LEXICON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. 10-Q

Item 1. Legal Proceedings Securities Class Action Litigation. On January 28, 2019, a purported securities class action complaint captioned Daniel Manopla v. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Lonnel Coats, Jeffrey L. Wade and Pablo Lapuerta, M.D. was filed against us and certain of our officers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Our motion to dismiss was granted and the action was dismissed with prejudice by the District Court on August 14, 2020. The lead plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on September 11, 2020. The lawsuit purports to be a class action brought on behalf of purchasers of our securities during the period from March 11, 2016 through July 29, 2019. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated federal securities laws by making materially false and misleading statements and/or omissions concerning data from our Phase 3 clinical trials of sotagliflozin in type 1 diabetes patients and the prospects of FDA approval of sotagliflozin for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The complaint purports to assert claims for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The complaint seeks, on behalf of the purported class, an unspecified amount of monetary damages, interest, fees and expenses of attorneys and experts, and other relief. Sanofi Arbitration. On October 16, 2020, we initiated arbitration proceedings against Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, or Sanofi, seeking to recover damages for breach of contract relating to the Termination and Settlement Agreement and Mutual Releases with Sanofi, dated September 9, 2019. In September 2020, Sanofi withheld approximately $23.2 million from the final $26 million payment due to us under the termination and settlement agreement, offsetting certain third party costs and internal costs incurred by Sanofi and asserted by Sanofi to be payable by us under the terms of the termination and settlement agreement. We dispute that at least a significant portion of such costs are properly reimbursable by us under the terms of the termination and settlement agreement and assert that, in any event, Sanofi was not permitted to withhold any of such costs under the terms of the termination and settlement agreement. We are seeking payment of up to $23.2 million in such disputed costs, together with late interest and attorneys’ fees and costs. Normal Course Legal Proceedings. In addition, we are from time to time party to claims and legal proceedings that arise in the normal course of our business and that we believe will not have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.