacturer of DEFINITY RT.
+Added: Based on our current estimates, we believe that we will have sufficient supply of DEFINITY, NEUROLITE, Cardiolite and evacuation vials from JHS, and sufficient supply of saline from our sole manufacturer, to meet expected demand.
+Added: However, we can give no assurances that JHS or our other manufacturing partner will be able to manufacture and distribute our products in a high quality and timely manner and in sufficient quantities to allow us to avoid product stock-outs and shortfalls.
+Added: In addition, on July 27, 2021, we received a letter from JHS that it was providing notice of non-renewal of our manufacturing agreement relating to DEFINITY, but that JHS remained interested in negotiating a new agreement.
+Added: We are actively negotiating a new manufacturing agreement with JHS for DEFINITY, although there is no assurance that we will be able to reach an agreement on mutually acceptable terms or at all.
+Added: In the event we are not able to enter into an agreement on mutually acceptable terms or at all, we expect that we would exercise our right under our current agreement with JHS to request a terminal supply of DEFINITY in an amount sufficient to meet our supply needs for DEFINITY until our in-house manufacturing facility is operational and producing enough DEFINITY to meet our supply needs, although there is no assurance that there would be no disruption.
+Added: Xenon is captured as a by-product of the Mo-99 production process.
+Added: We receive bulk unprocessed Xenon from IRE resulting from highly-enriched uranium (“HEU”) Mo-99 production, which we process and finish for our customers.
+Added: We do not yet receive Xenon resulting from low-enriched uranium (“LEU”) Mo-99 production at IRE and can give no assurances as to the timing of the availability of LEU Xenon.
+Added: We believe we will have a sufficient supply of Xenon to meet our customers’ needs.
+Added: However, until IRE converts to LEU Xenon production or we can qualify an additional source of bulk unprocessed Xenon, we will rely on IRE as a sole source provider of HEU Xenon.
+Added: 1095 is currently manufactured only at the Center for Probe Development and Commercialization (“CPDC”).
+Added: Until December 2019, the CPDC was subject to an Import Alert by the FDA, which restricted the CPDC’s ability to ship products to the U.S.
+Added: Although the CPDC has since been cleared by the FDA to ship products to the U.S., there can be no guarantee that the CPDC, or any other third-party manufacturer that we may partner with in the future, will not be subject to similar restrictions in the future.
+Added: In addition to the products described above, for reasons of quality assurance or cost-effectiveness, we purchase certain components and raw materials from sole suppliers (including, for example, the lead casing for our TechneLite generators and the lipid blend material used in the processing of DEFINITY).
+Added: Because we do not control the actual production of many of the products we sell and many of the raw materials and components that make up the products we sell, we may be subject to delays caused by interruption in production based on events and conditions outside of our control.
+Added: At our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility, we manufacture TechneLite on a highly automated production line, as well as Thallium and Gallium using our older cyclotron technology and Xenon using our hot cell infrastructure.
+Added: As with all manufacturing facilities, equipment and infrastructure age and become subject to increasing maintenance and repair.
+Added: If we or one of our manufacturing partners experiences an event, including a labor dispute, natural disaster, fire, power outage, machinery breakdown, security problem, failure to meet regulatory requirements, product quality issue, technology transfer issue or other issue, we may be unable to manufacture the relevant products at previous levels or on the forecasted schedule, if at all.
+Added: Due to the stringent regulations and requirements of the governing regulatory authorities regarding the manufacture of our products, we may not be able to quickly restart manufacturing at a third party or our own facility or establish additional or replacement sources for certain products, components or materials.
+Added: In addition to our existing manufacturing relationships, we are also pursuing new manufacturing relationships to establish and secure additional or alternative suppliers for our commercial products.
+Added: We have also completed construction of our specialized in-house manufacturing capabilities at our North Billerica, Massachusetts facility.
+Added: This project should not only deliver efficiencies and supply chain redundancy for our current portfolio but also should afford us increased flexibility as we consider external opportunities.
+Added: However, we cannot assure you that these activities or any of our additional supply activities will be successful or that we will be able to avoid or mitigate interim supply shortages before new sources of product are fully functional and qualified.
+Added: In addition, we cannot assure you that our existing manufacturers or suppliers or any new manufacturers or suppliers can
+Added: adequately maintain either their financial health, technical capabilities or regulatory compliance to allow continued production and supply.
+Added: A reduction or interruption in manufacturing, or an inability to secure alternative sources of raw materials or components, could eventually have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
+Added: Our business and industry are subject to complex and costly regulations.
+Added: If government regulations are interpreted or enforced in a manner adverse to us or our business, we may be subject to enforcement actions, penalties, exclusion and other material limitations on our operations.
+Added: Both before and after the approval of our products and agents in development, we, our products, development agents, operations, facilities, suppliers, distributors, contract manufacturers, contract research organizations and contract testing laboratories are subject to extensive and, in certain circumstances, expanding regulation by federal, state and local government agencies in the U.S.
+Added: as well as non-U.S.
+Added: and transnational laws and regulations, with regulations differing from country to country, including, among other things, anti-trust and competition laws and regulations and the recently enacted General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union.
+Added: In the U.S., the FDA regulates, among other things, the pre-clinical testing, clinical trials, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, potency, labeling, storage, record keeping, quality systems, advertising, promotion, sale, distribution, and import and export of drug products.
+Added: We are required to register our business for permits and/or licenses with, and comply with the stringent requirements of the FDA, the U.S.
+Added: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S.
+Added: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Canada, the European Medicines Agency, the U.K.
+Added: Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the NMPA, state and provincial boards of pharmacy, state and provincial health departments and other federal, state and provincial agencies.
+Added: Violation of any of these regulatory schemes, individually or collectively, could disrupt our business and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
+Added: law, for example, we are required to report certain adverse events and production problems, if any, to the FDA.
+Added: We also have similar adverse event and production reporting obligations outside of the U.S., including to the EMA and MHRA.
+Added: Additionally, we must comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products, including the prohibition on the promotion of our products for indications that have not been approved by the FDA or a so-called “off-label use” or promotion that is inconsistent with the approved labeling.
+Added: If the FDA determines that our promotional materials constitute unlawful promotion, it could request that we modify our promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions.
+Added: Also, quality control and manufacturing procedures at our own facility and at third party suppliers must conform to cGMP regulations and other applicable law after approval, and the FDA periodically inspects manufacturing facilities to assess compliance with cGMPs and other applicable law, and, from time to time, makes those cGMPs more stringent.
+Added: Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must expend time, money, and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control.
+Added: If in the future issues arise at a third party manufacturer, the FDA could take regulatory action which could limit or suspend the ability of that third party to manufacture our products or have any additional products approved at the relevant facility for manufacture until the issues are resolved and remediated.
+Added: Such a limitation or suspension could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
+Added: We are also subject to laws and regulations that govern financial and other arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers, including federal and state anti-kickback statutes, federal and state false claims laws and regulations, federal and state “sunshine” laws and regulations and other fraud and abuse laws and regulations.
+Added: We must offer discounted pricing or rebates on purchases of pharmaceutical products under various federal and state healthcare programs, such as the Medicaid drug rebate program, the “federal ceiling price” drug pricing program, the 340B drug pricing program and the Medicare Part D Program.
+Added: We must also report specific prices to government agencies under healthcare programs, such as the Medicaid drug rebate program and Medicare Part B.
+Added: As a specific example, in 2010, we entered into a Medicaid Drug Rebate Agreement with the federal government for some but not all of our products, and in 2016 entered into a separate Medicaid Drug Rebate Agreement for the balance of our products.
+Added: These agreements require us to report certain price information to the federal government.
+Added: Determination of the rebate amount that we pay to state Medicaid programs for our products, of prices charged to government and certain private payors for our products, or of amounts paid for our products under government healthcare programs, depends upon information reported by us to the government.
+Added: If we provide customers or government officials with inaccurate information about the products’ pricing or eligibility for coverage, or the products fail to satisfy coverage requirements, we could be terminated from the rebate program, be excluded from participation in government healthcare programs, or be subject to potential liability under the False Claims Act or other laws and regulations.
+Added: Failure to comply with other requirements and restrictions placed upon us or our third party manufacturers or suppliers by laws and regulations can result in fines, civil and criminal penalties, exclusion from federal healthcare programs and debarment.
+Added: Possible consequences of those actions could include:
+Added: • Substantial modifications to our business practices and operations;
+Added: • Significantly reduced demand for our products (if products become ineligible for reimbursement under federal and state healthcare programs);
+Added: • A total or partial shutdown of production in one or more of the facilities where our products are produced while the alleged violation is being remediated;
+Added: • Delays in or the inability to obtain future pre-market clearances or approvals;
+Added: • Withdrawals or suspensions of our current products from the market.
+Added: Regulations are subject to change as a result of legislative, administrative or judicial action, which may also increase our costs or reduce sales or otherwise adversely impact our products.
+Added: For example, on April 16, 2021 in the case Genus Medical Technologies LLC v.
+Added: Food and Drug Administration, the U.S.
+Added: Court of Appeals for the D.C.
+Added: Circuit held that a product (other than a combination product) that meets the definitions of both “drug” and “device” in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FDCA”) must be regulated as a device.
+Added: On August 9, 2021, the FDA announced that, as part of its implementation of this court decision, the FDA intends to regulate products that meet both the device and drug definition as devices, except where Congress intended a different classification.
+Added: The FDA further indicated that it intends to bring previously classified products into line with the court decision and will reexamine whether individual imaging agents meet the device definition.
+Added: In connection with its announcement, the FDA requested comments from the industry on five topics:
+Added: categories of products implicated by the court decision;
+Added: the transition process;
+Added: the transition timing;
+Added: user fee transitions;
+Added: and determining drug or device status.
+Added: We plan to submit comments to the FDA in response to its request for comments by the November 30, 2021 deadline.
+Added: While we question whether the FDA has authority to make this change, believe that pre-existing law already establishes that a broad spectrum of imaging agents have already been established by Congress to be “drugs”, and do not believe that any of our imaging agents meets the definition of a “device” under the FDCA, we can give no assurance that the FDA will agree with our position.
+Added: In addition, if the FDA determines that one or more of our imaging agents meet the definition of a “device”, we do not know when such reclassification would be effective, how any transition rules would be formulated or applied, and whether or not the legal framework provided by the Hatch-Waxman Act would be preserved for some time after such reclassification.
+Added: A reclassification of one or more of our imaging agents as a “device” could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Ultrasound enhancing agents may cause side effects which could limit our ability to sell DEFINITY.
38 unchanged sentences
GAAP to estimate their fair value on a recurring basis.
−Removed: Adjustments in the estimated fair value of the CVRs can impact our financial statements on a quarterly or annual basis.
+Added: Adjustments in the estimated fair value of the CVRs can impact our consolidated financial statements on a quarterly or annual basis.
The estimated fair value of the CVRs is determined based on a Monte Carlo simulation model that include significant estimates and assumptions pertaining to commercialization events, sales targets, market conditions and discount rates.
3 unchanged sentences
Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.